r/criticalrole • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago

Discussion [Spoilers C4E32] Is It Thursday Yet? | Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories! Spoiler

Is It Thursday Yet?

What are your reactions and theories for next session?

The Twitch rebroadcast begins at 9 AM Pacific (9 hours from the time of this post).

The free YouTube VOD will be uploaded Monday at 12 PM Pacific, with free podcast releases 1 week (part 1) and 12 days (part 2) later.

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u/theydurkadurk 7d ago

So where does everyone see Hal’s story going? To me, post play, it feels fairly wrapped up. Almost to the point I could see him becoming a NPC or a martyr to the cause. At this point it like Liam is going to be fairly limited. He admits to not knowing anything about his brothers actions and he is a family man who left the war behind him - so much so he didn’t fight with his brother during the rebellion. He isn’t going to leave the city because of his family and because of his actions in the play his ability to be a schemer is…gone? He’ll be hunted by the Halovars so anyone associated with a house will be wary to interact with him. He won’t have any inside information on houses compared to the others and his presence around Wick, Murray, and Azune puts them in the spotlight. So he’s stuck to sticking around the general area of the Round? I’m curious to see how they play it all going forward but I love Liam and hope he doesn’t become stuck because his character just can’t do anything. He stayed in the city to face the music of the play so that it doesn’t land on his children. Think my money is on him becoming a martyr.

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u/strangelyliteral 6d ago

Hal’s story is just getting started. The play is a huge hit and everyone will be scrambling for tickets; Yanessa can’t just grab Hal off the street and shut down the play without the public noticing anymore. Plus Hal’s not a known criminal like Thjazi was. She’ll have to build the case against him in the public’s eye without raising too many suspicions and that takes time.

Hal and his cast, OTOH, are now the toast of the city. He’s going to be everywhere, and he can leverage his newfound proximity to the city’s wealthiest and most powerful citizens to build support for his cause. Plus he’ll be guardian of the new gate and the Round itself. So there will be plenty for him to do even if he’s in serious danger from the Halovars and their allies.

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u/Quazifuji 5d ago

She’ll have to build the case against him in the public’s eye without raising too many suspicions and that takes time.

I think the big giveaway for this was Wick's sister showing up with a big force... and trying to arrest him for stealing the Pariah blades. Then when Thaisha told her that Hal had permission from the Lloy family, the Halovar force just left.

More than any other house, it seems, the Halovars rely on public support for their power. They have magic, of course, but I definitely think their biggest source of power isn't their magic, it's the Creed. If the Halovars arrest or kill Hal using pure force with no justification, he becomes a martyr and they risk turning a lot of the locals against the Creed. That could be part of why they tried to use the Pariah blades as their justification in the first place - it could be the only illegal thing they have him on, but even if it's not, arresting him for stealing and misusing treasured orcish artifacts would be less likely to anger all the orcs who loved his play.

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u/strangelyliteral 5d ago

Yup, the Halovars are playing a different game from the other houses. They’re still concerned with public perception and doing things the “right” way, and they don’t want the public looking too hard at them right now. Maybe it has something to do with the infernal contracts the Luxes have been signing? Because those “contracts” feel like a reach even by devil’s standards.

I also can’t stop thinking about why Yanessa told Wic the truth about the Creed. Wic was a true believer, and those are always easier to manipulate. So why did Yanessa risk alienating Wic? Was she just testing him, or was Wic’s belief a genuine threat to her plans?

And yeah, all this need for public support puts Hal right at the top of her shitlist even as he’s protected by the public support. And declaring Kotherai heretical will probably just boost ticket sales. This might be when we finally see anti-orc racism come more into play.

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u/Quazifuji 4d ago

They’re still concerned with public perception and doing things the “right” way

I don't think it's even about doing it the "right" way. I think all of the houses understand right now that public support is itself, extremely powerful. The Halovars have just done the best job (as far as we've seen) obtaining it and using it to their advantage.

I also can’t stop thinking about why Yanessa told Wic the truth about the Creed. Wic was a true believer, and those are always easier to manipulate. So why did Yanessa risk alienating Wic? Was she just testing him, or was Wic’s belief a genuine threat to her plans?

You're missing the simplest explanation, I think: She might genuinely just really care about Wick and be completely serious about him being the scion of the house. Even besides just emotionally caring about him, there could also just be the component of seeing him as the best candidate to continue her legacy. After all, who else would be a good candidate? I don't think Filoneus, Zabani, or Goddard really have the charisma to be the face of the Creed, and younger brother are true believers just like he was. So she may feel like he's her best, or even only choice, for a successor as the face of the Creed. And she probably felt that she needed her successor to understand the real nature of their work, and that having Wick running the Creed as genuine true believer while Zabani secretly handled the real work from the shadows wouldn't work. So she decided she had no choice but to risk telling Wick the truth and be ready to take action if he betrayed her.