The Legend of Vox Machina is a chance for the cast of Critical Role to revamp their first campaign. Sometimes this means that characters who were not present at certain events are now allowed to play larger roles. In other cases, this means delving into the lore and mythology of Exandria that has yet to be fleshed out after Vox Machina completed its first run in 2017.
In the case of the latest episodes, this means that a small gameplay problem becomes a big emotional moment. And the cast was all for it.
[Ed. note: This post contains massive spoilers for the newest episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina, as well as spoilers for the Vox Machina Critical Role campaign.]
The seventh episode of The Legend of Vox Machina ends with gunfighter Percy de Rolo (Taliesin Jaffe) showing mercy to the devious Anna Ripley (Kelly Hu). And instead of taking it, she shoots him in the chest and he drops dead.
There is a similar moment in the campaign, but the rest of the group manages to quickly get Percy to a temple and revive him. However, in the show it looks like he will stay dead.
“We were able to get him back very quickly in the campaign, but I think that can lose some of its seriousness when you’re constantly reviving someone who’s died over and over again,” explains Laura Bailey, the voice of half-elf ranger Vex’ahlia. “So in order to get us to come to terms with that and experience that grief, I think it had to be prolonged.”
“And give him consequences,” Jaffe adds. “There are definitely consequences left.”
There’s no shortage of ways to bring back a fallen companion in Dungeons & Dragons. But having a resurrection option is a great way to do that not For example, if you completely lose morale when facing a tough opponent while playing at the table with your friends, or on a television show, a simple resurrection cheapens the ever-rising stakes.
“We wanted death to have a consequence,” says Travis Willingham, who plays the barbarian Grog and also writes for the series. “We wanted it to have weight, otherwise if a character dropped out it would just feel fleeting and not be a big deal. So it was really time to get a sense of what’s important about these characters and how fragile they really can be and how fleeting some of it is if you’re not careful.”
Percy’s death sends an emotional shockwave through the entire group. And unlike other heavy moments in the show, versions of which they had previously played through during the game’s actual campaign, this storyline was new and particularly raw. Since Vex’ahlia and Percy have a romantic relationship – which they finally made happen this season – Bailey found dealing with grief particularly satisfying, exhausting as it was.
“We left the sessions and just felt terrible the rest of the day, but I think it was necessary,” Bailey says. “We started the entire series and [Vex] is very distant, closed off from the start. It was the same in the election campaign. As a person, she was tough because she felt like she had to be. But I wanted to make sure that in the series we found out why she was like that and really see those walls come crashing down. And through her grief and regret, of being closed off and not letting him know what he meant to her, she was able to grow as a person. I don’t think she would have made it if it wasn’t for the trauma.”
There was one Person who, however, did not face a major emotional challenge.
“It was easy for me,” says Jaffe.
“You just close your eyes,” Bailey adds.
New episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina Drops every Thursday.