Episode 129: Nod-Krai’s New Moon

Throughout the episode, we mention some older episodes that may be helpful for understanding some of the underlying lore in this Archon Quest. They are: The Narzissenkreuz Saga (S4 E65), Remuria and the Sea of Bygone Eras (S5 E91), and Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy (S6 E117).

Perhaps Feens’ favorite part of Acts 7 and 8 is the ‘flower ripple’ transition. That might be an exaggeration, but it’s pretty far up on the list!

What’s in the box?!?! (Cue Brad Pitt.) Traveler… again. These kids sure do end up in a lot of boxes during their time in Teyvat.

We’ve seen our fair share of uncomfortable footwear in this game, but Columbina’s water droplet shoes might take the cake. Dr. Scholl’s does not recommend them.

Varka makes a small comment when talking about Dottore that has a big implication. He says that the Doctor is responsible for the death of one of their own: Crepus. In the manga, we see Diluc and Kaeya’s father lose his life, but we never learn whether it was Ursa the Drake or a faulty Delusion that sealed his fate.

The Trilune Dottore wields is made up of two authentic Moon Marrows and one artificial Marrow he created. It is not, to Tif’s disappointment, the state bird of Minnesota: the Common Loon.

Aladdin had a magic carpet; Dottore had a stone chair. Not the most practical mode of transportation, IMO, but it gets the job done.

Watch out, Albedo, Feens has two new boys catching her attention: Illuga and Lohen. And with a nice tie-in to our obsession with mentioning Stranger Things, the voice actor for Lohen was recently announced as the brother of Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler from Hawkins. We’re looking forward to seeing how Nick Wolfhard brings the Vice Captain of the Fifth Company to life.

After some small snooping in the Traveler’s room, Nefer remembers that Columbina told them she would leave them messages in the moonlight. While Flins plans on asking management to open the window, Nefer wastes no time and chucks a goblet straight through it to reveal a message.

Dottore’s experimental juice bubbles pop up across Nod-Krai and our trio of trauma boys work to crack the case. Literally, since they find a way in by cracking the juicy shell.

You’re not my dad (you’re a cell phone)! Jahoda’s quick ‘ewe’ response to Varka offering her a hug cracked us all up, and it immediately increased Bee’s love for her.

For a tortured soul and a dead chick, Rerir and Tholindis look pretty good, and they’ve had some real growth along the way. Rerir seems to feel slightly bad for trying to kill us all, and Tholindis might feel bad about the genocide. The jury is still out on that last one.

Columbina wasn’t the only one fangirling when she met the Moon Goddesses; Tif was too. Their beautiful designs and ethereal mannerisms were spot-on. It really makes us hope that we get to see them again.

What would an Archon Quest be without one final epic battle? Nod-Krai did not disappoint, that’s for sure! Plus, it was extra satisfying to see Dottore get outsmarted.

Oh look, Columbina can open her eyes! She eventually goes back to wearing her eye mask, but if you play as her, you get to see her celestial eyes during her elemental animations.

Tif compares the boat Columbina and Traveler take to the moon to the one in The Lord of the Rings. In the moment, she forgot its true name – the Last Ship, or White Ship, that sails from the Grey Havens to Valinor. She’s currently in LOTR timeout.

Flight logs, clues about our sibling… all great things to learn about when you finally get back into your spaceship. But let’s all be honest: the outfit change was truly the highlight.

In case you were thinking that Dottore’s part in this story is over, the final glitch at the end poster screen had us all assuming this is definitely not over.

Here are some helpful links if you’re unfamiliar with the pop culture references we mentioned during the episode. We channel our inner Gru, laugh about the Heated Rivalry Loon scene, sing some Aladdin, and we ‘Threw it on the Ground’ again.