The four-episode overture of *Critical Role Campaign 4* has come to an end, but not before leaving us with our hearts broken, our jaws hanging open, and several questions that may not even get answered when we return to the land of Aramán on Nov. 6.
However, one major mystery has already been solved, and it comes down to Grog Stonejaw’s (Travis Willingham) mishandling of magical weapons.
**[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for *Critical Role Campaign 4*’s fourth episode.]**
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Like all of the *Critical Role* cast, Taliesin Jaffe is no stranger to creating memorable characters. This time around, he’s playing the enigmatic Bolaire Lathalia, the masked curator of the Archanade, a museum that celebrates the revolutionary heroes of The Shapers’ War who slayed the gods of Aramán.
One of my biggest questions in Campaign 4 so far has been: what lies beneath Bolaire’s mask? The answer was (mostly) revealed in the latest episode.
Visiting the Archanade, Halandil Fang (Liam O’Brien) asks Bolaire about a letter warning that he couldn’t be trusted. As it turns out, it’s because Halandil’s brother Thjazi knew Bolaire wasn’t what he seemed.
Remember that mask, and how we were wondering when we’d get to see the character behind it? Well, it turns out Bolaire *is* the mask, while the person beneath it is, essentially, a husk under his control.
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As we learn, Bolaire was created as a weapon used to slay the gods during The Shapers’ War—specifically, the trickster goddess Rauwyn, whom the halflings worshipped. How he managed to do so wasn’t revealed, but it seems to have worked.
When the mask wasn’t being used, Bolaire slept until the next time it was equipped—usually during times of war and grief, such as The Falconer’s Rebellion (an unsuccessful war against the Sundered Houses).
It was during that time that Bolaire became sentient. Not wanting to be part of any more bloodshed, he fled to Dol-Makjar and started a new life.
That’s right. Taliesin Jaffe is playing a sentient, magical mask puppeteering a body—much like *Ratatouille*.
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And as it turns out, it’s all Travis Willingham’s fault.
During the post-episode *Cooldown* video, Jaffe explains how he came up with the idea for his character.
> “I got really into this notion at one point because Travis kept picking up conscious swords, and I was like: Well, what happens to those swords? It must suck to be a conscious sword!” he says.
*Critical Role* fans will remember that in Campaign 1, as Grog Stonejaw, Willingham did have a tendency to pick up sentient swords, such as the demonic weapon Craven Edge. Bolaire isn’t a sword, but it’s still a pretty clever idea.
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There’s still much to unpack about Bolaire’s character. He mentions others like him—brothers and sisters who are also masks.
Will we meet any of them in Campaign 4? There was a shattered mask in the Coffin of Olbalad, introduced in episode 1. Was that one of Bolaire’s dead siblings?
Either way, I’m fascinated to see where Jaffe will take Bolaire next, and what other minor details from previous campaigns will pop up in creative new ways.
https://www.polygon.com/critical-role-campaign-4-bolaire-mask-explained/
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