The Legend Of Vox Machina Is Already Guaranteed To Avoid Game Of Thrones' Ending Problem

Published Aug 15, 2026, 9:45 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). We don't have to worry about Prime Video's top-tier fantasy series meeting the same fate as HBO's Game of Thrones. Of course, when it comes to this particular genre, it doesn't get much bigger than HBO's massively popular Game of Thrones. However, it can't be denied that the eighth and final season was extremely divisive. Years later, fans are still caught in a heavy debate regarding the bitter fates of George R.R. Martin's on-screen characters. It's just not what many of us hoped for, but it looks as if Prime's The Legend of Vox Machina has a much brighter conclusion ahead of it. The trouble with Game of Thrones's ending wasn't just that it was tragic and unexpected. Really, the conclusion of this series shouldn't have been anything but those two things. Said and done, it was the pacing of Game of Thrones season 8 that messed everything up. That trouble began with season 7, which ended in a way that made the prospect of only one more installment seem rather baffling. There was just too much ground to cover—dozens of unanswered questions and unresolved plotlines to tie up—and just not enough time to do it. As much as we tried to have hope that Game of Thrones season 8 would do the impossible, the concerningly short amount of time that the show had to deal with two separate wars just didn't cut it. The writing was already on the wall, and HBO failed to prove viewers wrong. Now, we have every reason to feel fearful when a great fantasy show approaches its conclusion. For example, The Legend of Vox Machina has been reliably spectacular, but Game of Thrones demonstrates how easily things can fall apart. Thankfully, we are already in a better position. The Legend Of Vox Machina Has Set Up A Strong Final Season It's unfortunate that, as an animated series, Prime Video's The Legend of Vox Machina will never claim the same sort of global attention as Game of Thrones. Regardless, the show has done spectacularly well for itself, currently maintaining 100% critical approval across all seasons on Rotten Tomatoes. This is especially impressive when considering the fact that The Legend of Vox Machina is balancing on the edge of its conclusion. The upcoming season 5, which is already in the works, will be the fantasy show's final installment. While this is a bitter truth, the fact that The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 kept up the series' positive momentum is an excellent sign. The troubles with Game of Thrones' ending were already visible from season 7's conclusion, so if there were any weak points in The Legend of Vox Machina's foundation that would impact the ending, we would likely already know it. Instead, season 4's last episode was one of the best the fantasy show has delivered since season 1, establishing a strong launch point as we head into the final arc. The Legend Of Vox Machina Can Fully Overtake Game Of Thrones In Its Final Season The Legend of Vox Machina had a significant advantage over Game of Thrones from the very beginning. The troubles faced by HBO's hit fantasy series were rather predictable, since the show had long before surpassed the source material. Even today, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series isn't complete. Without a road map, Game of Thrones was left floundering. This isn't the case for The Legend of Vox Machina, which is based on Critical Role's campaign one. The conclusion of Critical Role's first Dungeons & Dragons campaign was essentially an improvised masterpiece. It simply couldn't have gone better, which is why The Legend of Vox Machina has a much clearer path ahead of it than Game of Thrones ever did. Still, this isn't to say that the show's ending is static. The animated series has made major narrative changes over its first four seasons, with the shift in the confrontation with The Whispered One (Vecna) serving as a key example. We can see the outline of campaign one, but there's just more to it. The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 ended with one last complicated obstacle for the group to face, which means season 5 has the perfect amount of time and space to transform Critical Role's adventure into a more lyrical and balanced narrative. This final season will have all the room to breathe that Game of Thrones desperately needed. History may never remember it as much, but it's already clear that the quality of The Legend of Vox Machina's ending will far outweigh that of its HBO fantasy predecessor. The Legend of Vox Machina Release Date January 27, 2022 Network Prime Video Based on the characters and storylines from the first Dungeons and Dragons campaign in the web series Critical Role, The Legend of Vox Machina chronicles the adventures of a group of heroes for hire named Vox Machina as they attempt to protect the continent of Tal'Dorei. Game Of Thrones 10/10 Release Date 2011 - 2019-00-00 Showrunner David Benioff, D.B. Weiss Based on George R. R. Martin's ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. It follows noble families like the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryen vying for control of the Iron Throne while a rising threat from the undead looms in the North. The Legend of Vox Machina