Cons:
Okay, it feels too early to be making any comments on bigger structural/adaptation changes, but I'm just noting things as I experience them. The biggest moment I questioned in this episode was Vax and Keyleth's moment at the tree. They kiss, which is so sweet! And then Vax has a vision of Keyleth being old and alone as all of her friends are dead. That moment had a kind of cognitive dissonance to it, because... shouldn't that be Keyleth's baggage, not Vax's? Or, at the very least, shouldn't they both be thinking about it? I get it, a champion of a death god and a druid who's going to live for centuries, there's inherent angst here. I love that shit. But I really thought the image of Keyleth living on while her friends all die was going to be something Keyleth experienced as part of her hesitation, rather than Vax getting that vision? I'm willing to see where they're going with this. It makes sense they need to tighten up some of the back and forth and nuance of the romance, it's just a little strange to me so far.
On the nitpick level, I thought Matt as the Spice Dealer was really funny but I didn't really get why he had to be randomly gassy? Didn't seem like a needed joke. Another nitpick is that it feels like literally everything Gilmore says is flirting with Vax but there's never any escalation or resolution, so I hope the two of them get to have a conversation like they did in canon, when Vax/Keyleth get their shit worked out? We'll see. Last nitpick goes to Keyleth not getting to scream "call me child one more time!!" at Raishan. Maybe they'll work it in later, but that's such a legendary line and I missed hearing it!
Pros:
Over all, it seems like we're taking big swings with the adaptation in terms of what happens in which order, and I'm 100% for it in most cases! Particularly with like, our core plot thread of finding vestiges and killing dragons. In a D&D campaign, it makes sense that the party is going to go on the fetch quest their DM set up for them, collect all the items, and then face the dragons. But in this version of the story, we get to see them try and take a shortcut, and run straight at the dragons with the vestiges they already have! Having Vox Machina directly scrapping with Thordak and Vorugal in episode one wasn't what I would have guessed, but it made for such a cool introductory moment, and really hammered in the importance of the vestiges to help win the day.
I also liked the Keyleth vs. the rest of the team conflict about Raishan; that inter-party conflict element is going to be particularly juicy this season, methinks. Vax saying he'd have her back, kissing her, and then in the moment when they're about to try and steal the vestige, basically saying "what other plan do we have" and not having her back? Ouchie! It was cool that Raishan saved them from Thordak, and to see Keyleth helping her, and Pike even doing a heal on her was such a strange moment of tension. They really have thrown their lot in with her, at least for now!
Ank'Harel looks so cool, and I love Gilmore as their tour guide here. He very wisely and very hilariously ditches them before the dangerous part, going off to have a drink as they go try to steal the Plate of the Dawnmartyr from J'mon Sa Ord. We get to see more of the city as Scanlan sneaks off searching for a certain traveling troupe of performers, and taking Vex's broom with him to boot.
And then we get to the part where things go really off-script: Anna Ripley is here, she's after the same vestige as them, and she's a few steps ahead! Suddenly we're in a mad chase through the city, and Percy catches up with Ripley only just in time to see that she not only has yet another vestige (the viewers of the animated show won't know its name yet but the animation on that cloak is super cool!) and also, she's made her own pact with Orthax now... dun dun dunnnn.
As always I want to praise the way combat functions in this show. They really do the most to show off not only all the cool power sets, but also the emotion of the fight. It's never just bad-ass music and everyone running around performing flawlessly. It's always fear and adrenaline and being scared for one another. Little moments like Vex shooting Thordak to save Scanlan, or Grog turning back to catch Pike as she gets flung back as they run, Percy helping Vax up and helping keeping him upright... all these moments of interconnection, that happen in the midst of the chaos, really elevate every fight scene in this whole show and make them feel so special!
I know I had a bit of a question-mark on the Vax/Keyleth moment up above, but I do want to pause and say: awwwww they kissed! My babies! That did make me so happy, even though I know we're setting up some angst to come. And the animation of Keyleth sitting there at the tree, the looks on both their faces... I really want to give a voice acting MVP to Marisha Ray this week. She had to play that fragility and innocence in Keyleth as she wonders if she did a bad job kissing, but also that spark of anger and strength when dealing with Raishan. It really gives me campaign vibes. I remember so many times when Keyleth was the lone voice fighting back against some plan or other, because she had an instinctive feeling that something wasn't right, but no actual concrete alternative suggestion. It's frustrating but so relatable, right? You just want someone to have your back and say "it's okay, we'll table this plan and we'll work out a new idea together." And she's in a position where nobody is providing that to her.
Over in Percy/Vex territory, I liked her little pep talk moment with him in Whitestone, and I love how Trinket got to be there - that's Vex's bear son, and we love him so much!
I'll stop there. I haven't watched episodes two and three yet, I kind of wanted to keep my thoughts separated out for each! So, so excited to have this show back, and this opening episode did not disappoint!
9/10
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