Campaign 4 of Critical Role has already ensnared me, and we’ve only seen the first episode. It’s got everything I love: deep lore that I’m still trying to puzzle out, a Dungeon Master who clearly loves and values the world he’s in, and my personal favorite, a cast of characters that I already feel connected to and want to know more about. And that does include the dark horse of the 13-player group: Sir Julien Davinos, played by Matthew Mercer.
[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for the first ending of Critical Role campaign 4, episode 1.]
Campaign 4 already feels vastly different from previous campaigns. For one thing, Brennan Lee Mulligan is our DM for this new adventure, leaving forever DM and voice actor Matthew Mercer to actually foray out onto the field as a player. It certainly isn’t the first time, with Mercer having starred in one-shots and mini-campaigns in both Dimension 20 and Critical Role, including playing Dariax Zaveon in Exandria Unlimited.
As a player, Mercer is undoubtedly as shrewd as he is a Dungeon Master with a great knowledge of the balance between roleplaying, storytelling, exploration, and combat. As we’ve learned from how he handled Dariax, Mercer knows when to push the game forward and when to step back and let others have their moment to shine. Dariax was like a breath of fresh air, cheerful and willing to help out his friends, but more than happy to stab a guy if necessary. He is also, in my humble opinion, the absolute opposite of Mercer’s latest character, Sir Julien Davinos, who can best be described as a smug asshole. And I do say that with full affection.
Hailing from House Davinos, Julien arrives at Thjazi Fang’s wake alongside his childhood friend, Lady Aranessa from House Royce. As we’ve gathered in the first episode of Campaign 4, House Davinos is a vassal house of Royce, which we speculate may have something to do with Davinos’ father siding with Thjazi against the other Sundered Houses in the Falconer’s Rebellion, including notable names like House Tachinos and House Halovar. Considering the Rebellion failed and the Sundered Houses are said to be more powerful than ever, it’s likely that anyone who sided with Thjazi got some very negative repercussions thrown their way. No wonder, then, that Julien doesn’t think too highly of Thjazi, and it would explain why it was Julien himself who brought Thjazi in for justice — to better his family’s name.
As to be expected, Julien’s arrival at the wake is met with some well-deserved irritation. Not only is Julien swanning around the place and making it very clear that he doesn’t like Thjazi at all, but he’s also got leverage over at least two other player characters, Thaisha Lloy (Aabria Iyengar) and Halandil Fang (Liam O’Brien). This is thanks to his mentorship of their son, Alogar. While we don’t know if Julien ever would, and this is just pure speculation on our part, Julien could easily use Alogar to manipulate his parents if he so desired.
It’s also clear that Julien will be our more ‘villainous’ character this campaign, at least compared to most of the other characters who either loved or sympathized with Thjazi and mourned his death. Julien is willing to do truly disgusting things, such as spitting on Thjazi’s corpse, which undoubtedly led him to being cursed for his sacrilege, if the shadow fellow player Taliesin Jaffe sees following Julien afterward is any indication.
Last but not least is Julien’s relationship with Aranessa. It’s clear that something is going on between the two of them, and while I’m not entirely sure if it’s unrequited love or not, it’s obvious Julien wants to control her. He dismisses her pain, tries to make her forget about Thjazi, and even goes so far as to say he’ll “protect” her from these unnecessary feelings she has surrounding her dead husband. It feels incredibly creepy and scummy, and really conveys how skillful Mercer is at portraying a character with unconventional morals.
This leads me to wonder: how will Julien fit into this campaign? The premiere of Campaign 4 was the first of a four-episode overture before the 13-player group splits up into three different parties, already established as Soldiers, Schemers, and Seekers. The groups will change over time, no doubt, but who will best work with the absolute menace that is Sir Julien Davinos?
My gut says that the answer depends. I personally would love to see Julien have to wrangle Sam Riegel and Whitney Moore’s characters: religious leader Wicander Halovar and his demon apprentice, Tyranny. While the former seems more law-abiding, Tyranny’s chaos might put Julien on the back foot. Alternatively, Ashley Johnson’s Vaelus and her strides for justice after Thjazi stole the Stone of Nightsong from the Sisters of Sylandri may find a likely ally in Julien, who also doesn’t hold a high opinion of the deceased rebel.
Either way, I’m very much here for Sir Julien Davinos and what Mercer will bring to the table with him: whether that be player vs player combat (hey, it could happen) or even a heel-turn of the character entirely. After all, he can’t be an ass the entire campaign… Right?
