“The Legend of Vox Machina” has introduced some truly terrifying villains with the dragons of the Chroma Conclave and the hypnotizing Briarwoods. These tend to fall into the more traditional category of fantasy monsters. However, that doesn’t seem to be the antagonists set to play a part in “The Mighty Nein.” The grittier espionage thriller leans into the more politically hungry villains looking to acquire power at any cost.
During Campaign 2 many of these villains didn’t truly come into play until later in the story. It seems that won’t be the case in “The Mighty Nein.” Travis Willingham teased one of his favorite aspects of the series is the “early introductions into Trent Ikithon, the Cerberus Assembly, [and] the Volstrucker. The other folks that were with Caleb back in the day.” There are a number of villainous characters with their own machinations.
However, the primary antagonist, or at least one of the primary antagonists, of the first season of “The Mighty Nein” seems to be Trent Ikithon. In Temple of Geek’s exclusive interview, Willingham discussed the experience of working with Mark Strong, who voices Ikithon. Marisha Ray and Laura Bailey also praised Strong’s ability to bring Ikithon to life in a truly nuanced way.
Mark Strong Brings Trent Ikithon To Life In The Mighty Nein
Laura Bailey:
“He’s real bad.”
Travis Willingham
“Yeah, Mark Strong was a voice that was in our ear; when we learned he was fluent in German as well, we were like, “There’s no way.” He’s one of those people who we were like, “There’s no way he’ll say yes to this project.” He did. He was incredible. I think in the very first half hour of the session, Sam and I just kind of leaned back, and we were like, “He’s diabolical.” Just absolutely in the most comfortable, fatherly, and just most manipulative sense you could ever think of, and really getting to paint a larger picture with him, where you get to see how he would manipulate those that were relying on him for guidance, or for approval, or any of those things, it’s a delightful thing to do from a production perspective.”
Marisha Ray
“Yeah, you said comfortable, which is maybe the perfect word, because I was thinking subtle; it’s very understated, and just very little tiny details that are inserted both in Mark’s performance and in the animation that make you go like, “Oh, that’s icky. Oh, I don’t like that.” But it’s not over the top.”
Laura Bailey
“He makes you uncomfortable.”
Trent Ikithon is a truly terrifying villain because he isn’t a monster in the fantasy sense outside of his magic. He’s power-hungry with aspirations that put others in danger. He wields political power and believes himself to be righteous because of his desire for magic and knowledge. Trent Ikithon is exactly the type of person who often manipulates and corrupts to gain power and influence.
But he isn’t alone in these actions. Ikithon is one of many wizards within the Dwendalian Empire’s Cerberus Assembly. While they may not all be evil, they are powerful mages with a seemingly insatiable desire for more power and magic. In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, Matthew Mercer shares his excitement at finally being able to fully flesh out the Cerberus Assembly.
A Deeper Dive Into Vess DeRogna & The Cerberus Assembly
Matthew Mercer
“I’m excited about seeing the political machinations within the Dwendalian Empire. Getting to see King Dwendal and his dynamic with the Cerberus Assembly. See the Cerberus Assembly itself having its weird, tethered, barely balanced dynamics and just how wrecked the politics are within the inner circles. Things that you only got glimpses or illusions to within the campaign for the most part. We get to see them actually brewing in the background, and that’s been really delicious.”
“The Mighty Nein” is bringing a number of elements that were in the background of Campaign 2 to the forefront. The Cerberus Assembly and their schemes are perfect for the gritty, more political espionage thriller tone. Marisha Ray discussed how the Cerberus Assembly feels more dangerous in “The Mighty Nein” compared to Campaign 2.
Marisha Ray
“I think it’s so easy when you’re playing a D&D game for the big bads to be kind of like distant, amorphous blobs that aren’t necessarily contextualized until you get up close with them. So, I think it’s just really great to see Trent, not even just Trent Ikithon, but Vess DeRogna. To see even King Dwendal and some of these people that we heard about and we talked about, but they weren’t really personified until later in the campaign. So, I’m glad that we were able to do that early this time.”
Travis Willingham
“Vess is a great call out. T’Nia Miller has one of those voices where we heard her in other shows and instantly we’re like, “That is just butter on the ear.” And she absolutely comes in and portrays an incredible Vess DeRogna, who’s gonna be up to quite a bit as the story goes along.”
Marisha Ray
“Yeah, especially with the full Cerberus Assembly. When we were playing through it in the campaign and you’re like, “Okay, this high powerful person, something about propaganda, and this person with antiquities, and they all have these crazy titles….That just all seems like a big lump of bad that’s over there and not our problem right now,” but with the animated series, it’s like, “No, they are your problem right now.””
Trent Ikithon and Vess DeRogna were the major players of the Cerberus Assembly during Campaign 2 of Critical Role. “The Mighty Nein” is a chance to delve into them, their background, and their motivation more deeply. It is also an opportunity to more thoroughly explore the Cerberus Assembly as a whole and the intricacies of the internal politics. The darker tone of “The Mighty Nein” also offers the opportunity to show just how brutal, corrupt, and manipulative they can be.
The first three episodes of “The Mighty Nein” premiere on Prime Video November 19.
