Summary
Evil Percy comes out to play in this stunningly animated finale.
This recap of Amazon’s The Legend Of Vox Machina season 1, episode 12, “The Darkness Within” — the ending explained — contains spoilers.
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The Legend Of Vox Machina season 1, episode 12 recap – the ending explained
The last episode ended on a black, spinning ball, we return straight to this foreboding image. The Vox Machina are devastated by Keyleth’s fatal wound and the sudden disappearance of Pike. Distracted, they ignore this orb of doom for the moment. Vex tries to revive Keyleth with an elixir, yet the sphere seems to be blocking their power. The gang must act quickly to save their friend’s life.
The de Rolo’s (Percival and Cassandra) drag their hostage, a broken Delilah, out of the Ziggurat and back to the acid chamber. She has just lost her husband and was denied by the Whispered One, Delilah is suicidal and grief-stricken. Evil Percy takes over, desperate to end her suffering. This episode mainly focuses on the evil aspect of Percy, “The Darkness Within” and is all the better for it, finally centering on the madness behind that black mask and eerie cloud of smoke.
Evil Percy comes to life, the black smoke grows and a silhouetted figure appears over Percy’s shoulder. The animation is stunning and Evil Percy’s demon is a horrifying creation. The gang realizes that the gunslinger is cursed and an entity has attached itself to his person. The monster feeds on his anger and the souls he forfeits. It’s more clever writing from the team, this has been bubbling under the surface throughout the whole series and takes center stage in the finale.
Once again, Percy has to fight himself. The demon within tries to kill Delilah, then Cassandra, then any member of the Vox Machina that gets in his eye line. We take a trip within Percy’s head, a nightmarish vision set in Anders’ classroom. Here, Anders teaches a lesson on revenge, whilst Percy is trapped inside his own head. When Percy tries to shoot apparitions of Anders or the Briarwood’s, in reality, he is shooting at his friends. Percy’s demon is the best villain yet, one that helps display some truly great artistic flair from the animators.
A worthy end to the season, filled with heart-breaking action and a genuinely terrifying monster in Evil Percy. If you’ve come this far then you are already sold on this adult animation, but the finale just reinforces the many rewards of the show. A killer cast that you yearn to watch fight baddies or just hang out on a weekly basis. Hilarious one-liners and some beautiful animation. This little gem from Amazon Prime Video should be on everybody’s watch list.
