Author's Note: This article will include spoilers for the first Dungeons and Drag Queens episode.
Dungeons and Drag Queens' first episode finally dropped last Wednesday, and I couldn't be more enthusiastic about this season! Quest? Check! Ally Beardsley in Fantasy High Vibes? Check! Rules Lawyering? Check! Brennan Lee Mulligan? Check! I'm gonna love this! I already know.
The first episode of Dragons and Drag Queens is a fantastic return to the vibes of Fantasy High, where a group of players seemingly strangers to each other and some to D&D band together to follow a quest. It's a lot of fun!
Let's break it down and review this episode.
The Vibes at This Table Are Amazing
Remember Ally Beardsley in Fantasy High? Yes, I'm talking about Flying Ribbon Ally Beardsley. So this time around, it's Jujubee. It's giving I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm having a lot of fun.
Also, Bob has a knack for storytelling and adding bits that Brennan seamlessly 'Yes, and's to make the story feel more personal. Monet seems to be the most experienced player at the table, with all the others having none or maybe once or twice played D&D. With Monet also not having much experience.
They made it work either way. They asked questions throughout, and Brennan explained in simple terms that worked out great!
Is This The New Beginner-Friendly Season?
It's one episode out of four, but if you've never played D&D before, you've already learned about skill checks, initiative rolls, attack rolls, and using your skills at certain moments, like insight checks during a conversation.
This season will be four episodes long and introduces mostly new players to the game and takes them through a quest. I think this will be invaluable viewing for any new D&D players.
What do you think? Will you recommend this season of D20 to someone new to Dungeons and Dragons?
Incredibly Fast-Paced Progression
Brennan Lee Mulligan is a master of storytelling. Like every season of D20, he gave the time to introduce each player separately as they traveled to a tavern.
Yet, we finish this episode arriving in the underworld. That's an incredibly fast progression. Imagine Fantasy High Sophomore year, but they reach the forest of the nightmare king by the end of episode one. Crazy right?
I love that it didn't feel rushed; instead, it feels like a piece of the story that we were not privy to in the narrative. Maybe they did have some adventures before the season officially started. We would know if they reference any of those events; if not, they are unimportant.
Dressing Up For This Campaign (?)
I loved that Jujubee mentioned dressing up at the adventuring party and that players don't usually "dress up for this." Brennan Answered that sometimes players dress casually for the show.
And in most, if not all, previous seasons of Dimension 20, you will find that people wear different things for each episode. But not this season.
Everyone is dressed the same in the preview for next week's episode. I wonder if that's a staple of drag? I don't know enough about drag to determine whether the way the players came dressed to the show is their representation of self and those outfits are who they are, or they can show up as themselves with different outfits.
Please enlighten me, anyone!
You Can't Go Wrong With a Tavern
As all the introductions and backstories end, we find ourselves in a tavern. The group splits up to uncover details about Mark Ronson, the legendary music producer who drove through a portal and found himself in this world. After a failed attempt at perception, Troyann (Monet's character) finds him dead in a closet.
From there, the team hits a goblin, makes friends with the bartender, and disintegrates a zombie. Pretty cool for the first episode! And all of that happens during a visit to an inconspicuous tavern on the road.
After these events unfold, the players chat and decide to go towards the temple without using the road, which was brilliant because Brennan gave them enough clues it would be the wrong choice (or at the very least slower).
Jujubee's ranger abilities And Pass Without a Trace also helped them arrive safely and quickly. However, I don't believe they reached the underworld before Troyann's cousin. We'll have to see.
Predictions For The Next Episode
We ended this episode with the team talking to Gargrim - each with their own reasoning - who sent them down to the underworld.
We know their quest leads them to an old goddess of death who might help them with their personal pursuits, but for now, the preview to the next episode shows unclear bits and moments. Maybe a battle will happen during the next episode? Who knows! There's a lot of chaos, and the underworld is perilous for our questing queens.
We'll have to wait for next week and see, I guess. What are your thoughts about the episode?
Watch The First Episode Right Now!
Dropout released the first episode of this season for free on YouTube. You can watch it here:
Video: Dimension 20 YouTube Channel // Dropout
Conclusion
I came to this season with a certain unfamiliarity. I have no experience with drag shows or culture, and while I've seen some videos about the amount of work it takes to get into one of those glamorous appearances, I know enough to know I don't know enough. So that's why I was uncertain about how this season will look.
However, after the first episode, all of my uncertainties are removed. This is going to be awesome! Thanks to Brennan guiding them, these four players are hilarious, excited to play, and immersed. The story unfolds and takes the players to new places, and I'm sure we'll see some rick perry miniatures at one point or another as well!
What do you think about this season so far? Let's discuss the first episode in the comments!
Read my review for episode 2 right here.
