Writer
DIMENSION 20: MISFITS AND MAGIC REVIEW
July 2021
**SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Dimension 20: Misfits and Magic follow.
I was introduced to Dropout’s Dimension 20 a few years ago and have enjoyed every season that I have watched. So far, Dimension 20 is the only tabletop RPG show that I’ve seen, partly because it’s the least intimidating that I’ve seen in terms of length. I also appreciate the fact that the show is framed as a comedy and that, despite being partly improvised by the cast, the narrative seems to be constructed in a way that is intentionally viewer-friendly. Finally, I am constantly impressed by the series game master, Brennan Lee Mulligan. I really love the way he crafts his stories, runs the campaigns, and interacts with the various casts. I think one of the things I love most is the fact that Brennan seems to be more dedicated to an interesting story and satisfying narrative than rigidly sticking to the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, resulting in amazing homebrew worlds and mechanics, and unique house rules.
Misfits and Magic is Dimension 20’s ninth season. It is different from previous seasons for a few reasons. First of all, only four episodes aired, compared to the usual six to ten episodes for “Side Quest” campaigns and seventeen to twenty episodes for “Main Quest” campaigns. This season also had four players instead of six in order to film the season according to COVID-19 safety protocols. However, there were two even bigger changes: Misfits and Magic features a new game master and a different game system than Dungeons & Dragons, using Kids on Brooms instead.
As I mentioned, one of my favourite elements of Dimension 20 is Brennan Lee Mulligan as the game master, so I was a little hesitant when I found out that there would be a guest GM, although I was very excited to see that Brennan would still be involved, playing as his own character for the first time. The cast consisted of Aabria Iyengar as game master, returning players Lou Wilson (playing as Whitney Jammer) and Erika Ishii (Dream), and new players Danielle Radford (Sam Black) and Brennan Lee Mulligan (Evan Kelmp).
Misfits and Magic follows four American teenagers who are invited to attend a British wizarding school called Gowpenny Academy of Arcane Arts as part of a pilot foreign exchange program. The setting and elements of the plot are a clear rip-off of the Harry Potter series, and I thought this was done incredibly effectively. Aabria and the players base a lot of the humour of the season around how ridiculous many of the elements of the series are, pointing out flaws in the way the magical school is run and how disconnected and outdated wizards are compared to the rest of the world. One of my favourite moments was when the players are “sorted” into their houses (which follow the same colour schemes and defining characteristics as the Harry Potter houses with different names) and Aabria narrates the headmistress of the school describing the houses as — literally — brave, evil, smart, and everyone else. In fact, the players are all sorted into the “everyone else” house, Chimeron, instead of going through the ceremony just to save time and energy.
Not only is the obvious parody fantastic in terms of comedy, but the characters and story within this world are also clearly designed with inclusion in mind. There are many well-developed characters with diverse ethnicities, sexualities, and gender identities. As someone who loved Harry Potter when I was younger but now recognizes that it was not inclusive and feels more than a little betrayed by the words and behaviour of the series’ author, Misfits and Magic felt like a reclamation of all of the things I loved about the Harry Potter series but done in a way that made me feel like this was a world that was safe and welcoming for all kinds of people.
Despite my initial hesitation, Aabria Iyengar did not disappoint as game master. In fact, I thought she did an absolutely fantastic job of crafting and narrating a beautiful world and story, and introducing me and many other viewers to a new game system. Her use of Kids on Brooms and her own homebrew elements definitely felt suited to the world of Misfits and Magic and an unexpected but appreciated shift away from the usual D&D mechanics that Dimension 20 normally sticks to. I was also thoroughly impressed by each of the players; in a season that revolved primarily around roleplaying, rather than a balance of roleplaying and combat, having a cast who were good at storytelling and could interact comfortably with each other was especially important.
Aabria, Lou, Erika, Danielle, and Brennan told a beautiful story in a way that was at times funnier than any other season of Dimension 20, at times incredibly touching and heartwarming, and at other times thrilling and suspenseful. I loved all of the characters and their respective arcs. Erika’s character, Dream (later known as K), went through a beautiful arc of realizing how much of her behaviour was based on her own internalized misogyny and exploring their gender identity. I have never seen internalized misogyny actually acknowledged and explored in fiction, let alone alongside exploring gender as part of a character’s identity. It was a surprise to me, and I really appreciated how authentic the character arc felt.
I also loved the way Brennan’s character, Evan, was a really interesting take on some prevalent tropes in fantasy. Evan is a character who is “destined” to be evil, plagued by dark and sinister visions and powers, but rather than lean into that has instead decided to do everything he can to rid himself of that burden. He also fulfills a lot of the traits of the “soft sad boy” trope, which Dream is obviously very drawn to, but Brennan plays Evan as uncomfortable by Dream’s admiration for his dark powers and pity for his tragic life. As K becomes more aware of some of their own biases, they learn to see Evan as a person who they seek to understand instead of a collection of tropes to pity. Evan himself learns to recognize that his value is not based on how much he is able to contribute to the team and learns how to accept help from others. Both K and Evan have character arcs that I either have never seen or rarely see in fiction, and were subversions of common, potentially problematic tropes.
And although I haven’t considered their character arcs quite as carefully as Erika and Brennan’s, Lou and Danielle played some of my favourite characters in Dimension 20 history. I loved how Jammer was so team-oriented and the way he interacted with other characters, whether they were other players or NPCs. There were multiple times throughout the season that I teared up because of something touching Jammer had said. And Sam Black is the epitome of a strong female character; I loved that she was powerful and would rather use her positive, upbeat charm to navigate conflict than resort to violence. Her interaction with the beings that possessed Evan was one of my favourite scenes.
Generally speaking, the bond between these characters and how much their friendship clearly mattered to each of them was one of my favourite parts of the season. I love a good crew in fiction, and these magical misfits were among the best. And listen, I don’t know how I feel about the “power of friendship” as a trope, but I do know that Misfits and Magic has the best take on it that I’ve ever seen.
Finally, I can’t end my review of Misfits and Magic without commenting on the beautiful artwork featured this season. Each season of Dimension 20 features character illustrations from different artists, and this season’s artist, Adrián Ibarra Lugo, not only created illustrations of each character, but also amazing full illustrations of various scenes throughout the season. They are absolutely gorgeous, and definitely helped to create a whimsical, immersive feeling for the world.
I highly recommend Dimension 20 if you’re looking for a tabletop RPG comedy show to watch, and in particular, Misfits and Magic. It is one of my favourite seasons to date, and definitely the one where I laughed the loudest. It was funny, heartwarming, and suspenseful all the way through, and Aabria Iyengar was an absolutely fantastic game master for an absolutely fantastic cast of players. It’s definitely not just for fans of Harry Potter or similar fantasy stories, but for anyone who loves to watch a group of close friends navigate a new, exciting environment, as well as their own relationships and identities.