Is Vax Dead & What Comes Next

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Legend of Vox Machina season 4.

The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending is filled with battles, twists, and huge deaths, raising the question of what comes next. The Legend of Vox Machina‘s season 4 reviews dubbed it the darkest of the bunch so far, and the ending three episodes prove exactly why. Not only did the titular team head into the realm of the Whispered One, which itself is animated with a dark, foreboding purple color palette, but they did so following the loss of Grog and Pike.

This followed directly from the ending of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4, episode 9, with Grog seemingly dead and Pike alone in Thar Amphala. This led to the Whispered One, who convinced Pike to lend him her blood to complete his ascension to godhood, using her grief and, thus, her desire to revive Grog and Wilhand, and her disillusionment in the gods. What followed was the final battle between Vox Machina, a turned Pike, the Unalive Five, and the Whispered One himself.

With one member of The Legend of Vox Machina‘s cast seemingly dead, another on the side of the enemy, and the rest scattered in a deadly realm, the ending of season 4 was suitably epic. Still, it didn’t exactly end in a nice bow, especially with the final chapter of season 5 looming. In fact, The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending had several twists, character turns, big battles, and huge deaths that left it on a massive cliffhanger, leading many to wonder what this means going forward.

Is Vax Really Dead After The Legend Of Vox Machina Season 4?

Undoubtedly, the biggest lingering plot point as of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending is the fate of Vax’ildan. The final three episodes revealed that the blight Vax had suffered all season was actually a gift from the Matron of Ravens, who was preparing her champion for his journey into Thar Amphala. There, Vax received extra buffs, from a stronger set of armor to light daggers that, when used in the right spot, could defeat the Whispered One’s acolytes for good.

This is how Vox Machina killed the Unalive Five before facing down the Whispered One himself. A catch of this, though, was the Matron’s reveal that Vax’s own fate will be cut short when he faced the Whispered One, which Keyleth assumed she had avoided upon killing the villain with Mythcarver. Nonetheless, despite a brief moment of believing they’d won, Vox Machina witnessed the rise of the Whispered One, who forced them to submit using threats to Vax.

All members of Vox Machina kneeled before him, but Vax quite literally spat in the god’s face. The Whispered One then shot a bolt of magic through Vax’s forehead, disintegrating him. Naturally, the main question now is whether Vax is actually dead. After all, The Legend of Vox Machina has had “deaths” before, be it Vex’s in season 2, Percy’s in season 3, and even Grog’s last episode, all of which were reversed. Moreover, Vax has a direct connection to one of Exandria’s gods, the Matron of Ravens.

With all of this in mind, and knowledge from the Critical Role campaign on which The Legend of Vox Machina is based, Vax will return in season 5. If the show follows the campaign to the letter, Vax will awaken in the Raven Mother’s realm, who sends him back one final time with the promise to defeat the Whispered One. If he does, Vax must then return to her in death. Therefore, while Vax will return from his disintegration in The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending, his mission to defeat his enemy may be his last.

The Whispered One’s Plan Explained In Full

Another of the bigger reveals in The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending was the Whispered One’s plan. It started simple: the Whispered One needed Pike’s Celestial blood to rise to godhood, upon which he would usher in a world where death is no more, using the power of his believers. Mythcarver was said to be the only thing that could stop him, which seemingly came to pass when Keyleth used the Vestige of Divergence to kill his mortal host, Gideon, played by fantasy legend Andy Serkis.

However, the Whispered One rose anyway, revealing centuries of manipulation to make his plan come to fruition. The Whispered One needed only one thing after receiving Pike’s blood: for his mortal body to be destroyed. Alongside manipulating Pike away from the Everlight using Wilhand and Grog, the Whispered One planted the seeds that Mythcarver was the only thing that could kill him. This was a lie, though, to boost the chance that he would be killed by any means.

In order to increase that chance, the Whispered One was also revealed to be the reason why Taryon Darrington sought out Vox Machina, which resulted in the group reuniting. That way, as heroes of the realm, the Whispered One assured they would try to stop him, further increasing his chance of losing his mortal body after receiving Pike’s blood. Evidently, these centuries of planning paid off, with one of his many contingencies resulting in Keyleth killing Gideon, allowing him to transcend into the Whispered One’s godly form at the end of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4.

Why Pike Returns To Being An Ally In Vox Machina Season 4’s Finale

Pike was instrumental to The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending, starting with her turn to join the Whispered One. Alone in Thar Amphala, Pike was manipulated by the dark god to join him. Be it her grief over Wilhand and Grog’s deaths, her unending wish to bring them back, the lack of faith she recently had in the Everlight, her frustrations with Vox Machina, or Scanlan’s rejection, the Whispered God stoked Pike’s darkest insecurities and promised her a life without death or abandonment, leading her to join him and give him her blood.

As expected, Pike didn’t stay a villain until the end of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4. After being confronted by her friends, particularly a revived Grog, Pike rejoined the others as a key member of Vox Machina. Although the words of Vax, Vex, Percy, and Keyleth certainly had an effect on Pike, it was the revived Grog who truly swayed her back to the group. Immediately, despite just having died, Grog tried to jump back into the fight against the Whispered One, as he knew that no god who kills innocents disparagingly can be good.

Grog’s simple view of good and evil impacts Pike, though not enough to fully shake her from her newfound faith in the Whispered One. Only after Pike harms Grog does she realize her mistakes. Grog reminds her that she has to let go of the people she has lost and honor them in other ways, reminding her that Wilhand taught him that “A life don’t mean a thing if it’s spent causin’ hurt.” This causes Pike to stay behind as the rest leave to face the Whispered One.

At one point during the fight, Grog loses Mythcarver. This solidifies Pike’s return, with the gnome retrieving the Vestige of Divergence and rejoining her team. She later tries to apologise, with the team reminding her that all that matters is that she came back. As of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending, Pike is back where she belongs, likely preparing alongside her team to defeat the Whispered One once and for all.

Is Grog’s Resurrection Permanent?

A big reason for Pike’s initial turn towards the Whispered One was his promise to resurrect Grog. As alluded to, this came to pass, with Grog coming back, surviving the ensuing fight, and being alive as of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending. Nevertheless, it is logical to wonder whether Grog’s resurrection will be reversed, especially given that it was caused by the Whispered One himself. Now that the latter is a god, it remains to be seen whether he keeps to his word.

After all, a major source of belief in the Whispered One among the Children of Truth is his ability to prevent death; reversing Grog’s resurrection would surely cause that belief to slip. Additionally, the Whispered One stated that the magic he granted could be taken away, implying that he could kill Grog easily. As of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending, however, Grog is still alive, meaning any questions over his fate will have to be answered in the show’s final season.

That Was Just Vox Machina’s ‘Infinity War’ Moment

Although The Legend of Vox Machina season 4’s ending feels suitably climactic, this was only the show’s Avengers: Infinity War moment. That movie ended with the Avengers losing to Thanos, with the latter essentially becoming a god, removing half of all life in the universe, and leaving those who were left to pick up the pieces. In a sense, The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 provided exactly that.

The Whispered One won; his ascension came to pass, his Children of Truth infiltrated the biggest areas of Exandria and imprisoned the non-believers, Vax was killed, and the rest of Vox Machina looked hopeless in their attempts to fight back. This renders The Legend of Vox Machina season 5 the franchise’s Avengers: Endgame to season 4’s Infinity War. The team must rally, use all of their skills and allies, and defeat this massive threat to their world once and for all in the final chapter of the story.

Release Date

January 27, 2022

Network

Prime Video

Showrunner

Brandon Auman

• 

  Laura Bailey

  Vex’ahlia (voice)

• 

  Taliesin Jaffe

  Percy (voice)

•