Why is fantasy so hard to get right? Even an adaptation as iconic and beloved as Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy attracted criticism for diluting J.R.R. Tolkien’s books into a Hollywood action spectacle, while Games of Thrones suffered a damning final-season collapse after looking invincible for the best part of 7 years.

Predictably, fantasy on streaming has become a very mixed bag. Netflix’s The Witcher experienced a sudden and sharp decline, The Rings of Power has proved divisive thus far, Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians has impressed, and while HBO’s Harry Potter remake is yet to release, it faces the challenge of convincing viewers another live-action interpretation is actually necessary.

As such, a franchise that manages to release three spectacular seasons, then spawn a separate show that’s just as good, is something to marvel at indeed.

Prime Video’s Critical Role Franchise Is Making Fantasy Look Easy

Debuting in 2022 to sterling reviews, The Legend of Vox Machina might have flown somewhat under the mainstream radar initially, but it made an immediate impression upon anyone keeping up with the fantasy world. The blend of Dungeons & Dragons lore, brilliant characters, and cutting humor provided a winning formula, but the really impressive bit came after, as Prime Video delivered two further seasons of matching quality.

Unsurprisingly, Amazon sought to capitalize on Vox Machina’s success by adapting the next campaign in Critical Role’s locker, The Mighty Nein, prompting questions over whether lightning could strike twice. It did, and not by halves, with Critical Role’s second show as good as, if not better than, The Legend of Vox Machina.

What Prime Video’s Critical Role Shows Have That Other Fantasy Series Lack

It’s just the way of things that most modern fantasy series are based on an existing IP, typically a book, but sometimes a video game or, in Critical Role’s case, a tabletop RPG-turned-webseries.

And because the genre is so adaptation-heavy, it’s clear to see a pattern emerging between fantasy shows that thrive and those that don’t: success is heavily influenced by authenticity (or lack thereof) to the original source material.

Take those aforementioned shows. Game of Thrones withered after moving past George R.R. Martin’s books. The Witcher declined as it deviated further from established lore. The Rings of Power plays fast and loose with Tolkien’s mythology. Percy Jackson is praised because it’s more faithful than the Logan Lerman movies. Harry Potter‘s main selling point seems to be that the TV format will bring it closer to the books than the movies were.

By that measure, The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein are light years ahead of their rivals. Not only do the Critical Role cast members star in both shows, they’re instrumental in the overall creative process, allowing them to continue developing the characters, worlds, and stories they’re responsible for. Few other fantasy shows can make the same claim, either because involving the original author isn’t possible, or because they choose not to.

For Critical Role, that thread of continuity has been vital. It allows The Legend of Vox Machina to keep following the original storyline undeterred, and with The Mighty Nein, which isn’t a direct adaptation of the D&D campaign, having the same faces anchors the group to what audiences already love, despite the narrative changes.

It’s a relatively simple thing, having the creators involved in developing adaptations of their own work leads to good adaptations. Most fantasy series avoid taking that route, preferring to maintain creative control, but when it works, as it does with Critical Role, the entire genre starts to look easy.