Legend of Vox Machina season 2 review: more D&D than ever — which rules

I learned very quickly when playing one of my first Dungeons & Dragons campaigns that my character wasn’t always going to be the main character. That was fine by me, since as a timid newbie, I was more than happy to play a supporting role in other people’s stories. But I also very quickly learned that in order for the party to connect, for the story to be as engaging as possible, a good DM will find a way to give everyone their own Main Character Moment — while also furthering along the overarching storyline.

This isn’t easy to do in real life, when you’re trying to wrangle a group of people to play when they have different schedules and live across different time zones. But it’s also not easy in television, when you have to streamline play sessions that are hours long into half-hour episodes. The second season of Legend of Vox MachinaThe animated web series called Critical Role is based upon real play. WhileIt builds up to an epic battle. It’s a wonderful synthesis of what makes both animated fantasy shows and Dungeons & Dragons so appealing.

[Ed. note: This review contains some slight setup spoilers for season 2 of The Legend of Vox Machina.]

Image: Prime Video

Second season Legend of Vox Machina picks up right where the first left off — specifically, right when a group of powerful dragons descends upon the capital city of Emon. Our scrappy group of mercenaries — which, as a recap, includes confident half-elf ranger Vex’ahlia (Laura Bailey) and her twin brother, sarcastic rogue Vax’ildan (Liam O’Brien); plucky half-elf druid Keyelth (Marisha Ray); horny gnome bard Scanlan (Sam Riegel), dim yet big-hearted goliath barbarian Grog (Travis Willingham); brooding human gunslinger Percy (Taliesin Jaffe); and compassionate gnome cleric Pike (Ashley Johnson) — manages to escape the attack.

Vox Machina must collect ancient artifacts in order to prevent the dragons taking over the earth. These might just be enough to overcome the new overlords. To do That, they embark on a quest across the land of Tal’Dorei to ancient temples, fortified cities, hidden realms, and beyond.

The very setup of this season — where the characters go from location to location looking for different objects — already feels more in line with the Dungeons & Dragons roots than the first season, which focused more specifically on one location. While there were a lot of D&D-isms in the first season, it felt more like a standard fantasy animated show, which made it more accessible to new viewers. This time around, it’s easier to see the D&D strings pulling at the plotlines, especially with the way each episode shifts to new locations and builds up to different encounters.

Image: Prime Video

Image: Prime Video

It is not bad. This is the way it should be.Legend of Vox Machina Amazing feats are made by the way that he manages to weave together all the different characters, fetch quests, as well as moving parts. These voice actors are able to bring the character voices back into the show’s core. The characters are well-rounded and all of their secrets have been revealed, even those who seem most outlandish. Every single one of them gets a major Main Character Moment that is woven into the overall plot. It’s a lot of shifting story elements, sliding around so that one character can rise up for a given episode or two. It becomes less focused than the original season. Instead, it is more like a mosaic. And like a mosaic, it works best when all the pieces are locked into place — and in the case of this metaphor, that means when the characters interact. The dynamic between them is joyous to observe, with each heartfelt conversation, bitter disagreement, or raunchy laugh.

There are many. Lotof making raunchy jokes. However, instead of making light of serious issues and using humor to entertain the audience, Legend of Vox Machina It does the exact opposite. The show established a crude and lewd tone from the very first episode in the very first season, introducing the characters as a bunch of hot messes — and thenSlowly, we removed those layers, revealing their true motivations, insecurities and bonds. The butt-stuff gags may be a bit too much for those who want a serious fantasy adventure. However, it isn’t impossible to find a good joke about an ass-play or sexy moment on the show. When Scanlan conjures up a luminous pair of pink buttocks to cushion the party’s fall, it’s definitely worth the snort. The result is also astonishingly beautiful.

Image: Prime Video

Fantasy is not just about the looks BetterAnimation. Amazing fight scenes, fantastic powers, and spectacular backgrounds make animation more exciting, and the character designs are cooler. Particularly beautiful is the Fey Realm where Vax and Vex are stranded for several episodes. It’s a pity that live action is still the default for American adult-focused genre shows, because Keyleth’s elemental magic, Pike’s glowing healing powers, and Scanlan’s bright pink and purple bardic conjurations are really a testament to why we should see more of these shows in animation.

Second season Legend of Vox MachinaThere are some negative aspects to the game. It is hard to believe that there is so much lore built on hours of gaming sessions over years. For some, the lewd jokes and crude language might prove to be too much. The already extensive character list continues to grow. It might not all work out for everybody. It may not work for everyone, but for the people who do it well, it is a grandiose fantasy adventure with so much joy and heart that it turns into something truly special.

Legend of Vox MachinaSeason 2 will premiere on Prime Video Jan. 20, Each week three episodes will drop.