Look it is July.
I did start a Catch-Up Post for June, when the season started coming out, but the thing is aside from “F**k, I loved it.” I didn’t really have that much to say. And as you may be aware from recent posts I was somewhat preoccupied finishing off my own campaign and other things so I’ve been a little busy as the season has come to end.
But fear not! For nearly two weeks after the finale came out I have finally watched it. I am not okay. Hah… ha… ha.
Oh, get f**ked.
Okay! Let’s get in to this shit.
First: The Positives
Like all past seasons this season is f**king stunning. As the series goes on they diverge more and more from how the campaign played out, and for many understandable reasons from a writing narrative stand point, but it makes each season harder and harder to predict and the moments we remember, at least I feel, less frequent.
That said, all the changes they make have been for the better, I think. Keeping your audience on their toes, at the edge of their seats, is not necessarily a bad thing, and none of the narrative has been worse off for it. Actually, in some places I would argue it was better. By the nature of a D&D Campaign the plot is somewhat unpredictable and far from streamlined, but the series can be plotted beat for beat and be presented more linearly and it has done all of their character arcs justice.
So, what did I like?
The Couples are doing so well this season. I love Vaxleth, and I love Perc’ahlia. They are so f**king cute as their little family. I adore them. I adored them in the campaign and to see them animated is even better. I like the way Keyleth worries for Vax where Vax does not worry for himself. You can see hints of grief in both of them already. I like the dynamic Percy and Vex have, which feels completely true to them and they are so fun. These guys are cute as shit. In many places, quite f**king heartbreaking, but cute as shit. I love them.
Scanlan’s one song was great, and I expect him to rejoin the crew next season. Almost wish we’d seen more of him.
That said, Grog’s opening song was also brilliant. Both will be on my playlist.
The Siblings of the season. The Twins are always on point I love them. A piece of writing critique I’ve seen is that siblings do not call each other “Brother” and “Sister” in real life, but in their first scene together in movies they often do to establish the relationship… and my new favourite thing about Vex and Vax is that they do address each other like that, quite frequently, and it sounds completely natural.
Also, Percy and Cassandra were quite funny too. And Vex and Keyleth’s trip to the temple of the Matron was a fun if not sad little moment.
Taryon grew on me. I don’t particularly care for Taryon in the campaign, but he did provide a lot of humour post A Bard’s Lament, and he doesn’t not do that in this season. He did grow on me as the season went on, and his last stand was admirable. Especially because I would not want to 1 v 5 some of Vox Machina’s most powerful allies. Bow to Taryon.
And… uh yh… F**king heartbroken.
Look, I don’t have any criticisms of it. Everything I have to say is from a positive standpoint but if you are talking literal objective positives then holy f**k, this season didn’t have a lot because it was dark as shit! That was expected. I expected it to hurt. And It did. It hurt wonderfully. But the happy positives are so few and far between so that’s really all I have to say, on that front.
Vaxleth were super cute. Perc’ahlia were super cute. I love them both. Everything else hurt.
SO!
What We Know To Happen.
The final 15 episode arc of the campaign which this season, and of course the coming season, are adapting, along with the intervening episodes with Taryon, is, erm, just pain for like 15 straight episodes to be honest. Isn’t it?
Choosing to put the Taryon arc with the final arc is a good idea in a sense, because the period of time with Taryon Darrington is largely them f**king about in the campaign. They take a year off, they f**k about with Pike, Taryon, they finish the Aramente, they have a beach episode, open a bakery, Vex does her grey hunt. It’s kind of like the way Twilight: Eclipse wraps up all the open threads before the final one begins. Except in a D&D Campaign that takes like twenty f**king episodes at like 4 hours each. So, ya know, finding a way to intertwine them, not such a bad idea.
Besides they linked Vex’s hunt and the Aramente to the whispered one so ya know 👏. Masterclass in writing, may we all take notes.
That said, we all know Vax’s fate, right?
Part of why Vaxleth hurts so much and is the Shakespearean tragedy that it is, is because he dies. Twice, actually.
Technically three times, but he did not perish fighting the Kraken this time and he got his little Matron blight elsewhere.
So the point is, f**k, did I know that death was coming, but I Am Not Okay about it. It’s like I knew he was going to tell Vecna to get f**ked, I knew they weren’t going to kill him, and their little celebration felt just so wrong, and I am sure the next season will start with Vax’s second bargain and somehow someway a visit to the Feywild so Artagan can strangle him at some point, which is the freakiest and yet most memorable thing to happen in the entire arc. I am equally sure that Scanlan will come back next season.
And if I was them I’d have ended it there too… but oh my gods.
I did cry. It hurt a lot and it was beautiful and I expected nothing less and yet… ow.
Some f**king cool fight scenes, though. I am a sucker for a good action scene and they have some truly beautiful ones. You can talk about how violent it is all you want but their D&D Campaign was violent too, so it tracks I think. I look forward to some of those fights, even the ones I know they lose, because I know how tense those dice rolls were. I cannot wait for the final fight.
If there is anything that Vox Machina has taught me, though, however, it is that knowing does not make it easier.
To Conclude!
This season was as great as all the rest and I look forward to the next one! Yay!
Thank you for reading this brief little post on a series I love so much. Hope you enjoyed it and you’ll tune in whenever the next post is.
In the mean time, you can follow me on Instagram at: @thebomff or on Threads at: @thebomff
On to the next!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to Critical Role and all other relevant parties.