Review: The final episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 prove it's the best yet

We’ve come to the final three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina season 3. I’d love to pound my tankard on the tavern bar and yell, “More. More. More!” But it had to come to an end sooner or later. Let’s take a look:

The Legend of Vox Machina Episode 310: “To the Ends of the World”

Keyleth, upset with how the rest of Vox Machina didn’t listen to her doubts about Raishan, flies away. Then Vex and Vax set out with their plans to finish off Ripley. Pike worries the team is splitting up. She and Grog try bringing Scanlan out of his coma and wonder if they’re unsuccessful because he doesn’t want to wake. Seeing Scanlan’s sheet music gives Pike an idea.

Pike approaches Scanlan’s daughter and shows Kaylie the song he wrote about her. Pike also tells her how he went in search of her. She bids Kaylie go to her dad in hopes her presence will give him a reason to live.

Keyleth flies home and spends time with her father discussing her troubles with Vox Machina. He gives her anecdotal advice, yet she still despairs, so he informs her of an ancient ritual she can use to locate Raishan. It’s dangerous so she must plead her case to the Council for permission to use it. While they deny her request, she learns information about her mother and why she distrusted Raishan in the first place.

Vex and Vax travel to Stilben looking for Ripley. Seeing one of the pepperboxes she created using Percy’s designs, they know she is near. Vax confronts a Tabaxi ruffian and learns about Ripley’s whereabouts. Her ship is distributing the pepperboxes along the coastline during the night. The siblings watch the docks and wait for the ship’s return.

Keyleth remembers her mother’s parting advice years ago and storms back into the Council chambers. Determined, she demands they listen to her. In a fiery display of her power, she claims her leadership role and vows to give her life to save all people. She forces a vote and wins the use of the ritual. Keyleth is taken underground to a nexus point of magical ley lines where she learns how to cast the ritual which may cost her life.

In Stilben, the ship finally docks. Vex gets captured trying to sneak on board. Just as the sailors are about to toss her into the water with an anchor tied to her feet, a disguised Vax intervenes. During his fight with the sailors, Vex gets shoved over and sinks. Thankfully her brother dives down and cuts her free just in time.

The siblings are spotted and battle with more sailors commences. The ship undocks as Vax is restrained. Vex then must let the ship go in order to free him.

Keyleth struggles with the ritual. On her second try, scenes from across Exandria whip around her until she stops before one node in the ley lines. She leans in, expecting to see Raishan but instead see Vex and Vax on a ship being captured by Ripley.

The Legend of Vox Machina Episode 311: “Deadly Echoes”

Keyleth continues her battle to control the ritual intended to help her find Raishan. Her father steps in to pull her out and nearly gets sucked into the earth beside her. He must let her complete this on her own.

As the earth magics of the ritual are taking over Keyleth, her father pleads for her to resist. She hears him but cannot break free. Then her ritual teacher offers her a more dangerous option: to give into the earth magics and search for her own magical tether.

Keyleth’s frustrations and doubts regarding her abilities and lack of being taken seriously by Vox Machina weaken her resistance. Her father calls out to her and tells her to reach for the one person who believes in her. She sees the silhouette of Vax and focuses on him. He turns to face her, becoming clear in her vision.

Her body, now turned to stone, crumbles before her father and the teacher’s eyes. But then she bursts forth in a new form and uses the ley lines to finally see where Raishan is located. Keyleth’s new form is an earth elemental, and we learn that her people are the ones who put the disease curse on Raishan. She then invokes Ashari tree magic to send a message to Grog and Pike.

Pike takes Kaylie to Scanlan in his room. He’s still unconscious so his daughter sits on the bed beside him. As she speaks to him, she tells him how much the two of them are alike. It’s a tender moment both of them needed.

Captive on Ripley’s ship, Vex and Vax confront her about killing Percy. She lectures them about how she believes he didn’t have the foresight to use his talents to rid the world of evil. Isn’t that the way all the best villains think? They never see themselves as evil. The siblings break away from their captors but Ripley slips magically away to another part of the ship.

The battle rages with the siblings battling all the seamen while still chained together. It’s pretty exciting as every enemy onboard fires pepperboxes at them. They dodge the pellets while staying mobile and freeing themselves. Vex turns a sailor’s weapons on him as she dashes to pick up her bow. She and Vax split up to opposite sides of the ship.

He’s quick with his blades and swings from the ropes up to the mast. Meanwhile, Ripley keeps magically disappearing and reappearing around the ship; at one point she becomes visible standing in front of Vex with her pepperbox pointed at her head. Thankfully Vax intervenes to disarm her with his throwing daggers.

Ripley, in her rage, grabs her pepperbox and fires at them. It strikes the powder kegs on deck, igniting them instantly. The ship goes down. Ripley betrays her sailors for her weapons and continues to fight Vex and Vax. She tells Orthax to send them to the bottom of the ocean and take their souls.

Vex is shot and thrown overboard. She and Vax manage to float away on the wreckage. They wash up ashore and spend time recuperating. Kayleth’s message, also sent to them, arrives. They fly to meet her at the Ashari Council chambers.

The team, back together, set out to confront Raishan. They travel through magical means to a dark forest and to an ancient ziggurat which has a green glowing door. Inside the maze-like corridors, they find the room where a wounded Raishan stands in human form casting a ritual. Thordak’s corpse hangs from the ceiling.

Keyleth confronts her alone at first. The others join the battle with Keyleth using her druid magics while Raishan turns the magic from the ziggurat upon her enemies. Of course, being a dragon, she can’t resist being arrogant and taunting at the same time.

The Legend of Vox Machina Episode 312: “Souls in Darkness”

Keyleth’s battle against Raishan takes a really interesting twist due to the dragon’s use of the ziggurat’s magic: when Raishan dies, she uses the ritual magic to transfer herself into Thordak’s body, returning to an undead dragon form. “I have become death, child,” Raishan tells Keyleth after threatening to wipe out all Ashari villages, since they were the ones who cursed her with her wasting disease.

At first, Keyleth’s spells strike true, but the wounds are small. Grog rushes in and punches Raishan. He gets picked up and thrown aside like a rag doll. The rest of Vox Machina join the fray. Vax is hit with magic and held helpless in the air when he flies up to confront the dragon. Just as she is about to crush him with her massive jaws, Vex shoots Raishan, breaking her stride and freeing Vax.

Pike steps up, knowing her armor vestige can withstand dragonfire. However, Raishan’s breath weapon was never fire. This is something different and the blast bowls Pike over.

Raishan sends the runic stones of the ziggurat forward, forming a wall, cutting Keyleth off from the rest of Vox Machina. Vex implores her to flee but she has a plan. She asks him to trust her and hides behind one of the giant stones.

Grog uses his hand vestige to increase his size and strength. He punches the magical walls as Keyleth dashes to keep a step ahead of the dragon’s breath weapon. She uses her druidic tiger form and then an Ashari form to weave around more magical stones Raishan raises from the ziggurat and throws through the air. Eventually she gets hit with the breath weapon, which flings her far back, bouncing off stones along the way. Another giant full-on blast crumbles Keyleth’s body, sending Vax falling to his knees.

Keyleth draws upon what she learned in the earlier ritual to return, bursting up from the ground. She uses druidic magic against the dragon; Vax shoots it with a powderbox he picked up from Ripley’s ship.

The battle leaves Keyleth sick and wounded after the battle. Vax calls out to his goddess, The Matron of Ravens, to guide him. He also suspects he can bring Percy back from the dead. She forbids him to interfere.

Pike offers advice given to her by the demon, Zerxus: “Sometimes you should go against the wishes of your deity.” After discussing this with his team, Vax decides to defy the Matron of Ravens. Vex gives him her blue hair feather for luck.

Vax, believing Percy is trapped in Ripley’s gun, goes to confront the demon Orthax and free his friend. Meanwhile, Pike does her best to repair Percy’s body in case Vax is successful.

Vax then calls upon Orthax for vengeance. When asked who he wishes vengeance upon, he tells the demon it is Orthax himself. Vax is drawn into Orthax’s plane where he notices other trapped souls. He demands the release of Percy.

Vax hears Percy cry out and runs towards his voice. At the same time, beside the bodies of both Vax and Percy, Keyleth and Pike combine powers to assist Vax.

Orthax tries to derail Vax with taunts and images from his past. He tells Vax he belongs in this plane too. He plays upon the elf’s fear of punishment from the Raven Queen and tells Vax he can release him from his pact with her.

Vax sees a golden thread (part of Keyleth and Pike’s magics) and uses it to direct himself to where Percy is hammering, making one of his pepperbox guns. At first Percy doesn’t recognize his friend and refuses to leave, saying, “There’s work to be done.” Vax pleads with him. Orthax gloats, telling Vax that a soul can’t be recovered and that Percy doesn’t want to leave due to his guilt. Orthax believes Percy deserves to be there, which spurs Vax to become more urgent in his call to reach Percy. Orthax’s smokey tendrils pull him back.

Still alongside the bodies, Keyleth and Pike’s magic is losing hold of Percy. Vex leans in and tell him that Vox Machina needs him. She confesses her love for him. Her words, accentuated by tears, reach Percy. The golden thread of magic connects him with Vax and they are able to defy Orthax.

The rest of Vax Machina watch Ripley’s gun glow and rise into the air. Keyleth and Pike are able to trap Orthax inside it, allowing Percy and Vax to escape. They take a weak Percy back to Whitestone for rest and some of Scanlan’s chicken.

During the meal, conversation turns to everyone going their separate ways. Scanlan wants to be with his daughter. Keyleth decides to return to her Ashari training. Vax will become the voice of the Tempest. Vex and Percy will remain at Whitestone, as will Pike and Grog.

Vax has a poignant moment where he acknowledges signs indicating that the wrath of the Raven Queen is incoming. The evening evening ends with Scanlan singing a duet with his daughter. We see scenes of everyone taking their new paths.

The third season of The Legend of Vox Machina is the best so far. The story-telling is rich and the action fun to watch. Also, season four has just been given the green light. I predict more humor, drama, and action in our future.

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