This video really frames the reasons Scanlan leaves very clearly. I always thought it was sudden that he decided to leave, but it makes a lot more sense in this format. Well done!
Thanks! That's probably the hardest thing when editing these, making them purely funny vs making them actually make some sort of narrative sense, so I'll take this as a success!
Sam just wanted to swap characters and wanted to troll the party. There weren't any good reasons why the character would have suddenly left, especially considering all that had happened beforehand. Sam was acting and making Scanlan seem hurt and it was painfully obvious that he just wanted to stop playing Scanlan but he needed a reason to, so he just made the character get upset over nothing. Scanlan was a dick joke for the entire campaign and then one brief moment became a serious character? I always called bullshit at that and always will. It was just a troll on the other players, and yes when he came back as Tarryon Darrington that confirmed it. I thought he would swap back, but I guess he was just done with Scanlan.
@@chadmcmillan1907 it’s quite obvious that you haven’t even watched the entire campaign based on your statement. Actually watch the thing and then remove your head from your ass.
I cannot overstate how much I wish there was a part 4 to those videos, to cover the end of the campaign ❤ These compilations have been a real source of joy lately
4:12:00 is when you see Sam kick it into another gear, we know he can be funny comic relieve and serious but this shows something else he can do and it’s beautiful.
4:28:53 I mean we all know that Sam is an amazing actor but this poker face (and Travis knowing him well enough to suspect anything in the first place) is golden. Sam’s understanding of narration, tone, beats, improvisation and a firm grasp on how the game works and is played (even if he pretends he doesn’t) is so damn impressive. I mean we definitely see it in C2 but he appreciates and enjoys the heart of the game: chance. And going beyond that, genuinely sticking true to character and having Scanlan leave, during one of the most crucial arcs... not to make things about him or anything, but because everything was building and culminating to this moment... brilliant. I think right under the heartbreak of “what’s my mother’s name?” is “you’ve never done anything for me.” He was right. Not a slight on the rest of VM, but everyone else had a quest or personal goal that they all rallied for. The one big thing for Scanlan- Kaylie- they never asked about her, or took special care to give her a safe space in Whitestone or anything. Also I was thinking a lot about Vax’s note. And why Scanlan ripped it up. Vax was probably referring to the “it’s all shit” conversation. And the whole admission of “well that’s the thing. I’m a really good liar.” Just proves that Scanlan wasn’t always happy, and no one saw it. Ugghhhhh Sam is just so talented. Also props to Marisha/Keyleth for trying to argue and then halfway through her sentence realize that they were sort of neglecting him. It was a really good and underrated moment. Keyleth had a ton of insight. In that moment she was probably super heartbroken when she saw how much he was hurting. Thanks for these compilations! They’ve been keeping me company!
Scan lab is a goddamn legend and all these powerful adventurers were too caught up in the adventure to realize this shining light of their bunch is also so under appreciated, and that just proves how much more of a bad ass scanlan was: he was able to fight dragons and godlike beings while also joking and putting on a fake smile, one they all fell for too!
I remember when I first saw Scan's breakup ep...I was like, "He ain't wrong." The tension was crazy, the vibe from the others became very cautious - what is going on?! This was a pivotal ep and showed everyone's range as actors let alone die hard DnD geeks. So good.
He wasn't wrong, but neither were the others. Scanlan was lying to himself a good deal throughout his rant. They didn't go to the Feywild exclusively to fix Vex's "fucking daddy issues." They went to find the Vestige of Divergence necessary to defeat the Chroma Conclave. The gang also DOES care about him, even if they didn't think to learn anything personal about him. Otherwise they wouldn't have gone nuts trying to bring him back, as Percy pointed out.
@@ArthurRex131 The worst part of the rant was when he said you don't know how old I am, legitimately everytime they ask he says "I'm not at liberty to say"
@@ArthurRex131 On the one hand, I feel like they should have been more concerned with Scanlan's recent behaviour (the drugs, the change in his life due to having a daughter, etc) and... probably dressing his body up and covering him in pudding was in poor taste, all things considered. But on the other hand, any attempt to learn more about Scanlan was met with dismissal from the gnome. It takes two to tango, but you've got to meet'em half way.
Amidst their world-changing quest, personal issues and dynamics, of course Scanlan's antics would be what the focused on the least, especially since Scanlan was incapable of really leaning on or being truly vulnerable with others until it was too late. He's responsible for how he handled his issues, or rather, how irresponsible he was at handling them, like going out of his way to get drugs that were extremely difficult to even get access to and that he didn't even know how to use. He would have rather done that, made a fool of himself, or just die and escape then deal with his insecurities.
He consistently portrays himself around them as a clown, one they sometimes can't stand, and they're all going through things of their own. It may not be right, but it's understandable they wouldn't think to hard about how he's feeling.
@@peteralexandergraae2830 A friend dies, you dress them up, resurrect them with his daughter seeing him as a joke, again, he just died... and he should have been alive to stop from making him look like a fool, in their defense
@@Chinwe94 everyone else was there for their own resurrections. And secondly... it was totally funny. And like scanlan said, "thank you for not nursing me back to health at all. I would have done the same to you"
WAY late to the party but I love Scanlan. Seriously, if they hadn’t managed to convince him to come back(and give him the cold shoulder somewhat after too, like have you guys learned NOTHING?!) they would’ve been screwed in the Vecna fight. Scanlan was easily the MVP.
@@Omega1867, He was just responsible for how he acted as they were. He stubbornly refused to ever open up, acted like nothing was wrong, go out of his way to be irresponsible with his issues. Of course they'd be annoyed with his antics and slow to simply let all that go, especially with the whole world hanging in the balance.
Sam knows how to go meta. For most of C1 he played Scanlan as a joke character, and somewhere along the way he realized "What if he wasn't a joke?" Or "How do I turn this joke character into a real character?" That's why it's such a big moment. It's like if that character in a sitcom who always gets hilariously hurt by the slapstick suddenly ended up in the hospital with a serious injury from said slapstick and they needed months to recover from it. You can see that in C2, where he knew he wanted to do something similar, but from the beginning this time.
Grog quietly asking what his mothers name was after all of that, KILLED me. Because you can tell that out of all of that, he's the one who actually took in that, at face value, they failed him and he was hurt. They didn't know the biggest answer of who scanlan is, and he needed to correct that. Grog, at the end, IS scanlans best friend out of them all. And damn, him being the first to ask hurts.
When i first saw bards lament, it wasnt all the sad shit, but grog knowing they all did something wrong and wanting to be better that made me sob like an infant
Grog, Scanlan, and Pike were the only characters who didn't have a severe case of 'main character syndrome.' Grog was actually very wise, he just wasn't very smart. He understood that they were in the wrong, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to fix it. He just wanted to help.
Sam is honestly the most naturally gifted d&d player I've seem. He picked it up SO fast, and genuinely makes great/entertaining choices. It seems to be great improv practice. Also the foreshadowing of Liam saying "how is he not a crime kingpin" is hilarious.
@@coastalalpaca852 To be fair we actually might. Most dnd campaigns aren't livestreamed so we have no idea how many amazing players are out there right now. That being said, Sam is the GOAT of dnd improv
Travis’ face at the “I’m a really good lier” quote will always drive home how much he took in from all of that. God I love this show, there has never been a piece of media that has ever amounted to as much as this show, any season, I will die on this hill
is not only sam, sam is great by itself but for some reason, sam+travis is gold 100% of the time. i dont really want C3 now since C2 is going great, but if we have an eventual C3 i would hope that sam and travis have charaters that already are friends from the start
In C1 Scanlan and Grog became great buddies and eventually lived in the same household In C2 Veth and Fjord scorn each other quite often, but they kinda get along Now we need the ultimate team-up in C3
The way he answers:( "I'm so much more than a dude", he sounds so hurt and vulnerable. There were many moments like that with all VM where they made him feel dispenseable and unwanted, and a lot of those times the twins were involved. Vax making him feel stupid after the battle with the dragons and Vex constantly pitying him. They definitely drove home to him that he was unimportant, that's why I laugh everytime I watch the first battle they had without him because he wasn't there to heal them and they were so close to dying, they really took him for granted every chance they got.
I dreamt of this day, the day I get to finally enjoy the brilliance of Sam in an almost 5 hour montage of moments. I needed this....and I cannot wait for more
Approaching a year since release of this video and I find myself here again shedding tears of laughter and sometimes sadness. It's the Halloween gift of 2020 that keeps on giving. I can't help but hope for another part soon this Halloween...but good things take time. Thank you.
Welp. I believe when I put out the last video we were at the beginning of lockdown and now, seven months later, here I still am lol 😑 Genuinely never been more grateful for TH-cam/Twitch/internet in general for keeping me somewhat sane and connected to the outside world because I haven’t been more than 200m from my house at all, (other than the odd hospital appointment) since the start as I’ve been shielding with my nan. Oh and my doggo died. So that kinda sucked. Having said all that, I also realise how fortunate I am compared to some people and living in a country that’s leaders at least aren’t jealous of Covid stealing their media coverage 😒 I’m also getting my new pupper soon so that’ll definitely be a huge mood boost! 😄 I hope anyone who’s been having a hard time will at least be able to enjoy this video and forget about things for a while - and hey, I made it extra long just for you... For real though, you’ll notice Sam isn’t even in some of these clips near the end but I feel they’re needed in order to keep some sort of narrative and structure as well as providing context for you know… THAT episode. Anyway, I’m super excited to work on the next part aka Taryon’s time to shine 😁 I hope you’re all staying as safe and as happy as you can, much love to y’all! ❤️❤️
@@TheWeazell glad to hear it, laughter right now is more important than ever! And yeah she was getting quite old just wasn't the best timing but that's owning dogs I guess 😅
One facet of Scanlan's lament/dynamic with the group before that I hadn't really thought about until recently is insecurity about strength. Like growing up as a gnome, he's probably always felt weak and smaller than the world. Then he's with a group where his strong suit in their eyes (from his POV) is being the funny, laid-back, magic man. So if he were to ever betray that role by talking about his insecurities and what not, would he just go back to being a weak gnome?
A Bard's Lament is painful in a good way. I remember watching it and thinking to myself that Scanlan was totally right. Most of the party were talking down to him and only talking about themselves. It sounded incredibly selfish in the face of a man who was calling them out on only caring if he could make jokes and cast spells for the party.
When he made up his entire personality around being unserious and constantly refused to open up to them when he was struggling until this outburst, it wasn't just their fault things turned out this way.
@@callmev3531 As much as you are right, that does not negate the fact that even in very serious situations they kept being disrespectful like Vax "rocking him like a child" or picking him up by the collar and screaming at him when he just woke up from a pretty obvious drug induced narcosis.
Lol how do you play a low wisdom character? "I'm 100% behind any decision you make," he says to the character with an intelligence of 6 less than three minutes into the video.
Yeah i did not remember this when i first heard the scanlan blow up but after seeing it this close together this is the exact moment he thought of all this i would think
@@Monkeyman5550 Oh it started before that for sure. At that point he's already giving a serious "I'm so much more than that" and immediately after he burns Vax's letter. The moment in that timestamp is more like a (significant) drop before Scanlan's glass tipped over. The last drop probably being the group deciding to call Scanlan's daughter (not sure how to spell her name) and show her dad's body, ridiculed.
@@winkles2314 I think the crew might have had difficulty noticing all this because Sam is always smiling and in an apparently good mood in general. Even during serious moments, which he might create or encourage himself (which is the case many times in this video), he will occasionally crack a joke. I imagine that might feel a bit confusing to "read" to the rest of the players. We can see what he was going for clearly here but during the game we might not... and yet at the same time he just straight up burned a letter. haha I feel like Sam was as clear as he could've been when it came to his RP without actually talking directly to someone
@@GeeGe. yeah when percy died it was was a big dramatic event and everyone was horrified until he woke up. Meanwhile with scanlan they make a joke of his body and ridicule him while hes still healing. After seeing all that i couldnt blame scanlan for feeling that way
I've gone back and watched all of these many times. Great job editing it together. Really hoping you can find time to make a 4th and finish up Campaign 1.
The way the VM (aside from Grog) react to Scanlan's meltdown still leaves me flabbergasted. The always goofy and smiling, jolly Scanlan is visibly very hurt and upset with the party, and they still manage to make it about themselves. It's almost as if they're offended that he'd get his feelings hurt by their shitty treatment in the first place. They listen to him open up, but they don't make the slightest effort to _hear_ him. They try to justify and defend themselves, instead of actually stopping to consider what their friend is feeling and saying. If you take anything from this painful scene with you, take it as a reminder to actively hear and try to understand your friends when they tell you you've hurt them. I know it hurts to be told you've done wrong, but I swear; This isn't about you. Raising your voice to curse at your friend and throwing in a couple of "I love you's" won't make them feel better.
Yeah, I was thinking the same. Especially when Percy lashes out and yells at Scanlan and Vax starts complaining about Scanlan never asking about his mom. And when Scanlan returns to the party, how Percy, Pike, Keyleth and Grog all were rather cold to Scanlan pissed me off. Grog is the only one of them I could consider being justified in being cold to Scanlan returning but the rest of them? I couldn't believe them. Although I am glad Vax and Vex at least welcomed him back.
Percy's response was awful, but it's definitely within character. He doesn't really know how a healthy relationship is supposed to go, and he has a lot of pride. He's returning the energy he's receiving. I think he finally starts to get it when he doesn't have Scanlan followed. I love Scanlan and think, if Percy had been the voice of reason instead of focusing on his pride, the whole situation might not have gotten to the pudding and then Scanlan leaving.
@noroboro2749 Pike and Grog I understood, Ashley not being there when he died and when he woke up allowed it to progress, i do think she would of revivify scanlan before percy. I think it was mentioned Sam wanted to wake up when she wasn't present so he could leave When he left Pike was hurt but understood he needed to go with how Matt portrayed her, but i think in character she would feel like she betrayed his trust because of what he wrote in the letter and she did show regret when she realised kaeli saw what they did to him in the bed. She also saw him in a different light with how he worried and started to change for his daughter and in her own way was falling more in love with him. Later on it showed that she missed him and worried for him, searched for him and thought of other means to find him with Taryon kidnapper. Before that when Taryon mentioned scanlan she said, that sounds like a gnome she would love very much. Even when her family came, she asked her cousin if she heard about him as the family travelled a lot. When he returned in disguise she felt relief but also pain by him hiding in an illusion abd that's when herself and Grog felt anger with him I feel Scanlan strongest bonds were with Pike and Grog
@@JayHayz dont suppose you gave up on that compilation? i found critical role through these vids so i had to start watching the later episodes of campaign 1 to continue after this vid lol
Its underrated how much laughter Sam brings to the table and to the audience. Every second clip he has everyone rolling. The show wouldn't be as nearly as funny as it is without him.
Honestly, that moment always felt right to me but seeing all the little moments that came beforehand where you can tell Scanlan felt misjudged or diminished by his friends and the world around him.. that only made the Bard's Lament that much better. I love what Sam did so much. And as irritated as the cast is in that same episode when Tary shows up, I know at least Laura has said later that she loved Sam's decisions to go there, too. (and of course Vex became Tary's bestie)
@@GeeGe. Yes, the twins drove him away the most IMO. Vex's "without your magic, you're just a guy" and Vax's treatment of Scanlan after the dragon fight was extremely condescending.
@@TurbosmoothOperator Everything thing they said and did to him was from a selfish position. It was always about them and never him. Even when Vax said he changed his life because of Scanlan, it put the blame on Scanlan for not being happy.
The first time I saw the clips of this, I thought Scanlon was selfish and misdirected, but this feels more justified. Between the nightgown, pudding, laughing at him and finally blaming him seemed to make more sense at his response.
Looking at the latter half it is pretty fucking obvious why Sam had Scanlan leave the party. On my first watch of C1 I felt that the rest of the party aside from Grog and Pike just handle him like a child and talk down to him all the time. This just confirms it.
The contrast between Percy's depression smokething and Scanlan's depression and drugabuse and how the party handles it is also interesting. And that "without your magic you are just a dude" comment, dude. Laura had for last half a year seen Scanlan having an identity crisis, and still going for the lowest of blows.
@@MrEzuli even the way they handled their deaths. With percy is was all serious and caring. While with scanlan they just messed with his body before he woke up. It was so stupid
It’s actually disappointing how poorly the party handled Scanlan’s issues. He repeatedly said he’d been having a hard time, and to anyone listening, he had a lot of conflicting feelings about his daughter, what he owed her, and how private the relationship was. The entire party made a massive assumption that he would want his daughter, who he already has a rough relationship, to see him dead. Him leaving was THE choice to make, and it was the only way to save his relationship with the entire party. They were all so wrapped up in their own issues (and using Scanlan to save the world!) that they didn’t see him as the friend that I actually do think they believed they thought of him as. They all really felt like they did well by him, but…they just didn’t take him seriously. Sam is truly a genius, and I think actually a lot of people even viewers don’t see him as more than a funny little man (who had that big dramatic exit). Scanlan is so complex and probably grew the most out of all of Vox Machina, and I wish more people saw him as more than that funny womanizer bard.
When Scanlan molded his entire personality on being unserious, vulgar and a joke, and tended to get on everyone's nerves (as well as making a habit harassing some of them, like Pike, who just humors him until the two are close enough to treat their relationship seriously), it's no wonder they treated him the way they did. He constantly had opportunities to be more sincere, to not hide behind jokes and hijinks to hide insecurities, to make himself seem fine even when he was struggling. It was failure on everyone's part that Scanlan had his falling out with the group, Scanlan's immaturity being just as detrimental to their relationship as the group's ignorance.
Sam's outburst really did prove how selfish half the group was. When the dumbest person in the group (Grog) is the only one who responds appropriately to his anguish, you know they need to work on themselves. He really did expose their personality issues while also giving Scanlan a great arc (with a lot of build up that the other characters didn't seem to notice until it was too late). It's great to see it all compiled together so his drug hunting and depression are made more obvious.
Sam as Scanlan was the MVP of C1. Group treated him as a clown, exept maybe Grog. But he did some insane shit on DnD improv and mechanics. And the ressurection proves how they think of him, with Vex saying he died in piss when his daugther asked how he died, whole nightgown business and pudding everywhere. 4:25:54 "Fuck him for not saying anything sooner" Well this proves Scanlan point. Travis is playing the dumb barbarian Grog, and Grog have the most dignity out of the whole group. And i know that i am biased towards Sam and Travis roleplay and acting more than everyone else in the group. From C1 to C3. 3:53:27 Sums up. What i'd liked to see is Scanlan go full chaotic evil due to all of this, become a crime lord, steal and extort money from VM and HB in the future, having them witness his statement, just imagine that.
What I love most about this video coming out today? That I have put my watch of campaign 2 on hold (I was only at like episode 22 so whatever) to start with Vox Machina because of your other two videos of this series like two days ago. So, just to let you now that these videos are great!
I listen to too many dnd podcasts. Dungeons and Daddies, Dimension 20, Join the Party, a few more nascant ones that either ended or lost my attention along the way. But I always return to critical role when I can. I don't want to paint this as a 'and it's all because of Sam', because while I do love him and his work, it's why I'm here after all, I feel he exemplifies what I love about CR. Sam just knows how to balance tone. Everyone else knows how to do it very well too, probably being professional actors and all. But Sam can just read a room. It's not all laughs and guffaws (ie, 'what's my mother's name'), he doesn't get in a joke every moment he can. He listens, he waits, and you can tell he does it because he just wants everyone at the table to laugh and smile. But he doesn't hog the spotlight. He'll make himself the heel for the sake of a joke. Other shows do a great job of collective story telling, letting themselves take falls for the sake of a story, and it's why I love them. But I don't think most shows have a cast with as strong of an understanding of narrative as this cast, and of them all, Sam just has something special.
JayHayz!! I've watched the Best of Sam videos so many times now! We're getting to the anniversary of this last part and I want to thank you but also beg you, please make more!
2:26:04 I just realized that Travis is wearing a shirt in star wars font that says "Burr Shot First". And if you've seen The Mandalorian, it makes it really weird.
These videos have become my go-to when I need to destress or really just need a laugh. Thank you so much for all the time you took to put them together! :)
Unpopular opinion: that last exchange with Scanlan is why I really don't like Vax and Vex. They never apologize for their shitty actions or behavior towards Scanlan and just yell at him more for airing his very legitimate grievances.
I think Vex did a good job trying to understand and she understood more about Scanlan's feeling of hopelessness about his role as a on-stand-by laughter-making object being forced upon him and then ignored. Vax on the other hand, physically invasive and abusing, self-centered, ignorant, talking AT Scanlan about "Oh you think YOU have it hard, I've been depressed for months!" and stuff. Of course he can't understand Scanlan, he never cared about anyone but himself (relatineships with Vex/Keylet also based on how HE felt and HIS needs). Shortsighted, hurtful and demeaning behaviour.
After he leaves Vex says “fuck him for not telling us… and fuck us for not asking”. She completely understood what the problem was after he left AND the twins are the only two that welcome him back with completely open arms because they understood who was wrong in the confrontation
Meant to comment a few watch throughs ago but thanks so much for this and the other compilations. Sam is so damn funny and Travis/everyone elses reactions to it all just make it that much better. Much love ❤
Thank you! They do take a lot of fucking work to make haha but seeing how much people love them is definitely worth it! I hope they've helped provide some much needed laughter over the past year
I was fixated on the fact that Liam and Laura went to some solid lengths to look similar in episode 70. Also Sam is a new personal alignment: Chaotic Chaotic.
I love your videos, keep it up. I look forward to the Critical Role videos, I can tell how much time and effort in it, just know it doesn’t go unnoticed.
3:30:48, It took a bit of digging but this song is "The Hustle" by Van McCoy. 2:58:02, Sam didn't even need to be playing to be a bard. 3:36:14, Not to mention he was able to still portray Scanlan and Pike's interactions well without Ashley even being there to act off of. 22:43, 1:17:54, 1:53:12, 2:40:39, I wish he did more of these generic inspirational quotes, dad jokes, Shakespeare insults and vulgar limericks as part of his inspiration and negation effects. 26:00, Also, did not know Talesin said this before Laura, 28:20, and Sam was the one to really build it into a reoccurring gag. 2:07:32, People are judging the group for not taking Scanlan's issues seriously, but a lot of what happened to him also was down to his choices, his choice to be a womanizing hedonist and trickster, his choice to be reckless, his choice to pursue a drug addiction, 3:06:39, even as it was difficult to access, his choice to hide his insecurities beyond his wild persona. And the group were all dealing with their own problems and leaning on each other for help. 2:11:01, And it's not like none of them ever expressed concern or made an effort to see if he was doing alright, he just didn't open up, 2:54:17, or try to be encouraging and kind to him, 3:47:41, 4:13:31, 4:16:23, to even try and meet him half way while still calling him out on his issues, only for him to continue to lie and close off and for the others to be frustrated by his antics, 3:50:47, antics including messing with his allies memories. 4:17:34, 4:20:20, 4:21:47, 4:22:48, In the end, they couldn't help him if he refused to let them in, they couldn't know him if he never allowed himself to be vulnerable until he felt he'd lost everything. 4:21:15, And that is where his real insecurity came from, feeling vulnerable scared him and pushed him away from doing things that mattered, something he thought Kaylie was his answer to, his redemption, all while fleeing from his friends and the responsibility he took on to protect Tal'Dorei with them. 4:39:58, Either way, the idea of him just using the Critical Role Wiki to know everyone's parent's names is hilarious, 4:41:48, as well as the fact that people within the cast and out of it actually analyzed the situation in detail.
When Scanlan leaves it's very sad but feels totally justified. Only thing is it made me really hate Percival and Vax. Both shouting at him and in particular trying to make it all about themselves. Only person who seems to care and actually acted like a proper friend was Grog. To be fair I think Keyleth also tried to understand but obviously wasn't as close to Scanlan.
This video really frames the reasons Scanlan leaves very clearly. I always thought it was sudden that he decided to leave, but it makes a lot more sense in this format. Well done!
Thanks! That's probably the hardest thing when editing these, making them purely funny vs making them actually make some sort of narrative sense, so I'll take this as a success!
Sam just wanted to swap characters and wanted to troll the party. There weren't any good reasons why the character would have suddenly left, especially considering all that had happened beforehand. Sam was acting and making Scanlan seem hurt and it was painfully obvious that he just wanted to stop playing Scanlan but he needed a reason to, so he just made the character get upset over nothing. Scanlan was a dick joke for the entire campaign and then one brief moment became a serious character? I always called bullshit at that and always will. It was just a troll on the other players, and yes when he came back as Tarryon Darrington that confirmed it. I thought he would swap back, but I guess he was just done with Scanlan.
@@chadmcmillan1907 Completely inaccurate.
@@chadmcmillan1907 it’s quite obvious that you haven’t even watched the entire campaign based on your statement. Actually watch the thing and then remove your head from your ass.
@@chadmcmillan1907 it’s a slow decent dude, this video is literally proof
I cannot overstate how much I wish there was a part 4 to those videos, to cover the end of the campaign ❤ These compilations have been a real source of joy lately
4:12:00 is when you see Sam kick it into another gear, we know he can be funny comic relieve and serious but this shows something else he can do and it’s beautiful.
4:28:53 I mean we all know that Sam is an amazing actor but this poker face (and Travis knowing him well enough to suspect anything in the first place) is golden.
Sam’s understanding of narration, tone, beats, improvisation and a firm grasp on how the game works and is played (even if he pretends he doesn’t) is so damn impressive. I mean we definitely see it in C2 but he appreciates and enjoys the heart of the game: chance.
And going beyond that, genuinely sticking true to character and having Scanlan leave, during one of the most crucial arcs... not to make things about him or anything, but because everything was building and culminating to this moment... brilliant.
I think right under the heartbreak of “what’s my mother’s name?” is “you’ve never done anything for me.” He was right. Not a slight on the rest of VM, but everyone else had a quest or personal goal that they all rallied for. The one big thing for Scanlan- Kaylie- they never asked about her, or took special care to give her a safe space in Whitestone or anything.
Also I was thinking a lot about Vax’s note. And why Scanlan ripped it up. Vax was probably referring to the “it’s all shit” conversation. And the whole admission of “well that’s the thing. I’m a really good liar.” Just proves that Scanlan wasn’t always happy, and no one saw it.
Ugghhhhh Sam is just so talented.
Also props to Marisha/Keyleth for trying to argue and then halfway through her sentence realize that they were sort of neglecting him. It was a really good and underrated moment. Keyleth had a ton of insight. In that moment she was probably super heartbroken when she saw how much he was hurting.
Thanks for these compilations! They’ve been keeping me company!
Thank you! I love reading long comments like this, it's so interesting to see what different people take from the episodes!
Scan lab is a goddamn legend and all these powerful adventurers were too caught up in the adventure to realize this shining light of their bunch is also so under appreciated, and that just proves how much more of a bad ass scanlan was: he was able to fight dragons and godlike beings while also joking and putting on a fake smile, one they all fell for too!
@@paulchavez3039 Vex’s bitch comment at @3:53:30 didn’t help.
I remember when I first saw Scan's breakup ep...I was like, "He ain't wrong." The tension was crazy, the vibe from the others became very cautious - what is going on?! This was a pivotal ep and showed everyone's range as actors let alone die hard DnD geeks. So good.
He wasn't wrong, but neither were the others. Scanlan was lying to himself a good deal throughout his rant. They didn't go to the Feywild exclusively to fix Vex's "fucking daddy issues." They went to find the Vestige of Divergence necessary to defeat the Chroma Conclave. The gang also DOES care about him, even if they didn't think to learn anything personal about him. Otherwise they wouldn't have gone nuts trying to bring him back, as Percy pointed out.
@@ArthurRex131 FZ Z Z#'I'M. SD N VXX C. Z
@@ArthurRex131 The worst part of the rant was when he said you don't know how old I am, legitimately everytime they ask he says "I'm not at liberty to say"
@@ArthurRex131 On the one hand, I feel like they should have been more concerned with Scanlan's recent behaviour (the drugs, the change in his life due to having a daughter, etc) and... probably dressing his body up and covering him in pudding was in poor taste, all things considered. But on the other hand, any attempt to learn more about Scanlan was met with dismissal from the gnome. It takes two to tango, but you've got to meet'em half way.
Amidst their world-changing quest, personal issues and dynamics, of course Scanlan's antics would be what the focused on the least, especially since Scanlan was incapable of really leaning on or being truly vulnerable with others until it was too late. He's responsible for how he handled his issues, or rather, how irresponsible he was at handling them, like going out of his way to get drugs that were extremely difficult to even get access to and that he didn't even know how to use.
He would have rather done that, made a fool of himself, or just die and escape then deal with his insecurities.
Oh my god. The way Scanlon snaps after being brought back was AMAZING acting. Sam Riegel is the best
I love travis' smile at 4:22:43. you can /see/ him appreciate sam's improvisation skills
Me too! One of my favourite moments. Travis loves a good line.
at 1:50:45 you can see the magic happening, this move was so smooth. Everyone else at the table saying to run but he pulls this off.
Its a trip, look how scanlan treated everyones death, even tiberious... then look how they treated him
And they had the audacity to try and play the moral high ground against him.
He consistently portrays himself around them as a clown, one they sometimes can't stand, and they're all going through things of their own.
It may not be right, but it's understandable they wouldn't think to hard about how he's feeling.
In their defense, he wasn't there to stop them
@@peteralexandergraae2830 A friend dies, you dress them up, resurrect them with his daughter seeing him as a joke, again, he just died... and he should have been alive to stop from making him look like a fool, in their defense
@@Chinwe94 everyone else was there for their own resurrections.
And secondly... it was totally funny.
And like scanlan said, "thank you for not nursing me back to health at all. I would have done the same to you"
Scanlan's breakdown is an amazing thing considering he is eventually THE thing that makes the party save the world.
WAY late to the party but I love Scanlan. Seriously, if they hadn’t managed to convince him to come back(and give him the cold shoulder somewhat after too, like have you guys learned NOTHING?!) they would’ve been screwed in the Vecna fight.
Scanlan was easily the MVP.
@@Omega1867, He was just responsible for how he acted as they were. He stubbornly refused to ever open up, acted like nothing was wrong, go out of his way to be irresponsible with his issues. Of course they'd be annoyed with his antics and slow to simply let all that go, especially with the whole world hanging in the balance.
46:03 “Why aren’t you a crime kingpin?” *Sam’s inner monologue* “That’s a good idea...”
Sam knows how to go meta. For most of C1 he played Scanlan as a joke character, and somewhere along the way he realized "What if he wasn't a joke?" Or "How do I turn this joke character into a real character?" That's why it's such a big moment. It's like if that character in a sitcom who always gets hilariously hurt by the slapstick suddenly ended up in the hospital with a serious injury from said slapstick and they needed months to recover from it.
You can see that in C2, where he knew he wanted to do something similar, but from the beginning this time.
Grog quietly asking what his mothers name was after all of that, KILLED me. Because you can tell that out of all of that, he's the one who actually took in that, at face value, they failed him and he was hurt. They didn't know the biggest answer of who scanlan is, and he needed to correct that. Grog, at the end, IS scanlans best friend out of them all. And damn, him being the first to ask hurts.
I mean look at the cast… Keyleth the brainless, Vex the Self-Centered, Percy the Prick-- who else would have even noticed?
When i first saw bards lament, it wasnt all the sad shit, but grog knowing they all did something wrong and wanting to be better that made me sob like an infant
Grog, Scanlan, and Pike were the only characters who didn't have a severe case of 'main character syndrome.' Grog was actually very wise, he just wasn't very smart. He understood that they were in the wrong, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to fix it. He just wanted to help.
Sam is honestly the most naturally gifted d&d player I've seem. He picked it up SO fast, and genuinely makes great/entertaining choices. It seems to be great improv practice.
Also the foreshadowing of Liam saying "how is he not a crime kingpin" is hilarious.
Probably cuz he has improv training
@@addamsixx7915 if that was all it took we’d have countless masterpieces by now
You do know they were playing for over a year before they went on geek and sundry.....
@@coastalalpaca852 To be fair we actually might. Most dnd campaigns aren't livestreamed so we have no idea how many amazing players are out there right now. That being said, Sam is the GOAT of dnd improv
i'm gonna say your first compilation about Sam is something that I find myself going back and re-watch it every couple of months, so good, thank you
Thank you! Not gonna lie I do as well, I'm my own biggest fan lol 😂
Do u spice?
Grogs face when Scanlan says he didn't hear his song *tears*
Oh man, please make an episode 4. Absolutely loved watching these compilations of Sam's best moments.
Travis’ face at the “I’m a really good lier” quote will always drive home how much he took in from all of that.
God I love this show, there has never been a piece of media that has ever amounted to as much as this show, any season, I will die on this hill
Apparently you've never watched "The View." That Joy Beyhar is a real king slayer! (Ba-dum-cch!) 🥁 💥
@@Doctor-Stoppage nope never seen it but gotta love a good budum tish xx
is not only sam, sam is great by itself but for some reason, sam+travis is gold 100% of the time. i dont really want C3 now since C2 is going great, but if we have an eventual C3 i would hope that sam and travis have charaters that already are friends from the start
I absolutely agree, that would be the best! They're one of my favorite dynamics on the show, they just play off each other so well!
I love the way they play off each other in Campaign 2 as well - I love how Fjord canonically is kidding and Nott/Veth canonically thinks he's serious
@@lizablee also chaos couch best couch 😂
@@lizablee I agree with you. I think their improv skills are so good that they can have fun with any relationship dynamic.
In C1 Scanlan and Grog became great buddies and eventually lived in the same household
In C2 Veth and Fjord scorn each other quite often, but they kinda get along
Now we need the ultimate team-up in C3
Crazy how my two fave characters from the first adventure are both sams
Scanlan, Tary and Grog are MY BOIS
@@JayHayz those are the right answers
3:53:31 i know it was a joke, but i think this shit sealed the whole "bard's lament" moment
The way he answers:( "I'm so much more than a dude", he sounds so hurt and vulnerable. There were many moments like that with all VM where they made him feel dispenseable and unwanted, and a lot of those times the twins were involved. Vax making him feel stupid after the battle with the dragons and Vex constantly pitying him. They definitely drove home to him that he was unimportant, that's why I laugh everytime I watch the first battle they had without him because he wasn't there to heal them and they were so close to dying, they really took him for granted every chance they got.
I dreamt of this day, the day I get to finally enjoy the brilliance of Sam in an almost 5 hour montage of moments. I needed this....and I cannot wait for more
Approaching a year since release of this video and I find myself here again shedding tears of laughter and sometimes sadness. It's the Halloween gift of 2020 that keeps on giving. I can't help but hope for another part soon this Halloween...but good things take time. Thank you.
Welp. I believe when I put out the last video we were at the beginning of lockdown and now, seven months later, here I still am lol 😑 Genuinely never been more grateful for TH-cam/Twitch/internet in general for keeping me somewhat sane and connected to the outside world because I haven’t been more than 200m from my house at all, (other than the odd hospital appointment) since the start as I’ve been shielding with my nan. Oh and my doggo died. So that kinda sucked.
Having said all that, I also realise how fortunate I am compared to some people and living in a country that’s leaders at least aren’t jealous of Covid stealing their media coverage 😒 I’m also getting my new pupper soon so that’ll definitely be a huge mood boost! 😄 I hope anyone who’s been having a hard time will at least be able to enjoy this video and forget about things for a while - and hey, I made it extra long just for you... For real though, you’ll notice Sam isn’t even in some of these clips near the end but I feel they’re needed in order to keep some sort of narrative and structure as well as providing context for you know… THAT episode.
Anyway, I’m super excited to work on the next part aka Taryon’s time to shine 😁 I hope you’re all staying as safe and as happy as you can, much love to y’all! ❤️❤️
Thanks dude, these keep me sane during these troubling times, keep it up and sry to hear about your doge.
@@TheWeazell glad to hear it, laughter right now is more important than ever! And yeah she was getting quite old just wasn't the best timing but that's owning dogs I guess 😅
This video is the only thing keeping me going. It's November 3.
These are the best compilations, glad to hear you are ok and thank you for all you do. It’s brings a little sunshine into my day 😊
@@bskye8 Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear it!
Ah yes the Scanlan content I need.
Oh hey! Thank you too for the awesome compilations!
One facet of Scanlan's lament/dynamic with the group before that I hadn't really thought about until recently is insecurity about strength. Like growing up as a gnome, he's probably always felt weak and smaller than the world. Then he's with a group where his strong suit in their eyes (from his POV) is being the funny, laid-back, magic man. So if he were to ever betray that role by talking about his insecurities and what not, would he just go back to being a weak gnome?
1:42:53 I love that Kima calls Scanlan "little gnome", when canonically in DnD gnomes are taller than halflings
On average sure but I would assume that Kima is tall and big for a halfling while Scanlan is probably a bit short and small for a Gnome
When Kima calls you little. Boy, you little!
Hes two and half feet tall. Hes little
Kima is definitely big for a halfling, otherwise she wouldn't be able to use the Holy Avenger sword that is bigger than Scanlan.
Can't believe after finishing watching the latest episode of critical role i saw this, dang i really love your work
Thank you so much!
Thank you for The Best of Sam
A Bard's Lament is painful in a good way. I remember watching it and thinking to myself that Scanlan was totally right. Most of the party were talking down to him and only talking about themselves. It sounded incredibly selfish in the face of a man who was calling them out on only caring if he could make jokes and cast spells for the party.
When he made up his entire personality around being unserious and constantly refused to open up to them when he was struggling until this outburst, it wasn't just their fault things turned out this way.
@@callmev3531 As much as you are right, that does not negate the fact that even in very serious situations they kept being disrespectful like Vax "rocking him like a child" or picking him up by the collar and screaming at him when he just woke up from a pretty obvious drug induced narcosis.
Omg, am i still dreaming or i can finally stop watching previous 2 parts on repeat for some time?)
Thank you, kind sir!
Yes, now you have 3 to watch on repeat 😂
@@JayHayz precisely!)
Was really hoping to hear, “life needs things to live” glad I wasn’t disappointed
3:00:54 The crew singing "I don't wanna die" in the style of Sugar Ray will always live in my head rent free
“Tell me what to do Travis! Tell me what to do!” A few minutes in and I’m already on the floor.
Lol how do you play a low wisdom character? "I'm 100% behind any decision you make," he says to the character with an intelligence of 6 less than three minutes into the video.
3:53:27
If i was Scanlan... this is the single pivotal moment of "They dont give a fuck about me..."
Yeah i did not remember this when i first heard the scanlan blow up but after seeing it this close together this is the exact moment he thought of all this i would think
@@Monkeyman5550 Oh it started before that for sure. At that point he's already giving a serious "I'm so much more than that" and immediately after he burns Vax's letter. The moment in that timestamp is more like a (significant) drop before Scanlan's glass tipped over. The last drop probably being the group deciding to call Scanlan's daughter (not sure how to spell her name) and show her dad's body, ridiculed.
@@GeeGe.
It’s funny how they treat the burning of the letter as a joke, and not a problem.
@@winkles2314 I think the crew might have had difficulty noticing all this because Sam is always smiling and in an apparently good mood in general. Even during serious moments, which he might create or encourage himself (which is the case many times in this video), he will occasionally crack a joke. I imagine that might feel a bit confusing to "read" to the rest of the players. We can see what he was going for clearly here but during the game we might not... and yet at the same time he just straight up burned a letter. haha I feel like Sam was as clear as he could've been when it came to his RP without actually talking directly to someone
@@GeeGe. yeah when percy died it was was a big dramatic event and everyone was horrified until he woke up. Meanwhile with scanlan they make a joke of his body and ridicule him while hes still healing. After seeing all that i couldnt blame scanlan for feeling that way
Scanlan: we might need her to restart civilization
Talisen: *teapot noises*
I've gone back and watched all of these many times. Great job editing it together. Really hoping you can find time to make a 4th and finish up Campaign 1.
The way the VM (aside from Grog) react to Scanlan's meltdown still leaves me flabbergasted. The always goofy and smiling, jolly Scanlan is visibly very hurt and upset with the party, and they still manage to make it about themselves. It's almost as if they're offended that he'd get his feelings hurt by their shitty treatment in the first place. They listen to him open up, but they don't make the slightest effort to _hear_ him. They try to justify and defend themselves, instead of actually stopping to consider what their friend is feeling and saying. If you take anything from this painful scene with you, take it as a reminder to actively hear and try to understand your friends when they tell you you've hurt them. I know it hurts to be told you've done wrong, but I swear; This isn't about you. Raising your voice to curse at your friend and throwing in a couple of "I love you's" won't make them feel better.
Yeah, I was thinking the same. Especially when Percy lashes out and yells at Scanlan and Vax starts complaining about Scanlan never asking about his mom. And when Scanlan returns to the party, how Percy, Pike, Keyleth and Grog all were rather cold to Scanlan pissed me off. Grog is the only one of them I could consider being justified in being cold to Scanlan returning but the rest of them? I couldn't believe them. Although I am glad Vax and Vex at least welcomed him back.
@@noroboro2749100% agree, how they acted with his return was not justified in the slightest lol
Percy's response was awful, but it's definitely within character. He doesn't really know how a healthy relationship is supposed to go, and he has a lot of pride. He's returning the energy he's receiving. I think he finally starts to get it when he doesn't have Scanlan followed. I love Scanlan and think, if Percy had been the voice of reason instead of focusing on his pride, the whole situation might not have gotten to the pudding and then Scanlan leaving.
@noroboro2749 Pike and Grog I understood, Ashley not being there when he died and when he woke up allowed it to progress, i do think she would of revivify scanlan before percy. I think it was mentioned Sam wanted to wake up when she wasn't present so he could leave
When he left Pike was hurt but understood he needed to go with how Matt portrayed her, but i think in character she would feel like she betrayed his trust because of what he wrote in the letter and she did show regret when she realised kaeli saw what they did to him in the bed. She also saw him in a different light with how he worried and started to change for his daughter and in her own way was falling more in love with him.
Later on it showed that she missed him and worried for him, searched for him and thought of other means to find him with Taryon kidnapper. Before that when Taryon mentioned scanlan she said, that sounds like a gnome she would love very much. Even when her family came, she asked her cousin if she heard about him as the family travelled a lot. When he returned in disguise she felt relief but also pain by him hiding in an illusion abd that's when herself and Grog felt anger with him
I feel Scanlan strongest bonds were with Pike and Grog
Scanlan, Grog, and Pike were the only characters who didn't have a severe case of 'main character syndrome' when it came to VM.
As fun as Scanlan is, at the end of the episode I couldn't help but cheer "Tary time, Tary time!"
I'm looking forward to it too! Tary is a very good boi
@@JayHayz dont suppose you gave up on that compilation? i found critical role through these vids so i had to start watching the later episodes of campaign 1 to continue after this vid lol
YES! Thank you so much! These are always such a blast to watch!🤩👍🏻
Much appreciated! They're super fun to make!
These videos are giving me LIFE! Thank you so much for this huge project you took on! Wonderful compilation!
Glad you like them! It's a project I thoroughly enjoy!
"Let's just say that when I started using these, I was your height."
literally rewatched your second part of sam riegal near 50 times... i work nights and sam riegals comic relief is fun to listen to
Glad these could keep you entertained!
Its underrated how much laughter Sam brings to the table and to the audience. Every second clip he has everyone rolling. The show wouldn't be as nearly as funny as it is without him.
I've been dreading this one for months. I'm not emotionally ready for the full context of "whats my mothers name". I'm not strong enough.
Good luck, buddy. Do it for Tary.
Honestly, that moment always felt right to me but seeing all the little moments that came beforehand where you can tell Scanlan felt misjudged or diminished by his friends and the world around him.. that only made the Bard's Lament that much better. I love what Sam did so much. And as irritated as the cast is in that same episode when Tary shows up, I know at least Laura has said later that she loved Sam's decisions to go there, too. (and of course Vex became Tary's bestie)
@@GeeGe. Yes, the twins drove him away the most IMO. Vex's "without your magic, you're just a guy" and Vax's treatment of Scanlan after the dragon fight was extremely condescending.
@@TurbosmoothOperator Everything thing they said and did to him was from a selfish position. It was always about them and never him. Even when Vax said he changed his life because of Scanlan, it put the blame on Scanlan for not being happy.
Scanlan's just a bit forgetful, and sometimes he needs a friend to remind him about certain details in his life. It's fiiiiine.
I enjoyed Sam's choice to have Tary treat the group (at first) as Scanlan perceived to be treated.
The first time I saw the clips of this, I thought Scanlon was selfish and misdirected, but this feels more justified. Between the nightgown, pudding, laughing at him and finally blaming him seemed to make more sense at his response.
that and the whole dying twice in a 24hr period didn't help
Looking at the latter half it is pretty fucking obvious why Sam had Scanlan leave the party. On my first watch of C1 I felt that the rest of the party aside from Grog and Pike just handle him like a child and talk down to him all the time. This just confirms it.
The contrast between Percy's depression smokething and Scanlan's depression and drugabuse and how the party handles it is also interesting. And that "without your magic you are just a dude" comment, dude. Laura had for last half a year seen Scanlan having an identity crisis, and still going for the lowest of blows.
@@MrEzuli even the way they handled their deaths. With percy is was all serious and caring. While with scanlan they just messed with his body before he woke up. It was so stupid
@@jasonandrews1770 when they did that, they were drunk. Watch that part again and you’ll see that.
@@austinmeyer_238 so?
@@austinmeyer_238 I fear what the implications of your comment may bring... Do you defile people's bodies when you are drunk?
I have watched these so many times! Thank you so much for sharing them with us, and putting so much effort into them. Fantastic!
OH MY GOD I WATCH THOSE RELIGIOUSLY THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
D&D is my favorite religion
Taliesin's reaction to Sam rolling 2 nat 20's in a row and saying "that's fucking witchcraft" got me laughing so badly. xD
"Without spells you're just a dude" is factually wrong. Did Vex not remember every single NPC that was deceived or persuaded by Scanlan?
These are my favourite Critical Role compilations, thank you so much 🙏
i just noticed.... Matts voice actually sounds... younger.... after about 2.5 years of being a critter..... i can finally recognize this
It's probably that- or mic quality just kept getting better
@@chshirerat5487 Definitely the audio engineer and quality.
THIS. IS. THE. BEST. thank u so much! U sir need a medal! Thanks for keeping us sane during quarantine. Bless u.
Haha thank you!
It’s actually disappointing how poorly the party handled Scanlan’s issues. He repeatedly said he’d been having a hard time, and to anyone listening, he had a lot of conflicting feelings about his daughter, what he owed her, and how private the relationship was. The entire party made a massive assumption that he would want his daughter, who he already has a rough relationship, to see him dead. Him leaving was THE choice to make, and it was the only way to save his relationship with the entire party. They were all so wrapped up in their own issues (and using Scanlan to save the world!) that they didn’t see him as the friend that I actually do think they believed they thought of him as. They all really felt like they did well by him, but…they just didn’t take him seriously. Sam is truly a genius, and I think actually a lot of people even viewers don’t see him as more than a funny little man (who had that big dramatic exit). Scanlan is so complex and probably grew the most out of all of Vox Machina, and I wish more people saw him as more than that funny womanizer bard.
When Scanlan molded his entire personality on being unserious, vulgar and a joke, and tended to get on everyone's nerves (as well as making a habit harassing some of them, like Pike, who just humors him until the two are close enough to treat their relationship seriously), it's no wonder they treated him the way they did. He constantly had opportunities to be more sincere, to not hide behind jokes and hijinks to hide insecurities, to make himself seem fine even when he was struggling. It was failure on everyone's part that Scanlan had his falling out with the group, Scanlan's immaturity being just as detrimental to their relationship as the group's ignorance.
Ive been looking forward to this video for a while, glad you are still making them
Hell yeah I'm committed to at least doing all of campaign 1!
Watching these three videos shows you just how much the group needed Sam in it. He truly was the best of them.
Sam's outburst really did prove how selfish half the group was. When the dumbest person in the group (Grog) is the only one who responds appropriately to his anguish, you know they need to work on themselves. He really did expose their personality issues while also giving Scanlan a great arc (with a lot of build up that the other characters didn't seem to notice until it was too late). It's great to see it all compiled together so his drug hunting and depression are made more obvious.
Except he also didn't know things about the others. It was clear when he came back
we need more parts jayhayz please im loving these, binged all 3 in one go
Sam as Scanlan was the MVP of C1. Group treated him as a clown, exept maybe Grog. But he did some insane shit on DnD improv and mechanics. And the ressurection proves how they think of him, with Vex saying he died in piss when his daugther asked how he died, whole nightgown business and pudding everywhere. 4:25:54 "Fuck him for not saying anything sooner" Well this proves Scanlan point. Travis is playing the dumb barbarian Grog, and Grog have the most dignity out of the whole group. And i know that i am biased towards Sam and Travis roleplay and acting more than everyone else in the group. From C1 to C3. 3:53:27 Sums up. What i'd liked to see is Scanlan go full chaotic evil due to all of this, become a crime lord, steal and extort money from VM and HB in the future, having them witness his statement, just imagine that.
What I love most about this video coming out today? That I have put my watch of campaign 2 on hold (I was only at like episode 22 so whatever) to start with Vox Machina because of your other two videos of this series like two days ago. So, just to let you now that these videos are great!
Thank you! Apologies for the interruption 😂
Thank you so much.... it rly made my day... and although its best of sam, travis' reactions are gold!
He is such a big part of what makes these vids great lol
Thank you for the content! ive watched the previous ones a few times for the laughs.
It's my pleasure!
Great editing Jay! I watch these videos all the time when I need some great Scanlan moments without rewatching the entirety of the first campaign.
Thank you!!! I do too haha
I WAS JUST WATCHING THE LAST ONE!!! IM SO HAPPY THIS IS BACK!!!
I HOPE YOU LIKE IT 😂
Dude same. Its like I'm all caught up.
These were awesome to catch up. Please keep it coming
The Mark Hulmes cameo at mention of "some higher rollers" had me in stitches!
haha I couldn't resist!
I listen to too many dnd podcasts. Dungeons and Daddies, Dimension 20, Join the Party, a few more nascant ones that either ended or lost my attention along the way. But I always return to critical role when I can. I don't want to paint this as a 'and it's all because of Sam', because while I do love him and his work, it's why I'm here after all, I feel he exemplifies what I love about CR. Sam just knows how to balance tone. Everyone else knows how to do it very well too, probably being professional actors and all. But Sam can just read a room. It's not all laughs and guffaws (ie, 'what's my mother's name'), he doesn't get in a joke every moment he can. He listens, he waits, and you can tell he does it because he just wants everyone at the table to laugh and smile. But he doesn't hog the spotlight. He'll make himself the heel for the sake of a joke. Other shows do a great job of collective story telling, letting themselves take falls for the sake of a story, and it's why I love them. But I don't think most shows have a cast with as strong of an understanding of narrative as this cast, and of them all, Sam just has something special.
5:30 i wasn’t about for campaign 1 so just in case it was never pointed out and anyone cares, sam’s humming baker street not careless whisper :)
Matt: Dm let this be a lesson about creating magical items that increase spell save dc
WotC: haha, tasha's goes bbrrrrrr
True!
Spell DC Increasing items should have remained Warlock exclusive
I didn't know how much I loved Sam's singing until I heard it.
I wish for him to outshine The Fallen One, who had once shared a character fan based rivalry with Travis.
Sad we couldn't get the one of the hardest Scanlan lines of the whole campaign "you can curse it's ok you killed one of us"
Thank you so much for the upload, this is wonderful
Much appreciated!
JayHayz!! I've watched the Best of Sam videos so many times now! We're getting to the anniversary of this last part and I want to thank you but also beg you, please make more!
I keep coming back to the scene at 02:01:03
They never forget
2:26:04 I just realized that Travis is wearing a shirt in star wars font that says "Burr Shot First". And if you've seen The Mandalorian, it makes it really weird.
These videos have become my go-to when I need to destress or really just need a laugh. Thank you so much for all the time you took to put them together! :)
You're very welcome! I love that they can help people in a small way!
Unpopular opinion: that last exchange with Scanlan is why I really don't like Vax and Vex. They never apologize for their shitty actions or behavior towards Scanlan and just yell at him more for airing his very legitimate grievances.
I think Vex did a good job trying to understand and she understood more about Scanlan's feeling of hopelessness about his role as a on-stand-by laughter-making object being forced upon him and then ignored.
Vax on the other hand, physically invasive and abusing, self-centered, ignorant, talking AT Scanlan about "Oh you think YOU have it hard, I've been depressed for months!" and stuff. Of course he can't understand Scanlan, he never cared about anyone but himself (relatineships with Vex/Keylet also based on how HE felt and HIS needs). Shortsighted, hurtful and demeaning behaviour.
After he leaves Vex says “fuck him for not telling us… and fuck us for not asking”. She completely understood what the problem was after he left AND the twins are the only two that welcome him back with completely open arms because they understood who was wrong in the confrontation
Percy does the exact same shit.
I love how Laura blue screens for a few minutes at the Tary reveal, then chooses violence.
Sam and Travis have amazing synergy.
Hearing Laura say "darling" or even speak softly in a loving tone makes me wanna wrap up in a warm blanket, it melts my heart.
Thanks for doing all of this work to make this. Your a real g!
Meant to comment a few watch throughs ago but thanks so much for this and the other compilations. Sam is so damn funny and Travis/everyone elses reactions to it all just make it that much better. Much love ❤
Thank you! They do take a lot of fucking work to make haha but seeing how much people love them is definitely worth it! I hope they've helped provide some much needed laughter over the past year
YOU'RE THE FUCKING BEST I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I WAS WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO
I am so pumped to find the third one out! I love these!
I was fixated on the fact that Liam and Laura went to some solid lengths to look similar in episode 70. Also Sam is a new personal alignment: Chaotic Chaotic.
Holy shit. I thought I somehow missed this on your channel. WRONG. NO SLEEP TONIGHT.
This is god tier content and makes me happy
Your the best! Have been hoping for this for ages, thank you for your hard work!
Thank you! I love seeing how much people enjoy them!
I love your videos, keep it up. I look forward to the Critical Role videos, I can tell how much time and effort in it, just know it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Cheers, dude! These vids definitely are the most time consuming but I enjoy it immensely! Look forward to the Tary special 😅
46:00 That was a slow burn
Man we need the next part of this so bad. Tarry is so fucking gold… I can’t imagine how long these take to make though.
Thank you for your hard work!! I love these videos so much!!
Thanks, pal!
3:30:48, It took a bit of digging but this song is "The Hustle" by Van McCoy.
2:58:02, Sam didn't even need to be playing to be a bard. 3:36:14, Not to mention he was able to still portray Scanlan and Pike's interactions well without Ashley even being there to act off of.
22:43, 1:17:54, 1:53:12, 2:40:39, I wish he did more of these generic inspirational quotes, dad jokes, Shakespeare insults and vulgar limericks as part of his inspiration and negation effects.
26:00, Also, did not know Talesin said this before Laura, 28:20, and Sam was the one to really build it into a reoccurring gag.
2:07:32, People are judging the group for not taking Scanlan's issues seriously, but a lot of what happened to him also was down to his choices, his choice to be a womanizing hedonist and trickster, his choice to be reckless, his choice to pursue a drug addiction, 3:06:39, even as it was difficult to access, his choice to hide his insecurities beyond his wild persona. And the group were all dealing with their own problems and leaning on each other for help. 2:11:01, And it's not like none of them ever expressed concern or made an effort to see if he was doing alright, he just didn't open up, 2:54:17, or try to be encouraging and kind to him, 3:47:41, 4:13:31, 4:16:23, to even try and meet him half way while still calling him out on his issues, only for him to continue to lie and close off and for the others to be frustrated by his antics, 3:50:47, antics including messing with his allies memories.
4:17:34, 4:20:20, 4:21:47, 4:22:48, In the end, they couldn't help him if he refused to let them in, they couldn't know him if he never allowed himself to be vulnerable until he felt he'd lost everything. 4:21:15, And that is where his real insecurity came from, feeling vulnerable scared him and pushed him away from doing things that mattered, something he thought Kaylie was his answer to, his redemption, all while fleeing from his friends and the responsibility he took on to protect Tal'Dorei with them.
4:39:58, Either way, the idea of him just using the Critical Role Wiki to know everyone's parent's names is hilarious, 4:41:48, as well as the fact that people within the cast and out of it actually analyzed the situation in detail.
ahaha i just finished the last one and checked to see if there were anymore and now you post this. very well done these are awesome!
I actually made it just for you lol
I got so excited when I saw this, thanks so much
No problem! Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much for this! Lots of love.
Much appreciated!
When Scanlan leaves it's very sad but feels totally justified. Only thing is it made me really hate Percival and Vax. Both shouting at him and in particular trying to make it all about themselves. Only person who seems to care and actually acted like a proper friend was Grog. To be fair I think Keyleth also tried to understand but obviously wasn't as close to Scanlan.
Scanlan leaving the party and his last wish is.... *Chef's kiss*