The Legend of Vox Machina - 2x4 - Episode 4 Reaction - Those Who Walk Away

[@MACReact]

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[@marcoboscarol2420]

In case you did not get it, Purvan is the champion of the Matron of Ravens AKA Death. The real test was accepting death and its inevitability. Also, Vax is now undead, to be precise a revenant.

[@PuffyCloud_aka_puffeclaude]

Coming back here for another rewatch, and I have to say, this episode is filled, top to bottom with all the evidence anyone needs that this is the smartest Vox Machina cold reaction series there is. Can't wait for more. Ya'll are always picking up what they're putting down, and we love you for it. ❤

[@DMG551]

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (the voice actress of Zahra) isn't just a guest character. She's actually the voice director for the show!

[@DaDunge]

10:00 To serve the godess of death you need to accept that death is inevitable.

[@phoenixdzk]

I love that they incorporated it here. Vax's offer in the stream felt like the be all & end all of the test, but even Dune & Harry Potter both stated that a true master of death was one that would confront and accept their own mortality

[@ms-literary6320]

She’s also the goddess of fate so she has some opinions on inevitability :)

[@operative2136]

Two quick bits of info regarding this episode. Vax's fight with Purvan wasn't a test of combat prowess, but rather a test to see whether Vax could accept his death and fate (both of which are the purview of the Matron of Ravens). The "Calamity" referred to in Vax's vision (without giving too complicated an explanation), was a war between two factions of gods. One faction known as "the Betrayers" believed that giving magic to mortal was a mistake that should be rectified by wiping out their creations and starting over. The other faction, known as "the Prime Deities" believed wiping out their creations was too extreme a measure.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Purv-view.

[@phoenixdzk]

Chase Noteworthy made a terrific song 'far from me' on this episode. Also, the Soundtrack for season 2 officially released yesterday!

[@E-Lykos]

I missed that it had been released! Thanks for the heads up.

[@brianewing5778]

Thanks!!! Blasting 'We All Rage' at the moment!!!! 🤘🤘🤘

[@madeking4]

Thanks for letting me know!

[@kikphlip1080]

FINALLY

[@niamhfox9559]

These last two episodes never fail to make me cry. The sound production is amazing in them, there is only a tiny bit of music and you can hear so much going on around them with the rain, birds, dripping water.

[@I.Lostalim]

Quick note on resurrection: Obviously they've customized a little for the animation, but for D&D high level Clerics can do it and Pike cast it here in stream. Normally you pay the high cost for the spell and it works, but to make death a bit more scary Matt homebrews it as a ritual and up to three people can do something to appeal to the person's spirit and then a bunch of dice rolls happen. In this instance Vax was the last to go and gave that ultimate "Take me instead you Raven Bitch!" which Matt turned into a persuasion type check.... If the rolls went badly, that would have been it, Laura would be bringing a new character to the following game.

[@ryanschramm8147]

A year later but slight correction: Pike didn't do anything. In the stream Kashaw was there and he was the one who cast the spell. We don't get into it in the show because we don't have time for backstories, but tl;dr, Kashaw's goddess he gets his powers from is....crazy and evil and so Matt's warning was "if you use enough power to do this ritual, she might find you," whichhe didn't care and did it anyway.

[@christopherkowalczyk4405]

Lots of folks don't notice Pikes god in the background. The one with the glowing head and huge sword is the dawnfather, who planted the sun tree in Whitestone. Critical Role made a video about the history of exandria. Pretty short, gives you all the background you need for the world, and has no spoilers for the shows.

[@LandonTheDM]

Percy did want to apologize but Vax also said now wasn't a good time. He needed time to process, Percy probably wouldn't have gotten slugged if he had took the cue to hold off on the apology and come back later.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

I think Vax still would've hit him. The fact Percy triggered the trap would be an important detail for Vax.

[@LandonTheDM]

@@ShadowyFox_86 nah, very literally Vax told him "now isn't a good time", it would have been crazy odd to say that then, if they are walking away, just run over to catch up and slug them out of nowhere. He punched Percy because he pushed the subject to make Vax deal with him at that exact second instead of letting him cool a bit

[@enemerye]

"He was the goth of the group." SO TRUE! Vax is our edgy sad boy and you nailed that😆

[@Shornaal13]

Liam is the resident emo, always.

[@Reblwitoutacause]

Liam "Art Dad" 🖤

[@DevilWearsAdidas]

Uh, excuse me. @executivegoth, my man Talesin would love to disagree with 'goth of the group' lmfao

[@yiklongtay6029]

15:58 Well you are mostly correct. Many gods gave their champions vestiges. But not every Vestige is associated with a god. The term Vestiges are used for any legendary equipment created during the Calamity. So there will be a few created by incredibly capable mortals like powerful wizards or maybe someone who watched way too many DIY videos.

[@daisybeam3357]

There are so many fantastic table-to-screen moments in this season as well! It would be cool to react to those at the end of the season like you did with season 1!

[@xboxman1710]

Regarding who the Deathwalker's Ward was meant to go to I believe Matt had originally intended it to go to Percy, but once Vax made his covenant with the Matron to get Vex back his fate was sealed and he became the new champion.

[@niamhfox9559]

Liam/Vax was at the time going to multiclass into a paladin of the Everlight (Pike's goddess) if I remember right? Laura's roll really changed the direction of everything.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

Matt has given two answers on this. One is that Percy was a possibility for it but he'd left options open. He's also said who the other possible ones were: Vex and Vax. Thematically, we can see the Percy elements, but sometimes the dice do decide the future.

[@carlotacosta9193]

I love the Matron of Ravens, she's such an interesting character

[@kyokonightstorm5844]

I recognize that shirt, I have the same one! I enjoyed Moon Knight so much, and the Tomb of the Moon God shirt was so nice. Also, mechanically speaking, upon making this deal with the Matron, Vax took a level in Paladin to represent his new service to the Matron. And assassin rogue/oath of vengeance paladin is a combo with some *massive* damage output potential. He also gets Lay on Hands, allowing his to act as a sort of EMT, bringing someone back to consciousness so that regular healers can get to them.

[@jetvulcan2020]

the pokeball is what they jokingly call the neckless in the campaign as well

[@d.k.t.3380]

Fun note: "Kash" was played by Will Freidle, who happened to be Marisha Ray's (Keyleth) childhood crush. When he found out, he had Kash flirt with Keyleth at every opportunity. Also of note: GM Matt Mercer is Marisha's S/O (I don't know if they were married at this time but were very much together). Marisha's childhood crush is "flirting with her" in front of her husband, and everyone is laughing at how uncomfortable she is getting. And they are all still friends. The circle of friends is like that! lmao

[@kenmarable]

Yep, I remember Matt & Marisha got married between Campaign 1 and 2 because they wanted the extra time off between campaigns and they are such nerds, Matt said he wrote up most of his ideas for the Mighty Nein campaign while they were on their honeymoon. :)

[@tlaragihai5953]

7:05 your predictions about figthing the previous owner of the armor were true :33 "They really shouldn`t made fun of his name" - haha yes! There is a joke somewhere that fight in the vision was not a trial, but actually is Purvan who _really_ wanted a revenge on Vax for making fun of his name :DDDD 8:42 perfect sync :DD Respect for recognizing Ripley - even with foreshadowing in ep 2, not many people connect the dots (I`m not shaming anybody, of course you can forget something, i just think it`s funny that almost *nobody* remembers/recognizes her). This woman, of course, has _plans_ . 15:25 there *was* Everlight in the Calamity vision, in the background, but you still can spot her (and i think you did!). All those figures (except for the sphinx and Purvan) are actually gods, who fought their own divine war. Your reactions are such a joy and giving me life, thank you!! :333333

[@hootponca77397]

11:27 to be fair i would have done the same if someone got my sister killed. Also vax is still mad at Percy for keeping secrets and the gun pointing too.

[@Vaillle]

For narrative purposes they had to make Zara’s character more antagonistic for the show than what transpired in game. Where Vex says in the 3rd episode that she thought of her as a friend, that’s more like what happened in game. Zara’s personality is done well in the show despite her distrust of Vox Machina. She’s loyal to the Take and her companions but can be ruthless to those she considers enemies. In game she went on a hunt with half the group and they became good friends during it.

[@NovaStorm0506]

I just realized Vax's upgrade is so fitting since his voice actor also voiced the Flash in Injustice

[@yiklongtay6029]

One thing legends of vox machina is going to have to fight hard against is "death fatigue". When you kill characters and plot device them back to life enough times, the audience will no longer feel engaged. D&D enables this with instant revive spells. to LOVM's credit, they are doing their best to communicate when people are gravely injured or actually dead to cut down on the death counter

[@Jeeboi27]

Well the deaths that are happening here in this series are just based on what happened to the actual campaign they played...and to their credit, instead of the outright revives that revivication spells does on traditional D&D, Matt Mercer incorporated a homebrewed revivication ritual when attempting to resurrect someone. This made character deaths more daunting and harder to deal with than the usual...

[@yiklongtay6029]

​@@Jeeboi27 Lots to discuss with your reply. I have no cohrent full thesis. Here are some disconnected thoughts: 1) FUnny enough, this is the first canonical death in the campaign too (excluding pre briarwood arc events). So if anything is devaluing the impact of death, its all of the fake out near deaths like Keyleth/Vex in the ziggurat and later ones in the season. 2) Interesting to see that Kash's spell sets the precedent that you don't need the three offerings used in Matt's homebrew. Hopefully Pike learns from him and modifies it to improve the success rate or something

[@suntiger745]

@@Jeeboi27 I think they are holding back on the deaths because Matt's ritual component for resurrection is excellent for DnD, where it comes down to a roll of the dice and creates a lot of tension. But in the animation, there is no good way to translate that dice roll tension. It was a improved ttrpg, but now it is the plot. With that, it becomes much harder to create tension when a character dies. Especially now people know resurrections are possible, so they will expect it the next time it happens. There are still ways to create tension in the animation of course. Pike or another cleric might not be available. Resurrection magic might not work in certain areas. They might be more strict with the limit on how much time can pass before a resurrection becomes impossible. Still, it will be a challenge. On the other hand, they have made other changes too and I like most of them a lot, so i trust they will be able to handle any deaths well.

[@Ironoclasty]

In a role-playing game, death is negotiable. Unfortunately, story deaths already have a stigma attached to them in the form of cliff-hangers - it's a standard practice to make it seem like there's "no way out" for the hero, and often that means creating the illusion of death. But in this story, the death was actual, and it came down to what others were prepared to do and the consequences of their choices. So, they have to blend the story from the campaign with the story of the series. I think they did an outstanding job, myself. But I do recognize that there is plenty of room for criticism.

[@hhylobates4098]

Yeah no matter how many comments try to hammer away at the "There is no plot armor!! Anyone could die!!", that's going to wear thin as characters keep not-dying or not-staying dead. I too think making the near deaths so overly dramatic undercuts the weight of the moments; it turns then into a story beat instead of something that spontaneously happens.

[@DaDunge]

5:00 You sell your soul to devils and demons, god's make covenants. It's way more serious.

[@theanyktos]

So everything with Zahra and Kashaw happened quite a bit differently in the campaign, but the changes make sense for the show. In the game Vox Machina first met Z&K on their first trip to Vasselheim, before the Briarwood Arc. That part of the campaign isn't getting animated, so they changed it so that only the twins had met them. And although there was a... misunderstanding about a hydra, that all got resolved on that trip, there was never a bounty and VM actually became members of the Slayer's Take. So when VM went back to Vasselheim to get help after the dragons attacked, they were already friends with Z&K and didn't have to do a whole lot of convincing to get them to help. Z&K never intended to get the armour for themselves, nor released a deadly monster on them (the monster they were fighting in the game just lived in that tomb, and the fight happened before Vex died, not like here after, to show off Vax's newfound abilities). So the show made them a whole lot more antagonistic, which kind of makes me sad, because I really liked their friendship in the campaing, but it makes sense, since it adds tension and is a bit more interesting as a character introduction than 'oh these are some old friends, they're gonna help us'.

[@tlaragihai5953]

I just hope they will continue developing relationships between VM and Zahra/Kash. Because those 2 eps were absolutely not enough.

[@phoenixdzk]

Matt never intended the locket to be a Pokeball but that's how Vex used it. They originally found it on Purvan's corpse. It's name is Raven's Slumber, and in the stream it housed Purvan's pet wolf, Galdrick, who is canonically one of the oldest surviving re-calamity beings

[@kikphlip1080]

It makes sense re-writing it like this since nothing really happened with Galdrick even though it felt like Matt was dangling a battle-pet for Grog almost.

[@phoenixdzk]

@@kikphlip1080 yeah it's mostly for people who watched Lovm & went straight into watching ExU Calamity

[@hhylobates4098]

? He definitely put it in there for Vex to use with Trinket, even if he didn't think of it as a pokeball that was its intended function.

[@kikphlip1080]

@H Hylobates definitely, if anything he just didn't want in-character banter to refer to it as a "pokeball" since Pokémon does not exist in Exandria

[@kaitlynwickham6237]

You're the first reaction channel I've seen that noticed Ripley's new hand.

[@hanziggy6862]

That alien creature reminded me of Kodos from The Simpsons, without the glass helmet, and Kashaw reminds me of Quinlan Vos.

[@Raptor213]

The thing about the show is that what the characters do or what happens to them is not based off the plot. It's based off the real decisions of the players in the D&D game this comes from and the whims of the dice. If they roll a saving throw on a dangerous attack and fail they could very well die.

[@KaraOni13]

Where percy messed up in his apology is that he said “i dont know what i wouldve done differently” LIKE HE COULDVE LISTENED TO VAX AND NOT TOUCHED ANYTHING

[@corporealghoul]

I dont know if you were told but the voice actor or Kash is the older brother from Boy Meets World.

[@LeeCarlson]

I love Zahara's passive voice response of "Mistakes were made," rather than owning up for her own error.

[@NightSterling]

How ironic is it that the one trying to get them killed/incapacitated didn't but Percy who didn't mean to got Vex killed

[@rhokesh4391]

Yes, resurrection is a thing, but it does NOT always work. For one, a cleric has to be able to get to the person on time, and then, they have to want to come back...

[@djcowell91]

Yeah, I'll type up some backstory for the world here that isn't given in the show, but I'll leave some space in case people count it as spoilers. Exandria (the world) was created by elementals and titans and the like. The gods found it and made it their own (colonized it... 🙂 ) The gods lived ON the planet beside mortals. Lots of stuff happens that is more detail than one gives in a comment, but the relevant part is that about 1,000 years ago the gods went to war with each other. So yes, that was the Everlight you saw in that vision along with the Dawnfather (the big guy with a sun for a head.) The gods fighting on the planet had the potential to destroy the world, so all the good gods banded together to lock ALL the gods away from the planet. Now they live on the outer planes and have to work through their mortal agents, like clerics, cults, and other various holy people. That's a WAY simplified version of history for a quick comment, so please don't nit-pick me to death other critters. 🙂

[@hhylobates4098]

Where'd you get the titans creating the world from? We have conflicting creation myths and info about the schism but that's not part of any of it.

[@djcowell91]

@@hhylobates4098 In both Wildemount and and Tal'Dorei books, the founding is described as "Long ago, this world was one of tumultuous and chaotic forces, naught but unbridled fires and churning, jagged rock. Through the ashen skies of Creation Primordial, the gods came from beyond the ether, new and formless. Looking on this roiling realm, they saw potential for great beauty, great strength, and the chance to learn their own place in creation." The gods then go on to make elves, dragons, humans, etc, but then several paragraphs later the Primordial Elementals rise against them - without them creating the elementals. So as I said, that was a brief version...

[@johnnydee6335]

I would LOVE to watch you guys react to more vox machina/critical role related content. There's A LOT of cool stuff to react to.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

So the good news is that Vax wearing the armor isn't necessarily bad. And he's not dead, so that's not so much a concern either. The Matron wasn't required to take his life; she instead took HIM, specifically as her new champion. He didn't sell his soul because she doesn't traffic in those. He offered himself. The Matron isnt evil, but she also isn't good. She's neutral and very much matter-of-fact in the way she views her domains of death and fate. I noticed this in the last episode, but I have to definitely add this in. Because this is based on a D&D game, the trope of not killing off main characters (or at least not early) doesn't apply here. Living and being permanently dead often come to be based on a dice roll. You can't expect people to survive based on that trope. Vex did die (the first true death in the animated show), and in this instance, had Vax not made his offer Vex would've stayed dead. The ritual to save her failed, but the Matron decided not to take her and allowed her to return to life. Like Kash said, she's too strong in her own temple.

[@darrenl3289]

even Trinket got a hardcore back story lol. This is, to me, the real start of the campaign. This is the event that sets into motion the character arc that affects everyone. Pro tip: Be careful when you tell the Goddess of Death to take you instead... she doesn't mess around lol

[@bscrivener2009]

Nice shirt Madison!

[@legendsofabhaile]

you guys are my favorite!

[@yiklongtay6029]

Fun fact. Before the events of LOVM, Taliesin played a dragonborn paladin character. He died and Percy was the next character he created. Assuming Matt designed vestiges to be tailor made to his players, my theory was that the armor would have worked for Taliesin's lost character. He just quietly retconned it from heavy armor fit for a paladin to light armor fit for rogues. 16:45 Because for sure Taliesin is the gothiest goth in the group.

[@kenmarable]

The cast has discussed this and Taliesin's dragonborn character was long before this storyline and back when they just played once every several months and before a lot of the big story arcs started. Matt planned the armor to original be for Percy (playing off of the plague doctor bird-like mask), but in hindsight they all agreed that it was perfect for Vax especially with this whole story arc. A great example of how the game is loosely planned but all that is at the whim of the cast's improving and the dice rolls, which often make an even more interesting story than the original plan.

[@yiklongtay6029]

​@Ken Marable I never heard of matt confirming it was for the dragon born.

[@Nyo_Fight]

cool

[@BlunderMunchkin]

In D&D resurrection is easy, so I like that in this case it still had consequences.

[@vijayanand6650]

Matt has rules where is isn’t guaranteed to work and they are things the other players can to to affect the likelihood of success. I use similar rules for my games.

[@OptionZero]

Death is a real occurrence in D&D, but it can be fairly easily remedied magic. It’s simply a matter of game mechanics. In a scripted show, however, death must have meaning. Translating the game to a show poses this problem. Part of what they did was significantly de-powering the characters, who all had way more stuff they could do at the table. Making them less powerful makes challengers more dramatic. The other thing they did was attach consequences - as we see here, neither life nor death in this world is free, and over the season, we’ll see the true cost.

[@allocat5867]

Fun fact, in the campaign, the players called the amulet a poke ball as well. For some reason, Matt asked them to stop calling it "poke ball". 7 years later, that is still the decision of his that I like the least.

[@TenebrousFilms]

Vax offered his life in exchange, and the Raven Queen accepted. His life belongs to her now, but he needed to be tested. Once he accepted death, she awakened the armour. (Vestiges have three states: dormant, awakened, exalted.) Would you believe cosplayers had not only recreated the Deathwalker's Ward, but even included the glowy bits, by the time the season ended? Beholders are the second most dangerous monster (under dragons), but they're trademarked, so the show had to tweak it. Vax had Boots of Haste long before this, but they decided to bundle the effect into the armour. Also, the pokeball was Purvan's, and contained his wolf companion; the interior is a stone room with a throne in the middle, and the crystal is like a window to see through. The wolf ended up guarding the forests around Whitestone for the rest of its life. Not many recognise Ripley at the end. Amazing what a bath and a haircut, new clothes and a new hand, can do for a person. Fun fact, the scrying orb was originally Keyleth's, and Ripley used an enchanted gem in her firearm (that Percy is now using) to eavesdrop on VM. She didn't visit Victor for black powder until she heard Percy do it first. She never made an appearance at this point, originally; they're keeping her relevant until her showdown in season 3.

[@hhylobates4098]

?? That orb isn't Keyleths, you shouldn't be spoiling the thing with Retort, and Percy went to Victor after Ripley had already been there.

[@TenebrousFilms]

@@hhylobates4098 I'm referring to the livestream version of events. Keyleth got the Scrying Eye from one of Hotis' assassins; it was used several times for the rest of the campaign. There's nothing to spoil about Retort since Ripley's using the orb in this version. Anyone who's been paying attention knows Percy repaired and started using the broken firearm he took from Ripley, when they released her. Originally, Ripley learned of Victor by spying on Percy during his first visit; Percy didn't ask about other customers until his second visit. As with everything else, they streamlined things for the animated version.

[@WaywardVet]

Never say "Baby Trinket" again. Someone will make a plush doll. But this is the internet, someone has probably done it if I've thought it.

[@user-jt1js5mr3f]

As I’m sure plenty have said, with this show and Meighty Nein there is no such thing as, “losing characters this early.” The game doesn’t pull punches and every encounter can end in death. This is a traditional story written by a writer that makes choices like that, it’s an honest adaptation of choice and chance, so there is NO such thing as plot armor. Everyone is truly at risk.

[@brianewing5778]

You'll learn more in episode 11 but Vax is 'special' and its the reason why he's able to see the Raven Queen in episode 1 and in this one. His deal with her was basically 'when I die I will serve you for eternity if you let my sister live', why he was wearing the armor. The beast they fought was called an Onlooker which is supposed to mimic the D&D Beholder which is what they originally fought in the stream, but due to copywrite rules, they couldn't call it a Beholder in the show.

[@kikphlip1080]

Dude. Why blow the reveal? The show is trying to tell the story its way, let it.

[@yiklongtay6029]

​@Hunter Hazard a bit in the grey area zone. A lot of this can ba deduced from the episode and it was a lot more obvious in the campaign's version of the same scene. LOVM slightly struggles with communicating ideas. So if you stretch a tiny bit, this is more of a comment that corrects someone's misunderstanding rather than a spoiler.

[@brianewing5778]

@@kikphlip1080 They figured this all out already so nothing was spoiled.

[@kikphlip1080]

@@yiklongtay6029 Vax's journey is the misunderstanding. The whole point of his arc this season is that he doesn't understand the deal he made. It's not a grey area.