Maybe I'm out of line here
I kinda think Grog has to die.
So I haven't watched the Critical Role campaign, so I don't know how season 5 of TLOVM is gonna wrap up, but I do kinda think Grog or at least someone on the team has to be perma-dead.
The power of the Whispered One is the reason that Grog is back from the dead, right? I know that the WO is a manipulator, but it's a lot more compelling if at least some of the stuff he was telling Pike is true.
If Pike hadn't gone to the dark side for a few hours to allow for The Whispered One's ascension to godhood, Grog would still be dead. And idk, for some reason that just rubs me the wrong way narratively. Because it's kind of saying that if you time it just right, you can use the powers of an evil lich god to bring your buddies back but still end up on the right side.
I'm still forming my thoughts on what I think the theme/message of this season is and how well I think it executed in that regard, but I feel like the moral issue this season is grappling with is how/if one should resist their fate. Vox Machina can't exactly claim to be against making deals with dubious gods to bring back their dead/damned friends, but when they brought Percy back it was through their own sheer force of will and ingenuity and willingness to sacrifice themselves. It's their strength that allows them to change their fates, which is what the power fantasy of D&D is all about. Whereas the Whispered One can't do that. He has to manipulate and hurt people and kill the innocent in order to gain power because he can't deal with the pain of loss.
So we have two ways of resisting fate. Of resisting death itself. One sanctioned. One not. Problem is, Grog came back the second way. If all those people didn't blood sacrifice themselves to give the Whispered One his power, Grog would still be mincemeat.
Pike makes the decision to side with Gideon/The WO because they have the same character flaw: they're not willing to deal with the pain of loss. If Pike doesn't lose someone, then she hasn't really changed. The refusal to accept Grog's death is what led her down the dark side.
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