The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 review: Sticks the landing through hell and high water

With the enthralling foundations laid, the third season has one key task to do – successfully stick the landing to this fan favourite campaign arc.

However, that’s no mean feat, considering the hours and hours of interwoven story, complex character arcs and various locations which need to be distilled down to fit the 12-episode run.

Despite a couple of melodramatic wobbles along the way, The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 truly is an outstanding slice of animated fantasy.

The Critical Role gang swing for the fences with their biggest season yet, building upon the excellent foundations with even more shocking twists and turns, heart-wrenching moments and their most epic battle sequences.

Events pick up in the immediate aftermath of the season 2 finale, as Vox Machina discovers the location of Thordak’s clutch of eggs following Raishan’s (voiced by Cree Summer) surprising revelations.

The primary focus is the continuation of the Vestiges of Divergence quest, with the hopes that the additional artefacts will help take out both Thordak (voiced by the late Lance Riddick) and Vorugal (voiced by Liam O’Brien). However, the remaining members of the Chroma Conclave aren’t the only foes they’ll face along the way.

Meanwhile, the central dynamic and the various relationships within the tight-knit family – both familial and romantic – are tested throughout, thanks in part to the uneasy alliance with Raishan.

Undoubtedly, the biggest strength of the latest season is the excellent expansion of the show’s foundations, particularly in the standout episode The Siege of Emon, as the culmination of two seasons of storytelling pay off as the gang assemble an army (Avengers Endgame style) of their allies far and wide to face the Cinder King.

Fan favourites and a whole raft of supporting characters return for an explosive showdown, culminating in a number of shocking moments for our heroes.

The stakes are incredibly high and, thankfully, the showrunners don’t shy away from the integral moments of the original campaign, with painful consequences for certain characters. Brace yourselves!

Thankfully, there’s also plenty of surprises still in store for Critters, as there’s a number of changes (and clever additions) to the original campaign story. But fear not, they’re all for the better, as the series concludes in a much more optimistic and satisfying way, despite certain core moments being cut.

While the first two seasons primarily revolved around Whitestone and Emon in Tal'Dorei – with a scattering of side missions to pick up a collection of Vestiges – the rag tag band of misfits find themselves in exciting new locations and even new realms. The hell realm is, undeniably, the stand out new location, proving an excellent backdrop for one of Pike’s (voiced by Ashley Johnson) best – and certainly most overdue – moments yet.

The large majority of the party are once again given their time to shine, particularly Keyleth (voiced by Marisha Ray) as she continues to evolve and grow as a leader, finally believing in herself and her incredible powers for a number of excellent moments and showdowns.

Scanlan (voiced by Riegel) is also afforded a sweet arc further exploring the complex dynamic with his daughter, Kaylie (Kileigh Gallagher). However, Percy’s (voiced by Taliesin Jaffe) journey – who’s once again haunted by his past – feels somewhat repetitive and unfortunately often detracts from the overarching narrative.

Furthermore, if it isn’t for the humour of Grog (voiced by Travis Willingham), Scanlan and Pike (the recurring ‘Vesticles’ joke is a favourite) the series could easily stray into melodramatic territory, leading to a real tonal mismatch at times.

Titmouse once again brings their A-game, wonderfully bringing to life the many magical realms, creatures and sprawling action sequences in glorious animation. Highlights include a certain hellish showdown, the sprawling battle at Emon and the outstanding (and The Last Airbender-esque) climax involving Keyleth facing off against a certain draconic threat.

The animation studio also continues to play the fun spot the Matt Mercer NPC game, once again planting various characters with the dungeon master’s features throughout the series.

Fans of Scanlan's musical asides also won’t be disappointed, with plenty of excellent additions to look forward to, along with a fantastic closing credits track sung by Matt Mercer.

While the frustrating juggle between various dramatic character arcs and narratives accounts for the show’s biggest flaw, the satisfying ending certainly atones for those sins, with the series rounding off on a much more optimistic and hopeful tone than the original livestream campaign.

And while there’s another cliffhanger teasing another big bad – without a concrete renewal announcement from Prime Video – the Critical Role gang has certainly accomplished an admirable feat by adapting such an expansive and rich slice of fantasy with a loveable band of misfits at its heart.

While it’ll certainly be sad if the series isn’t renewed following that tease, the second adaptation of CR’s second campaign, The Mighty Nein, is hot on its heels, with star Sam Reigel promising a show which is “really tonally different from Vox Machina”.

Roll on the Wildemount adventures!

The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 will be released on Thursday 3rd October 2024.

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