Recap and review: Vox Machina season 2, Episodes 4-6

It’s Friday! Amazon has dropped another three episodes of Vox Machina, its animated fantasy series based on Critical Role’s Dungeon’s & Dragons campaigns. We’re here to talk through them.

SPOILERS WARNING for the rest of this post!

Last week, we all collectively cried as Vex left the mortal realm…except she didn’t. Those emotional last few minutes of Episode 3 brought tears to my eyes and made me want to hibernate for the entirety of the following week just to get to Episode 4 faster.

Those of us who have watched Critical Role know this isn’t the end for Vex, but this was still as shocking as when it happened live:

Episode 4 picks up right from that moment and continues on as we see the party gather their resources and struggle to comprehend what just happened. The last episode (“The Sunken Tomb”) and this one (“Those Who Walk Away”) deviate from Critical Role’s version of events in some major ways, but the show is still working beautifully as its own thing.

Let’s get to the episodes!

Vox Machina Episode 204: “Those Who Walk Away”

This is probably my favorite episode of season 2 so far. Not only do we see Vex come back from the dead, we see the mighty Raven Queen and

A FREAKING BEHOLDER

an aberration!

As I mentioned above, the episode changes quite a few things from the the Critical Role campaign, including:

• Zahra does not want to betray Vox Machina.
• Zahra does not unleash the aberration in the temple; its name is Yar-voss and it is summoned by the kuo-toa who live in the tombs.
• Vax does not get the Vestige during the fight with Yar-voss.
• The fight with Yar-voss happens before Vex dies.
• Pike was not present for that fight or for Vex’s death; this was due to voice actor Ashley Johnson being away for another job.

There are a few more differences, but those are the most notable ones. While I admittedly was confused as to where this was all going at first, I honestly like how they adapted it for the screen. There are a lot of things to cover in this season, and if rearranging them/retelling them in a certain way helps, I’m all for it, as long as it continues to go this smoothly.

The relationship between Vex and Zahra is very different as well, which is one thing I wish the show didn’t change up as much. In the Critical Role episode, Zahra and Kash fight the beholder aberration together with the party. They’re there when Vex dies, and Zahra is actually the first person to try and revive Vex by pouring a potion down her throat. In the show, they’re not around for this key segment. I don’t understand why they decided to make this change for the series, but I’m willing to overlook it.

Tweaks aside, this episode is fantastic. The incident with Vex blends very well with Vax’s Matron of Ravens plot. We see Vax thrive with the Deathwalker’s Ward, and the Raven Queen’s blessing.

We’re also seeing a more serious side of Vax. He could be like this for a while depending on how things unravel.

Let’s talk about that aberration! My personal favorite monster, the creature Vox Machina encountered is based off Dungeons & Dragons‘ Beholder. A horribly powerful, scary monster which, as you saw, can absolutely make a TPK, or total party kill, happen.

I absolutely loved how the series handled this monster. The noises were otherworldly, its eye movements were unsettling and exactly they way I had always imagined. I was absolutely fangirling on my couch.

Definitely in my top three favorite episodes. Also, I want that magic necklace.