The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 streams on Prime Video beginning October 3. Episodes 1 and 2 are currently available for free on YouTube.
The first two seasons of The Legend of Vox Machina had a sense of foreboding. While the team of adventurers introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons live streams of Critical Role goofed around, they were unaware that their campaign was growing bleaker and more serious. There would come a point of no return when their quest became a reckoning. Season 3 is that reckoning – the darkest phase of the story to date. It’s 12 episodes of consequences, devastating losses, and cracks in the very foundation of Vox Machina. Though the adaptation experiences some hiccups early in the season, it quickly regains its footing to deliver a stunning fantasy epic that closes one chapter and teases an even bigger threat.
The inclusion of Raishan the green dragon – who struck an alliance with Vox Machina at the end of season 2 – brings plenty of good drama throughout the season. It kickstarts a tone that tests every relationship on the show, with the group torn on whether they should trust their mortal enemy to be truthful. What are initially disagreements turn into something bigger, and the members of Vox Machina consider whether or not they can put remorse – and a desire for revenge – aside for the bigger mission: Bringing an end to the Chroma Conclave and their leader, Thordak the Cinder King.
Vengeance and love are the big themes of the season, setting up some rather grim moments and showing the lines of division in the makeshift family of Vox Machina. Yes, this means death comes knocking at the door of the party and their allies – death is always a part of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and Critical Role has primed us to say goodbye to anyone on screen at any time. But such plot points lose their gravitas when you can just cast Revivify or use a scroll to bring a character back to life. That's not the case with season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina. Here, death feels significant, poignant, utterly catastrophic, and, most importantly, costly. Much like Vex's death last season, even if our heroes can bring someone back from the dead, it’s not simply a matter of casting a spell. It’s a clear tampering with the natural order of things, and it comes at a big price.
Season 3 is also where changes in the adaptation truly bear fruit. The Legend of Vox Machina has taken creative liberties from the start, but it strayed from the source material more than ever in season 2. This season goes even further, taking big swings and rearranging, ignoring, and adding to the sequence of events while mostly arriving at the same conclusion. At first, this has a negative impact: Though the first six episodes coalesce around threads about love, death, revenge, and compassion, they’re weakened by their deviations from the original Critical Role campaign. The writers struggle to wrangle their many ongoing storylines and keep them in line with both what happened on the livestreams and the changes made by the animated series. The results end up feeling too contrived and convenient at points, like when all the romantic pairings are simultaneously amped up – practically within the same scene.
However, we’re eventually rewarded for our patience with an exciting story in the second half of the season – one that wouldn’t be possible without the new directions introduced by The Legend of Vox Machina. It feels completely in character for Critical Role yet unique to this adaptation – a tale that could only be told in the medium of a scripted TV series, with a renewed level of focus and a change of perspective. This allows season 3 to go beyond the main campaign, bringing in elements of the Exandria Unlimited mini-campaigns that help the story feel bigger and more fleshed out. Of course, there are still moments where the spontaneity of the table comes through – especially whenever Grog and Scanlan are on the screen. This allows for some hilarious moments of respite amid the tragedy, like a little detour to Chateau Shorthalt.
Production-wise, this is still a stunning piece of fantasy animation from Titmouse, Inc. The fights this season are the best yet, but the highlight is the character acting – the way the party members express themselves in poses and gestures. After all, animators are actors, too, and we see that come through when the characters are at their lowest in season 3. The production design is another major standout, especially when Vox Machina takes a trip to Hell, allowing for some inventive visuals and gruesomely rendered creatures. That detour proves that we’ve only begun to see what this world and The Legend of Vox Machina can offer.
