The Legend of Vox Machina: The Better Underdog Story (VIDEO SCRIPT)

/This video is sponsored by The Legend of Vox Machina, now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video/

Readers, when I saw that Critical Role’s goal to raise money for an animated special based on their Vox Machina campaign was completely funded within an HOUR of its launch -- let alone be able to raise over 11 million to turn it into an animated series -- I wasn’t at all surprised.

Not only do I understand how a strong fanbase works and operates when it comes to financially supporting independent creators -- shoutout to all my supporters on Patreon, by the way

But to paraphrase a very famous Middle Earth elf, “I was there”

I watched a collective unit simultaneously say back in 2019 -- in real time -- that this is something they wanted. And, low key I’m kinda thankful they did

Because not only are we getting more adult animation and showing the legitimacy of its medium for spectrums outside of children’s programming...

/But thanks to and despite it being an adaptation, The Legend of Vox Machina presents itself as a great example of both honoring and subverting tropes in order to bring something fresh, exciting, and immediately wanting to know what happens next./

What makes me impressed with how The Legend of Vox Machina does all of this, however, is that it’s able to successfully accomplish all of this within its first episode alone

So for Today’s Lesson, I want to focus on the tropes and storytelling techniques that episode 1 of The Legend of Vox Machina implements and subverts that initially got me -- a Campaign 2 starter with very little knowledge of Vox Machina -- excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.

And it all has to do with a little something I like to call, “The Underdogs.” Let’s begin.
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Hey Readers. La’Ron here, offering you analysis and perspective on your favorite bits of geek and pop culture media

And I want to be as transparent as humanly possible when I say that, despite it being sponsored, all of my thoughts, views and opinions in this video are 100% mine and mine alone.

As someone who has been excited to watch this series from the moment that it was announced it would be a full-fledged animated series, a video on The Legend of Vox Machina from me was inevitable, whether or not I would have the official backing of Amazon Prime Video.

But as a content creator, I feel obligated to make sure that my words and thoughts are mine first and foremost, and that they will ALWAYS be, despite the backing. Said transparency is important to me as I continue on with this venture, and I hope it is for you as well.

That’s the syllabus. Now onto the lesson.

So How Popular Are Underdogs?

Well, if modern day media is any indication, then the proof is in the pudding. And that’s all thanks to sports movies, surprisingly enough.

Sure, we were initially introduced to the concept in the original Rocky movie, but then ensemble sports films really started to make it commonplace and engrave the trope as it currently applies to teams into our heads.

Films like “A League of their Own” and “The Mighty Ducks” are key examples of how underdog narratives got their footing in the early 90’s; both of the aforementioned examples -- coincidentally enough -- being released in 1992.

What makes underdogs in sports movies so appealing however, is that they’re usually expected to fail.

They don’t have coordination or teamwork skills. They’re the last pick for gym class sports for one reason or another. They’re juvenile delinquents or are written off by society, or both.

All of these aspects come together to make them seem like they can’t win the big fight at the end, and sometimes they don’t.

But even WHEN they don’t, the journey in seeing them grow, work together, gain an appreciation for themselves when others usually have VERY little faith in them, and have a new perspective on life for themselves and each other is just as rewarding to us as seeing them win.

Soon, it got to the point where the Underdog formula got so popular in sports films that it branched out into other genres as well; competition or otherwise.

From using the trope with delinquent high schoolers participating in a choir competition in Sister Act 2, to a group of castaway nobodies across space in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Nobody counts on them to be honest, be coordinated or selfless enough to properly work together, or have what it takes to either win the day or do the right thing; sometimes both.

It’s this reason alone that I’m glad both the underdog trope and the concept of a ragtag band of misfits found life outside of sports narratives and people realized that they can be adapted into other genres. Because they DO work together, and the combination DOES work outside of sports genres. Especially in my two aforementioned examples.

Then there’s How The Legend of Vox Machina Does It.

Like I said before, Readers. Thanks to the evolution and the allowance of certain tropes and devices to branch out into different genres, the ragtag group of misfits wrapped in the blanket of the Underdog has been seen in multiple stories outside of sports.

What makes The Legend of Vox Machina so intriguing to watch for me however, is that the show is able to establish these devices in the story it’s going to tell over the course of the season from just the first episode alone.

/And not just in the visuals, which definitely help when it comes to showing off the group's mix-matched abilities, prone to unnecessary conflict, and the overall difference in how they see themselves versus how the people of Emon do. But also in how the episode acknowledges the make-up they represent and steps out of its proverbial box. Or, to keep things close to the metaphor, substitutes the blanket for something close to a snuggie/

While the visuals definitely help when it comes to getting the point across that this is a team of losers, it’s also the way the dialogue is both given and placed throughout the episode that shows that they’re underdogs. Not just from the people of Emon, but among themselves.

It’s done in ways that show the uniqueness of the characters' separate personalities, their opinions of other individuals in the group, and how hidden secrets and traumatic pasts play into a lot of the decision-making processes that give them that vibe.

/Vex and Vax are perfect examples. They deliver a sense of arrogance, secrecy, and self-preservation about them that constantly puts the group at odds with each other and limits others' possible positive perception of them. So much so, that even their fellow party member Keyleth picks up on it in the beginning of the episode./

/But as the episode progresses, not only do you see that the aura of selfishness that the twins present over the course of it can pretty much be wiped away like dust if you apply a good enough helping of Pledge on the surface, but that there’s roots to why that aspect about their personalities exist in the first place, and that they run pretty deep./

So now with this angle about Vex and Vax revealed to both the rest of the party and now the audience, it makes you wonder what secrets are being hidden by other members of the party that -- thanks surface-level pride keeping them from fully opening up and trusting in each other -- is keeping them from reaching their full potential as an adventuring party.

/What aspects about what Vox Machina is dealing with is going to unfurl member by member as we progress in future episodes that will allow them via trust and comradery to band together, get their shit together and win the day?/

To paraphrase the Mandela Effect originating from a South Park parody of -- conveniently enough -- yet ANOTHER underdog tale

How Can We Reach This Team?

So when I said that Episode 1 of The Legend of Vox Machina both honors and subverts the one-two combo of the Underdog and Ragtag Bunch of Misfits tropes, that wasn’t hyperbole.

Because the way that the show branches out from what the subgenre established even back during its sports days, is the team’s lack of a coach.

Usually the coach is also down on their luck, assigned the team because no one else will touch them with a ten-foot pole.

Sometimes this is exactly how its played out like in The Mighty Ducks, Hardball, even Rocky Balboa himself in Creed, or in the form of teachers and instructors upon the trope branching out to different genres, like Sister Act 2.

While the coach is supposed to help the team become a unit, they as a result, are developed into a better character than they started out the story in, thanks to the team being grateful that their coach saw potential in them and decided to nurture it.

What’s intriguing about The Legend of Vox Machina however, is that while the party is the team in this comparison, there’s no active coach.

/Sure there’s Pike and Keyleth, the voice of reason and heart of the group respectively. But instead of one person motivating them to do better and them motivating that one person right back as a form of thanks and gratitude, they motivate each other./

/Whether thanks to situations that happen over the course of the episode, or one character subconsciously choosing to do something different after receiving a very harsh critique, the group that is Vox Machina in just the first episode alone acts as both the team AND the coach./

They see each other, they help each other, and then help each other right back.

/Despite what secrets they’re keeping from each other, despite how they choose to mask their inner turmoil, them becoming their own support network allows there to be an even playing field of respect and growth among all seven members of Vox Machina. Especially when the events of the world prompt them to do so./

Conclusion

So no. I wasn’t at all surprised that The Legend of Vox Machina received as much backing as it did when Critical Role’s original goal was to make one animated special back in 2019.

What I AM surprised about is how much love, care, and storytelling intrigue that was present in this first half of Vox Machina’s origin story -- that would’ve been untold otherwise -- without it feeling crowded or rushed.

Seeing clear homages to tropes and storybeats that have been tried and true devices in visual media years before The Legend of Vox Machina was even conceptualized, only for them to be turned on their heads in order for the party to better resonate all within the span of a half hour not only has me excited to see what the second half of this story has in store for me

/But also the rest of the season has in store for these ragtag band of misfits/

But I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:

Write in the comment section below what you thought of the first episode of The Legend of Vox Machina if you’ve seen it

Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, what your favorite stories involving underdogs are.

Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.

/Thanks again to The Legend of Vox Machina for sponsoring this video, and click the link in the description box below to catch new episodes exclusively on Amazon Prime Video!/

/A HUGE shoutout to my Patrons both big and small for helping make this channel possible.

Make sure you check out the card at the end of the video to see if you want to join, or click the link to it or any of my affiliates in the description box below.

Until next time, this is Readus 101. Class dismissed./