The following contains spoilers for Critical Role Campaign 3, Episode 93: “Bittersweet Reunions”.
Liam O’Brien threw a bucket of ice-cold water on the already stirring members of Dorym nation during the latest episode of 4-Sided Dive, where he finally confirmed that his Critical Role character Orym of the Air Ashari harbors romantic feelings for Robbie Daymond’s freshly returned bard Dorian Storm.
O’Brien was joined on 4 Sided-Dive by his fellow Crown Keepers, Aimee Carrero, Matthew Mercer, and unprecedented guest Dungeon Master Aabria Iyengar. The panel – and Lore Keeper Dani Carr at her brand-new Lore Desk – had no shortage of heartbreak to discuss after a whirlwind of episodes that saw the deaths of allies such as Sam Riegel’s Fresh Cut Grass and Dorian Storm’s brother Cyrus. Dorian’s official return to the Bells Hells served as a balm to many fans and, according to O’Brien, to Orym as well.
While this confession from the heralded “Heartbreak Prince of Critical Role” brought hope that Orym might find some happiness in the wake of the Apogee Solstice, O’Brien’s admission of the halfling’s feelings was not without its angst. O’Brien shared that, while Orym has feelings for Dorian, he is unsure whether they are reciprocated.
Among the most popular and prevailing romantic pairings of Critical Role’s current era, the fan-favorite ship known as Dorym predates the events of Campaign 3. Orym, Dorian, and Ashley Johnson’s Fearne were all members of Exandria Unlimited’s Crown Keepers before they became a part of Campaign 3’s Bells Hells. Daymond’s charismatic Air Genasi became potent AO3 and fanart fodder in the Exandria Unlimited days, with Dorym and the pairing of Dorian and Mercer’s Dariax becoming some of the most common ships among Critters. However, Daymond’s rare 14-episode guest run at the beginning of Campaign 3 helped solidify Dorym as one of the most beloved Bells Hells ships.
Daymond initially stirred the pot of above-the-table romantic speculation on the first-ever episode of 4 -Sided Dive, when he indicated that Dorian was developing a crush on a member of Bells Hells before leaving the party to help his brother. In the two years since, Critical Role fans have speculated – and, as Iyengar would say, “cast A03 at ninth level” – while they held out for Daymond’s return. Now that the long-awaited moment has arrived, O’Brien saw the perfect opportunity to throw gasoline on the fire by giving fans their first-ever confirmation that at least one side of Dorym exists tangibly outside the realm of their collective and active imaginations.
