The Legend of Vox Machina continues to wow with impressive animation and a high stakes plot alongside deeply emotional character work. This week, the members of Vox Machina get closer to reaching the Briarwoods and figuring out what’s really going on in Whitestone.
Alongside Dominic Monaghan as Archie and Gina Torres as Keeper Yennen, this week’s stunt casting includes Rory McCann as the villainous Duke Vedmire. Previously seen torturing Archie, Vedmire appears as the big bad of episodes 7 and 9. The deep timbre of McCann’s voice is used well here, giving a real sense to the character’s enormous size (he’s the largest humanoid we’ve seen in the series yet).
Of course, McCann, who played Sandor “The Hound” Clegane in HBO’s Game of Thrones, is no stranger to brutes, but there’s no redemption arc here. Seeing Vedmire stabbed to death by a violent mob of Whitestonians is one of the only victories the peasant folk have seen in the series so far. Esme Creed-Miles, of Amazon’s Hanna, also joins this week as Cassandra de Rolo, long-lost little sister of Percy. Her character is incapacitated with a slit throat for most of the three episodes, so it’s a little too early to judge Creed-Miles in her first-ever voice-acting role.
As for the core group of seven, it’s good to see some characters whose personal histories aren't extremely relevant to the current conflict get their due in these three episodes. Percy’s story is intricately tied to the Briarwoods and their control over Whitestone, so it makes sense that we’ve spent the most time in prior episodes learning about his past. But with six other interesting and unique characters barely able to get a minute of screen time to talk about their lives before Vox Machina, The Legend of Vox Machina was starting to feel like the Percival De Rolo Show.
Across the three episodes, Keyleth (Marisha Ray) begins to shine— sometimes literally. She figures out the Sun Tree is being poisoned by a dark power beneath the city and brings Cassandra back from the brink of death. She even creates a signal in the sky by manipulating the clouds, to inspire the people of Whitestone. Best of all, in a spontaneous moment fueled by adrenaline and motivated by imminent death, Vax (Liam O’Brien) confesses his love to her, mid-battle. They almost kiss before Keyleth comes to her senses: “What? Now? I mean this is the worst time!” Maybe there will be time for kissing at the end of this campaign.
Episode 7: “Scanbo” packs both an awesome fight with immense character development. Finally, Scanlan (Sam Riegel) proves he is not just the comedic relief, he’s also a warrior in his own right. Watching the purple gnome plead his case with the rest of Vox Machina, trying to win their confidence in his plan to distract a garrison of soldiers by drinking a bunch of mystery potions and seeing what happens, is both hilarious and insightful. Scanlan may walk with a confident swagger, but he still wants the respect of his compatriots. Every comedian can relate.
Seeing Scanlan go on a solo mission, “Rambo” style, is the real treat of the episode, though. With witty songs to narrate the action, he takes down the soldiers with just his lute, his mystery potions, and of course his giant purple hand. The script, written by Riegel and Travis Willingham, stands out as one of the funniest yet. We can only hope that someday the “Scanthems,” as fans refer to Scanlan’s off-the-cuff ditties, will be collected into an album or playlist. For posterity, of course. Not to be used for personal motivation, of course.
Episode 8: “A Silver Tongue” catches up with Pike (Ashley Johnson), still trying to tap into her spiritual power at the Everlight’s temple. After extreme meditation and a frank conversation in the spiritual plane with the Everlight, Pike regains her powers. All she had to do was admit she had strayed from the righteous path in her time with Vox Machina, and pledge to always stay true to her morals.
In Episode 9: “The Tide of Bone,” Pike saves the remaining six members, and all of Whitestone, from being overrun by an undead army. She lands in the middle of the fray like a Marvel superhero, light emanating from her body. The animation from Titmouse is beautiful here, showing a glow without just washing the canvas in yellow. I have a feeling that with Pike back in the group, taking on the Briarwoods will be just a little easier.
“The Tide of Bone” begins with a flashback to a panicked Delilah Briarwood (Grey Griffin) at the bedside of a dying Sylas (Matthew Mercer). Unwilling to let her husband go, Delilah enters an abandoned library, desperately searching through the books. A book with a purple glow, the same purple as her dark magic, calls to her. Using the book, Delilah performs dark magic that revives Sylas– but turns him into a vampire. It’s a humanizing moment for such evil characters, and certainly helps viewers understand that these two have reasons for what they do, besides the usual fantasy villainy.
The ninth episode is almost entirely a zombie fight, and sure to please any crossover fans of Critical Role and The Last of Us. Though Pike arrives in time to rescue Vox Machina, Archie falls to the zombies, leaving the Whitestone resistance leaderless. Percy reluctantly takes command, at the encouragement of his sister. But there’s something a little off about Cassandra. Despite her encouragement of Vox Machina in their fight against the Briarwoods, her former captors, there’s something secretive in her worried glances and teary eyes. Time will tell what her deal really is.
The season one finale of The Legend of Vox Machina streams next week. Even though Vox Machina have finally breached the Briarwood’s castle, there’s still a lot of ground to cover plot-wise and character-wise. But since this show has continuously shown its mastery of time, never letting the plot drag or any of their precious 24 minutes go to waste, there’s little doubt viewers are in for a satisfying conclusion that sets up an exciting season 2.
The Legend of Vox Machina is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.