Prime Video’s new Critical Role animated series, The Mighty Nein, is proving to be one of the best shows out there right now. Not only is the series beautiful to look at and full of Critical Role‘s typical heart, laughs, and Dungeons & Dragons fantasy, but it is also not afraid to be dark and devastating. In The Mighty Nein‘s fifth episode, “Little Spark,” the series brings depressed trash wizard Caleb Widogast’s backstory to life without holding back, drawing on the original campaign and Dark Horse’s The Mighty Nein Origins comics. It’s a tale that would put Game of Thrones‘ most brutal episodes to shame. The Mighty Nein embraces every vicious twist and turn in Caleb’s history, and it also makes some incredible changes to this backstory, which evolve Liam O’Brien’s character, his past, and present in the best (worst) way.
The Mighty Nein Uses Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins–Caleb Widogast Comic to Tell Its Tale
Caleb Widogast’s backstory is one of the most harrowing we’ve seen in fiction, and that’s saying something. Murdering your whole family, including your cat, by burning them alive is… INTENSE. But it’s one thing to hear about a backstory secondhand, or glimpse flashbacks of it, as we did in Critical Role‘s original The Mighty Nein campaign episode 18, “Whispers of War.” And it’s even another thing to read about it in a comic, as we did in Dark Horse’s The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast comic. But to see it depicted in full color and detail on our screens is intense in a way we couldn’t previously fathom.
In The Mighty Nein episode five, “Little Spark,” the Prime Video series adapts a lot of what we see in a more abridged fashion in The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast comic. In fact, some comic panels feel like they became literal storyboards for the episode. That includes: Caleb’s training at the Soltryce Academy, Trent Ikithon recruiting him to the Volstrucker, the embedding of residuum tattoos to enhance their magical abilities, his triad with Astrid and Eadwulf, and, of course, Caleb murdering his family and cat Frumpkin by burning them alive with his own powers.
Of course, in an animated series, there’s the ability to add in even more drama and naunce to the tale. And the way it is intercut with Caleb’s present-day interrogation and torture of fellow Volstrucker member Owelia, and his eventual second loss of control when it comes to his fire powers, mirroring the burning of his family, allows The Mighty Nein to deliver Caleb’s backstory with a massive punch.
One Minor Change to Caleb’s Backstory in The Mighty Nein Makes the Coming Fights More Personal
Of course, The Mighty Nein is an adaptation, and the most powerful thing an adaptation can do is help evolve the narrative. One minor change The Mighty Nein made to Caleb’s backstory from both the campaign and the comics has to do with his first meeting with Trent Ikithon. And this change cements a critical shift in Caleb’s relationship with one of The Mighty Nein‘s major villains. In The Mighty Nein series, Trent Ikithon comes to the village of Blumenthal to personally audit Caleb as an applicant to the Soltryce Academy. Trent Ikithon actually represents Caleb’s first contact with the academy, making their relationship much more personal. This is a new addition to Caleb’s Critical Role history courtesy of The Mighty Nein series.
Trent Ikithon personally recruiting Caleb to the Soltryce Academy puts a whole different spin on their relationship. In The Mighty Nein animated series, this overture by Trent Ikithon makes him the person who gives Caleb the thing he wants most in this world, the chance to learn and improve his magic. And this first meeting that binds them tightly together. The Mighty Nein makes the pair’s relationship even stronger than just mentor and mentee, but Trent Ikithon becomes Caleb’s actual savior, lifting him up and taking him into the world he loves so much. It’s Trent Ikithon who gives Caleb what he perceives to be his first real chance. The heightened personal nature of their relationship will surely make everything that happens next in The Mighty Nein that much more intense.
The Mighty Nein‘s Big Change to Caleb’s Backstory Makes Him More Responsible for His Dark Past
In addition to the matter of Caleb and Trent Ikithon’s first meeting, The Mighty Nein makes an even more major change to Caleb’s Critical Role past. Major and devastating.
In The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast comic, Caleb’s murder of his parents actually stems from a different source. Trent Ikithon magically manipulates Caleb’s memories, leading him to believe he heard his parents and others in the village say seditious things against the Dwendalian Empire. And it is only after this manipulation that Trent Ikithon convinces Caleb to burn his parents alive. In The Mighty Nein series, however, at least in the version of events we’ve seen so far, no magical manipulation or knowledge of seditious acts takes place. Caleb seems to take Trent Ikithon at his word that his parents are traitors. He appears to willingly go to murder them because he has drunk so much of the magical Kool-Aid presented to him at the Academy. This truly shifts the onus of responsibility for the deaths onto Caleb’s shoulders.
Of course, it may still be revealed that Caleb was manipulated by Trent Ikithon in the fashion of the Critical Role comics. But regardless, Caleb appears to believe he went willingly on only someone’s word, and so the blame and hurt the results cause resonate inside him that much more intensely. If Caleb really did change so much that he did not even question the murder of his parents in The Mighty Nein, then his struggles to forgive himself and heal will no doubt be even more challenging than in any previous iteration of the character.
We Have to Offer Love to The Mighty Nein’s Beautiful Depiction of a Triad
All that said, we just have to show some love for the beautiful, respectful depiction of the triad between Caleb, Astrid, and Eadwulf in The Mighty Nein. The trio is seen to love one another as fully and equally, just as any more traditional couple would. The relationships between each pair of them are given careful attention, as is the overarching relationship among all three. This kind of queerness is rarely depicted in our mainstream stories, so we applaud The Mighty Nein for bringing it to life so wonderfully.
The Mighty Nein is now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes release on Wednesdays. We can’t wait to see what devastation The Mighty Nein has in store for us next.
The post THE MIGHTY NEIN Changes Caleb’s Backstory In the Best (Worst) Way appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com
You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .
Why USAGoldMines ?
USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.