Scanlan realizes Delilah’s book wasn’t a spell book; it was an instruction manual that has to do with The Whispered One. Pike recognizes the name as an undead creature that seeks to return to this plane. The solstice marks the best time for such a creature to cross over. Delilah tells Sylas that The Whispered One is coming. When it does, she and Sylas will be together forever. Ripley flees after failing to convince Percy to come with her and give up the fight. As she runs, darkness momentarily overtakes Percy, and a voice says he is letting his prey go. Cassandra distracts Percy, however, by willingly offering her neck for Sylas to bite. Percy rushes towards them, commencing the fight. Vex keeps a possessed Vax at bay while Cassandra attacks Percy. Cassandra’s name glows on his gun, and Percy’s mask starts to take over, but he fights the urge to shoot her. Meanwhile, Keyleth is running out of energy by fighting Sylas. When the vampiric foe turns on Scanlan, Pike rescues the gnome–who subsequently swoons. Sylas turns his attention to Percy to slash his throat. Interestingly, Cassandra’s eyes flash gold. She briefly remembers the Briarwoods torturing her and Percy before Sylas possesses her again. Vex struggles against her brother, so she calls out to Keyleth to do something. But the druid is weak. She falls to the ground. Just then, she notices roots growing there—it’s the Sun Tree. She asks for the tree’s help, and vines begin to grow around her hand and her staff until a light shoots upward from the staff. It causes Vax to snap out of his possession and empowers Pike to fight against Delilah. Grog takes hold of Sylas, pinning him in place. Keyleth directs her light toward him. He burns in the sunlight until he is nothing but ash. Sylas’ name then disappears from Percy’s gun. Whatever being that is controlling Percy screams that the kill should have been his. At the same time, Cassandra is released from Sylas’ spell, and Delilah runs into the ziggurat, closing the door behind her. She panics, saying out loud (supposedly to The Whispered One) that she has done everything asked of her, including taking Whitestone. She asks The Whispered One to honour its bargain and bring Sylas back. Delilah then cuts her arm for one last ritual. Black, caged creatures writhe around her, and a green light shoots up in front of her. Vox Machina then rushes into the room and attacks. Vex shoots an arrow into Delilah’s back, who then turns around to throw a burst of magical energy back at her. But Keyleth jumps in front of her to take the full brunt of the blow. She falls to the ground, and Vex screams. A cloaked figure appears before Delilah, and electrifying green light shoots into the Sun Tree. The veins in Delilah’s face grow increasingly black. Then… the cloaked figure disappears. Delilah screams that this can’t be all there is just before Percy shoots her. In all the commotion, Pike runs to Keyleth to perform a healing spell. Just before she does, her connection is severed. Pike wakes up in her physical form, back at the temple—and without having healed her friend. Vax says Keyleth will die if they don’t do something fast. Delilah lies still on the ground. But the episode ends with a sphere of black and purple magical energy spinning in the middle of the ziggurat.
The Episode Review
The staging for this epic battle with the Briarwoods evokes visceral exhilaration. We find ourselves thrown into yet another fight, but this showdown is the most emotional and plot-relevant yet. Each hero and villain gets a chance to shine. The fight is intricately complicated (and vastly more interesting compared to others) given all the different elements at play, let alone the number of powerful players involved. This episode gets the timing of each movement just right, building up anticipation until the battle’s roaring crescendo. The stakes are high going into the season finale as Keyleth’s life, Percy’s sanity, and the fate of The Whispered One hang in the balance. Will Vox Machina prevail?
