“The Legend of Vox Machina” has returned for its fourth season. After defeating the Chroma Conclave, the titular heroes split up across Exandria on their own new adventures. However, the threat of the Whispered One has slowly and quietly risen under their noses. Brought together once again, this threat announces itself with a bang in the first three episodes.
“Critical Role” has explored epic stories across Exandria for over ten years. Even with campaign four set in a new world, the tapestry of Exandria continues to be woven in the live shows. Campaign one, Vox Machina’s story, was just the beginning, only scratching the surface of this world. As the world and stories have evolved, the lore and context have grown as well.
In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, Sam Riegel and Matt Mercer discuss the Whispered One arc this season. Riegel hints at how the Whispered One is explored beyond the scope of campaign 1. Mercer reflects on how the hindsight of two campaigns and the “EXU: Calamity” trilogy has allowed them to refine the themes and story arcs of Vox Machina.
The Legend of Vox Machina Shows Unexplored Aspects of The Whispered One
Temple of Geek: One of the things I really, really enjoyed about this season was seeing the aftermath of catastrophe. And how when the people who maybe stopped the great evil don’t continue with that action, it can lead to a lot of manipulation and taking advantage of the public. Can you talk to me a little bit about exploring that avenue? Especially with the greater knowledge that you have after exploring Exandria for so long, Sam?
Sam Riegel:
Learning about Exandria and having that deep knowledge that we all have now after playing in that world for a decade has been invaluable, but it’s still so thrilling to be able to learn more about it. Watching the bad guy in this season and seeing how he sort of charms and corrupts the world. And watching formerly good people become sort of entranced and enraptured by his silver tongue, and his smooth sales pitch is really interesting to see. It’s something that we didn’t get to see in the main campaign.
And also, just getting to explore different parts of Exandria, especially in the early part of the season. Seeing Keyleth underwater is just so cool to see and be able to show off Matt’s incredible world that he created. There’s not enough seasons, and there’s not enough episodes to show it all off. So, this is like a sampler platter of Exandria.
“The Legend of Vox Machina” and “The Mighty Nein” have given the writers a chance to expand the stories beyond the scope of the campaigns. Mercer has talked about being able to explore perspectives outside the player characters in a way they were never able to due to the actual play format of “Critical Role.”
Season four of “The Legend of Vox Machina” will show how the Whispered One was able to rise to power and corrupt the world. While this has always been a part of the character in “Critical Role,” it is shown purely through the lens of Vox Machina. The animated series will flesh this out beyond the titular characters, showing what this cult has been doing behind the scenes.
Matt Mercer Explains How The Hindsight Of 10 Years In Exandria Is A Gift
Temple of Geek: I love getting to see how you guys really dig into the Whispered One lore. But how does having the knowledge now from Campaign 3 and the Calamity trilogy help with that aspect?
Matt Mercer:
It helps tremendously. Vox Machina was the initial ride through Exandria and only really unveiled small pieces. As we’ve continued to expand the world and expanded the adventures of other characters and other narratives, it’s only further enriched it as we laid out the tracks in front of the train, you know?
And so, with that hindsight, the world has expanded so much that it’s given us even further inspiration to, when we go back to Vox Machina’s tale, weave it further into the fabric of the world’s lore and the themes that we feel have since really kind of risen to the top to exemplify the concept of characters like the Whispered One and those around him.
So, it’s a gift to be able to have this hindsight, to be able to go back and take the favorite parts of it and then introduce into it all the further things that we’ve been able to explore and love about the world. And all the people that brought their own ideas outside of us into the fold and see what the best version of this could be.
“The Legend of Vox Machina” has featured some truly impressive villains. From the vampiric Briarwoods to the dragons of the Chroma Conclave. The Whispered One is a different beast all together. Deeply entrenched not only in magic and corruption but also in the larger lore of Exandria as a whole. Over three campaigns, along with numerous one-shots and mini-campaigns spanning ten years, that lore has only expanded and evolved.
This evolution can lead to not only a tighter and more honed story but also surprises as well. One of the challenges of “The Legend of Vox Machina” can be surprising Critical Role fans. Their deep knowledge of the original campaign sets them up to know a lot of the story. However, this hindsight gives the creators the knowledge and wisdom to craft an arc true to the original story but with surprises and deeper understanding tied to the larger lore of this world. How this plays out with the Whispered One remains to be seen. But it will surely shock fans in these final two seasons.
The first three episodes of “The Legend of Vox Machina” fourth season are available on Prime Video now. New episodes premiere every Wednesday. The first three seasons are available to watch on Prime Video now.
