If you’ve been thinking about getting in The legend of Vox Machinathe Critical Role animated series, is now the perfect time: All of seasons 1 and 2 are available for free on YouTube, before the third season launches on Prime Video on October 3.
The animated show is an adaptation of the first Critical Role campaign, which follows a scrappy adventure party (the titular Vox Machina) who ultimately have to be Big Damn Heroes and save the world from various threats (and a whole lot of dragons). I admit I had my doubts about the first season, which initially seemed like it was going to be an episodic, humor-oriented romp. But it turned into a remarkably serialized, plot-driven story that takes time to delve into the characters and their relationships with each other – while also keeping the crude jokes and funny riffs. I fell head over heels and now I have one The legend of Vox Machinathemed calendar next to my desk (if you were curious, bard Scanlan plays his lute in September).
I was always intrigued by Critical Role, but never had the mental strength to watch hours of actual play episodes. The animated show is the perfect gateway: 30-minute episodes make the material much more accessible, but at the same time it’s so damn good that I immediately want to hit ‘next episode’.
The third season of The legend of Vox Machina premieres on Prime Video on October 3 – so you’ll have just enough time to binge the two seasons now on YouTube in preparation.