THE MIGHTY NEIN Series Brings to Life Essek’s TERRIBLE Choices

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The animated series The Mighty Nein on Prime Video is letting us see the characters and their relationships develop in interesting ways. For some, it’s deepening our understanding, but for others, it’s forcing them—and us—to confront their inner darkness, even though we know how their story ultimately unfolds. This is especially true for Matt Mercer’s character, Essek. While his early actions in the first season seemed driven by love for his mother and a desire to save her, episode seven, “Belonging,” shows him making a truly terrible and selfish decision. It’s a shocking moment that reveals just how willing he is to betray even those closest to him at this point in the story.

Hearing about Essek’s terrible actions during The Mighty Nein campaign is one thing, but actually witnessing them is incredibly impactful. Tasha Huo, the showrunner for season one, explained that she wanted to show Essek’s descent into making those bad choices from the beginning. She emphasized that he hadn’t experienced love and was deeply unhappy, which led him to commit awful acts. She recalled that Matt Mercer described Essek as a war criminal during a live show, and Huo realized the audience hadn’t actually seen the events that led to that label.

Now, the consequences of Essek’s actions are becoming clear. In episode six of The Mighty Nein, we learned how his self-interest contributed to the destruction of an entire Kryn army – Tren Ikithon used the Luxon Beacon to steal their souls. And it was Essek who originally stole the Beacon. While his intentions may have started as good, his theft brought the Kryn and Dwendalian Empires to the point of war, where they currently stand. But episode seven of The Mighty Nein reveals Essek making truly ruthless and shocking choices, unlike anything we’ve seen from him before.

I have to say, Verrat quickly became one of my favorite characters in The Might Nein. Rahul Kohli’s voice work is fantastic, and it’s so cool that Verrat was created specifically for the animated series. He’s Essek’s right-hand man, a Kryn general who clearly cares about him. What really got me was learning about his mother and how he bent the rules to give Essek more time with her, even though he knew he shouldn’t. It showed a lot of depth. Verrat doesn’t want conflict, he dreams of having a family, and he just seems like a genuinely good person. Even when he found out Essek stole the Luxon Beacon, he didn’t immediately betray him to the Bright Queen, which speaks volumes about his loyalty and character. He’s just a really compelling figure.

In episode seven of The Mighty Nein, Essek makes a shockingly cold decision when his own actions put him in danger: he betrays Verrat. He lies to the Bright Queen, falsely claiming that Verrat abandoned his people and stole the Luxon Beacon, giving it to the Dwendalian Empire. The Bright Queen, showing no mercy, immediately executes Verrat while Essek watches. This act not only dooms Verrat’s soul and destroys his hope of having a family, but it’s a particularly cruel and significant betrayal. Essek immediately seizes the opportunity, asking the Queen for permission to reclaim the Beacon by force, which she grants.

We always suspected Essek from The Mighty Nein made some awful decisions, but it’s much more impactful to actually see them unfold. He has a long way to go before he can be redeemed, but let’s hope he gets there.

You can now watch The Mighty Nein on Prime Video! New episodes come out every Wednesday, and we’re on the edge of our seats wondering what Essek will do next in the series.

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2025-12-18 17:03