Why Legend Of Vox Machina Using Briarwoods Is Smart For Season 1

Caution: Spoilers for The Legend of Vox Machina and Critical Role ahead!

The Legend of Vox Machina has repeatedly teased the appearance of the Briarwoods as the antagonists for the animated series’ first season, a genius move on the show’s part. In The Legend of Vox Machina’s final trailer, fans also got a brief glimpse at Delilah and Sylas Briarwood themselves, heavily featured in Critical Role’s second arc of its first campaign. It seems, unlike their appearance in Critical Role’s first campaign, the Briarwoods will take on the role of the first season’s villains rather than second, smartly capitalizing on the fan base’s love of the story arc and its necromantic villains.

In Critical Role, the immensely popular streamed show following a Dungeons & Dragons campaign (and basis for The Legend of Vox Machina), the Briarwoods were a married couple from the fictional continent of Wildemount who dabbled in necromancy and dark magic. They came to the city of Whitestone, home of Vox Machina member Percy de Rolo, murdered and usurped the de Rolo’s as rulers of the city, and set into motion a ritual that would play into the first campaign’s epic climax. Though their arc began and wrapped up early into Critical Role’s first campaign, the ramifications of their story spanned across multiple arcs and even into sequel campaigns.

Because of the impact the Briarwoods had on the Critical Role universe, the animated show The Legend of Vox Machinais smart to employ them as the freshman season’s first villains. Their flair for the melodramatic and larger-than-life characterization, along with their later appearances throughout the Critical Role franchise makes them a bold choice for the first season’s antagonists. Additionally, as the Briarwoods offer a plethora of insight into the backstory of core Vox Machina member Percy de Rolo, their appearance in the first season will be a great way to get newcomers to the series invested in one of its most beloved characters.

The Briarwoods are often thought of as being one of the more signature villains within the extensive, hundred-episode-long Critical Role universe, in large part due to their delightfully dark rapport and sinister schemes. One such plot, which involved the creation of a mysterious hovering black orb in an underground ziggurat beneath the city of Whitestone, created larger ramifications for the campaign as a whole, even leading to the resurrection of the Briarwoods later on in the first campaign. The introduction of the Briarwoods early on in The Legend of Vox Machina will no doubt establish them as not only season villains, but series ones, delighting fans of the original campaign.

Additionally, as mentioned, the Briarwoods have deep roots with Percy de Rolo and his backstory. The Briarwoods’ introduction into the Titmouse-animated The Legend of Vox Machina season 1 likely means that viewers will be treated to Percy’s character origins much earlier than in the original campaign. As a fan-favorite character, using Percy’s backstory as a launchpad for the series as a whole will be a great way to welcome in new fans as well as old ones who are familiar with the plotline.

The Critical Role universe is vast and dense, filled with dozens of memorable characters and villains. Because of this, it would have been easy for the new animated series to start almost anywhere within the series’ canon and thrill fans of the long-running tabletop campaign. However, The Legend of Vox Machina, in choosing to begin its series with the Briarwoods front and center, has smartly capitalized on one of its most beloved arcs, and given itself a great platform from which to launch.

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