Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 3 Part 2: "The Snipping of Shears"

October 28, 2025

Episode Overview

In this gripping and emotionally charged part two, the cast of Critical Role continues Campaign 4's story amid the political tumult and personal conflict of Dolmakyar. The episode weaves together exploration, tense confrontations, and supernatural horror as the party chases threads left dangling after a fresh betrayal. Characters contend with the shadow of the recently slain Thiazi, unravel shifting allegiances among noble houses, face deadly magic, and wrestle with the trauma of old wars—and new wounds.

Key Discussion Points and Story Beats

1. A Place Reborn: The Hallowed Round (00:36–23:00)

• Hal, Tycha, Shadia, and Others at the Amphitheater
  • The party tours the restored "Hallowed Round," an amphitheater both sacred and controversial, once forbidden for decades.
  • Tycha expresses unease, recalling its history as a place of godly subjugation. She transforms her druid's dagger into a cane, grounding herself in her power (02:47).
  • Shadia's efforts to create a welcoming, magical, mundane venue—awnings for the rain, boxes built from cheap-but-beautiful tin and wood—are detailed with genuine warmth and excitement.
  • Hal reflects: “Once we came here to celebrate a god. Now we come to celebrate each other.” (14:34)
  • The old orc Uli (85 years old, war survivor) arrives, reminiscing on rebellion against the gods and the enduring spirit of their people.
  • Shadia and Tycha share a deeply emotional, vulnerable conversation about family, legacy, and fear for loved ones. “You make joy. You're my mom. I love you so much.” (32:50)
  • Tycha offers a druidic blessing for protection to the woods and all who gather there.

2. Strange Deliveries and Magical Paint (23:10–50:10)

• Arrival of Bolaire with a Mysterious Gift
  • Bolaire brings large amphoras of magical paint, intended for the amphitheater, with two archivists in tow.
  • Bolaire investigates the paint: it is thick with illusion and faint conjuration, not clearly dangerous, but suspiciously magical (36:35).
  • Tension splits the group: Bolaire, Hal, and Tycha consult in private about the mysterious package Thiazi told Hal to expect.
  • “Thiazi told me you had paint for me, but...what is all this?” —Hal (47:12)
  • Bolaire is unsettled, affected by the latent magic seething through the city (49:25).

3. Rising Political Threats (50:11–1:24:48)

• Azune and Murray's Encounter

  • The pair discuss absence and loss in the city’s shifting political landscape as patrols increase and noble intrigues escalate.
  • Lord Knight Einfassen and Primus Lord Taconis are both revealed to be maneuvering for power, using replacements and "puppets" within institutions ("We're frogs in a pot, and the heat is rising." —Murray, 1:07:20).

• Octus and Julian: The Taconis Threat

  • Julian Divinas warns the party: Octus is in immediate danger, being hunted by his own family in the aftermath of Thiazi’s murder.
  • “You are a name that has come up as of late, possibly tied to a dangerous crux.” —Julian (1:55:10)
  • Julian and Vaelys bring Octus to the Palazzo Divinas for safety and answers.

4. The Couturier’s Trap: Teor’s Ordeal (1:24:49–2:06:45)

• Teor Visits Mercknard Couturier Under Creed Orders

  • Teor, following Creed directions, enters a plush, strange tailor’s shop, attended by uncanny twin tailors, Ruleus and Calastro.
  • An atmosphere heavy with incense and opulence serves as cover for something more sinister. Teor realizes too late that something is wrong.
  • He is ambushed—hit with two simultaneous Hold Person spells (1:40:12). The tailors are revealed to be fiendish beings, and Teor is chained, his shadow magically cut and tormented in a horrifying ritual.
  • Memorable Quote: “You are a very lucky man. And you are suspended with arms over your head in manacles, in the center of a massive nine pointed pentagram in the basement of the tailor’s shop. And you see the shears were cutting your shadow into pieces.” (2:02:30)

• Rescue

  • Wick Haylovar and Tyranny arrive to negotiate Teor’s release, bluffing their way through deadly protocol, aided by the revelation of Wick’s powerful lineage.
  • As they rescue Teor, Tyranny uses Lesser Restoration to cleanse the poisons (2:05:15).

5. The Party Regroups & Plots Escape (2:08:00–2:52:15)

• At Hal's Home: Convergences and Confrontations

  • Azune, Murray, Thimble, Cadogan, Hal, and Tycha reunite; the city’s criminal and political net tightens.
  • Teor, battered but alive, is shepherded in by Wick and Tyranny, revealing that the Creed and noble families are embroiled in occult, murderous machinations.
  • Tense discussions unfold about who in the city can be trusted as escape plans are made; it’s clear Dolmakyar is no longer safe for any of them.
  • Hal, privately, is drawn to his brother’s sword, “The Liar’s Blade”—an artifact heavy with memory and possible power (2:42:10).

• Decision to Flee North

  • The party traces Kasimir’s betrayal and the theft of a deed to a stronghold in Gormaley, pointing their next steps north in search of answers and revenge.
  • Cadogan warns: “You're gonna have to sleep outside. City folk—are you ready for that?” (2:52:00)
  • Thimble and Hal share farewells, binding their purpose to vengeance and hope.

6. Palazzo Divinas: A Noble Sanctuary or the Next Trap? (2:53:00–End)

• Octus, Vaelys, and Julian Enter the Divinas Estate

  • Octus is offered sanctuary by Lady Erinessa Royce and General Raymond. Tense discussions reveal just how powerful (and disputed) the Taconis and Haylovar houses remain, with realms of Death and Faerie at stake.
  • Vaelys, standing in the garden, is drawn to a distant wolf—the magical Tycha in wild shape, answering a supernatural call to open the manor’s gates (3:15:45).
  • As Vaelys uses her divine senses to scan their surroundings, she discovers the palace grounds overrun with a legion of the specters of the restless dead. “Hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of specters just on the other side of the veil...” (3:27:00)

• Cliffhanger: Assassination and an Undead Coup

  • General Raymond steps into the garden—only to be assassinated by Taconis agents who immaterially rip his skull from his flesh (3:29:05).
  • Simultaneously, a squad of undead ghouls bursts into Octus’s room, led by his own brother Etherynd, intent on grafting a magical stone into him.

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote/Event | Speaker(s) | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------| | 02:47 | "The place has been in disuse for decades...In my youth it was much wilder here." | Tycha | | 14:34 | "Once we came here to celebrate a god. Now we come to celebrate each other." | Hal | | 32:50 | “You make joy. You're my mom. I love you so much.” | Shadia | | 47:12 | “Thiazi told me you had paint for me, but...what is all this?” | Hal to Bolaire | | 1:07:20 | "We're frogs in a pot, and the heat is rising." | Murray | | 1:40:12 | Teor is paralyzed by two Hold Person spells in the tailor’s shop. | DM | | 2:02:30 | “You are a very lucky man. And you are suspended...in the center of a massive nine pointed pentagram...your shadow cut into pieces.” | DM/Calastro Mercknard | | 2:42:10 | "I haven't held a real sword with purpose since I was a young man...What the fuck have you gotten us all into?" | Hal (alone, to Thiazi's sword) | | 2:52:00 | "You're gonna have to sleep outside. City folk—are you ready for that?" | Cadogan | | 3:15:45 | Vaelys waits at the open gate for the approaching wolf, hearing Tycha’s invocation. | Vaelys/Tycha (unspoken) | | 3:27:00 | "This garden...is filled with hundreds of specters of the restless dead..." | DM, as Vaelys uses Divine Sense | | 3:29:05 | General Raymond's skull is extracted by an immaterial Taconis agent—assassination. | DM | | 3:31:30 | “Put him on the table, open him up, and we'll put the stone where it belongs.” | Etherynd (Octus's brother) |

Important Timestamps & Segments

• Welcome Back / Recap: 00:05
• The Hallowed Round Tour & Conversation: 00:36–23:00
• Bolaire Delivers the Paint / Magical Investigation: 23:10–50:10
• Political Threats & Patrols: 50:11–1:24:48
• Teor’s Fateful Visit to the Couturier: 1:24:49–2:06:45
• Rescue & Escape from the Tailors: 2:06:46–2:17:10
• Regroup at Hal’s Home (Tension, Planning): 2:17:11–2:52:15
• Final Farewells, Decision to Head North: 2:52:16–3:15:00
• Palazzo Divinas, Supernatural Portents: 3:15:01–3:29:00
• Cliffhanger: Murder & Ghoul Invasion: 3:29:01–End

Tone & Themes

• Rich, Emotional, Layered. The episode is both heartfelt and harrowing, blending personal confession and comfort with horror and dire threats.
• Surreal & magical. Urban politics are infused with mythic weight and weirdness.
• Nostalgic yet foreboding. Moments of levity and camaraderie thread through an inexorably darkening world—no one is quite sure who to trust.

Summary Conclusion

Episode 3, Part 2 of Critical Role Campaign 4 is a whirlwind of lore, action, and feeling. The players navigate the dangers of a city at war with itself: haunted by the past, betrayed by their own, and pursued by otherworldly and political foes alike. Against the emotional backdrop of loss and revolution, the party is forced to flee north, but not before new horrors descend upon their would-be sanctuary. With the old world’s sword in hand, new-found alliances, and implacable threats snapping at their heels, the next chapter dawns with promise and dread.

“Is it Thursday yet?”