Heartwarming / Critical Role Shades Of Gray

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Episode 48: Homeward Bound

• As Jester says goodbye to her mother again. Marion not only goes outside to send Jester off, despite her agoraphobia, but she also gives her a present: a small ruby on a gold chain, so Jester will know The Ruby is always with her.
• In his own weird way, Caleb's intense fear that something might happen to the people he's come to consider as friends if Trent or his followers find him. He's developed genuine It's Not You, It's My Enemies concern towards them, which means, though he doesn't admit it, he does care about them.
  Caleb: The problem with friends is you have to care about them!
• Jester buys a mushroom cookbook as a present for Caduceus.
• Caduceus and Fjord chat, and Caduceus tells him what the Wildmother told him about Vandran. He then tells Fjord he trusts him, as it takes a good person to resist the kind of temptation he has.
• The end of the episode reveals where Nott's Mama Bear tendencies come from: she's an actual mother to a halfling boy. It's also revealed that the child is who Nott's packages of buttons and trinkets were sent to.
• After Nott lashes out at him, Caleb becomes so horribly panicked that he vomits from the stress. Caduceus immediately jumps in, picking him up to pull him aside and reassure him. Doesn't quite work, since Caleb is in a very bad place emotionally, but his speech is resonant.
  Caduceus: You're not at fault here. You're the solution here. You know that, right? We're here to fix this. Don't let her anger— It's not about you. This is not about you.

Episode 49: A Game of Names

• Caleb tells the rest of the Nein a slightly abridged version of his backstory, and they accept him, with Jester in particular telling him that she thinks he's a good person.
  Caleb: Oh, Jester. I am glad you see good in me.
  • In addition, Beau apologizes to Caleb for not understanding what he was saying the day before, and tells him that it's fine if he doesn't believe in anything, but she asks him to believe in them just a little. Caleb assures her that he doesn't doubt any of them at all.
  • While struggling to get the words out for his backstory, Caleb puts his arm on Beau's shoulder for reassurance and she clasps his hand. This simple, sweet gesture between two people who have difficulty with friendship is made even more poignant because it's the same thing that Caleb does whenever he's looking through Frumpkin's eyes — he holds onto Beau to stabilize him. Except now, she's keeping him steady through his emotions.
• One of the most heartwarming reactions to Nott's backstory reveal comes from Beau of all people.
  Beau: I don't think we rubbed off on you, you rubbed off on us.
  • And another one, this time towards Caleb. Considering the struggles they both have regarding communicating with each other, all she needs to say to get to him, to finally get her point across, are two simple words spoken with a gentleness and vulnerability rarely seen by anyone else.
    Beau: "Don't run."
• Nott's adorable description of Yeza, making little comments about his sideburns and nose, and saying that he's "not a looker" — but he is to her.
  • Followed up by this interaction:
    Caleb: He seems like an interesting fellow.
    Nott: He was wonderful.
    Fjord, Caduceus and Jester: Is.
    Nott: Is.
    Beau: How long have you two been married?
    Nott: Do you count the time that I was dead and a goblin?
    Fjord: Yes.
• When Nott tells the Mighty Nein that the Felderwin villagers, upon seeing a goblin, run and get help, Caduceus reassures Nott:
  Caduceus: I mean, Nott, you ran and got help, here we are.
• After Nott's emotional confession, Jester kindly offers her some candy. Nott wanted lots of them, so Jester dumped a handful into her palms. Becomes a Funny Background Event when Laura immediately gets candy for herself and not Sam.

Episode 50: The Endless Burrows

• Before making her run across the lava river Nott thinks of Yeza and uses that to motivate herself to keep going.
  Nott: I close my eyes and imagine my beautiful husband, waiting for me, needing me. And I run across the lava.

Episode 51: Xhorhas

• Caleb stops wearing his bandages because he doesn't need to hide his scars anymore. It's a small moment, but indicative of how much Caleb now trusts the party.
• When tattooing "Tusktooth" on Gluzo, Jester asks to see Fjord's tusks, and tattoos one of the tusks just like Fjord's — a little stumpy, but growing. Fjord seems a bit uncomfortable at first but then thanks Jester.
• Caleb holds Nott's rope while crossing the river, even though he doesn't have to, just to make her feel useful.

Episode 52: Feral Business

• While discussing Caleb having learned Polymorph Nott takes a moment to gush over how fast he learns things and how proud she is of him, even mentioning that it's one of the things she loves about him. After how tense their relationship has been for the last few sessions it's nice to be reminded of how much she does care about him.
  • Moreover, Caleb says he learnt Polymorph because of Nott and her backstory. Polymorph is a stepping stone to what Nott needs to turn back into a Halfling.
• When Nott gets dangerously injured in the fight with the fiend dogs, Fjord immediately Misty Steps toward her, grabs her and Thundersteps back to Caduceus for healing. To get this done he needs to use his movement, his bonus action, his action and two spell slots, but he does so without hesitation. This is a far cry from the Nein's earlier attitudes, where they would often deliberate between helping their friends or getting a bit more damage in, sometimes choosing the latter.

Episode 55: Duplicity

• Beau, having not seen Caleb cast Fireball on the group, spends her entire first turn of battle against him just holding his wrist and asking if he's okay.
• After Yasha breaks the charm on Caleb, Nott immediately rushes to his side and gives him a healing potion. It's a small moment, but a sweet one.
• When reviving Caduceus, Jester asks the Traveler to tell the Wildmother that he needs her help - the Traveler's hand appears, he says "I'm so very proud of you", and an image of the Wildmother appears for a split second as the Revivify is successful.
  • It's easy to miss, since it happens in the background of Caleb and Nott looting the bodies of the succubus and incubus, but Caduceus and Jester have a little moment afterwards, with Laura and Taliesin actually leaning up against eachother in real life.
    Jester: Hey, that was pretty cool, huh?
    Caduceus: Yeah, that was pretty cool. (places a hand on her arm; softly) Thank you.
    Jester: You're welcome. I'm sorry I didn't heal you earlier.
    Caduceus: Eh, better later than never.

Episode 56: The Favor

• The ending of the episode, where Caleb gave the Beacon back to the Kryn: Matt's description of the tension in the room vanishing, weapons clattering to the ground in reverent shock, and Empress Leylas Kryn tearing up in joy and relief as the dodecahedral object returned to her custody. She proclaims the Nein heroes of the dynasty, where moments earlier she was set to cast them into prison with righteous fury. It might have been an act of desperation on Caleb's part, but his show of kindness and trust by returning an artifact of unknown power to a regime shrouded in mystery has changed everything.

Episode 57: In Love and War

• Nott/Veth and Yeza's reunion is one big one. Despite Nott's fear that Yeza might reject her or hate her for her appearance, when she drops her illusion, he accepts her and the pair spend minutes just holding each other. When Nott says she's still afraid because she'll have to leave him and go back, he says she has nothing more to fear, because she's already come all this way once before.
  • Before Nott enters the room, Jester talks with Yeza to reassure him that Veth loves him and that she came all that way for him. She's also quick to say she'll cut Yeza if he hurts Nott.
  • While introducing the group to Yeza, she introduces Caleb as the second smartest man she knows. Who she considers the smartest man is a heartwarming reminder of how highly she thinks of Yeza, even while making comments about how he's a disaster in the kitchen or how she can recognize him by his burp.
  • That night, Nott chooses not to share a bed with Yeza and instead lies down on the floor. After a brief conversation, Yeza brings the pillows and blankets off of the bed to join his wife on the floor and they fall asleep together for the first time in long while.
• We find out that Yasha protects the group as a way to honour Molly's memory, as he once took care of her.
• Caleb pulls Beau aside right before the episode ends and openly says that he needs her to trust him and be his friend and that he thinks their goals are aligned. He pleads for her to be his friend. Beau's response is that she has been his friend for a long time and that she trusts him, but that she feels he needs to trust himself. She also gives him a hug.