Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check out the last entry: 8 Episodes Aren’t Enough: House of the Dragon, The Acolyte and More Prove That Seasons Need To Be Longer.
It’s been a year and a half since we last saw our heroes of Exandria. Of course, we’ve had plenty of fun moments with the cast in the interim, with the reveal of their new opening credits taking place at IGN Live and our delightfully unhinged interview out of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. A ton of laughs have been had, rapport has been built, and I just know all these jerks are about to shatter my heart.
I’ll be hopping into those below, but if you want some laughs in the meantime, here’s the aforementioned unhinged interview where we do, eventually, talk about some serious stuff. Maybe. Probably…
The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3: What We Know So Far
In Dungeons & Dragons, death is a fact of the game. I’m led to understand that it will never be the goal of a good dungeon master to kill their players (I don’t play D&D), and rumor has it that Matt Mercer is a pretty remarkable one, but the fact of the matter is that characters absolutely die in the Vox Machina campaign. I will not spoil which here, and if anyone does so in the comments they will be deleted immediately but, eventually, we’re going to see some of our beloved misfits die before The Legend of Vox Machina wraps up.
That means that those deaths may not come this season! But, there are plenty of other ways for the team behind the show to ruin us emotionally this year.
In an interview with EW — which also features some stunning new exclusive images — Travis Willingham (executive producer and the voice of Grog) said that “season 3 is going to leave a mark,” and that it is going to “test relationships, both familial and of a romantic variety; but it's also going to start to show the lines of division in this tight-knit family that is really starting to feel the pressure of the world and things even beyond the realm of Exandria.”
I have a million reactions to the above paragraph, all of them of the upset fangirl variety and very few of them from a critical lens because firstly, I have not seen the season and secondly — and I cannot stress this enough — I don’t want anything bad to happen to these idiots, I love them!
Basically, to summarize: what we know so far about The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 is pain, ok? It’s just pain. Those opening credits are upsetting as hell, Kiki’s standing alone, there are ominous feathers falling everywhere, which means that decisions Vax made in Season 2 are about to catch up to him and the gods only know what’s going to happen to Vex, Percy, and the others. To make matters worse, all of that is before you take the whole Chroma Conclave situation into consideration. Are three unbeatable dragons not enough challenges for our heroes? Haven’t they been through enough?! (No.)
All that pain and suffering aside, when I asked the Critical Role team whether or not all of the upcoming devastation will eliminate Vox Machina’s proclivity for shenanigans, all of them gave varying versions of a hearty “no way.” They’ll be ripping out our hearts this year, for sure. But hey, at least they’ll keep us laughing along the way!
Ships (Chips) and Wild Speculations
One of the many things that makes The Legend of Vox Machina (and Critical Role’s surrounding campaigns) so successful are the pairings. Whether romantic or platonic, it’s the characters and their relationships that drive this remarkable story. Besties Pike (Ashley Johnson) and Grog have a purity to their dynamic that goes unmatched, which contrasts nicely with Scanlan’s (Sam Riegel) salaciousness (and clear affection for Pike).
While the platonic friendships in the show are equally important, no one has ever made me feel more validated in my Vox Machina shipping than the intrepid Laura Bailey (voice of Vex, and executive producer at Critical Role). Every interview we’ve had, she’s so excited to talk about these messy little romances, and I love it. Before we get to her character’s will-they-won’t-they with Percy, I am contractually obligated to discuss the Vox Machina OTP: Keyleth and Vax.
The good news is, I am hopeful that these star-crossed dorks are finally going to smooch in Season 3. The bad news is that I am terribly worried that one of them isn’t going to make it out of the finale alive. Kiki is still on an incredible journey of self-exploration as she learns to own her power. She’s becoming a strong, independent badass and you absolutely love to see it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to see her heart shattered! The frame of her standing alone in those credits has haunted me since their debut, and Vax’s deal with the Raven Queen to save his sister’s life only makes matters more stressful.
Keyleth wouldn’t be the only one destroyed by the Raven Queen cashing in on Vax’s life, either. Losing her brother would destroy Vex. Add that to the fact that the guy she’s been making eyes at since Season 1 flirting with a darkness that may consume him entirely for some time now? Unreasonable! Vex’s emotionally stunted-ass cannot deal with all that devastation and I simply do not want to watch her experiencing it! Let Vex have nice things!
With all that said, I can’t help but wonder what will happen if the trauma is much more random. The consequences of his choices loom heavy over Vax, but maybe he won’t be the primary source of despair in Season 3. What if something terrible happens to Pike? What if Scanlan surprises everyone and makes the ultimate sacrifice? What if something comes between best buddies Grog and Pike? (Leave Pike alone!)
Clearly, I am not ready. I presume most Vox Machina fans aren’t. I guess it’s time to start a Season 3 support group once the show hits Prime Video on October 3rd. Till then, I’ll see you in Exandria.
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia
