The Legend of Vox Machina made headlines for the immediate and overwhelming Kickstarter success that funded its first 10 episodes. The show was picked up by Amazon and renewed for a second season before a moment of it aired. With the promise of another season on the horizon, the series can launch into action with one of the most brutal season premieres of all time.
Critical Role remains one of the biggest media forces in the TTRPG space. The first two episodes come from returning directors Young Heller and Alicia Chan, both of whom have directing credits in the previous season. The first new name is Eugene Lee, who recently worked in the art department for Avatar: The Way of Water.
The new season of The Legend of Vox Machina starts with a bang, picking up on the massive cliffhanger that concluded last season. Within the first few minutes, a group of four powerful dragons known as the Chroma Conclave sweeps into the beautiful kingdom of Emon and reduces it to cinders. It's an absolutely brutal opening that effectively raises the stakes beyond anything present in season one. Titmouse Inc.'s animation is beautiful and captivating. The dragons are depicted with a more realistic 3D look that makes them stand out brilliantly. In a few minutes, the series rivals every animated kaiju property from the last several years. The dragons will be the overarching threat for this chapter of the adventure, and they're certainly an intimidating adversary.
The sheer brutality of the first episode forces the eponymous band of adventurers to go on the run. Vox Machina is forced to seek aid from anyone who'll listen to them. Unfortunately, that list is not long, and it shrinks rapidly. With the fate of the world at stake, it seems as if no one is interested in putting themselves on the line for the cause. The show wastes little time re-establishing details that were covered in the previous season, so those with less Critical Role experience might consider binging the first twelve episodes. The series does a great job of establishing its characters. No one is left out, everyone gets a few moments to communicate who they are and what they're about, and the audience will have no trouble identifying with their favorites. Even any given fan's least favorite characters will shine here.
The new season introduces some new faces. Critical Role fans will recall guest characters joining the adventure from time to time. Season 2 introduces Will Friedle's character Kash and voice director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's character Zahra in the second episode. The new blood is immediately fun to watch as they bounce off of the established characters. Both Kash and Zahra are money-motivated monster hunters who find themselves joining the quest. Vax and Vex have an unpleasant history with their organization, leading to a fun back-and-forth across action scenes. They're clearly only in it for themselves, but it's nice to have some new sources of banter.
The plot so far is comfortably straightforward. Dragons attack, the world is at stake, and the adventurers are off to get the magical items necessary to kill them. The main thrust of the story will feel familiar to every D&D player. And, like a good campaign, most of the fun happens in the action and the character interactions. Maybe more than any other show, the creators and performers of The Legend of Vox Machina know their characters. They created them, and they lived them for years in front of a roaring crowd. This soul bond ensures that the show can boil the often messy process of character building into a perfect distillation. Their go-to moves in action scenes become their distinct suite of superpowers. Astute fans will be able to look at a problem and know which character can solve it. The show is full of surprises, but its characters are locked in. The Legend of Vox Machina is dedicated to providing every character a chance to be the main character, and they succeed at every turn.
Fans know they've got a lot of Vox Machina ahead of them, but the show wastes no time in establishing itself. The action is still masterful, the characters are still instantly compelling, the humor is still hilarious, and the story is still classic high fantasy. Just like last season, it's everything fans love about playing TTRPGs without the hassle of organizing a group of friends to play. If there's a fair critique one can lay at the feet of Critical Role as a show, it's that every episode is around four hours and a lot of people simply don't have the time. The Legend of Vox Machina isn't just the perfect distillation of the beloved story, it's also the best version of that tale one could imagine telling. The adventure begins well, and there's so much more to come.