The Legend of Vox Machina season 2 ends with a surprising villain for the future

polygon.com:

The Legend of Vox Machina’s second season has wrapped up, with a glorious fight and a cliffhanger that will have fans eagerly awaiting season 3. Threaded through the season were several appearances by a rather unlikely Critical Role villain, who played a major role in Percy’s backstory and confrontation with the Briarwoods in season 1.

[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for season 2 of The Legend of Vox Machina.]

Dr. Anna Ripley, inventor and former follower of the Briarwoods, is one of the few loose threads from Percy’s past. She’s played by Matthew Mercer in the actual-play series, and Kelly Hu (X2) in the animated series. In the first season, Ripley is discovered in Whitestone, and Percy nearly kills her on sight for the role she played in his family’s demise and the torture she inflicted on him under the Briarwoods’ rule.

Ripley escapes Vox Machina before they fight the Briarwoods in the first season, but in season 2 she begins to resurface. Like Percy, Ripley has a fascination with firearms; before she leaves in the first season, she spends time questioning Percy about his weapons. While Percy is shopping for black powder, the merchant who sells it informs him that someone else purchased black powder that week — someone with one hand. Percy realizes that Ripley is still on the move, but ends up concealing it from his friends.

Later, Ripley reappears alongside Umbrasyl, who she approaches about gathering Vestiges. Vox Machina never gets a chance to confront her, but she’s threaded through the narrative, and even observes the final fight of the season before she escapes (again). It’s a departure from the actual play — after the Briarwood arc, Ripley disappears for a good 30 or so episodes before she makes a