I love how they wrote Scanlan in the show because, as many other people probably commented already, Sam Riegel (Scanlan's actor) made Scanlan as a joke & wanted his character to be the worst DnD character ever as it was his first time playing DnD. So when they first started playing this campaign irl, he was constantly making jokes & innuendos just to make his friends/other Vox Machina members laugh. He kept a lot of that humor through the campaign but, as you're starting to see, the longer they played, the more nuance all the actors were able to put into their characters. So while S1 Scanlan is the 'joke' era of his character, he definitely starts to show a lot of his depth & growth starting from S2.
I didn't know that first fact, that Sam made Scanlan as a joke, just thought he was that way irl and it came through and he learned and grew the whole way... guess he's a much better actor than I give him credit for (And I already love the fact that he's an at least 8x award winning Voice Director and Voice Actor extraordinaire, just... didn't see that coming lol) (that count of awards coming from how many projects he's been a part of that won + his personal awards I think. I just went to IMDB and counted the wins)
They actually toned down the flirting for the show. Keep in mind that seasons 1 and 2 of LoVM condensed like 40 episodes of plot / 60 episodes of character development - each one averaging about 4 hours long. They had to shorten the timeline SEVERELY to get it to fit into 24 tiny episodes. Mechanically, the game always makes romance between party members more likely. Just pure game mechanics means that player characters will always interact way more with each other than with NPCs who are all played by the same person: the game master. More time = more relationship development. I'd say the flirting between Scanlan and Pike is the only increase, kind of. In the game, Pike was only ever around for a few episodes here and there - because the actor got a good job across the country - and so there was never time for that to develop at a normal pace. The animated show is more like what they wish they could have done back then. Percy and Vex was the fan favorite ship for the game (my favorite). It started off so subtle a lot of people missed it, or thought they were just seeing what they wanted to see. Vax and Keyleth were kind of the originators of DnD romance role play. Not that nobody had ever role played romance in their home games before, but as far as I know, Critical Role was the first group of professional ACTORS to put their game on the internet (2015), and so they were the first to portray developing romance. Now it's normalized, but back then it was like 13 year old theater kids trying to improv Romeo and Juliet while surrounded by their giggling awkward friends. Their pairing started off WAY more one sided. Keyleth's actor didn't even see it coming. She found out when Vax said, "You know I'm in love with you, right?" (he did ask the game master first in case it was inappropriate, and he did check in with her afterwards to make sure she was ok with it)
After the adventuring life, you're not likely to settle down with an accountant. When you risk life and limb for each other, through all sorts of adventures, through thick and thin, pairing up isn't a big surprise. If you watch closely, you notice that Willhand is the first person Grog faced who didn't fight back. That little flash of gold could have been the Everlight, giving Grog a little nudge. How can you not expect cliffhangers at this point? I think Ripley is only working with Umbrassyl, and I think it's mostly information that she's supplying, as well as egging him on a bunch! Don't remember if I've said this before on this sub, but Ripley is Tal'Dorei's answer to Joseph Mengele -- nothing matters except the experiment, no matter how nasty it is! You've probably seen it already, but next episode is arguably the best of the show so far.
Wow, I thought that Scanlan and Pike worked the least! Vax and Keyleth happened organically for me in the show and the game. Vex and Percy was a little more organic in the game, imo, but I'm not disliking them in the show. Scanlan and Pike just felt, idk, tacked on. Like it only happened because they're both gnomes and because Scanlan wanted a meaningful connection for once!
i've never watched the game so can't say on that. Vax and Keyleth feel organic, just not sure how it would play out. Vex and Percy to me feels a bit forced. Pike and Scanlan feel like they would be good for each other imo.
Tbh I love all the couples in VM! While Vaxleth happens to be my favorite ship, Pikelan is my second favorite bc I'm a fan of the 'notoriously promiscuous man who's experienced a lot sexually is head over heels for a singular woman who makes him want to become genuine' dynamic. And Pike can't help but admire who he truly is when he drops his bravado. Percy & Vex are def the 'parents' of the group, Vax & Kiki are the ‘black cat & golden retriever’/ ‘sun & moon’ couple, and Pikelan are the ‘opposites-attract’ couple- which all are tropes that can be perceived differently & not everyone will be a fan.
@@beccazach Well that makes sense because I've never been a fan of the "promiscuous man falls for a singular woman because she's just that good" trope. It's not that I hate Scanlan, I just feel like Pike deserves better than to be the Not Like Other Girls who tames the notorious manwhore! But to each their own. I actually went into LOVM thinking I'd like Vex and Percy most because I did like them most in what I saw of the game, but then Vax and Keyleth just pushed every one of my buttons because apparently I'm a masochist! Also, the black cat + golden retriever description...yeah that makes a lot of sense considering some of my OTPs in other fandoms.
@@kieranshae I understand. Everyone likes different things. When it comes to Vex and Percy, I was getting the impression in season 1 that Vex was already in love with Percy at the beginning of the series, but also that maybe I was just projecting since I'd seen the game play. However, Season 2 Episode 8, basically confirmed it because that was quite a declaration from her! I thought it was an interesting approach to portraying their relationship, but I can also see how people who don't know the game might not feel as connected to them because we haven't really been shown them developing a connection as much as the other two pairings.
I love how they wrote Scanlan in the show because, as many other people probably commented already, Sam Riegel (Scanlan's actor) made Scanlan as a joke & wanted his character to be the worst DnD character ever as it was his first time playing DnD. So when they first started playing this campaign irl, he was constantly making jokes & innuendos just to make his friends/other Vox Machina members laugh. He kept a lot of that humor through the campaign but, as you're starting to see, the longer they played, the more nuance all the actors were able to put into their characters. So while S1 Scanlan is the 'joke' era of his character, he definitely starts to show a lot of his depth & growth starting from S2.
I didn't know that first fact, that Sam made Scanlan as a joke, just thought he was that way irl and it came through and he learned and grew the whole way... guess he's a much better actor than I give him credit for (And I already love the fact that he's an at least 8x award winning Voice Director and Voice Actor extraordinaire, just... didn't see that coming lol) (that count of awards coming from how many projects he's been a part of that won + his personal awards I think. I just went to IMDB and counted the wins)
Man that outro music reminds me so much of RHCP. I miss listining to them... that'll be my next listen, perhaps BSSM (album)
Really? It's just chosen at random, but I'm glad you enjoy it lol
They actually toned down the flirting for the show. Keep in mind that seasons 1 and 2 of LoVM condensed like 40 episodes of plot / 60 episodes of character development - each one averaging about 4 hours long. They had to shorten the timeline SEVERELY to get it to fit into 24 tiny episodes.
Mechanically, the game always makes romance between party members more likely. Just pure game mechanics means that player characters will always interact way more with each other than with NPCs who are all played by the same person: the game master. More time = more relationship development.
I'd say the flirting between Scanlan and Pike is the only increase, kind of. In the game, Pike was only ever around for a few episodes here and there - because the actor got a good job across the country - and so there was never time for that to develop at a normal pace. The animated show is more like what they wish they could have done back then.
Percy and Vex was the fan favorite ship for the game (my favorite). It started off so subtle a lot of people missed it, or thought they were just seeing what they wanted to see.
Vax and Keyleth were kind of the originators of DnD romance role play. Not that nobody had ever role played romance in their home games before, but as far as I know, Critical Role was the first group of professional ACTORS to put their game on the internet (2015), and so they were the first to portray developing romance. Now it's normalized, but back then it was like 13 year old theater kids trying to improv Romeo and Juliet while surrounded by their giggling awkward friends. Their pairing started off WAY more one sided. Keyleth's actor didn't even see it coming. She found out when Vax said, "You know I'm in love with you, right?" (he did ask the game master first in case it was inappropriate, and he did check in with her afterwards to make sure she was ok with it)
After the adventuring life, you're not likely to settle down with an accountant. When you risk life and limb for each other, through all sorts of adventures, through thick and thin, pairing up isn't a big surprise.
If you watch closely, you notice that Willhand is the first person Grog faced who didn't fight back. That little flash of gold could have been the Everlight, giving Grog a little nudge.
How can you not expect cliffhangers at this point?
I think Ripley is only working with Umbrassyl, and I think it's mostly information that she's supplying, as well as egging him on a bunch! Don't remember if I've said this before on this sub, but Ripley is Tal'Dorei's answer to Joseph Mengele -- nothing matters except the experiment, no matter how nasty it is!
You've probably seen it already, but next episode is arguably the best of the show so far.
Wow, I thought that Scanlan and Pike worked the least!
Vax and Keyleth happened organically for me in the show and the game. Vex and Percy was a little more organic in the game, imo, but I'm not disliking them in the show.
Scanlan and Pike just felt, idk, tacked on. Like it only happened because they're both gnomes and because Scanlan wanted a meaningful connection for once!
i've never watched the game so can't say on that. Vax and Keyleth feel organic, just not sure how it would play out. Vex and Percy to me feels a bit forced. Pike and Scanlan feel like they would be good for each other imo.
Tbh I love all the couples in VM! While Vaxleth happens to be my favorite ship, Pikelan is my second favorite bc I'm a fan of the 'notoriously promiscuous man who's experienced a lot sexually is head over heels for a singular woman who makes him want to become genuine' dynamic. And Pike can't help but admire who he truly is when he drops his bravado.
Percy & Vex are def the 'parents' of the group, Vax & Kiki are the ‘black cat & golden retriever’/ ‘sun & moon’ couple, and Pikelan are the ‘opposites-attract’ couple- which all are tropes that can be perceived differently & not everyone will be a fan.
@@beccazach Well that makes sense because I've never been a fan of the "promiscuous man falls for a singular woman because she's just that good" trope.
It's not that I hate Scanlan, I just feel like Pike deserves better than to be the Not Like Other Girls who tames the notorious manwhore!
But to each their own.
I actually went into LOVM thinking I'd like Vex and Percy most because I did like them most in what I saw of the game, but then Vax and Keyleth just pushed every one of my buttons because apparently I'm a masochist! Also, the black cat + golden retriever description...yeah that makes a lot of sense considering some of my OTPs in other fandoms.
@@kieranshae I understand. Everyone likes different things.
When it comes to Vex and Percy, I was getting the impression in season 1 that Vex was already in love with Percy at the beginning of the series, but also that maybe I was just projecting since I'd seen the game play.
However, Season 2 Episode 8, basically confirmed it because that was quite a declaration from her!
I thought it was an interesting approach to portraying their relationship, but I can also see how people who don't know the game might not feel as connected to them because we haven't really been shown them developing a connection as much as the other two pairings.