The legend of Vox Machina is a chance for the cast of Critical Role to revamp their first campaign. Sometimes this means that characters who were not present at certain events will now play a larger role. Other times that means bringing in the lore and mythology of Exandria that was just being fleshed out after Vox Machina concluded its first run in 2017.
In the case of the most recent episodes, this means turning a minor gameplay hiccup into a hugely emotional moment. And the cast was all for it.
(Ed. remark: This post contains massive spoilers for the latest episodes of The legend of Vox Machina, as well as spoilers for the Vox Machina Critical Role campaign.)
The seventh episode of The legend of Vox Machina ends with gunslinger Percy de Rolo (Taliesin Jaffe) offering mercy to the devious Anna Ripley (Kelly Hu). And instead of taking it, she shoots him in the chest and he falls dead.
There’s a similar moment in the campaign, but the rest of the party is able to quickly rush Percy to a temple and revive him. However, in the show, it seems like he will stay dead.
“During the campaign we were able to bring him back very quickly, but I think this can be something that loses its gravitas when you are constantly able to bring someone back to life who has died over and over again,” explains Laura Bailey, the vote, out. from half-elf ranger Vex’ahlia. “So for us to sit there and experience that sadness, I think it had to be extended.”
“And give consequences,” Jaffe adds. “There certainly remain consequences.”
There’s no shortage of ways to bring back a fallen companion in Dungeons & Dragons. But while having a resurrection option is a great way to do that not Losing morale completely when you face a tough enemy while playing around the table with your friends, in a television show, an easy revival cheapens the ever-increasing stakes.
“We wanted the death to have consequences,” says Travis Willingham, who plays the barbaric Grog and also writes for the show. “We wanted it to have weight, otherwise it would just feel fleeting and not a big deal if a character goes down. And so this was really a time to kind of explore what’s important around these characters and how vulnerable they can be and how temporary some of these things are if you’re not careful.
Percy’s death sends an emotional shockwave through the entire party. And unlike other heavy moments throughout the show, which they had previously played a version of during the actual play campaign, this storyline was new and particularly raw. Because Vex’ahlia and Percy are in a romantic relationship — which they finally took action on this season — Bailey found the grieving particularly satisfying to dig into, as exhausting as it was.
“We left the sessions just feeling terrible for the rest of the day, but I think it was necessary,” Bailey says. “We started the whole series and (Vex) is very distant, closed off from the start. It was the same in the campaign. She was tough as a person because she felt she had to be. But I wanted to make sure that in the series we could explore why she was like that and really see how those walls came down. And through her sadness and her regret at being closed off and not letting him know what he meant to her, she was able to grow as a person. I don’t think she would have gotten there if it weren’t for the trauma.
There was An person who, however, did not face a huge emotional challenge.
“It was easy on my part,” Jaffe says.
“All you have to do is close your eyes,” Bailey adds.
New episodes of The legend of Vox Machina fall every Thursday.