Since both Critical Role shows have their fans, the question of whether The Legend Of Vox Machina or The Mighty Nein is the franchise’s best offering is a hard one to answer. There has never been a better time to be a fan of fantasy TV, especially when it comes to R-rated, mature outings in the genre. Throughout the ‘00s, viewers would have been lucky to be blessed with a show like BBC’s Merlin or The Legend of the Seeker every few years, and few of these titles lasted more than a few seasons.
Then Game of Thrones, HBO’s seminal adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire saga, arrived in 2011 and changed everything. The massive success of the two Game of Thrones spinoffs, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is proof of the show’s enduring popularity, but it is still tough to overstate just how much the mainstream acclaim that met Game of Thrones reshaped the TV and streaming landscape in the decade and a half since its debut.
From AMC’s Interview with the Vampire and its shared Immortal Universe to Netflix’s The Witcher and Castlevania franchises to Prime Video’s record-breakingly expensive Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power, there is a slew of big-budget, high-profile fantasy projects that simply would never have happened without Game of Thrones. Among the most critically acclaimed of these are Prime Video’s two Critical Role shows, The Legend Of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein.
The Legend Of Vox Machina Set A High Bar For Prime Video’s Critical Role Universe
Both adaptations of the popular actual play podcast Critical Role, The Legend Of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein, are set in the universe of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The Legend Of Vox Machina is based on a rewritten version of Critical Role’s popular first campaign, while its spinoff, The Mighty Nein, is set 20 years later and based on the podcast’s second campaign.
Both Critical Role shows have a lot in common, with their two plots centering on groups of mismatched antiheroes forced together by circumstance who must adapt to their changing mission as the show’s twisty tale unfolds. The Legend Of Vox Machina takes place in Exandria, where the half-elf ranger Vex and her pet grizzly bear Trinket, the human Percy, the gnome cleric Pike, the half-elf rogue Vax, the half-elf druid Keyleth, the gnome bard Scanlan, and the barbarian Grog must work together to defeat Brimscythe, the unstoppable blue dragon that massacred their village.
Blending the playful wit of Brandon Sanderson with the darkest flourishes of Game of Thrones, The Legend Of Vox Machina is a rare fantasy show that is both unapologetically R-rated and also remains relatively fun. This might seem like a strange claim, but where shows like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and The Witcher highlight the cynicism of their protagonists, The Legend Of Vox Machina recaptures the fun and camaraderie of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, albeit with plenty of gore, swearing, and other adult content.
The Mighty Nein Offered A Darker Critical Role Story
This is a vital point to note, since The Legend Of Vox Machina’s 2025 spinoff, The Mighty Nein, offers viewers a darker take on the franchise. Following the tiefling cleric Jester, the blood hunter Molly, the barbarian Yasha, the wizards Essek and Caleb, the human monk Beau, the goblin rogue Nott the Brave, and the half-orc warlock Fjord Stone, The Mighty Nein is grittier and more morally ambiguous, following the titular group’s establishment throughout season 1.
Where The Legend Of Vox Machina’s team of heroes are unambiguously good, if troublesome, guys who work together from the start, The Mighty Nein’s more divided crew gradually come together as the series progresses. Where The Legend Of Vox Machina gives viewers the sort of unapologetically fun fantasy adventures that fans of 2023’s Honor Among Thieves might associate with Dungeons & Dragons, The Mighty Nein’s traumatic backstories and grim redemption arcs are more of a piece with HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise.
The Legend of Vox Machina’s main characters all have their own foibles, of course, but they are a unit at heart and rely on each other as a team. In contrast, The Mighty Nein’s main characters keep many of their dark secrets guarded from each other, giving the series a heavier tone and a more dramatic feel. While the former has a classic band of larger-than-life misfits working together, the latter focuses on a conflicted found family who are drawn together by paranoia, political intrigue, and shared trauma.
The Mighty Nein’s Moral Ambiguity Makes It The Most Mature Critical Role Series
While this rundown might make it seem like The Legend Of Vox Machina is fun where The Mighty Nein is a punishing watch, this is hardly a fair summation of the two shows. One could even argue that the comparative darkness of The Mighty Nein’s tone means viewers are likely to get more attached to the more recent show’s heroes, since they have been through more internal turmoil than the classic sword and sorcery heroes of its franchise predecessor.
That said, maturity isn’t the only thing that draws viewers into fantasy shows, and this is doubly true in the genre’s current era. When Netflix’s League of Legends show Arcane, HBO’s Philip Pullman adaptation His Dark Materials, and Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time are already offering heavy, thoughtful fantasy outings on the small screen, it would be fair if some viewers just wanted to recreate the experience of a fun, light-hearted but action-packed Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
The Legend Of Vox Machina Is The Critical Role Franchise’s Best Show (So Far)
With four consistently great seasons to its name, The Legend Of Vox Machina is the best Critical Role show so far solely thanks to its seniority. The original adaptation has had more time to establish its world, its characters, and the stakes of their adventures, making The Legend Of Vox Machina one of the most consistently compelling fantasy shows on streaming right now.
However, The Mighty Nein follows hot on its heels and, with its more morally ambiguous storytelling, the complex, mature fantasy spinoff may well overtake The Legend Of Vox Machina in seasons to come. In any case, the very fact that it is tough to choose between The Legend Of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein is a testament to just how great both Critical Role shows are.
- Release Date
-
January 27, 2022
- Network
-
Prime Video
- Showrunner
-
Brandon Auman
- Directors
-
Young Heller, Eugene Lee, Alicia Chan
- Writers
-
Eugene Son, Travis Willingham, Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Suzanne Keilly, Mae Catt, Todd Casey, Ashly Burch, May Chan, Marc Bernardin
-
Laura Bailey
Vex’ahlia (voice)
-
Taliesin Jaffe
Percy (voice)