'We Hope It's Not Gratuitous': Legend Of Vox Machina Stars Weigh In On Not Fading To Black On Spicy Scenes

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Warning: spoilers are ahead for the first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3.

The third season of The Legend of Vox Machina released its first few installments for fans with a Prime Video subscription, and the unconventional heroes of Vox Machina wasted no time in the 2024 TV schedule when they still have three dragons to deal with, vestiges to retrieve, the surprise return of Anna Ripley and Orthax, and a trip to hell for good measure. That doesn't mean there's no time for romance, however, and the first three episodes certainly delivered! The cast of Critical Role behind Legend of Vox Machina opened up to CinemaBlend about getting spicy and gruesome on Prime Video.

Of the three potential pairings from the first two seasons, Vax (Liam O'Brien) and Keyleth (Marisha Ray) are on the rocks thanks to the Matron of Ravens while Pike (Ashley Johnson) and Scanlan (Sam Riegel) seem to have more pressing priorities. As for Vex (Laura Bailey) and Percy (Taliesin Jaffe)... well, having seen the first three episodes of the season with that couple coupling, I had to ask about the series actually showing a lot more on screen than other shows that would fade to black on sex and/or violent scenes. First up, Riegel shared:

This is the show that we always wanted to make, and this is the show that we would want to watch. It's got definitely adult stuff, but we hope it's not gratuitous or shock value. It's just as much as we want to see, and not more.

While I personally was initially shocked by Vex and Percy's "before or after" sequence going as far as it did, that's really more a product of watching a lot of network television where spicy scenes only get so much spice, violence isn't too graphic, and you're more likely to hear "Darn it" than an F-bomb. That certainly doesn't make Vox Machina gratuitous for making the most of Prime Video!

Matt Mercer, the Critical Role Dungeon Master who also voices multiple Season 3 characters (including reprising the role of Orthax), previously spoke about making changes from the original Dungeons & Dragons campaign. On the subject of not fading the black for violence or steaminess, he shared:

I'm grateful that we lucked into a partnership with the folks at Prime Video, who have been super supportive in letting us do the things we want to do and fulfill the vision. Unlike network television, where you hear the constant story of network notes coming in and completely altering the heart of something, they've been just incredible partners and seeing what we want to do and contributing to it in wonderful and meaningful ways. Now we get to have as many F-bombs as we want and spicy moments.

So, what about the actors who voiced the spiciest scene from the first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3? According to Laura Bailey, it's "just natural" for this show to not fade to black, and Taliesin Jaffe weighed in:

I don't know how we would have done it without this, honestly. I can't imagine. There's huge chunks of our story that I don't know if we could tell without allowing some of that.

Travis Willingham, the actor behind Grog and CEO of Critical Role, has thus far been much more likely to voice gloriously graphic battle scenes than anything with a certain kind of steaminess, and that seems likely to continue with Grog along with Vax, Pike, Keyleth, and Scanlan on Team Hell. After explaining why he can't wait for fans' reactions to Season 3, Willingham shared his thoughts on Vox Machina not having to cut to black where other shows on other platforms would:

We live for it. I mean, that's the beauty of it. Prime Video have been amazing partners. From Day 1, the encouragement was, 'Go for it. Go nuts. Go crazy.' We know the types of shows that have seen success over there, and that we love to watch. From Day 1, the question was, 'Is there a world in which there isn't as much swearing, that this might be a more family friendly show' in some of our earlier meetings. And the answer was always 'No.'

While Matt Mercer previously joked that fans should "watch Season 3 with your parents," Critical Role definitely didn't have to make a family friendly show with The Legend of Vox Machina. Willingham continued:

We wanted to stay true to ourselves and sort of our idiotic sense of humor. But it also just tells a more real story, especially in the adult animation space. I don't think there are a lot of shows out there that hit the kind of tones that we do, mixing classic fantasy with more of a modern language delivery. That's our bread and butter.

Fortunately, there's plenty more of Critical Role's "bread and butter" to come in Season 3, with another nine episodes to go. How far they'll get in their efforts against the dragons – not to mention the return of Percy's demon and nemesis in Anna Ripley – remains to be seen, but the party has been split as of the end of Episode 3.

With Grog, Scanlan, Vax, Keyleth, and Pike heading to hell in search of the next vestige, Vex and Percy stayed in Draconia with Allura and Kima. It didn't take long for disaster to strike Team Draconia after a betrayal and the arrival of the dragon Vorugal, and Team Hell may not have the help of the Everlight, if the last shot of Pike looking at her holy symbol is any indication.

Basically, there's a lot going on that could very well go wrong for Vox Machina! Check out Prime Video on Thursdays for new episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina, along with the full first two seasons.