Wirxaw

After watching the first season of Vox Machina years ago - I didn't... feel like it deserves a second thought. So I forgot about it, and only now have cared enough to watch the new seasons.

And I maintain my impression, the show is just so... average. Nothing to severely criticize, nothing to praise. With all the screentime in the world, the ultimate story is just that... a filler. A filler based on the natural D&D filler. Nothing good comes out of D&D. Classics, but not cult-classics. That's what D&D legacy is for - to do the setting justice.

Perhaps the three main ways to describe Vox Machina is: "cute korean animation", "plenty of body humor" and "D&D setting".

But there is no specialty to the animation, like Arcane. I hate that show passionately, especially for how pretentious it is, but I have to admit that it had "strengths" that this diluted slop doesn't have.

There is no good story. How I wish for DotA: Dragon's Blood to go on, but they've managed to tell an incomparably better story in 24 episodes of the same korean animation of the same length... than this by now 36-episode slop can not "get to the point".

Music is good, Neil Acree is a Blizzard legend, but his music here is more thematic, almost trailer-like.

The show is like a snack. You enjoy consuming it, realizing that it's not some delicacy to like or dislike, but just a daily grub. Like Simpsons.

And on top of that, season 3 seemed to force ideology. I could forgive one pair of characters, who were hinted at before, and one relatively "original" character - but they went further. On purpose. Trying to write ideology not where it makes sense, but where it can fit without raising too many alarms. But there is no forgiveness for that. Two seasons they knew how to keep it diverse, but civil, then someone gave them the order, and forever marred this show, which otherwise could deserve a 7.

So, again, do not be fooled by the empty positive praise. There's nothing to praise here. It can only be consumed. And it's not the worst thing to consume.

Although one personal note is that I couldn't help but feel like Vax is like an old Sokka from Avatar. Maybe it's the character, maybe the animation. That alone meant more to me than any D&D tropes.

I haven't read the source material, and I had no expectations. I also have not watched any apple originals, so I also did not realize that there are worse things than netflix.

When I watched season 1 - I absolutely enjoyed the setting, the visuals, the actors. Lee Pace is challenging Anthony Starr for charisma, he is literally the young Ceasar from HBO'S Rome series, played by Ciaran Hinds. Laura Birn's character may not be facially impressive, but the range of emotions and body language that she has to express - shows that the actress deserves much more attention. And, of course, Jared Harris is like a game master from a D&D session - a sarcastic mastermind.

Supporting roles of Terrence Mann and Cassian Bilton also deliver very impressive storylines. And even Leah Harvey delivers a performance of a strong character that you can root for. Even though I personally can't stand her character's hairdo. Totally breaks immersion.

Visually the show loosely resembles Lynch's Dune, and not the bland and tasteless product of Villeneuve. Beautiful CGI and greenscreen, majestic cities and space tech will be a delight to behold.

Storywise - again, very close to Dune, with plenty of touches of Event Horizon, a powerful mixture. Every episode ends on a cliffhanger, you want to binge it and take it all in.

However... you have to be oblivious to certain... artistic touches of the modern cinema. And I was, for the duration of season 1. But season 2 has raised the concentration tenfold. Embracing the story became difficult. New story arcs made so little sense and felt so much like a pointless filler that by the end of season 2 - I kind of had a Westworld deja vu. It's also a series with a breathtaking pilot and idea, but what follows makes you wonder what does it even have to do with the pilot.

I can't exactly say that this show is as bad. We are a month away from Season 3 premiere. I could watch it, and it may not be the worst pastime. However, if you have read the source material, or respect your brain cells - watch Season 1. And maybe read\re-read the book. Get inspired, know when to exit the bus.

I can't go into more detail, the title of the review says it all, but there is a notable trope in season 2. It was present in Star Wars Episode VIII. It was hated by the entirety of the conscious world. It was a perfect example when the message goes a little bit too far, that there are limits to the ridicule. Ironically - Disney got the memo. But not apple. No, apple doubled down. Tripled down. On the exact same trope...

So, yeah, it's a complicated show. In many ways. I have no hopes of it getting better, but I can not not recommend either. But the message deserves only one response.

I'd like to begin that I don't believe that this is worth 4\10. That Asimov's work can be worth that score. But unfortunately I did not produce the show. I did not choose the audience. And I did not read the original.

So I kind of have to divine which is which. How much of what I see... is actual visionary Sci-Fi masterpiece... and how much is ... the work of .... "whatever" produced it. I know well enough what Netflix is. I can be surprised by Amazon. But apple original? That is new for me. And it seems like this is a new low.

Let me say it clear - the show is despicable. It's disgusting. Deplorable. It has DEI in its DNA. It breaths it, it's woven out of it. It's not a hint... not some reimagining. It's not Deathflix or Avatar. It's not Fallout. The level of depravity of this show can only be rivaled by Prey(2022). It's corruption absolute.

By rights I should give it hate score. Action warrants a reaction. The denial of such is not only forsaking everything we know of the modern world, it's invoking the primal tyranny, predating even the race issues that are so embellished nowadays.

So why haven't I? Well, because, even as a racist... I could see behind the facade. And value the art, not the artist. I could stomach the race question. And if I ignore the visuals... the hairdo, the traditions... and just imagine "what if" a person... no, a people, entirely out of even the remotest possibility of being in that setting - I could tolerate it. That's why Sci-Fi is different from Fantasy. What is damnable for a Witcher - is passable for a Star Wars.

And for the duration of the first season, if you look beyond the "message" - you can actually see wonderful actors doing a good job. Even the actors of color, I'll give them that. You can see beautiful scenery, modern-grade CGI and a story that at least supposedly based on a timeless novel material. That deserves recognition.

So why 4/10? Why not a moderate 5 or 6? Or even a respectable 7? Because there are nuances.

The first season, if I reviewed by the end of it, I'd easily rate at 6. With a penalty for nuances. But the second season starts not just with the race card. It goes into territory where things are normally banned by reasonable governments. And no show goes there without a good reason. It's like an R-rating - movies don't just shoot themselves in the foot to be edgy.

Which brings me to the most important nuance... The image. You see, we live in a dangerous time. We are past the silver and the golden age of cinema. There's a reason we have a meme "How does it feel to see all the greatest franchises go down in flames?" Well, it turns out - Foundation never had a franchise. It never had Blade Runner original. Or Lord of the Rings\Matrix\Harry Potter golden-age adaptation. It was never purely adapted.

And for any viewer, who, like me, would want to consult the written source material, to employ the imagination - the mind would involuntarily fill the gaps with what it has already seen. Such is the nature of brainwashing. I envy people, who have read the books and employed their own imaginations before watching this. And this is why the show risked ratings and bans. It can pay mere currency... to imprint this vision of the legendary fantasy - into any modern day viewer. Not unlike Villeneuve's Dune. But I'll give this show one thing - where Villeneuve is color-blind and tasteless, at least this show has CGI and grandeur that remotely resembles Lynch.

So this is the evil. The evil at the core of this show, and its producers. Pure evil. Evil that one thinks we have fought wars to defeat. But one that has come back just the same. It just took on a different color.

That is why I can not rate this show any higher. If you have read the source material - you can maybe watch it. If you have not read the source material, but possess a clear human mind - you can stomach it, detoxing it like a Bene Gesserit. But if you are young, or if you mind is weak or addled, and you have not read the source material, then know this - you are intended to be brainwashed.