The Mighty Nein Episode 3 Recap: Does Caleb Get His Magic Back?

The adventurers meet each other for the first time in the third episode of the ongoing season of “The Mighty Nein,” under tragic circumstances as a series of incidents lead to disaster in the wandering carnival. The narrative has quite a grim, dark tone, which is complemented by occasional lighthearted moments interspersed throughout the episode, and overall the premiere sets the series off to a solid start. Previously, Caleb and Nott partnered up and ventured to the carnival of Fletching and Moondrop, where Caleb can obtain ingredients to get his magic back. Lionett, assigned on a mission to get intel on Cobalt Soul corruption, is sent to the same carnival as well. On the other hand, empowered by a mystical sea behemoth, warlock-orc Fjord rescued Jester and was entrusted by her mother to take her to the land of Zadash, where Fjord hopes to visit the school of magic.

Spoilers Ahead

Mollymauk Tealeaf and the Carnival of Curiosities

The cold open of the third episode plunges the audience into a violent scene, which highlights a vicious bloodbath in the carnival. As the episode progresses, the events that led up to the shocking beginning come to light. Viewers are introduced to a street-smart, easygoing Tiefling card reader/soothsayer, Mollymauk Tealeaf, a trusted associate of wandering carnival proprietor Gustav. Finances are tight, and Gustav needs a full house tonight to continue supporting all the performers of the carnival, and he is hopelessly dependent on Molly to make things work. Molly has a great rapport with the performers and assures Gustav that things will work out just fine. 

One of the biggest attractions of the carnival is the performance of Toya the vivid voice and her dreadful gigantic Devil Toad, whom she has kept in control using rare Lumino beetles. As it turns out, Caleb, who has arrived in the carnival accompanied by Nott, needs those same insects to bring his magic back. He and Nott try to obtain one jar of Lumino beetles by using a distraction to halt Toya’s caravan, but Caleb freezes in fear upon noticing Owelia, the Volstrucker working for Ikithon, lurking about in the carnival. This indicates the duo have history together, which might be connected to Caleb losing his magic and gaining notoriety as a murderer. Owelia has tailed Lionett, as she wants to learn the reason for her arrival. 

Jester is having the time of her life as she enjoys the carnival, and she helps Fjord to loosen up a bit as well. Judging from his appearance, Jester assumed Fjord to be a brave sea captain, and despite being uncomfortable stepping into shoes that don’t fit him, Fjord maintains the ruse—perhaps due to his struggle with his self-image. A situation arises as a couple of orcas try to harass Fjord and Jester, but Molly’s timely arrival keeps things from escalating further. 

Lionett and Nott Create Major Trouble

Lionett meets with Mollymauk by chance, who shows tarot card reading prowess by predicting Lionett’s fate to join hands with others to carry on the good fight. Lionett spots Dead Eye, Dairon’s informant, and excuses herself to approach him. Dead Eye’s disembodied voice guides her to meet him in person, and the informant hands Lionett a message stone that contains the identity of the person who is orchestrating the whole thing. 

Taking her leave, Lionett spots Nott in the carnival grounds and immediately attacks him, as she holds a grudge against him for losing her horse in the previous episode. Caleb is able to call guards and have Lionett thrown out of the carnival. Much to Lionett’s dismay, Nott has stolen her memory stone, which she needs to obtain at any cost before returning to Dairon. At night, when the shows begin and most of the patrons and performers, including Gustav and Molly, are back in the main tent, Caleb and Nott decide to steal Lumino moths from Toya’s caravan. Unbeknownst to them, Lionett has followed them. She engages in a fight with them in the carnival grounds and gets her message stone back. However, in the process, all the Lumino beetles taken by Caleb get freed, and they head towards the main tent where Toya and her Devil Toad are performing at the moment. The monstrous frog gets distracted upon seeing the insects; while chasing them and hopping around, the toad kills several performers. A terrified Toya tries to use her voice to control the creature, only to realize that it has gone out of control. 

Does Caleb Get His Magic Back?

Chaos ensues in the carnival as audiences flee in fear, and things take a worse turn when the Devil Toad uses its poison to turn people into feral amphibian monsters. Jester finds herself cornered by the amphibian monsters when Fjord decides to step up and unconsciously use his newfound powers to defend her. Gustav gets turned into a monster as well, and as he attacks Molly, his blood magic trigger gets activated. Molly turns into a mindless killing machine and takes down Gustav within moments, only to spend agonizing moments while reflecting upon his action of killing his own friend after regaining his senses. 

While all of this is happening, Caleb plans to attack the Devil Toad itself after realizing the rest of his monstrous thralls are connected with it. He uses a Lumino beetle to reactivate his fire magic but ends up missing his target and destroys the tent instead by setting it on fire. The toad takes Toya along with it and flees, and all the human-turned-amphibian monsters die almost immediately. A remorseful Mollymauk helplessly looks at the vicious massacre when he is taken captive by Imperial forces along with Caleb, Nott, Lionett, Fjord, and Jester. It’s an unconventional way to have players team up, and it will take longer to have them actually unite for a greater cause. 

As the episode comes to an end, Owelia tracks down Dead Eye in the forest and threatens him to learn the contents of the messaging stone. Dead Eye ends up revealing that it contains a name, which is supposed to be sent to the stone’s recipient, a monk of the Cobalt Soul order. Owelia seems content with the intel as she kills Dead Eye and goes on her way.  

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