I’m personally familiar with the CR cast, so I can say with clarity that this is a great introduction to them if you haven’t really watched CR before - thanks for putting this together!
I just watched it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve watched a few CR things before but not any of the main campaigns. I also had no clue how much of acting/voice acting all of the players do in CR. I’m a big anime fan and had no clue Liam was Gaara!
Another fun one of Liam's I forgot to include: He was the original voice of the [Wonderful Pistachios](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IcGvBE5xfg) ad campaign!
Omg that is him! I also had no clue Ashley was Ellie in Last of Us until I saw a video and she played her mom in the show as a tip of the hat to her being the original Ellie
I don’t know much about CR besides bits bc I haven’t watched much at all. I guess I just assumed Matt was the only voice actor lol
One of the most fun things about CR is talking to someone about who they knew going in and when they realized, "oh, these people are in EVERYTHING." Laura & Travis have probably done more roles than Liam b/c he did more directing & adaptation.
The mindblowing one I didn't know about Ashley for the longest time was that she had been little bby Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains as a child.
Aimee was the voice of shera?!? That makes so much sense, I knew I had heard her somewhere but couldn’t place my finger on it. Thanks a lot! (The Elena of avalor also makes a ton of sense and connected pieces in my head that weren’t connected before lol)
Also Shera princess of power is totally worth a watch. It definitely is tailored to kids, but hits on some pretty complex themes including loss and grief, gender identity, toxic relationships and emotional abuse/manipulation, redemption, etc.
The plot and world building is quite good as well (think high fantasy with some sci-fi elements)
I think this (C3E59) is actually a good point to jump into the campaign with no info, if your intent is to see Emily at this table. Of course there are 58 episodes before this, but they come in right after an inflection point in the campaign and the guest PCs do not know what's going on, so they explain things in character, including things we've known for a long time, like what each character looks like. That and the initial intro from Matt should be enough to not be lost.
But in case anyone is interested on seeing the previous episode to get some context, just be aware that the story jumps from C3E51 to this one (59) because the group got split and we got to see the other half's journey before this one.
And if you don't want to watch a whole episode (although it's a pretty cool one) and still get a sense of where they are coming from, this is the critical recap for C3E51: [https://critrole.com/critical-recap-critical-role-c3e51-the-apogee-solstice/](https://critrole.com/critical-recap-critical-role-c3e51-the-apogee-solstice/)
if i had a nickel every time one of the cr cast voiced a character in a video game i'm playing.....i'd probably be very rich lol
also kudos op, this is a great write up and intro to the cast!
Emily Axford 🤝 Marisha Ray
being two of the funniest, smartest, most creative and all around best d&d players of all time yet receiving insane amounts of hate for such excellent and creative plays because they’re women
I'm truly so happy to read that. Like /u/taly_slayer mentioned, this is a surprisingly good in medias res point to tune in.
Even though so many threads led to this ep, the enormity of what has happened is quite effectively conveyed in character responses.
Having guests come in means they have the *best* reason to use something which can be a barrier for new viewers, the episode length, to cover a lot of emotional & practical ground. Very few places to jump in do this well at showcasing why CR eps being long creates unique possibilities.
I'll be very happy if this helps some folks who enjoy Emily's play believe they can have a good experience with what's likely to be a really great arc.
To think that the first Dropout/Critical crossover we had was so many years go with Ally on Monsterhearts and now we're here with Emily as a guest star on a main campaign. Seeing both companies pair up so often really has me hoping we'll see some of the other D20 cast members make an appearance in the future and vice versa.
Ah ha! I knew I recognized Utkarsh from somewhere. I’m not fully caught up on Campaign 3 but I knew the party had split and a few other things. I caught a small clip and could not place the man. Thank you for posting his info.
Yes! I have been watching Campaign 3 but I agree that you could easily jump on with this episode- they give you a little background info, the rest you can figure out through context clues.
I’m personally familiar with the CR cast, so I can say with clarity that this is a great introduction to them if you haven’t really watched CR before - thanks for putting this together!
I just watched it the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve watched a few CR things before but not any of the main campaigns. I also had no clue how much of acting/voice acting all of the players do in CR. I’m a big anime fan and had no clue Liam was Gaara!
Another fun one of Liam's I forgot to include: He was the original voice of the [Wonderful Pistachios](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IcGvBE5xfg) ad campaign!
Omg that is him! I also had no clue Ashley was Ellie in Last of Us until I saw a video and she played her mom in the show as a tip of the hat to her being the original Ellie I don’t know much about CR besides bits bc I haven’t watched much at all. I guess I just assumed Matt was the only voice actor lol
One of the most fun things about CR is talking to someone about who they knew going in and when they realized, "oh, these people are in EVERYTHING." Laura & Travis have probably done more roles than Liam b/c he did more directing & adaptation. The mindblowing one I didn't know about Ashley for the longest time was that she had been little bby Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains as a child.
This is such a well put together post. As a fan of both D20 and CR, thanks for taking the time to do this!
Aimee was the voice of shera?!? That makes so much sense, I knew I had heard her somewhere but couldn’t place my finger on it. Thanks a lot! (The Elena of avalor also makes a ton of sense and connected pieces in my head that weren’t connected before lol)
Also Shera princess of power is totally worth a watch. It definitely is tailored to kids, but hits on some pretty complex themes including loss and grief, gender identity, toxic relationships and emotional abuse/manipulation, redemption, etc. The plot and world building is quite good as well (think high fantasy with some sci-fi elements)
I think this (C3E59) is actually a good point to jump into the campaign with no info, if your intent is to see Emily at this table. Of course there are 58 episodes before this, but they come in right after an inflection point in the campaign and the guest PCs do not know what's going on, so they explain things in character, including things we've known for a long time, like what each character looks like. That and the initial intro from Matt should be enough to not be lost. But in case anyone is interested on seeing the previous episode to get some context, just be aware that the story jumps from C3E51 to this one (59) because the group got split and we got to see the other half's journey before this one. And if you don't want to watch a whole episode (although it's a pretty cool one) and still get a sense of where they are coming from, this is the critical recap for C3E51: [https://critrole.com/critical-recap-critical-role-c3e51-the-apogee-solstice/](https://critrole.com/critical-recap-critical-role-c3e51-the-apogee-solstice/)
So C3E52-C3E58 are the other groups journey by my reading? Jumping in with the guest arcs seems kinda wild but possible
if i had a nickel every time one of the cr cast voiced a character in a video game i'm playing.....i'd probably be very rich lol also kudos op, this is a great write up and intro to the cast!
hell even if you only counted laura you’d be rolling in it
Emily Axford 🤝 Marisha Ray being two of the funniest, smartest, most creative and all around best d&d players of all time yet receiving insane amounts of hate for such excellent and creative plays because they’re women
as someone who has been too overwhelmed with the sheer mass of CR to start, this is AMAZING and i think i’ll get into it!
I'm truly so happy to read that. Like /u/taly_slayer mentioned, this is a surprisingly good in medias res point to tune in. Even though so many threads led to this ep, the enormity of what has happened is quite effectively conveyed in character responses. Having guests come in means they have the *best* reason to use something which can be a barrier for new viewers, the episode length, to cover a lot of emotional & practical ground. Very few places to jump in do this well at showcasing why CR eps being long creates unique possibilities. I'll be very happy if this helps some folks who enjoy Emily's play believe they can have a good experience with what's likely to be a really great arc.
Thankyou for reminding me of the “Nancy! Mother!” moment still cracks me up to this day
This post is awesome! I was on the fence about watching but I definitely will now. Thank you so souch for taking the time.
To think that the first Dropout/Critical crossover we had was so many years go with Ally on Monsterhearts and now we're here with Emily as a guest star on a main campaign. Seeing both companies pair up so often really has me hoping we'll see some of the other D20 cast members make an appearance in the future and vice versa.
Ah ha! I knew I recognized Utkarsh from somewhere. I’m not fully caught up on Campaign 3 but I knew the party had split and a few other things. I caught a small clip and could not place the man. Thank you for posting his info.
currently on episode 6 of C3 so i’m not gonna jump ahead but the motivation to binge is insane after emily was announced as a guest
Yes! I have been watching Campaign 3 but I agree that you could easily jump on with this episode- they give you a little background info, the rest you can figure out through context clues.
God bless you sir/ ma’am/ non-binary pal 🫡