Title: Burrow’s End
GM: Aabria Iyengar
Players: Brennan Lee Mulligan (he/him) as Tula (she/her), Isabella ‘Izzy’ Roland (she/her) as Lila (she/her), Erika Ishii (she/him/all) as Ava (she/her), Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Jaysohn (he/him), Rashawn Nadine Scott (she/her) as Viola (she/her), and Jasper William Cartwright (he/him) as Thorn Vale (he/him)
Streaming Service: Dropout
If you missed it, catch our reviews of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth episodes!
With the conflict between humanity and stoats finally here, this final episode jumps off in the most spectacular Dimension 20 fashion with a roar of excitement. Our Stupendous Stoats prepare to make their final stand, hoping to negotiate and avoid a bloody conflict that will leave Last Bast devastated.
Checking with Teedles, Viola came to the realization that her attempt to inform the masses somewhat failed. Teedles wasn’t fully informed. As a result, only panic arose. Viola shares their successful negotiation with Dr. Steel. In the case of communication going south, Viola reconfigures Last Bast, moving Population Support toward Resource Allocation in preparation of striking first.
As our group discusses how to proceed, everything returns repeatedly to Phoebe. Her influence, or even full control, of Dr. Wenabocker undermines any efforts they make.
Eager to destroy Phoebe, Tula suggests they fake a report, drawing her out. However, before they can enact this, Dr. Steel calls, revealing Dr. Wenabocker set up camp over Reactor Charlie. Dr. Steel optimistically believes the military will retreat and negotiate upon discovering that the stoats are sentient. Ava disagrees, noting sentience rarely stops cruelty. Coming up with a plan, the stoats jump into action.
Of course, when everything is looking up, Aabria throws our players for a loop, sending four humans at them and crashing them a hundred feet down. Three of the humans end up crushed, but the fourth, who had used the Blue, lands, revealing the horrible truth of Phoebe’s possession as she puppets their corpses.
Phoebe’s natural inclination toward the undead puts Ava and Tula into a precarious position. Phoebe was the most powerful of the First Stoats, and her quick and decisive actions underlines that as much as she claims noble motives, Phoebe seeks power above all else. This remains the stoat who willingly ripped her sibling’s jaw off for getting between her and her goal.
Recognizing his mother’s condition, Jaysohn grapples Tula, and though she attempted to avoid attacking her child, Tula has no choice. She nearly kills her son; however, Phoebe’s hold on her breaks.
As hard as this battle goes, Aabria’s excellent rolls make every victory on the side of our heroes that much sweeter. Viola turns the tide. A bullet hits a gas tank, and in the resulting explosion, Phoebe dies. Unfortunately, Jaysohn and Lukas were caught in crossfire.
Tula and Ava do not hesitate to heal Jaysohn. When Tula rushes to heal Lukas as well, we learn more about her death and the sense of obligation which drew her from a peace she desperately wanted after her husband’s death. However, in this moment, Tula realizes hope brought her back.
Viola has her three children, connecting more with her sister and mother. The vision she had early in the season comes to pass with her family happy and thriving. Ava also enjoys her time, adoring her grandchildren.
Facing her trauma and processing her grief, Tula goes to the meadow where her husband died, and with a weight lifted, Tula and her children embrace their burgeoning independence while also understanding all three love each other and want to remain together. Lila earns her doctorate, and Jaysohn goes full Air Bud, going to the Olympics for long jump.
Highlights
For all the body horror of Neverafter, nothing could’ve prepared watchers for the madness of this season. Though Aabria describes Dr. Wenabocker’s body as looking human until Phoebe elects to modify as she prepares for battle, the hollowed out puppet corpse speaks for itself.
Every relationship in the series struck gold. The different pairs of siblings as well as parents and children allowed every player to shine. Though I loved every single one, Rashawn and Jasper started out as a hilarious married couple, adorable in their mutual support throughout the series, and they finished just as hard. When Jasper roared, “That’s my wife,” as Rashawn destroyed Phoebe, he led the group in cheering her on in her greatest triumph.
Final Score (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
The sound design went hard enough to draw my attention this season, but in this episode, there were a few moments when the background music grew too loud, making dialogue difficult to make out. That being said, every interruptive musical interlude perfectly fit the mood of the moment.
Outside of that minor complaint, this episode wonderfully wrapped up the chaos and allowed those who had carried burdens and grief for so long to finally find some peace with themselves and with those around them. Thorn persuades the humans to treat the stoats of Last Bast with dignity and respect. We ended as spectacularly as we started.
Did you have a favorite moment for this season? Maybe there’s a quote from Aabria Iyengar or one of our Stupendous Stoats that you’d like us to highlight in our upcoming series listicle? Let us know what you think in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Dimension 20
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The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.
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