A few thoughts about the Season 4 finale and Vax's decision. Spoiler alert.
I probably wouldn't have written this post if I hadn't seen a ton of criticism towards the other members of Vox Machina.
A lot of people probably won't agree with me, and that's completely fair, everyone had their own opinion. What I'm about to say will probably make quite a few people angry. Well... sorry, not sorry.
What Vax did at the end was pure stupidity.
Why? Let me explain.
Some of his fans are calling him a hero and praising his actions as noble, but all I see is recklessness and selfishness. There's always a fine line between heroism and idiocy. Maybe I'm just too cynical to understand Vax, but what I saw was someone who put his own pride and wounded ego above the lives of the people standing beside him. And let's not forget that, at that moment, almost his entire family was there (only Scanlan was missing). He didn't seem to care that provoking the Whispered One could get his girlfriend, his sister, and his friends killed. To him, it was more important to "save face."
Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war. Giving up is humiliating, but they needed to regroup. They were completely exhausted after Thar Amphala. And the Whispered One wouldn't have killed them if they had all submitted. He would have left them alive as a form of humiliation, since everyone witnessed this moment and, most likely, deeply hated them for their "betrayal."
What also frustrates me is seeing people say things like, "I'm so disappointed in everyone else. Vax was the only one who stayed true to himself until the end." NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
The others didn't submitted because they were afraid of the Whispered One, they submitted because Vax's life was on the line. Unlike him, they swallowed their pride for his sake. Because they care about him. If Vax had shown even a little tactical thinking or cunning, there's a good chance all of that drama could have been avoided.
I'm no Vax-hater, but let's not put down the others for trying to save him, even if it wasn't as "dramatic" and "heroic" as spitting in a lich's face.
I love vox machina but dammn, Vex really became a background character. She was the one making plans in seasons 1 and was kind of the 'leader' or at least the one that puts the group in check, and now her brother dies and we don't even see her reacting to it. No arc, no plot for her, we don't even see her talk to her brother or try to find a way to make him survive, which is so contradictory to what we know about her. I'm supposed to believe that Vex who loves her brother and was the only person she really had for years and years, gives up his life for her, and is depressed because he's going to die soon and she's just like "oh no :("
We saw keyleth losing sleep and crashing out multiple times but Vex? She even went on to kill Anna Rippley as revenge for Percy, but for Vax? We see her do nothing. So out of character for her considering what we know about the twins.
edit: also while I do love Vax, not everything has to be about him lol. I'm glad we're seeing more Pike now and keyleth. Grog was also a very prominent part of the plot and so is Percy. Then there's Vex. Free my girl
stormborns
amandla
blakekathryn
titsay
theartofmadeline
2087
