‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ Season 4 Just Broke Fans’ Hearts and the Cast Promises Season 5 Will Make It Worth It
Few animated series on Prime Video have built the kind of devoted following that ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ has cultivated over its four seasons. What began as a Dungeons and Dragons actual-play stream populated by well-known voice actors has become one of the dominant forces in contemporary storytelling, leading to multiple spin-offs, including the animated Prime Video series that has captivated audiences worldwide. The show has always taken emotional risks, but nothing quite prepared viewers for what awaited them at the end of this latest chapter.
Season four of ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ has received a perfect score from critics, with every reviewer giving it a positive review and an average rating of 8.40 out of 10. The three-episode finale batch, titled ‘The Poisoned Ear,’ ‘Let the End Begin,’ and ‘The Ascension,’ dropped simultaneously on June 24, bringing season four to its devastating conclusion. The final arc cranked the emotional stakes far beyond anything the show had previously attempted, and the payoff left the fandom reeling.
After four seasons of battles, heartbreak, and hard-fought victories, Prime Video’s ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ delivered a devastating finale for its latest installment. The season closed with the death of Vax, a shocking twist that left both the heroes and viewers reeling. The Whispered One demanded that Vox Machina bow down and kneel before him. To save Vax’s life, the team had no choice, and one by one, the proud and chaotic heroes submitted and dropped to their knees. Everyone except Vax. True to his character, Vax refused to bow, looked a literal god in the eye, and was subsequently disintegrated by the Whispered One, turning to dust right in front of Keyleth and the rest of the horror-stricken team.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey opened up about the decision to end the season with Vax’s death. O’Brien recalled that it partly came from very early discussions in the show’s development, when Critical Role determined the major moments that were important to depict. Vax’s death, he explained, was one of those things that was a “pole in the sand” for the series, as the group “knew it had to happen,” given it was “such a turning point” and “dark downturn” heading into “the final run of the story.” Bailey then offered a more personal reflection, admitting that the scene hit the entire cast hard. As she told Screen Rant, “Yeah, it’s devastating, but I think it’s gonna be extra special for season 5. I feel like it was very sad. There may or may not have been a lot of tears happening.”
O’Brien added that the cast wanted to capture the same emotions fans experienced during the original Critical Role campaign, sharing that they and their cohorts felt “all the weight and pain and love that happened around the table” during Vax’s initial death in the tabletop game, and made those feelings “the end goal” for the season. That rawness translates powerfully on screen, and it speaks to how deeply the voice cast is still invested in these characters after more than a decade living with them.
The question burning through every corner of the fandom now is whether Vax is actually dead. The show has had deaths before, including Vex’s in season 2 and Percy’s in season 3, all of which were reversed. Moreover, Vax has a direct connection to one of Exandria’s gods, the Matron of Ravens, which may still offer the team a possible path forward. With season 5 confirmed to be the final chapter of the animated series, work on it was already more than halfway done during the airing of season 4. Laura Bailey expressed relief and gratitude that the team gets to complete Vox Machina’s story, while Liam O’Brien acknowledged it will be “an accomplishment and bittersweet to close the series.”
Whether Vax returns in some form or his sacrifice becomes the emotional cornerstone that drives the team through the final battle against the Whispered One, one thing is clear: ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ is swinging for the fences in its closing act. With every member of the cast emotionally invested and the stakes at an all-time high, the road to season 5 has rarely felt more urgent. Do you think Vax’s death is permanent, or does his bond with the Matron of Ravens give Critical Role a way to bring him back for the final chapter?
