It feels so good that we’ve returned for the third year in a row, back to the world of Exandria. While Dungeons & Dragons has always been popular, it most certainly has received a boost within the mainstream limelight as Critical Role have been streaming their campaign sessions and uploading them for thousands of people to watch. The Legend of Vox Machina launched back in 2022 and since then has become a critical hit (pun intended) amongst the audience, bringing in both old and new fans alike. In most cases, a series can start off well but eventually slip away as more seasons release; that’s not the case here. The Legend of Vox Machina has only gotten better with each season, and they’ve now released their best one yet.
Season 2 left off with Vox Machina killing Umbrasyl, a member of the Chroma Conclave and the second out of five dragons that they’ve killed. Soon after, the crew heads back to Whitestone to celebrate, but it isn’t a Vox Machina celebration if they’re not rudely interrupted. To their surprise, everyone but them and Yennen fall asleep. It was then revealed that Yennen was actually the green dragon Raishan in disguise. She informs Vox Machina that she’s not there to harm them and is in fact secretly opposing Thordak. In other lands, Thordak is informed about Umbrasyl’s death by Vorugal, but he pays no mind to the news as he lays his eyes on an array of dragon eggs.
The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 picks up right after the last season and follows Vex (Laura Bailey), Percy (Taliesin Jaffe), Pike (Ashley Johnson), Vax (Liam O’Brien), Keyleth (Marisha Ray), Scanlan (Sam Riegel), and Grog (Travis Willingham) as they still hunt for the remaining vestiges of divergence to take down the Cinder King, Thordak (Lance Reddick).
It’s Time To Get Serious
This show has always managed to pull off the best plot twists with just the right timing. It has its fair share of laughs and its fair share of dramatic moments, but Season 3 takes it to a whole new level as we pick up back in the midst of the Chroma Conclave storyline. The party still has to find the remaining vestiges of divergence, and that’s still their main priority even after Raishan warns them about Thordak and attempts to side with them. While we do visit scenery that’s familiar, we also visit vast new locations, such as Hell, which holds my favourite storyline of the season involving Pike.
As Grog and Vax got some attention last season, it’s about time we focus on the rest of the party, which this season does extremely well while balancing all the other storylines going on and bringing the Chroma Conclave arc to an end. Scanlan is one of the most comedic characters in the show; when the mood is down, he brings it up straight away. There’s a moment in this season where the party must rest after a huge battle that has taken place. He takes them to a safe haven that he’s kept hidden from them—a place where it looks like you can have all the fun you want. It’s during this scene that, while everyone is eating and enjoying themselves, it’s actually Scanlan who seems to be down in the weather.
Scanlan through this season feels like a failure and a disappointment to his daughter Kaylie. While the world is seemingly being threatened and his found family is getting hurt, he still worries about Kaylie. It’s a storyline that just resonated, as at the end of the day, your own blood and your own daughter will always be your whole world, and nothing else will matter. What does it matter saving the day to Scanlan if he can’t even get his daughter to simply like him?
Keyleth is another character who gets a strong story as we follow her on the journey to become Earth Elemental, whether she actually gets to become it or not, I won’t say here but it’s an emotional journey that’s triggered by everything happening around her. The feelings she has for Vax that don’t seem to be getting reciprocated, death finally catching up with the party and the overall struggle of becoming a leader for her people. This is an intense season that doesn’t pause to help you catch a breath from all the action and heartbreak you’ll endure while watching.
Fight Dragons With Love
There’s more action than we’ve ever witnessed before as Vox Machina are at war with Thordak and Titmouse return to provide stellar animation with smooth movements and dark colours to help set the tone of what’s at stake. As touched on slightly earlier, this season, although it focusses on the big battle that’s ahead with numerous enemies getting in their way, that doesn’t stop love from interfering. Sometimes love is all you need to flourish in a battle and come on top, and the writing for this season showcases that effortlessly. The relationships formed never felt like they were cutting into the runtime of the episodes or slowing down the pacing; it all felt natural, which also helped with the emotional impact that was brought to the story.
Love comes in many forms. It can be platonic, romantic, or even sexual; whichever one it is, The Legend of Vox Machina manages to cover them all in the span of the twelve episodes. There’s a battle that takes place midway through the season, and it’s only thanks to the love and trust between two characters that they were able to befell their enemies. While on paper this can sound terribly cliché, on screen, it’s beautiful and showcases the level of writing that’s used when it comes to the characters in the show. A lot of care is put into making sure that every character is fleshed out, whether they’re part of the main cast or not.
Final Thoughts
The Legend of Vox Machina Season three delivers on an emotional, thrilling, action-packed conclusion to the Chroma Conclave arc that first began in Season two. Each episode leaves you on the edge of your seat yearning for more, and even when the season does come to a halt, providing solid conclusions for our main cast this season, we’re still left with a teaser for a threat that we may possibly meet in a future season. The writing for this season is better than any other, and ultimately, Season 3 is the best season yet, as the show continues to get better each year. Out of the many animated shows to come out this year, The Legend of Vox Machina currently takes the crown for best animated show of the year.
The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 releases on Prime Video on October 3.
