But amid the chase scenes, character introductions (and reintroductions), and heist planning, there’s a little cameo that the cast of Critical Role would like to point out. It happens early in the second episode, where gentle giant Grog (Travis Willingham) plays with some small children and manages to glean crucial information from them.
At first glance it’s a nice interaction. But Sam Riegal, the voice of Bard Scanlan, mentions that there’s one small casting choice that makes it particularly memorable: “Travis and Laura’s young child (Bailey) is the voice of the child in the scene.”
“It’s so amazing,” Bailey adds.
“In fact (…) Laura plays the other child,” says Riegal. “So it’s Travis, Laura and their son all in one scene together, which is pretty cool.”
In addition to the leading roles, all of which are reprized by the cast of Critical Role, The legend of Vox Machina features some notable voice actors, such as Stephanie Beatriz, Cree Summer, and the late Lance Reddick (as well as Matt Mercer playing various NPC roles). But this little background kid might be the best. And it’s one small way the cast shapes the show.
Although all of the cast of Critical Role are executive producers of the show, not all of them write for it. Willingham and Riegal both wrote episodes for last season, with Marisha Ray and Liam O’Brien joining this season. Yet they are all active participants in the writers’ room from the beginning.
“We start every season with: These are the moments it would be a dream to hit – with the acknowledgment that we may not get there, but trying to honor as much of the campaign as possible,” Ray explains. “I feel like it’s gotten smoother (in later seasons). It’s much more seamless. The writers we work with, as well as the artists, get to know these characters as well as we do at the time. The process has become much more of a well-oiled machine.”
The first three episodes of The legend of Vox Machina are now available to stream on Prime Video, with new episodes on Thursdays.