Major Spoilers for Critical Role’s 2nd Campaign – The Mighty Nein

I have been watching Mighty Nein which is Critical Role’s second campaign. There’s an episode that many fans refer to as THAT episode where something major happens. I had this spoiled for me beforehand which honestly, I’m thankful for. In episode #26 “Found & Lost”, The Mighty Nein is tracking down some slavers who may have kidnapped their friends. In the process of launching an assault on those responsible, Mollymauk Tealeaf (played by Taliesin Jaffe) is brutally killed by Lorenzo (an NPC voiced by Matt Mercer). I wanted to talk about this moment in greater detail.

Molly’s death is a series of unfortunate events. Due to Laura and Travis being away on parental leave, there were no other party members who could heal if anyone fell unconscious or lost their hit points. This episode had guest star, Ashly Burch, who played a fighter. I don’t believe the guest stars should have to pick a class that they don’t want to play, but it still played into Molly’s fate. Before going after Lorenzo, I don’t think the group stocked up on healing potions which would have been smart considering they couldn’t be healed otherwise.

As the attack happened, it became clear as the episode carried on, how unprepared this group was for Lorenzo’s crew. Lorenzo was a spell caster which the group didn’t know previously. As such, many of the characters lost half their health early on. On top of that, Nott (played by Sam Riegel) will attack and then hide right away. Keg (Ashly’s character) was freaked out and instead of going into battle, she ran away which didn’t help Molly’s situation considering Beau (played by Marisha Ray) and Molly were the only ones up trying to take out Lorenzo and his crew. Watching this episode knowing what was going to happen eventually, I think it’s fortunate that no one else lost their characters.

Leading to Molly’s demise, Molly wanted to use one of his Blood Hunter abilities against Lorenzo. For those who are unfamiliar with the Blood Hunter class, Blood Hunter abilities will require the player to roll a die and take that much health for the ability to happen. When Molly did this, he rolled high on his die which caused him to fall unconscious. Since Molly was in close combat with Lorenzo, Lorenzo stabbed Molly, so Molly couldn’t roll any death saves to try and save his character. When Matt asked Taliesin what his final words were, I loved when Molly spat in Lorenzo’s face. Knowing he was going to die, he wasn’t going to let Lorenzo see him afraid which I thought was admirable and perfect for his character.

Regarding Molly’s death, I think it would be easy to react with judgment. Why would Molly have used his Blood Hunter abilities when his health was so low? To reiterate, the Blood Hunter class at this point in time was brand new. Matt Mercer customized this class to Taliesin, so no one else had played this type of character before. As such, it’s easy for all of us to judge (including myself since I have played as a Blood Hunter), but it’s an important reminder that at the time, Taliesin was still learning how to play this class and Matt was learning how to create a class that felt balanced.

It’s interesting because out of all the characters in Mighty Nein, Molly was probably my least favorite. I thought Molly was arrogant and selfish and would often pick a fight with Caleb even though I felt Caleb was in the right. I was surprised by how emotional I felt after Molly’s death. I felt so bad for Taliesin because not only do you see your character die, but it’s being live streamed so now everyone can see your first reaction. I would hate that. I find that after my own DnD sessions, I need time to emotionally process what happened and I couldn’t imagine doing that in front of a huge community.

It took me forever to finish this episode because I knew what was coming. I want to see the Mighty Nein get revenge on Lorenzo and honestly, I miss seeing Travis and Laura. I think the group dynamic is different with them being gone and I can’t wait for them to return.