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Kelcie Mattson
Published 5 minutes ago
Kelcie Mattson is a Senior Features author at Collider. Based in the Midwest, she also contributes Lists, reviews, and television recaps. A lifelong fan of niche sci-fi, epic fantasy, Final Girl horror, elaborate action, and witty detective fiction, becoming a pop culture devotee was inevitable once the Disney Renaissance, Turner Classic Movies, BBC period dramas, and her local library piqued her imagination.
Rarely seen without a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, Kelcie explores media history (especially older, foreign, and independent films) as much as possible. In her spare time, she enjoys RPG video games, amateur photography, and attending fan conventions with her Trekkie family.
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Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for The Mighty Nein Episode 4 and Critical Role's The Mighty Nein campaign.
Dungeons & Dragons' structure is both endlessly malleable and as dependable as a boulder. The role-playing staple excels when imagination, random chance, and long-form storytelling coalesce — when the luck of the dice and individual player agency exist on equal footing, and either one can turn a scenario on its ear. Even with that rule of thumb in place, Essek Thelyss, a supporting character from Critical Role's second campaign, still underwent a rather unusual change. Created and played by Critical Role's original Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer, the elf wizard became a cast and fan favorite thanks to his reclusive tendencies, handsome looks, and unexpected, but dramatically fortuitous, emotional arc.
Since the opening minutes of The Mighty Nein, Prime Video's animated adaptation of the same-name campaign has been taking advantage of its new format: simultaneously streamlining a massive tale and providing fresh insight into crucial figures who, by the nature of the game's mechanics, weren't able to benefit from more refined attention. Essek, an enigma at The Mighty Nein's epicenter, is no exception, starting in earnest with Episode 4. Although exploring Essek's motivations at Season 1's halfway point deprives the audience of a dramatic reveal further down the line, it's a worthwhile trade. Filling in the blanks now enriches an already complex character for existing fans and new viewers alike.
How Is 'The Mighty Nein's Essek Different Than 'Critical Role's?
Without giving away too many major spoilers for anyone experiencing The Mighty Nein for the first time through the Prime Video adaptation, Mercer conceived Essek as a minor but complex antagonist for the titular adventuring party. Ever the contrarians, the Nein instead launched an "I can fix him" intervention on Essek, and their collective influence pivoted the brooding, guilt-stricken traitor onto a fumbling path toward atonement.
Before then, Essek's impetus for collaborating with the Empire, the direct enemies of the Kryn Dynasty and their ruler, the Bright Queen (Lucy Liu), was compelling but more traditional and opaque. As a spellcaster specializing in Dunamancy, an ancient arcane magic that lets practitioners tap into natural forces like chance, gravity, and the flow of time, Essek believed the Dynasty was wasting the Beacon's power and any knowledge they could gain from it. Driven by his curiosity and his status as a frustrated outlier who rejected the Dynasty’s reincarnation-based religion, he facilitated the Beacon's theft and agreed to study its workings alongside fellow wizard Trent Ikithon (Mark Strong), the Cerberus Assembly's Archmage.
Instead of sticking to the shadows and keeping his secrets just as mercurial, The Mighty Nein's second episode wastes little time before establishing Essek as both a knowledge-seeking traitor and a concerned son hiding his mother Deirta's (Anjelica Huston) illness. Episode 4 — directed by Micah Gunnell and written by executive producers/co-stars Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham — elaborates on his deeper motivations for depriving the Dynasty of their most prized possession: studying the Beacon is Essek's last-ditch gamble at saving Deirta's life. The risk to her is twofold; there's no cure for typhros, a neurodegenerative disease where a reincarnated soul's memories bleed together. Likewise, the Dynasty's religious tradition demands that those who develop typhros die a permanent death via execution.
'The Mighty Nein' Episode 4 Enriches Essek’s Character by Revealing His Motives
Like its titular adventuring party, The Mighty Nein rarely distinguishes between clear-cut heroism and objective villainy. Moral ambiguity, human failings, and intentionally pursuing personal betterment are as vital to the series as its die-rolling origins. Instead of following royal mandates or accepting Deirta's wishes, Essek recklessly endangers his entire species out of a selfish, but deeply empathetic, desire to protect his mother. Even the world's noblest heroes would waver at the chance to save the person they love most, even if doing so means condemning innocent lives and rationalizing away that cost. Yet the instant Essek glimpses Ikithon's malicious plans to weaponize the Beacon in Episode 4, he realizes he's backed himself into a corner of his own making. He may be a victim of his dual ambitions, but his conflicted regret and muted panic are quite genuine.
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Posts By Hannah Hunt Nov 25, 2025By the time Essek and the Mighty Nein group cross paths in the campaign, the former avoids emotional vulnerability and intimacy like the veritable plague; he's distrustful, self-isolated, and ostracized for his semi-heretical beliefs. When the Nein forcibly christens him as their honorary eighth member, showering him with unprecedented affection and consideration, Essek isn't used to expressing or receiving that much camaraderie. The Nein are still getting their hot mess together as of Episode 4, but there's no team better suited to hold Essek's feet to the fire while still offering him compassion, trust, and forgiveness.
More than anything, The Mighty Nein's revelations shift Essek from an unexpectedly riveting foil for its antihero protagonists and an integral part of Campaign 2's soul into a profoundly broken, hurting person who purposefully makes terrible choices out of equal parts conceit and love. These developments make sense for the present narrative and any future seasons, considering the character's future trajectory — and it's a perfectly ironic and tragic state for an arcane magician adept at discovering new possibilities and rewriting time.
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The Mighty Nein
TV-MA
Animation
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Action
9
10
Release Date
November 19, 2025
Network
Prime Video
Writers
Tasha Huo
Franchise(s)
Critical Role
Cast
See All-
Laura Bailey
Jester
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Marisha Ray
Beau
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The Mighty Nein
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