The Legend of Vox Machina finishes its second season with some glorious battles, great character moments, and plenty of hype for what comes next.
The Legend of Vox Machina has become a new favorite show of many Dungeons & Dragons players. The raunchy and violent fantasy series, which is a Kickstarter-born adaptation of the streaming show Critical Role starring a number of major voice actors, has just released the final episodes of its second season, and what a finale it is.
The official synopsis for Vox Machina Season 2 reads: “In Season 2, after saving the realm from evil and destruction at the hands of the most terrifying power couple in Exandria, Vox Machina is faced with saving the world once again – this time, from a sinister group of dragons known as the Chroma Conclave.”
According to fans of the web show, this is likely to be the best arc that the series portrays, and ultimately this season has delivered on that promise. So let’s get into it, but first a WARNING: Legend of Vox Machina SPOILERS AHEAD!
Vox Machina f*cks sh*t up, in the best way
Being the final episodes of the season, naturally, a lot of battles are had, and a lot of revelations are made. This finale may not have quite as many personal stakes as the last finale, but it’s certainly a lot bigger in scale, with everyone grouping together to fight Grog’s old heard, and then one of the Chroma Conclave.
The battles in Vox Machina have always been a strength of the series, but so far this season we’ve been waiting for a true “f*ck sh*t up!” battle, aka the dragon battle of Season 1. Thankfully, we get this in episode 10, with Grog and the gang battling against the leader of his old heard.
The music is awesome, the battle techniques intricate, and the ending epic. It’s certainly one of the many moments of season two that will get your heart racing. It’s like a fight you’d see in a massive Shonen anime. In fact, there are even shots of Percy that perfectly evoke the anime style. Not only that, but every battle in these three episodes is intense. You feel the pain in every hit, you feel how bad every injury is, and thus every win feels all the more triumphant.
Plus, harkening back to anime, the crux of every battle is the power of friendship. Not only is this a major theme in Grog’s arc, but it also shows how the team works together in a skirmish and how they combine their different abilities to make cool combos. Thankfully, the power of friendship never feels overly cheesy, or forced. It’s actually refreshing seeing an adult cartoon actually valuing interpersonal relationships, rather than cynically making a mockery of them.
It could be argued that the other central message of this season, that being having courage in the face of adversity, is handled a little less well. While you are meant to disagree with Scanlan when he advises against sending a group of injured people to fight a dragon, you can’t help but see his point. Sure, battling for the betterment of the kingdom is a worthwhile fight, but at least be smart about it, or else you’re not fighting for anything. They send in Vax alone, for goodness sake, which doesn’t make any sense.
The finale shocks and surprises
And you certainly feel the peril of the dragons; the animation does a good job of emphasizing the size and danger of the season’s ultimate foe. Despite this essentially being a mini-boss fight in comparison to the rest of the Conclave – as this arc has been spread across 2 seasons – you don’t feel it.
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True, we’ve yet to really see any character development with the Chroma Conclave. So far the Briarwoods had been much better defined, and the Conclave is coming across as rather generic in comparison, but this arc is set to continue over Season 3, meaning that there’s plenty of time to give the dragons more development. And after that twist reveal in Whitestone, with that iconic villainous voice actor, we’re ready to see more.
And there’s certainly development in the rest of the cast. One worry we had in our review for Episodes 1-3 was that Scanlan would be ignored and reduced to comic relief, but now we stand corrected, as his arc of responsibility and bravery makes the final few episodes. This arc also makes the bard characters much more important than we expected, and Scanlan’s death, while not that convincing, does work to advance the plot of him and Pike well.
Turns out that the main casualty of this season is Percy. Sadly he doesn’t get any major character moments this time around, which makes sense as he was so focused on in Season 1. But he’s also been incredibly funny this season, so while overlooked by the narrative, he’s certainly not overlooked by us.
Ultimately, the season ends with a great montage of multiple major characters, that gives a nice overview of the show so far. Not only that, but there’s an ominous ending, which arguably doesn’t pack the punch of last season’s final cliffhanger, but it certainly enough to intrigue you for what happens next.
The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2 Episodes 10-12 review score: 5/5
While not perfect – no piece of art is – The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2 shows why this story was so popular that it got adapted in the first place.
It’s another great show of why adult animated series don’t have to forgo heart and narrative. Its attention to character and epic action scenes are sure to get you hyped, and no doubt anyone who watches this ending will be tuned in for Season 3, which has thankfully already been confirmed.
Let us hope that Season 4 will also be on the way. The Legend of Vox Machina, do not go far from us.
The Legend of Vox Machina is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. As for more Vox Machina content, check here.