the reveal

Look at this man’s smug face
Fantasy High: Junior Year, Season 3, Dimension 20, Dropout
Episode 17
Brennan Lee Mulligan, Ally Beardsley, Lou Wilson, Emily Axford, Brian Murphy, Siobhan Thompson, Zac Oyama
Dungeons and Dragons, DnD, Critical Role

[@fire.walk.with.me.430]

i have played dnd for years and completely forgot that "barbarian healing" doesnt fucking exist. this was the craziest twist in d20 history

[@legoking99gb1]

This whole time I figured he must’ve just made a medicine check like simple patching up wounds. It never dawned on me even after learning he multi classed

[@idizzle2286]

This show was my first introduction to D&D and I thought barbarians could heal for MONTHS and didn't realize where that misunderstanding came from.

[@internetexplorerpony]

​@@legoking99gb1There's also that time Tracker used some blood healing for Kristen/Sandra Lynn so the Kalina disease got spread around. Brennan set himself up for some creative interpretation of how healing works just to spread it around, so Porter's healing stands out even less.

[@Glaycier]

That was my intro to D&D so I was like “Oh I guess that’s a subclass feature?” And never thought about it again. I was like “pretty weird, but I’ve heard of weirder”

[@Xenothecursedking]

​@@internetexplorerponyno that's probably just the spell Life Transference.

[@ghastlyghifin4029]

The way that Brennan looks Murph dead in the eyes, the Investigator Rogue extraordinaire, a fellow DM who knows the rules front to back, *"What the fuck is Barbarian Healing?"*

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

++

[@Jmcinally94]

I feel like the way Brennan brings it up implies Murph might have even questioned this in Sophmore year, I wanna try to track it down

[@gabriellesmith7453]

@Jmcinally94 Brennan was quoting Murph in sophomore year when he said it. This whole episode is callbacks, like with later and “You didn’t see the storm coming? Must not be a good oracle.” Which is what Siobhan said abt the prv oracle

[@0ddOdd]

​@@gabriellesmith7453would you happen to know when riz questioned that? I don't remember it and can't seem to find it.

[@daisy_lives]

we cannot let emily continue being right at big reveals we will never escape loose duke/porter rolls

[@lyricbot8513]

What's so funn is I went into this season mistrusting Porter and then Brennan had to gaslight everyone into liking him so the betrayal felt more real.

[@caithenry8429]

Exactly how I felt about the ping pong ball reveal

[@Sowono]

@@caithenry8429 no cuz i havent accepted it. oisin is into adaine and can be redeemed :')

[@Azaelium]

​@@Sowono You and me, brother. I'M A DENYER

[@MegaOscarmendez]

​@@Sowono we should've known from the start

[@Sowono]

@@MegaOscarmendez nono Oisin tried to break up the fight in the cafeteria and also messaged Adaine to say sorry. It’s real to me 😭

[@sirtitan7940]

In Captain Holt's voice: *"VINDICATIOOOOOOOON!!!"*

[@oakcanary4040]

FIGDICATION!!!!!!!!

[@TripleXMango]

RIP Andre Braugher

[@Ostermond]

we miss you, andre.

[@Hayden_Lummus]

Porter takes over as host of Game Changer: “I’ve been bad the whole time!”

[@aaditya9939]

Porter, where are you from?

[@Hayden_Lummus]

@@aaditya9939 Sam Reich, entering the chat: “First time?”

[@lordhawkeye]

😂😂😂

[@StandAloneSoul]

Hilarious comment pal

[@jimmywoodard7871]

He's all the bad guys

[@vikrampotluri4696]

i was genuinely jumping and screaming at the fact that this has been brewing for FIVE FUCKING YEARS

[@juckster]

i exclaimed out loud “wtf porter is actually evil” when i heard it 😂

[@Grab_N001]

Oh wow has Dimension 20 really gone on that long?

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

ROCK AND ROLL

[@gabrielbjornursidae]

There's no way this was 5 years in the making. Porter in season 1 and 2 was an Earth Genasi. It wasn't until season 3 that Brennan retconned his own writing to change Porter to a Goliath.

[@vikrampotluri4696]

you can be an earth genasi and a goliath, he confirmed it with lucy frostblade having goliath parents while being a frost genasi

[@SUPERNOVACOLLECTIVE]

Dropout:this episode is 3 hours long prepare accordingly Me by the end of the episode:wow... Three hours was not long enough

[@leethegaygeek]

literally SAME

[@thomasr.knight1674]

Not ready to wait the week!

[@Mercurytomars211]

I’m being so real, this might be the best episode of d20 ever. Like any season. I was so engrossed in the whole thing, the reveal, the jokes, the lore

[@ellawanless641]

literally!! a full three hours and i spent every minute on the edge of my seat

[@sirshrafle1607]

@@ellawanless641 Had to rewatch it again right after sleeping, just that good

[@rowan248]

mmm watcha sayyy

[@caithenry8429]

It definitely didn't feel like three hours and this reveal (and the throwback to Brennan's majestic beard) had me floored

[@HenriqueErzinger]

I don't know about the best episode (there's a lot of good ones, and that's not even my favorite campaign), but probably the best reveal, yeah.

[@milesroy9564]

1000$ Aguefort knows Porter’s true identity. He knows Porter needs people to literally worship rage and conquest to end the world, but that ironically makes him a great teacher for barbarians

[@racistpandagod]

Half of me thinks the god tier wiz is stupid as fuck and doesn't even perform like 3 spells on the people he's hiring as a background check but the other half is convinced he always knows what's up and is just letting his students learn coz that's how much he trusts em

[@evren5642]

@@racistpandagodyeah he’s def just like “eh it’ll work out” like Arthur c’mon man

[@hahahahahahahahaa6580]

Well, he IS a chronomancer. I like to imagine he knows exactly what's going on and how it's supposed to end, but only intervenes when it's funny. Equally, I like the idea that he leaves clues for the Bad Kids cause he wants his daughter's girlfriend and her friends to succeed.

[@DefaultName-du3kr]

That's Dumbledore levels of teacher vetting.

[@connorblack99]

On the one hand he has faith in the bad kids unerringly, on the other he’s a lunatic with time powers who probably didn’t think about why they would kill the robot principal, on the third he does need good villains for true heroes to cut their teeth on in order to be a successful academy

[@_t0bi]

brennan was so tired of being psychologically tortured by sam that he just went and pulled a sam gotta love his smug ass look while everyone is so shocked lmao

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

Truly the most Knife Cat he has ever beem

[@syzygeist_]

Even in the biggest payoff of plot this season Zac manages to sneak in a classic one liner- "I knew he was a bad teacher!". God I love how Zac has played Gorgug this season

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

++

[@armourdillo1236]

🐖

[@moodybookworm7856]

I love that as Zac's reaction, not even as Gorgug

[@lead_downpour8854]

I truly lost my shit when this happened. My favourite episode in a long time, maybe ever because of the meteor shower and how completely EVERYTHING was revealed.

[@lyricbot8513]

I was so excited I couldn't sleep for hours

[@JeremyBearimy913]

For real I've lost count of the number of times I've rewatched this moment. It's gotta be at least a bakers dozen...

[@DerPartyCyclops]

It's so crazy in hindsight because there were even meta clues for viewers. Brennan mentioned at some point that the holy artifact of the dead goddess is a hammer and Porter's art shows him with this runed hammer made of stone that looks ancient af.

[@lucaswickmansound]

The fact that I remembered Ragh saying “barbarian healing” in sophomore year but I thought it was just Ragh being Ragh. It completely slipped my mind even though I rewatched sophomore year before this season came out

[@richardmiddaugh9749]

Between this and Loose Duke, all of Emily's crazy conspiracies have come true!

[@druid_zephyrus]

Has anyone checked? Is Porter just Loose Duke?

[@DParkerNunya]

I won't believe it's not true until Emily crits on a Perception check!

[@3ndlessL00p]

Playing a clip on the outside of the dome was such a cool move

[@Energistx]

Aguefort having an entire Rogue's gallery working in the staff all with their own plans on how to change the world the way they want but not being able to do shit till Aguefort leaves.

[@CominUpMillhouse]

And then he just does.

[@ktoliman]

He could just undo everything with Chronomancy

[@seangoodvid4685]

Same energy: “Lose duke has been on the ship the whole time”

[@brewdaly1873]

They directly make that comparison in the Adventuring Party lol. Call it a "long con Loose Duke."

[@atlasdwyer8220]

The cons are long and the dukes are loose

[@therealg-mangazaman442]

Im so happy this show got to this point where people could all remember at the same time when the season 2 clip plays for the players, i was eyes wide open and silent. one of the best episodes of dnd content ever!

[@agentapples2185]

That last time I felt this blindsided and shocked was when Calroy Cruller betrayed Amethar Rocks 💯

[@druid_zephyrus]

I can't wait to watch Porter shit one last time

[@mynameiskrysta]

The biggest part of this reveal was the silent realization that any and every thing that any of them have said to or around brennan for the entirety of their time together can and will be used for dastardly deeds

[@chelskee3784]

I was SHRIEKING in joy because I, like Emily, never trusted him.

[@petrikillos]

If you look as his artwork for this season, his hammer looks an AWFUL lot like the scales mentioned. This was said in the reddit and I was like "NOT FACULTY AGAIN FFS"

[@heresjohnnyarchive2689]

Fig: *“PORTER!!”*

[@Salmiak]

As soon as I saw the clip, I was screaming at my friend "Barbarian HEALING... WHAT THE FUCK IS BARBARIAN HEALING" I genuinely just got it right there and then. Even though I've played a ton of DnD and watched season 1 and 2 multiple times, so I should've known. But I didn't.

[@mordicaiknode]

Being a DM is really magical when the work pays off.

[@jeanadonohue56]

My favorite part was Brennan shaking he was so giddy and excited to finally reveal this secret😂😂

[@ToriBlueBird]

The soundtrack this season has been phenomenal at setting the scene

[@irisbaggins]

I had to rewind the video again just so I could appreciate the soundtrack. It's SO good this season, so incredibly good.

[@jupitermoody-mcintyre7353]

I know I hope they make it available somewhere to listen to

[@joz-]

I was making my sibling eggs and I had to lay my head on the countertop, head in hands, and then I was borderline hyperventilating from laughing. I'm not even mad

[@RedBairnMedia]

Barbarian Healing wouldn't have tipped me. I mean, since when has any game run by Brennan been 100% vanilla and straight down the line?

[@IcyDragonPolaris]

There's a lot of moments in D20 that make me wonder if this is Brennan dropping a hint or just taking artistic license

[@Anxiously_Fine]

Arthur Aguefort is out here making Dumbledore run for his money by collecting as many bad guys for his faculty.

[@andrecarpenter2432]

Aguefort needs a new hr person asap, half the staff is evil!

[@mma93067]

In my head canon that’s by design coz aguefort is always around. These guys start acting up only when he’s not

[@sidhackney8831]

They have the same hiring practices as Hogwarts

[@Argusthecat]

But half the students are evil too! This is a well rounded faculty to meet the needs of all their student body.

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

The editors are always good but the slow zoom on Brennan as he started Riz-monologuing was great

[@logicaloverdrive8197]

1:30 Love Emily just leaning back and taking it in that she was absolutely right

[@nelevenchts]

Knew it. The moment he wanted Gorgug to get so mad was when it clicked.

[@AngelusX92]

This is genuinely one of the best reveals in D20. What they’ve been able to do with the dome season to season is so cool and immersive

[@camymatsuda7979]

they are so damn good at creating an atmosphere! I got chills all over

[@MeganSin]

I love that this season all the callbacks to freshman year. Vulture dimension, ghost steak, now fig’s assumption about porter and honestly, I was always with her about the fact that there was something off about porter. I love how d20 always manages to work in everything the guys add to the plot of fantasy high as well as everything campaign they hold.

[@karlnykwest4199]

This was so damn good. My wife and I watched Freshman year ahead of this season debuting, and as we watched it, I said to her, "What do you want to bet Brennan has been holding onto this Porter thing" I felt beyond vindicated!

[@playin4power]

To me the biggest clue that I just blindly accepted is how bad of a teacher Porter is. Brennan KNOWS kids. Misfits and Magic was an entire season of Brennan dunking on the failures of education systems BUT he never admitted that porter's methods with gorgug were straight up bad and unhealthy. Not ONCE did porter do the obvious thing and ask gorgug if being barbarian was right for him. Porter only told Gorgug to get angry. And Brennan never drew the proper focus to it. I just went along with it assuming that was just the character Brennan had made. Nope. What a fucker.

[@derekw104]

I'm pretty sure many times Porter said to Gorgug "if you want to be an Artificer, that's okay. I just don't think you have shown me that you're capable of doing that AND being a barbarian". So he did say that. He said it a whole bunch

[@catherineelmore2004]

That’s what got me- like I was uneasy and not quite sure cause I’m like… Brennan usually has a theme he’s going for that he’s trying to convey, and Porter didn’t, like you said, fit with the way that I feel like Brennan would portray a good teacher. But I guess I was thinking ok, maybe I’m missing the point- maybe he’s just pointing out that crappy teachers exist? Doesn’t make them villains but maybe they just shouldn’t be educators? So yeah, this reveal had me going “I knew it!!! I knew there was more to it! Didn’t know what but I knew there was more!”

[@SuperAdventuretime10]

Brennan pulled an Aabria and he was so proud 😎 will never forget you Dr Wenabocker

[@irisbaggins]

SAME. He's even wearing the same shirt as he was during the first tape reveal. Peak cinema

[@Dysole]

Loved the way this played out. While I caught a lot of the clues (scales being converted into a warhammer, his paladin ancestor oath, the fact that as Brennan said in Adventuring Party it would be so funny if Fig was right especially now that people kinda trusted him), I could never quite bring myself there as I was like "well if he's evil doesn't that sort of mess with the message about rage isn't bad?" Looking at it now, I guess that doesn't necessarily hold and I'm super excited to see how that ties into the final episodes. I did suspect Porter was going to be important to this whole thing somehow because he more than any other teacher had so much knowledge of the Bad Kids adventures (choke on grapes, Ayda calling Gorgug the greatest wizard of our time, etc.), but I couldn't quite piece it together how until this scene started playing and I gasped at the barbarian healing that I had absolutely missed despite rewatching the scene recently. And then I thought it was so neat how he weaved this together as a recent thing only for Brennan to drop the whole "I've been sitting on this for five years" and I became even more impressed with him managing to not only craft this but then manage to keep it a secret up until this moment despite all the incredible sleuthing the Intrepid Heroes did this season and previous seasons. This was an absolute masterwork and I would be thrilled if I ever DMed something a fraction as cool as this.

[@PyrotechNick77]

The barbarian and the sorcerer are the most classes ever to be an evil duo. Wizards and Paladin duo out, Barbarian and Sorcerer in!!

[@JeremyBearimy913]

I was absolutely gobsmacked. My jaw dropped. A chill went down my spine. I was absolutely speechless. Best reveal in D20 history!

[@carmacksanderson3937]

Emily manifested Porter's villainy into existence (as confirmed by a later clip). The power she wields is legendary

[@laurenhatter6824]

I FEEL SO VINDICATED

[@iriandia]

“Five years of my real life” I felt that SO HARD

[@bossdozz]

Ive been screaming at my friends how weird it was for Rahg to see Kalina that specific moment 😂 Fig writing if he is still evil or not at the last possible moment is just so Emily

[@pastelprincess2018]

*It was Porter all along plays*

[@cailynj4680]

I have been screaming since last night

[@klandgraf6956]

I freakin love the new dome especially for moments like this

[@jasonandrew6596]

The betrayal felt too fking REAL as an audience IT WAS CRAZY TO HEAR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING😂

[@bubbledoubletrouble]

They forgot to do the one last repeat in super slo-mo for "barbarian healing"

[@Theology.101]

im going to be honest, I assumed he just meant ‘i used a medicine kit’ but it was flavored

[@patriciomendoza19]

I mean like goddamn, such a great twist!! Porter was probably my favorite NPC in the series, I always thought he was tough on Gorgug in a way to bring out the best from him. But goddamn is this done in such a satisfying way, I just can't wait to see how this all goes down.

[@lightningpastry2153]

That smug look on Brennan's face as he watches it finally dawn on everyone tho

[@PurpleCyanideTube]

I have zero context for the entirety of this video but god damn was that some great production. Really pulls you into the vibe

[@beanjeangreen]

Brennan's delivery of this was just PERFECT. I have watched this scene over and over and over and over again. I love it.

[@meganschulz3632]

The music combined with the projection and the insane lore drop and the FRICKIN CELLO. BLeeM Is an absolute madlad and this episode was insane

[@suunanigans]

THE REPEATING GOT ME SOOOO GOOD

[@ianwong8380]

Can I just say that the world-building in this episode was *chef's kiss* 💯

[@samparr3368]

i was so stoked that even though i suspected porter ahead of the time, this reveal still managed to floor me. very well done Mr. BLeeM.

[@mattpaineofficial]

Lead up to video reveal, background music is Ending by Peter Sandberg ( 0:38 )

[@Figgy5119]

I remember when that happened years ago and I was like wtf is barbarian healing, that is sus, and now Ragh sees Calina and then Tracker similarly caught Calinaitis from Sandra Lynn, but the Porter thing was never followed up on and I was like, ok, I guess it's NBD then XD

[@countjracula]

actually Tracker GAVE sandralynn Kalina, Tracker GOT Kalina from Kristen. IIRC

[@Figgy5119]

@@countjracula I think that line is opposite. Kalina is like a disease, including being sexually transmitted, which is why every time they asked an adult if they could see Kalina Brennan rolled a kind of luck check to see if they did. Sandra Lynn, Gardy, etc. Sandra Lynn healed Tracker with a blood transfusion, Tracker slept with Kristen, and that's how Kristen got Kalina-sight

[@countjracula]

@Figgy5119 Except Tracker healed Sandralynn with the blood transfusion. It was stated to be a specific ability she had as a werewolf moon cleric, and after she infected Sandralynn she felt really guilty because her rituals had always accounted for her not passing lycanthropy to anyone but she'd never considered she could pass something else

[@emmakane6848]

I think the blood transfusion happened with Kristen because there was an added element of her infecting her girlfriend.

[@erikandchristine102]

I can tell you this truly messed me up. I remember that moment, but I just brushed it inter the rug because so much was happening.

[@Eggs_hatching]

I remember being SO SUSPICIOUS of the "barbarian healing" at that time and then getting 1000x sidetrackedand never questioning it again bc Emily didnt and we "caught all the bad guys" so it was just another red herring

[@Kamodomon]

The smile on Brennan's face. He's so satisfied with himself.

[@darebrained]

All I want is to experience this once first hand. To sit there, play whatever TTRPG of choice and be genuinely surprised.

[@lavenderbrown3730]

I literally saw a tweet about this suggesting that she was saying Ragh in reference to that exact moment and it has been living rent free in my mind. That person must feel SOO VINDICATED

[@Charlotte-gv8to]

I was waiting so long for them to remember that Ragh saw Jace, Kalina, and Adaine’s mom together in the hallway after the Prompocalypse, bc Jace is the BBEG, right? BUT IT’S PORTER and I completely forgot he had healed Ragh right before he saw Kalina.

[@uhohstinkyoragutan665]

This was genuinely such a shock. I haven’t felt this much devastation and betrayal and absolute madness since Crown of Candy

[@irisbaggins]

Gosh, just. This whole reveal. A masterclass in storytelling. And in the light of the Russo's joining the MCU again (blegh), this is just such a masterclass in foreshadowing and laying down the groundwork. Like, no joke, I rewatched the exact episode of Sophomore year with my sister a few weeks before this episode dropped, and my sister actually pointed out the question of how Ragh got Kalina. The answer was right in front of me, that whole time. Brennan kept that answer in the open, waiting for someone to pick it apart. I'm still rendered speechless to this day.

[@NawiXXI]

If they have a spinoff series where Porter isn't played by Sam I'm LEAVING!!!

[@BassGosple]

This was BRENNAN at his *most* LEE MULLIGAN

[@HarPaelTheMessenger]

I was screaming, crying, throwing up, etc.

[@vante2]

a chain of insanely good rolls and legend lore, and Brennan was super ecstatic? You knew some deep fuckery Brennan had been holding onto was gonna be unleashed.

[@agathosa]

I think Adaine or someone tried to use Detect Thoughts to learn about what he thinks about Zara and Brennan instantly made him Mindless Rage and run away That's when I smelled a fucking rat

[@ChrisMorray]

Honestly in the replay I thought "Wait, Barbarian healing?", and then Brennan points it out like "What the fuck is Barbarian healing?". It's a small detail that's easy to brush off.

[@sidneyfirefae]

i love the music as Brennan points to Murph/Riz

[@alexspain9103]

I think that all of the original teachers from Freshman year had fully fleshed out subplots that they never got to because none of them attended class.

[@0kieD0kiee]

Aaaaall the way back in sophomore year I had a feeling it was whatever the weird “barbarian healing” was that Porter did that give Raugh the Karina curse. Cuz wtf is barbarian healing?? But then no one ever followed up on it

[@ArtsyRosie]

I was scrubbing through the episode on my phone to rewatch but realized someone probably already edited it and this was the first video when I opened KZbin. Algorithm is algorithming

[@yf21_septic50]

This is HANDS DOWN my favorite season of dimension 20

[@Domesthenes]

Man, I've got a similar twist for my party that I've been holding onto since session 3 and I can't wait for them to figure it out! Good on Brennan for this!

[@mr.floofles3100]

Definitely one of my favorite episodes of the season. Can’t wait for the fight on seacaster manor!

[@vimbert]

He's been there THE WHOLE TIME.

[@ladybugkiller123]

i binged watched the entire series from season 1 to now in three weeks, so I didn't have the 5 year long wait, but boy did I scream

[@itz_moonwolf1480]

I remember watching sophomore year when it came out on youtube and thinking “wait when did ragh get the kalina thing.” At the time i thought i just missed that part or forgot it. Then this happened and i was so surprised and also proud of myself for catching that. Best twist in d20 history imo, what an insane setup and payoff

[@razarine]

Can someone make a video explaining everything we just learned bc there are SO many strings holy shit

[@maxmyzer9172]

I cant get over that they were all screens

[@meganl8728]

As someone who has never played or watched anything dnd prior to watching FH FY/SY for the first time, Ragh describing having minor injuries and then saying that Porter did some “barbarian healing” made me pause and go hmm that’s kinda sus and then moved on… this reveal was so exciting

[@DParkerNunya]

I remember in Sophmore Year going "what the fuck is barbarian healing?" and I just wrote it off as oh, thats some homebrew stuff maybe. I was so fucking caught off guard when that clip started playing and he said it again because my brain made the connection and I just started going "what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck"

[@What-lt3lj]

This was so freaking cool. This season is the best actual play I've ever watched.

[@leethegaygeek]

when i tell you i SCREAMED

[@greeninferno1339]

That’s awesome using the flashback in the dome

[@Frostafarian]

Gaslighting Emily for 5 years finally pays off

[@Finn-wc8nq]

Brennans fucking evil smile here

[@CrispyGFX]

Man, the dome is so fucking cool.

[@lemnlyme]

I WAS LOSING MY MIND GOD DAAAAAMN

[@QBee_Buzz]

WAIT Kirsten's lil bro is a paladin. Was the plan if Fig didn't become champion, make Bucky the champion of Ancarna??

[@razarine]

How did he sit on this for FIVE YEARS?

[@loreleimarivaine6241]

The vindication of Fig is so relieving.