Warning: This article contains spoilers for the second campaign of “Critical Role,” and the animated series “The Mighty Nein” and “The Legend of Vox Machina.”
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Stolen religious relics with the power to end or continue a shadowy civilization. Young mages corrupted by their teacher for a mysterious and evil purpose. A leviathan demigod imprisoned under the western sea, manipulating his followers through watery dreams. A deceased friend brought back to life to haunt you. The new animated TV series “The Mighty Nein” follows a ragtag band of adventurers dragged into a quest to save their world from these threatening occurrences.
“The Mighty Nein,” which premiered on Amazon Prime on Nov. 19, is based on the second campaign of the live-play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) show, “Critical Role.” “Critical Role” debuted in 2015 with a group of voice actors livestreaming their D&D campaign, and has since grown into one of the most well-known pieces of D&D media. The group has created three full campaigns, totaling over 1400 hours of gameplay. In 2019, “Critical Role” launched a Kickstarter campaign to create an animated adaptation of their first campaign called, “The Legend of Vox Machina.” They raised over $11 million, making it the fifth most funded Kickstarter project at the time.
After the positive response to “The Legend of Vox Machina,” “Critical Role” announced in 2023 that they would be creating a second animated series, called “The Mighty Nein.” This show is based off of the second campaign of “Critical Role,” which focuses on political corruption and intrigue, with the main characters’ effort to stop a war over a magical relic, while also coming to terms with their own pasts. The Critical Role Wiki Fandom page for “The Mighty Nein (animated)” states that the series “aims for deeper emotional arcs, focusing initially on showing character backstories rather than revealing them in flashbacks.”
The first episode, “Mote of Possibility,” presents Caleb Widogast, a once-powerful wizard with high ambitions and a troubled past, and Nott the Brave, a sneaky young goblin with an addiction to stealing and alcohol. Beauregard “Beau” Lionett, a monk sent to secretly investigate an elite sect of wizard assassins known as volstruckers, is also introduced. Marcin M., a “Mighty Nein” fan who is partially through the second campaign of “Critical Role,” noted that this animated pilot made him significantly more interested in Beau because her character’s background was revealed early on. In the second campaign, “Marisha [Ray] just did too good of a job of portraying an obnoxious, oblivious puncher of things,” which can make Beau difficult to like, says Marcin M.. However, in the first episode of “The Mighty Nein,” viewers see Beau demoted from her original position for discovering corruption within her organization, and may find themselves sympathizing with her.
Episode two, “Who Will You Be?”, features Jester Lavorre, a mischievous and sheltered blue tiefling — a creature that has both human and devil ancestry — playing pranks on the patrons and crew of her mother’s elaborate and alluring show. Clementine Di Bartolo, a Franklin junior who has been a “Critical Role” fan for more than two years, says that Jester is one of her favorite characters. She empathizes with the way that Jester has “all these big, fanciful expectations of the world that probably won’t be met.” Jester is then introduced to Fjord, a half-orc sailor struggling with self-esteem issues after his ship wrecked and his captain left him a cursed sword and high expectations. Andy Vanderheyden-Portela, who has been watching “Critical Role” since 2015, considers Fjord his favorite character, and finds the arc of being “thrust into a quasi-leadership position that he didn’t really want,” to be extremely compelling. Additionally, Travis Willingham, the actor who voices Fjord, stands out for having a playstyle and personality that differs from the other “Critical Role” cast members. Vanderheyden-Portela notes that “he felt like a fish-out-of-water both as a character and a player.” However, he appreciates this. “He seems everyone’s biggest cheerleader,” Vanderheyden-Portela says. He also notes that watching the romance between Fjord and Jester develop was very interesting, as Willingham is married to the actress who voices Jester. Marcin M.,, despite not having completed the entire campaign, is curious about Fjord’s character in the show as well, as he has “a new interest in warlocks and their patrons and prices to be paid,” which is a significant theme in Fjord’s story.
Back in the first episode of “The Mighty Nein,” the volstruckers steal a magical relic known as the Luxon Beacon, which allows dark elves to live many lifetimes. In an attempt to save his mother’s life, dark-elven wizard Essek Thelyss allies himself with the volstruckers and shares with them information about the Beacon and his peoples’ magic, which gives them the ability to manipulate time and gravity. Vanderheyden-Portela notes that this subplot is part of the show’s attempt to “[give] us concrete information on what the threat is and just how sinister the big bads are.”
By episode three, “The Fletching & Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities,” all of these characters — except for Essek, whose plot so far has been separate — are gathered together in the small southern town of Trostenwald, which is overrun with a struggling but impressive carnival. Their storylines collide with Mollymauk Tealeaf, an extravagant, genderfluid tiefling who works for the carnival as a fortune teller. Throughout this episode and the rest of the season, the characters work to overcome their original hostile feelings towards one another, and join together to form an adventuring party called “The Mighty Nein.”
In “Critical Role,” viewers meet another character at this time, the aasimar — a both angel and human blooded species — barbarian Yasha Nydoorin.Vanderheyden-Portela notes that he “can’t wait to see how they’ve reworked Yasha to be incorporated into the story,” recalling that she “didn’t feel as integral [to the live-play] because Yasha’s player … often had scheduling conflicts during campaign two.”
Despite not being advertised as an LGBTQ+ show, “The Mighty Nein” features characters of many different gender identities and sexualities. It can be difficult to find media that treats queer identities as facets of characters rather than just plot points, which is something that “Critical Role” does well. Yet, Vanderheyden-Portela feels that “they [don’t] do a ton of true queer representation on the show [because] in Exandria, the lived experience of queer folks is fundamentally different from the experience of those in our world.” He compares it to the sitcom “Schitt’s Creek,” where “the world itself isn’t discriminatory … and it ends up being just a nice cozy show where everyone is accepted.” Most of the cast members of “Critical Role” are not openly LGBTQ+, which makes it difficult to portray certain struggles. Whether a show like “The Mighty Nein” offers genuine queer representation is debatable and up to interpretation. However, it is still positive to see LGBTQ+ relationships portrayed on screen.
“The Mighty Nein” and its counterpart “The Legend of Vox Machina” are both TV-MA shows that contain graphic violence, sexual scenes, and swearing. For viewers with D&D knowledge, the livestream of “Critical Role” is highly recommended. Marcin M. does not play D&D, but was able to get interested in “Critical Role” by “framing it as … a story by talented voice actors.” However, for those who don’t have the time to commit to the full experience, watching “The Legend of Vox Machina” or “The Mighty Nein” are excellent alternatives. Both shows are available on Amazon Prime, with the final episode of “The Mighty Nein” premiering on Dec. 21. Even if you’re new to D&D or “Critical Role” and are just looking for an enjoyable fantasy show, “The Mighty Nein” fits the bill perfectly. With its detailed plotlines, diverse cast of characters, and themes of found family and self discovery, “The Mighty Nein” delivers something for everyone.
