Personally if he were to have said that to me I would have responded with something like this. "That is more or less true, depending on which God you speak to. But in reality they do not entirely lie, they only tell you versions of the truth, but in the end it is up to you to understand whether or not what they tell you is to serve you or to serve them. Because more often than not the gods will speak in riddles, whether it is to help you or to control you, that is for you to discover." If you think about it it does make sense because let's be honest the pantheon of any Pathfinder / D&D setting or Hell any tabletop RPG setting is more or less like this.
This season is SO good… and the way it ties into everything else feels really… like they’re still telling us an amazing story even when we think we already know what’s happening.
Zerxus was arguably the most hubristic of the entire Ring of Brass. He was a Paladin who didn't even have the backing of a Prime Deity, yet he thought that he could change the nature of the Father of Lies.
@@BjornTheDimyou are so right! As Asmo said himself: "Who is the most proud man here? These mages who thought they could fly a city? Or the man who thought he could teach ME a lesson?"
I don't think it was about swallowing his pride, it was about lack of introspection. Pike caught him in the same trap in which he caught her in his first move, she asked a question she knew from his previous rant to be a question he would lie to himself about. If it was just about swallowing his pride and admitting his selfish desire to have his family with him (despite the terrible consequences for them that he certainly would not wish on them), he would have known that lying would not help him save face, since the cards would instantly reveal his lie. He did not know that he was speaking a lie, because he was lying to himself about it. Of course, this is still related to his pride, because his pride is what makes him believe to be a better person than he acutally is.
@@chrisrudolf9839 for me, Zerxus has always been very selfish and prideful, so when Pike asked if he wanted his husband and son to be with him, I see "yes" in his eye. He loved Evandrin and Elias dearly and definitely want to see them again, but to say yes means that he's tainting his selfless matyr image. So he chose to lie to himself instead, even though he'd lose. But lack of introspection is definitely a better read of his character.
This is Zerxus Illerez, the man who met the Lord of Hells, Father of Lies and God of Evil and went "I can fix him" So glad to see the Calamity campaign aknowledged, truly some of the best games Critical Role has done. Now can we pleaaaase get it animated?
@@lumberluc - Not really, he chose to sacrifice himself to have the chance to save the rest of the Brass Ring (at least temporarily), and saving the Brass Ring in turn saved the lives of uncountable people.
When Pike asked the question, that was hitting a deep nerve for sure. It didn’t matter how powerful Xerxus was, that was deeply personal to him, and she straight up played him and cornered him into something he fears the most.
Loaded question, since he wanted to prove to the Everlight, that even her most devout cleric can fall to darkness. Zerxus is hurting... so he wants to hurt all of them.
Also think she did not frame it as a question, as in her turn question, or she would not have been able to ask about the family later. So at that point he is just saying whatever he wants. Remembers me of this passage: “Something Vimes had learned as a young guard drifted up from memory. If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.” ― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
@@gollumandeowyn That we know of. When it comes to Religion, its a group effort. I mean, you can Boingo the Clown worshipped by one guy, and the spells that'll be put out would have a terrible output
2:05 The gods in the mural; Dawnfather, Knowing Mentor, and Everlight. Same in the stained glass followed by the mortal mages, Matt, Brennan, and Aabria
Huh... Matt does shine a light on all things. Brennan is a crafty SOB we all love. and Aabria just has that warmth you try to put your finger on, but can't tell where it comes from.
The show is limited to the Dungeons and Dragons campaign from Critical Role. There are at least two more that haven't been animated yet, The Mighty Nein and Bell's Hells.
another detail, when Pike has to admit she's wonder if her life would be better without the everlight, her eyes dart to her left card, and that's the guess he makes. I don't think Pike did that on purpose because I don't think she was even looking at her hand at that point, but it makes sense that he would try to follow the tell and guess that way
That really ties the scene together. Shows Pike wasn't guessing in the dark after her big moment, and how vulnerable and exposed Zerxus was after the shock.
And an important touch as well, since that was the sole reason for Pike to ask the question. She didn't really expect that the centuries old grand demon would have such a glaring loophole in his game of truth that he would flat out tell her which one was the correct card, she was hoping for the tell. Because when you get asked where something is, your first instinct is to reassure yourself where it is, so you look in that direction (at least if you are suprised enough by that question to not be ready to suppress that automatism). The tell of course wasn't unambiguous enough to know the exact card, but she could read from his eyes darting to his left that the card was somewhere in the left side of his hand.
Being a demon of such power, intelligence and cunning, even when shaken the way he was, I still imagine he could have faked his tell to make her guess the wrong one, but he didn't.
the Calamity flashback was so beautiful! "THEY ALL LIE" I dunno my dude, maybe the one called the Lord of Lies is gonna lie to you. that's your own fault for trusting him.
Every single thing about this scene gave me chills: the background music, the vortex of emotions on each side, the dark truth about the calamity, and Pike's belief in her friends countering Zerxus biased experience, which led her to winning against a rather fair Devil who, like most, started out as a good man who just went through the wrong experiences.
Loss and Bitterness does that to the best of men. He lost his friends, his family, his position and power. Overtime, he grew bitter and resentful of the very gods he swore to uphold and protect... He became an Oathbreaker.
@@lumberluc he never swore to protect any god, only Avalir and its people. He never liked the gods, he thought he was better than them -> thinking he could redeem Asmo.
Wished they make a movie of the Calamity. So, they would animated Travis character Cerrit running and dodging in the hallway as the whole city is crashing down. Just so he could keep his promise to see his family again.
@@jonathan4158 Admittedly very unreliable sources. Just saw ir mentioned hear and there, people talking that there's supposedly 5 seasons of tlovm and a movie
Sadly truth is often many layered. Obviously he's glad his family isnt suffering, isnt in this vile place with him, but the deeper need is for his family to be in his arms. To.hold them, to say "Yes I existed"
I just saw the round table for the show earlier and they had quite an in-depth discussion about the music for this scene and now I'm listening to it with a whole new appreciation.
1:00 "It's the one in my hand." while holding five... I love it when writers make characters that are good at lying by telling the truth. But it is annoying when you can see someone try without knowing how to pull it off.
- There's no difference between gods above and below, they all lie - Little lies are okay (To those who didn't understand the reference, watch CR downfall. It's really good.)
the irony that the devil found himself in his own hell all because of his own angel complex makes it even sadder....I can't help but pity him and all he lost in his quest to tame the Destroyers turbulent heart.
Perfect example of how demons or those connected to fallen gods know mortals better than the representations of ideals we are supposed to follow and worship (Gods of valor, Love, Life, Wisdom, Justice, Light and etc).
This scene is so good, I just wish there was some exposition of the Prime Deities/Betrayer gods, bc Pike saying "You trusted a Betrayer" probably means nothing to new viewers lol
I mean, my gf watched the show with me, she's never seen critical role but once Pike said "You trusted a betrayer?" My gf immediately went, "Wait.. like a demon or like an evil god? Not a good plan." So, it's not incredibly hard to grasp.
@@carlotacosta9193 The thing is you don't necessarily have to understand what a Betrayer God is and which gods are considered Betrayer Gods in the lore of Exandria. It is obvious in the scene that he talks about his boss, the Lord of the Hells, and even someone who knows absolutely nothing about the lore of Exandria can understand that "betraying" is probably something the Exandrian Boss-Devil would be known to do and that trusting him seems like a rather stupid idea. Of course the dialogue and the whole scene with the falling city is way deeper if you do know about the Prime Deities vs Betrayer Gods background, but you don't need to know that stuff to make sense of the dialogue.
Hey, Amazon. Take all of that money that you wasted on Rings of Power, and PUT IT HERE. GIVE IT TO THESE TALENTED NERDS. And Invincible. I promise you you’ll make soooooo much more views and money.
@Werewolf.with.Internet.Access What makes you think Amazon supplies the budget? The creators of this show based it on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign they were playing. Amazon Prime is more of a distributor.
I mean they are giving them this show, they are working ob the Mighty Nein show and Invincible S3 is around the corner so seems they are? LotR isnt really my thing so can't comment on Rings of Power though
At the core of our beings, the thing that unites us all is the desire to be loved. The gentlest souls, the mightiest conquerors, all wish only to be remembered and beloved. Zerxus is no different. As much as he loves his family, he, too, wishes he were loved in kind.
If you watch EXU: Calamity you'll see it's a very complicated story. Zerxus was a deeply lonely and guilty man who didn't believe in any of the gods, so when one came to him wounded, appealing to his paternal instinct, his need to care for the underdog, and convinced him it was the prime deities who were the betrayers all along... Wel he already had very little faith in authority, so that was an easy thing to believe. By the time Asmodeus revealed his true plans Zerxus was already in so deep his pride didn't allow him to do anything else than forge on in spite of everything, and that was his doom.
Amusing. They switched the City of Brass for the Ring of Brass. (Originally, this took place on the Plane of Fire against an Efreet. Fun change, though, and a nice callback.)
The Ring of Brass is the name of the group that Zerxus is from. If you want to hear their story, it's on the Calamity miniseries that Critical Role did a year ago or so.
Honesty is brutal and unkind. It doesn't abide by morals or logic. All it serves is the truth one has. While the right answer is to save his family from the same torment he has suffered, honestly is about what the right answer is, just what you feel the true answer is.
Noble Zerxus, too proud to admit failure even now. But this also--knowing Matt and them work closely with the script--implies Zerxus didn't know the Brass Ring did not die that day.
Zerxus friend's hubris and magic did blind them to their redeeming ends, but Cerrit didn't use magic and was a detective so why is Zerxus angry at him? Was he jealous because of Cerrit's family?
It was mentioned in the after-show discussion that, despite it literally being his job to hunt down and punish bad mages, Cerrit never called out his friends for their lies and secrets or brought them to task. He absolutely was a great detective and a good man, but even he failed Avalir, in the end.
It's a misleading title, the person you could best describe as the devil is the god Asmodeus, who tricked this man, Zerxus, into serving him for eternity
The devil in this scene is one of the players of EXU Calamity, the Critical Role miniseries following the events leading up to the ancient war between the gods in Critical Role's past. The figures we see in the stained glass window, the "Ring of Brass" are the other characters from that miniseries. Basically Zerxus here put his faith in one of the Betrayer Gods, Asmodeus, and tried to fix him and his relationship with the other gods. It backfired *horrifically* and the world was sent into a war between gods that lasted centuries and wiped out most life on the planet.
This whole thing is amazing! It's five minutes long and yet it's an incredibly well done and fleshed out scene. This whole series has insanely smart pacing and storytelling, every episode feels so much longer than it is because they cram in so much but it still WORKS!
I guess this was more thematic and plot driven than a random fire giant, but my soul screams "It did not happen like this!" Then again, this is the _Legend_ of Vox Machina.
Zerxus was a mortal, that sold his soul to Asmodeus, Lord of Hell, and became his champion during the Calamity. As for Pike, she went into hell, against her goddess' command, and is suffering because of it.
Man I got strong Satan in Saddam Hussein vibes from his backstory if nobody knows what I mean go watch South Park and you understand it's on three different streaming services
"The truth rarely is [fair]"
No, the truth is ALWAYS fair. That's often why it's so hard to bear.
His husband was part of the Land... and when he had the chance to be with his son, it torn him apart as he grew old, and he was forever young.
It rhymed so it must be true
Define fair.
You are absolutely right.
"But there is no difference between the gods above and below; THEY ALL LIE!"
fucking shook me to my core
Personally if he were to have said that to me I would have responded with something like this. "That is more or less true, depending on which God you speak to. But in reality they do not entirely lie, they only tell you versions of the truth, but in the end it is up to you to understand whether or not what they tell you is to serve you or to serve them. Because more often than not the gods will speak in riddles, whether it is to help you or to control you, that is for you to discover."
If you think about it it does make sense because let's be honest the pantheon of any Pathfinder / D&D setting or Hell any tabletop RPG setting is more or less like this.
- little lies are okay :)
Perhaps they do lie. But in the end, it was people decision to either give in for their desires they wanted or walk away
This season is SO good… and the way it ties into everything else feels really… like they’re still telling us an amazing story even when we think we already know what’s happening.
@@tireddoggamingtales2091 ok redditor
Zerxus, in the end, could not swallow his pride to say yes. Very in character
Nice catch!
Zerxus was arguably the most hubristic of the entire Ring of Brass. He was a Paladin who didn't even have the backing of a Prime Deity, yet he thought that he could change the nature of the Father of Lies.
@@BjornTheDimyou are so right! As Asmo said himself: "Who is the most proud man here? These mages who thought they could fly a city? Or the man who thought he could teach ME a lesson?"
I don't think it was about swallowing his pride, it was about lack of introspection. Pike caught him in the same trap in which he caught her in his first move, she asked a question she knew from his previous rant to be a question he would lie to himself about. If it was just about swallowing his pride and admitting his selfish desire to have his family with him (despite the terrible consequences for them that he certainly would not wish on them), he would have known that lying would not help him save face, since the cards would instantly reveal his lie. He did not know that he was speaking a lie, because he was lying to himself about it.
Of course, this is still related to his pride, because his pride is what makes him believe to be a better person than he acutally is.
@@chrisrudolf9839 for me, Zerxus has always been very selfish and prideful, so when Pike asked if he wanted his husband and son to be with him, I see "yes" in his eye. He loved Evandrin and Elias dearly and definitely want to see them again, but to say yes means that he's tainting his selfless matyr image. So he chose to lie to himself instead, even though he'd lose. But lack of introspection is definitely a better read of his character.
The most tragic of all is that instead of Zerxus redeeming Asmodeus, he was corrupted by the king of hell
"I think I know why it's not working. You're trying to atone me, and I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!"
@RonPower to reach and hand down to someone, they need to be BENEATH YOU!!! And I'm beneath nobody!
Is this the guy brenan tore the face and stop time twice just to brutalise
@@Onedepressedgamer yep
Oh Zerxus, you were so good once, now you play card games for souls like a yugioh villain, how far you have fallen
He's hurting... and there's nothing Vox Machina can do to lighten his suffering.
@@lumberlucMind Crush the darkness within him. Worked on Kaiba.
I laughed way to hard at that.
I mean traditionally entities have been said to love gambling and card games when it comes to the soul, or servitude/bondage
This is Zerxus Illerez, the man who met the Lord of Hells, Father of Lies and God of Evil and went "I can fix him"
So glad to see the Calamity campaign aknowledged, truly some of the best games Critical Role has done. Now can we pleaaaase get it animated?
Zerxus had the choice, and chose family... something that all of us need to remember that saving one family, would doom the rest.
@@lumberluc "Screw you, I've got mine."
@@lumberluc - Not really, he chose to sacrifice himself to have the chance to save the rest of the Brass Ring (at least temporarily), and saving the Brass Ring in turn saved the lives of uncountable people.
@@StabbeyTheClown He chose his family. Whatever his family does, is whatever they do.
That's what good fathers do.
@@lumberluche didn’t choose family, he chose pride and main character syndrome and it bit him hard.
When Pike asked the question, that was hitting a deep nerve for sure. It didn’t matter how powerful Xerxus was, that was deeply personal to him, and she straight up played him and cornered him into something he fears the most.
Notice how he never answered Pike's "Why you chose me?" question.
Loaded question, since he wanted to prove to the Everlight, that even her most devout cleric can fall to darkness.
Zerxus is hurting... so he wants to hurt all of them.
Also think she did not frame it as a question, as in her turn question, or she would not have been able to ask about the family later.
So at that point he is just saying whatever he wants. Remembers me of this passage:
“Something Vimes had learned as a young guard drifted up from memory. If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat.
They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.
So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.”
― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms
I'm calling it he'll use pike to summon the whispered one.
@lumberluc she's the ONLY cleric of the Everlight at this point in time.
@@gollumandeowyn That we know of.
When it comes to Religion, its a group effort. I mean, you can Boingo the Clown worshipped by one guy, and the spells that'll be put out would have a terrible output
2:05 The gods in the mural; Dawnfather, Knowing Mentor, and Everlight.
Same in the stained glass followed by the mortal mages, Matt, Brennan, and Aabria
Huh... Matt does shine a light on all things.
Brennan is a crafty SOB we all love.
and Aabria just has that warmth you try to put your finger on, but can't tell where it comes from.
i hope we get like infinite episodes of this show in this season. Absolute masterpiece
The show is limited to the Dungeons and Dragons campaign from Critical Role. There are at least two more that haven't been animated yet, The Mighty Nein and Bell's Hells.
If the show runners get their way we'll see 15 seasons of this series and its sequels. Movies too.
@@kjj26k If they do, they might have to pull away from the original campaign.
@@ThePrincessCH Mighty nein is already in production while this show has been renewed for season 5 already
Oh really? I missed that! @@Husky92223
4:38 I just now noticed that Zerxus' eyes dart to the correct card during the close-up on his face. That's a nice touch.
another detail, when Pike has to admit she's wonder if her life would be better without the everlight, her eyes dart to her left card, and that's the guess he makes. I don't think Pike did that on purpose because I don't think she was even looking at her hand at that point, but it makes sense that he would try to follow the tell and guess that way
That really ties the scene together. Shows Pike wasn't guessing in the dark after her big moment, and how vulnerable and exposed Zerxus was after the shock.
@@nicholaschun5918it's all in the poker faces.
And an important touch as well, since that was the sole reason for Pike to ask the question. She didn't really expect that the centuries old grand demon would have such a glaring loophole in his game of truth that he would flat out tell her which one was the correct card, she was hoping for the tell. Because when you get asked where something is, your first instinct is to reassure yourself where it is, so you look in that direction (at least if you are suprised enough by that question to not be ready to suppress that automatism). The tell of course wasn't unambiguous enough to know the exact card, but she could read from his eyes darting to his left that the card was somewhere in the left side of his hand.
Being a demon of such power, intelligence and cunning, even when shaken the way he was, I still imagine he could have faked his tell to make her guess the wrong one, but he didn't.
That's such an accurate scene of how quickly gambling can go bad😂
the Calamity flashback was so beautiful!
"THEY ALL LIE"
I dunno my dude, maybe the one called the Lord of Lies is gonna lie to you. that's your own fault for trusting him.
Trickfoot living up to her family's legacy - conning the devil into giving up crucial info about himself. Well played lady of redemption.
Pike was so clever, I yelled when she asked that
Every single thing about this scene gave me chills:
the background music, the vortex of emotions on each side, the dark truth about the calamity, and Pike's belief in her friends countering Zerxus biased experience, which led her to winning against a rather fair Devil who, like most, started out as a good man who just went through the wrong experiences.
It's kinda sad to see that in the end Zerxus lost to Asmodeus and now is just as corrupted and hateful as the god he tried to help and reedem. T.T
Yeah, he's really lost himself in the bitterness and loss.
It is not the end. He can be redeemed:)
Loss and Bitterness does that to the best of men. He lost his friends, his family, his position and power. Overtime, he grew bitter and resentful of the very gods he swore to uphold and protect... He became an Oathbreaker.
It is not the end. He can still be redeemed! The Zerxus he was when he was alive would have wanted to redeem this version of Zerxus.
@@lumberluc he never swore to protect any god, only Avalir and its people. He never liked the gods, he thought he was better than them -> thinking he could redeem Asmo.
Wished they make a movie of the Calamity. So, they would animated Travis character Cerrit running and dodging in the hallway as the whole city is crashing down. Just so he could keep his promise to see his family again.
There's been a lot of rumors going around, so I think there's a chance
@@privpi What rumors? Where did you hear them?
@@jonathan4158 Admittedly very unreliable sources. Just saw ir mentioned hear and there, people talking that there's supposedly 5 seasons of tlovm and a movie
@@privpi I see, and you think that movie would somewhat involved the Calamity?
@@jonathan4158 So I've heard rumored. If anything, I do feel like an EXU calamity movie would make the most sense out of all the possible options
Pike: "Playing cards? With no drinks? This IS Hell!"
Sadly truth is often many layered. Obviously he's glad his family isnt suffering, isnt in this vile place with him, but the deeper need is for his family to be in his arms. To.hold them, to say "Yes I existed"
Brennan look what u did
He has done nothing wrong
I just saw the round table for the show earlier and they had quite an in-depth discussion about the music for this scene and now I'm listening to it with a whole new appreciation.
wait where did you watch that? link?
@@SAMUEL-bb2ig It was live on YT earlier today. I hope it'll be available in a few days cause I didn't catch all of it.
"But there is no difference between the gods above and below. They all lie."
Something Kratos would agree with.
This a master craft of story telling, stakes, emotions, depth; this scene simply has it all.
I screamed when the stained glass came up and the brass ring was mentioned.
SO glad they brought in Xerxus for this, he was such a spectacular part of ExU Calamity and plays the role so well here
seeing pike stand her ground against such a powerful foe was so empowering
Never bet against a Trickfoot.
Faith isn't about not having doubts in what you believe it's about believing even though the doubts are there
Well said, my friend. 👏 👏 👏
Incredible scene, excellent writing, animation, voice acting, and music.
The teams really cooked good with this one.
God I love this episode. Zerxus was delightful and his VA killed it.
Luis Carazo! It's the same guy who played him at the table!
Forreal. This guy was exceptional.
I'm in love with all the voice actors of this show.
“Who is the most proud man here?”
"THEY ALL LIE!" or maybe those most likely will lie that literally have the title "The King of Lies"
In the words of Pam from the office “You play your opponent not the cards.”
1:00 "It's the one in my hand." while holding five...
I love it when writers make characters that are good at lying by telling the truth. But it is annoying when you can see someone try without knowing how to pull it off.
The back story hits different with the music 😭
Pike should have summoned Exodia.
@@dspace4514 Not that kind of card game.
She kind of did.
She needs five cards to do that.
"My Grandpa Wilhelm's deck has no weal cards Zerxus
This is the perfect fantasy series. Absolute Gem!
- There's no difference between gods above and below, they all lie
- Little lies are okay
(To those who didn't understand the reference, watch CR downfall. It's really good.)
Can we all just admit that demon had major style and drip
Priest beats a demon, I hope that reassures someone’s faith.
*devil
boy I hope we get animated version fthe Zerxus's story and the ring of brass
I could see them getting either an OVA or a movie they definitely seem to be setting it up
A devil that lies to himself. Now THATS original
Was not expecting a EXU refrence in this show, but I am not complaining.
Incredible scene! The voice action and score combined elevated it so much and it was easily my favourite scene of the episode.
Literally my favourite show
the irony that the devil found himself in his own hell all because of his own angel complex makes it even sadder....I can't help but pity him and all he lost in his quest to tame the Destroyers turbulent heart.
Perfect example of how demons or those connected to fallen gods know mortals better than the representations of ideals we are supposed to follow and worship (Gods of valor, Love, Life, Wisdom, Justice, Light and etc).
This scene is so good, I just wish there was some exposition of the Prime Deities/Betrayer gods, bc Pike saying "You trusted a Betrayer" probably means nothing to new viewers lol
We get the concept
anyone who is not fully stupid can get the gist, dude
@@Scott-ql2kx I feel like calling people stupid for not understanding what a Betrayer God is is unreasonable but you do you I guess
I mean, my gf watched the show with me, she's never seen critical role but once Pike said "You trusted a betrayer?"
My gf immediately went, "Wait.. like a demon or like an evil god? Not a good plan."
So, it's not incredibly hard to grasp.
@@carlotacosta9193 The thing is you don't necessarily have to understand what a Betrayer God is and which gods are considered Betrayer Gods in the lore of Exandria. It is obvious in the scene that he talks about his boss, the Lord of the Hells, and even someone who knows absolutely nothing about the lore of Exandria can understand that "betraying" is probably something the Exandrian Boss-Devil would be known to do and that trusting him seems like a rather stupid idea. Of course the dialogue and the whole scene with the falling city is way deeper if you do know about the Prime Deities vs Betrayer Gods background, but you don't need to know that stuff to make sense of the dialogue.
Trusts a betrayer and is upset he was lied to.
Like, dude. What were your expecting?
Thats the point he is the victim of his own hubris
This is my favorite scene of television
2:50 That's one of the Arms of the Betrayers, the Mace of the Black Crown.
Hey, Amazon. Take all of that money that you wasted on Rings of Power, and PUT IT HERE. GIVE IT TO THESE TALENTED NERDS. And Invincible.
I promise you you’ll make soooooo much more views and money.
@Werewolf.with.Internet.Access What makes you think Amazon supplies the budget? The creators of this show based it on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign they were playing. Amazon Prime is more of a distributor.
Amazon Exec: "Hmm, I see....let's buy that Halo show and turn it into a musical!"
@@ICantThinkOfANameBcould they do any worse than the actual Halo show? Also a Halo musical sounds pretty banger if you get the right people
I mean they are giving them this show, they are working ob the Mighty Nein show and Invincible S3 is around the corner so seems they are? LotR isnt really my thing so can't comment on Rings of Power though
@@Werewolf.with.Internet.Access What makes you think Amazon supplies the budget?
I hear the passionate duelist when Pike wins the duel.😅
At the core of our beings, the thing that unites us all is the desire to be loved. The gentlest souls, the mightiest conquerors, all wish only to be remembered and beloved.
Zerxus is no different. As much as he loves his family, he, too, wishes he were loved in kind.
"D'Arby... You need to bet something of equal value in return. And that's... revealing the secret of DIO's stand!"
Ah wait wrong Matt Mercer show
Yes but he still trust a being who’s literally a betrayer.
If you watch EXU: Calamity you'll see it's a very complicated story. Zerxus was a deeply lonely and guilty man who didn't believe in any of the gods, so when one came to him wounded, appealing to his paternal instinct, his need to care for the underdog, and convinced him it was the prime deities who were the betrayers all along... Wel he already had very little faith in authority, so that was an easy thing to believe. By the time Asmodeus revealed his true plans Zerxus was already in so deep his pride didn't allow him to do anything else than forge on in spite of everything, and that was his doom.
Impressive writing to make such a simple card game this tense.
This (quite favourably) reminded me of the first test in Naruto's chunin exams.
Amusing. They switched the City of Brass for the Ring of Brass.
(Originally, this took place on the Plane of Fire against an Efreet. Fun change, though, and a nice callback.)
The Ring of Brass is the name of the group that Zerxus is from. If you want to hear their story, it's on the Calamity miniseries that Critical Role did a year ago or so.
@@filwilliamson9149 Though granted, Xerxes stronghold in Dis is called The Brass Skull. So it's still a nice touch.
It's really just a coincidence
ACHTUALLY it was against a Fire Giant not an Efreet, you lost your right to call yourself a CR fan and are now forbidden to watch any CR media.
Zerxus look like Asmodeus prince of lust
Honesty is brutal and unkind. It doesn't abide by morals or logic. All it serves is the truth one has. While the right answer is to save his family from the same torment he has suffered, honestly is about what the right answer is, just what you feel the true answer is.
I need a brass ring series.
Exandria cameo! hell yes! 🤩
Pike is such a badass
Amazon please greenlight Calamity! We NEED IT!
A very intense game of Uno
And that is why you don't give your origin story to your enemies!
Noble Zerxus, too proud to admit failure even now. But this also--knowing Matt and them work closely with the script--implies Zerxus didn't know the Brass Ring did not die that day.
Well they all did besides Cerrit
@@Direwolf181 Yeah, I watched the show too, thank you.
Yeah...their hubris...okay Zerxus...
Like the only person not involved in the mess was CERRIT you were HELPING your friends
@@Direwolf181Probably *very* bitter that Cerrit was able to be with his family
Yeah I feel like he had the most hubris of all of them. He thought he could make an evil god turn good
This moment was 🔥
If Brennen does not come and voice Asmodeus in a future episode I will say we have failed as a fandom.
Yo togashi over here playing a card game too in hunter x hunter 😂😂
Excellent scene and amazing with pyke.
Zerxus friend's hubris and magic did blind them to their redeeming ends, but Cerrit didn't use magic and was a detective so why is Zerxus angry at him? Was he jealous because of Cerrit's family?
It was mentioned in the after-show discussion that, despite it literally being his job to hunt down and punish bad mages, Cerrit never called out his friends for their lies and secrets or brought them to task. He absolutely was a great detective and a good man, but even he failed Avalir, in the end.
@@michaelbryant3640 Would love it if the descendants of the Agrupnin Family would join the Green Seekers (Campaign 3)
Peak Storytelling
Scanlan was robbed of this. He was the one that was playing cards and got what the party needed.
Pike managed to trick the Devil himself. Respect.🫡
He is not a god, he is a servant of Asmodeus
I said this because he is not THE devil, only A devil
It's a misleading title, the person you could best describe as the devil is the god Asmodeus, who tricked this man, Zerxus, into serving him for eternity
Poker in Hell actually looks like fun.
Until you lose lol
Bro the foreshadowing 🎉🎉🎉!!
I have no context for this scene but it's awesome
The devil in this scene is one of the players of EXU Calamity, the Critical Role miniseries following the events leading up to the ancient war between the gods in Critical Role's past. The figures we see in the stained glass window, the "Ring of Brass" are the other characters from that miniseries. Basically Zerxus here put his faith in one of the Betrayer Gods, Asmodeus, and tried to fix him and his relationship with the other gods. It backfired *horrifically* and the world was sent into a war between gods that lasted centuries and wiped out most life on the planet.
This whole thing is amazing! It's five minutes long and yet it's an incredibly well done and fleshed out scene. This whole series has insanely smart pacing and storytelling, every episode feels so much longer than it is because they cram in so much but it still WORKS!
I liked the scene, but one minor thing:
Why would pike even look at her hand? Then he'd have no way of knowing what card is her skull.
How quickly they kill the immersion
Put the first two seasons back! Some only discovered it until it was too late.
They are on there?
@@Direwolf181 They were but got removed after a few days. not even a full week. it was for the season 3 release.
@@masonlowder3353 I literally just checked S1 and 2 are still there on Prime you have to just select them
They're definitely still there. I just checked
@@seansilence2697 Are you talking about youtube or prime? I don't think you understood what I was saying.
I guess this was more thematic and plot driven than a random fire giant, but my soul screams "It did not happen like this!" Then again, this is the _Legend_ of Vox Machina.
Amazon give us EXU! Give us downfall, give us Calamity!
Pike break the connection with this godess after this episode?
No.
GOOSEBUMPS
Are you telling me that pike does a card game against satan himself? And what’s up with pike’s eye bags?
Being in hell makes her weaker she can't access the powers of a paladin there as everyone cannot be healed or saved
Zerxus was a mortal, that sold his soul to Asmodeus, Lord of Hell, and became his champion during the Calamity. As for Pike, she went into hell, against her goddess' command, and is suffering because of it.
Very impressive show I really like the whole lot I can't wait to watch some more🌟🌟🌟🥇🥇🥇🎗🎗🎗⭐️⭐️⭐️🏅🏅🏅
What game did they play? I mean I watched the episode but I wanna know again
Like find the joker by asking 1 question
EXU calamity you will always be famous
Great scene.
Alright Pike 🎉
I wonder if you're allowed to *not* look at your cards.
I love the pain in Zerxus' voice when talking about his family. Great acting.
Tbh, Pike broke the game with that question, how is anyone supposed to answer that?
Is anyone within 10 feet if him?
Man I got strong Satan in Saddam Hussein vibes from his backstory if nobody knows what I mean go watch South Park and you understand it's on three different streaming services