DARKNESS IS KINDA HOT...| The Legend of Vox Machina Episode 8 Reaction (S2) 

Funny how Twins situation is reverse Cinderella. Stepmother and sister is angels while Dad is a monster.

Percy just straight-up granted her the title, then and there. He's the rightful heir, he's not lying - he gets to decide.

Percy defending Vex in front of her father and giving her a title was so good in the campaign. They were playing in front of an in person audience and hearing them cheer, plus seeing Laura and Travis's reactions to it were so cute.

Since the moment i saw this episode i knew alicia would scream "HE IS AN INCEL"

The toxic relationship speedrun had me spitting my drink, the writing is so fucking good

Just on the side note, the individual in green with the green eyes in the end was voiced by Matt Mercer, so far he voiced Sylas, Orthax, Craven Edge, Victor the black powder merchant and Umbrasyl, among several less important guards and NPC. And about the dragon not killing them in that cave. Black dragons are know for toying with their enemies, giving them hope they may win and then crushing them. Umbrasyls title is The Hope Devourer after all.

Oh, I was WAITING for the Incel Tree fight! Also, here's a fun fact: In the Streams, The Twin's dad was actually pretty remorseful of what he'd done and how he'd driven them away, but he messed up the twins so much that nothing could be done to fix the relationship, and even then continued to deny Vex and Vax the approval they wanted. Velora WAS done perfectly, though! She's too pure! And Yes, Percy's title DID make Syldor look like an asshole in the Campaign! Also, the title is real. Since season 1 consisted of systematically murdering Whitestone's nobility, the Nobles' houses and titles are now vacant, so Vex IS legally a lady the second Percy gets it in writing!

"I don't understand what's wrong with him other than the fact that he gave her black eyes..." Taken out of context that's like most battered spouse syndromes o_O

Percy is of the Royal Family of Whitestone. He’s able to grant land and title to anyone within the boundaries of Whitestone. Thus, he’s granted nobility to Vex because a) he can and b) he wants to make Syldor look like an obnoxious prick. In the campaign this was a huge moment as it was done in front of a live audience, but the way it’s portrayed here really downplays just how important this was.

Campaign Fact: The group did face the Pixies mentioned at the beginning, one of the tougher fights they've had. Not only that, but the Big fight at the end of this episode was one of, if not top 5, tense fights in Campaign 1. Also the man at the end I can't say anything, but for those who were listening last episode he said a huge hint that very little seem to catch. Travel safe ;)

what makes that "percy is an anime fan that finally goes to japan" line was said by his voice actor/player XD

In the campaign vex asks if the title is real. Percy responds that he remembered they had killed 2 of 3 barons of Whitestone last time they were there. There’s no money no land and no house anymore. It’s the one scanlan burned down. But he had a title to give.

The title Percy gave Vex is legit. She's basically the warden of Whitestone now, guarding it against the wilds surrounding it

Fun notes. Garmelie can fly, meaning Vex's threat to drop him was really him just playing along. And, he cast a spell that took Keyleth minutes and a full magic circle, with the snap of his fingers.

Vex and Vax's lil half sister was too damn adorable lol

Percy did apologise to Vex the moment she was revived. So she knows...also she saw him touching it

Campaign Fun Facts Ahoy! - After the Briarwood Arc, it occured to Percy that the noble houses of Whitestone were now empty (because he killed all the people who usurped them), so now Whitestone needs new nobility, and why not give one to Vex so that she can stick it to her daddy dearest? - Gnomes can live to roughly 400 years. Wilhand (aka Pop-Pop) is 345. - Garmalie's true form that we see, is a little nod for the people who've followed Campaign 2. - Saundor, the incel, was exactly as you described in your reactions. The lore behind him is more extensive in the campaign, as you may have come to expect of Matt Mercer. In the actual encounter, Matt played the toxic manipulation so well, it had Laura (as a player) feeling bad for initating combat with him. Thankfully everyone was quick to assure her that he was a monster. - Sam made sure to sing her favourite songs to cheer her up whenever he used inspiration or healing word. - Funnily enough it was Grog (who been uselessly chasing Saundor around his lair, unable to get a hit in) who killed Saundor, giving a quick speech on how conceited Saundor was being. It made for a rather comical end, which they all needed emotionally I think. I also found it sweet that Laura's character was saved by her real life husband.

Saundor being an incel is... very apt. And Syldor is just the worst. It says a lot when the stepmother loves you more than the father. And Velora is so precious. The Tree Stride/Fire Elemental combo actually did happen in the campaign. And you gotta admit, there's something hot about Kiki wielding one of Vax's daggers, and even doing a little bit of a twirl as he would. And unlike in the campaign, Vex fought Saundor one-on-one. A full-on archer duel that was awesome.

Dragons in dnd can’t use their breath Willy nilly. The DM has to roll each turn to get it back. Narratively this implies that they have to build it up again after each use and how fast they can rebuild it isn’t consistent. And the dragon did use his acid breath in that fight at least once. So he may have just not been able to rebuild it as quick that fight.

Alicia being a den mother to all the characters like she's collecting trading cards. Then Ant coming from behind stamping them all with death timers "You'll go in 5 days. You in 2 minutes. You in 10 weeks."

Technically she was both a necromancer and a necrophiliac, because her husband was a vampire.

I’m a bit late to this, but some fun campaign facts on the off chance you see this: - When Garmelie mentions that going around the city would’ve meant tangling with pixies, it’s a reference to an encounter the group had during their travels where they ran into the middle of a field between a clan of werewolves and a clan of pixies, the former of whom basically Shanghaid the group into trying to eliminate the pixies. The group tentatively agreed but tried diplomacy with the pixies to hear their side of things before just attacking, but several botched rolls and an unfortunate wound sustained by Grog in an initial skirmish with the werewolves meant the pixies turned him to stone, thinking he might’ve been bitten (read: infected) by the lycanthropes, and then started to carry him off to act as basically a garden ornament as payment for the group’s trespassing/safe passage through their territory. I only bring this all up because when his character was turned to stone, Travis Willingham - Grog’s player - stuck himself in a pose with a thumbs up and a big smile _and then proceeded to hold it for the next several minutes while the negotiations continued, all the way up until combat started after said negotiations broke down._ Stock still, barely moving at all except to blink. - One thing I wish they’d have kept was how the group originally secured Garmelie’s guidance to the Shademurk. See, the pact they made with him in the campaign was actually struck after they had reached Syngorn, and the payment on their part for his guidance was to bring him the hat of the captain of the guards of Syngorn, and a chunk of a “Threshold Crest” - large magical crystals that facilitated the city’s ability to travel between the Material plane (normal world) and the Feywild. Hesitant to actually damage those devices for fear of what might happen should the city try to travel back afterwards, Percy and Keyleth concocted a workaround where they took a chunk of rock from under the doorway to the room they had been given for their stay in the city and, using Keyleth’s druidic magic, shaped it into the symbol of Percy’s royal house. Thereby making it a literal *”Threshold Crest”,* which they then presented to Garmelie along with the hat as payment, and he accepted it - albeit with some complaining - because they had technically held up their end of the bargain. They managed to out-Fey a Fey.

Vex and Percy have a similar kind of personality. Both love the luxury life has to offer and know what kind of things are worth having. Both love to haggle, with with Vex actually willing to get a five finger discount when she REALLY wants something. And honestly, both are kinda like the longing-inner-child-having-to-touch-everything-shiny kinda person. So if Vex didn’t have her brothers voice in her mind, she probably would’ve been the first to touch the armor and activate the trap if Percy hadn’t have done it.

i am glad I’m not the only one who yelled out “OH MY GOD HES AN INCEL” during that part

Calling Delilah “Necrophilia Mommy” isn’t exactly *wrong* after all her husband was a Vampire. He’s a pretty corpses but he’s still a corpse.

Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt is a legitimate title that is within Percy's power to bestow unto Vex.

The Fire Elemental Keyleth teleporting via plants was a real thing in the campaign. It was an amazing combo of moves and abilities.

Glad you got to meet the Traveller on this journey. Let Chaos rain!!!

The title Percy gave Vex is a great moment to react to when it happened in the campaign.

Notice how the dad doesn't acknowledge Keylith at all while hating his own children? No respect for half elves at all!

Percy giving Vex a title was more than a "f**k you" to her father: Vex knows that Whitestone is the most important thing to Percy, and by granting her a title it was also his way of saying that she means so much to him that he wants to share that with her. It had a bit more build in campaign than it did on the show, but that was a legit tear inducing moment (it happened during a live show, and the crowd was cheering for what it meant). And yes, it was also a superb "f**k you" to her father: Percy a multi-tasker like that lol

I love how much you two love Kiki. She is so precious.

Holy shit Scanlan was whistling "Pull my Bead of Love". I never noticed. 😂😂😂😂

29:51 To clarify the bit about their fight with the black dragon. The way a dragon's breath attack works in D&D is that, after use, the DM rolls a die on the dragon's next turn to determine if the dragon is capable of using the breath attack again. So, rather than the dragon "choosing" not to breath on the players, in actuality it just couldn't at that time. Every time we saw it use it's breath was 1) to break in through the cave top, 2) on Kamaljori's shield, 3) and finally against Grog who dodged it. I don't recall how the fight actually played out in their game however, so I'm guessing this is close to what happened.

12:40 as Lord of Whitestone, he has the power to bestow titles. While it was just given then, it comes with responsibilities.

The title is real. While Percy did abdicate any responsibility to the town and left Cassandra in charge, him granting a title (and one of the estates, like the lot that Scanlan burned down last year) really tracks. In the campaign, Whitestone also transitioned to Council rulership, though still with Cass in charge, but he still "ennobled" Vex. Somehow. Presumably he cleared it with his sister, but whether that was before or after he gave her the title, we can't say. In the campaign, Syldor was slightly better to the kids, but then they'd already proved themselves prestream by solving the mystery of what happened to Sir Fince and saving the Royal Family from demons. But even then he was still an unbelievable prick. "Recurring character, let's go"... that might just happen.

If you listen closely to the sound while we first see Saundor, you can hear a beating heart in the music. It’s a wonderful nice touch

Since I had scrolled down pretty darn far in the comments and didn't see any mention of Pop-Pop's voice actor, I'd put it here. He was voiced by one of the nicest men in Hollywood, The Fonz, the one, the only: Henry Winkler.

Little D&D Fun Fact! In D&D, Gnomes live to be up to 500 years old (Gnomes being what Scanlan and Pike are). So Wilhand being Pike's Great Great Grandfather isn't too surprising. If anything, other great great grandparent gnomes aren't even middle aged yet!

Gnomes live to like 350 or 400 in this world. Even Scanlan started the game at 69 (because of course)

I ADORE how the fact they are half-elves and both their parents are full blooded elves sets up HEAVY implications as to why their father feels the way he does, but without outright stating it. So well done.

It's so nice to see a sprinkle of "Garmelie". ;)

For the great great grandfather thing, gnomes in dnd can live up to be 500, Scanlan is actually in his 80s

As I understand it, Percy used to be the Baron of the 3rd House of Whitestone, given that he's the 3rd born heir of the Royal House of Whitestone. So he's now the Sovereign of Whitestone. And he gave Vex his old title, making her the Baroness of the 3rd House. Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt is a title held by the greatest hunter of Whitestone, which is linked to an ancient order of monster hunters. She will eventually become EVERYTHING the title states, and more.

I'm surprised you guys aren't more happy about Percy acting like a know it all. We've only seen him like that once in season 2. In that flashback. Before 95ish % of his family died. It's a sign he's moved pretty far past his trauma and hatred to be his old self again.

Alicias avatars face when she is confused or processing something in her head is lovely

@Aliciaxlife To answer your quip on Pike and Wilhand's relationship: gnomes can be 350 years old. They become adults at 40 and then, unless *insert obvious deadly encounter* happens, some can reach up to 500 years old. I don't think Wilhand's age was ever revealed (heck, not sure if we got a confirmation for Pike), but Scanlan himself is over 200.

Yup, Scanlan was whistling Pull My Beads of Love while administering Grog his pill.

"Garmelie" actually mentioned who he is Earlier. Not going to say when, what or who

16:30 this, this right here. Prime example of what makes this show so great. It’s moments like this where you really feel the unfathomed depth of the characters that can only come from hundreds of hours inhabiting and developing those roles. And it’s not just the writing, it’s also largely due to the characters being voiced by the same people who invented and nurtured them from their inception. These guys know their characters on a level that you don’t see in any other media, and it just makes them shine.

The dude at the end was voiced by Matt Mercer himself!!

In D&D Gnomes live 3 or 4 centuries (elves live 7 or 8 centuries, half elves live 2 or 3 centuries, halflings live about 150 years, most other playable species live about a century except half-orcs, who are lucky to live 80 years).

props to troy baker for making all of us hate him immediately as syldor edit: as per percy giving vex a title, he IS a royal so he can hand out titles...

minor explanation, gnomes like elves live several hundred years

You can award a title to someone. Usually it would be given for a service to whatever royal group is awarding it. So yes, he could make her a Baroness of Whitestone without having to be with her.

thanks for the video! I think it's worth it to check the moment with vex's title in the campaign too

MVP for this episode: ANT "see any red flags?"

so, i never watched season one, so i don't know for sure, but that last comment "travel save?" is that guy who i think he is?

Gnomes can live upwards of 500 years old. And halfelves are ostracized in eleven society, so their father sees them as a stain on his reputation...as if they asked to be born. You should watch og scene, it's so good And there are 3 noble houses of Whitestone that aren't Percy's house, which is the royal line. They were taken over by the Briarwood's henchmen; Duke Vedmire was one of the one give a title by them. With them gone, the titles are vacant~ Percy has the authority to name new nobility lol

Percy made it up on the spot, though it is an actual title the De Rolo family can give. It does come with responsibilities, and even before this moment he thought she would be perfect for the job. I completely recommend watching the clip, as it was done with a live audience at a con. Also, their dad asshole level was a few levels lower for the campaign.

In the campaign Saundor was more of the Self-Pitying "Nice Guy" Incel.

12:40 I guess as part of the ruling family of Whitestone, he has the authority to bestow titles on those he deems worthy?

Ant sounds like JoJo abridge abdul "I have learned that the only way to defeat water, is to burn it!"

Gnomes live for an extremely long time, hundreds of years, so Pike still having a great-great-grandfather isn't all that weird. Pike is actually in her late 30s early 40s. She's the second oldest person in the group, right after Scanlan.

Percy's title isn't explicitly stated, but he'd be a Duke. Vex, as a Baroness, is actually a lesser title to his, and therefore he could grant it regardless of whether they're romantically involved or not. In fact, if Percy was trying to imply he and Vex were married, he'd say dutchess, not Baroness.

Also for those wondering the tree guy is an archfey or basically a demi-god of the fey realm

Gnomes can live well over 300 years. Great-great-great-great-great grandfather still being alive is totally possible.

Percy is pretty much the lord of his land, he can hand out tittles.

First, Percy is Lord of Whitestone as much as his sister is a Lady. And being a Lord has its perks, such as granting a House and title to anyone so long as it's in writing. So he absolutely can make Vex a noble, just like that. Of course, they'd need to get that made official with Whitestone, but given the only other noble in the city is Cassandra, it shouldn't be too hard to formalize. Second, the Twins' dad is a little different in this adaptation, he actually regretted how he treated them when they reached Syngorn in the streams, but I see why they changed that. Velora is the best, and that little family bonding time is amazingly wholesome. As for Saundor, according to lore, the action that made him an absolute gaslighting incel monster was someone breaking his heart. He got what he deserved, and I was so happy to hear Vex say her line about her heart belonging to someone else. It wasn't quite a, "Take me instead, you raven bitch," kind of line, but it brought the biggest smile to my face. Third, when Grog was removed from Craven Edge in the streams, they had to throw the sword into another plane of existence, and THE SWORD FUCKING KILLED GROG before they were fully rid of it. I am loving this change, though, it's a lot more symbolic and challenging than suddenly dropping dead.

Gnomes are a very long lived race. They can get centuries on them so the longer lineages go along with that ;)

Yes, Saundor has big incel energy. In the show he’s more of a standard pit of despair but I think they changed him in part because of how well a certain character from Exu Calamity was received. I highly recommend watching Exandria Unlimited: Calamity. It may be the greatest game of DnD ever played.

Ant "I can't wait till she dies." Me as a Critter "I'm going to just walk away."

The same guy who voiced Saundor is rhe same guy who played Bloodwork in the Flash show ALSO Matt Mercer was also Jotaro in JoJos

Yeah, with Pike's great-great-grandfather, I feel it important to point out that, while Gnomes mature at roughly the same rate as humans, with most settling into adult life around their 40s, they have an average lifespan of 350-400 years, meaning that several generations of a family would be alive at the same time. On average humans span 25-35 years between generations, so assuming gnomes have a similar generation gap, there could be anywhere from 10 to 16 generations alive at the same time. Even if the generation gap for Gnomes is a little bit wider, say 40-50 years, that would still be 8-10 generations.

Chromatic dragons are also known for their arrogance and cruelty. So Umbrasyl, could have kept them alive to torment then, at least in his own mind. Also remember, this is a role-playing game and between encounters players can level up their characters to get different and more powerful skills, spells and/or abilities.

In regards to Pop-pop, Gnomes can live up to Five.Hundred.Years. Getting to know 3-plus generations of your family after your own is not uncommon for them!

I'm surprised you knew that Scanlan was whistling to the beads song, none of the other reactors notice that reference.

I need to check this series out the animation is amazing. Another awesome video

6:15, Yeah, gnomes live for about 350-500 years

32:40 That is... a character we'll be seeing again if the show follows the campaign, and it gets SUPER f**ked up! Without spoilers, the Fey can be insane, and in the campaign, Matt goes HARD with this character (hard enough that, at the end of one session - IYKYK - Marisha has a worried look on her face as she turns to Matt and says "I have to go home with you..." It goes THAT HARD.

So fu fact wilhand Scanlan and pike are gnomes who can all love about 500 years. So yeah, having a great great grandfather is pretty common

I *love* that they let Vex win this fight with no direct help from any of her friends. This was really her moment, and they do a fantastic job of highlighting that in this episode.

Actually, the black dragon HAS used his breath weapon a few times.

"You're kind of alive homie so..." Vex is kind of alive too.

11:19 in all the reactions and my own viewing, i never noticed the whistling.

25:39 Still not over that image of Kiki being handy with Vax’s dagger. Especially with that twirl she did. Betcha that she could be quite lethal with one when cornered.

They guy at the end is an Archfey.

Congratulations, you've met two Arch Fey this episode!

Meet the Traveler! A deity of sorts that you’ll learn more about in Mighty Nein

Saundor, Keeper of Fenthras, Lord of the Corrupted Tree of the Shademurk Bog, Archfey of Incels.

1. Gnomes live an undetermined amount of time. 2. Titles can be given without marriage if given by a ruler like Percy's family.

11:14 HE IS!!! Y 'all's passive perception is high af!

I have a theory the guy that garmelie turns into at the end is matt Mercers god avatar for this world

so in dnd dragons have to roll to see if they get there breath weapon back and umbrasyl did use his acid breath on the sphinx kamaljiori

Incel tree was big meme in community long time ago. A shame they make him just a villain of the week for half an epiosde because his domain and presence could have covered at least multiple episodes. But I guess Grog arc is more important the Vex one to them. Sorry for complaining.

The title is in Percy's gift, not requiring relationship.

Me, upon seeing Garmelie turn into [Spoiler]: LET CHAOS REIGN!!!

6:15 In fairness, gnomes in DnD can live to almost 500 years old.

Gnomes are long lived, tops at 500 or maybe more if they're lucky. Pike's only in her early 30s at this point and Scanlan's... young for a gnome too, not sure if they're gonna say it but his player made it canon that he was 69 when the campaign started lol

That tree guy really is all your toxic relationship into one