Apology Meta Part 1: Episodes 1-27 (The Empire)
For…reasons, I decided I’d split this meta up into 3 large sections: The Empire (episodes 1-27) The Pirate Arc (episodes 28-49), and Xhorhas (episodes 50-85).
Numbers and a long post incoming!
I’ve been using a word search tool on Critical Role Transcripts. Inclusion criteria: the words “sorry” and “apolo–” (root for apologize, apologizing, apologies). I looked at each instance of these words and tallied both who was apologizing and who was being apologized to by looking at surrounding context. Exclusion criteria: speaking OOC, “sorry” used in the sense of asking a person to repeat themselves, and “apology” being used in the sense of discussing apologies as a subject, rather than actively apologizing. Limitations: This method is reliant on the completeness of the transcripts it works off of. It can’t really gauge the sincerity of each individual apology, and it’s also possible for characters to apologize without using the words “sorry” “apologies,” etc–Caleb and Yasha for instance are apt to apologize without using these words, and this method does not count those apologies. Interrater reliability is also nil–I did NOT double check this work or ask someone else to code the transcripts to compare.
Part 1: Who Apologizes the Most?
Beau takes the cake here, followed a bit distantly by Caleb, and then Nott. But let’s take a closer look on exactly who everyone is apologizing to:
Fjord, though middling in his apology number, splits his apologies evenly between the party and outside NPCs, whom he apologizes to usually in an attempt to curry favor or run a con. Within the party, he has a marked preference for holding himself accountable to the group at large, rather than apologizing to individual members.
Beau also has a roughly even split between inter/intra party apologies, though in contrast to Fjord, she has a preference for apologizing to individual party members. Her strong connection with Jester and Fjord–the original triad–manifests itself in an increased number of apologies as she seeks their feedback on interpersonal interactions.
Caleb apologizes almost as often as he draws breath when speaking to NPCs! His version of overbearing politeness manifests itself in an incessant stream of apologies. Also, a non-insignificant portion of his NPC apologies are directed at Frumpkin (poor cat!) Caleb is much more reserved when dealing genuinely with party members–like Fjord, he’s of a collective mindset and more likely to apologize to the group at large than to any one member.
As we move away from the top table “faces,” we encounter a group of people far less interested in smoothing things over with the outside world, and far more interested in smoothing over tempers within the party. Nott is unique here for being far more interested in Caleb’s opinion and forgiveness than anyone else’s.
Within the party, Jester apologizes most to those she perceives as being in distress. Her most frequent apologies are related to her healing not being enough, or over her decisions to help one party member over another.
Molly has lived a life of few regrets–despite his screentime and talkative nature, he has one of the lowest apology counts in the party. He and Yasha’s exclusivity as the circus band manifests as well in their lack of apologies–of Molly’s NPC apologies, the majority were directed towards other circus members. The one thing he does apologize for–twice–is for his past life which he doesn’t see as the party’s business cropping up to bother them all.
Yasha’s extremely taciturn nature may have contributed to her having the lowest apology count in the party–however, she is perhaps the most nondiscriminate in who she directs her apologies to.
Part 2: Who Gets Apologized to?
You know me: I believe that our language reveals all sorts of power dynamics, and one of those is the dynamic of who apologizes–and who is apologized to. So, who gets the most apologies from their fellow party members in the Mighty Nein?
Caleb holds somewhat of a lead here, due largely to the influence of Nott. Most party members have been apologized to roughly the same amount as they have apologized to fellow party members–with the exception of Beau and Nott, who have both apologized significantly more often than they’ve been apologized to, and Caleb, who has been apologized to individually far more than he’s apologized other individual party members.
Let’s take a closer look:
Unsurprisingly, Beau has been the main source of apologies to Fjord. Smh at Fjord thinking Beau doesn’t apologize!
Here Nott takes the lead, as they begin to forge a bond made from swapped secrets and confessions.
Caleb’s confession and “Bowlgate” had a discernible impact on these numbers. But Nott also had a tendency to apologize to Caleb despite his protests from the first episode.
Nott gets a fair amount of apologies both from habitual apologizers like Beau, and from more reserved people like Caleb and Yasha. Yasha’s apology for the group all making fun of Nott for eating children in fact stands out as one of the very few apologies Yasha has made at all!
Featuring: Beau beating Jester to a bloody pulp, an argument over spending money with Caleb, and copious Detective Duo shenaniganery
Neither Molly nor Yasha have received many apologies–which makes the distribution of apologies look more drastic than it really is. Nonetheless, Beau’s attempts to connect with Molly have had an impact here.
Similarly to Beau and Molly, Jester’s continued efforts to engage with Yasha have had an impact in the number of apologies she’s given in proportion to the rest of the party.
And finally: the NPC chart! As we can see, Team Human holds the lion’s share of apologies–no doubt that rough Empire upbringing, huh?