The Legend Of Vox Machina Season 4, Episode 9 Ending Explained: Is Grog Dead & What Happens Now

Caution: spoilers ahead for The Legend Of Vox Machina season 4.

Things have escalated really rather quickly in The Legend of Vox Machina season 4. What started as a confounding undead conundrum keeping Percy awake at night is now a world-ending conspiracy playing out on an interdimensional level. After a quick reunion with the Meat Man himself, it's episode 9, "The Temple of Truth," where the gravity of the situation truly hits home.

Vox Machina spent season 4's first eight episodes sparring against the, ahem, Unalive Five, but "The Temple of Truth" is when the heroes finally strike the bad guys where they live, assaulting the episode's titular temple in an attempt to prevent the Whispered One's victory. The plan is simple enough if your name is Percy or Taryon. One team attacks the undead villains as all magic is being neutralized by the spinning orb, then Percy's team rigs a net of explosives beneath the temple, destroying it from below and burying the orb for good.

That plan is only partially successful. Vox Machina gets in a few blows against the Unalive Five and successfully detonates the temple, but at the expense of Grog and Pike. Losing two team members represents a massive blow to Vox Machina, and it's hard to recall a lower ebb for the team since Prime Video's series began. Regardless, there are bigger questions at play than the morale of our heroes.

Is Grog Really Dead?

As his teammates flee, Grog is delayed by the Unalive Five member Death Knight, who manages to throw Vox Machina's resident tank into the spinning orb of doom. As revealed previously in The Legend of Vox Machina season 4, episode 9, the orb kills anyone it makes contact with. Only those in possession of a special amulet can utilize the orb as a portal from the mortal realm to the Whispered One's hiding place of Thar Amphala.

Grog, of course, is not wearing one of those amulets as he approaches the orb, and The Legend of Vox Machina shows his body being visibly disintegrated as he flies toward it. Not only is Grog dead, therefore, his physical flesh no longer exists. Vox Machina has had a good run of reviving dead characters by bringing their souls back to their bodies, but Grog's complete and utter destruction would appear to remove similar methods of resurrection from the table.

Even so, it would be unwise to write Grog off completely. With the likes of Percy and Vex coming back to life in previous seasons, death is more of a suggestion in The Legend of Vox Machina at this point. The lack of a body will certainly make the job harder, but it feels unlikely that Travis Willingham (Grog's voice actor) will be absent for the remaining season-and-a-bit. Vox Machina should, however, be wary. Previous resurrections have demanded high prices, with Vax's blight a constant reminder of how cheating death often has unpleasant consequences. Should Grog return, his survival will undoubtedly cause issues of its own.

Whatever comes next for Grog, be it a permanent grave or an undead comeback, The Legend of Vox Machina is entering uncharted waters. While Grog does die (sort of) in the Critical Role campaign, it's at a completely different point in the story, giving viewers of the TV show no indication of the brute's fate.

What Next For Pike?

The second member Vox Machina loses at the Temple of Truth is Pike, albeit perhaps not quite as permanently. Distraught after Grog's death, Pike refuses to flee the explosion and instead strides directly into the orb. As Percy looks back while making his own escape, he spies her walking boldly into a black cloud. Pike, of course, holds an amulet needed for safe passage, so is effectively carrying a one-way ticket to Thar Amphala.

All things considered, death might have been the safer option. She may possess Mythcarver, but Pike is going up against the Unalive Five and the Whispered One entirely by herself. No amount of hunger for revenge can overcome those odds, putting Pike in the most perilous position of her questing career.

The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 has been a rough ride for Pike. She was already struggling to accept the breakup of the band, with Grog's recap song mentioning his partner "feeling kind of blue" during their inter-season adventures. Pike then started doubting her faith, consciously turning away from the Everlight. And that was all before the death of Pike's grandfather, Wilhand, and her emotionally testing reunion with Scanlan. Pike has been dealing with those feelings by seeking revenge at all costs, gunning for the Whispered One with a reckless abandon for herself and others.

Now, Pike watches her longtime companion die before her very eyes. Even worse, it's Pike's thirst for violence that stops Grog escaping in the first place, making her partially responsible. If Pike was walking a dark path beforehand, her future looks even bleaker now. In her current state of mind, it feels like Pike would sacrifice anything to avenge her lost loved ones, and that's the kind of dangerous thinking a villain like the Whispered One could exploit for his own ends.

What Is The Whispered One's Plan?

Over the course of season 4, Vox Machina has been gradually assembling details regarding the Whispered One's masterplan, and episode 9 adds a significant piece of that puzzle.

The Legend of Vox Machina had already revealed how the Whispered One was a lich who sought to become a god in the ancient past, but was banished to another dimension by a band of brave heroes, Pike's ancestor among them. The villain is now moving once again, seeking to complete his divine transformation and rule over a new world where death does not exist. Increasing his power and escaping Thar Amphala seems to demand a significant sacrifice, as followers at the Temple of Truth are being ushered into the Whispered One's realm like proverbial lambs.

Back in season 4's sixth episode, Gideon chastised Delilah Briarwood, saying, "We almost had one Trickfoot..." The implication was that Wilhand unknowingly held some integral role in the Whispered One's overall plan, although it's not clear why, other than the ancestral connection to Exandria's previous heroes. Whatever the meaning, the Whispered One's evident interest in Trickfoots makes it even more dangerous for Pike to be exploring enemy territory alone as we speed toward The Legend of Vox Machina season 4's conclusion.