Indeed. It is not just that it's difficult to roleplay a Makavian, but to portray someone this mentaly unstable can easily make the player overact the part, yet every little gesture he made and every word he spoke were completely believable. He was genuinely unsettling.
Eh, I had high hopes after his last appearances that we were seeing the end of the "so wacky!" fishmalk portrayal of Malkavians that is X, but no, the character just got edgy as well as wacky. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Xander, and he's clearly talented and gets immersed in the role, but between my own experience with people who have mental health issues, and stories from a friend who works at a high security psychiatric hospital about just how _normal_ the patients appear to be, I can't help but be a little annoyed when characters with mental illnesses are portrayed as either "funny haha" or "funny stab stab" (or, in the case of X, both)
I wasn't super thrilled with him at the start. It is like he showed up one day and said i am tired of being comic relief so i am going to lean in to some psychotic shit and force everyone in this coterie to make some really difficult choices. Now his character is dark as hell and a lot of what you used to be annoying about his is what we as the audience are hoping he could get back to. I don't have an issue with how that Malkavian madness is portrayed. They aren't supposed to be equivalent to real world mental illnesses. In the real world people are struggling with real afflictions. In VTM the Malkavians are hearing the voice of Malkav being echoed through their minds in no discernable order. There is pretty much nothing equivalent happening here. What other vampires have perceived as madness is just a weaker mind struggling to filter through and sort out the overwhelming force of a Vampire antediluvian.
I do so appreciate that even in X's current state he makes it clear to Jasper that he remembers and appreciates his friendship. I love my sweet boys so much and I don't want anyone to hurt them anymore.
Gṳdә Maister and Missus a^sittin by the fire Whilst we Wassailing Souls Are dabblin in the mire - With our wassail! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Little robin redbreast has a fine head Give us a cup of Vitae and we'll go to bed - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Little Robin Redbreast has a fine wing Give us of good Vitae and we'll begin to sing - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Little Robin Redbreast has a fine leg Give us of your Vitae that we be come to beg - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Little Robin Redbreast has a fine toe Give us of your Vitae and we'll begin to go - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Your Vitae it is Crimson, as your Visage flows down Your Vintage is the very best, in all of our town - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Your Vitae it is a-drain'd near ol' juniper free Your Visage is the best, that ever can be - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail! Then send out your man and let us come in Give us of your Vitae and to sing we will begin - With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail, And joy come to our jolly wassail!
I love how Jasper is trying so hard to interpret X's ramblings. Xander and Jasper are so well played. When X said that Gehenna is a made up word, I laughed and commented "All words are made up." He really is trying to find X. It's so sad.
I like how despite Nosferatu's being one of the most hideous clans, Malkavians are still there to scary shi out of them. This whole episode Jasper was like: I fear no man... but this thing... it scares me...
Luchos Luck they all might be hideous, but some are quite nice and cordial, even the ones other Nosferatu fears. That aside, even the most fiendish clan of all the kindred would give a particularly gifted Malkavian a wide berth, and they turn other people into living furniture.
@@VandalAudi Tzimisce were the ones who turned people into living furniture. Malkavians…….would make you believe you were the furniture and that every minor psychosis you had become your best friends.
I agree that Tzimisce are the most terrifying of the clans. Obviously they all have their own potential to be but some of the things Tzimisce have done would keep many Kindred up at day.
That à mistake sir, you confuse curse and crazy for Vanavar . X is Just tired of being let alone with his misery. It is sad that only Jasper understand it.
@@edwardfrench9368 "You think the madness is your ally, but you merely adopted it. I was Embraced in it, raised by it, I didn't see a straightjacket until I was already an Elder"
There's pretty much nothing but walking into and out of the ocean, yet so much happens in this episode. Can't decide what made this episode more amazing - X confronting Jasper's beast (something I thought was impossible) or his communication via memories (and Xander managing to remember and perfectly recreate them). Also, can't help but appreciate the foreshadowed significance of the ocean, with it being his place of his mortal death and the way it all comes full circle. First time we saw him go under the ocean was with Annabelle as he had his more cheerful persona - this time it is with Jasper under much more darker circumstances, after trying to kill Annabelle.
Full circle is when you remember back in session 1 episode 12 that X also has taken Annabelle into the water. He also tells a about the embrace. Then he tells her that sometimes people do it to make a friend but that sometimes thay go crazy and you have to steak them then you tie a rock to them and leave them at the bottom of the watter in a boat. If I remember correctly. That close to what he say.
It goes without saying that the acting is superb. I remember X mentioning in a previous season that he suffered from particular mental health problems in his mortal life, and that being embraced greatly exacerbated those issues. The portrayal here feels very honest.
@Laura Martin-Falla Yeah. In particular, X's behavior here makes me think of bipolar schizoaffective disorder, though I don't know if the actor wanted to portray anything that specifically.
Get you a friend like Jasper. Patiently trying to listen and understand and help, putting himself between you and danger without question, standing by you no matter what. Just rolling with the weird
Agreed! I can't imagine many of the other characters having the patience to just go with him, give him space, not demand that he explain himself. There was a line in the last main episode, Jasper said X needed 'to feel what he's feeling', when everyone else was trying to get him to calm down. Similar to Eva, it seems like Jasper has the most respect and understanding for characters who have been through abuse and trauma. Maybe something from his own past (either in life or unlife?)
Of the clans the nosferotoo are and the malkavin are the ones who get hit hardest. The nosferotoo lose the body of a human and look like monsters. The malk lost there mind. Jasper is trying his best to help a friend who also got hit by the embrace hard and lost all he had before.
0:58 *Jasper fades in* Cool beans. *X fades in* OHMAGAWD WHAT HAPPENED TO X!!! EDIT 4.22: He got into the Neofolk band 'Heilung' and took their Fashion cues, th-cam.com/video/kmWTZ3KfnXE/w-d-xo.html This is the most unsettling and best performance from Xander yet. Jasper's a heck of a good friend to go up against Therese for his friend, it's a shame that X is not in the right headspace to really get how awesome he is being right now.
X know hé is not strong enough to face Jeannette. Hé wanted to drink that vampire to gain strenght and maybe be strong enough but failed . Then the baby steped. .. or overstep and got bitten. X will got to where might be his final death alone if need be. It is good to see Jasper helped... or try to.
This hurts my heart, I love X so much, ever since he appeared on season 1, I just hope he can get closure Also, I feel very bad for Jasper, Eva drifted away and had to go because of how Strauss abused her and the impact it had on her mental health, and now is happening again with X because of Therese and, because he is a malkavian, it is stronger. Abusive and powerful figures are taking away of the ones Jasper loves, just hope things get better or Jasper will be the one who snaps.
Jasper snapping will be truly terrifying indeed. He's not a good person. As he's said many times. He's simply trying to be a good person. He snaps and you'll see why he's not a good person.
X's turn to the dark side really caught me off guard. It's taken me a while to figure out why I find it so fascinating. While a slow descent into madness can make a fascinating story, I appreciate the realism of his sudden change in behavior. Therese broke X. X is no longer emotionally independent. He needs to make other people feel the way he wants to feel. When he wants to be happy, he amuses his friends with antics like misinterpreting "dress pants" as "a dress with pants". When he feels devastated and conflicted by the sudden news of Therese being in danger, he makes everyone around him feel devastated and conflicted. Annabelle, the Queen of Empathy, took the bait once X started to diablerize the junkyard kindred. She was crying and pleading with him to stop, which was just the opening he needed to go in for the kill. It's interesting that he used her humanity as a weakness, and both actors played the interaction perfectly.
@Paul Gauthier it isn’t. They reply to that in the comments many times, they get a outline of some things, but the vast majority is impromptu, just Jason throwing situations at them.
Wow... X had switched in hardcore mode! But, like Nelli told him, killing Therese is not going to shut up all the voices in X's head... his beast always sound like Therese for him!
Not 100% true - look to Nellie, her Beast's voice became Donna (if I remember the name right) the vamp she diablerized, which could have become even moreso than just a voice if the other vamp's spirit had been stronger. X also alludes to it here, thinking that Annabelle's spirit would have overtaken him more completely than that once he'd done what he needed to do with her power. But yes, just killing Therese isn't going to make that go away however much he tells himself it will.
Damn Xander you pulled me in and 40 minutes felt like 4. So many questions, and I am already for season 5 now. Alex and Xandar make an awesome team. Jason, well you are always great. So all I can say is please sir, I want some more.
Wow wow wow. Everyone in LA by Night is amazing, but Xander brought it to another level the last couple of episodes. I'm genuinely worried for X, but what an amazing job depicting loss of humanity. Bravo!
That fragmented fixated thinking, descent into madness is far to relatable. Oh X, I hope you can find whatever balance is possible for you, whatever peace means to you. And Jasper is doing so very good with him, however bad the situation is for them both.
Props to Xander for playing a vampire in the midst of a psychotic break Expertly. Nuance, paranoia, the disconnect between perception and reality, that is still grounded in what is true and traumatic.
This was awesome! X was terrifingly amazing. And Jasper had so much empathy! The whole thing was dark and sweet at the same time. I wish this was at least a 2 hour episode.
Wow . . such a difficult role . . so well played by Mr. Jeannerett! The quality of your production just seems to surmount itself time and time again Mr. Carl. Thank you all for such a great gift at this time.
Me, immediately after seeing X show up and throughout the epilogue: X, sweetsoul, sweetheart, darling, dearie, sugarplum - are you ok, honeypie? Honeybun?
Man, with these two you could feel the tension and dread constantly creeping around the corner, Xander's brand of roleplay is out of this world o_O Amazing episode!
It occurs to me that among Malkavians, who see too much too clearly, and not enough too murkily, this is just the natural course of events for a young one's rite of passage. The appearance of reality is a box of mirrors, and warped mirrors at that, and sometime you have to learn to not only see what you really are, but how to get out of the box. By taking away his name up front, his sire did him the greatest favor available. On the scale of what their clan may learn and perceive, Therese is a doting mother. What Nature does to her own agents is far harsher.
@@Nikita4ever7000 Well, for one thing, I'm on board with the popular opinion that no one has seen Therese and Jeannette in the same room together, so to speak. She's Batman! From the way the player characters tease her, it seems to be a well-known thing inside the game world, too. If there's a different secret, I don't know what it is, or I don't realize it's supposed to be a secret. I didn't realize the batman thing was supposed to be a secret until people were debating it in the comments. I had just assumed it was common knowledge from the way it played in the game.
@Laura Martin-Falla Yah, as a viewer who isn't in a WoD campaign right now, that might be too meta for me. I do appreciate the notion, though, so I don't blab blab it all over unless it comes up on its own. Still, given the extreme dichotomies of the Malkavian sisters, it does seem like the obvious conclusion anyway. It's just so "on brand" :) Since every storyteller/gm/dm customizes their own runs in various ways, I think of such things as "rumors" and wouldn't count on them to be true in any particular game I joined.
I'm just going to say it without any ambiguity. Jeannette and Therese are 100%, without any question, the same person. In Bloodlines there is a questline where you discover that, and there's even a moment where she incorporates the different personality's look into her makeup and hair, etc, and talks to the player (and one another) as both Jeannette and Therese simultaneously. On a separate note, Whitney Moore is a FANTASTIC Therese and Jeannette Voorman. They(She) were(was,is) my favorite character(s) in the Bloodlines game. And Whitney Moore managed to expand even further on them, doing each personality justice.)
_X _*_KEEPS BREAKING_*_ my Heart!!!_ [[ _Jasper... We KNOW that you're _*_STAUNCH_*_ when you decide to be someone's friend, and that you have a _*_truly REDOUBTABLE, CHIVALRIC CODE OF GENUINE HONOR, BUT..._* *_...FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM X!!!!!!!_*
Sorry to say but I think *this* is what is now normal for him and he was never really going to be the cheerful, zany dude without Therese forcing him to spy on people for her.
It is pure sweet honey! X is malkave incarnate! Love it so much! Also Jasper get him! Best beast interaction of the season in m'y opinion. Hope for next season to come soon and that in the next game we could stumble on some stuff that happen here!
I know it's been over two months but I'm surprised no one have mentioned how much the set up of this episode plays out like one in session 1 episode 12. In that episode X tells Annabelle about the embrace. Then he go off to say that maybe some will do it to make a friend who knows what you are going through. And then maybe thay go crazy and you have to steak them tie a rock to them and sink them in the ocean in a boat. But he was just telling Annabelle a story that did not happen right? X will never have done something like that right?
"I suffer, but I still live. It's true that I may be a sort of phantom in life, but I know my beginning and I know my end. It is true that I am an X in an indeterminate equation, the X that will terrify mankind as it voyages through a million galaxies. But no matter. That X is the rock upon which I stand."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but neither X nor Jasper licked the wound on the homeless guy and he's heading to the hospital.......... It'll be fine.......... Edit: Unless the Lore has been changed, Therese is a 6th generation vampire. IF she is X's sire that would make him 7th... 0.o
And he is committing diablerie like no tomorrow lolol
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His beast seems to imply that it is indeed her. For a 7th gen he has been surprisingly weak up until this point, but then again, he hasn't really been one for combat thus far. However he did just diablerize a guy, which would slowly move his gen up bit by bit if he continues.
@ Generation is just a measure of a Kindred's _potential_ power, if an Antedeluvian were to wake up and Embrace someone, yes, that Kindred would be 3rd Generation, but they would also still just be a fledgling.
@ It's not, though, the extra XP you get in V5 for being a lower Generation Kindred is based on how long you've lived and, in earlier editions, you had to specifically buy lower Generation with your character creation resources which meant your starting character was _less_ powerful. The only advantage is that you get more "Rouse Rerolls"/"Blood Points"
love x but he’s a liability now and it’s cruel for annabelle and jasper to act like they can take out therese, they shouldn’t encourage it. the anarchs need therese and if he goes after her he’s just going to die because she’s a powerful 6th generation. the kindest thing would be to put him into torpor until after the war 💔
a malk in x's state is a danger to everything the masquerade the herd every thing and everyone near him. if they can't get him worked back around then final death is the kindest thing his friends can do for him.
Ah, man, too bad. Everyone knows there is no fixing X, the Malks has to deal with this, the lucky ones gets the minimum of the clan bane, Alistair Grout figured, he understood it most among other Malkavians, I think.
Did the Eater eat X's name? (Love it when Malks aren't portrayed as funny or goofy.) I don't think that conversation with Eva saying she didn't know if she loved Jasper happened - adding that to X pushing her to do 'what she has to do' and him saying she'd go be with Katya instead of with Jasper, that worries me. Seems like he's intentionally trying to drive them further apart for Chloe's sake, even as he worries about much bigger issues. Jasper is one hell of a friend, being with him through all that.
I've worked with them, and they only seem extra strong if you don't understand how strong people actually are. Most people only consciously use a fraction of their power, because they don't know how to apply it properly and are afraid of pain. Crazies may tap into more of that fraction, because they don't care as much about the pain. Their medication often makes them more reckless with their own potential. However, compared to someone who is trained and experienced at actually applying power, they are still undisciplined and easily overcome by informed techniques. These principles apply to both physical and metaphysical matters.
See one thing that is making me wonder is that if its possible to have a bloodlines type situation again with Jeanette and Therese in that its possible to get rid of one personality without the other being harmed.
Sadly, I don't think so. The derangement that a Malkavian acquires after their embrace is supposed to be incurable. "Killing" one personality might only be a temporary solution. And even if Therese does vanish forever, it's likely that a new personality would manifest to replace her.
This seems an episode of MR.Robot and i loved it, there is one wich the main character is needing drugs so their friends have to look it up for him, pure gold showing how addiction is fucked up. This one is about regreat and im all for it
Some of the best acting I have ever seen bar none. I need to add to this comment. I always felt the most comfortable playing a Gangrel. The Brujah were always too SJW and the...yeah...nvmind. The Malks and the Nos I usually made friends with over the others when I was LARPing out in Portland. Malks have such a unique perspective on the world and the Nos see more of what is truly valuable. This interaction is everything I could of hoped for. I will continue to watch this through to the end. Thank you to the actors and a large thank you to Mr. Carl for being a fantastic storyteller.
I LARPed a brujah sheriff. Very neonate under the paw of a Toreador prince who ruled by permitting me to mercilessly spill vitae. Kyle the Ruthless was an environmental terrorist who killed a Cam kindred every two weeks. His descent into humanity loss was meteoric eventually cratering in an all out uprising of the cities kindred that left him meeting the final death and resulted in an archons purge while his prince went on the run for the umpteenth time in her unlife.
Speaking of Eva, I don't remember a conversation X had with Eva where she said "I don't know" about loving Jasper. Its possible they had the conversation "off camera" but its possible X made that up to manipulate Jasper? Its also possible it happened and i don't remember it.
@@Roastedpot That didn't happen. I've binge-watched the entire thing in the past week and that wasn't anywhere. It worries me because he also seemed very glad that Katya was back and Eva had a new love interest (for Chloe's sake?) and he also told Eva to go do what 'she must do' without knowing much about it at all. It kinda makes me feel he's trying to drive Eva and Jasper apart even in such an awful situation and that'd be... a lot.
X taunting Jasper's beast *directly* might be my new favorite moment on LA By Night and considering 4 seasons that's a tall order
It was a moment alright, I totally plotzed
I know right!
"It is getting crowded in here" haha yeah!
Jasper's reaction to it was great too
X shows precisely why Malkavians are so terrifying. For broken mirrors are sharp indeed and the shards do not care to whom they bite.
That was beautiful ...
"Shards do not care who they bite." I may have to borrow that :o
Best performance of a Malkavian I have seen. Great work
It is not the care it is the situation.
God dam that was beautiful
Xander is one of the most immersive roleplayers I have seen... holy shit. I've seen some people play malks before, but this is borderline genius.
thats right, richard.he is a genius.
Indeed. It is not just that it's difficult to roleplay a Makavian, but to portray someone this mentaly unstable can easily make the player overact the part, yet every little gesture he made and every word he spoke were completely believable. He was genuinely unsettling.
You are absolute right, and the fact that he brought that in a expressionism kinda of roleplay is the cherry in the top
Eh, I had high hopes after his last appearances that we were seeing the end of the "so wacky!" fishmalk portrayal of Malkavians that is X, but no, the character just got edgy as well as wacky.
Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Xander, and he's clearly talented and gets immersed in the role, but between my own experience with people who have mental health issues, and stories from a friend who works at a high security psychiatric hospital about just how _normal_ the patients appear to be, I can't help but be a little annoyed when characters with mental illnesses are portrayed as either "funny haha" or "funny stab stab" (or, in the case of X, both)
I wasn't super thrilled with him at the start. It is like he showed up one day and said i am tired of being comic relief so i am going to lean in to some psychotic shit and force everyone in this coterie to make some really difficult choices. Now his character is dark as hell and a lot of what you used to be annoying about his is what we as the audience are hoping he could get back to.
I don't have an issue with how that Malkavian madness is portrayed. They aren't supposed to be equivalent to real world mental illnesses. In the real world people are struggling with real afflictions. In VTM the Malkavians are hearing the voice of Malkav being echoed through their minds in no discernable order. There is pretty much nothing equivalent happening here.
What other vampires have perceived as madness is just a weaker mind struggling to filter through and sort out the overwhelming force of a Vampire antediluvian.
I do so appreciate that even in X's current state he makes it clear to Jasper that he remembers and appreciates his friendship. I love my sweet boys so much and I don't want anyone to hurt them anymore.
Mood
This is the best portrayal of humanity loss I have witnessed. He is close to wassailing and you can feel it.
Gṳdә Maister and Missus a^sittin by the fire
Whilst we Wassailing Souls Are dabblin in the mire -
With our wassail! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Little robin redbreast has a fine head
Give us a cup of Vitae and we'll go to bed -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Little Robin Redbreast has a fine wing
Give us of good Vitae and we'll begin to sing -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Little Robin Redbreast has a fine leg
Give us of your Vitae that we be come to beg -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Little Robin Redbreast has a fine toe
Give us of your Vitae and we'll begin to go -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Your Vitae it is Crimson, as your Visage flows down
Your Vintage is the very best, in all of our town -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Your Vitae it is a-drain'd near ol' juniper free
Your Visage is the best, that ever can be -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
Then send out your man and let us come in
Give us of your Vitae and to sing we will begin -
With our wassail ! Our jolly wassail,
And joy come to our jolly wassail!
I love how Jasper is trying so hard to interpret X's ramblings. Xander and Jasper are so well played.
When X said that Gehenna is a made up word, I laughed and commented "All words are made up."
He really is trying to find X. It's so sad.
I like how despite Nosferatu's being one of the most hideous clans, Malkavians are still there to scary shi out of them.
This whole episode Jasper was like: I fear no man... but this thing... it scares me...
Luchos Luck they all might be hideous, but some are quite nice and cordial, even the ones other Nosferatu fears. That aside, even the most fiendish clan of all the kindred would give a particularly gifted Malkavian a wide berth, and they turn other people into living furniture.
@@VandalAudi Tzimisce were the ones who turned people into living furniture. Malkavians…….would make you believe you were the furniture and that every minor psychosis you had become your best friends.
I agree that Tzimisce are the most terrifying of the clans. Obviously they all have their own potential to be but some of the things Tzimisce have done would keep many Kindred up at day.
@@RavenSaint1 that's why I said even the Tzims would give the Malks a wide berth.
@@VandalAudi I think Lasombra are the scariest. The only clan that can make a vampire scared of the dark.
"Mother shan't be too pleased" - they used the line from the game!!!
I loved that! It was so perfectly slipped in there. So glad to see someone comment on it 😄
I straight up went: "None too pleased..."
Just when you think you have seen crazy with Vannevar, there goes X and teaches you a lesson (both on insanity and, especially, on acting)
That à mistake sir, you confuse curse and crazy for Vanavar .
X is Just tired of being let alone with his misery. It is sad that only Jasper understand it.
*Bane voice* Vannevar may have adopted madness, but X was booorn in it, molded by it.
@@edwardfrench9368 "You think the madness is your ally, but you merely adopted it. I was Embraced in it, raised by it, I didn't see a straightjacket until I was already an Elder"
There's pretty much nothing but walking into and out of the ocean, yet so much happens in this episode. Can't decide what made this episode more amazing - X confronting Jasper's beast (something I thought was impossible) or his communication via memories (and Xander managing to remember and perfectly recreate them).
Also, can't help but appreciate the foreshadowed significance of the ocean, with it being his place of his mortal death and the way it all comes full circle. First time we saw him go under the ocean was with Annabelle as he had his more cheerful persona - this time it is with Jasper under much more darker circumstances, after trying to kill Annabelle.
Full circle is when you remember back in session 1 episode 12 that X also has taken Annabelle into the water. He also tells a about the embrace. Then he tells her that sometimes people do it to make a friend but that sometimes thay go crazy and you have to steak them then you tie a rock to them and leave them at the bottom of the watter in a boat.
If I remember correctly. That close to what he say.
X talking directly to Jasper's beast is the best 4th wall/not 4th wall Malkavian thing ever lol
It goes without saying that the acting is superb. I remember X mentioning in a previous season that he suffered from particular mental health problems in his mortal life, and that being embraced greatly exacerbated those issues. The portrayal here feels very honest.
@Laura Martin-Falla Yeah. In particular, X's behavior here makes me think of bipolar schizoaffective disorder, though I don't know if the actor wanted to portray anything that specifically.
Agreed 100%
Get you a friend like Jasper. Patiently trying to listen and understand and help, putting himself between you and danger without question, standing by you no matter what. Just rolling with the weird
Agreed! I can't imagine many of the other characters having the patience to just go with him, give him space, not demand that he explain himself. There was a line in the last main episode, Jasper said X needed 'to feel what he's feeling', when everyone else was trying to get him to calm down. Similar to Eva, it seems like Jasper has the most respect and understanding for characters who have been through abuse and trauma. Maybe something from his own past (either in life or unlife?)
Of the clans the nosferotoo are and the malkavin are the ones who get hit hardest. The nosferotoo lose the body of a human and look like monsters. The malk lost there mind. Jasper is trying his best to help a friend who also got hit by the embrace hard and lost all he had before.
Oh, you mean enabling your homicidal tendencies that will only worsen your situation?
0:58 *Jasper fades in*
Cool beans.
*X fades in*
OHMAGAWD WHAT HAPPENED TO X!!! EDIT 4.22: He got into the Neofolk band 'Heilung' and took their Fashion cues, th-cam.com/video/kmWTZ3KfnXE/w-d-xo.html
This is the most unsettling and best performance from Xander yet.
Jasper's a heck of a good friend to go up against Therese for his friend, it's a shame that X is not in the right headspace to really get how awesome he is being right now.
Personally I was more reminded of the cover from Andrew W. K.
Heilung is not Neofolk!
X know hé is not strong enough to face Jeannette. Hé wanted to drink that vampire to gain strenght and maybe be strong enough but failed . Then the baby steped. .. or overstep and got bitten.
X will got to where might be his final death alone if need be. It is good to see Jasper helped... or try to.
The Storyteller’s little “Fuck off” at 29:36 being a me a giggle every time I visit this incredibly moving episode.
This hurts my heart, I love X so much, ever since he appeared on season 1, I just hope he can get closure
Also, I feel very bad for Jasper, Eva drifted away and had to go because of how Strauss abused her and the impact it had on her mental health, and now is happening again with X because of Therese and, because he is a malkavian, it is stronger.
Abusive and powerful figures are taking away of the ones Jasper loves, just hope things get better or Jasper will be the one who snaps.
Jasper snapping will be truly terrifying indeed. He's not a good person. As he's said many times. He's simply trying to be a good person. He snaps and you'll see why he's not a good person.
@@manaraxjendo7900 reminds me of "good men don't need rules, today is not the day to find out why I have so many" from Doctor who.
Xander is going ALL THE WAY OFF, he's acting with his TOES.
The fade in introduction was everything i needed to start this
X's turn to the dark side really caught me off guard. It's taken me a while to figure out why I find it so fascinating. While a slow descent into madness can make a fascinating story, I appreciate the realism of his sudden change in behavior.
Therese broke X. X is no longer emotionally independent. He needs to make other people feel the way he wants to feel. When he wants to be happy, he amuses his friends with antics like misinterpreting "dress pants" as "a dress with pants". When he feels devastated and conflicted by the sudden news of Therese being in danger, he makes everyone around him feel devastated and conflicted.
Annabelle, the Queen of Empathy, took the bait once X started to diablerize the junkyard kindred. She was crying and pleading with him to stop, which was just the opening he needed to go in for the kill. It's interesting that he used her humanity as a weakness, and both actors played the interaction perfectly.
I thought that x repeating shit was just a sign of him losing hus shit...but then I realized...'if I say something 3 times, it's true.'
We need an after show on this episode. This was intense. Its also a great storyteller that lets the players take the reigns "what does he find?"
@Paul Gauthier it isn’t. They reply to that in the comments many times, they get a outline of some things, but the vast majority is impromptu, just Jason throwing situations at them.
X speaking suddenly to Jasper's Beast was so awesome... and yet all I could think of was "X gonna give it to ya"
Wow... X had switched in hardcore mode! But, like Nelli told him, killing Therese is not going to shut up all the voices in X's head... his beast always sound like Therese for him!
Not 100% true - look to Nellie, her Beast's voice became Donna (if I remember the name right) the vamp she diablerized, which could have become even moreso than just a voice if the other vamp's spirit had been stronger. X also alludes to it here, thinking that Annabelle's spirit would have overtaken him more completely than that once he'd done what he needed to do with her power. But yes, just killing Therese isn't going to make that go away however much he tells himself it will.
I was blown away at 05:20 by the sight of X: His style went from 'cool beach/club dude' to 'aspiring model' to 'who the f*** am I looking at here?'
Damn Xander you pulled me in and 40 minutes felt like 4. So many questions, and I am already for season 5 now. Alex and Xandar make an awesome team. Jason, well you are always great. So all I can say is please sir, I want some more.
Wow wow wow. Everyone in LA by Night is amazing, but Xander brought it to another level the last couple of episodes. I'm genuinely worried for X, but what an amazing job depicting loss of humanity. Bravo!
X in the fortunetelling game, repeating that the gehena is happening who knows how many times, certenly more than three and still not believing it. :(
Was X making a Bloodlines reference with that "mother shan't be too pleased" line? its one of the Malkavian whispers.
Yes! It’s also a line Therese’s ghoul whispers to himself throughout the game-Vandal, the employee at the Santa Monica blood bank!
Kudos, I was taken aback by X's initial appearance. Shocking, yeah? Almost forgot Nossies and Malks both have the Ninja Vanish™
That fragmented fixated thinking, descent into madness is far to relatable. Oh X, I hope you can find whatever balance is possible for you, whatever peace means to you. And Jasper is doing so very good with him, however bad the situation is for them both.
Fuck this episode made me tear up. Xander is insanely good. The whole memory share to communicate was so fucking intense.
Props to Xander for playing a vampire in the midst of a psychotic break Expertly. Nuance, paranoia, the disconnect between perception and reality, that is still grounded in what is true and traumatic.
This was awesome! X was terrifingly amazing. And Jasper had so much empathy!
The whole thing was dark and sweet at the same time. I wish this was at least a 2 hour episode.
29:12 x talking to jasper’s beast was GENIUS plus jasper’s confused face the entire time,,, this episode is INCREDIBLE
Props to the editing team and to Xander for that X reveal at the intros. Chills as soon as I saw him 🤌
Wow . . such a difficult role . . so well played by Mr. Jeannerett! The quality of your production just seems to surmount itself time and time again Mr. Carl. Thank you all for such a great gift at this time.
Me, immediately after seeing X show up and throughout the epilogue: X, sweetsoul, sweetheart, darling, dearie, sugarplum - are you ok, honeypie? Honeybun?
Blown away by the episode. Xander Jeannerett was a beast.
I really liked they fading into existence at the beggining
Man, with these two you could feel the tension and dread constantly creeping around the corner, Xander's brand of roleplay is out of this world o_O Amazing episode!
I am not going to lie. Xander had me spooked once or twice the past few episodes.
Mother shant be too pleased was such a massive nostalgia hit
It occurs to me that among Malkavians, who see too much too clearly, and not enough too murkily, this is just the natural course of events for a young one's rite of passage. The appearance of reality is a box of mirrors, and warped mirrors at that, and sometime you have to learn to not only see what you really are, but how to get out of the box.
By taking away his name up front, his sire did him the greatest favor available. On the scale of what their clan may learn and perceive, Therese is a doting mother. What Nature does to her own agents is far harsher.
Do you know Therese's Secret? Or should I say have you figured it out yet?
@@Nikita4ever7000 Well, for one thing, I'm on board with the popular opinion that no one has seen Therese and Jeannette in the same room together, so to speak. She's Batman!
From the way the player characters tease her, it seems to be a well-known thing inside the game world, too.
If there's a different secret, I don't know what it is, or I don't realize it's supposed to be a secret. I didn't realize the batman thing was supposed to be a secret until people were debating it in the comments. I had just assumed it was common knowledge from the way it played in the game.
@Laura Martin-Falla Yah, as a viewer who isn't in a WoD campaign right now, that might be too meta for me. I do appreciate the notion, though, so I don't blab blab it all over unless it comes up on its own.
Still, given the extreme dichotomies of the Malkavian sisters, it does seem like the obvious conclusion anyway. It's just so "on brand" :)
Since every storyteller/gm/dm customizes their own runs in various ways, I think of such things as "rumors" and wouldn't count on them to be true in any particular game I joined.
I'm just going to say it without any ambiguity. Jeannette and Therese are 100%, without any question, the same person. In Bloodlines there is a questline where you discover that, and there's even a moment where she incorporates the different personality's look into her makeup and hair, etc, and talks to the player (and one another) as both Jeannette and Therese simultaneously.
On a separate note, Whitney Moore is a FANTASTIC Therese and Jeannette Voorman. They(She) were(was,is) my favorite character(s) in the Bloodlines game. And Whitney Moore managed to expand even further on them, doing each personality justice.)
_X _*_KEEPS BREAKING_*_ my Heart!!!_
[[ _Jasper... We KNOW that you're _*_STAUNCH_*_ when you decide to be someone's friend, and that you have a _*_truly REDOUBTABLE, CHIVALRIC CODE OF GENUINE HONOR, BUT..._*
*_...FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM X!!!!!!!_*
Seeing X change truly hurt my heart and the way he said "mother shan't be too pleased" chilled me to bone
This deserves so many more views. It is greatly scary, and scarily great.
jasper also played this so well, he's a very amazing friend
I love it when my 2 favorite characters in the show are together!
If eating another Vampire can give X their Powers
and Strength. I hope X doesn't eat Jasper.
The moment X was like "I'M TALKING TO HIS BEAST NOW!" had me like "WHOA!"
Xander is incredible at portraying the Malkavian insanity. Well played!
This is the best portrayal of a Malkavian since the game ever was. I was blown away by this episode. Unbelievable acting! I… wow. ❤
I eat my words when I ever for a second accused X ever being even borderline fishmalk
this is brilliant
Really upset at what has happened with X. I hope he can get back to his normal soon. One of my favourite characters and I hate to see him like this.
Sorry to say but I think *this* is what is now normal for him and he was never really going to be the cheerful, zany dude without Therese forcing him to spy on people for her.
@@dimitriid She was the one who sent him over the edge. She is and was abusive to him and now X has someone new abusing him.. Chloe.
As a viewer I love to see him like this because its like, finally some straight up brutality and insanity in what is a brutal and insane world
X being this way isn't too unexpected, given how Therese's ghoul in Bloodlines 1 was shown to be.
I love it, he didn't really feel unhinged or damaged at all before. He felt kooky, not insane.
This 40 minutes felt like 2 minutes. Just wow
Xander Jeannerett blew my mind. The acting was supreme.
Gods I should have known that X didn't SIRE someone and leave them at the bottom of the ocean, but was the one to whom that was done. Damn.
Hello, Good evening, and welcome....
My Vampire fix for the week...
5 words to brighten the darkest day
@@lasombramagister2668
Hahahahahaaaa
It is pure sweet honey! X is malkave incarnate! Love it so much!
Also Jasper get him!
Best beast interaction of the season in m'y opinion.
Hope for next season to come soon and that in the next game we could stumble on some stuff that happen here!
Wow. I literally just finished the previous episode. Glad I refreshed the page.
I know it's been over two months but I'm surprised no one have mentioned how much the set up of this episode plays out like one in session 1 episode 12. In that episode X tells Annabelle about the embrace. Then he go off to say that maybe some will do it to make a friend who knows what you are going through. And then maybe thay go crazy and you have to steak them tie a rock to them and sink them in the ocean in a boat.
But he was just telling Annabelle a story that did not happen right? X will never have done something like that right?
We don’t know
'What ever Therese did to X...she NEEDS to meet the sun for.
Xander is... Genious.
I *totally* love how he's gone from a jovial "fool" to all Blade-vamp :D
"I suffer, but I still live. It's true that I may be a sort of phantom in life, but I know my beginning and I know my end. It is true that I am an X in an indeterminate equation, the X that will terrify mankind as it voyages through a million galaxies. But no matter. That X is the rock upon which I stand."
The Architect was wrong, when he said that insanity of a Malkavian is not contagious.
Okay, this episode was hard to follow, but I am grateful for all the meme faces Xander Jeanneret has made. Many screenshots have been made, and a gif.
29:08-29:40 This is probably the funniest part in this episode.
I hope im not the only one who really REALLY wanna see Jeanette and Therese alive... well sort of at least ;)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but neither X nor Jasper licked the wound on the homeless guy and he's heading to the hospital.......... It'll be fine..........
Edit: Unless the Lore has been changed, Therese is a 6th generation vampire. IF she is X's sire that would make him 7th... 0.o
And he is committing diablerie like no tomorrow lolol
His beast seems to imply that it is indeed her. For a 7th gen he has been surprisingly weak up until this point, but then again, he hasn't really been one for combat thus far. However he did just diablerize a guy, which would slowly move his gen up bit by bit if he continues.
@ Generation is just a measure of a Kindred's _potential_ power, if an Antedeluvian were to wake up and Embrace someone, yes, that Kindred would be 3rd Generation, but they would also still just be a fledgling.
@ It's not, though, the extra XP you get in V5 for being a lower Generation Kindred is based on how long you've lived and, in earlier editions, you had to specifically buy lower Generation with your character creation resources which meant your starting character was _less_ powerful.
The only advantage is that you get more "Rouse Rerolls"/"Blood Points"
Poor X. The guy snapped.
X it's ok, you are okay. We are okay! Gives X a big HUG....
he eats you
X from being the comic relief to this creature, JFC, that remided me qhy Malks are a scary bunch
love x but he’s a liability now and it’s cruel for annabelle and jasper to act like they can take out therese, they shouldn’t encourage it. the anarchs need therese and if he goes after her he’s just going to die because she’s a powerful 6th generation. the kindest thing would be to put him into torpor until after the war 💔
Therese is 6th Generation?!?!
Therese is interested in joining the Camarilla.
@@Wolfways we don't know what her real motive is really, i could be infiltration like she said who knows
@@JoshStasio884 Well she also has a reason to dislike the anarchs. Jeanette.
Aaron Goldsmith yes her sire is jacob, the 5th generation elder malkavian from milwaukee
Damn, X is giving me anxiety with his tremors and fragmented breathing.
Only a Malkavian could talk to someone else's beast. hahahah I love X chiming in still in character.
Wow perfect acting man they were really living the characters
I though that Therese is genious Malkavian play... but X is something else. Applaud to him! He is great.
Holy wow... the roleplay is next level on this episode.
Anyone else have this feeling that X is gonna meet the Final Death next season?
Now that you're saying it... wouldn't be surprised... I don't like the idea, though
I don't see him surviving a confrontation with Theres
a malk in x's state is a danger to everything the masquerade the herd every thing and everyone near him. if they can't get him worked back around then final death is the kindest thing his friends can do for him.
Putting him in torpor till things settle could also work
@@JoshStasio884 that would remove him from the board for the moment but what happen when he is revived and still to far out of his head.
this episode is Jasper tripsittting X
18:20 oh shit
29:16 x talking to jasper's beast
Ah, man, too bad. Everyone knows there is no fixing X, the Malks has to deal with this, the lucky ones gets the minimum of the clan bane, Alistair Grout figured, he understood it most among other Malkavians, I think.
Did the Eater eat X's name? (Love it when Malks aren't portrayed as funny or goofy.)
I don't think that conversation with Eva saying she didn't know if she loved Jasper happened - adding that to X pushing her to do 'what she has to do' and him saying she'd go be with Katya instead of with Jasper, that worries me. Seems like he's intentionally trying to drive them further apart for Chloe's sake, even as he worries about much bigger issues.
Jasper is one hell of a friend, being with him through all that.
This is one fascinating episode and I'm in awe of Xander, seriously. But here I am obsessing over Alex's long fingers; they're a thing of beauty. rofl
This was so emotional to watch. I really would love to find a way to join their game.
This looks like an awesome black metal band!
“You look TERRIBLE”
*its my birthday*
DAMN hes gone full psycho! lol
"i told her not to touch me"
Yo who do I have to pay to watch Alex Ward and Xander Jeannerett play TTRPGS? cuz this chemistry is stupid fucking good.
For a moment last regular episode I thought X was teaching B the truth about the monster, one second into this video teaches me otherwise.
Remember one thing sometimes Crazy People are abnormally Strong.
I've worked with them, and they only seem extra strong if you don't understand how strong people actually are. Most people only consciously use a fraction of their power, because they don't know how to apply it properly and are afraid of pain. Crazies may tap into more of that fraction, because they don't care as much about the pain. Their medication often makes them more reckless with their own potential.
However, compared to someone who is trained and experienced at actually applying power, they are still undisciplined and easily overcome by informed techniques.
These principles apply to both physical and metaphysical matters.
See one thing that is making me wonder is that if its possible to have a bloodlines type situation again with Jeanette and Therese in that its possible to get rid of one personality without the other being harmed.
Sadly, I don't think so. The derangement that a Malkavian acquires after their embrace is supposed to be incurable. "Killing" one personality might only be a temporary solution. And even if Therese does vanish forever, it's likely that a new personality would manifest to replace her.
Jaspers "oh shit" made me giggle
oh god poor X
Now, *that* was some horror.
This seems an episode of MR.Robot and i loved it, there is one wich the main character is needing drugs so their friends have to look it up for him, pure gold showing how addiction is fucked up. This one is about regreat and im all for it
Some of the best acting I have ever seen bar none.
I need to add to this comment. I always felt the most comfortable playing a Gangrel. The Brujah were always too SJW and the...yeah...nvmind.
The Malks and the Nos I usually made friends with over the others when I was LARPing out in Portland. Malks have such a unique perspective on the world and the Nos see more of what is truly valuable. This interaction is everything I could of hoped for.
I will continue to watch this through to the end. Thank you to the actors and a large thank you to Mr. Carl for being a fantastic storyteller.
@James Richardson :-) What was ypur favorite part of being a gangrel?
I LARPed a brujah sheriff. Very neonate under the paw of a Toreador prince who ruled by permitting me to mercilessly spill vitae. Kyle the Ruthless was an environmental terrorist who killed a Cam kindred every two weeks. His descent into humanity loss was meteoric eventually cratering in an all out uprising of the cities kindred that left him meeting the final death and resulted in an archons purge while his prince went on the run for the umpteenth time in her unlife.
29:11 Now that's brilliant.
My hope for S5: to see Full-Malkavian X act against Dementation'd Vannevar. I don't know to what end, only that I want to see it happen.
Jasper but no Eva? My heart is broken
I wish Eva was there to watch Jaspers back.
Speaking of Eva, I don't remember a conversation X had with Eva where she said "I don't know" about loving Jasper. Its possible they had the conversation "off camera" but its possible X made that up to manipulate Jasper? Its also possible it happened and i don't remember it.
@@Roastedpot i don't recall that conversation either
@@Roastedpot It might have been Xander misremembering the conversation they had while dancing
@@Roastedpot That didn't happen. I've binge-watched the entire thing in the past week and that wasn't anywhere. It worries me because he also seemed very glad that Katya was back and Eva had a new love interest (for Chloe's sake?) and he also told Eva to go do what 'she must do' without knowing much about it at all. It kinda makes me feel he's trying to drive Eva and Jasper apart even in such an awful situation and that'd be... a lot.
I'm just wondering if there's been any announcement about season five, I need my fix!