Seems to me that some were almost expecting Vaxleth to have a love story similar to Perc’ahlia when the things is, narratively I wouldn’t want a copy of what we saw with Percy and Vex. I’d say they’re both good because they’re different. Percy and Vex’s love story was incredibly well told and is wonderful in its own right but it’s not similar to what unfolds with Vax and Keyleth. While they wanted to have a love like Percy and Vex, their respective paths made it clear that wasn’t going to happen early on. They’re the star-crossed, deeply in love but tragic Shakespearean lovers as opposed to the more classic yearning and epic declarations of a Jane Austen couple. It’s ships passing in the night, wasted opportunities, dreams unfulfilled and ultimately the reckoning of having to start over. But their struggle is what makes Vaxleth a beautiful love story. Because it shows that love isn’t always about getting swept away in the moment but about choosing the person, over and over, even when it’s uncertain and the road isn’t easy.
While some may be like “why should a one year fling be a lifelong love story?” I’d ask why not? And was it really a one year fling? After all, Vex knew she loved Percy in about the same time but was unwilling to admit it. And they settled down into their married life easily and quickly because they knew there was no one else. I think it’s clear, had Vax not have been in the situation he was with the Matron, he and Keyleth would’ve likely followed the same course. Their “one year fling” would’ve turned into marriage, kids and a whole lifetime of everything they’d wanted together.
The beauty to me of both couples is that their love for one another is no less grand, just different. Vex had to overcome her insecurity at thinking she was a curse to those she loved to be with Percy and both Keyleth and Vax had to overcome a fear of outliving or missing out on important things with their loved ones so distancing themselves because of it. For Keyleth and Vax, so much of their story is about Keyleth learning that Vax’s choice to stay with the Matron doesn’t lessen his love for her and both can be held in tension. So I think fans can appreciate both couples and not expect one to be the other because each brings unique and complex dynamics to the story that are great for the character building as a whole.
