Midst · Critical Role

S2 E07: UNEND | Flashback

July 16, 2025·34 min·2 clips

Cleo describes a childhood waterfall where the water glowed purple and red when you splashed around, and her grandmother practically had to drag her out.

1. Un-End Season 2 Episode 7 follows Cleo, Dot (the granddaughter), and the Biological Man on a mapping survey of the outer shell of an alien cosmos they are stranded in. 2. The Biological Man, who has assumed a biological body through an 'encasement exchange' with Merlin, serves as the expedition's mapper, praised by Cleo for his neat handwriting and improving cartographic skill. 3. The episode's core question is whether any of the characters' accumulated hardship — being stranded, physically degraded, emotionally worn — is actually bringing them closer to escape. 4. Merlin calls in over the teletheric to check progress; the team has found one new delta aperture and reports no sentinel sightings, though the sun briefly surged elsewhere in the cosmos. 5. During a sun surge, fold — a fog-like cosmic substance — accelerates into a nearby bottomless pit, pulling city bedrock with it; the group watches from a safe distance as chunks of the alien city's floor crumble into silty powder and disappear. 6. The team speculates about whether the bedrock is itself a form of fold, based on observing it crumble and join the downward stream — consistent with what Steve previously suggested. 7. Cleo notices a grotesque cocoon on her backpack, which belongs to 'Omelette'; she reflects that it would be 'nice to turn into a pupa and come out when this is all over,' calling their situation 'depressing.' 8. The team discusses their shipmate Steve, who has been in 'extremely high spirits' throughout their ordeal; Cleo and Dot note that Steve smells like fresh-baked cookies and has been asking everyone detailed questions about their personal histories. 9. Cleo, missing her belongings on the ship, wishes she had worn something 'slightly more rugged' than her current dress for the weeks-long stay in the alien cosmos. 10. Sharing a memory of home, Cleo describes a bioluminescent waterfall near her grandmother's estate where the water glowed 'purple and red when you splashed around'; her grandmother would bring picnic baskets from her garden while Cleo refused to leave. 11. Cleo's grandmother had a 'fault gift' that let her grow plants instantly in any color or size, but she almost never used it, gardening normally instead — a choice that embarrassed the rest of the family. 12. Cleo reveals that her grandmother did things 'counter to the family reputation' during the unification wars, before Cleo was born, and never let the family's judgment bother her. 13. The Biological Man reflects on his hybrid memory: data logs feel different from experiential recollection, and he now has context for how Everett feels cold without Mickey, or why food tasting backwards is distressing. 14. He then discloses that he sometimes remembers things from before he was built — specific personal moments involving Ripley teasing him about coffee and classroom lectures — calling the experience 'a little strange.' 15. He withholds this information from Merlin, sensing that Merlin, who fiercely insists he is a 'different self,' would be upset to know the Biological Man can recall memories from their shared body. 16. Dot reveals they came from Masaretto, described as 'pretty bad,' and that they were the youngest of eight grandallion mothers; a sibling became too infected to help, and the rest of Dot's family did not survive the Creep, a wasting illness the mothers could rarely treat once severe. 17. Dot describes their life in the synovium — dark, silent, peaceful — where daily chores included washing bowls after meals with one close friend who served as their 'chore partner.' 18. The episode's tone is contemplative and melancholy, carried through unhurried dialogue as the three move through the alien city in low gravity; moments of warmth in the character exchanges offset the bleakness of the setting. 19. Listeners drawn to character-driven sci-fi audio drama with literary world-building and slow-burn emotional depth will find this episode rewarding. 20. Listeners expecting plot-driven action or who are new to the series will find the episode difficult to follow without prior context.

As heard by us

A weary alien walk that turns hunger, curiosity, and memory into something oddly tender.

Midst settles into a bruised, slow-moving run through alien travel: a dark city, a map with holes in it, a newcomer everyone keeps calling the Biological Man, and a crew that feels one bad mood away from a bath and a change of clothes.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a tired alien crawl that smells faintly like cookies and old water.

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