The clerics surrounding her say she’s taking on too much. Pike disagrees. If they won’t help her find the Everlight, she’ll do so on her own. Back at Whitestone, Vax and Keyleth burst into the room as Anders slits Cassandra’s throat. Keyleth rushes forward to try to heal her, but she isn’t confident she can. A green light begins healing Cassandra, but Percy doesn’t see. He’s going after Anders, who awakens suits of armour to fight for him. The rest of Vox Machina joins Percy, but the fun has only just begun for Anders. He licks his lips with a silver tongue and declares that Grog will kill his friends for him. Suddenly, the mighty barbarian turns against his friends. Unaware of her friends’ trouble, Pike plunges herself into darkness again. She screams for the Everlight, and the place becomes charged with fire as the being appears. The Everlight tells the gnome that lies will not lead her back to the light. Vox Machina meanwhile fights Grog, but he tanks most of their hits. When Vex points an arrow at Anders, he licks his lips again and takes control of everyone but Percy. Percy’s friends corner him. To buy time, he apologizes to the professor. He says his father never recognized his brilliance. Anders says he isn’t fooled, but Percy has already bought the time he needed. His eyes blacken, and shadowy tendrils rise from him as he points his gun to Anders and shoots him in the head. Just as Cassandra would have died, Anders chokes in a pool of his own blood. Percy puts his mask on to finish him off. His pepperbox glows red, displaying Anders’ name on the barrel. He shoots the professor again, and he falls out of the window to his death. They go inside to quickly clear the house, and Percy reunites with his sister. Cassandra is somewhat bitter towards him for leaving her behind. She says the Briarwoods have been parading her around Whitestone as someone who is loyal to them. All this time, however, she’s been feeding information to the Resistance. Vex then finds a star chart in the house that points to the solstice, which is five days from now. That’s supposedly how much time they have before Delilah begins the ritual. To give hope to the people of Whitestone, Keyleth causes the clouds in the sky to form the de Rolo crest. But Delilah sees the symbol as well. In response, she slits the throat of her steward and casts a spell with his blood and residuum glass. She tells Sylas she’s doing this to protect him. Then the dead in Whitestone begin rising out of their graves. Again, we see Pike screaming. The Everlight tells her she has been lying. Pike admits that she has left the path of righteousness. Her friends can be violent. They drink, fight, and curse–but she loves every second of it. She says she put Vox Machina before the Everlight. The goddess assures her that Pike can be whoever she wants to be in her light. So, she asks, who is she? Pike shuts her eyes tight, preparing to answer before the scene cuts back to the group. Scanlan, returning from his solo mission, finds his friends and warns them of zombies. He’s a bit late, however. The episode ends with a horde of undead closing around Vox Machina.
The Episode Review
Although I stand by my belief that Pike’s journey hasn’t been entirely relevant to the bigger plot, I did like her mini arc this episode with the Everlight. It delved into an interesting aspect of Pike’s character and her warring beliefs; I only wish we could have explored this arc as she remained with the group. If there’s one thing I’m worried about tiring of in this series, it’s probably the fight scenes. But animators have done an excellent job in keeping each fight unique and captivating. I’m somewhat skeptical of jumping straight from the brawl with Anders into a cliffhanger that suggests more immediate combat. We’ll see if next episode’s fight with the undead moves along the story. I loved Percy’s reunion with Cassandra, and I’m so intrigued by the tinge of bitterness she holds against her brother for leaving her behind. Will the siblings be able to unite to restore Whitestone to its former glory?
