At 5 More Minutes Podcast, we love a good animated series. Critical Role’s animated series, based on their first campaign (the one that really brought D&D into the public eye), has everything we like in a show: gore, nudity, and profanity.
Over the course of the last three years, I’ve (Kendra) become an avid consumer of D&D content. This recent foray into the realm of Dungeons and Dragons means that I missed out on Critical Role‘s inception and the glorious-ness that is Campaign 1. I did, however, spend the summer of 2020 introducing myself to and catching up The Mighty Nein (thanks pandemic-truly, the one thing I'm thankful for), and I am now a critter at heart.
When I decided to watch The Legend of Vox Machina, it was with very little knowledge of C1. I watched the first episodes and vaguely knew whose characters were who from references made in C2. While I had little knowledge of the story, I had grown to love the storytellers of Critical Role and was excited to jump in. Below is a more concise review of episodes 1-3, though we discussed them in detail on episodes 41.
Episodes 1-3: "The Terror of Tal'Dorei - Part 1", "The Terror of Tal'Dorei - Part 2", and "The Feast of Realms"
The Legend of Vox Machina likes to give you cut scenes or flashbacks at the beginning of episodes; it's a way to draw you in, a hook if you will. The series starts with a meeting of the Tal'Dorei council; for those who haven't seen Campaign 1, we haven't been introduced to who they are, but if we know anything at all about the show, we know it's not our heroes. For those that have seen C1, it sets the stage for where we are in terms of place and time, though it is stated that while they follow similar timelines/events schemes, the series is a separate entity from the stream (which is the true cannon). This means that some events play out differently (even if only slightly) for those familiar with the original stream.
When we are introduced to our heroes in the next scene, it is in a place that is very typical to Dungeons and Dragons, and we love this subtle hints of the game's tropes. The group is in a tavern, where they are kicked out for both being unable to pay and getting in a brawl. They then find a job on a job board (shoutout to another D&D trope!) that leads them to the council we saw in the first scene.
Aside from the tropes, here are the things we loved in Episode 1:
there's a blue dragon
the destruction of the village they had been in
the scene with Vax pocketing the coin
Overall, episode 1 acts as a gateway. It gives us a brief introduction to the characters, their emotions, and their place in the world. And because episodes were released in sets of three, it makes it easy to let Amazon Prime play the next video.
Episode 2 is full of relationship building for our awkward group of heroes (both with the council, the flirtatious Gilmore, and each other) as well as the casual slaying of a dragon. #nobigdeal am I right?
Our favorites from Episode 2:
Vex realizing that someone in the council is working with/connected to the dragon
Gilmore and Vax doing a bit of flirting
Grog being distracted by a steam dragonborn pin-up and the ensuing interactions with the group and Keyleth
The slaying of the dragon, Brimscythe (who is a transformed General Kreig).
Our first glimpse into the Briarwoods
Plus, Kendra's favorite doctor is 10, who just happens to be David Tennant, the voice of General Kreig. We love to see it.
Compared to the first two episodes (which seem to just give us a glimpse into our heroes' lives and what's to come), the third episode takes a much more personal turn-especially in regards to Percy.
Like we mentioned at the start of this review, they love to start episodes with cutscenes or flashbacks, and they don't hold back with Episode 3. This one, starts with a glimpse of Percy's family talking and laughing, but suddenly it cuts to Percy and his sister fleeing in the night, bloodied and chased by dogs. Percy's sister falls after being hit with multiple arrows, and he awakens from a dream.
Our favorites from Episode 3:
Our introduction to Percy's brooding: "Is there any other kind?"
Percy's mood shift as the Briarwoods arrive at the banquet (and their subsequent pushing of his buttons)
The reveal that Sylas is a vampire (though much cooler than Edward)
The discovery of The Whispered One
Percy puts his mask on for the first time
The fight scene at the end and Percy's anger at his friends for the Briarwood's escape
It seems the common theme here is our love of the way Percy and his emotions are portrayed *nervous smiles*.
We felt the drama build up at the end of this third episode was perfect for drawing the audience in and leaving them yearning more. Of course, Critical Role has a large fan base, but with their story being told in a new medium, the goal is to not only appease their current fans, but to find new ones.
Stay tuned for reviews of the remaining nein episodes and let us know what you thought of episodes 1-3 in the comments!