Critical Role's Matthew Mercer plays Divine Intervention in the latest Bells Hells Twist

The following contains spoilers for Critical role Campaign 3, Episode 107: “Under the Eye of the Arch Heart”.

Matthew Mercer has joined the cast of Critical role in Campaign 3, Episode 107 by providing divine intervention via Abubakar Salim’s Arch Heart. Bells Hells’ surprise audience with the Exandrian Prime Deity drastically changed their endgame in dealing with Ludinus Da’leth and his plan to unleash the god-eating Predathos.

After a highly effective three-hour battle with Sorrowlord Zathuda, Critical role Fans were left speculating about what Sam Riegel may have meant when he announced episode 107 as “a special episode” on X earlier in the day.

The second half of the Bells Hells session fulfilled Riegel’s promise as Mercer relinquished his Dungeon Master chair to Salim, who took over his role as Downfall‘s Arch Heart. “We have a lot of guest DMs and some things are hard to hide from certain parts of the company,” Travis Willingham explained of his shock in the latest Critical role of cooling“I had no idea.” And Willingham wasn’t the only one at the table left in disbelief when Salim returned as the Archheart.

Unlike previous Campaign 3 guest DMs Aabria Iyengar and Brennan Lee Mulligan, Salim’s divine role combined Dungeon Mastering and divine intervention. By transporting Bells Hells into his domain, the Exandrian god revealed that he and another deity were ready to leave Exandria behind for good. Though he repeatedly reiterated that these were merely his informed opinions, The Arch Heart seemed convinced that banishing the gods from Exandria permanently would be the only way to prevent another Calamity. The god then explained that he needed someone more trustworthy than Ludinus to serve as a vessel for Predathos and drive him and his siblings from Exandria.

The Arch Heart’s proposal drew Bells Hells, introducing a major twist to their existing plan to save Exandria’s pantheon. Though Salim’s sociable god shielded his accomplice’s identity during their conversation, Laudna received a private ping from Marisha Ray from The Arch Heart’s sister, The Matron of Ravens. While it’s not yet clear whether the Raven Queen and the Arch Heart are partners in this endeavor, it was a roleplaying moment between the two in Downfall that inspired Mercer to invite Salim back to the show.

The somewhat blasé and nihilistic attitude that Salim adopted Downfall‘s Arch Heart motivated Mercer to pay a high long-distance phone bill to The House of the Dragon the actor’s thoughts on the looming threat of Predathos. During Critical role of coolingSalim revealed that he came up with the plan to have a member of Bells Hells serve as Predathos’ vessel, independent of Mercer. “It might not be the only solution,” Salim noted of the morally complex dilemma Bells Hells struggles with during Campaign 3. Whether or not Bells Hells takes the god’s advice to heart, their visit to the Arch Heart certainly serves as a pivotal, cinematic moment in their high-stakes adventure.

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