THORDAK | The Legend Of Vox Machina Ep 3x9 Reaction & Review | Critical Role

[@FuzzyBunnyofInle]

"Vox Machina & the How Many Goddamn Hitpoints Does This Fucking Dragon Have!?"

[@gabthegreat01]

I might be getting my boss fights mixed up...pretty sure Thordak had at least 800

[@Stincinati]

Makes sense he’s an Ancient Red Dragon which already means he’d be at 500 hp base give him that soul anchor that makes him super charged yeah I wouldn’t doubt he was in 800+ range for health

[@viktorstagnetti7491]

@@gabthegreat01 Way more actually. The Soul Anchor gave him a +1 AC (23) and +1000 HP boost. According to the wiki, he took 1452 damage.

[@gabthegreat01]

@@viktorstagnetti7491 like I said, I was probably messing up my Boss Fights

[@darkguardian50]

IIRC Matt said somewhere that he had 1500 ish hp. He'a s chonky boy. But I had a level 18 dragon fight against a primal infused ancient white dragon that had 2100hp and a climactic level 20 fight against Lord Soth who had 3400hp. But the fact that they were not even in to epic levels yet at this point makes the 1500hp total pretty crazy. Also when my group fought the ancient white they were each controlling 4 other "hirelings" (16 total pc's vs an ancient white with 2100 hp, an adult white dracolich with 1250 hp and two other CR 20 humanoid characters each with 500hp). Most dm's I think (like matt), including myself, may only have fights like this a few times in a campaign. For me our campaign went from level 5 to level 20. And there were only 4 encounters with 1k+ hp totals. Those are long and exhausting fights so you gotta be careful how often you pull them out and how you space them.

[@buddhabatman]

Osysa is still alive (that we know) in the show. It was Kamaljiori that died in the show, which didn't happen in the stream. Kash dying is heartbreaking though, he's my favorite guest character :(

[@jonathanhibberd9983]

Him and Zahra, they make such a great couple. But I think I see why. Kash is the only one in the show who knows resurrection magic, so if they kill him, it makes it much less obvious how they bring back Percy. If they do. Honestly at this point, I'm not sure, there's a chance they don't.

[@michaelkemmet834]

@@jonathanhibberd9983 I think it was also to show the difference between Percy's death and a normal death(being welcomed by the Matron). Sometime in the next three episodes, I think Vax is going to figure out that Percy's soul didn't cross over, and then the group is going to hunt down Ripley. I'm just not certain if it's going to be Raishan first or Ripley.

[@buddhabatman]

@@jonathanhibberd9983 Agreed, also it adds more weight to the Thordak fight in general, but man I love Will Friedle!

[@jonathanhibberd9983]

@@buddhabatman I just had a bad thought. In the finale, the trio they meet on the way to the final battle. Any or all of them could end up like Kash.

[@buddhabatman]

@@jonathanhibberd9983 No one's safe.

[@BearCobb]

Raishan was the true main villain in the Chroma Conclave arc, so I'm not surprised. But that episode was so cinematic, I agree it felt like a finale!

[@AdamEspersona]

It’s kinda wild that THIS episode marks the first time that Vax and Keyleth fought together as a proper battle couple. And boy, did they show their teamwork off well… as well as their protectiveness of each other. Sucks that Kash had to die, though. Just like in the campaign, Vax delivers the coup de grace against the Cinder King. And WHAT A ROAR FROM LIAM. Keyleth was 100% justified in not trusting Raishan, yet it took ONE moment of doubt for her to drop her guard and almost get killed. She won’t make that mistake again, that’s for sure. She will make sure that the Diseased Deceiver ends up the DECEASED Deceiver. And unlike before, the team is no doubt going to be unified against her. At this point, we are in largely uncharted territory. Can’t wait to see how this season ends and sets up the next one.

[@xseedingme]

The animators are leveling up as fast as the characters of the show!

[@haldorian520]

I love that you know the campaign side of the story too! Spoiler vid campaign vs. show comparison would be epic! 👏👏👌

[@xseedingme]

We are way off the livestream beaten path now so seemingly ANYTHING goes. Also, this 3 ep. arc showcases Laura Bailey to be the fantastic actor we Critters have known about for a long time!💯

[@sammiebray1661]

Dude I cried when Kash died. He was my favorite guest character, and Will (who is such a nice dude irl) was my favorite guest star. And Mary Elizabeth McGylanns scream was just *chefs kiss*.

[@BearCobb]

Groon suplexing that dragon was so hype

[@FuzzyBunnyofInle]

Zara's anguished scream felt so visceral & then the "YOU GOTTA FIX HIM!" My heart!

[@lexij2497]

Travis's FIX HIM in the campaign is legitimately scary

[@jimjimcherie]

@@lexij2497 I prefer that one!

[@jxcefxce]

Just like you, I audibly gasped at the Vax in the clouds scene. Hauntingly beautiful scene work this season.

[@seeflatbesharp]

When Travis (Grog) came up with any cunning plans in the campaign, beyond Grog's intelligence of 6, he frequently added in a joke like the "I blacked out for a second!"

[@seeflatbesharp]

That tracking shot of the battle around Thordak's head was epic!

[@testfire3000]

17:46 I remember the whole "Is it right to include killing children" from the 1979 TSR module B2 "The Keep on the Borderlands". In this, you encounter a valley that has many caves, each one having different tribes of monsters. Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds, Hobgoblins, Bugbears, etc. It was designed for starting characters level 1-3. And when you raided the lairs of these tribes, there were females and children, many of whom had hit points but were effectively noncombatant. A lot of people felt uncomfortable about it at the time.

[@Arezoo298195]

They trusted someone called ‘the deceiver’ - in retrospect, not a great plan…

[@Luzarioth]

well... that is a show only problem... in the stream, Kiki turned out to be less trustworthy than "the deseased deceiver"

[@Arezoo298195]

@@Luzarioth 🤨 oh?

[@andyenglish4303]

@@Arezoo298195 In the stream, Keyleth shot first after the fight.

[@pegusus12346]

Keyleth did nothing wrong. Raishan doesn't get off just because she half-ass allied with them. She even made sure to whack them with a Chain Lightning during the Thordak fight.

[@troikas3353]

Uh no, Raishan betrayed them even more blatantly in the Csmpaign as Kiki did not shoot first. Raishan deliberately tried to hit them with Chain Lightning during the actual fight and then was fucking around with Thordak’s corpse after the fight with no explanation for what she was doing.

[@DocEonChannel]

5:45 I think it's just Javelin of Faith upcast to a ridiculous amount. ;)

[@mightyreborn8071]

Watching Vox Machina just further highlights how much I wish they had went the animated route for Wheel of Time.

[@Jathom]

Doubt it could have been worse than live action one they made.

[@TheRatsCast]

Osys is still alive. It's Kamaljiori, her mate, that's dead by the dragon.

[@alexkramerblogs]

18:02 "Can we kill babies?" Sam Riegel as [redacted] has entered the chat

[@andyenglish4303]

the look on Matt's face when that happened...

[@zippomage]

i feel like I'm the only one really sad about Pike abandoning her faith.

[@TheFlyingBookworm]

I think people are just hyped to see her get around the block. She'd been struggling against that armor for a few episodes. She'll need to have an episode where she sorts out her faith.

[@pegusus12346]

Check the CR subreddit, you'll find your people lol. People are very mad about it. Personally, I think we should let them cook a bit. I don't think the show ultimately wants to have Pike listening to a demon that tried to steal her soul be a good thing.

[@aceofspace14]

​@@pegusus12346 I 100% agree, I think her overall POV on her relationship with her goddess will shift for the better in a way that we have yet to even imagine. I don't think the end result of this storyline will be her throwing away her faith, but I think knowing that gods can be selfish and short sighted and at times refuse to see things from the mortal POV will help her with dealing with and interacting with the gods as people and not just ideas in what is to come.

[@troikas3353]

Reddit gets mad about everything, their opinions are irrelevant. Its clearly a story in progress and being framed as an ominous turn. Character wise I think its a great choice to have her hopefully explore and develop who she is outside of her faith before its resolved.

[@anathem9982]

@@pegusus12346 I would understand people getting mad a little bit if the season was over. but getting mad about it when there's still 3 episodes left is so wild to me. I feel like they've rightfully earned some confidence now that they know what they're doing with this adaptation

[@jasonmarbach]

Nerdy - if you’re referring (in the outro) to the Lament, I think you’re right that it’ll go slightly differently, but it’s going to hit SO much harder in this show because it’s going to feel so much more earned than it did in the stream.

[@DocEonChannel]

Really? I don't think they can go the same way with Scanlan's motivation in the show. They haven't laid the groundwork for that attitude. We'll probably still get to the same place, but by a different path.

[@jasonmarbach]

Yeah, I feel like that’s more or less what I said? The one thing the show has been doing since the beginning of season 1 is laying the groundwork for how the group doesn’t take Scanlan particularly seriously, always underestimating him and undervaluing what he offers to the dynamic. I don’t think we’re going to get the exact same thing the stream did (which is probably good, because it never hit as well in the stream as you can tell Sam wanted it to, I think) but it should be fairly similar (maybe not as angry)…I just think it’s going to hit a lot harder because they’ve carefully been laying the bread crumbs for it for 2.5+ seasons now

[@davidbergfors6820]

Yeah, wether we know his mothers name or not won't matter this time around, "Slightly" is an understatement. but I don't think it will be more earned, just different.

[@jasonmarbach]

I think it’s a combination that it didn’t feel very earned in the original campaign and kinda came out of left field a little bit (kinda gave more secondhand embarrassment than anything else) coupled with how much better the show has been doing for ~30 episodes or so now building leading up to it

[@DannyTJones-qy5qz]

Love that Zemnian accent at the start, Nerdy!

[@johnobrien7562]

Really not sure where they're going with the Pike storyline. I'm trying to have faith (which is ironic?) killing Kashaw was such a move - it gives stakes to the fight, it removes the one person who had led a resurrection ritual. "I hear the voice of my mother in the morning." that moment got me more than any other this season. Vax strikes down his mother's killer as metaphor for Liam killing the cancer that took his mother.

[@jimidando]

If that was a german accent, it sounded more scandinavian rather, which tho kinda fits your looks. I get Clarus as an adult 'Vicky and the strong men' vibe. It's a german kids cartoon about a small wiking child.

[@qa1327]

10:32 I’m curious what they are doing with Pike. Not a fan of the direction so far but I’ll wait and see 11:45 Vax has the best shots. Great fight. I am a little disappointed with the Raishan thing. Her helping during the Vorugal fight and then the Thordak fight made her actions with Thordak’s body more impactful in the campaign imo because she was more active in helping them. Here her help is more passive till the end. Enjoyed your reaction as usual.

[@daimonclarke]

The show doing what you dont want to spoil would be daring. Like a ton of daring.

[@CromThePale]

While I do love this version of the story, I find the original campaign much better. One big downside to making this show is trying to reduce so much content into a very short and concise story. Many small bits of story and even complete NPC's are lost because of this. However, they have done a great job overall of compressing things down. My one big complaint with this season would be Pike's storyline. I feel like they've been telegraphing her as the 'chosen hero' all season. This overshadowed and diminished all of the other characters to a certain degree. Yes they all still had their moments, but those moments didn't feel as impactful in my mind. For example Kashaw and Keyleth's attacks did nothing to Thordak. It would have been nice to show even tiny hairline cracks in the crystal after each of those hits to make their actions feel a bit more meaningful and create a better overall balance for the entire battle. I'm still not sure how they are going to handle Percival. The campaign certainly treated things differently with him and I fully understand your questions regarding what is to come for Scanlan. Based on what they have done so far I do have a few predictions. *wild speculation* I think they will ignore Scanlan for an episode and instead pursue Raishan, likely killing her within the first episode. Next episode they deal with Scanlan and learn of Ripley's location and activities. They track her down and kill her. Final episode they are forced into the 'Shadow plane' or the anime's version of it, to kill Orthax and get help from a trapped Kashaw! The season ends with both Percival and Kashaw being resurrected. As they leave the Shadow Plane we get a glimpse of a figure to set up the next season. Could be I'm way off, only a week to wait and find out :)

[@endycore4920]

I can agree that they are laying down the foundations and hints for Percy's resurrection. But for Kashaw I think he is dead dead. They show Vax, Matron and his soul/consciousness on purpose.

[@PredatorH2O]

3:51 You better have taken that back later in the video

[@allocat586]

I'm mostly excited for Jester, because she is Obviously the absolute best

[@Luzarioth]

funfact, as a german, I only get to hear german accends when watching stuff like yours ^^

[@ryanbrooks8045]

Bard's Lament and I 100% think it's happening ep12 but you could be right that they'll change the feel of it. I also think Raishan will succeed in her plan in the show and that'll be the ep12 BB fight... maybe ep11.

[@jonathanhibberd9983]

I know exactly what you're talking about with regard to Scanlan. SPOILERS for CR1 and potentially TLoVM . . . . . . The motivation Scanlan gave for leaving in the campaign was him promising to Kaylie that he would return from the Raishan fight. They had a relationship established, and he felt like him dying was breaking a promise he had made to her. Obviously that can't happen here. But honestly, that was dumb. Like let's be real - that was a promise he couldn't keep, and she knew that, and there's no way that she would have actually seen it like that. Likewise, he also left because they pranked him after he died. And I don't see them doing that here, not after such a trying time. So instead, it's clear they've set up for him to be pulled in two directions - his obligation to the team, and his desire to build a relationship with his daughter. He can't do both. So basically I see it going down where he wakes up, and either they reached out to Kaylie so she's there to help him wake up, and he decides to leave with her, or she's not there and he leaves to find her. Either way, it simplifies that whole situation and makes his decision to leave more straightforward, as the conclusion to the conflict they've set up for him the whole season. I do want to add, I think we'll still get "What's my mother's name?". But I think it will be different. In much the same way we got "fix him" as more a grieving pleading rather than an angry desperation, I think we'll have Scanlan asking that not to blame VM for not caring about him, but more as an illustration of how he doesn't have any family left, and why he needs to be with Kaylie now.

[@khain37]

They show the snippet of her leaving in the promo trailer so it's likely the former. I expect that the group reaches out to her tell her of scanlans condition and she shows up. She probably tells him to make a choice which ends up to him taking off after her. I can see scanlan still feel like he isn't being taken seriously after waking up and us still getting the outburst. Seems to have been brewing...first in season 2 with scanbo plan, then his conflicted feelings early this season leading to his outburst in ep 6 in the mansion

[@darrenrichardson6146]

This episode has so many Anime style highpoints! Overall a satisfying end to Thordek even with the changes!

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

I must say out of the faux german accents I heard this was definately one of the better ones. And I am german. ;)

[@jasonmarbach]

Nerdy out here doing his best Toymaker impression 🤣❤️ shtookie bobbies headass

[@darrenl3289]

would you say fjord is your fjavorite? for further accent inspiration, find Liam and Taliesin doing their German accents

[@BearCobb]

Caleb's long lost cousin in the intro lol

[@nothefabio]

Seems like it's the Let's F*king Go season.

[@xxJOKeR75xx]

As a German without humor i must say we don't bend o's like you did. lol

[@OptionZero]

I cannot wait to Lament and Tarry On.

[@ourabouras]

Could really go for a Taste of Tal’dori right now

[@mndrew1]

I personally 1) haven't watched critical role and 2) don't intend to; so I'm fine with spoilers. :)

[@acwolf92]

😂Kash may look like a chad, but his voice sounds like a mix of a Ron and Terry

[@motorcycleboy9000]

"Mean comment down below." There. Happy? ❤❤❤

[@ronaldjackson2290]

So somebody is trying to become a Dracolich....this just gets better and better!!!!

[@pegusus12346]

Yeah, I wonder if she'll actually succeed in the show. Might justify them needing Kiki's Vestige and help set up Vecna more.

[@alexie5201]

Kash💔😭

[@jbearclowater]

Is Grog secretly a genius?

[@wcookiv]

As a Caleb fan, I object to your use of a Zemnian accent in the intro, only to call out Fjord and not our beloved hobo wizard.

[@Chaosm03]

In interviews the CR crew has been saying they are making big changes. The changes are only going to get bigger with the M9 show. They already showed a preview of a bit that wasn't in the first episode of Campaign 2. I actually hope they go bigger on the changes and eventually make the shows unrecognizable from the Campaigs.

[@chrisburgin7599]

Your Zimnean is mid.