The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 Review: The Perfect Blend of Love, War, and Sexy Chaos

If you thought the previous seasons of The Legend of Vox Machina were unapologetically unhinged, think again. Though Critical Role’s merry band of misfits are still faced with taking down the Chroma Conclave, their hijinks in between give fans everything they could want.

While The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2 saw the iconic team facing off against the draconic Conclave enforcer Umbrasyl, this season explores each member’s low points and redemption. Vox Machina are forced to go through hell (literally) and back to not just save Exandria from Thordak’s rising empire but also tie up loose ends from the past.

With many loose threads to tie up, you’d expect The Legend of Vox Machina to have to rush through hitting specific story beats in order to drive that development. Yet, despite the short runtimes, each episode confidently weaves the story in a natural way.

Some of these side-story arcs initially feel more relevant than others. For example, Keyleth and Vax’s slowly blossoming relationship takes much more precedence due to the fact that Keyleth has an overarching role to play.

Keyleth having to trust others, especially the suspicious Raishan, creates an interesting dilemma, given how much she’s done for the team. Yet, this problem lingers in the background just enough to keep it interesting.

On the other hand, Pike’s role is somewhat withdrawn since she mostly resolved her issues with the Everlight last season. However, The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 gives her enough depth in the second batch of episodes to make her invaluable.

For those who have yet to see Critical Role’s first campaign, you’ll be surprised by Scanlan’s depressive decline this season. He’s entered this state of sadness because he’s been unable to fully mend the relationship with his daughter, Kaylie. His moments of hesitation keep you hooked because he’s perhaps reached his lowest point ever, which is certainly unlike the poppy Scanlan.

In fact, all of the members of Vox Machina hit their lowest points here in very compelling ways. Percy faces the worst of it thanks to Anna Ripley, who makes a brutal return with an ungodly partner-in-crime.

Each respective narrative is able to develop in fragments with each handful of episodes, which may resonate with you depending on which members of Vox Machina you’re following closely. Fortunately, The Legend of Vox Machina maintains this natural pacing, which helps create Season 3’s compelling story.

Although the prioritization of the solo stories of Vox Machina has shifted, each member is still extremely hilarious. Whether it just be sarcastically addressing what’s in front of them or Grog’s comical dumbness, The Legend of Vox Machina proudly keeps its comedic chops.

As someone who’s watched many compilations of the Critical Role cast improvising those scenes, I found myself enjoying all of the erotic jokes. Specifically, they come from Vex’halia and Percy, whose relationship truly brings out their horniness to an extreme.

Sure, Season 3’s first half of episodes don’t necessarily do much in terms of advancing Vex and Percy’s story. Though a few hints are dropped about Ripley’s return, the initial dynamic between the two is focused on settling whether they actually love each other like “Vaxleth”.

However, when it finally settles on an answer, The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 propels their shared arc in a meaningful way. It shows that “Perc’ahlia” is more than just your usual “will they, won’t they” narrative. 

Another interesting aspect about The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 is that it actually expands the lore surrounding its side characters. Particularly, there’s more development around Lady Allura and Lady Kima. However, Gilmore still serves as the team’s handyman of sorts.

Sure, you’d want the side characters not to overtake the main characters, but you still want them to be compelling. Allura and Kima’s chemistry certainly does that, given that one of the later episodes revolves around their history pre- and post-Vox Machina. They share such a heartfelt bond together that it’s hard not to root for them.

While some who have never seen Critical Role’s first campaign may be put off, their story fits Vox Machina’s quest perfectly. In fact, it does a great job reflecting this season’s overarching theme of how those rock-bottom moments will come back to haunt you.

As for the antagonists, they range from being captivating to being as basic as you can get. Thordak, while intimidating and charming as ever, is still completely focused on Exandria’s domination and nothing more. However, the late Lance Reddick gives an impeccable performance to send off his portrayal of the Cinder King. 

On the other hand, Raishan is more of an anti-villainous character (if there’s another word for antihero.) She constantly negotiates with Vox Machina and Thordak to the point where you don’t know where her intentions lie. It makes her all the more dubiously cunning in the most entertaining way possible.

The action and animation of The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 shine out from the previous seasons. It continues to flawlessly integrate CGI renderings with 2D elements to create some of the most exciting set pieces in the series to date.

The fight sequences, particularly in the second half of Season 3, up the ante to a new level. There’s one particular fight scene in Vox Machina’s “hell” arc that truly feels awesome to see, but the exact details of it get into spoiler territory.

Another thing that may put off fans is the transition between events in the overarching story. It’s best to watch each respective batch of new episodes standalone, or else it may feel like the story is progressing too quickly.

Nonetheless, The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 successfully keeps the show exciting by digging deeper into what makes Vox Machina tremble while playing around with Critical Role’s hysterical chaos.

Given how much material there’s still left from the first campaign, it’ll be interesting to see what else could be covered. However, with Critical Role expanding with the Mighty Nein show, who knows how Prime Video wants to do this?

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The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 premieres on October 3 and will consist of 12 episodes, with three episodes premiering every week.

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