The Legend of Vox Machina’s season four finale is one of the most emotional and devastating episodes yet. What starts as a frantic bid to save Grog quickly turns into a fight against fate itself, with Vox Machina broken and the future of Exandria in the balance.
In this Episode 12, the price of victory is sometimes unbearable: betrayals, sacrifices and a shocking death.# Pike Lost in Sorrow
Vox Machina hurry to the tower, only to find that Pike has completely submitted herself to Gideon. She gave her blood freely and believes that the ascension ritual is now unstoppable.
Pike chooses to betray her friends to save Gideon. Equipped with several Vestiges, she is one of the most dangerous foes the team has ever encountered. Her pain, her grief, her guilt have brought her to the edge. Reason is almost impossible.
Meanwhile, Vax knows that whatever else is coming, it will be Gideon who will bring about the prophecy that he would die. Still, he knows avoiding his destiny may no longer be possible.# Everything Changes With the Return of Grog
Pike’s rage is at its height in the heat of battle. She wields dark necromantic magic like Delilah’s, holding the rest of Vox Machina captive as she speaks of the pain she’s endured.
Things look bleak, until Grog suddenly springs back to life.
His resurrection immediately alters the emotional tone of the fight. Grog appeals to her humanity instead of attacking Pike. Seeing the man she thought lost standing before her forces Pike to face the damage she has done.
Together, the team gets to the hidden person beneath the grief and manipulation. At last Pike relaxes her guard and returns to her friends.# The Fight Against Gideon
With Pike back in their corner, Vox Machina prepares for one last attack on Gideon. Vax tries to disrupt the ritual and the rest of the team must fight to stop the Whispered One’s plans.
The fight comes to a head and Vax is saturated with powerful magic. Initially, it seems as though divine intervention will save the day in the end.
But the real turning point belongs to Keyleth.
Keyleth says no to destiny itself and charges in for the killing blow. Her refusal to accept the future laid out for them, as she murders Gideon and seemingly ends the threat for good, is one of the most memorable moments of the season.
Just in time, the heroes make it through the portal as Thar Amphala begins to collapse around them.# The Plan of the Whispered One Unveiled
And when victory is in the bag, the finale delivers its biggest curveball.
The Whispered One says Gideon’s death was never a loss. It was indeed a necessary part of his bigger plan. The ritual began with Pike’s blood. Gideon’s death was the last piece of the puzzle to his ascension.
Centuries ago, the Whispered One began to pull the strings, working from the shadows. It’s even possible that the formation of Vox Machina was part of his design.
He presents the heroes with an impossible choice before the people of Exandria. They can submit to him or they can watch Vax die.
Most of them choose to surrender in order to save their friend. Only Vax says no.
But Vax is defiant to the last, he challenges the Whispered One one final time. The villain, in turn, kills him and then disappears, leaving the heroes devastated and the world terrified.Did Vax Really Die?
The finale doesn’t answer all of the questions.
Sure, Vax’s death is a tragedy, but the series has a history of reversing what felt like permanent losses. Grog’s return is proof that death isn’t always permanent in this world.
The Matron’s link to Vax might still be relevant further down the line, and the healing elixir brought up earlier in the story might show up in future episodes.
One of the biggest mysteries heading into next season is whether or not Vax is really dead.# Concluding Thoughts
The Season 4 finale has one of the darkest endings in The Legend of Vox Machina. The heroes technically stop Gideon, but in the end they realize they’ve been manipulated all along.
Pike’s redemption. Grog’s return. Keyleth’s defining moment. Vax’s heartbreaking sacrifice. All of this, combined, makes for an emotionally charged finale that changes the series forever.
The Whispered One has won, Exandria is at its most vulnerable, and Vox Machina is starting its next chapter more splintered than ever.
9 out of 10