GO BEYOND at blindwave.com and watch Full Length Reactions and 4 WEEKS Early Access!! Blind Wave BEYOND Members can watch the Full Length Reaction to this Episode HERE: blindwave.com/video/the-legend-of-vox-machina-3x07-full/
This episode is written by Marisha Ray, and Matt Mercer sang the song at the end of the episode! And I was pleased to see Ripley get a backstory (shoutout to Kimiko and Kelly for voicing the young and present Ripley)!
fun fact about the ending song, Sam said in a video that they used a My Chemical Romance song as a placeholder for that scene in the earlier stages of production
prefacing this with, given how contentious the perception of tm9s story is and some of the tone and story changes in VM im very skeptical, but the assembly being portrayed properly is one of the best signs we've gotten since the announcement teaser!
On one hand Grog's illiteracy being his biggest fear is sad with regards to that being his biggest fear/weakness, but on the other it's perfectly silly enough to pull back from the severity of the other shown fears for a comedy beat before the sad ending
As funny as the moment seems, Grog's vision of "no pictures" is deeply tragic when you recall they were shown their fears. Grog's illiteracy is his biggest fear.
Anna is very interesting because it reminds me alot of ATLA and the zuko/azula conversation. I didnt think about this before but as mentioned here Percy has his vox machina to remind him of his humanity and to pull him back whether its verbally or forcefully where Ana as far as im aware doesnt have any positive influnlences that would do such a thing. She went down a path and the people around her only pushed her down that path. Weve seen several times that if percy did not have vox he would make the same choices anna has. I can understand anna has done terrible things so it is right to not like her but i find myself as i mentioned before thinking of azula.The harshness toward her actions and comparison between her and percy even though percy was arguably given more of a chance in a way to do the right thing and maintain his goodness where as anna didnt. That is a great villain counterpart to me but i cant help but feel sympathetic.
21:05 You can ABSOLUTELY play as a Cleric without needing to worship a deity, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Jake did give the obvious answer of how it is easier with Paladins since their power mostly comes from their vow & their conviction to that vow, basically like their willpower. But Clerics are similar where their power comes from their FAITH in something, and not NECESSARILY from that source itself. So, you can absolutely flavor your source of power to be that you simply have *that much faith* in yourself! Or it can be something similar to faith that I'm simply not thinking of right now. Or if you don't like that idea, you could still say that you draw your power from a "higher force" that is simply not a god, like possibly "funneling it directly from the Positive Plane." In reality, at the end of the day, D&D is a roleplaying game where (with the DM's and other players' approval) you can make up whatever you want about your character to be true! Be wild, go insane with it, choose whatever off-the-wall, crazy nuts reason for the source of your power. You could even be a barbarian who believes their a spellcaster by hit people with a frying pan and shouting, "Cast Iron" every time! Don't feel constrained by how a class is "usually" portrayed and be as creative as you can be and want to be!
Considering what they sacrificed in order to add that, id rather they didn't. It would have been fine if they'd done SOMETHING with it, but they didn't. Their attempt to try and humanize her went nowhere. It was just wasted animation time.
@@smashbrandiscootch719 hard disagree! One of my favorite things in the animated adaptation is how we get to see some "behind the scenes" moments for important characters, like when we saw Sylas dying and Delilah's reaction to it. I LOVED Ripley in the campaign, so this extra scene was perfect for me
@@smashbrandiscootch719 "Their attempt to try and humanize her went nowhere." Except it didn't. It showed that she and Percy had similar upbringings, their homes violently taken by mages. It gives further context as to why she did it outside of just saying it happened, we see the reality of it (plus the setup for the Cerberus Assembly). And in the end, she chose to continue down a dark path, which is a very human thing to do, it shows she's stuck in her ways which a lot of people tend to be. Not really sure what you're referring to when you say "what they sacrificed", so I'm hoping you'll respond and elaborate.
@@SylvaGardenia I'm not. He's a hopeless troll who doesn't understand the difference between his precious years-long improvisation by Matt and the cast, and making a dozen 22 minute animated shows that more than a very limited number of CR geeks will actually want to watch and then COME BACK TO WATCH MORE. And the shows continuing popularity just makes him dig deeper into his bile-spewing misanthropy, to prove that most people aren't "real fans". Like him. Raging narcissism.
I'm still emotional over Percy and the song at the end. My head is still freaking out though over the fact that the mage from beginning is Mark Strong.
@@moondancer89 it was leaked the day it aired on IMDB that Mark was playing Trent in this episode but later that day they changed it to say something else instead.
I believe Residuum (stones that improve magical effects) is only in Whitestone, so Ripley's village was mining Bruumstone, which is used to make things like Skyships fly. Definitely makes sense why the Cerberus Assembly (mage group) would want to access it all.
Pike was a War Cleric at this point in the streamed game but the blood thing is new for the animated show, since this was during Ashley's time filming Blindspot in New York. Pike was mostly away from the group during the campaign and occasionally skyping in or playing at the table for a couple of weeks during breaks. So they're writing a new character arc for the show and while fans may have theories, we don't know where it's going.
People often describe Ripley as a dark mirror of Percy, but a key difference-intentional or not-is Ripley’s complete lack of empathy. She doesn’t just ignore others' suffering; she struggles to grasp motivations beyond her own. This is evident in her surprise whenever Percy prioritizes innocent lives over scientific curiosity. Ripley’s attempts to empathize always assume Percy will act like her, as she can’t imagine otherwise. In episode 11, her thoughts on Percy’s motivations further reveal just how deeply unaware of herself she truly is.
That whole dicussion about clerics powered by their unwavering belief in themselves immediatly reminded me of Zodiac from the recent Moon Knight run: "I don't believe in gods. So a crucifix or a magen david wasn't gonna keep me safe from your vampire self. Turns out though, I do have a holy symbol. One thing I believe in. On thing I have absolute faith in." *brandishes a golden neckchain with his own name* "Me"
At least in 3.5 it was an explicit rule that you could be a cleric of a cause/principle instead of a deity. I had a character once who believed she was the living incarnation of a god so intensely that she was able to pray to herself for spells. The DM allowed it with two caveats: she had to be wrong about being a god, and it couldn't be mechanically different from a regular cleric. I convinced the party's bard to be my prophet, and he ended up getting me thousands of followers by level five lol. Unfortunately the campaign fell apart for very dark reasons right after that but she made a really solid start on collecting enough worship to ascend before the DM fled the state one step ahead of the cops and a (rightfully) murderously angry father (not his). He was a good DM but after we found out what an absolutely awful person he was we didn't think twice about cutting him off.
i love/hate Ripley for the same reason i love/hate of Thanos, which a lot of people to me get it wrong. the interesting part of this character isnt the "ohh but if you think about it they are rigth" because an idea can sound wonderfull in paper but if the steps you take to get them are flaw everthing is shit. No, what i like and i think is super realistic is the idea of this delusional people beliving themselves the heros of the story and twisting the true so that it make their ideals make sense. People have point out a lot that Thanos could have just double the resourses of the universe instead of kill half of it, but to me thats missing the point, to him thats the only way to be the saviour and at the point we find him in the story he is so far gone that real logic doesnt exist anymore, only the one that fits in his reality. The same with Ripley: the realitiy is that she wanted revenge, nothing more, but she deluded herself into thinking this was for the greater good (incert Hot Fuss referenece) but thats just her justification to make her actions in something morally correct, then she meet Percy, someone with a similar background and drive for vengeance(obviously ignoring the fact that her actions where a big part of creating that drive) and she found someone she could share her mad ideals. The thing is Percy find in time something she didnt, people that take him away from that desire from vengace, but to Ripley that imposible so she justify his antagonism as "is his ego talking" or "he is the one lying to himself", until he show her mercy, and that was the last straw, he transform for his ideal partner to the exact example that all that she did was a lie, so she kill him, one last childish act of defiance to reality. Look im all in favor of what Percy did, a lot of people think it was dumb "forgiving her", but to me thats not what he did, mercy isnt the same at forgiveness, it was his character arc to realice that if he take her down with hate in his hearth even if he stop her for good, he is showing her and Orthax that they where rigth all along, and honestly fuck that, the only mistake he made was trusting she was strong enougth to make that same change, but saddly some people are too far gone. Anyway sorry for the whole tesis i just want to show how even if its ok to hate Ripley, the character itself has lot more deep, a lot of those character we instinctively hate sometime tell a lot about of what we hate about ourself.
Interestingly when watching the episode it does sound like Sam. However, listening to just the song (Not How It's Supposed To End on YT) you can hear it is actually Matt singing it. Great discussion again. I'll be back again next week for episode eight.
To what also Jake "noticed"? One of the mages that appears in Anna story was Trent Ikithon (not Ludinus) also very important character voice by no other than Mark Strong.
I just looked for the latest video yall posted. What's the best way for me to recommend a show for you guys? I want to recommend AP bio. None of the other big time reactors are doing it and when you do. You will already be the first to do so.
I saw somebody once try to play a Cleric that was an atheist. Not in a way that they didn't think Gods don't exist, but that they aren't some unreachable divine thing, just a powerful entity and they don't deserve faith of mortals. His powers came from the belief that faith shouldn't be used for some divine exchange for power, but to actually bring comfort and trust for a person. An anti-cleric kinda. I like the concept but think it works mechanically better as an Oath of a Paladin. Still, a very fun concept to play around with.
Well his "wife" was a significant power. But the 3 episode Downfall arc in Campaign 3 has some examples of how a Cleric/Warlock of yourself could work.
technically she's his current wife, but also iirc she's like a "lesser idol" type patron that's powerful and worshiped as a god without being one of the exandrian god-gods (like some c2 relevant figures). Clerics tend to get power from a separate "divine" figure so it'll be interesting to see if in future seasons they go a power within you alone or a confidence in your own power *with* the Everlight direction
Part of me hates that he died while letting his guard down to offer mercy. I know that he moved on from his vengeance, but after all of the innocent people she has killed both directly and indirectly, he should’ve just either killed her or left her to die. She is far too dangerous to be left alive. It makes no sense to for him to try and turn Ripley to the light side.
In the OG campaign he does forgive her, but instantly follows it up by saying she's too dangerous to let live lol So what you think should have happened did happen originally
Um, no. Paladins also have to have a deity. Oaths dont give you power, the deity you make that oath to gives you power. Otherwise how tf would they get divine strike or channel divinity? Why would your attacks do more damage to undead if you just made a promise really hard? No, you could not make an "strong enough argument" for that. If you dont want to deal with a deity, dont play a cleric or paladin.
You're welcome to your opinion, but this season was amazing and clearly critical role was happy with it or they wouldn't have done it. Remember, it's an adaptation, not a one-to-one of the campaign. They have had to make changes, it is what it is.
GO BEYOND at blindwave.com and watch Full Length Reactions and 4 WEEKS Early Access!!
Blind Wave BEYOND Members can watch the Full Length Reaction to this Episode HERE: blindwave.com/video/the-legend-of-vox-machina-3x07-full/
And this episode was written by Marisha Ray (Keyleth). Boy, did she deliver the hurt.
The song was an original and it was Matt (the DM) singing it!
He also sang the song "Ruby" much earlier, in Dranzel's voice.
It was cool to hear that during production they had a MCR song playing over the scene that was used as inspiration for this song
@@playlistb3795 it was totally ghost of you
@artemiswallace8716 I was thinking either Ghost of You for thematic reasons or Foundations of Decay as there are some similar vocal effects.
@@playlistb3795 could also be sleep
This episode is written by Marisha Ray, and Matt Mercer sang the song at the end of the episode! And I was pleased to see Ripley get a backstory (shoutout to Kimiko and Kelly for voicing the young and present Ripley)!
fun fact about the ending song, Sam said in a video that they used a My Chemical Romance song as a placeholder for that scene in the earlier stages of production
Great now i have the image of that scene to the tube of blood by MCR... which makes it somewhat more comical.
@@Gantali9305 🎶Blood, blood, gallons of the stuff🎶
Them showing the Assembly has me so excited for their Mighty Nein show
The way they ruined this season, I have no faith in the mighty nein animated series.
@@smashbrandiscootch719omg stop being a troll - you are always doing this everywhere!
@@smashbrandiscootch719 It's ok to not like certain choices made but don't go hate commenting on every single positive comment you see....
@@smashbrandiscootch719 i still have faith but im definitely more skeptical now lol
prefacing this with, given how contentious the perception of tm9s story is and some of the tone and story changes in VM im very skeptical, but the assembly being portrayed properly is one of the best signs we've gotten since the announcement teaser!
On one hand Grog's illiteracy being his biggest fear is sad with regards to that being his biggest fear/weakness, but on the other it's perfectly silly enough to pull back from the severity of the other shown fears for a comedy beat before the sad ending
it is the biggest fear he had left, since he already got over Kevdak last season
It was actually Matt singing the song at the end.
That's actually Mercer singing the end song. DAMN YOU MERCER!
oh man, was really hoping that Calvin would be back in time for this one. Can't believe he missed both this AND the Killbox from last season
As funny as the moment seems, Grog's vision of "no pictures" is deeply tragic when you recall they were shown their fears. Grog's illiteracy is his biggest fear.
RIP Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III. His soul was forfeit😢
Anna is very interesting because it reminds me alot of ATLA and the zuko/azula conversation. I didnt think about this before but as mentioned here Percy has his vox machina to remind him of his humanity and to pull him back whether its verbally or forcefully where Ana as far as im aware doesnt have any positive influnlences that would do such a thing. She went down a path and the people around her only pushed her down that path.
Weve seen several times that if percy did not have vox he would make the same choices anna has. I can understand anna has done terrible things so it is right to not like her but i find myself as i mentioned before thinking of azula.The harshness toward her actions and comparison between her and percy even though percy was arguably given more of a chance in a way to do the right thing and maintain his goodness where as anna didnt. That is a great villain counterpart to me but i cant help but feel sympathetic.
21:05 You can ABSOLUTELY play as a Cleric without needing to worship a deity, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Jake did give the obvious answer of how it is easier with Paladins since their power mostly comes from their vow & their conviction to that vow, basically like their willpower. But Clerics are similar where their power comes from their FAITH in something, and not NECESSARILY from that source itself. So, you can absolutely flavor your source of power to be that you simply have *that much faith* in yourself! Or it can be something similar to faith that I'm simply not thinking of right now. Or if you don't like that idea, you could still say that you draw your power from a "higher force" that is simply not a god, like possibly "funneling it directly from the Positive Plane."
In reality, at the end of the day, D&D is a roleplaying game where (with the DM's and other players' approval) you can make up whatever you want about your character to be true! Be wild, go insane with it, choose whatever off-the-wall, crazy nuts reason for the source of your power. You could even be a barbarian who believes their a spellcaster by hit people with a frying pan and shouting, "Cast Iron" every time! Don't feel constrained by how a class is "usually" portrayed and be as creative as you can be and want to be!
I was unexpectedly pleased to get an Anna Ripley backstory
Considering what they sacrificed in order to add that, id rather they didn't. It would have been fine if they'd done SOMETHING with it, but they didn't. Their attempt to try and humanize her went nowhere. It was just wasted animation time.
@@smashbrandiscootch719 hard disagree! One of my favorite things in the animated adaptation is how we get to see some "behind the scenes" moments for important characters, like when we saw Sylas dying and Delilah's reaction to it. I LOVED Ripley in the campaign, so this extra scene was perfect for me
@@smashbrandiscootch719 "Their attempt to try and humanize her went nowhere." Except it didn't. It showed that she and Percy had similar upbringings, their homes violently taken by mages. It gives further context as to why she did it outside of just saying it happened, we see the reality of it (plus the setup for the Cerberus Assembly). And in the end, she chose to continue down a dark path, which is a very human thing to do, it shows she's stuck in her ways which a lot of people tend to be. Not really sure what you're referring to when you say "what they sacrificed", so I'm hoping you'll respond and elaborate.
@@SylvaGardenia
I'm not.
He's a hopeless troll who doesn't understand the difference between his precious years-long improvisation by Matt and the cast, and making a dozen 22 minute animated shows that more than a very limited number of CR geeks will actually want to watch and then COME BACK TO WATCH MORE.
And the shows continuing popularity just makes him dig deeper into his bile-spewing misanthropy, to prove that most people aren't "real fans".
Like him.
Raging narcissism.
The song at the end is just so perfect for this episode
I'm still emotional over Percy and the song at the end. My head is still freaking out though over the fact that the mage from beginning is Mark Strong.
One could say that mighty things are ahead
Holy shit really?? Then that's gotta be Trent, man I did not think I could be more excited for MN
@@moondancer89 it was leaked the day it aired on IMDB that Mark was playing Trent in this episode but later that day they changed it to say something else instead.
I believe Residuum (stones that improve magical effects) is only in Whitestone, so Ripley's village was mining Bruumstone, which is used to make things like Skyships fly. Definitely makes sense why the Cerberus Assembly (mage group) would want to access it all.
I keep feeling Pike’s powers are more Paladin flavored now, with the blood being “Lay on Hands” but I haven’t seen the campaign.
Pike was a War Cleric at this point in the streamed game but the blood thing is new for the animated show, since this was during Ashley's time filming Blindspot in New York. Pike was mostly away from the group during the campaign and occasionally skyping in or playing at the table for a couple of weeks during breaks. So they're writing a new character arc for the show and while fans may have theories, we don't know where it's going.
I was thinking more a tease for Blood Hunters
Percy reached out for the hand she still has, and she chose to activate the mini-pistol she had hidden up her sleeve to kill him, not Orthax.
It's actually Matt, not Sam, that sings the song at the end.
People often describe Ripley as a dark mirror of Percy, but a key difference-intentional or not-is Ripley’s complete lack of empathy. She doesn’t just ignore others' suffering; she struggles to grasp motivations beyond her own. This is evident in her surprise whenever Percy prioritizes innocent lives over scientific curiosity. Ripley’s attempts to empathize always assume Percy will act like her, as she can’t imagine otherwise. In episode 11, her thoughts on Percy’s motivations further reveal just how deeply unaware of herself she truly is.
It was Anna who shot him. You see Orthax leave her body after the explosion and her eyes are hers, not his.
I think it's Trent, Jake.
I believe that was Trent Icathon, not Ludinus. 😊
Yup. It's got to be Trent. He's also being voiced by Mark Strong! Absolutely perfect casting for Trent
That whole dicussion about clerics powered by their unwavering belief in themselves immediatly reminded me of Zodiac from the recent Moon Knight run:
"I don't believe in gods. So a crucifix or a magen david wasn't gonna keep me safe from your vampire self. Turns out though, I do have a holy symbol. One thing I believe in. On thing I have absolute faith in."
*brandishes a golden neckchain with his own name*
"Me"
At least in 3.5 it was an explicit rule that you could be a cleric of a cause/principle instead of a deity.
I had a character once who believed she was the living incarnation of a god so intensely that she was able to pray to herself for spells. The DM allowed it with two caveats: she had to be wrong about being a god, and it couldn't be mechanically different from a regular cleric.
I convinced the party's bard to be my prophet, and he ended up getting me thousands of followers by level five lol. Unfortunately the campaign fell apart for very dark reasons right after that but she made a really solid start on collecting enough worship to ascend before the DM fled the state one step ahead of the cops and a (rightfully) murderously angry father (not his). He was a good DM but after we found out what an absolutely awful person he was we didn't think twice about cutting him off.
i love/hate Ripley for the same reason i love/hate of Thanos, which a lot of people to me get it wrong. the interesting part of this character isnt the "ohh but if you think about it they are rigth" because an idea can sound wonderfull in paper but if the steps you take to get them are flaw everthing is shit. No, what i like and i think is super realistic is the idea of this delusional people beliving themselves the heros of the story and twisting the true so that it make their ideals make sense.
People have point out a lot that Thanos could have just double the resourses of the universe instead of kill half of it, but to me thats missing the point, to him thats the only way to be the saviour and at the point we find him in the story he is so far gone that real logic doesnt exist anymore, only the one that fits in his reality. The same with Ripley: the realitiy is that she wanted revenge, nothing more, but she deluded herself into thinking this was for the greater good (incert Hot Fuss referenece) but thats just her justification to make her actions in something morally correct, then she meet Percy, someone with a similar background and drive for vengeance(obviously ignoring the fact that her actions where a big part of creating that drive) and she found someone she could share her mad ideals. The thing is Percy find in time something she didnt, people that take him away from that desire from vengace, but to Ripley that imposible so she justify his antagonism as "is his ego talking" or "he is the one lying to himself", until he show her mercy, and that was the last straw, he transform for his ideal partner to the exact example that all that she did was a lie, so she kill him, one last childish act of defiance to reality.
Look im all in favor of what Percy did, a lot of people think it was dumb "forgiving her", but to me thats not what he did, mercy isnt the same at forgiveness, it was his character arc to realice that if he take her down with hate in his hearth even if he stop her for good, he is showing her and Orthax that they where rigth all along, and honestly fuck that, the only mistake he made was trusting she was strong enougth to make that same change, but saddly some people are too far gone. Anyway sorry for the whole tesis i just want to show how even if its ok to hate Ripley, the character itself has lot more deep, a lot of those character we instinctively hate sometime tell a lot about of what we hate about ourself.
God this episode broke me when I first watched it
That's not the thumbnail I was expecting for this episode!
This is also where we realize that it was not Cabal's Ruin but the power of Orthax that allowed her to teleport.
Interestingly when watching the episode it does sound like Sam.
However, listening to just the song (Not How It's Supposed To End on YT) you can hear it is actually Matt singing it.
Great discussion again. I'll be back again next week for episode eight.
"could you be a cleric and your deity is yourself" well, if you watch Calamity you might see something similar
Vax died because Percy didn't check for traps
And Percy died because Vax didn't check for traps
Time to roll up another character
To what also Jake "noticed"? One of the mages that appears in Anna story was Trent Ikithon (not Ludinus) also very important character voice by no other than Mark Strong.
its awesome to have seen him so early, i thought we wouldnt see or hear trent until maybe mighty nein season 2 or 3
Really? honestly i was hoping matt would voice him but i guess matts gonna be voicing people like essek.
I just looked for the latest video yall posted. What's the best way for me to recommend a show for you guys? I want to recommend AP bio. None of the other big time reactors are doing it and when you do. You will already be the first to do so.
Our website has recommendations you can do with an account
I saw somebody once try to play a Cleric that was an atheist. Not in a way that they didn't think Gods don't exist, but that they aren't some unreachable divine thing, just a powerful entity and they don't deserve faith of mortals. His powers came from the belief that faith shouldn't be used for some divine exchange for power, but to actually bring comfort and trust for a person. An anti-cleric kinda. I like the concept but think it works mechanically better as an Oath of a Paladin. Still, a very fun concept to play around with.
22:16 in the eXu:Calamity series, Zerxus is a paladin that doesn't draw power from a deity.
Kashaw in the main campaign was a cleric of his ex wife. So there could be something about a way to be a cleric of yourself.
Edit: spelling
Well his "wife" was a significant power. But the 3 episode Downfall arc in Campaign 3 has some examples of how a Cleric/Warlock of yourself could work.
technically she's his current wife, but also iirc she's like a "lesser idol" type patron that's powerful and worshiped as a god without being one of the exandrian god-gods (like some c2 relevant figures).
Clerics tend to get power from a separate "divine" figure so it'll be interesting to see if in future seasons they go a power within you alone or a confidence in your own power *with* the Everlight direction
Guys I need cobra Kai where is it 😢
Y’all should watch “Astroboy” such a underrated movie
Where is Cobra Kai reaction?
It will be out Monday, we are out of the office because of Thanksgiving
Part of me hates that he died while letting his guard down to offer mercy. I know that he moved on from his vengeance, but after all of the innocent people she has killed both directly and indirectly, he should’ve just either killed her or left her to die. She is far too dangerous to be left alive. It makes no sense to for him to try and turn Ripley to the light side.
In the OG campaign he does forgive her, but instantly follows it up by saying she's too dangerous to let live lol
So what you think should have happened did happen originally
Can you react to Godzilla 2014??
Where is Dandadan reaction?
It will be out Monday, we are out of the office because of Thanksgiving
Um, no. Paladins also have to have a deity. Oaths dont give you power, the deity you make that oath to gives you power. Otherwise how tf would they get divine strike or channel divinity? Why would your attacks do more damage to undead if you just made a promise really hard?
No, you could not make an "strong enough argument" for that. If you dont want to deal with a deity, dont play a cleric or paladin.
Omg just stop 🙄🤦🏻♀️
And this is the point where they started absolutely ruining this season.
You're welcome to your opinion, but this season was amazing and clearly critical role was happy with it or they wouldn't have done it. Remember, it's an adaptation, not a one-to-one of the campaign. They have had to make changes, it is what it is.