#i think she should've been more bitchy all the time like in s1

[rocicrew]

naomi is the epitome of kind but not nice and the dudebros for one could not deal

[116t98]

I completely agree with everything here.

I personally believe there was a lot of tampering/meddling that happened behind-the-scenes, which is why the final season feels more like a Frankenstein's monster of the original season 8 than an actual/proper season in its own right (there are in-depth analyses about this, written by Team Purple Lion; they're interesting reads, even if you don't believe them). But even so, it still boggles my mind how anyone thought showing this kind of relationship the way that they did, in a kid's show, no less, was okay.

Like OP, Allura wasn't my favourite character in the show, but I get more and more upset whenever I really think of how poorly her character was ultimately treated. I would've loved to root for a character like her, but frankly, the way she was written made her character out to be... confused at best, and kinda bitchy at worst.

Like, why was she cold towards Keith after they found out about his Galra heritage? I understand her being untrusting of the Blade, but Keith? One of the people she's spent a considerable amount of time with, and who's done absolutely nothing to suggest he's evil, or loyal to anyone/anything other than Voltron and their mission? We haven't seen any evidence that her prejudice against the Galra is based on them simply being born Galra (nature), instead of the fact they were all born and raised in a society that values violence and power (nurture), yet that's what her interactions with Keith seem to suggest. Why would they seemingly base her prejudice on nature instead of nurture? I mean, everyone else in the universe? Sure, that makes sense. But Allura? Who knew Zarkon before he was corrupted, and possibly had Galran friends? Her prejudice really should've just been based on the Galra's nurture (i.e. "they were all raised to be violent, bloodthirsty monsters; that's horrific and sad, but there's nothing I can do to help/save them since they'll never let go of what they were taught to believe their entire lives, so I have no choice but to assume the worst of all Galra I come across").

Moving on to her relationship with Lance, OP covered everything that's wrong with it as a relationship, so there's no reason to reiterate what they said. There were so many ways to handle their relationship, yet the show settled for a once-sided romance that did nothing but make Allura out to be an irresponsible person, negligent girlfriend, and bad friend, all while completely ignoring the groundwork they laid out for Lance to become more self-confident and realize what he deserved and what he was worthy of.

How else could the relationship have been handled? Well...

They could've kept everything about their relationship the same, as long as the show acknowledged how toxic their relationship is, and showed how it should be properly resolved (hint: it's through confronting the reality of their relationship, Lance realizing how unfairly he's being treated and that he deserves better, Allura acknowledging that she un/knowingly used him and that what she did was wrong, and finding the best way to fix things so their friendship not only stays intact, but improves. No, "trying again" wouldn't work).

They avoid the romance entirely. Yes, they can let Lance harbor a crush that grows into something more, that's fine. But, when Allura chooses to pursue Lotor, have Lance learn to accept that she'll never return his feelings; once he does this, he can work on getting over Allura, while still being a good, supportive friend to her.

They actually show evidence of Allura slowly reciprocating Lance's advances: in s1-s2, she's annoyed; in s3-s4, she's amused; in s5-s6, she's visibly conflicted (she's into Lotor, but the thought of Lance loving her actually makes her question her feelings for the prince); and in s7, she's enamored by Lance's devotion to her as he helps her deal with her feelings about Lotor and his betrayal. This way, her blushing at Lance, and their subsequent romance, makes sense.

They do the same thing as #3, but Allura realizes that even though she got used to his flirting, and even found it amusing, she never really fell in love with Lance; her "feelings" for him in s7 weren't really for him, but rather for him supporting her when she needed it most. So, once they realize their relationship isn't working, they break up. ((think of that episode of iCarly where Freddie jeopardized his life to save Carly, and Carly convinced herself she loved him when she actually just loved that he saved her life))

They do the same thing as #3, but this time Allura and Lance break up amicably; not because of unfair treatment, or misguided feelings, but b/c they simply just don't mesh as a couple, and that's okay.

I think it's tragic that a show with so much potential to be great (and this show definitely has that potential; many of the interesting in-depth theories I've read are based on the information given to us by the show), yet it suffers from all these flaws that ultimately drag it down. Allura had the potential to be a really great and inspirational character, but the poor writing ultimately ruined her, which is just tragic. I hope that when Voltron is inevitably rebooted again in the future, the creators and writers will take these flaws into consideration, and do the characters and their relationships justice.

Why did it take me so long to post this, you ask? Because it’s three pages long. This is a literal essay! lol I think I covered everything I wanted to, and I DO think it is important – especially because I am not the only one who is still upset about this.

I’d love to hear if you agree with me – or why you don’t. If you ship Allurance, that is fine. This is just my personal take on it.

Side note: No comic update until next week. I’ve been working on stuff every day for about three weeks straight and I need a bit of a break! lol