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Now that both of Critical Role's animated adaptations - The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein, of course - are streaming on Prime Video, we don't have to wonder what the differences between the shows will be. But there was a time when that was a hot topic amongst Critters all over, with fans (like Popverse) scouring the internet for clues. One of those clues came from San Diego Comic Con 2025, where OG cast member Travis Willingham said Mighty Nein would introduce viewers to events "in real time," "instead of using flashbacks."

Despite us having seen the first full season of The Might Nein, we were still curious as to why the Critical Role team would choose to set flashbacks aside for the show, especially in Willingham's case. His character, Fjord Stone, had a backstory largely explained via flashbacks in both The Mighty Nein's inspiration, Critical Role Campaign 2, and the Dark Horse Comics that delved into Fjord's origins.

So when we got the chance to talk with Willingham himself, we asked.

Our conversation happened at Emerald City Comic Con 2026, where we got to sit down with Willingham along with his fellow OG Rolers Matt Mercer and Sam Riegel. And after we brought up the topic of flashbacks, Willingham explained that part of their decision was to differentiate from what had come before.

"When we started production on The Legend of Vox Machina," began Willingham, "We picked a spot where all of the characters would be together and the story could get propelled from a singular point. The audience jumps in all together and then you learn about their backstories and their relationships with each other as the show goes on. We we utilized that bit of storytelling there.

"I think because we were starting from a deeper point canonically with The Mighty Nein," he continued, "We could go a little bit more into the the Session Zero space that we've talked about before. We could go into individual characters before they've even met up as duos or a group. You could get a little bit of a sense of where they've come from, what shaped them, any lies or masks that they're wearing coming from their their various places as they meet up with the rest of the group. That just gives the audience a little bit more of an inside track on who they are or what they're trying to pull off as they're either lying to themselves, lying to the rest of the group, [or] manipulating certain situations to see where the outcomes come from."

Still, Willingham admits, their choice to tell Fjord's story in a different, more effective way for TV doesn't mean that The Mighty Nein will always be stuck in the present.

"We love a good flashback," the Dispatch voice actor said. "We still use them in Mighty Nein. [...] There's almost there's almost no way not to, most of the time. But I think we also just thought it would be a nicer way for people to get a deeper sense of who the characters were and also slow the burn down a little bit."

I see what you mean, Travis, but I gotta say - ain't no slowing the kind of burn some fans feel for that orc.

Watch Popverse's full interview with Critical Role's Matthew Mercer, Travis Willingham, and Sam Riegel from Emerald City Comic Con 2026 right here.

With two animated series on Prime Video, Campaign 4 in full swing, and so much more Exandrian lore to come, Critical Role is showing no signs of slowing down. That's why the adventuring party at Popverse are here to bring you everything we can from those nerdy-ass voice actors & Bo., including:

• Critical Role release schedule
• Critical Role's Campaign 4 characters ranked
• How to watch Critical Role in order
• Ways for you to relive the Critical Role panel from ECCC '26
• Taliesin Jaffe on playing Mollymauk Tealeaf for Campaign 2 vs. playing him for Prime Video
• Matt Mercer's homebrew warrior class (created originally for Vin Diesel)

...and much, much more. Roll initiative, player. Magic awaits.