The Legend of Vox Machina – Season 2 Episode 11 “Belly of the Beast” Recap & Review

Belly of the Beast

In The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2 Episode 11, Scanlan tells Kaylie he had no idea she existed, but he now recognizes her as her mother’s daughter. He talks about her as if they fell in love, but “the world got in the way.” But he never got over Leia.

Kaylie isn’t at all touched, due to that not being her mother’s name. Her mom was Sybil, and she deserved better than Scanlan. He admits he is awful and he wishes he would have known about Kaylie.

He invites her to stab him, but she won’t. That would just help him run away again, and she wants him to sit in this revelation. So she leaves him to be alone and bound to the bed.

Vax follows a strand of light outside the pub. It leads him to a trio of ravens who watch as Kevdak’s dead men, as well as Uriel and others who have died approach Vax with white eyes. They whisper words he can’t understand. Suddenly he sees himself bound to the Matron of Ravens by strands of light, until she disappears and he falls to the ground.

Vax later finds Scanlan, who has freed himself, and asks him if he ever had his life change. And with recent events, of course he has. They both know what it’s like for running to be their natural response to change. Scanlan then informs Vax he’s learned you can’t let fear control you.

Meanwhile, Thordak berates Umbrasyl for not delivering his gold. But Umbrasyl wants to focus on getting the vestiges. Thordak advises that he not let such distractions delay him. Dr. Ripley tells Umbrasyl he won’t have to grovel to Thordak if he can get the gauntlets. “You get power, and I get resources,” she says, reminding him of their deal.

Vex and Keyleth follow Vax outside to learn he snuck out to follow the Matron of Raven’s call. He tells them he has to find answers.

He enters the matron’s temple, where he’s surrounded by masked figures. Vex and Keyleth wait outside where Vex calls her out for having feelings for Vax, and she knows Vax cares for Keyleth too. Keyleth wonders if that even matters at this point. When she asks Vex what she should do, she advises her not to let him get away.

Vax plunges into water of blood in the temple. He starts to sink and eventually lets go and lets himself fall into the abyss. He wakes up in another realm to hear the Matron of Ravens calling him his champion. He tells her his debt will be paid.

She informs Vax he is fate-touched, able to bend the threads around him. He must protect the sanctity between life and death. He accepts the charge, and she advises him to no longer fear death; it gives meaning to life.

Vax exits the temple with a peace of mind. He understands they’re on the right path, and that the matron is watching. 

Scanlan tries to tell Kaylie he can change. He wants to try to be the dad she wants, but she doesn’t care.

The Herd helps set Percy’s trap, and they lay in wait. Umbrasyl approaches, discontent at the Herd’s smallest offering yet. They wait for him to step on the pressure plate to set off the trap, but he notices it and avoids it. But when Vex is able to set off the trap with one of her arrows, they trap Umbrasyl and focus their fire on him.

Umbrasyl is still able to break free and turn invisible, however. So Scanlan comes up with a crazy plan–get inside the dragon. Not through its mouth, which is full of acid–but the other way.

With Vax’s speed and Scanlan’s spells, they’re able to pull it off. Scanlan then stabs the dragon with Kaylie’s sword, getting him down and visible so Vox Machina can hit him with everything they have.

But Umbrasyl then flies away with Scanlan and Vax inside of him. At the last second, Grog is able to stick him with his new ax, causing the goliath to fly away with them. Once again, the party is split.

The Episode Review

Can we talk about the beautiful imagery of the Raven Queen’s temple? The sequence between Vax and his patron is absolutely breathtaking–even if it felt like Vax accepted her explanation of his charge too readily. How do all one’s worries vanish just like that?

If not as high stakes of an installment as I would have liked for a penultimate episode, it’s an exciting cliffhanger to lead us into this season’s conclusion. Let’s hope Vax is right about them all being on the right path, because they’ll all be risking their lives to go against Umbrasyl and–unbeknownst to them–Anna Ripley.