The Legend Of Vox Machina Season 4 Episode 1 Recap: Who Are The Cultists?

The fourth season of Amazon Prime’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” has finally arrived, and right off the bat, in the first episode itself, viewers are introduced to the next major crisis which was hinted at in the previous season all along. By the end of the third season, the heroes went their separate ways, waiting for the world to heal in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Chroma Conclave. As the first episode begins, it has been a year since the events of the last season, and the members of Vox Machina are dearly missing the companionship and adventure which had become an integral part of their lives.  However, during this period, an unknown evil has been consolidating power in secret – and it all ties up with Lady Delilah Briarwoods’ actions in the first season.

Spoilers Ahead

The first episode opens with Grog singing a catchy, peppy, not-so-ballad-like song which narrates the legend of Vox Machina, while chilling in a tavern with Pike. With funky, cartoonish animation paired with it, the song reflects Grog’s innocent, childish psyche. Grog misses all the actions, it has been way too long since he felt the adrenaline rush of battle, whereas Pike misses her friends as it is revealed they haven’t even talked with each other since their last farewell. Pike has distanced herself from Everlight in the aftermath of the final showdown with Raishan, and viewers who remember her interaction with Zerxus, know exactly why. A rich adventurer, Taryon Darrington, who introduces himself as an admirer of Vox Machina, arrives at the tavern and almost immediately causes chaos thanks to his eccentric ways. Not long after, Taryon’s mechanized automaton, Doty, arrives at the scene, whose job is to chronicle everything his master says or experiences. Taryon reveals his father, Howaardt Derrington’s convoy of transporting gems has been occasionally getting looted in their regular trade routes, and he seeks help from Pike and Grog to capture the culprit(s). Pike is not really interested, but sensing an adventure, Grog urges her to accompany Taryon.

While moving through the trade route, Pike laments after witnessing how people are still reeling from the devastation caused by Chroma Conclave. While for heroes of Vox Machina, the conflict provided a chance to establish their legacy as the protectors of the realm, the powerless, underprivileged lots suffered all the same. A mysterious elderly woman appears out of nowhere and launches a vicious assault on the band. Even Grog has a hard time defending against the dark magic conjured by the woman, who tries to flee taking Taryon’s family heirloom jewels with her. Pike chases her, and is shocked to learn the identity of the woman to be Priestess Talia, a fellow worshipper of Everlight whom she remembers to be a kind, benevolent individual. Seeing her acting all feral and murderous, Pike is flabbergasted, and tries her best to subdue her without causing harm. It can already be assumed that Talia has been influenced by dark forces by seeing her sustain fatal injuries, and something within her twitching and twisting her body to turn her back into her former self. Pike corners Talia in a shrine of the Matron of Ravens, and tries to appeal to her senses by reminding her of her connection with Everlight. However, Talia has become disillusioned, as she calls all the gods as liars, and spies on the Matron of Ravens, the goddess of death. Talia uses Sunder Stones to destroy the shrine, seemingly dying in the process, which prompts a concerned Pike to consider reconnecting with Everlight to learn the true extent of this corruption. 

On the other hand, Percy and Vex are living the high life as the lord and lady of Whitestone, and Vex, who is not accustomed to such fineries, has become quite fed up. Percy has created a lair in the underground ziggurat where Lady Delilah Briarwood tried to summon the Whispered One, but back then the failed summoning brought a mysterious black orb instead. Percy is conducting all kinds of experiments on the orb to learn its functionality, as it is already pretty apparent that it has the potential to unleash something primal evil. On one night, Vex decides to venture in the woods along with her companion bear, Trinket, to check upon the rumour of a vicious panther lurking nearby, instead she comes across a dreadful Demogorgon/ Gloomstalker looking creature which unleashes a terrifying attack on her. Even a skilled fighter like Vex finds herself on her toes while taking on the monstrosity, until she and Trinket finally manage to kill the creature at long last. 

Meanwhile, Percy finds out the black orb is absorbing the magic of his lantern, and within moments, the orb starts acting like a singularity, pulling everything towards itself, just like a centre of a vortex. Percy almost gets dragged inside until the source of magic, the lantern gets sucked into the orb, and it returns to its inactive, quiet state. The black orb is hinted to be connected with the creature Vex killed in the forest, and it takes no genius to assume that Priestess Talia’s corruption is somehow linked with all this as well.

During the final moments of the episode, it is revealed Priestess Talia survived the destruction of the shrine of Matron of Ravens, and reaching a mysterious, subterranean lair, where a number of cultists are seen to be present, she hands the Darrington family gem to a priest of sorts. The unnamed priest latches the gem into his dagger, proceeding to use it to sacrifice a volunteer in a grotesque manner. The rest of the cultists present in the scene chant in unison, and the deceased sacrifice transforms into a stronger, larger version of himself. As the episode ends, the order turns him into an enforcer, and in all probability, Priestess Talia too received the same fate. The cultists are most likely worshippers of the Whispered One, the Archlich turned dark god whom Delilah Briarwoods preyed on to bring her husband back to life. Vecna aka Whispered One has dominion over the natural order life and death, which makes him an adversary of Matron of Ravens, as she commands over the balance between death and life. It seems in this season, Vax’s role as the Matron’s champion is going to be of crucial importance, and upcoming episodes will probably highlight that.