When Critical Role campaign 4 first began, DM Brennan Lee Mulligan told me the series had five key tenets. Those were “Swords, Family, Death, Magic, and Kissing”. We’ve had those first four in ample amounts, but, until recently, the storyline was pretty sans-kissing. All that’s changed in the past few weeks.
The bad news is that the team has kicked things off with the most predictable romance plotlines possible. First, we saw Kattigan Vale and Murray Mag’Nesson getting intimate. I’m a huge fan of both characters (Murray in particular, is one of my favorites), but I can see why some fans online have taken to calling this ‘the hetero ship no one cares about’.
Kattigan (Robbie Daymond) and Murray (Marisha Ray) both ooze charisma, and they’ve been hinting at a shared attraction for some time. Neither has really stolen the emotional heart of the campaign yet, though.
Kattigan in particular took a back seat from the plot whilst at the Soldier’s table. Despite his sad, increasingly relevant backstory, this might be why the fandom cares less about whether he gets to bump uglies. Murray, meanwhile, has been a major player in key plot beats, but she’s also been seen more as the campaign’s busty, loudmouthed comic relief.
The result of this combo? A romance that landed with less of a bang and more of a sad, wet thump (or should that be hump…?) I’d be interested to see Ray and Daymond turn this into a more compelling storyline, but I’d be fine with things ending as a one-night stand.
A second, slightly more impactful romance was revealed in last week’s Episode 37. This, too, is a heteronormative romance the fanbase saw coming a mile off. Tyranny (Whitney Moore) finally admitted she loves Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel), and his affections are starting to seem more than platonic, too.
Heck, (spoilers! spoilers coming!), after Wick released her from a contract with his family, he followed Tyranny straight back to the Pit. After she helped save him time and again, he realized she was who he saw when his eyes closed – and he would never leave her again.
Why, then, has this been christened ‘the hetero ship everyone loves’? Like Murray and Kattigan, Wick and Tyranny have often been a source of comic relief, and they aren’t as impactful plotwise as characters like Hal, Occtis, Julien, or Bolaire. Like Ray and Daymond, Moore and Riegel are both compelling to watch. What’s the fundamental difference between these two romances?
For me, the answer is screentime. The pair has been together from the beginning. They started the game with a shared backstory. They’ve always sat beside each other at the table.
That gives the actors plenty of time to establish a rapport, craft a shared history, and create chemistry. The romance pays off because there’s been more build-up. It feels more earned than a kiss between characters who, because of the campaign’s three-table structure, meet infrequently.
Plus, because Wick’s family are crucial to the politics of Aramán, what happens to these characters has always been relevant. The results of their romance could have a direct impact on the main storyline, giving the audience more reason to become emotionally invested in the outcome.
So, when Tyranny finally voiced her feelings, my reaction was to cheer rather than sigh. Thanks to careful planning by Brennan Lee Mulligan (who teased this out of his players right before a huge assassination set piece), episodes 36 and 37 are some of the campaign’s most exciting yet. I’ve been watching campaign 4 every week for over a year, and this is the first time I’ve been really, truly dying to know what happens next Thursday.
The highs and lows of these early romances leave lessons behind for future paramours. Adequate build-up is key to getting the audience behind your pairing. That might prove challenging for a table with so many players acting at different tables. But, if Critical Role can pull it off, the results will be spectacular.
Want to chat more about Critical Role? Join us for a chat in the Wargamer Discord. Or, if you’d like to do your own romantic roleplaying, our guides to DnD classes and DnD races can help you get started.
Source: Wargamer
