Delicious in Dungeon

Episode 5

Episode 5 of Delicious in Dungeon delivers another strong entry as the series settles into a familiar but effective structure.

This series is a great example of how episodic need not be a pejorative term. The party may be going deeper into the dungeon but the overall structure of the episode remains the same as before. The party gathers and then heads down below, they find strange beasts and cook them. Lather, rinse, repeat. There is a school of thought that says this is not good storytelling, and that it lacks novelty. You will see similar setups derisively called monster-of-the-week formats as though it were a grave narrative sin. Episodic is treated as a synonym with formulaic or unimaginative.

I am not of this opinion.

Hopefully, dear reader, you can also see the wisdom of this setup. Delicious in Dungeon is wielding that most powerful tool of all: ritual. Yes, steady rituals help us know what to expect while, paradoxically, alerting us to the unexpected. What will the monster be this time? What will the treasure be this time? What sort of tasty dish will they make? This week, the twist is that all three of these things are the same! I like this extension of Gygaxian naturalism from existing tropes into new territory (or at least, new to me). Mimics - monsters that appear as treasure chests but are really hungry beasts - are a classic dungeon-punk staple. Now, we have gold coins and jewelry insects, luring greedy adventurers to grim ends. Having them play the stand-in for our actual real-life insects is another smart creative touch.

But the episode is not all ritual. We get a lot more detail on who Falin was as a party member, as a sister, and as a friend. Her relationship with the others and the pang of her loss is felt most acutely out of any episode thus far. Furthermore, the hilarious new relationship Laios is developing with the little monster living in his sword is just brilliant and good fun.

A stellar episode all around.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Delicious in Dungeon is currently streaming on Netflix.