Title: Fantasy High: Junior Year
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Emily Axford (she/her) as Fig Faeth (she/her). Zac Oyama (he/him) as Gorgug Thistlespring (he/him). Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Adaine Abernant (she/her). Lou Wilson (he/him) as Fabian Seacaster (he/him). Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Kristen Applebees (she/her). Brian Murphy (he/him) as Riz Gukgak (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout

If you missed it, catch our review of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth episodes!

Bobby Dawn takes center stage in this week’s episode of Fantasy High: Junior Year. Mindful that the followers of Sol and Helio likely had a hand in Ankarna’s fate, and by extension Cassandra’s, Kristen attempts to slip below the radar even as she notes the clear bias in Bobby Dawn’s lecturing. To no one’s surprise, the televangelist of Sol aims harsher questions toward particular students, clearly showing his true colors despite putting on a facade of neutrality.

Though under pressure with her academic course and religious circumstance, Kristen takes time to visit Gertie, expressing admiration for her. Her love life helped her escape the pressure of Helio, mainly because it was a piece of Kristen which didn’t jive with the preachings of Helio.

This is only further underlined in her meeting with her parents. The clear excitement when they think they might get her back into the church really underlines how heavily invested they are in her following a particular path, and their dismissal of her relationship with Tracker demonstrates their disinterest, if not outright animosity, in anything which might pull her elsewhere.

Riz does his own digging, consulting with Gertie as well and discovering Devil’s Nectar was historically used in prayer, but while that’s a huge breakthrough, what might be even bigger is Riz uncovering the name of the rogue teacher. Eugenia Shadow is dead, which opens a number of interesting questions. Kipperlilly managed to find her within a minute of the school year, likely meaning this was previously planned, but the twisting of the rules leaves Riz confounded at the dissonance between what Kipperlilly says versus what she has done.

Meanwhile, Fig leaps into her music once more, inspiring a spiraling rise of red crystals. She taps into Ankarna’s old domain. In doing so, she holds onto it, ensuring no one else can claim it. Her aim was to summon one of Ankarna’s stead, which she does, but Fig also aims to pull the goddess back toward her old realm prior to her corruption. Since she first elected to start paladin coursework, the writing was on the wall. Doubt fit Kristen, but rage and rebellion are Fig’s wheelhouse.

Everything curls right back around as, despite having done so well, Kristen fails her cleric coursework. Bobby Dawn rejected Yolanda Badgood’s exception. He argued it was unfair to the other students. Despite trying to trick him, and perhaps succeeding, Bobby Dawn wanted Kristen out of the school.

The Bad Kids have only one chance to prevent her expulsion. They must take the Last Stand. In an arena filled of illusory Arthur Agueforts, our Intrepid Heroes ready to answer questions and fight monsters, proving their prowess. The test ends when they’re all either dead or they’ve killed all monsters available. Each one must answer two questions. If their proctor dies, they lose thirty out of a possible hundred points.

An incredible first round sets up the Bad Kids for unrivaled victory. However, the sneak peek spins their success on its head, but we’ll have to wait until next week to see if our Intrepid Heroes can pull off the impossible and be the first students to outlast the Last Stand.

Highlights

Gorgug overhears an argument between Henry Hopclap and Jace Stardiamond, bringing into question exactly which of the professors might be on the wrong side of the Rat Grinder situation. All we know for sure in this moment is that Jace isn’t as chill as he usually appears. His sudden aggression also rattled Henry.

However, his inclusion in the email between Lola and Ruben as well as Lola’s reveal that Jace pushed for the Frostyfaire Folk Festival to be at the Thistlespring Tree isn’t adding up in his favor.

Final Score (5 out of 5 Stars)

This was an episode of absolute domination. Even when rolls failed, the Dimension 20 players spun defeat into success, absolutely grabbing hold of the narrative and finding so many key clues to what is going on behind the scenes of Aguefort Academy with the Rat Grinders and Ankarna.

Despite ending strong, the sneak peak has us on the edge of our seats, but any long time watcher of Dimension 20 knows there’s a twist waiting in the wings. Did Buddy cheat his oath? Was getting the Bad Kids into the Last Stand always the plan?

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

The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

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. 

New episodes of The Boss Rush Podcast release every Monday morning on YouTube and all major podcast applications like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Patreon supporters gain one week early access. 

Listen on your favorite podcast application or watch on YouTube!
Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Twitch | Overcast | Pocket Casts |

Follow The Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media:
Twitter | Discord | Instagram | Twitch | YouTube | Facebook Group | Facebook