Who Is Dohla in The Legend of Vox Machina?

The following contains spoilers for The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3, Episode 3: “Vexations”.

Season 3, Episode 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina resurrects a minor and unexpected character from Critical Role’s past in Dohla Lorian, a member of Kima and Allura’s former adventuring party. Retconning Dohla’s pre-campaign death for the Prime Video series offers a fresh perspective on Draconia and a deeper exploration of Kima and Allura’s past.

The Legend of Vox Machina Reverses Dohla’s Critical Role Death

First glimpsed briefly in The Legend of Vox Machina Season 2, Episode 5, Dohla was among the heroes who aided in banishing Thordak the Cinder King to the Elemental Plane of Fire. However, it’s at this juncture that her fate varies wildly from Critical Role to The Legend of Vox Machina. In Campaign 1, Episode 40: “Desperate Measures”, Allura Vysoren recounts the events of Thordak’s concealment to Vox Machina, reporting that her friends Dohla Lorian, Sirus Kaldrem, Ghenn Talevesh perished in the party’s effort. Of Allura’s original adventuring party, only herself, Lady Kima of Vord, and Drake Thunderbrand survived their showdown with Thordak.

Not only does Dohla survive in The Legend of Vox Machina, but she serves as the party’s Draconian welcoming committee in Season 3, Episode 3. The quiet resentment she harbors towards Allura and Kima over the years results in her betraying Vox Machina and her former colleagues to the dragon Vorugal. Exploring Dohla’s perspective through flashbacks grants the viewers a deeper look into Kima and Allura’s past adventures and the early days of their romance. This choice to alter Dohla’s fate in the Critical Role adaption thus works to bolster the audience’s investment in Kima and Allura, two of the party’s strongest allies.

Vox Machina’s Visit to Draconia Looked Different in Critical Role

Dohla’s resurrection from the annals of Critical Role history does more than just enrich Kima and Allura’s backstory, it streamlines the actual play show’s much more involved visit to Draconia during the Chroma Conclave arc. Rather than Dohla, the tail-less dragonborn Tooma served as Vox Machina’s primary contact in the ruins of Draconia during Critical Role‘s stream. Tail-less dragonborn, known as Ravenites, represented historic oppression in Draconia that was understandably trimmed for time and convenience in The Legend of Vox Machina.

Aside from Tooma and the Ravenites, former Vox Machina member Tiberius Stormwind’s body was discovered in Draconia during this arc of Critical Role‘s original stream. Campaign 1, Episode 64: “The Frigid Doom” granted closure to Tiberius’ journey after voice actor Orion Acaba’s somewhat notorious split from the Dungeons & Dragons party. Some Critters noted similarities between the resurrected Dohla and the retconned Tiberius, in that they’re both magic-using, red-skinned dragonborns with hang-ups surrounding Kima and Allura’s romantic relationship. Regardless of the comparisons to Critical Role‘s past, Dohla represents The Legend of Vox Machina‘s ability to bend the stream’s established canon into something fresh for newcomers and long-time fans alike.