Note–this is not a review per se. I don’t actually care much for the idea of reviewing TV shows anymore, because it suggests that I should be watching with an eye to criticism. I don’t do that. I watch with an eye to enjoyment, but I don’t leave my brain behind either. These are just a few thoughts I had after watching.
Spoilers ahead for Seasons 1 and 2 of The Legend of Vox Machina. Shouldn’t be too bad, but you are warned.
First off, I binge-watched this over a few days time when I wasn’t feeling well and I wished there was more when I was done. Would I recommend the show to a friend? Yes, I would, with the major caveat that the violence and gore is a bit too much for me. That will impact re-watchability for me (and I am that person who watches their favorite things over and over again). I would say in general that I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. As someone who is more of a fan of the concept of Critical Role than the actual campaigns themselves, it was great to get to see a very, very, very trimmed down version of their first campaign. Actually watching D&D is a huge time commitment, and while Critical Role is very “authentic” in that it really is just a campaign that friends play with no real time constraints…that’s waayyy too much for me! (Personally, I prefer Dimension 20’s take on it.)
What are some things I liked? I liked the general tone. I liked the vibe of rag-tag bag of misfits who have some growing up to do. I like that the characters aren’t perfect, but when they do make really terrible decisions, the show doesn’t gloss over that (e.g., Percy’s vengeance and Grog taking THE OBVIOUSLY EVIL SWORD LIKE A DUMB ASS). There’s some genuine heart there, if nascent in some of the characters and badly in need of being developed. Personally, I don’t really have fantasies about being irresponsible assholes, nor could I really play a character like that, so the way the bunch starts out wasn’t super promising. The fact that one of the characters, Keyleth, called that out in episode 1, caught and helped keep my interest. Self-awareness, in fiction and irl, is usually a good sign of growth to come.
Some other highlights for me from the two seasons that are out so far (all of season one and season 2, episode 1-9):
- In Season One
- The whole Briarwood arc as developing Percy’s backstory was good. Percy has a pretty damned cliched background on paper, but the way it comes to life and the way the character is portrayed isn’t cliched at all. I might write more about this.
- I liked that the big bad of the season wasn’t evil for the sake of being evil. She had a very clearly spelled out powerful motive that made total sense out of the apocalyptic damage she and her husband dealt out to Whitestone.
- I liked that Vox Machina didn’t immediately grow up or change after their first big victory.
- I liked that characters sometimes had a hard time trusting each other, but grew to overcome it. This was always–as far as I could see–for character reasons, not plot reasons, which is good. Super annoying when writers cheat and make characters dumb just to make tension in the plot.
- In Season Two
- The Matron of Ravens’ champion thing was awesome. Perversely, I’ve watched Exandria: Calamity and not much else Critical Role, so I enjoyed the callback (but not really) to Purvan Suul. This was visually stunning and also a piece of lore I really enjoyed. So far, this is the only vestige that really struck me as truly cosmic in terms of power and scope. But we will see!
- Keyleth leveling up in her mastery of fire was also awesome. She seems to be gaining confidence as a result, too, which is great. Marisha Ray’s portrayal of her is just nuanced enough not to make her super annoying for not believing in herself even though how powerful she is seems pretty obvious.
- Consequences for Grog cuddling with the evil sword. Thank goodness. This part of the story arc exceeded my expectations. Grog is dumb, so him hanging onto the sword made perfect sense for his character. However, it was also insanely dangerous for him and his friends, and he nearly killed his best friend. Having to destroy the sword was good. Having lasting consequences for holding onto it for so long was even better.
Was there anything I didn’t like about it? Well, there is a hint of male gaze about it that I don’t like. A lot of the sexual jokes and innuendo are puerile adolescent male humor that I don’t find amusing. Nor do I find immaturity for its own sake amusing, although I know a lot of people just love it. I didn’t find it offensive, it just doesn’t do anything for me. I do find the ribald attitude of Sam’s character does help ground the series, as I think does some of the use of profanity. (Sam might be my favorite actor on the team, too.) The only thing I really don’t like about it is how graphically violent it is and that Grog still thinks killing is fun. That’s messed up no matter what way you look at it. Getting deeper into Grog’s backstory helps you see how far he’s come, but he has a ways yet to go.
Summary: Liked it a lot, didn’t love it. Who knows, maybe that will change.