The second season of The Legend of Vox Machina is twelve episodes long. It begins straight after the end of the last season where there as a cliffhanger with the dragons arriving. We quickly learn how formidable the dragons are when they’re bigger, more powerful, and they team to form the “Chrome Conclave”. Vox Machina barely got out with their lives and the season quickly cements how bloody and gory it can be with all the deaths and destruction.
The shot follows the mercenary group Vox Machina, who have a seemingly random assortment of members. However, as we had seen in the first season, they work decently as a group and each one is unique and full of personality. The season continues to explore the backgrounds of the characters, covering the twins, Scanlan, Grog and Keyleth. The exciting and intense first episode soon gives way to something a bit more normally paced though as the group needs to find a way to defeat those dragons. Soon you’ll realise that the season is basically a giant fetch quest.
The group has to go from place to place in order to find the Vestiges, which are basically the weapons that will allow them to slay the dragons. It feels like an excuse to give each character their own unique powerful weapon or piece of equipment to level them up. The dragons themselves are also finding the Vestiges, so they will encounter each other from time to time. Instead of some contrived reason for the dragons to not simply overpower and kill the characters right away, we get more plausible scenarios where the characters manages to barely escape.
There are plenty of big action set pieces, at a rate of pretty much one per episode. However, the season feels that it is missing some of the spark and charm that made the first season such a hidden gem. The characters still have their camaraderie and each of them look out for each other. They all implicitly trust each other, whether they show it or not, but perhaps the story structure is starting to become same-y. There’s a bit of a ticking a checkpoint thing going as it goes through the characters and who will get their Vestiges next.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some excellent scenes, especially in what can only be described as boss battles. They’re epic and the season seems to experiment with some of its visuals. There is a lot of variety, from trippy drugged up scenes, to darker ones. The animation remains very good and while there are the occasionally sloppy scenes, 99% of the time, it is fantastic, and it seems to get better as the season progresses. There are plenty of moments where the visuals and color will stun you.
It’s hard to avoid this considering its arc but there are several plot developments which are predictable. The jokes can also be predictable. Perhaps it’s a sign of how well the characters were presented so that the viewers know them very well now, or just that the initial surprise of an animated show featuring adult sexual jokes had worn away. Regardless, while most of the time the humor is good, and there are some stellar moments where you can’t help but burst out laughing, there are also some moments where it feels bland.
At only 20-ish minutes per episode and so many vestiges to collect, this means that the pacing is face, which doubles down on the shallow feel of the storytelling. The characters barely have time to arrive to a location, quickly scout and explore the place, before they have to fight the villain or boss to obtain the Vestige. It’s over too quickly and lacks the nuance and complexity that one would expect from places that held such powerful equipment.
Towards the end of the season, while the group had progressed, you start to suspect that this arc is too long for the season and that holds true. The season finale closes off one of the big threats but the arc is far from over. The characters had made a lot of progress and it led to some huge scenes, especially the fight in the final episode. Yes, it can be predictable with how some of the characters come to terms with themselves and then throw everything they’ve got. However, it’s always good to see them fighting together as a team and playing off each other. As expected, the season again ends with a teaser but it works, as it whets your appetite.
Overall, the second season of The Legend of Vox Machina is as good as the first. While it lacks some of the surprises and has its ups and downs with its predictable writing, the visual quality has gone up a big notch. There were big scenes in every episode filled with impressive visual spectacles. The team’s chemistry is as well formed as ever, and the humor can pack quite a punch in the most unexpected of times.
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