Animation
The Legend of Vox Machina
When it comes to being suitable for families, Amazon Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina failed its saving throw.
The 1969 moon landing is one of the most significant events in human history. It’s also so visually iconic that you can probably picture it right now. The grainy footage of the astronaut descending from the landing craft, the hulking white space suit, the planting of the flag and those famous words — “I take this step for my country, my people, and the Marxist-Leninist way of life…”
Hold on. That doesn’t sound right.
What it sounds like is For All Mankind, an Apple TV+ drama which asks the question: What if the Soviet Union beat the United States to the moon? Each season of the series (as of 2026, there are five, with another on the way) explores a new decade of a reality in which the space race never ended, and NASA pushed themselves further and farther to gain dominance over the cosmos.
But any race requires an opponent, which begs another question: What were the Soviets up to this whole time?
Star City goes back to 1969 to pull back the Iron Curtain on the (fictional) Soviet space program. They may have beaten the Americans to the moon, but those in Star City, the community that houses the program, are far from finished. Scientists have grand plans for Mars, maybe even Venus and beyond. Soldiers seek to use the program to spread Marxist-Leninist power around the globe. And some people — like the cosmonauts, their wives, and all those trapped in the Soviet machine — just want to survive.
Sure, space is dangerous. But between constant surveillance, baseless accusations of treason, and the threat of disappearing forever if you step out of line, life in Star City isn’t much safer.
Since Star City explores an alternate version of history, many depicted events differ from reality. One thing, however, is very accurate to real history: Life in the Soviet Union during the Cold War was tense, dark, and bleak.
It makes sense, then, that this spinoff of For All Mankind should be much the same.
The oppressive government looms like a shadow over every character. Even those loyal to their country aren’t spared from violence and fear. Yana, a cosmonaut who would easily give her life for her homeland, is captured and tortured over the mere suspicion that she’s spying for the Americans. Irina, a young woman in the surveillance department, is told to shoot and kill a helpless prisoner to prove her loyalty.
We don’t actually see the torture onscreen, and the show’s violent moments are jarring, but not extensive. But for some, the threatening atmosphere is chilling enough. It’s a cold life under communist rule, and Star City makes sure you know it.
The danger doesn’t stay on Earth, though. Up in space, it’s pretty much the norm. Cosmonauts are put in life-threatening situations, from malfunctioning spacesuits to harrowing launches. Early on in the series, these situations end in success and relief, but don’t let your guard down. This is a science-fiction thriller, after all. That luck won’t last for long.
As if the endless vacuum of space and an oppressive government wasn’t enough, cosmonauts also must deal with troubles back home. Extramarital affairs and other personal issues cause drama among those at Star City. Some of those “issues” are shown onscreen (or overheard via surveillance, unfortunately for Irina). Foul language is also a recurring problem.
Star City poses an intriguing premise about how one event can change the course of history. Its world of fear and constant threat, however, may be unsettling for some viewers — not to mention the dangers in space, which are about as tense as they come. Look out for sexual situations and language as well.
It’s a bumpy road up to the moon. Star City might just be even bumpier.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
After a successful moon landing—the first in human history—the Soviet Union plans a new mission to put a woman on the moon. Meanwhile, Star City surveillance searches for a mole giving information to the Americans.
The culture of secrecy and fear at Star City leads to several dark results. Yana, a cosmonaut intended to be the first woman on the moon, is tortured under suspicion of treason. While it doesn’t happen onscreen, we hear a recording of her insisting that she’s innocent and begging them to stop. We later see her bloody and beaten in her cell.
After proving Yana’s innocence, Irina, a young woman in the surveillance department, is taken to see her. Colonel Roskova, the head of surveillance, gives Irina a pistol and tells her to shoot Yana, as the Soviet Union cannot admit they made a mistake. Irina refuses, and Roskova shoots Yana herself. We see a burst of blood and Yana’s body on the floor. The whole scene is tense and dark, and the violence is jarring.
Tense situations also take place in space. Anastasia, a female cosmonaut, nearly passes out on a spacewalk when her suit malfunctions. Technicians at Star City try desperately to solve the problem, and Anastasia comes very close to losing consciousness before she makes it into the shuttle.
Irina overhears the wife of a cosmonaut having an affair with one of her husband’s colleagues. Graphic sounds and dialogue are heard over the surveillance, and we also see them together onscreen. The scene is graphic, but no nudity is shown. A cosmonaut urinates against a bus tire as a pre-launch tradition. Anastasia joins in by squatting against the tire and urinating.
The f-word and the s-word are each used six times. “B—ch” and “a–“ are used once. A woman tells a cosmonaut to “go to h—”
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
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