The Psychology of Vengeance - The Legend of Vox Machina: Percival - Therapist Reacts! 

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“Maybe you should cut loose one in a while.” Percy-*”YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT!”* Maybe in a healthier way?

One interesting aspect to all this is that Talesin has said that he came up with his character and backstory he told Matt that he did not know if all of this was real or if this was just a psychosis in his own mind. It wasn’t until the Briarwoods actually surfaced in the game that Talesin discovered whether or not his character was really a victim or it was just a hallucination

Fun Fact: Taliesin Jaffe, Percival's player/actor said that the face Percy was making when Vex took his mask off in Ep 12 was how he imagines Percy looked EVERY time he wore the mask. Hiding his pain behind a literal mask of hatred.

A good quote from the live show that sums it up pretty well when Percy talks to Orthax: "Did I even want revenge before I talked to you? Did I? I don't remember anymore. What does she die for? What do I even need? I want my country. I want my sister! I've killed two of those who have wronged me and nothing is better. Nothing feels better, nothing is avenged. What is this worth to you?"

One of my favourite Percy moments is when Percy finds out Cassandra is still alive and he just quietly says "I have a sister." There's an undertone of excitement and hope in his voice unlike anything we've heard from Percy before.

You deliver in the wardrobe department everytime. Taliesin Jaffe would be proud. Edit: girl you found a plague doctor mask?? I bow before you.

The line that struck me in the animated show was when he said "Yours is the face I saw when murder entered my heart" It's a line that invokes so much horror and empathetic grief, the moment he reveals his damage and really spells out verbally, not just through action, where he now stands... He sees himself as a justified murderer.

9:11 “We need people, we need love” Percival: Life needs things to live :-)

Vex: "Maybe you should cut loose!" Percy: *cuts loose his emotions and blows a man's fingers off.*

The line that hit me, when it was him and Orthax (the demon bird) vs Vox, his sister says "I know you, this isn't who you are" His simple reply is: "it's who I want to be." I've been there, wanting to shut down and just feel angry, to push away others because it means nobody would be close enough to hurt me, even though it was against my nature. I wasn't a cold, unfeeling person, but it's who I wanted to be

I like that point you made about how he carries himself in restraining his emotions. The scene where everyone’s invited to the royal banquet and Percy exclaims “…an evening of protocol and organized conversation!” He seems to genuinely enjoy it and it might relate to two reasons. He’s a prince, a member of a royal family where he was raised and expected to be on his best behavior at all times, excluding some occasions w/his sister or Archibald. And, when he was on the run, Percy presumably only had the clothes on his back; no family heirlooms, photos, journals, nothing. Him acting so prim and proper might be the closest thing he has remind himself of his family at that time. Or I could just be really over-speculating here

The one scene I was really hoping to see included was when he was first notified of Archibald being alive. He reverted back to his childhood self for a minute, reminiscing in pranks he pulled in the palace. He smiled. And then he had to reign himself in again and it felt like a thunderclap. It's such a minor moment but so important in the grand scheme of knowing that his old self is *still in there* no matter how much he might pretend it's not.

I want the full campaign analysis of Percy lol. So much deeper. Tallisen loves calling Percy a "teenage asshole" in arrested development. Who spent 2/3 of the story in the middle of an intense mental breakdown.

Percy has always been one of my favorites. Taliesin plays him with so much depth and vulnerability, getting to see him grow out of his pain and learn to trust people was really valuable for me.

Taliesin’s characters are always so wonderfully complex and I admire him for that. The way Percy’s character develops and changes throughout the Campaign was wonderful to see and I can’t wait to see more of him in the next season! You didn’t miss a thing in my opinion Georgia, wonderful as always! Also, favourite moment with him was always Vex’s “Darling, take off the mask”.

Percy is a full plate of content for Georgia lol

As someone who has buried his parents and older sister, I can relate to Percy. That pain and rage never goes away. You try to get used to it but it becomes so overwhelming and consuming. So you bury it. Bottle it up. Contain it. Yes, eventually it will break out and overflow but that is a problem for later. Right now, for now, use it. Focus it, aim it at whoever hurts you and let it go with both barrels. But the pain never goes away.

My favorite Percy moment really delivers a lot of meaning in such a short time. It's when after killing Professor Anders he drops his mask AND his gun to rush to Cassandra's side. That moment speaks to his ability to eventually choose his family/found family over his desire for vengeance.

That 'your soul is forfeit' line is so raw in the campaign, it gives you goosebumps. Watching the reaction of everyone else at the table made it even better. It definitely lost something in the show translation.

One scene that is just absolutely fantastic is when Scanlan asks Percy who the 6th barrel on the Pepperbox is for. Percy doesn't answer, but the way the light is shining on Percy, his shadow makes it appear like he's holding the gun to his own head.

The best way I describe Percy is “he’s a hair trigger and his anger is like a gunshot”

I was surprised when the show took a turn into Percy’s story because in the beginning he felt like a lesser character. I really enjoyed his story though. I always love a dr jekyll/mr hyde type side to characters.

In the live stream that the show is based on, he does actually ask himself that question. "Who am I without anger?"

Really appreciate you going through the members of vox machina. I ready can't wait for more of your video :) My percy moment I really appreciate is in ep9 when he can't let go and feels comfortable in the hate and his friends help him

My personal "favourite" Percy scene in in Episode 7 when he explains the making of his pepperbox and what the names on the barrels are for. After Scanlan asks "who´s the sixth barrel for?"and you see Percy again you have to look at his shadow. Because of the way he holds the pepperbox up his shadow looks like he is actually holding it to his head. I think it was a way of showing that he had no plans to keep living even after he got his revenge (idk if that would be literally or metaphorically) and to forshadow his struggle in the last Episode. It´s such a small detail but I get goosebumps everytime I see it (the time is 7:45 if you haven´t seen it yet and want to look at it :) )

I was fascinated by the appearance of Percival’s mask. It was hinted at the beginning, that you only see him take it off, never when he puts it on. Later, it became blatantly obvious that the mask manifests on his face as a result of his emotions. Essentially, his pent up anger spilling over. As for his character, when he actively willed (and physically forced) to suppress the mask, I saw that as a moment of growth for him. He was at his lowest, and most vulnerable, but he stripped away what was giving him power, albeit negative, and chose to believe in his friends. Friends that he distanced himself from at the start of their quest. In the end, there may be hope for him yet.

Love the character breakdown as much as I love the casual Percy cosplay.

I was hoping you’d be able to cover how Vex seemed to be the one person who seemed to be able to break through to Percy, allowing for the others in the group to be able to help him move through the pain. In both the original Critical Role campaign and the show, Vex is the one who gets Percy to “take off the mask” and she’s the only person whom Percy actually allows to be openly affectionate towards him. Idk if you noticed, but when VM is dealing with Orthax, it’s only Vex’s and Cassandra’s voice that gets through to Percy. I think it would have been interesting to discuss how you help a friend move through that pain, especially someone dealing with PTSD/Complex PTSD.

My favorite scene with percy is when vex is reaching out to save him and half his face one eye is blck but his whole face is pain and crying because he doesnt want to hurt his friends because they do mean soemthing to him.

I feel like there's some symbolism in him becoming literally possessed by a demon after suffering some of the most traumatic and harrowing experiences a person could possibly go through. That demon fed upon his anger, his pain, his anxiety, and his thirst for revenge to grow ever more powerful, even binding itself to the pepperbox after inspiring Percy to create it (Its influence probably gained more power and influence when bound to an object, especially an object of its own design created by its intended host). Sometimes revenge is a figurative demon humans fall into the trap of continuing to feed and nurture, fueling the endless cycles of atrocity and revenge we still see across the world today. People fail to see how they, by seeking revenge for what happened to themselves and their own loved ones, will in turn create others who will inflict the same vengeance upon themselves for the same atrocities. Your vengeance creates orphans of the children of the ones who wronged you, and those orphans will take their vengeance upon you, and your children take vengeance upon their children, repeat ad nauseum. The pendulum ever swings until someone decides that the greater revenge is to live and prosper without letting hate and vengeance consume themselves.

He’s my favorite character in the animated show and the regular Critical Role campaign.

The strongest Percy's moments for me are all the No Mercy Percy scenes, where he goes deep into all of the rage and hatred, yet the constant craving for more never goes away. The List will never stop give the new names, new targets. And those are complicated scenes, because when we go through the Briarwoods and their officers - they do indeed deserve this vengeance, being murderers, war criminals, torturers, enforcers and evil necromancers, so we're kinda rooting for Percy at the same time, even if he damages himself in the process.

Love this going into Percy and revenge, would love to see the final scene covered as well (great cosplay as well!)

percy is my favorite member of vm. hes so broken in a relatable way. i identify with percy on many levels.

I truly appreciate the bits of cosplay that you do when you make these videos. I was really hoping there would be a moment where you used a plague doctor mask as it was do iconic of the fractured nature of Percy's psyche. Thanks for making such amazing videos, your analysis of these characters not only helps us to understand similar things in ourselves and others in real life, it deepens the appreciation of those characters.

The best Percy scene IMO is probably near the end where Vex finally convinces him to take off the mask and you see the scared, hurt little boy crying underneath. I cried when it happened the first time in their D&D game and I cried again when it happened in the show. Shoot, I'm crying a little bit right now just thinking about it. It hit too close to home. In his eyes, he shouldn't have made it, didn't deserve to make it. It's only because Vex believes in him when maybe she's well within her rights to doubt that she's able to save his soul. Hopefully, some of that comes up when we get to Vex.

My favorite percy scene hasnt happened in show yet, but its the lastish line he says in campaign. He finally embraces his grief and begins to truly heal

In a strange way, my own self loathing is the best comfort for me when I'm depressed. Just like how getting angry makes Percy feel better.

Interesting explanation of dreams. I remember growing up as a kid having dreams of powerlessness(often). Where I'm in a fight with a person or monster and my strength isn't there. It was just gone. And there was absolutely no control over the situation. Great analysis of Percy.

As someone else who went through extreme trauma and almost went down the exact same path Percival did, every single scene with his trauma hurt so much. It's amazing how beautifully and perfectly they showed what trauma does to someone.

His interactions with his sister could be their own video. Looking forward to seeing you do more on Vox Machina.

I was and still am one of the biggest Percy fans there is. I listened week by week during the Briarwood arc and watch Percy unravel. I understood his actions watching from the outside but he didnt voice anything till the LAST episode. His while family was murdered when he was 16 he wanted vengeance and i wanted that for him.

My nightmares contained deep freer. I would wake up feeling tariffed. It drove me crazy when people I loved got killed or I did and sometimes it felt like it was real.

Girl you get Percy to a t when the show happened I felt so emotional. You can feel each inch of it and you feel for him. With revenge as I play my carctor is definitely drawing a bit from Percy the only difference she wants justice more then revenge. But the more I watch Percy the more I see the differences and beauty behind his carctor well done once again.

This was so fascinating! I hope after Season 2 you consider analyzing the twins. They both have different reactions and coping mechanisms based on their shared backstory and their characters really powerfully portray how the same circumstances can affect people differently and require different solutions.

Love the moment when the demon takes over Percy as a symbol for him giving into his anger and letting it take control

Wow… I already think that Percy already needs a few million hugs, now after watching this I think he needs a few trillion more!

I would've love to see you go into the later episodes with his struggle against Orthax and his projection of his grief onto the party, and Orthax fanning the flames to feed off of it.

Nearly got a heart attack when you suddenly showed up with that plague mask! :D I wonder, out of all the symbols one could chose to wear, the plague mask is both strange and oddly appropriate. I know the symbolism of masks in general, but what kind of symbolism can be drawn from a plague mask specifically?

Personally my favorite moments from Season 1 Percy is any time he's interacting with Vex. She plays a huge role in keeping him grounded. Honestly can't wait to see you do more reviews of the other members. If we get to see the entire story eventually, it's going to be great seeing the development all of VM go through both individually and with each other. Mostly Percy, Scanlan and Vax

Hearing how you talk about the kind of rage Percy suffers from, it is really easy to imagine it taking a life and will of its own, completely taking over the person, making them act like they are possessed by something out of hell. The plague doctor mask kind of makes sense, even ignoring the literal bird demon. The hatred really had become a disease, rotting Percy from within. That and the masks where literally made to shield the wearer from his surroundings. There's also a bit of symbolism in how they limit the wearer's field of view.

Great dive into the character as its always interesting to hear a more professional take on storytelling. I wouldn't say you missed anything, only that there is still so much more that happens with his character in the later episodes, which certainly feels like they could make for another interesting episode. Great cosplay, great insight, great video!

Percy is such an amazing story and done extremely well in this season of the show. My favourite part is when Percy losses control of his demons and needs the help of his friends to pull him out of it. You can really see the struggle of Percy trying to stop but being too consumed by the demon to do it. Great video as always!!

What I love about the camping 1 characters, is that they are all heavily damaged people operating in their own way

I think the only scene that you missed was the one on the last episode, where he start to fight the demon inside him. His first move was to attempt to kill himself, which would not solve the problem, but would make, in his mind, his pain ends. That battle deserves an entire psychological analysis on itself, for it shows that the best way to heal himself was to face his demons and trust his friends, letting go of his revenge (refusing to kill Delilah) and, finally, choosing life.

There's something i really wanted to know about one thing he does cause I have a thing similar myself with it. How does Masks affect our own actions and feelings? like, he puts a mask all the times he puts out he's inner demon and I feel so much more alive, free and happy when masked.

Not only do I LOVE your analysis as a clinical psychologist, your commitment to themed outfits needs to be praised! Flawless!🥰

The minute he goes no mercy percy...thats when the shit hits the fan

The later eight episodes have SO much more for percy, and the other characters, Especially episode 12, which is My favorite. I really hope you get to watch through them, and do more with Vox Machina.

My favorite Percy Scene (actually, my favorite scenes for all of VM but especially Percy, Keyleth, and Grog) are actually in that Final Fight against both Briarwoods. It is SO Satisfying for where LoVM chose to streamline their respective arches up to that point - …but on a more serious note, I think I understand my…not quite “true nightmares” but they might as well be with getting bullied verbally repeatedly by past peers and teachers, and realistic-enough arguments with my family that have me waking up Angry and Hurt and Very, Very Disoriented (really the only unrealistic aspect of any of those dreams is Dream!Me can sometimes finally fight back verses frozen or silenced. Unfortunately, I’ve kicked my cat this way. She typically sleeps well out of Accidental Strike zone or sometimes on a pet bed someplace else instead. Fortunately I don’t think I’ve ever hurt her. But I’ve shoved against the footboard hard enough to bruise myself and make the bed creak…so I’m glad but saddened she no longer tries sleeping around my feet anymore.)

sometimes the loss of other can confirm that getting close to some after losing someone only for them to die can leave you in a worse state

I think one of the best percy moments is when he kills anders, not only the build up of the whole scene itself with even a brief bit of levity before he pulls the trigger, no what I loved most about it was when Cassandra calls out to percy and he immediately drops the gun and his mask and runs over to her.

After watching the show and the streams, I knew that Percy would be a character I could relate, as I usually created my characters in the same game with a similar idea of having trauma that weighs them down but usually strives to get above it. However I never knew how close to home he would be, and this video hit it home. Being a person who is also is dealing with severe trauma from my past (almost 30 years now) and finally getting the proper help... I can relate how he was behaving, reacting as I have had those moments as well. Two scenes I have that involve Percy are the wagon chase scene, as someone stated earlier in the comments how he began to loosen up on the ride, which does happen when a person begins to let their guard down, but the chase part was a little more close to my mind cause when they were trying to move faster, Vex would hyah at Percy, causing him to bring up the analytical side of the situation before realizing what else was said. It gave a small hint of his guard being brought up instantly, but still hanging on that moment of relief cause his voice changed quickly and not in his brooding way. The second one would be the end battle between him and Orthax. That I took as a personification of the depressive stature that weighed down on him, culminating into his desire for revenge... and when his friends seemed to be against him, that darkness made them look like he ones he hunted.

Super true about growing white hairs via stress. I been sprouting white hairs since I was 17, I'm now 30 with a fair amount. My normal color is really dark brown so it sticks out a lot more.

I see a lot of people are keen for you to do the whole cast, even though over half of them had hardly anything revealed about them 😅 I hope when season 2 comes out you'll at least revisit the chracters who get the main story and character development, like Percy, Pike and Keyleyh did in this first season.

It would be interesting to see Delilah Briarwood covered. Since she was one of the reasons Percy happened.

love this video! it's almost refreshing to hear such a clear breakdown of Percy's personality and emotional state, because while I do like the character, there are a lot of people who seem to view him uncritically as a cool hero, justified in all his actions, just doing what "anyone" would do which uh..... yikes, lol gentle suggestion I'd offer, I would've just been curious to hear your analysis on the fact that Percy is introducing guns to a world that didn't have them before. Tal has said before, Percy fully realized how if plans for his weapons got out (spoilers: they do), the world would have a new implement of war that could exponentially increase death and suffering... and Percy was OK with this at the time, because he was willing to pay any price for vengeance.

My favorite little detail of Percy in Vox Machina is in one of the episodes where he's in the background and you can see his shadow aiming the gun at his own head

3:04 "he's asking everyone to do what he's always doing". I'm actually really glad you pointed this out because, before this point, I thought projection was more of someone claiming their own flaws or traits were in another person. I never thought about how some people might project by pushing the behavior on others instead, therefore creating a situation where someone in fact has the same behavior as them. This was actually very helpful to hear, as it helped me understand why interactions like this have bothered me in the past, and even how I should be more cautious about how I might blame others for my own repressions. I also have a character that does this, so it's nice to understand them more and what can go into this whole idea of what the person sees as "necessary" control and repression, even when it's only hurting them in the long run. Writing said character really helps me work against my own habits concerning this, and I think your analysis will help start people on that journey.

So Percy has the names of those he feels are responsible for his pain and suffering inscribed on the barrels of his pepperbox 'The List'. It was stated in the campaign wrap up that if Percy ever cleared all the names off of The List, Orthax would inscribe a new set of names and the cycle would start over.

"If he truly let loose, I think he's scared of what might come out." This was me for a much larger chunk of my life than I'd like to admit. I had a lot of anger I used to be afraid would manifest as me blowing up at someone the way that I'd seen other people in my life blow up at people. Instead it came out a lot more like an uncontrollable urge to cry - but I think Percy was afraid of that, too, given how far he has to be pushed for us to see him cry. As he says, the badass avenging man with a gun is who he wants to be. That's so much easier than being open and honest about yourself and being vulnerable. Brilliant analysis.

The white hair thing is legit. My dad's hair actually turned from dark brown to completely white over the course of 3 months after the events of the military coup that separated him from my older brother

What I love the most about Percy is that the character was a collaboration between the player, Taliesin Jaffe, and the DM, Matt Mercer. Yes, the backstory said that he was a noble, that the Briarwoods had murdered his family, and a being made of smoke offered him the chance for vengeance, but Taliesin was completely fine if that was all BS. If Matt had decided that the nobility, betrayal, and pact, were nothing but delusions, Taliesin would have been disappointed but okay with it. This character aspect is even more on display in his next character, Mollymock Tealeaf, who had no backstory: he woke up in a grave with no memory, a completely blank slate, empty ... empty ... em-tee ... MT ... M.T. Everything, including the Blood Hunter class, was up to Matt to fill in. Basically, Taliesin plays the DM's character for the DM.

"yours was the face i saw when murder entered my heart"

"People can find more comfort in a familiar nightmare then they can a new and pleasant dream"

Emotions and relationships are a funny thing. It controls how a person is but while I have tried sometimes to not feel them or even straight up tried to not show how I feel, I always fail to not have them.

Bravo...had no idea that when I woke up this morning that a random 10 minute youtube video on my feed would give me some valuable insight about myself. Congrats. I am going to take rest of the day off and cry in the fetal position. Thank you.

I really hope you end up doing a video on him and his sister’s relationship it’s just a well of content (and I just personally love it😊)

Your videos made me start watching Vox Machina.

Percy's such a cool and interesting character! thanks for the analysis

Wonderfully put!

I am LOVING this series and I genuinely hope the VM guys get a chance to watch these. Also my favorite quote of Talisen's from Vox Machina, "I'm sorry my issues have guns"

Amazing piece!

The Percy cosplay is perfection. 👩‍🍳 💋 I can’t wait for your analysis of season 2 . Percy drops his walls a bit reciprocates the unconditional support that Vex she showed him.

I remember I hated my mother for being a terrible person with me and my dad, we were close to loosing everything because of her. The pain, the feeling of betrayal and powerless is one of the worst things I've ever experienced, that feeling started eating me from the inside, massacring my heart and replacing it for something way worse, something horrible, and it was terrifying to feel like I couldn't do anything to stop it. I reached a point where the only thing that matter was hurting my mom, didn't care about the cost. Thank goodness I seeked therapy on time, the healing process was painful, and sometimes I still get angry with her, but those emotions don't control me anymore. Percy's arch really touched me. No matter how much you try to bury the pain in hate, isolation, becoming mean or agressive, very deeply, you're scared AF, and it's even scarier when those emotions decide everything. You become an spectator of your own existence.

These videos, your outfits, and THE ANIME GLASSES THUMBNAIL are all perfection. I'm so glad this was recommended to me by RU-vid.

Videos like these are saving lives, thank you

“If he really let loose we would see the demons that’s lurking inside him.” Me: literally

I love love LOVE this video! Such good insights into Percy's mindset early on and the conflict between what Percy wants vs. what he really needs to heal. I'm really enjoying the Vox Machina videos, and I'm excited to see which one you tackle next!

I'm so glad that you did Percy! I hope you do more Vox Machina!

thank you for making a video on vox machina i loved this show ill have to watch your video when i get home to show my gf!you also made the video on my favorite character of the series!thank you again!

So happy that you're watching The Legend of Vox Machina and reacting to it =)

Wow your videos are just awesome! You put soo much work in them!

To me, the most interesting part of Percy's return to Whitestone was his unwillingness to assume a leadership role. In the full stream they went first as peasants, then as revolutionaries with the existing cause, and finally flying the De Rolo Crest. Percy tried at every turn not to be seen, not to be recognized, not to be credited, and not even to assume responsibility for his own cause (attempting to put decisions on others around him). He names inheriting the throne as a responsibility he is unprepared for but it is so much more complex. Revenge is an exception but obviously he has little control at this point in the story. Also, Cassandra is being groomed for the throne by the Briarwoods, just below 18 at the time of Vox Machina's arrival. She has had years of manipulation to do their bidding, but with Percy assumed dead she rightfully inherits with the family legacy and trust of the town behind her. Percy sees her trauma-twisted history and barely-legal age as more fit to rule than he would ever be.

Insightful and well thought out as always!

I would love if you would to this kind of analysis for The Way of Kings. It’s a book rather then a tv show, but has major themes of mental disorders in major characters everything from desperation and DID to addiction and memory loss. It would be a major time commitment so I don’t have high hopes but it’s definitely worth the read at a minimum

Fantastic episode, I'm so happy to find you've already analyzed my new favorite thing! I do wish you had gone a bit deeper into Percy's relationship with Cassandra, reuniting, getting to know her, her teasing him, dealing with her seeming betrayal... (And if you decide to do a late episode on Cassandra, I'd be 🤩 to get your opinions on her taking the killing blow that Percy didn't.)

my heart rate when i saw you in that vest and glasses spiked, also great vid I always love your analyses

As always, amazing content. I love this show, this makes me love it even more. And now I'm as addicted to this channel as Percy is to vengeance. One great scene you might find interesting to look at is in ep 07 when he's explaining the origin of the pepperbox, Scanlan asks him who the sixth barrel is for. Percy doesn't say anything but the shadow behind him shows him holding the barrel to his head.