The third episode of Dungeons and Drag Queens is choke full of action. Our queens cover a lot of ground and meet many people on their quest to the tower where Thanara awaits.
After they've been unsuccessful in getting the soul they needed in the last episode, the queens are in a pickle. Should they follow in Shalilah's footsteps or seek some other solution?
Let's dive right into it!
Going Back to The Crime Scene
After debating whether to ambush Shalilah or go back to Nyruth to ask for a soul, the group makes the terrifying decision to return to the crime scene, where they tried to steal from a demon.
This was the moment when this season's vibes shined. Players new to D&D work with whatever is given to them by the DM. This is the world they know. But an experienced player would have opted out to find a different solution invoking some more worldbuilding from the DM.
Returning to the site where you made enemies automatically starts a battle, even in video games. Nyruth should have entered Initiative the moment he saw the group.
What Gertrude did next was truly outstanding.
Honesty Worked Out
So, as far as I know, you can't use Detect Thoughts to broadcast your own thoughts. But Brennan is a rule of cool DM, resulting in one of the best moments of this season.
Gertrude hits a Nat 20 on Persuasion and manages to convince Nyruth to help the group on their hunt for Thanara's boons. Aside from giving them a soul by trading the corrupted clasp, he also gives them a flying carpet for the promise of getting Gertrude's immortality curse if it's ever lifted.
The carpet brings them to Shalilah in a manner of minutes.
Perfect Aladdin Vibes
As the group uses the carpet, they fly, but it's entirely safe for them to use it. It's magical and keeps them anchored.
As they get to Shalilah, a conversation ensues where Troyann tries to convince her to get the souls back. It's tense because Shalilah was depicted to be powerful. So if the persuasion check doesn't work, she might turn hostile.
The group reminds Troyann about Game Night to give her Advantage, and she invites Shalilah to come. That Advantage allows her to succeed on the die roll, and Shalilah cooperates.
As they continue on their carpet after getting the souls from Shalilah, they arrive at a sea of swords that will trigger their meeting with a particular dragon rider.
Norelle The Dragon Rider
So, in the first episode of this season, Gertrude divined something for a young person about his grandfather Norbert and improvised that his grandfather was gay.
It was a fun moment that allowed Bob the Drag Queen to demonstrate some control over the narrative. But, of course, nothing goes to waste in the mind of Brennan Lee Mulligan.
As Twyla collects all the souls of her people into her deck of cards, a wave of enraged souls comes hunting for the group. As they fail their saves and the group is about to be eaten, Brennan reveals a safety net moment where a Dragon Rider appears and throws them a rope to escape the souls.
The meeting feels like a reward for past deeds. But it also felt like Brennan's subtle way of preparing the players for what was to come. Norelle presents the group with weapons and magical items they can use on their journey into the tower. Is there a battle ahead? Of course, there is.
Arriving At The Tower
As the group arrives in the tower, they are not immediately brought before Thanara. Instead, they need to find some keys to open the chamber where they would speak to her.
The group splits to recover the three keys, and then we discover that Kerwyn, the lovely NPC that I fully believed Brennan created to help the players propel the story forward, is wearing a wraith clasp. That means he's alive and is not dead like we thought this entire time.
In a different room, we find Princess speaking to her deceased family through the waterfall, and they tell her it wasn't Zaria Hex that killed them all - It was Kerwyn.
Troyann grabs the key from him as this revelation goes down and barely escapes to rejoin the group as Kerwyn wounds her across the chest.
The Questing Queens had everything they needed: Souls to present the goddess of death and keys to open her chamber. As they meet her, there's one quote still ringing in my ear.
"I have good news and bad news. The good news is I'm feeling generous today. Normally, I like the number three for boons. But today, I feel like granting four. Bad news is, I see eight mortals." - Thanara, Goddess of Death.
Such a fun way of concluding the storytelling part and transitioning into battle.
The Showdown at The Center of The Underworld
Thanara has no intention of granting anyone's boons until the show concludes. So now, they must fight their opponents to the death (and possibly beyond in this underworld battle).
Their opponents are Keena, Kerwyn, Zariah Hex, and Morgan of The Glaring Sun. The latter is the knight going after Gertrude for being an immortal witch and is revealed earlier to work with Zaria Hex to find her.
How's this battle going to conclude? We can only guess and share our predictions (below in the comments!)
Predictions for The Finale
So, this next episode will be the season's finale.
It clearly has a battle set made by Rick Perry and Co, judging from the trailer. I'm excited to see it and the minis for our questing queens in action.
In terms of story, I feel like this will be a straightforward satisfying ending. The queens will win against the four opponents and get their wishes granted. We mostly wrapped up every connection we had. So, seeing the boons play out will be a satisfying ending to this season.
What do you think? Is this season going to end differently? Let me know in the comments below!
Read the review for the next and final episode right here.
