# Order of the Stick - Book 5 Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323 "2009-08-31T04:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 130
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2582 "2011-09-22T01:54:22Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > He was flashing back to the fight between the dragonkin and the lizardman, remembering Roy’s (?) words, and seeing them as himself and Mr. Scruffy. That’s actually the beginnings of empathy. I took it as Belkar flashing back to the epiphany he’d already had. Else why would he have released the dinosaur _then_, if he was finally having the epiphany _now_? That, or he’s finally understanding now why he released the dinosaur, where hadn’t really figured it out when he’d acted why he did so. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2583 "2011-09-22T02:06:45Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > A more burning question - why is Belkar wearing shoes? He has been since [#736](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0736.html) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2584 "2011-09-22T02:49:23Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Ahhh I see…so what’s the punchline about, where Thor doesn’t know what he’s talking about? > [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s a new spell he’s researching, not a standard one in the repertoire of Thor’s clerics. > [@squeegee](#): > > It’s also a running gag about Durkon’s accent. The brogue is so thick that even Thor & Co. can’t understand what he’s saying. And let’s face it, Thor isn’t a god or wisdom or knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2585 "2011-09-22T03:42:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Holy crap, did Belkar just have a moral epiphany? I figured he already had this epiphany. He had it during the fight when Roy said it and that’s why he picked the lock to release the dinosaur. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2586 "2011-09-22T04:54:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I figured he already had this epiphany. He had it during the fight when Roy said it and that’s why he picked the lock to release the dinosaur. Didn’t someone upthread just say that? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2587 "2011-09-22T05:07:11Z")
As further evidence of Belkar’s change, he sees a huge pile of treasure lying around, and from it he steals… A single healing potion, which his best friend needs at that moment. Nothing else. Yeah, I know that treasure was never Belkar’s primary motivation, but I still have a hard time believing that the old Belkar would have just passed it up entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2588 "2011-09-22T05:22:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As further evidence of Belkar’s change, he sees a huge pile of treasure lying around, and from it he steals… A single healing potion, which his best friend needs at that moment. Nothing else. > > Yeah, I know that treasure was never Belkar’s primary motivation, but I still have a hard time believing that the old Belkar would have just passed it up entirely. Not only that, but he actually considers how Haley would feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2589 "2011-09-22T05:42:15Z")
Someone on the GitP forums pointed out that the healing potion was rightfully Belkar’s anyway, since she’s owed him one for very nearly [800 pages.](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0008.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2590 "2011-09-22T05:44:25Z")
It never ceases to amaze me how much minutiae people can remember. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2591 "2011-09-22T05:46:14Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > It never ceases to amaze me how much minutiae people can remember. I’m going to remember the day you said that. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2592 "2011-09-22T05:48:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That’s a valid interpretation of the oracle’s words. > > From a certain point of view. IOW, that’s a load of rubbish 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2593 "2011-09-22T05:49:48Z")
Some day if I made a webcomic I’m going to have some background character throw a ball up in the air, and some absurd number of strips later it’s going to come back down, way in the background, and I’m going to just sit there and wait to see how many minutes it takes for anyone to catch it. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2594 "2011-09-22T06:21:15Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Some day if I made a webcomic I’m going to have some background character throw a ball up in the air, and some absurd number of strips later it’s going to come back down, way in the background, and I’m going to just sit there and wait to see how many minutes it takes for anyone to catch it. So, in a thread about a web comic. On the 65th page of the thread about that web comic. In the 2592nd post about that web comic. You’re really going to complain about people discussing minutiae about that web comic? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2595 "2011-09-22T06:44:44Z")
In fact, Belkar did influnce Mr. Scruffy to a certain extent - he managed to get the cat to take it medicine with no effort at all! (That is, unless, healing potions taste good in the OoTS universe.) ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2596 "2011-09-22T06:50:14Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So, in a thread about a web comic. On the 65th page of the thread about that web comic. In the 2592nd post about that web comic. You’re really going to complain about people discussing minutiae about that web comic? Really? Complain? No, I just find it fascinating. I think it’s cool that the hivemind (I mean that in a loving way) can make these callbacks, despite the fact that such a throwaway joke is hard to catch in such a long running series. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2597 "2011-09-22T07:06:10Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Complain? No, I just find it fascinating. I think it’s cool that the hivemind (I mean that in a loving way) can make these callbacks, despite the fact that such a throwaway joke is hard to catch in such a long running series. It helps that some may regularly re-read the comic from page 1 now and again… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2598 "2011-09-22T11:21:23Z")
I think it’s funny that Belkar learned empathy from a _cat_. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2599 "2011-09-22T13:35:34Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think it’s funny that Belkar learned empathy from a _cat_. Isn’t that the point? It’s a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2600 "2011-09-22T14:20:06Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > So, in a thread about a web comic. On the 65th page of the thread about that web comic. In the 2592nd post about that web comic. …which is the 10th thread on this subject in Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323/2601 "2011-09-22T14:39:50Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Isn’t that the point? It’s a joke. Yeah, but of all animals, it had to be a cat? It there’s one things cats are known for, it’s not their empathy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=129) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-the-stick-book-5-discussion-thread/508323.md?page=131)