Tear Jerker / Critical Role: Vox Machina

Sad and heartbreaking moments from the first Critical Role campaign involving Vox Machina.

Episode 03: Strange Bedfellows

• When Clarota explains his backstory you will feel sorry for the creepy guy. He developed arcane powers that made him think he was a diseased freak, unable to hide his new powers and banished from his home. He wandered the Underdark, Reduced To Rat Burgers, and then watches as his community (that he still longs for) is enslaved by an outside menace. When Keyleth and Vex find him, he is huddling in rags.

Episode 05: The Trick About Falling

• Even as Vox Machina makes an urgent escape from the war camp, and the dark dwarves are hurling spears at them, all Vex can think about is Trinket, who they left behind on the other side of the chasm during their infiltration. Laura looks very sad indeed.

Episode 08: Glass and Bone

• Keyleth's argument against and her initial suspicions regarding Lady Kima cause the paladin to break down into tears.
  • Also, said arguments regarding Kima and the Horn of Orcus suggests that she had a (currently unknown) nasty situation regarding those who follow religious deities, thus why she distrusts those who place far too much faith in them to the point of believing that faith alone would protect them as well as those who believe that they have to kill because their gods told them to do it.
• Trinket falls unconscious in the battle against the abyssal abomination, and while the entire party looks really worried, Laura Bailey is on the verge of tears and a breakdown.

Episode 09: Yug'Voril Uncovered

• During the campfire after defeating Queen Ulara, Keyleth elaborates further about her distrust about Kima. Vax insights her and interrupts Clarota's suggestion to just take Kima back due to her instability. As Vax reassures Keyleth that he and the rest of the party are there for her, she breaks down and questions what they're all doing, especially herself.

Episode 11: The Temple Showdown

• Grog offers a sip from the Cask of Ale to the Fomorian Giant that Keyleth geassed. Instead, the giant rips the top off and drinks the whole thing. Grog is so mad he headbutts the thing in fury. The cast laugh (Travis included) but Travis makes it a powerful scene. "You. Do not fuck. With Grog's. Cask of Ale." That line makes the line from Grog's intro hit right in the feels, "Two great loves in his life: combat, women, and ale."
  I'm grieving now...Leave me be.
  • Additionally, Travis himself takes this so seriously that when he declares a natural 20 on the athletics check for the headbutt, Matt asks Ashley to verify it.

Episode 16: Enter Vasselheim

• We get insight into Keyleth's backstory. Namely, the fact that her mother had disappeared on the same quest that she is currently on, and she doesn't even know if she's dead or alive.
• At the end of the episode, Pike departs for the foreseeable future, since Ashley was leaving for New York to film a television pilot. Not a dry eye in the house during that announcement. Liam in particular seems very down and on the verge of crying, barely choking back his tears.

Episode 17: Hubris

• Grog's Heroic BSoD after losing the fight, while funny at times, is mostly sad. The players note that Travis hasn't been this upset, let alone Grog.
  • What's even sadder is that Grog had actually beaten his opponent (Matt said he was at -5 HP), but thanks to a racial ability of orcs to bring themselves back to 1 HP from what would otherwise be a death-dealing blow, Grog's opponent was able to land a knockout blow on him instead. The half-orc essentially used Once More to get the final hit. THAT... is depressing on a whole other level.
  • Vex is the one who asks where the nearest whorehouse is:
    Tiberius: Don't put on that red light.
    Vex: We'll get you ice cream, Grog. And a whore. How's that sound?
  • Grog spends the night Drowning My Sorrows and then Matt narrates his inability to perform with a free whore. It was not a good day for our favorite Barbarian.
  • Then to top it all off, the group takes their mid-session break immediately after it. It's finally too much for Travis, who storms off and delivers a great off-camera F Bomb.
  • Tiberius's morning-after intervention, where he asks the bartender to replace Grog's ale with water. Grog's too hung over to notice.
    Grog: It's pretty smooth.
  • Matt reminds the party to mark off their expenses, including their gambling losses from Grog's defeat.
    Travis/Grog: (pouting) Where do I mark off my loss of pride?

Episode 18: Trial of the Take, Part 1

• While she's played quite funny, it's pretty easy to feel sympathetic toward Lyra. Based on offhanded dialogue, she's never had any friends before, and the guy she likes used her once for drunken sex and proceeded to ignore her ever after.
• The fate of the orc Scanlan dominated is surprisingly sad. The gnome tells it to "protect Grog" and so it goes. Lyra casts Chain Lightning and it continues despite his pain. Percy shoots off one of its legs, and even though it can barely stand, let alone walk, it still tries to "protect Grog". It doesn't stop until another bullet goes through its head, killing it. An outside observer might think this was Determinator style friendship.

Episode 19: Trial of the Take, Part 2

• The fate of the frost giant village that was destroyed by the white dragon Rimefang. In wanting to make the mountains his own, Rimefang slaughtered all but two of them, forcing said survivors into a lifetime of servitude. And considering that those two giants ended up being killed in the climactic battle against the wyrm, that means that with the aftermath of that battle, the entire history of the village and its inhabitants are lost forever.

Episode 21: Trial of the Take, Part 4

• A bit of a crossover, hearing Thorbir recount his friend Aeofel Elrohmane dying in an acid pool, and wishes not to meet the same fate.
• The flying carpet nearly being destroyed and, while it was able to be mended, losing the ability to fly for what seems to be for good. Even the party members not playing the game (ESPECIALLY Laura) and the viewers in the chat room watching the show live cried out when it occurred.
• Kashaw's backstory is horrific to say the least. There's a lot of death, a lot of pain, and perhaps the best (or rather, worst) example of It Sucks to Be the Chosen One ever.

Episode 22: Aramente to Pyrah

• [Keyleth reveals that she had a vision while with the Earth Ashari during the 6 month period where Greyskull Keep was being constructed, and that in the vision, she saw her own death.
  • To elaborate, Keyleth was shown two paths with the first showing an older, more seasoned woman with many young Ashari behind her, but she then ran away from that path, and when she went down the other one, she saw a young yet strong tree firmly rooted into the ground. Upon touching it, Keyleth could see her fellow companions of Vox Machina about to charge into battle... except she was not among them. It was after she heard them say "This one's for Keyleth!" and "This is for our princess!" that she realized that she had just witnessed the aftermath of her own death where she ended up becoming that tree. And when she tried to return to the other path, the druids she had seen before all vanished one by one. The older woman then told Keyleth "Your future is as important as it is fragile. Protect it." before vanishing herself. Keyleth then realized that the old woman was her had she stayed true to her path. The vision was to symbolize that she needed a strong will to complete her Aramente, to do what was necessary to stay alive... but even she knew that ever since she accidentally killed a child before the stream began, she began to have serious doubts to the point of it forming a block that would manifest whenever she tried to train with the Earth Ashari. This makes a few of her reactions to what occurred in the Underdark make a lot more sense.

Episode 23: The Rematch

• Kynan, the young fighter who aspires to join Vox Machina. Vax doesn't think the kid is ready, and so he knocks him out and gives him a lecture. Matt Mercer, as Kynan, immediately starts tearing up. The expression on his face is pretty heartbreaking. Dammit, Matt.
  Percy/Taliesin: Wait, wait, there. There's his heart breaking.

Episode 24: The Feast

• Taliesin starts to cry when Vox Machina tells Percy that they'll help him get his vengeance on the Briarwoods.

Episode 25: Crimson Diplomacy

• Vax's thoughts as he fell unconscious at the hands of the Briarwoods. He thinks of his friends, then of Keyleth, "beautiful, walking under the trees", and then of his sister Vex, remembering her as she grew up and calling her his best friend. Finally, before blacking out, he prays to Sarenrae to keep his friends safe. Unsurprisingly, Laura and Marisha were both in tears by the time he had finished.
• Percy listing the names of his parents and siblings when he threatens the carriage driver. His voice grows more and more broken as the man confirms that each of them are dead.

Episode 26: Consequences and Cows

• The audience with Uriel is bruising. On one side, there's the party upset because their friend no longer trusts them and is a step away from declaring them criminals. On the other side, there's this Reasonable Authority Figure aghast and disappointed that the rising heroes whose praises he song just the previous night have transformed into wild killers, or worse, exploited his trust to engage in a private vendetta.
• The story that Desmond the carriage driver tells is excruciating. His father worked as a messenger, and he ends up working as a driver for the Briarwoods to survive their massacre. He describes how they killed all their opposition - nobles and commoners - and strung them up from trees, as well as the undead servants roaming the castle.
  • What makes this even worse is that Percy overhears all of it. Matt is filling in as Percy for a sick Taliesin, and he plays Percy as having a complete and utter Heroic BSoD.
• The hint that Tiberius' crush on Allura may have been mutual is delivered by Matt's description of her heartbroken expression after she hears Tiberius' unapologetic admission that he brutally killed an old woman who was no longer a threat to them.
  • And Orion hinted on Twitter that Tiberius got drunk later in the episode out of "sorrow and shame" after this incident. What makes it worse is that Matt implied in an offhand comment in Episode 24 that Tiberius used to be an alcoholic.

Episode 27: The Path to Whitestone

• The fact that this was Orion Acaba's last episode of the series, and the fact that nobody knew it at the time. Seeing his empty seat in subsequent episodes, and in particular Mercer cheerfully stating at the beginning of Episode 29 that he's sure Orion will return shortly, causes a pang of loss.

Episode 28: The Sun Tree

• Everything about the eponymous Sun Tree. Apparently, it used to be a symbol of Pelor, the god of the sun and agriculture. The Briarwoods have somehow corrupted it, causing it to wither. Oh, and they strung eight bodies dressed to look like Vox Machina up from its branches. To hear Percy's descriptions of the myths around the Tree, and then to see it like that - as well as the rest of the tragedy that is Whitestone - is heartbreaking. Viewers can also see just when each player realizes the spoiler, notably Taliesin, Laura, Sam, and Marisha, and they're suitably horrified.

Episode 30: Stoke the Flames

• The entire segment where Percy is pleading with Vox Machina to knock him out if he goes too far - but this line, especially:
  Percy: I'm not afraid I'm going to turn on you. I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you.

Episode 32: Against the Tide of Bone

• After hearing that Cassandra was alive in Episode 30, Vax and Percy have a conversation and Percy expresses joy at the thought that he is not the only surviving de Rolo. It's literally the happiest we've ever seen Percy in a very long time. The fact that said sister is a currently a put-upon slave and propaganda tool of vampires is what makes it sad.
  Percy: Vax? I have a sister!
  • Vax agrees; having a sister is great. That's why he threatens Percy to keep his revenge-rage in check lest it bring her harm.

Episode 33: Reunions

• Vex running towards her brother in sheer terror upon seeing him nearly killed by Helmed Horrors in the battle against Professor Anders. In desperation, she managed to slide to him to use Cure Wounds. So far, this was the closest she came to losing her brother.
• Percy reuniting with Cassandra.
  • His "I have a sister" statement in Episode 32 gets an Ironic Echo after the party rescues Cassandra De Rolo and she reveals her fierce desire to rescue Whitestone and destroy the Briarwoods, despite Percy's misgivings.

Episode 34: Race to the Ziggurat

• Once Vox Machina and the Briarwoods meet up again, Cassandra joins the Briarwoods, telling Percy that Cassandra died as a De Rolo when he left her for dead five years ago. Now she's a Briarwood. Percy just keeps desperately reassuring her as though she's the one trapped in a pit filling with acid; she looks as though she'd be in less pain if he'd started screaming and cursing at her.
  • After this, Cassandra's name appears on the List.
• Vex falls unconscious inside a temple where magic doesn't work. Vax's absolute panic as the party tries to save her is heartbreaking.
• With the caveat that they're still horrible people, watching Delilah break down when Sylas is killed is legitimate grief. All her previous noble bearing is stripped away. Now she's a vengeful widow.

Episode 35: Denouement

• We get a little window into the Briarwoods' backstory, and it hurts:
  Vex: What did [Vecna] give you?
  Lady Briarwood: ...He gave me my Sylas back. ^note  Vecna is the God of Undeath - the implication being that Sylas died once before, and Lady Briarwood made a pact to resurrect him.
• Vax talks to Keyleth about his confession of love. She tells him that she needs time and she isn't sure what to do or if his feelings were real since he said them at death's door. Vax can only tell her that he's been honest with her from the start and if she wants to be with him, he's all her's. But if not, then that's fine too, he'll respect her wishes. This scene is so emotional and fragile that not even Grog attempting to pants Vax takes away from it.

Episode 36: Winter's Crest in Whitestone

• Keyleth snapping and grabbing the illusionist by the scruff is both funny and tearjerking, given that she hyperventilates and is clearly distressed/traumatized by the prospect of a party member getting their mind toyed with again.

Episode 37: A Musician's Nostalgia

• Tiberius's in-story departure. Everyone knew it was coming, but it didn't make that scene any easier to watch. It's hard not to imagine the group are directing their farewells to Orion rather than Tiberius.

Episode 38: Echoes from the Past

• Gilmore's reaction to learning that Vax is in love with Keyleth. He takes it very well, but Matt makes sure we know he's still a little heartbroken.
• Kaylie's angry Calling the Old Man Out to Scanlan. He's just genuinely apologetic and guilty for never knowing her and admits he is a pretty lousy person, but he's trying his best to be better and wants to make up for his failings. He even offers to let her kill him if it will make her feel better. She can't do it and ends up crying as she hugs him, while he says that he's known for some time that something was missing in his life - and it might well be her.

Episode 39: Omens

• Kind of a funny one, but also kind of a harsh one: poor Marisha looked so upset when her Wind Walk spell backfires because she did not read how the spell completely works.
• Vax talking to Vex about how he has no idea why they do what they do and he doesn't know why they have Grog around when Grog seems to despise him; while he loves Vox Machina like family, he doesn't know why they stick together or why they do what they do. He's lost his conviction, and Vex is the only one he can trust in the group. What's worse: beard-related pranks and nut-flicks notwithstanding, Grog doesn't hate Vax. He's just unaware that most non-goliaths can't laugh off injuries he inflicts, even when it's accidental.
• The entire aftermath of the episode. Four ancient chromatic dragons are tearing Emon apart. We're not sure if any members of the council of Tal'Dorei are still alive. Gilmore is missing, maybe dead. Considering the sheer destruction four ancient dragons could cause, and the fact that Vox Machina couldn't stand up to even one of them, all of the friendly NPCs in Emon - Gilmore's Glorious Employees, the woman who crafted Trinket's armor, Kynan Leore, the servants and guards at Grayskull - are also in mortal danger. And it's possible that all of this is Vox Machina's fault. On top of that, Matt's final statement of the evening is weirdly chilling:
  Matt: I just destroyed something that I built. It's a weird feeling.

Episode 40: Desperate Measures

• The entire episode in general:
  • The utter look of horror on the faces of the party as they are finding themselves outmatched by Vorugal's assault on the keep and seeing so many innocent civilians murdered due to being caught in the crossfire, only for them to be spared at the last minute by Thordak dragging his subordinate out of the keep, granting them mercy for the moment.
  • The situation in the keep with the survivors of the attack in various states of panic and confusion, the keep's staff working overtime to make sure their needs are met, and Vox Machina feeling utterly hopeless in the midst of such chaos, really emphasizes the fact that things are at their lowest.
  • Vax pleads with Vex not to leave his side, and Vex wonders if the horrors they've seen were what their mother, Elaina, saw the day she was killed by a dragon. Later, Vax declares that he wants to kill the dragon or die trying, and Vex firmly agrees.
  • The party fighting over the skull found at General Krieg's house that could grant them a wish. It's heartbreaking to see a group that is so close-knit falling apart at the seams and at such a bleak point.
  • Allura teleports into Greyskull Keep and is horrified to learn of the Conclave's attack, but even more horrified to learn that the leader is the red dragon Thordak, the Cinder King—a monstrously evil creature that she and her former adventuring party thought they had sealed away in the Elemental Plane of Fire. She blames herself for this attack, and in recounting what happened to Vox Machina, she seems to also be reliving the memories of the lives of her allies that were lost in battling Thordak.
  • Allura mentions several places that Thordak had destroyed and subjugated, and one of them is Byroden—the village where Vex and Vax grew up, but were taken away from as children. Vex is horrified at the revelation that the dragon who killed her mother is the very same red dragon that now occupies Emon.
  • Keyleth discovers the fate of the Fire Ashari: their village in ruins, corpses scattered everywhere, and the rift to gain entry into the Plane of Fire having been torn open and all manner of creatures escaping from it. She breaks down crying, consumed by guilt that it might be her fault that Thordak was unleashed and the Fire Ashari killed. Marisha's acting is spectacular.

Episode 41: In Ruins

• Like the previous episode, this one has quite a few.
  • On their way to check on Gilmore, Vox Machina finds bodies, frozen in place, of guards and civilians attempting to flee the dragons' attack. Vex and Keyleth fruitlessly attempt to cast Cure Wounds, while Vax and Grog grimly tell them they have to move on.
  • Gilmore is found alive, but near death, and Vax immediately rushes to his side. Thankfully Pike can save him.
  • Gilmore reveals that Uriel, most of the council, guards, and a number of people in the Cloudtop District are indeed dead after the initial assault on the palace. Poor Uriel was found in pieces.
  • Vox Machina sees the frozen victims of Vorugal's attack on their keep taken to be buried. Others, less fortunate or scrupulous, are looting the city in the hopes of finding enough to appease the dragons.

Episode 42: Dangerous Dealings

• Vax reveals the reason why he joined the Clasp, and it was for one simple reason: to protect Vex after she was marked for death.
• Vex muses on the fact that she and Vax had a home for the first time in years...only to now abandon it. Vax and Percy reassure her that they'll return and rebuild it and make it better than ever.

Episode 43: Return to Vasselheim

• Osysa notifies the party about the Chroma Conclave attacking Draconia and the once-strong region reduced to rubble, the fates of Tiberius and its population unknown.
  Osysa: I see the floating islands of Draconia falling...
  Vex gasps
  Osysa: ...crumbling...
  Vax: Tiberius...
  Osysa: ...gone.

Episode 44: The Sunken Tomb

• Vex dies! While trying to take off the armor of a long dead champion of the Raven Queen, Vex'ahlia gets hit with death necrotic energy, and temporarily dies.
  • For extra pain, watch Zahra, Vax, and Percy. The first two are entirely heartbroken, and Percy, who triggers the trap that kills her, is absolutely overwhelmed with guilt. Mary's voice is trembling the whole time—and while Zahra is giving her offering, Taliesin is obviously trying really hard not to cry. And he barely speaks for the rest of the episode.
  • Also, Vax offers to trade his life for Vex's during the ritual. And Liam barely speaks for the rest of the episode after the fact.

Episode 45: Those Who Walk Away...

• This entire episode, save for a few moments, is generally this. Some examples include:
  • After the events of Episode 44, Vax'ildan is understandably mopey, but just how Liam sells it is heartbreaking.
  • Vax'ildan professes his love to Keyleth again, and she responds that while she thinks she loves him as well, she cannot get over her fears that he will die.
• An absolutely devastating case of Harsher in Hindsight with Percy. In the previous episode, he gives Vax a heartfelt speech about how he's trying to figure out what he wants from his life, and that he's "imagining a better version of himself." The very next day, he causes Vex's death through a stupid mistake. What makes it worse in this episode is that he flat-out says (twice) that he's more attached to Vex than anyone else in the party. It's just about the harshest possible way he could have figured out who was most important to him.
• A subtle one, but during the entire exchange with Keyleth and her father in Pyrah, Vex and Vax look especially somber. No doubt they are reminded of their own father, and how cold and distant he was in comparison.

Episode 48: Into the Frostweald

• The conversation between Grog and Pike, speaking about Westruun, and how Grog's family had taken residence there, and that the fate of Wilhand, Pike's great-great-grandfather is currently unknown.
  • Turns into Tears of Joy when Grog and Pike hug each other, and Grog says he has pollen in his eyes.

Episode 49: A Name Is Earned

• Grog accidentally impaling Pike with Craven Edge. Pike tells him that it's okay, but Travis' face says otherwise. Grog doesn't pick that sword up.

Episode 50: Best Laid Plans...

• Grog dies yet again, due to the nature of Craven Edge. He just drops dead in the snow, and the party freaks out. They do anything they can think of to aid Pike's revival challenge, from pouring ale down his throat, to staring down Craven Edge to Bargain with Heaven (or the Shadowfell, in this case).
• Reginald the farmer was killed for the murder of Horace, the goliath. Laura's reaction is especially heartbreaking as she figures it out before Matt finishes speaking.
  Scanlan: What would you like us to tell your daughter?
  Ghost Reginald: Tell her...my life was given so she could live. And my memory will live in her eyes.
  (the spell runs out and Reginald's spirit fades)
• A small one, but the speech Grog's gives when trying to convince Pike to let him keep Craven Edge speaks volumes about how terrified he is to face Kevdak.
  Grog: You know I'm not scared of death, right? I would die by a dragon, I would die by a beholder, and I wouldn't care, as long as it was beautiful death. But don't want to die from Kevdak… not him.
• Overall, Ashley's (and by extension Pike's) reaction to Scanlan's letter. Her face just says it all.

Episode 52: The Kill Box

• Despite Vox Machina's best efforts, several innocent villagers are killed in the fight with the Herd of Storms. They're only able to save one, and even then it was via resurrection.

Episode 53: At Dawn, We Plan!

• Downplayed in typical Scanlan fashion, but it's clear that he was very worried and upset that he wasn't able to find Kaylie.

Episode 54: In the Belly of the Beast

• Although most of them are only temporary allies at best, watching the Herd of Storms - a serious, potentially lethal threat to Vox Machina in previous episodes - be nearly wiped out by Umbrasyl in less than twenty seconds is pretty devastating.

Episode 56: Hope

• Mixed with a little heartwarming from the memory and Grog's charity, Amelia receiving the news of her father Reginald's demise was brutal to watch.
• Keyleth's panic attack and refusal to believe she's a hero is sad indeed. She and her party have saved many lives but she can only think about the lives that were lost, and the life that these "saved" individuals have to look forward to. She never wanted her life to be like how it is now, which she sees as wandering from one crisis to the next and failing to fully resolve them while she suffers from her conflicting feelings for Vax and his situation.
• Hearing Scanlan's acceptance that Pike will never return his love is strongly this. Surrendering the ring he had intended for Pike and calling Kaylie essentially the thing his life had been missing (which he had thought had been Pike) rounds out a beautiful roleplay moment from Sam.

Episode 57: Duskmeadow

• Vax is finally happy, truly and sincerely happy for the first time in a very long while, perhaps even for the first time ever... And the episode ends with the Rakshasa finding him and attacking him while he's alone up in the west tower of Whitestone Castle, far from the others. Also, the fact that he took Gilmore's appearance. Luckily Vax sees beneath the illusion quickly, but it's been a heartbreaking instant.
• Percy stops into Ravenscrest meets with the Raven Queen. Percy ends up saying that he doesn't think he can be fixed and asks if he is irreparably broken. She bluntly tells him that, yes, he is broken, and has always been broken, but so is everyone else.

Episode 58: A Cycle of Vengeance

• As Vox Machina prepares to head to the Feywild, Pike stays behind in Whitestone to help secure it from further attacks due to Ashley having to leave for New York once again to film the next season of Blindspot.

Episode 59: Into the Feywild

• Vex reveals to Percy that she's nervous about being judged by the nobility of Syngorn and is trying to make herself look like she's made something of herself. Laura Bailey's acting makes Vex sound vulnerable and shaken in a way that few things have done before. Suddenly, her greediness takes on a new meaning.

Episode 60: Heredity and Hats

• The twins calling out Syldor for everything that led to their birth and being taken from their mother to be raised in Syngorn simply because they were his blood and that he should've left them to be with Elaina when she died.
  Vex: If I could pull the blood of you from my veins and give it back, I would! I want no part of you!
  • Not to mention Vax telling Syldor that they will never be a happy family, a fact that Syldor bluntly agrees with.
• Syldor candidly admits to his failures as a father, including his own prejudice against half-elves. However, he also says he hopes the twins will continue to be successful and be able to show him and others that they are just as capable as full-blood elves. He even smiles when Percy throws Vex's new title in his face. It's painful to see that he has come to recognize his faults and his children's worth only after damaging their relationship irreparably.

Episode 61: Denizens of the Moonbrush

• Vox Machina is somber during the destruction of the Wisher Pixie village. As Matt describes the carnage, the cast has this My God, What Have I Done? look. Travis puts it perfectly.
  "We just killed FernGully."

Episode 63: The Echo Tree

• The group finally enters the cancerous tree in search of Fenthras. Inside, they find Saundor, the source of the corruption that has taken so much of the Shademirk Bog, and he immediately focuses on Vex'ahlia with a speech pinpointing her flaws and even bringing up parts of her backstory that nobody else in the party is aware of. Her expression during the entire speech is utterly heartbreaking, and she barely speaks: when she does, her voice is audibly shaking.
  Saundor: You... sweet, broken Vex'ahlia. Unwanted daughter, unproven ally... selfish and cruel... you drive those whom you would call family into danger and death for your own gain. I understand you.
• While there's no denying he's a monster, Saundor's story (first touched upon in episode 60) is quite a tragic one. He was betrayed by his lover, who he no longer even remembers much about besides her betrayal, and his rage and grief ate away at him until he became one with the land, corrupting the entire Bog and the creatures living within. He comes off as someone desperately lonely and longing for someone to stay with him.
  Saundor: Memories have faded. I just want someone to understand me, that's all. Can you understand me?

Episode 64: The Frigid Doom

• Percy loses his memories of the Feywild upon leaving it, meaning he can't remember titling Vex'ahlia. It may not seem like much, but this moment meant a lot to Vex, in fact it was when she first realized how strong her feelings for him were. While most of the memory loss is Played for Laughs, Vex is clearly devastated once the implications set in, and not just because it means she might lose the title. Thankfully Pike manages to restore Percy's memories with Greater Restoration.
• Every time Tiberius mentioned that he's from Draconia, it sounds like a charming and/or annoying quirk. However, the party didn't really know much about Draconia other than it being where their friend came from. They learn. Scanlan disguises the party as long-tailed Draconians because their friend was one, and this almost gets them killed and enslaved by no-tail Draconians. The "ravenites" were so severely enslaved by the "sky-walkers" that scavenging for food in the frozen ruins of Draconia and working for an ancient white dragon is a "better position" than their previous one.
• Vox Machina ventures to Draconia, into the lair of Vorugal the ancient white dragon... and find the frozen corpse of Tiberius Stormwind, struck down attempting to defend his homeland. The group does not react well. Percy, who notices it first, outright tells everyone to not make a sound when having the corpse lowered, bringing the joking party to silence in an instant.
  • Even worse, they are forced to leave his body in the ruins of his library and can barely hold a funeral service, due to their shaky alliance with the ravenites (who, as mentioned, absolutely despised sky-walkers like Tiberius). In order to get access to the desecrated body of their friend, they were forced to pretend like they were searching the body for treasure.
  • The cast's reaction is heartwrenching, particularly Marisha and Laura. At the end of the episode they're all much more subdued than usual, sighing and making half-hearted jokes just to cut the tension. Matt even apologizes for putting them and the audience through the emotional wringer, and ends with this line:
    "Not all narrative is bright. But it has its purpose."
  • Matt had whispered to Taliesin about twenty minutes before the reveal of the body, presumably to warn him about what the group was going to find. Taliesin's smile visibly fades and he winces upon hearing whatever was said.

Episode 68: Cloak and Dagger

• Kynan, the boy that Vax had told to "get good", turned to Dr. Ripley's side. And then, after stabbing Keyleth, he collapses to the ground, realizing what he had just done: stabbing one of the people he had looked up to, not even knowing just how close she and Vax were at the time.
  • Speaking of Vax, it's even worse because Vax realized who Kynan was before everyone else, and for most of the fateful fight, instead of focusing on survival or defending his allies, he focused on trying to turn Kynan back to their side with increasing desperation.
• After a long and incredibly difficult battle with Dr. Ripley, Percy dies. In vengeance, all of Vox Machina work together for the kill.
  "How do you, Vox Machina, want to do this?"
  • The rest of the group is so utterly powerless to stop what happens that it hurts to watch. They burn through pretty much every spell, item and ability they have available - including Pike's necklace, which revives Percy the first time he fails three death saving throws - to keep Percy alive and kill Ripley, but it's not enough. The fact that they fought so hard and for so long only to lose makes it so much worse.
  • Scanlan has a chance to stop the shot that kills Percy with Cutting Words, but he doesn't roll high enough. For the rest of the fight, his guilt is written across his face, and he acts chillingly grim.
  • Vex's turn comes immediately after Ripley kills Percy, and she spends it screaming and firing arrows at Orthax.
  • Ashley - whose cleric Pike was absent from the fight due to Ashley’s duties on Blindspot - instantly texts the others and asks for Pike to be teleported in. Imagine: it’s 2:30 AM in NYC, she’s watching the livestream alone in her apartment, she watches Percy die, and he can’t be revived because the party has no cleric. Even off camera her feelings of sadness and guilt were clear.
  • Once Keyleth takes her first turn after Percy dies, Marisha bursts into tears and doesn't stop crying for the rest of the fight.
  • When the rest of the party crosses the field to kill Ripley, Vex stays with Percy's body instead, insisting that she won't leave him.
  • The moment the fight ends, Matt describes silence falling over the battlefield, and Laura and Marisha both start sobbing. Marisha especially is devastated.
  • Vex and Keyleth cast Cure Wounds on Percy after the fight ends, even though they know it won't work.
  • Matt holds it together until the very end, but when he says "that's where we'll pick it up next episode", he cracks, puts a hand over his face, and looks like he's about to cry too.

Episode 69: Passed Through Fire

• Basically everything pre-break in this Episode. Percy is dead for the first half, and Taliesin leaves the table. Watching the party try to hold themselves together is incredibly painful. Vex, in particular, is on the verge of tears nearly every time she talks.
• The Reveal that following his death by Ripley, who had him as one of the names on her own personal List, Percy's soul is being "hungrily feasted on" by Orthax, with the implication that if the group takes too long, there won't be anything left to Percy to save. Thankfully, the situation is resolved happily, but it's implied that for Percy, it was a deeply unpleasant experience and one for which the side effects may not be apparent right away...
• Kynan throughout the entire episode, especially near the beginning, when he's so guilty and traumatized he can barely speak.
• During the ritual, Vex confesses that she loves Percy and that "it was [his]," a reference to when she told the spirit in the Feywild that her heart belonged to another. When Percy wakes up... he remembers nothing said to him during the ritual. There is no particular emphasis on Vex's reaction, but that must still sting.
• Percy's last will and testament to the party, particularly how he understands his life is a compounding process of poor choices and all of his regrets and that only Vox Machina makes his new path to making the world better and save the world from himself possible. He also leaves words for each of Vox Machina.
• When Percy tries to thank Pike for the necklace, she says it wasn't enough. She tries to laugh it off, but it's clear she wishes she could have done more.

Episode 72: The Elephant in the Room

• During a heartfelt conversation about her feelings for Percy, Vex states to Vax, "I have Trinket! And I have you! ... When you're not with Keyleth..." The child-like pain in her voice makes the players visibly flinch.
• After meeting up with the Dragonborn after killing Vorugal and Vex convincing them that isolation is more harmful than helpful, Scanlan requests a magnificent tomb be erected for Tiberius Stormwind. The epitaph? "I encourage peace."

Episode 75: Where the Cards Fall

• Scanlan and Vex find two aasimar brothers for sale in the slave market. Both are no older than 16, and their spirits hae been broken to the point that when Scanlan asks their names, they tell him their previous owner said they didn't have names.
• Grog's quiet arc in the background of this episode is tragicomedy at its finest. Being the only member of the team who knows the Giant language, he drinks an intelligence-boosting potion in an attempt to see what certain Giant writing says, only to discover that a boost of intelligence still means he has to learn how to read. Dejected and feeling like he let everybody down, he privately seeks out Pike later and begs her to teach him to read. She spends several hours teaching him until the potion wears off, whereupon he forgets everything she taught him. The cast is simultaneously heartbroken and laughing their asses off as Matt submits that Grog managed to retain just the barest bits of the lesson.

Episode 77: Clash at Daxio

• After a tense battle, Kima explains to the party how the spellcaster Vex just killed had spoken to Allura before the battle started, and how they "found her ten minutes later". She doesn't go into detail at the time, and the entire party jumps to the conclusion that Allura was killed. Every single face at both tables is utterly heartbreaking, proving just how much the players care for the Non Player Characters.
  • Thankfully, it proves to have just been a Feeblemind spell which Pike immediately reverses, but it's not easy to see Allura scared and unable to communicate, either. Lacking her usual grace and personality is unsettling, and she flinched at the sight of the Greater Restoration which would cure her.

Episode 80: Raishan

• Both Vex and Scanlan die during the fight, with both of them being dead at the same time at one point. Thankfully they're both brought back successfully, thanks to some clutch dice rolls, but it's definitely a mood-changer and clearly marks the point at which the battle turned from 'kill Raishan' to 'make it out alive' - not unlike the Ripley fight eleven episodes prior.
  • In an additional heartbreaking callback, intentional or not, it turns out Percy and Vex both have similar reactions to watching the other die - Percy fires at Raishan while 'screaming at the world', in a parallel to Vex shooting Orthax after Percy's death while screaming.
  • Of everyone at the table, except Laura herself for obvious reasons, Taliesin (and by extent Percy) looks to be the most strongly affected by Vex's death, and it's difficult to blame him for being so insistent that someone help. From his perspective, he's just watched the woman he loves die again, and while this time it wasn't his fault as it was in the Tomb, he was helpless to do anything except watch due to being too far away to help. He actually appears close to tears at one point.
• The look on Matt's face when Keyleth rolls a Natural 1 when trying to jump across a river of lava and falls in, taking 50+ points of fire damage and just barely holding on as she escapes a fiery death. It's truly heartbreaking considering that that mishap could've killed Keyleth instantly if her HP was much lower.

Episode 81: What Lies Beneath the Surface

• A small one, but one that becomes heartbreaking in hindsight. Scanlan is visibly shaken from his near death experience and turns to drugs for comfort. It's played for laughs and his friends, not realizing the seriousness of it, scold him and downplay his concerns. When he tries to confront Vax about some of the doubts he's battling, the two end up arguing rather than getting to the heart of the issue, culminating in Scanlan tearing up Vax's letter to him and throwing it into the fire at the end of the episode. It is at this point that he begins to believe that none of his friends truly take him seriously and will always see him as the irresponsible, womanizing clown.

Episode 83: The Deceiver's Stand

• Percy and Scanlan both die during the fight against Raishan, Scanlan pummeled to death and Percy disemboweled. Percy is revived after the fact. Scanlan...isn't so lucky.
• Kerrek lands the killing blow on Raishan. He stands over Percy's body, says "No. No further", and swings his hammer into Raishan's head.
• Everything that happens during the second half:
  • Laura and later Liam spend the second half of the episode on the verge of tears from Percy and Scanlan's deaths. Laura spends a good part of the episode beating herself up emotionally too.
  • Laura can't bring herself to roll the dice on the Revivify spell for Percy, too worried that she won't be able to save him. Thankfully, Liam ends up doing it for her and rolls just high enough to succeed.
  • When Grog sees Vax cradling Scanlan's body after the battle, his first reaction is a despair-filled "No.", then two more defiant "NO!"s as he tries to almost deny the reality he's seeing. And then he demands that someone "Fix him!" before finally roaring "Fix him!".
    • And then, in almost quiet despair, he asks that "Somebody do something."
  • Liam looking brokenly at Scanlan's imaginary corpse in his arms, almost lost in his own heartbreak while Allura prepares what turns out to be a futile teleportation spell. What's perhaps even more heartbreaking is the line he mutters to Scanlan during this time, not necessarily intending for anyone else to hear it (and no one does).
  Vax: You know, you're very funny, but this is not very funny...
  • Keyleth's scrying discovers Kima and Allura out at sea without land in sight, desperately trying to find a way to safety. (The Background Music is only adding to the stress of the scene.) Had she not followed it up with a natural 20 perception check to spot them from the beach, they likely would have both drowned from exhaustion.
  • Keyleth breaks down in tears as Kerrek tries to console her and tells her that sometimes you don't get people back, not realizing that his words were making her feel worse. Vax overhears this while holding Scanlan and his heart breaks. And then, when Kima and Allura are rescued by Vex and Percy and brought back to the beach, Keyleth breaks down even more.
  • Vax holds Scanlan's body all the way to Whitestone. And then, he prays to the Raven Queen about wanting to bring him back. But then he later backs off, remembering his patron's role, and simply waits for the ritual to begin.
  Vax: (to the Raven Queen) Your will be done.
  • Grog initially doesn't even enter the Raven Queen temple, thinking that he won't be able to help bring back Scanlan simply because of who he is. And it's Keyleth who notices and later tells him that he's got such a strong connection with Scanlan, that he should try regardless.
  • Vex and Eskil go to Kymal alone to find Kaylie so she can be brought to Whitestone to help save Scanlan. When Vex finds the young bard and tries to convince her to go to him, it's shown that Kaylie still harbors resentment and is unsure if she would be able to help in any way. Vex tells Kaylie that the two of them are not so different due to them both having issues with their fathers, and that it's not too late for Kaylie to make amends with him if she goes to Whitestone to help.
    • And when Kaylie does accept and uses the Gate Stone to bamf over there, Vex finds herself stranded in Kymal for a day, realizing that she will have to wait for that long before seeing whether or not Scanlan is brought back.
• The trip to the Fire Plane suddenly looks a lot more helpful - Pike is hit with Raishan's Disintegrate spell while at low HP, with the damage being more than enough to take her to 0... which, when caused by Disintegrate, causes the target's body to literally turn to ash, making it much, MUCH harder to revive them. Without the Plate of the Dawnmartyr, Pike would have nigh-permadied when Ashley wasn't even at the table.

Episode 85: A Bard's Lament

• Vax and Grog having to intervene and stop Vex from haggling for some healing potions. Grog points out that Vox Machina is rich enough to fund several townships, and Vax reminds her that she is a Lady and the twins are no longer begging in Stilben. Vex's Gold Fever (spurred by Laura Bailey's real-life inclinations and talent at haggling), especially in contrast with Grog's inability to handle money, is usually a hilarious Running Gag but this specific incident is a sobering reminder that the twins grew up in poverty (and faced prejudice even when Syldor was paying for their upkeep), which is why Vex is so desperate to save money, and to appear well-off before she actually became well-off.
• Scanlan wakes up from his coma...and proceeds to give Vox Machina a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech. It's hard to watch the people who considered him family fumble as he cuts through everything they say. The affair culminates with him leaving Vox Machina to be with his daughter.
  • Especially notable is how he targets Vex, demanding to know why she'd brought Kaylie to see his body and tearing into her for apparently dragging them all into the Feywild to deal with her daddy issues - it's inaccurate, since Vex dealing with Syldor's treatment of her was a sideplot compared to their actual task of retrieving a vestige, but nevertheless it leaves Vex (and Laura herself) in actual tears.
  • Another big moment is how Vax desperately tells Scanlan how he positively influenced his life and helped him out of a deep depression. He's utterly gobsmacked that Scanlan is talking like this and he's devastated that Scanlan would think like this.
    • Another noteworthy aspect: Scanlan notes that one of the most traumatic moments of his life was watching his mother die in front of him as a child. Vex effectively put his daughter in that exact same position, and never actually grasps it even after Scanlan point blank says it during the argument.
  • What also makes this heartbreaking is the fact that, true to form, his claims that they all did the things they did for selfish reasons were all false. But then again, he is a good liar. So much so that he's even lying to himself, a point that everyone else throws back in his face. Even though he knows the truth, he simply can't help it or accept it; it's his nature to deceive.
  • After the group asks how to prove that they DO care about him, he throws a question that leaves the group in stunned silence.
  Scanlan: What's my mother's name!?
• Percy yelling at Scanlan is also this. Despite the harsh words that Percy uses, he tells Scanlan to actually get to know Kayleth rather than making promises that he can't keep, and telling him that they do love him. He also gives him the advice to value Kayleth and brings up his parents' names in response to his question about his mother's name. Even after all this time, and after taking his revenge on the Briarwoods, he still misses his family deeply and he's telling Scanlan to value his family too while they're still here.
• This single line from Keyleth after the fact:
  Keyleth: Percy’s right; we’re worse than friends. We’re family... and family leaves.
  • Vax quietly adds "Yeah, they do," which is particularly poignant with the discussions Vax and Vex have been having about possibly splitting up.
• The morning after Scanlan leaves, the mood of both tables is possibly the lowest it's ever been, with every character (bar Percy, who coped differently) turning up in various stages of hungover and nobody being quite sure what to do next.
  Vax: We saved the world, so why does everything feel like shit?

Episode 86: Daring Days

• Taryon breaking down in tears after Vox Machina testing him and revealing that he's nowhere near as confident as he pretends to be and has a plethora of family issues.
• The first time Taryon says that his construct is his best friend, he says that's because he never talks back and does everything he says, coming off as funny and fitting his boisterous and arrogant attitude. After The Reveal of his true situation, he confirms that the construct is indeed his best friend. Because it's the only one who listens to him, and is with him when he enjoys his hobbies. That put their relationship in a completely new light.
• Vax assaulting Taryon. Not for in-character reasons, note: Liam bluntly admits that he's doing this just to spite Sam because of the argument from last episode where Scanlan called the team on a lot of their treatment of him.

Episode 87: Onward to Vesrah

• Keyleth finally arrives at Vesrah, home of the Water Ashari, and finally discover what truly happened to Vilya: she's been dead for five years due to trying to complete the trial within the Elemental Plane of Water, only to die from a kraken.

Episode 88: Tangled Depths

• Vax ends up being swallowed and knocked out by the Kraken. Grog manages to get him out and there's a Hope Spot that he'll make it... but Vax fails the last death saving throw and both Vex and Keyleth see this.

Episode 89: Curious Tides

• The whole first hour or so of the episode:
  • The party is just so exhausted and spent from all the fighting. Percy especially is so tired and guilt-ridden over feeling so useless.
  • Vex's reaction to seeing her brother dead. And then, when given the option for Reincarnate from the Water Ashari, she wants to go for it. Keyleth, on the other hand, does her best to maintain her composure throughout and refuses the service, wanting to wait for Pike. Vex's response to the refusal is just as heartbreaking.
  Vex'ahlia: I don't care what he looks like. I just want him back!
  • Vax's note to Vex that she finds within the Deathwalker's Ward: "Take these wings and fly."
  • Vax's resurrection ritual, especially Vex and Keyleth's contributions.

Episode 90: Voice of the Tempest

• He might have 'only' been a minor NPC, but learning that Cordell, one of the Greyskull guardsmen, did not survive the fall of Emon definitely tugs at the heartstrings, along with Shayne's reaction to informing Vox Machina of the news.
• With Keyleth's coronation as Voice of the Tempest and leader of the Air Ashari in this episode, Scanlan has officially missed every single step of Keyleth's personal arc - but she still mentions him in the speech she gives.
• For fans of Tiberius Stormwind and those fond of Tiberius and Keyleth's interactions in the earlier episodes, it can be a little upsetting that Tiberius wasn't mentioned in the same speech (albeit unintentionally, given that this is all improvised and Marisha had a lot on her mind.)

Episode 93: Bats out of Hell

• Doty gets knocked to zero hit points during the fight against Utugash, the pit fiend. After the battle, though, Vox Machina doesn't get a chance to repair him before more devils arrive to arrest them for the killing, and he gets left behind. Unfortunately, their escape path from the prison doesn't let them go back, and they planeshift back to Whitestone without him.
  Tary: [to Tova, as they planeshift away] Save my robot! Save my robot!
• When Keyleth falls unconscious and auto-fails two death saving throws during the party's escape from Mentiri, and after he asks her to make a death saving throw or die (with a 45% chance of failure), it dawns on everyone, including Matt, just how close they were to having the entire campaign come to a screeching halt if she failed the save as she is the only one capable of casting Plane Shift, therefore their only means of escape. The look of terror, fear, and nervousness is present on everyone's faces even after she is healed and the party continues their struggle to escape.
  Matt: (to Marisha after Keyleth succeeds on her death save) If you die, no Plane Shift. That's... (Matt then truly realizes what would've happened if she died) That's Campaign Over.
  Travis: Oh my God, what the fuck were we thinking?!

Episode 94: Jugs and Rods

• The revelation that Pike uses her communication earring to talk to Scanlan, despite knowing that he can't hear her and won't respond.
• Taryon's story about his first romance which was with one of his male tutors. His father walked in on them and Taryon never saw him again or found out what happened to his tutor but assumes he was killed.
  • There's something really heartbreaking about how Tary admits that he only feigned his interest in women because the heroes in his favorite stories always slept with and attracted women.
  • And it's even sadder when you think that the issue of representation is very real, and many people have lived (or live) with that very same issue.
• Doubling as a heartwarming moment, the twins continue their discussion from before about splitting up and going their separate ways. Vax especially breaks down over how difficult the entire process will be for both of them.

Episode 95: One Year Later...

• About half of the group winds up searching for Scanlan at various points during the time skip, all of them unsuccessful.

Episode 96: Family Matters

• Pike's family showing up in Whitestone turns out to be a con to try and just weasel more money out of her because she was doing so well for herself and they aren't and are bitter about it.
  • Pike calls out all of them about it, especially J.B her favorite of the group who apologizes and just wanted to see Pike again, she didn't want to go along with it.
  • Pike gives her family the gold she has with her, tells them J.B will stay with her and have a second chance but the rest of them are dead if she ever sees them again.
  • The rest of the Trickfoots don't blink over the prospect of losing J.B. They immediately take the money and accept Pike's terms.

Episode 97: Taryon, My Wayward Son

• Vax's reaction to seeing Keyleth bloodied and banged up after she suffers her first death due to a reckless swan dive.
• Doty 2.0's reaction when Tary is discovered missing. Once the Restraining Bolt keeping him inactive is removed, he proceeds to start searching for Tary; the inflections Matt gives to his One-Word Vocabulary bring to mind a puppy who doesn't know where his person is.
  • Vex is also near hysterics asking Keyleth to Scry on Tary.

Episode 99: Masquerade

• The initial reaction of Taryon's family to his proposal of starting a new life. His father and sister are furious and hostile to the idea, with Howard even throwing a table.
• Scanlan finally makes a reappearance after a year ^note in game being gone. While the twins are relieved and Keyleth conflicted, Percy, Pike, and Grog are openly hostile. Percy throws Scanlan's question about his mother's name back in his face, asking the gnome what Kaylie's mother's name is, which Scanlan can't answer. Pike is angry that Scanlan called her use of divine magic to save him 'weird fucking magic'. And poor Grog is so hurt that he seems to have been replaced by Scanlan's employee that any time Scanlan attempts to talk to him, Grog leaves, refusing to speak.
• Grog starts a tavern brawl against a half orc named Lionel. Lionel thinks they're just having fun, but Grog wanted to hurt him because Lionel 'replaced' him as Scanlan's friend.
• A very subtle one, but after the fight, Vex asks if Grog's okay, and in a huff he spells cat. When you think about just how Scanlan wasn't there to witness or help Grog grow, and that Scanlan wasn't there to be proud of him, it must sting a little.
  Grog: Cat! C-A-T!

Episode 101: Thar Amphala

• Taryon stays behind in Whitestone so he can repair Doty and then return to Deastok. Vex is incredibly heartbroken when she hears the news from him.
• Keyleth's fear that she will lose Vax resurfaces when he mentions that he may not survive their journey in the Shadowfell. She makes him promise not to die on her, even if it ends up being a lie. She even sacrifices her highest-level spell slot to cast Foresight on him as a means of protecting him. And it was all for nothing, as Vax dies swiftly during their encounter with Vecna.
  Keyleth: (to Vax) I need you with us. Not with [the Raven Queen]. I need you with us and with me.

Episode 102: Race to the Tower

• The entire second half of the episode is a continuous stream of Tear Jerker moments as Delilah and a reborn Vecna systematically kill both Vex and Vax and try numerous times to kill Pike.
  Delilah: (to Keyleth) You took him from me, I take him from you.
  • Even worse, Vax was disintegrated by Vecna, meaning outside of True Resurrection (which might not even work, judging by Matt stating there needs to be discussions about the spell), he's gone for good.
  • Vax's reaction after Vex dies.
  Liam: Vax is watching. Frozen.
• In an obvious attempt at humor, Travis jokes about Tary "being back in Whitestone, having a drink," only for Sam to say that Tary is "crying on the floor, clutching his necklace."
• After the party finally escapes, the last line of the episode is:
  Vex: Where's Vax?^note Vax was disintegrated during the fight while Vex was still dead, leaving no body to retrieve
• As pointed out at the end, since Vax was blocked and killed before he could move, he was powerless for the whole fight. To make things even worse, that made Keyleth's "Foresight" useless, since he couldn't move anyway. She used her most powerful spell to make sure he'd survive, and it didn't make a difference.

Episode 103: The Fate-Touched

• The episode picks up right after Vex asks where her brother is, and Scanlan can't do anything but hand her Vax's armor - the only thing they have left of him after their encounter with Delilah and Vecna. For most of the episode, she just sits there, holding onto Vax's armor, even falling asleep with it alongside Keyleth.
• Although The Raven Queen offers Vax'ildan a chance to return to Vox Machina, and Vax accepts it, there's a catch. After they manage to defeat Vecna - if they even manage to at all - that is the end of the line for Vax. Once they manage to destroy Vecna, which is another issue in and of itself, Vax dies. And that's it. The Raven Queen will call him back to her side, and he will stay there forever. Travis best sums up the reaction of both the crew and chat.
  Travis: Oh fuuuuck!
  • Keyleth, still traumatised from losing Vax, upon hearing noises from below, refuses to come down from the tree until someone explains to her what the FUCK is going on. After Pike finally coaxes her down and she sees Vax alive, her reaction is muted, due to her grasping the implications of what has happened before most of the others, and upon learning of the deal, immediately questions whether it is binding; she refuses to accept the possibility of losing Vax permanently.

Episode 105: The Fear of Isolation

• Sprigg's past, where his whole adventuring team was defeated by hobgoblins and he can't even remember their names.
• Scanlan not-so-innocently toots a wedding march on his flute to tease Vex and Percy. However, it really hits Keyleth hard, as it reminds her exactly what she and Vax will never have.
• Percy looking for the book of his sister Vesper's life.

Episode 107: Scaldseat

• Vax and Keyleth finally talk about the reality that even if the party found a way to reverse the deal and save him, Vax can't and won't go against the Raven Queen and has already resigned to his fate. They then tell each other how grateful they are to have known each other. In essence, they're already saying their goodbyes.

Episode 113: The Final Ascent

• On the floor immediately below the roof of Entropis, Vox Machina finds three Remnants. Vax and Vex assassinate two of them. A critical fail spares Gilmore's life, and they find that they just murdered Cassandra and Kaylie. Pike successfully casts Revivify, but Percy, Scanlan, and the audience are a mess.
  • Even more heartbreaking are Vex/Laura's and Vax/Liam's reactions. Poor Liam looks like he's about to burst into tears, while Laura actually does start crying, especially considering she killed her sister-in-law the same way that Percy thought she'd died!
  • The high-pitched "It's Kaylie and Cassandra?" from Laura/Vex is like a kick in the teeth. She also rose from her seat - the only party member to do so - when it hit her exactly who the Remnants were.
• Before Gilmore flees with the others, Vax gives an It Has Been an Honor. Gilmore replies that it will be an honor knowing them still... and then you realize that he doesn't know that whether VM wins or loses, Vax will die. Vax never got the opportunity to tell Gilmore about the deal. The look on Liam/Vax's face afterwards is one of crippling grief.
  • Liam's heaving, emotional breaths are very audible on the microphone. His voice breaks twice as Vax talks to Gilmore.
• Straddling Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel: The wide, almost rictus-like grin that barely leaves Sam's face even after Scanlan asks, in a squeaky voice, "Is that my baby girl?" He's the only one to react this way (some people do smile, widely, as a fear/nervous reflex), as the rest of Vox Machina's reactions fall somewhere along the spectrum of blank grief or tearful horror.

Episode 114: Vecna, the Ascended

• Vecna kidnapped Velora Vessar to use as a meat shield, keeping her inside of his chest cavity. Keyleth manages to eject her when she slams Vecna with a Sunburst, but she starts freefalling through the air. Vex catches up to her and manages to snatch her...only to discover that she's already dead.
• Sam is forced to use Scanlan's 9th level spell slot to counterspell Vecna's 7th level Teleport. He reveals afterwards that he was saving it so he could use Wish and save Vax from his deal with the Raven Queen. Liam is incredibly touched, and Sam hides his face in his hands and cries for a full minute (and spends the rest of the episode near tears).
  • Sam's quiet exchange with Liam as he reveals what he wanted to use the spell slot for:
  Sam: That was going to save Vax. I'm sorry Liam.
  Liam: I'm not.
  Sam: Sorry, bud.
  Liam: I'm not sorry. I love you.
  • Also their exchange at the end of the game, as they start tearing up again:
  Liam: Sam, you were trying to save a Wish for me?
  Sam: Yeah.
  Liam: That broke my heart.
  • It's particularly heart-wrenching, as earlier in the episode Sam half-jokingly thanked Liam for introducing him to D&D all those years ago in a moment of great tension. Now he's unable to do anything to save Liam's character.
  • When Sam announces he's gonna use his 9th Level Spell Slot, Matt's face falls. He knew - or could at least guess - what Sam was saving that slot for and he has to literally take a moment before running with it, understanding what Sam's giving up to help win the fight to save the world.

Episode 115: The Chapter Closes

• Unsurprisingly, the final episode of a five years long campaign is very emotional. The players are frequently in tears, and by the end Matt too is welling up over saying goodbye to these characters.
• Vax's final moments, expected since his deal with the Raven Queen in Episode 103, in which he gets to say goodbye to his friends, his sister, and the love of his life, before very finally leaving with the Raven Queen for the afterlife. EVERYONE is either crying or fighting back tears.
  • Percy tries to stand between Vax and the Raven Queen, but after a failed roll, is rendered powerless to stop the inevitable.
    • In Episode 113, Vax reminded Percy that his last words to Vax had to be "indignant and irritated", and Percy says he's already planned them out. When we finally hear them, Percy is being held back from physically lashing out at the Raven Queen, and he manages to both keep his promise and break the hearts of everyone listening all over again:
    Percy: I do not accept this.
  • Keyleth is absolutely devastated that the love of her life is leaving her, and she vows to seek him out when her time comes. The two share a final kiss.
  • Grog meekly asks Vax if he is scared of death. Vax answers that he is going to see his mother soon. Considering Liam lost his own mother during the campaign, this really hits home.
  • Vex is distraught that her brother is leaving. Vax tells her that she was the best friend he could've hoped for, and Liam and Laura share a heartfelt hug. This line in particular is gut-wrenching:
    Vex: I feel like she's taking part of me away.
  • To top off everything, once Vax leaves, Liam closes his character folder for the final time. It was fortunate that Matt decided to take a break at this point, as players, viewers, and the DM alike needed time to grieve.
  • After saying goodbye to his friends one last time, Vax makes his way to the Raven Queen, casting his Druidcraft cantrip to leave snowdrop flowers in his wake as he sees his mother waiting for him on the other side.
  • The little nods from Matt which show that Vax is watching over his friends from the other side: the growing raven colony in Whitestone, and the slightly larger raven which begins to accompany Keyleth in Zephrah.
• Percy finally breaking down and admitting he misses his family. He spent most of the campaign just thinking of them as the reason for his revenge or as something from the past he must move on from; hearing the normally cool and stoic Percy break was heartbreaking.
  • What makes it even worse is that he's not just admitting it to Vex or to the audience—he's admitting it to himself. Percy has been repressing so much for so long in the name of moving forward, first with revenge and then with redemption, simply as a practical matter. With those coping mechanisms stripped away, it's only just now, for the first time, that he's able to properly grieve.
  • "I think I was going to be a clockmaker once." With a single sentence, Percy's trauma and his loss of innocence are brought to the forefront. After years of being a lethal, inventive adventurer, it's revealed that he originally wanted to use his inventive skills for something peaceful but never got the chance.
  • Additionally, the moment that leads to Percy's breakdown. Percy attempts to invoke his contract with Ipkesh to bring Vax back, the second time he's been willing to make a deal over his loved ones, considering his own soul to be of lesser value. When his request goes unanswered, preventing him from selling his soul, the resigned silence is a Tear Jerker in itself.

The Search For Grog

• Pike's panic over her best buddy's fate is hard to watch.
• Vox Machina finally tells Gilmore what happened to Vax, on-screen. He takes it surprisingly well, knowing it was coming, but he still tears up, and he and Keyleth share a hug.
• Liam's new character for the oneshot, a Cleric of the Raven Queen, tells Vex "Stay close to me", echoing Vax's old Catchphrase. Laura and the audience are in shock.

The Search For Bob

• Keyleth asks Liev'tel if she saw anyone or anything while she was (briefly) dead. The defeated but cautious hope in her voice really sells it, and you can practically see the moment when the cast's hearts collectively break. Vax only died two days ago in-game, after all.

Dalen's Closet

• The wedding itself. Percy and Vex's vows are touching after all of the adventures they've been through.
• Scanlan, in lieu of a wedding gift, uses Wish to bring back Vax for a few minutes so he can see Vex and Keyleth one last time. And the tears don't stop flowing...