Vecna Vexes Vox Machina Season 4
Created By: Critical Role
Main Voice Actors: Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brein, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, Wayne Brady, and Matt Mercer
Vax: “In the span of 24 hours, you’ve caused unfathomable amounts of property damage and confronted a lifetime of internalized parental issues.“
The Legend of Vox Machina “Taryonn, My Wayward Son” (Season 4, Episode 3)
Vex: “Welcome to Vox Machina.”
The saga of The Mighty Nein has started, but there are still Legends of Vox Machina to tell. The party ended the threat of the Chroma Conclave and are hailed as heroes. Now an apocalyptic threat from the past is awakening.
Can Vox Machina survive the wrath of The Whispered One or are they doomed? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
Vox Machina Season 4 Cast Refresher
Percy de Rolo: An aristocratic human Gunslinger.
Vex’ahlia: A greedy Half-Elf Ranger. Vax’s sister.
Vax’ildan: A snarky Half-Elf Rogue. Vex’s brother.
Keyleth of the Air Ashari: An anxious Half-Elf Druid.
Grog Strongjaw: A dimwitted Goliath Barbarian.
Pike Trickfoot: A heroic Gnome Cleric.
Scanlan Shorthalt: A perverted Gnome Bard.
Season 3 Recap
Vox Machina struck a deal with Green Dragon Raishan to overthrow the Chroma Conclave. They gathered several relics that gave them the power to kill the Conclave’s leader, Thordak. The journey wasn’t easy. Scanlan lost his focus after learning he had a daughter who hated him, Pike’s faith in the Everlight faltered during a trip through Hell, and Percy was murdered.
Vox Machina was betrayed by Raishan, who wanted Thordak’s power for herself. Druid Keylith underwent a trial to gain new magic and defeat Raishan. The team performed a ritual to resurrect Percy, putting Vax in poor standing with his goddess for interfering with the natural order. With the threat ended and Percy alive, Vox Machina has gone their separate ways.
The Good in Vox Machina Season 4
Vox Machina Season 4 Puts the Band Back Together
[Keylith and Vex burst into The Matron of Raven’s temple on an armored bear]
“We Are His Blood” (Season 4, Episode 6)
Vex: “Good job, Trinket.”
Keyleth: [drunk] “Listen up, you fancy-feathered fuck! I have passed through fire, commanded the elements, and I’M SO… afraid.”
A year apart has brought massive changes to Vox Machina. They’ve all grown, but not always in good ways.
Grog and Pike spent the year drinking their way across Exandria. Grog’s happy to do so, viewing it as a never-ending party. He doesn’t see Pike struggling with her faith in the Everlight and her abandonment issues now that their friends are gone.
Life isn’t much easier in Whitestone. Percy and Vex have married and serve as high ranking nobles. Vex is bored by endless formal functions while Percy obsesses over a mysterious relic left behind by his archenemies, the Briarwoods.
Keylith benefits the most from the break, completing a pilgrimage to become the leader of her people. She can’t enjoy her newfound status as she frets over Vax, who has been cursed by the Matron of Ravens. A blight is spreading through his body, slowly killing him as Keylith searches for a cure.
Scanlan has cut ties with everyone and desperately avoids anything resembling an adventure. He’s touring the world with his daughter and has converted his holy sword into a guitar. When Vox Machina turns up, he quickly loses his cool at them for not caring about him.
Whose Adventure is It Anyway?
Taryonn: “Doty, take this down. ‘Though we had only just met, the two members of Vox Machina, Jumbo and Lady Everlight-”
“One Year Later…” (Season 4, Episode 1)
Pike: “We have names.”
Tary: “-Were chomping at the bit for our first mission!”
Vox Machina’s friendships have fractured in season 4. Thankfully, new blood is around to restore their bond.
Grog and Pike stumble across Taryonn Darrington (Wayne Brady), a grandiloquent would-be hero. He is rich and uses enchanted gems to cast spells. Vox Machina reluctantly help him become an adventurer, putting up with his showboating and tomfoolery. They slowly find the hero underneath Tary’s boasting and learn to work with his goofiness, not against it.
Doty is Taryon’s robotic bodyguard and biographer. He can only say “Tary” and obeys his creator’s orders. Doty doesn’t get character development, instead serving as an extra bit of muscle and a canvas Taryonn uses to wax poetic.
Vox Machina crosses paths with a temporary ally while exploring the Briarwoods’ lair. A woman the Briarwoods killed to taunt the team has resurrected into a Wednesday Addams-esque Warlock. Critical Role fans will recognize her as Laudna, one of the third campaign’s heroes, presumably here to hype Bell’s Hells eventual adaptation.
The Whispered One
Gideon: “The Matron weaves our fates. The Everlight shows the path to redemption. But when you lose sight of it, you must put your faith in each other. For we are his blood.”
“We Are His Blood” (Season 4, Episode 6)
The new additions have made Vox Machina a veritable army, but they aren’t invincible. In season 4, they face a threat that makes The Chroma Conclave seem insignificant.
A religious movement called The Children of Truth has begun expanding through Exandria. They attack Keylith’s coronation and kill many of her people. Each Child commands dark magic and regenerates from any damage taken. Zealots think nothing of destroying themselves to accomplish a job because they can’t die.
The Children of Truth reach out to the downtrodden and hopeless, especially those mourning the Chroma Conclave’s victims. Adherents are taught to hate every god other than theirs and smite heretics. A charismatic preacher called Shepard Gideon travels the land, helping rebuild while spreading the cult’s influence. He is quickly revealed to be an avatar of their god, an arch-lich called The Whispered One.
Evil cults aren’t the only threats running amok. Keylith’s final test involves battling Ulugrah the Requisite, an all-powerful Kraken trying to force its way from the Elemental Plane of Water. Vox Machina also discovers that their old foe Delilah Briarwood has come back to life and is assisting the Children of Truth in exchange for her husband’s resurrection.
Bardic Inspiration for Vox Machina Season 4
Scanlan: “The only way to fight music is with music. Scanlan’s Hand! I don’t know who you work for, but that sword’s mine!”
“The Bard’s Lament” (Season 4, Episode 8)
Dark Bard: “We’ll see. [whips off his cloak] DEMON’S CLAW!!!”
Season 3 didn’t make time for awesome music with all the plotlines it juggled. Season four brings the rock and add a few new singers to the mix.
Travis Willingham starts the season off right with “The Legend of Grog Machina”, a tavern song recapping the first three seasons through the barbarian’s… unique perspective. Wayne Brady also gets a solo as Taryonn sings his own theme song, “Darrington.”
Sam Riegel has fewer songs because he is recovering from throat cancer. He performs a handful of outro songs, including “Wanted By All” and “Can’t You Be Cool?” The music gets livelier with “Monstah“, a Beastie Boys-style rap when Pike and Grog reverse roles.
The villains get their first song when The Dark Bard steals Scanlan’s guitar and challenges him to a literal battle of the bands. “The Whispered One” features Tom Cardy shredding a metal hymn for The Children of Truth, countered by Scanlan on a lute backed up by his band and Vox Machina performing in nine-part harmony.
The Bad
The Unalive Five
“Out of the shadow, he lifts us up
“The Bard’s Lament” (Season 4, Episode 8)
The downtrodden masses
We are his blood
The war’s begun and ye shall be judged
The Children of Truth, we are his blood
Whoa, THE WHISPERED ONE!!!”
The Children of Truth are a formidable threat, but their higher-ups drop the ball in Vox Machina Season four. Unfortunately, their god doesn’t fare much better.
Talia is the first introduced, a minor Cleric from season 3. Her character is not developed, but it’s better than her blank slate companions, The Death Knight and The Beastmaster. The former is a walking slab of meat who never speaks and the latter is only present to control monsters called Gloomstalkers.
The Dark Bard and Delilah fare better. He mentions his past while talking about guitars and wants to challenge Scanlan. Delilah hogs the spotlight as The Whispered One’s high priest. For some reason, she disguises herself as a “Necro-Ninja” while acting as the face of the cult’s crusade.
The Whispered One was mishandled because of legal issues. The campaign originally used Vecna, Dungeons and Dragons‘ most popular villain. The Legends of Vox Machina was only allowed to use one of his titles and created Gideon as a substitute. Mixing Vecna’s divine power and malice with an original sympathetic backstory muddles The Whispered One’s characterization.
The Verdict
The Legend of Vox Machina Season 4 cleared a big hurdle. It would have been easy to see this story as unnecessary after the Conclave’s defeat, but a mixture of character development, new blood, and a nigh-invincible threat present an interesting story. The villains need to be more robust, but season four is worth watching.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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