Be warned, the following contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of The Mighty Nein, “The Zadash Job”! According to showrunner Tasha Huo, the challenges in Caleb and Nott’s friendship, including their time apart, were crucial for both characters’ development. Played by Liam O’Brien and Sam Riegel of Critical Role, Caleb and Nott begin the series as a struggling man and a goblin rogue who meet while attempting a burglary. Their journey to restore Caleb’s magical powers leads them to join the Mighty Nein and uncover more about each other’s pasts.
To celebrate the newest episode, Grant Hermanns from ScreenRant spoke with Sam Riegel and Tasha Huo about the end of Mighty Nein’s first season. They discussed Caleb and Nott’s relationship, including their split in the episode “Belonging.” Sam Riegel, also an executive producer on the show, explained that it was crucial to fully explore their relationship throughout the season and show its development, especially after they went their separate ways.
Seeing the characters connect and their relationship evolve was really satisfying this season. The tension of keeping Beau in the dark about protecting Caleb, their first argument, and then making up – it all felt like a natural progression. It moved them from being separate people to becoming partners, and potentially part of a larger team by the end of the season.
Liam O’Brien and Travis Willingham have a close friendship that’s mirrored in their characters, Caleb and Nott, on the show. Willingham told ScreenRant that recording scenes with O’Brien has been a really enjoyable experience, almost like reminiscing about their own friendship. He’s also been happy to see how fans have responded to Caleb and Nott’s relationship and how well the animators have captured it.
Huo jokingly said that episode 7, while frustrating – he even said he ‘hated’ it – was necessary because it forced the characters to separate. He also pointed out that this separation ultimately made their eventual reunion all the more satisfying. The showrunner explained that despite going through many challenges together, the group hadn’t truly become a team by episode 7 and still didn’t fully trust each other.
Thinking about how her writing team and she were adapting the Critical Role campaign, Huo realized they had no choice but to show the characters growing apart and becoming isolated. This was the only way to explore the distrust building between them, as there hadn’t been a similar moment earlier in the story to build upon.
Tasha Huo explained that the goal was to make viewers feel like, “Hey, those earlier episodes were actually really good – let’s get back to that feeling.” She also discussed Caleb and Nott’s relationship, pointing out that Caleb often tries to distance himself from others, either expecting them to leave or wanting to protect them by isolating himself. Despite his flaws and the danger he represents, Nott consistently sees past everything and genuinely wants to be his friend, which Huo found particularly moving.
In the seventh episode of The Mighty Nein’s first season, titled “Belonging,” the group returned to Zadash after finishing a job for The Gentleman and then went their separate ways. Caleb, however, decided to leave and pursue his revenge against Ikithon, a figure from his past. He unexpectedly ran into his former Volstrucker companions, who advised him to escape. Meanwhile, feeling hopeless, Nott, while intoxicated, joined forces with Jester to vandalize a Dawnfather temple, hoping to contact The Traveler. The two decided to stick together.
Despite being upset about how Caleb left originally, the episode showed him returning to apologize to Nott, acknowledging his tendency to isolate himself, as Huo mentioned earlier. This led to him reconnecting with the rest of the Mighty Nein and agreeing to take on The Gentleman’s job: stealing the Luxon Beacon. The complex plan actually brought Caleb and Nott closer, as they had to depend on each other’s abilities to complete certain parts of it.
According to Huo and Riegel, the end of The Mighty Nein’s first season felt like a complete arc for Caleb and Nott’s relationship. While they’ll still face challenges, especially with Caleb’s continued quest for revenge against Ikithon, their friendship appears to be on solid ground and will likely be more stable than the relationships within the rest of the group.
Be sure to check out some of ScreenRant‘s previous Mighty Nein season 1 coverage with:
- An interview with Critical Role for the series at San Diego Comic-Con 2025
- Interviews with Critical Role and showrunner Tasha Huo at the show’s Hollywood premiere event
- Matt Mercer opening up about playing a bigger role with Essek compared to Legend of Vox Machina
- Tasha Huo on the key parallels between The Mighty Nein and its Critical Role source campaign
- Pre-release interviews with Critical Role and showrunner Tasha Huo
- Critical Role and Tasha Huo explain why they changed the campaign to kill off Toya
- Sam Riegel offering an exciting update on The Mighty Nein season 2’s production
- Ashley Johnson on Yasha’s season 1 ending twist and bigger season 2 role
- Travis Willingham & Laura Bailey on Jester & Fjord’s slow-burn romance
- Tasha Huo & Critical Role teasing The Traveler’s Mighty Nein future and existence
All eight episodes of The Mighty Nein season 1 are available to stream on Prime Video.
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2025-12-23 01:41