The Legend of Vox Machina Ep. 8

You can watch this episode right here.

Pike is in the temple of the Everlight, where clerics are chanting, trying to help her cleanse her soul. Pike has a vision in which tendrils of darkness pull her down. The clerics snap her out of it.

Back in Whitestone, Keyleth is trying to save Cassandra, who is bleeding out. She is successful.

Anders, the villain who slit Cassandra's throat, animates a few suits of armor. I should note that Anders seems to have an actual metal (silver?) tongue.

The rest of the adventurers join the battle against the animated suits of armor. Once dealt with, Anders uses magic to turn Grog against the group.

Back at the temple, Pike tries again to make the connection. Again, she ends up ensnared by black tentacles. This time she is pulled down, but a sun rescues her. It seems to be an embodiment of the Everlight, her deity.

"Lies will not lead you back." Pike insists she is not lying. I have NO idea where this is going, and I really like it.

Grog is attacking the adventurers. Anders ends up magically controlling Gorg, Vex, Vax, and Keyleth. Percy is in big trouble.

Percy fires a shot that ricochets and blows through the side of Anders's face. Anders's tongue actually animates and tries to escape, but Grog impales it. Percy blows his head off. That's another name off the barrel of his gun.

Percy reunites with Cassandra. She seems to be not so thrilled with Percy.

The heroes find a star chart. There's a solstice five days from now.

Outside, Keyleth shapes the clouds over the city in the form of the symbol of Percy's family - the Derolo Crest.

The Briarwoods see the clouds, and decide to act. Delila enacts a ritual, raising at least one zombie.

In the temple, Pike is semi-conscious, having fits. Her body might be an empty shell. The Everlight says Pike is lying to herself. She left the righteous path, drawn to depravity and violence. She put her group before her. Pike will need to choose a path.

In Whitestone, Scanlan sees the cloud formation. He encounters a horde of zombies. There are zombies everywhere...

Thoughts

It seems like we are basically working up the chain of flunkies, killing off a series of villainous NPCs until we get to the Briarwoods. Normally, I'd hate this, as it would feel like a waste of time (why wouldn't they just go right for the top villains?). 

But the combination of the fact that Percy wants revenge on each of them (having inscribed their names on his gun) and the execution of the story makes it enjoyable. Each encounter is different. Each villain is unique and interesting. The more it rolls on, the more you become familiar with the city, which seems endlessly cool.

We haven't gotten to the giant yet!

It's a great show.