The Legend of Vox Machina, the animated series based on the acclaimed live-play Dungeons and Dragons podcast Critical Role, returned to Amazon Prime on January 20th. Following the adventures of a group of oddball heroes collectively called Vox Machina, fans have been eagerly waiting to return to the fantasy world of Exandria. But as the new season begins, fans have a lot of burning questions about the direction the show might go and what storylines from Season 2 might return.
While the first season offered a ton of Dungeons and Dragons style thrills, the second season looks to up the stakes even further and put Vox Machina into conflicts that may be even more dire.
10 Will The Chroma Conclave Be As Compelling As The Briarwoods?
In the first season of The Legend of Vox Machina we were introduced to the Briarwoods, a family of Vampires who'd taken over and destroyed Percival De Rolo's (voiced by Taliesen Jaffe) life and childhood home of Whitestone. The conflict was extremely personal, and led to some of the most emotional scenes of the first season, from Percy's desire for revenge (augmented by The List, his weapon that seemed to possess a dark spirit) to the revelation that his sister Cassandra was alive and seemingly corrupted by the Briarwoods. The entire emotional arc of the first season relied on the Briarwoods being compelling villains that the audience loved to hate.
This presents an interesting problem for the second season, as the first season ended with 3 dragons flying toward Vox Machina. Listeners of the podcast will recognize this as the beginning of the Chroma Conclave arc. While this arc has higher stakes than the Briarwood arc (with the fate of the world hanging in the balance) the conflict is much less personal and won't offer the same emotional connections that provided the first season with its heart. It'll be interesting to see how the show translates this into something that resonates with the audience on a more personal level.
9 Will Sylas' Sword Corrupt Grog?
During the Briarwood arc, Grog (the lovable Goliath Barbarian voiced by Travis Willingham) acquired Sylas' Briarwood's Sword. There were hints in the first season that the sword may have a corrupting influence, which makes sense given the previous owner.
Will we see Grog have to wrestle with the sword's influence? Or worse, could it be a remnant of Sylas himself? Only time will tell if the sword will play a part in season 2's narrative and how it may affect Grog.
8 Will Pike Stay In Tune With The Everlight?
In season 1, Pike Trickfoot (the gnome cleric voiced by Ashley Johnson) was confronted with a choice by her god, the enigmatic Everlight. Would she choose the path of holy piousness, or the path of the warrior to fight alongside the rest of Vox Machina. She chose the path of the warrior and saved her friends during a critical moment. But while it seemed that she was finally in sync with The Everlight, the god's mysterious nature could mean her faith will be tested once more in season 2.
Will we see her once again have to face The Everlight's judgment if she strays from the path she's chosen? Can she still honor her god in the fight against the Chroma Collective that will no doubt test her strength and resolve? This could play a major role in the upcoming season, and it's something fans are hoping to see more of.
7 Will Keylethe Pass Her Aramente?
Keylethe, the half-elf druid (voiced by Marisha Ray), is using her adventures with Vox Machina as a chance to complete her "Aramante," or Noble's Journey. This journey requires her to travel to each of the four elemental Ashari tribes and complete a challenge. Each tribe guards the world from a portal to an elemental plane. If she succeeds she will have proven her ability to lead and will be chosen as the leader of her tribe.
While this is a storyline that could last the whole series, seeing her progress in Season 2 could be a highlight. She's become more confident after Season 1, so it'll be interesting to see how she grows into her role through Season 2.
6 What's The Deal With Scanlan?
Scanlan, the gnome bard voiced by Sam Reigel, acted as comic relief throughout the first season of the show (while also offering many a musical number). However, his backstory wasn't explored much throughout the first season, leaving him as a big question mark in comparison to the rest of Vox Machina, despite his charismatic and bold personality.
Season 2 could give viewers the chance to dive into the character and learn more about his origins. While it might be hard to imagine a deep story for such a funny character, exploring how he became who he is could provide plenty of stories for Season 2.
5 Has Percy Truly Rid Himself of "The List?"
The Briarwood arc focused on Percy. While he was able to save his childhood home of Whitestone and rid it of the Briarwoods thanks to the rest of Vox Machina's help, The List, Percy's first weapon, may leave lingering effects. The List made him more vengeful and changed who he was. While the weapon was destroyed at the end of the first season, the idea that it might leave lingering side effects is still possible.
It'll be interesting to see if there's any more to this story. It could be that the memory of who he was under the weapon's influence continues to haunt him, and the weapon itself held such power it may not be completely gone.
4 Was The Dragon Who Killed Vax and Vex's Mother Part Of The Chroma Conclave?
With The Chroma Conclave, a group of dragons, being the primary antagonists of Season 2, it's fair to wonder if Vex and Vax (the half-elf twins voiced by Laura Bailey and Liam O'Brien respectively) may play a prominent part in the season.
It was revealed during Season 1 that their mother was killed by a dragon, so whether that dragon was part of this conclave could be a key part of Season 2. While we got a decent amount of development for both characters during Season 1 (including Vax's romance with Keylethe) we could be in for even more backstory for the twin characters.
3 How Closely Will It Follow The Podcast?
The Legend of Vox Machina is based on Critical Role, the popular Dungeons and Dragons podcast. While the first season made some small deviations from the source material, the question of how much Season 2 will deviate from the podcast still remains.
While the story will change just because of the medium it's in (condensing hours of podcasting into a TV episode automatically changes the nature of the story) it'll be interesting to see if there are any twists not present in the podcast. While the source material is great, adding a few wrinkles to surprise podcast fans could do the show a lot of good.
2 Will The Show Lean Further Into Its Dungeons & Dragons Roots?
The show being based on Dungeons and Dragons is interesting, and it shines through in so many ways, from the spells that are cast to the races of the characters. For anyone who plays the game, the roots of the universe are obvious. But could the show take this connection even further?
In the first season, Matt Mercer, Dungeon Master for Critical Role, appeared in multiple cameos as minor characters, signifying his role as architect of this world. Could we see more nods to the nature of this world as a game world? This could delight D&D fans if done correctly.
1 Will It Top Season One?
This is ultimately the most important question. Season one offered a story that was equal parts thrilling, emotional, and comedic.
It will take a lot for season 2 to live up to such a high bar, and it's the main question on fans' minds.