The Legend of Vox Machina’s much-anticipated third season has left very little to the imagination. Whether it's scenes of amorous encounters, like the one that takes place between Vex and Percy, or gruesome battle frames, they’ve been showing them, outright, spice and all.
When asked about how such scenes jive with their vision for the show, the Critical Role team told CinemaBlend that Vox Machina is the exact show they want to make and watch. Through and through, their depiction of the nitty-gritty (and all that in between) isn’t meant to be gratuitous. Rather, in their eyes, it helps the show feel more lived-in, fleshing out the world in a way that any Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast can understand. In order for a campaign to be compelling, you need to have trust in the world in your characters. And part of that trust is playing things out in a way that feels true to everyone who has a seat at the table, or, in this case, a role on the screen.
Voice actor and Vox Machina creator Matt Mercer attributes the ability to have this kind of creative control to the folks at Prime Video who have allowed Vox Machina’s creative minds to “fulfill their vision” in a way that feels nourishing. "Unlike network television, where you hear the constant story of network notes coming in and completely altering the heart of something, they've been just incredible partners and seeing what we want to do and contributing to it in wonderful and meaningful ways," Mercer said. "Now we get to have as many F-bombs as we want and spicy moments."
Matt Mercer, who voices Grog, also was very complimentary about Prime Video letting them have leeway when it comes to violent or sexy moments:
"We live for it. I mean, that's the beauty of it. Prime Video have been amazing partners. From Day 1, the encouragement was, 'Go for it. Go nuts. Go crazy.' We know the types of shows that have seen success over there, and that we love to watch. From Day 1, the question was, 'Is there a world in which there isn't as much swearing, that this might be a more family friendly show' in some of our earlier meetings. And the answer was always 'No.'"
Vox Machina began as an audio podcast/Twitch stream, and now fans are able to see those beloved characters brought to life. Prime Video is making money from the deal, and the Critical Role team gets to tell the story of their dreams without having to compromise on their collective vision. It’s the win-win-win for the fans and creators alike. Here’s hoping it continues and that we can see more successes like The Legend of Vox Machina arise from healthy collaboration between creatives and TV studios.
New episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina drop Thursdays on Amazon Prime Video, in chunks of three episodes at a time.
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