The Legend of Vox Machina: Souls in Darkness (3x12)

As a not-so-secret Percy/Vax enjoyer, even though I do ship the canon ships more... this episode made me very happy.

Cons:

Okay, remember when I did the big paragraph in episode nine about Pike's whole deal with the Everlight? In this episode we get this line: "sometimes you should go against the wishes of your deity. After all, the gods didn't create us to blindly obey them, right?" And that sentiment is fine with me, that makes a lot of sense as a conclusion a character could come to on her faith journey. But... why did she literally throw away the Everlight symbol when facing down Thordak? That moment doesn't seem to actually lead to this one! I'm really hoping that season four can give us a bit more clarity on how we're supposed to view Pike's relationship to the Everlight. I'm fine with them making strong choices, but right now it feels kind of directionless and unspecific.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Deadly Echoes (3x11)

Ah, yes, okay. So this is what I was kind of afraid of? Let's talk about it.

Cons:

I mentioned earlier in this season that there are always going to be Those Moments for each viewer that they feel especially attached to, and those ones are going to be harder to handle when they change in the stream. I've been really lucky up until now that most of what I was most excited to see, I did get to see in some form or other! But this episode was a two for one special of moments I loved from the stream not happening in the show. I actually understand both changes and I don't think they're flaws with the show, but they are personal disappointments for me specifically, so I do need to talk about them just a bit.

One is Scanlan's resurrection. They pivoted his death into a coma which I think was smart, but I just... man, I remember the whole gang gathered around doing a ritual to wake him up, and I remember Kaylie being there to help too by playing a song. And I especially remember the aftermath. They have really, really changed Scanlan's arc this season. It felt like they were leading up to a certain incident pretty heavy with the foreshadowing in the last two seasons, and then here the impetus for Bard's Lament exists but its emotional context has been altered significantly. I'm on record being totally fine with big changes, and I'm glad they didn't try and squeeze in Scanlan being angry with the group for getting Kaylie involved, since there's just not much time left in the season to delve into it. But overall, the animated series makes the characters... less messy. I miss seeing a version of this where Scanlan is in a really dark, fucked up place and it's not as simple as Kaylie telling him she wants a relationship with him. In the stream, it was a lot more convoluted than that, and I do miss that.

The Legend of Vox Machina: To the Ends of the World (3x10)

Wow, okay, interesting!

Cons:

Do we think this is the most the show has ever deviated from the stream? I don't mean in the sense of anything particularly major happening that is just straight-up new for the show, but in the sense that this episode isn't... based on a cohesive set of incidents that played out on stream, it's really a lot that's totally new! I am putting this under "Cons" not because I think it's bad in and of itself, but I did want to mention that this season is making me realize, for better or for worse, that a fair percentage of my enjoyment of this show is the adaptation aspect, seeing how they chose to move things around and still hit all the important moments. Up until this season, even with all they did change, I never felt like a core moment I really enjoyed from the stream got dropped entirely, even if it did move around. This episode makes me pretty trepidatious that the Ripley kill is going to the twins alone, and that will mark the first time a major moment I was looking forward to from the stream simply won't be in the show at all. But we shall see!

The Legend of Vox Machina: Thordak's Throne (3x09)

Oh shit, I can't believe they did that. And by that I mean... well, I'll talk about it in a bit.

Cons:

I have one small and one kind of medium-large complaint to lodge here before we go into how much I really did adore this episode.

Okay, obviously Travis broke my heart with his line delivery on "can you fix him? Please, you gotta fix him." But I do kind of miss his original improvised version that had more heat to it. The bellowed "FIX HIM" lives in my head rent free and we didn't get that here. Small nitpick, this version also tore out my heart, but thought I'd mention that. The thing about Grog is that he's our big lovable dummy, but the other thing about Grog is that he can be scary sometimes, even to the people he loves most.

Then there's the bigger thing. Pike's big moment was like... well, I'm not like, super angry, really, it's more of a "let's see where they're going with this thing", I guess. I have thoughts. Honestly, the stuff with Pike and the Everlight in this show has always been kind of muddy to me, and a plot progression where Pike finds strength in herself instead of in her goddess is totally fine with me in theory. But I thought in the past seasons the setup was more like... her faith as an anchor to her own strength. Or believing that she is deserving of the Everlight's favor and that thus the power she wields is her own, but the goddess is her supporter as much as Pike is a follower of her goddess? Like, does that make any sense? Pike having a complicated but ultimately loving relationship with her deity is what I was looking for here. That image of her actually throwing aside the Everlight's symbol was kind of... Not It, for me. I wish it had been more like "It's not just the Everlight's magic, and it's not just the Dawnfather's armor. It's me, who I am, being worthy to wield the powers they offer." That's the nuance I would have wanted here.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Siege and Silence (3x08)

Oh boy oh boy. I'm hyped for episode nine, I must say.

Cons:

A couple of things in this episode made previous episode aspects in this season a little frustrating. The main one is how the Scanlan situation was handled... like, I don't mind him leaving and then coming back, conflicted about where he belongs - that makes sense as an adaptation change from what we saw in the campaign. But the solemnity with which he left, the silent goodbye to Pike, it felt so... charged, and specific, and then it led to nothing in this moment other than him not being around when Percy died. And there's no specific indication that he could have done anything to help in that instance, either. I think if I could go back into episode six and change something, it would be that Scanlan would tell the group straight out - I need to go and find my daughter and have a real talk with her. And then the group could be a little disappointed but tell him to go. And then when he turns up again and everything's gone to shit, it doesn't feel quite so pointless of a detour? Maybe I'm just a little annoyed at Scanlan's emotional arcs being siloed into scenes with just Pike or Kaylie, and none of the rest of Vox Machina getting involved at all.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Cloak and Dagger (3x07)

My heart hurts! I've been waiting to get here!

Cons:

Small thing: I feel like I haven't heard anyone calling Keyleth by her full name all season! It's like... always Kiki. I liked that better when it was an occasional thing.

Big thing: What was that song at the end, when Vex is running to Percy? Like... that is the first time the music on this show has missed hard, and it's such a bummer that it happened over such an intense moment. I was scratching my head wondering how they could have ended up with such a tonally awkward and lyrically basic song here. They've always been so good about the music in the past! The song felt symptomatic of something I was noticing throughout this episode, that the dialogue was a little too on the nose and didn't allow for the audience to come to its own conclusions. Everything with Ripley and her motivations, and Percy choosing mercy over vengeance, it just felt a little more one-note than I would have expected, and that song was the capstone to it all in the worst possible way. It may be the single thing in this entire show so far that I've liked the least. A big, big miss in my opinion.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Coming Storm (3x06)

Oh boy... it's happening, y'all, we're going after Ripley...

Cons:

Okay. Okay. So, the Scanlan situation. I'm not angry, I'm just a little scared. This isn't a... "instead of Bard's Lament" situation, is it? Like, I hope he goes and talks with Kaylie, makes her the promise that he won't get killed and will always comes back, then goes and joins the gang in the final dragon fights? I don't know. Right now I'm feeling a little bit of anxiety and sadness at the thought that he might not be there for the Glintshore fight? There's a moment in that fight in the stream where I can just hear Sam's voice saying something and it's so powerful and such an intense moment and I will definitely miss it if he's not there. I guess I'm just biting my nails over future changes rather than actually addressing what happens in this episode, though. More specifically, I thought it was weird that Scanlan decided he needed to go find Kaylie, and then instead of just telling the group or figuring out the best way to approach his various responsibilities, he backed out without a word or moment with anybody but Pike, abandoning his friends.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Frigid Wastes (3x05)

I might have a bit of a hot take about this one! Buckle up.

Cons:

This is a small thing, but shouldn't the episode be called "The Frigid Doom"? I loved that the Umbrasyl fight episode was called "The Hope Devourer." It feels like it's breaking the precedent. And I wonder if we'll have "The Cinder King" and "The Diseased Deceiver" as episode names coming up later? It doesn't matter, but I just wondered!

So, my hot take. I really loved this episode, I think it holds up in quality with the season and the show in general, I think it's wonderful as per usual. BUT, I think this section, where we're having more and more significant changes from the original canon, is bringing up some question marks for me here and there. I was a little startled in the last third of this episode to realize that yes, we were killing Vorugal in this installment. I had sort of thought that maybe he'd harass them and get away, and we'd have the real death in episode six or something. The reason I thought this is that Vorugal being in a position to kill felt kind of too... random and lucky? I really missed the planning aspect. The goristro v. dragon showdown in the campaign was one of the most clever moments of forethought that Vox Machina ever had. Here, it was just sort of a happy accident, and that was a little bit of a letdown.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Hell to Pay (3x04)

Another great episode, turns out!

Cons:

This is going to be a bit difficult to articulate but it almost felt like we were missing a narrative beat somewhere before Pike and Zerxus began their card game. We know that there's a vestige, we know that the vestige is supposed to be instrumental in defeating Thordak, we know the stakes are high to get it... but it's also just a mostly abstract tool at this point. The others have powerful vestiges, is one more vestige worth the eternal damnation of not only Pike but also all her friends? I think I was missing a beat where the group seriously contemplates turning around and leaving, and then there's one more nudge as to why this is worth the astronomical price of failure. I also felt like it was a little silly that J'Mon apparently sent them down to Hell with absolutely no context or warning other than "this one dude has the armor, go get it." Wouldn't they have gone in a bit more prepared to have to offer something in return?

The Legend of Vox Machina: Vexations (3x03)

I have a feeling people are going to have VERY strong opinions about a couple of things in this episode!

Cons:

I want to start with a small thing that I haven't seen people talking about, but that bothered me probably an unreasonable amount. When the gang is together in Draconia and they're discussing their trip to Hell, they decide to split up so that someone can be on the other side to guard the pathway back out. Kima, Allura, Vex, and Percy end up staying while the rest of Vox Machina go through the portal. And this moment of separation featured no significant looks or goodbyes or angst or worry at all, really! I can't believe Vax didn't have parting words for Vex, or anything. It was a strange moment because it's ultimately a small detail, but I really noticed the lack of ceremony given to it. It kind of downplayed the dangers of Hell, how casual they were about separating and going there.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Prisoners of Ank'Harel (3x02)

Shit, the Scanlan stuff that I assume is coming at the end of this season is going to fuck me up.

Cons:

Still slightly questioning the Vax/Keyleth angle here, I really kind of loved how in the campaign she was the one with all the doubts. But I'm trying to give it a chance this way, too! It's not like this is a bad story to tell about the two of them, it's just not the story I expected.

The Legend of Vox Machina: A Deadly Bargain (3x01)

We're so back!!!!

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.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Hope Devourer (2x12)

I don't want to wait for more!!!

Cons:

Okay, to start, didn't really need the second shot of the dragon's innards and asshole. Like, we just saw it in the last episode, not sure what was added by showing it again. I'm not being a prude, it's just not a funny gag to me when we have to belabor the point! We get it, it's gross!

I have two "big" complaints here, and by "big" I mean that I absolutely adored this episode so, so, much and will be giving it high marks but these were just two things that kind of made me go "huh".

The Legend of Vox Machina: Belly of the Beast (2x11)

Another great episode, sorry to be a broken record!

Cons:

This whole show, I've been so impressed with their ability to get in all the most iconic lines I remember from the stream. Even if the circumstances changed, most of the epic dialogue has made it in. This was the first time I fully expected a line to be in a scene, and it didn't come. During the Scanlan and Kaylie scene, Scanlan said during the stream something along the lines of "of my many faults, ego is one of them. So now, knowing you're a part of me, makes me love you even more." It was a line so good that Matt gave him advantage on his persuasion check. I was sad it didn't make the cut! I feel like thematically it still would have worked. It's funny, but also it still works for the tone of the scene.

The immovable rod being replaced with a sword that Kaylie gives Scanlan is fine, but I wish there had been one line of dialogue somewhere to explain what the sword did, as it ends up being so pivotal later. Maybe I'm underestimating the viewers and it's completely understandable as is, just a small note.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Killbox (2x10)

Goddamn, this show is something special.

Cons:

I'm not sure the utility of Kaylie coming back to witness the Kill Box fight. It feels like the exact same effect could have been achieved if Kaylie and the rest of the band had turned up after Kevdak's defeat, saying they'd gotten word that the herd was no longer going to be a problem. Having her around doesn't add anything, other than just a hint that she's trying to stay close to Scanlan for some reason, but I think that could have been achieved after the Kevdak battle.

The only complaint I have about the Kill Box fight sequence is that I wanted even more of it, which seems selfish because it was pretty incredible! I think the one thing that would have elevated it even just slightly, would be a bit more combo action. We saw each individual of Vox Machina fucking shit up, per Grog's instructions, and then obviously the awesome Vex and Grog combo there at the end, but my favorite part of the fight sequences is watching how all the different fighting styles and magics support and enhance one another. This fight had a lot of impressive single character actions, and then a lot of characters shooting a bad guy to protect each other, like Vex shooting bad guys near Percy and vice versa, which I obviously love, but I could have used some more combo creativity. This is such a nitpick though, it's only remembering the stream, how the Kill Box episode was one long combat from start to finish, and how fucking insane it was... when it ended here I was still eagerly wanting more.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Test of Pride (2x09)

Knowing that this batch of episodes contained the Fey Realm stuff, if someone would have told me the Westruun-only episode might be my favorite of the three, I wouldn't have believed them. But... this might be my favorite of the three! The glow-up that Scanlan, Grog, and Pike have all gotten as characters this season, from characters I loved because I already knew them from the stream, to fully realized creations in their own right... it's a beautiful thing to behold.

Cons:

I feel like the way Grog's backstory was framed was the slightest bit confusing, specifically as regarded Pike's knowledge of it. Where we land is that Pike knows how they first took Grog in, but didn't know the full extent of what Grog had been made to do with the herd. What's confusing is that in the flashback, younger Pike thanks Grog for what he did for her grandpa, but when present-day Pike is hearing the story of Grog sparing the old man's life, she says "Grandpa Wilhand?" like she's confused or this is brand new information. The backstory finishes with Pike being like "I never knew..." but yes she did, we just heard Pike thanking Grog for it in the past! I think this is just a small adjustment, where present-day Pike needed to make it clear that while she knew the basics, she never knew how bad things had really been.

I've got to say, I'm not really sure what to make of Ripley's involvement here. Is she going to come into play in some major way in this season? Are we going to get... you know... the culmination of Ripley's story... ahem... in the next three episodes? I kind of don't see how, since we've still gotta do the Kill Box and Umbrasyl. And if Ripley's just here to wave her hand and say "remember me, I'm Ripley and I'm still here", it feels a little odd. I don't know, we'll see. It's not like she's taking up a lot of our time, anyway.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Echo Tree (2x08)

Ahhhh Percy and Vex my babiesssss.

Cons:

I've been thinking about the "Lady Vex'ahlia" moment and why I'm not 100% happy with this adaptation. I'm pretty happy, but there was something holding me back from loving it unconditionally. First of all, they changed the kicker line to: "Despite your relationship, do watch your manners towards a noble." Instead of just ending on "do watch your manners" which is stronger and cleaner. I think the point would have gotten across without adding the extra words. But more important than that, I think the atmosphere of how that happened on the stream was just so... intense, and memorable, because it was in front of a live audience, there were screams and applause, and you saw Laura's overwhelmed reaction. And Syldor was legitimately put off-balance by it. It was a blow that landed.

Here, I didn't need it to be a big huge mic-drop moment, I'm fine with it happening in only private company the way it would have from the stream version too. But I don't like the change that Syldor doesn't even hesitate before scoffing at it and saying it's just a stupid ploy. I wish he had been a little unsettled. I wish we'd seen him offended or confused or just... at all affected by the whole thing? He brushes off Percy's big grand gesture, and he brushes off Vex snapping at him, as if it doesn't matter at all. I get that there needs to be some build to something bigger, but I feel like it made the moment less fun because of it.

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Fey Realm (2x07)

If I've had one consistent complaint about this show all along it's been that I wanted a bit more downtime between the big, huge plot developments. And this batch of episodes gave me all the high-octane action and adventure I could want, and plenty of that slower character development stuff too! I'm so happy!

Cons:

This isn't specific to this episode, but I've been praising how all the various relationship dynamics have their little moments along the way, how impressed I am by the attention being given to all sorts of subtle dynamics in the background. For some reason, this episode made me realize that one relationship we've kind of lost out on in this season two is the Keyleth and Percy friendship. I hope we can get a moment or two with them coming up, or maybe some good stuff in season three.

For the most part I am really, really, pleased with the changes to Grog's story-line. However, from a pacing perspective, with regards to the fight to come with Kevdak and all that, I would have changed this around a bit. See, here what happens is that Grog makes his near-fatal error in stabbing Pike, and then immediately he overcomes the sword's influence and destroys it, then suffers consequences he needs to deal with in the aftermath. We know that coming up, he's going to have to face his evil and powerful uncle. In the stream, one of the things that was so cool about Travis's struggle with Grog was his desire to use Craven Edge during that fight: sort of a "one more time won't kill me" logic. In adapting it for animation, I think I would have kept the scene mostly the same, but not had Craven Edge actually destroyed: have it left somewhere, buried in rock or in a pocket plane or something. Then, when Grog is trying to muster up the courage to beat his uncle, have him reaffirm and hold to his choice to leave Craven Edge behind, because his strength lies elsewhere. It's a small thing, but I think the time between Grog realizing he needs to be rid of Craven Edge, and the time when Craven Edge is affirmatively destroyed/out of his reach forever, was too quick. There should have been one more step on that journey for him, in my opinion.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Into Rimecleft (2x06)

Eyyyyy we're splitting the party, this should be good.

Cons:

Okay. So. Keyleth encouraging Vax to talk to the Matron of Ravens... I get why they added this little detail in, but to be honest it's a characterization change I'm not sure about. Keyleth in the streams has always  been very dismissive or even distrustful of the gods. It feels weird that she should be the one to gently nudge Vax towards exploring that relationship. Maybe I'm misremembering and Keyleth says something to him in the stream too, it's hundreds of hours of gameplay and character choices aren't always 100% consistent, but this just rang false for me as a Keyleth moment.

Literally I have no other complaints though, this episode is perfect.

The Legend of Vox Machina: Pass Through Fire (2x05)

KEYLETH MY BEST FRIEND KEYLETH. I love her so much. She was made to pass through fire! I'm weeping!

Cons:

Okay, okay, I loved this episode, but I do have to say this: people are always joking about Keyleth basically just... being the Avatar from The Last Airbender, and... yeah. The fact that her eyes glowed a solid white before she entered the Avatar State - I mean, became a Fire Elemental for the first time - didn't really help with that comparison. It's a little much, I'll admit. Still cool, but c'mon. I was thinking on this, and I think part of the problem was that while in isolation, Keyleth's big moment passing through fire was perfect and I genuinely adored it, it felt like a culmination with very little build. I don't know how they would have done this pacing-wise, but maybe one more scene in an earlier episode where Keyleth is talking about her Aramente, mentioning how she needs to figure out how to face it, would have led to this better. I also might have liked this better if her dad hadn't been around? This is a small thing, but I feel like we almost played our cards too soon, giving Kiki this glow-up, when her true culminating moment taking place with her people comes much further down the line. If they had maybe saved having her dad around for that later moment, that could have been cool.

This is a tiny thing but I don't like how Pike calls Grog "buddies" like... in the plural? Why isn't it just "buddy"? Drives me a little crazy every time.