Prime Video’s original series The Legend of Vox Machina ,season two episode twelve entitled “The Hope Devourer,” starts with Sam Riegel’s Scanlan Shorthalt as he has a dream about reading to his grandchildren while being on good terms with his daughter. From this the viewer can see how much he genuinely wants to be a good father in his daughter’s eyes. This is due to him deciding to change his ways so she will not hate him as much. Deep down Scanlan is afraid of ending up alone as a result of his actions when it comes to taking responsibility. The difference is this time he wants to take responsibility for his daughter ,only now, he must earn it. Unfortunately, he ends up having an internal conflict with his instinct to run away when things get serious. This is demonstrated by how he wants to quit when the team gets beaten by the dragon they must face.
Additionally, the viewer sees Scanlan as he makes his choice to finally fight instead of running away. In his mind, he knows that if he runs away his daughter would be right about him. Which is why he finds the determination to fight for his friends as well as his daughter. This is due to how he wants to earn his daughter’s love ,or at the very least, a chance to get to know her better. It can be assumed by the viewer that his decision to fight the dragon is a pivotal moment for his character as he takes his first steps toward redemption. Not to mention that he ends up finding the hero in himself that he probably did not know he had inside.
At the end of the episode, the viewer sees the team grow in strength as they have overcome their personal issues. Each member of the team has faced down things from their past that kept them from reaching their full potential. The interesting part about this is how the series deals with trauma, insecurities and unhealthy relationships. Throughout the episodes, the viewer sees the different topics that are not touched so much in a common tv series. From being insecure about one’s own self-worth, to also having to deal with being in an unhealthy codependent relationship, and finally trauma from the past. Each character has had to deal with one of these things which is what made them seem human, especially with how they decided to deal with their hardships.
Rating: 9.5/10