Episode 9 deals with a climactic battle and a heartfelt loss. Percy is thrown into the chaos of Delilah Briarwood’s plans, having to run and hide or shape up and lead. All while Vox Machina misses having their dearest healer by their side.

The Most Awkward Family Reunion Ever  

'The Tide of Bone' begins in earnest, with Cassandra and Percy reuniting after the battle with Professor Anders. Unknown to them, however, is the battle for Whitestone has only just begun. Delilah Briarwood, in a fit of magical rage, raises the city’s dead in an army of undead servants, waging war on the atrophying town. Chased through the streets, Vox Machina meets back up with Scanlan as he runs from an army of the undead and the duke at their head. While the party runs rampant, Pike Trickfoot goes through her own battle as she fights against the block between her and the Everlight. Her challenge finally brings her to the Everlight, who tells her that the only thing blocking Pike from her, was Pike herself.

Troubled by her own self-doubt, Pike admits her guilt and unsure soul, not knowing if her life with her friends is one that the Everlight agrees with. Despite this doubt, the Everlight gives her two paths to walk: one with Vox Machina and one with the church, leaving Pike to make the decision. Back in Whitestone, the party fights alongside the resistance against the waves of the undead. In the heat of battle, Archibald Desnay jumps between Duke Goran and Scanlan, losing his life in the process. Before Percy can fully understand the moment, the resistance is back on the run. In a last-ditch effort, Keyleth stops the army with a wall of ice in a powerful display of her magic, buying the party some well-needed time from the onslaught of the undead. Cassandra convinces Percy of his place as a leader and gets him to inspire the remaining fighters of Whitestone.

As the ice breaks and the hordes spill into the Suntree plaza, Vox Machina prepare for their glorious death side by side. As the army of the dead closes in, wreathed in sunlight and fire, Pike Trickfoot casts holy flame onto the unholy warriors of the Briarwoods. Reuniting with her friends, if only in astral projection, Pike pulls the rest of Whitestone together and faces the army of the dead, burning and killing all who stand in her way. The dark soldiers fall one by one, turning a bitter defeat into a shining victory. Duke Goran, brought low by Vox Machina, is left to the hands of the people of Whitestone who don’t hesitate to repay the duke with the kindness he had shown them. 

Now to Fight the Hot Evil Couple

Episode nine serves as an intense, climactic battle for the city of Whitestone. The computer graphics used for the zombies is quite subtle and works very well in the high-action the episode delivers. The characters, while going through perilous encounters with the undead, still manage to develop and build upon one another. Both the heroes of our story, and the villains hell-bent on destroying them, feel fully immersed and developed with only more hidden over the horizon. 

Featured image: Geek Girl Authority, Amazon Prime Video

Graphic image: IMDb

Contact Elijah Wachs with comments at eawachs@bsu.edu.

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