In the third season of animated series The Legend of Vox Machina, the titular adventuring party continues their struggle against the Chroma Conclave, a deadly alliance of powerful chromatic dragons. Along the way, they deal with family relationships, romance, personal demons, and even a side trip to the depths of hell. The Legend of Vox Machina is adapted from the first campaign of Critical Role, a long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign DMed by Matthew Mercer and featuring a star-studded cast of actors.
Game Rant had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming season with the entire core cast of The Legend of Vox Machina. Participants included Ashley Johnson (Pike Trickfoot), Laura Bailey (Vex’ahlia Vessar), Liam O’Brien (Vax’ildan Vessar/Vorugal), Marisha Ray (Keyleth), Matthew Mercer (Trinket/various other voices), Sam Riegel (Scanlan Shorthalt), Taliesin Jaffe (Percival de Rolo), and Travis Willingham (Grog Strongjaw). The group discussed the key conflicts of Season 3, how the party’s romantic relationships develop, what it was like returning to Vox Machina years after the conclusion of the campaign, and more. This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Related Nomada Devs Discuss The Making of Neva
Game Rant speaks with the founders of Nomada Studio about the making of Neva, how it differs from Gris, its main themes and art, and much more.
Matthew Mercer Plays Many Roles In Season 3
Q: Matthew, fans love spotting the cameo characters who look like you throughout the season. Do you have any particular favorites or standouts in Season 3?
MERCER: There’s definitely one. I think we saw a clip of it on social media, but the spice merchant in Ank’Harel was definitely my favorite for a number of reasons. One, it’s such an iconic little nod to the original campaign that I got to voice for it, to make it silly, but I didn’t know at the time that it was going to look like me. The art team, once again, just likes to throw that in there to mess with me. And I couldn’t say no, at that point. So that was definitely my favorite cameo – though Sam has a preference for the one of watching me getting horribly mauled by demons in Hell. Which, you know, I think there’s some subtext there I can read. [Laughs]
RIEGEL: [Laughs] Yeah!
Q: Music plays such a big role in The Legend of Vox Machina, especially via Scanlan as the party’s bard. Are there any particularly fun or notable musical moments in Season 3? Any favorites?
RIEGEL: Without giving away too many spoilers, Scanlan – and the whole gang, really – get to sing a big number together at the beginning of an episode that’s really fun. Very catchy, very “ear-wormy,” and it was a delight to see animated.
But my favorite music of the season, I have to say, are the songs that Matthew Mercer sings. He delivers a song in character that’s really fun, and it’s a nod to our second campaign. Then, he delivers a really sad song at a pivotal moment in the show that I think is just so cool, and unlike anything I’ve ever heard him do. Unlike anything we’ve ever done on the show. So I was thrilled that we could afford him.
MERCER: [Facetious] Making me do it.
RIEGEL: His rate is steep. Like $100 or so.
MERCER: He gets the friends discount. I give him $90.
The Season Is About Personal Conflicts For The Group
Q: Speaking of pivotal moments, this season has some interesting relationship developments for Percy and Vex’ahlia. How would you describe it?
BAILEY: They’re my favorite couple.
JAFFE: It’s hot. It’s steamy. That makes me happy.
BAILEY: Yeah, you know. Let the other couple be sensitive. We’ll just be sexy times over here.
JAFFE: As it should be.
Q: It’s nice to see Percy finally get a break after two seasons of suffering. Season 1 and Season 2 saw Percy facing his demons and dealing with some very personal conflicts.
JAFFE: Oh, we’ll get back to that. It’s nice to have Percy get a good thing, but we’ll be getting into his demons for the next 30 years of his life. [Laughs] He’s not a character who often gets happiness and indulges in it. It’s nice to see and put out what I feel is a very real relationship, less broad than you often get in media.
BAILEY: I like that. You get to see, for both of them – they have these stiff walls, but those walls come down a bit with each other. The beautiful thing about this season is that the conflicts are very personal in multiple ways. I won’t go into it too much, but Vex’ahlia is dealing with a lot of past grief and present grief while trying to overcome these villains.
Q: Another character who has a really personal struggle this season is Scanlan, who found out in Season 2 that he has a daughter, Kaylie, he hadn’t known about. How does this affect him going into Season 3?
RIEGEL: Even though Kaylie said “I don’t want to see you anymore,” Scanlan can’t help himself. He’s drawn to her because he’s never had a real relationship with anybody. He’s definitely going to pursue Kaylie this season, make some inroads and discover some stuff about himself – about how hard he needs to try versus how hard he does try and what it means to really matter to someone and how that’s very scary. So, at the end of the season, he’s a very different Scanlan than when we began. For sure.
Returning To Vox Machina Years After The Campaign
Q: Matthew, you’ve been in a lot of projects lately – sometimes it feels like your voice is everywhere. What was it like, balancing making Season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina alongside all these other projects?
MERCER: I don’t think my voice is that everywhere. Maybe it is. I should sleep at some point in the future.
Q: You were in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Baldur’s Gate 3, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth…
MERCER: No fair! You speedran the Mercer experience over the past couple years. [Laughs] My apologies.
But, I mean, it’s the challenge all of us have. All of us are balancing 700 things. But also the benefit of us, as friends, all collaborating together, is we can all kind of take each other’s slack when we need to, and lean on each other when we need support.
I won’t lie. It’s been a challenging few years, because so much is going on. But also, I remember days in my life when I went months at a time with nothing, and was living a very challenging day-to-day anxious existence asking “how was I going to make rent?” So I’m appreciative to have these opportunities now, and am fully aware that they can all go away tomorrow. So I’m just embracing the moment while I can. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
Q: Speaking to that, what has it been like for all of you working on this TV show together as friends, and coming back to a story you told many years ago as your first DND campaign?
JAFFE: I don’t want to say comforting – that’s not exactly it. It’s warm. I feel a warmth, like seeing old high school friends. [Laughs] They’re still a mess.
BAILEY: It feels like you’re coming home again, you know, especially with as much as we do have going on. Playing Campaign Three, and also exploring Mighty Nein right now with that animated series, to come back to Vox Machina, every single time we get to, it feels like you’re putting on a warm blanket.
Related Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Director Discusses Challenge Maps, Narrative Direction, and More
In an interview with Game Rant, Batman: Arkham Shadow game director Ryan Payton talks about challenge maps and how story intersects with gameplay.
1
Battling Chromatic Dragons & Traveling To The Depths Of Hell
Q: Travis, Season 3 is a very dark time for Vox Machina, but Grog still has this amazing sense of humor and positive attitude. How does he maintain that while going through so much?
WILLINGHAM: You know, I think we’ve said it before, but ignorance is bliss when you’re entering the Hells and you’re just looking for a sandwich, as it’s hard not to be optimistic. I think one of the other things is that it also helps ground the rest of the group while they’re considering all the potential possibilities and using their big brains to strategize.
It’s also kind of nice to have that really simple point of view that might just need to point out that if you pick up that heavy thing and roll it down the hill, it might smash the thing you’re trying to stealthily target. So, you know, it’s a nice mix of yin and yang. Of brilliant, stealthy, intelligent, super-powered people and a dum-dum.
Q: On the other side of the spectrum, Season 3 is a very tough time for Keyleth. The team is dealing with the dragon Raishan, who is a very personal enemy for Keyleth. What is that like for her?
RAY: Yeah, I mean, you’re kind of getting the origin of the Raishan and Keyleth rivalry. It’s just brutal – I don’t want to spoil too much, we’ll see how it goes. I feel like it’s definitely a war of wits between both of them.
Q: Speaking of dragons, Liam, you have the cool opportunity this season to both voice your heroic character Vax’ildan and the white dragon Vorugal. What is it like having to switch between hero and villain roles?
O’BRIEN: I was so excited to be a big brute of a dragon. Vax has got so much weight and conflict and pain, and Vorugal just gets to hunt and destroy. It feels good to take the frontal lobe out and go more primal – right, Travis?
WILLINGHAM: One hundred percent!
Q: While the dragons are the main conflict this season, we also do get to see some members of Vox Machina embark on a journey to Hell. Ashley, what is that journey like for Pike as a cleric, with her faith being so important to her?
JOHNSON: It’s a nightmare. It represents everything that Pike does not stand for. She doesn’t feel well while she’s there – physically, mentally, emotionally. It’s not a safe space for her. Hell is not a safe space for Pike, and we see that. We see her wrestle with the connection she has with the Everlight while she’s there, and the choices that she has to make for the group and for the world. Having to go to those dark places – sometimes you just have to do it. But I love it. I love that inner conflict that we get to explore with Pike this year.
Relationships Are At The Center Of Season 3
Q: Does Pike rely on her friendship with Grog as she’s going through these struggles?
JOHNSON: Of course. I think she relies on everybody, but Grog specifically. They’re family. He’s her big brother. And I think he’s able to read where she’s at – I don’t think she would have gone there had he not been there as well. I love their friendship.
WILLINGHAM: I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about the character relationships. As we encounter gods and chromatic dragons and other realms, you’ve got the twins who are siblings, and that’s grounding. There’s Pike and Grog, who grew up together, and that’s grounding. You’ve got Percy and Keyleth, who are both white collar, like royalty. And that’s grounding as well. And so, you can always come back to that omphalos of – boy, it’s just us. It’s us against the world. How are we going to do this? And that’s relatable.
Q: Another relationship is Vax and Keyleth, who ended Season 2 on an ambiguous note. Do we see some developments there this season?
RAY: Oh, you see some developments. You see some un-developments. They’re definitely caught up in the roller coaster that is their duties. It’s always been a rubber band, I feel like.
O’BRIEN: They will try to squeeze in a little time for each other as the world burns. Star-crossed lovers. Vax has a lot on his plate this season – but don’t they all? Shout out to Grog for not noticing 80% of what’s going on. That’s the way to be.
Q: What is it like returning to this relationship of Vax and Keyleth – you played it once in the campaign, now you’re playing it on screen. Is it different?
RAY: I think there’s a certain amount of sadness to revisiting it. Because, you know, we were just going with the flow in the campaign. Just seeing where it went. But we know how their relationship ends up. So there’s a certain amount of tragedy, retracing these steps. Because if anyone is currently caught up with the campaign – Bells Hells, Campaign 3 – it’s pretty rough for the two of them.
O’BRIEN: You know, at least at the table, which was hundreds of hours, there was time occasionally for a breather or a little more levity. But we’re on such a fast schedule, with a doomsday clock, in the animated series that we really don’t have too much time to sit around and chill. There’s no chill – and no Netflix.
The Legend of Vox Machina ActionAdventureFantasy Release Date January 25, 2022 Seasons 2 Number of Episodes 24 Streaming Service(s) Amazon Prime Video
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Trend
