#voltron season seven

[localfanbaselurker]

Yall know the drill!! Let’s get it baby!!

Watching Voltron: LD for the First Time and Saying What I Think

S1-2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | you are here! | S8

upon formatting this debrief/review, I realized quite quickly that I was gonna run out of the image limit too soon, no matter how many collages I made, so some ideas are better if you specifically remember scenes. Click on images for better quality! I apologize, I only have tumblr on mobile. please enjoy this edition anyway!

Pre-Season 7 Thoughts

-> I said in my S6 post that I thought it could be a decent ending if some strings were finally tied, so hopefully this season clears those up

-> S6 was pretty intense at the end, hopefully they tone it down a notch as they go on their little earth roadtrip

-> the aftermath of Lotor dying is definitely something that will weigh on Allura. Hopefully she doesn’t get too torn up about it

-> I’m really curious as to how the new team dynamics will play out now that Kieth is back as black paladin. Will they go back to s1? s3? Will they just act like nothing??

-> really wanna scene where keith calls krolia mom for the first time

-> what is with this “game show” episode??

-> I’m curious as to how ships will play out now.. Lance seems to be okay with Allura not liking him back after s6, their talk was really nice. As much as I think they look cute together, Allura needs time to get over Lotor first, and Lance seems to be already moving on.

-> now that Kieth is back, I wonder if there was more “klance moments” for people to go crazy over

->also where has Matt been this whole time??

-> them going to earth will probably explore their families, and i really wanna see more of their lore. (Especially keith)

->Hopefully shiro finally gets a break after everything. I’m excited to see who this love interest of his is!!

Post-Season 7

-> holy fuck. yall did not lie. that was…intense.

->ultimately I did not get my pre-s7 wish then.

-> I really liked all the keith/shiro lore about their relationship. It was really sweet. Shiro was the first person (besides his dad I guess) to show him patience and kindness. That’s so heartwarming.

->added to all the motifs and references to them saving each other,,very sweet. I love found family stuff like that. so i very much liked that episode (besides the “tiny” subplot lolz)

-> Romelle (as opposed to the name I gave her: “sailor moon altean girl”) is actually so real. She and hunk have the same “only normal one” vibe and i respect that.

-> literally where was haggar/honerva this whole time. Did she take a sabbatical or something??

->this image is so chaotic…literally what are yall doing 😭

->cosmic wolf (Kosmo, apparently) dgaf I love him

-> Allura is such a cutie.. “but I’m terrible at drawing! 😔” I love her so much

->^hunk upgraded his bayard!! Yayyyyy! More character development!!!

->Axca is back! (I have since long stopped calling her “space asami girl”)

-> i think she’s a really interesting character. While the other of Lotor’s generals go for whatever seems right for them, (as you should in war) she seems to calculate things on a matter of both that and morality, while also looking at the big picture. “Well, this would save my ass, save the universe from chaos, and be morally intact…sounds good”

->^is this the klance moment? seems a little sad tbh. why Lance is like that “wait where are you going?” relax bro he’s not gonna disappear

-> they’ve been gone FOR THREE YEARS????

-> what the FREAK.

-> imagine now how their families have missed them 🙁 I’m actually so sad abt that ☹️

->the game show ep…was really funny. Idk where yall got all this angst from. New mission: write a fluff one shot post-game show.

->^i literally cannot get over this??? Like.. they could’ve really made him say anything else. “because mullet here would punch you to the end of eternity if he didn’t get out *smirk*” or something like that but no it /had/ to be that. And the others thought it was odd too, I mean look at their expressions.

->And same goes for Keith??? If you don’t wanna spend an eternity with Lance just pick yourself?? There had to be another reason. If they made all the other characters say insightful and heartfelt things about one another, why can’t Keith say anything?

-> I think because keith and Lance chose each other, making both of them say nice things would drive you guys a little crazy, so I think they tried to just “klance-proof” (like baby-proof) this season by making them barely interact unless it’s a battle or doing so in a s1/2 way

->Because otherwise keith acted…really out of character..? I think it might be to his growth on the quantum abyss trip, but it just felt so odd to watch him this season

->the “floating in space” episode was actually super interesting to watch. Going space crazy caused for their truest thoughts and desires to come out from the dark. (going to earth, what they think about each others’ actions) I thought that was really cool.

->KEITH CALLED KROLIA MOM!!! IT HAPPENED!! OMG. SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP FALLING TO MY KNEES AT WALMART!!!!!!!!🫡💪🔥🔊🗣️

->Krolia and kolivan definitely explored each other’s bodies idgaf. Kolivan is the dad that stepped up fr.

->Colleen Holt is an icon. She’s a girlboss. She’s a legend. I love her so much. Sam better watch out 🤛👊🤜

->^from “who is this divaaaa 😍😍” to “OMG GIRL LANCE??? 😮😁” to “OMG LANCE’S SISTERRRRR😆🤩”

->^is this not the “the pilot crashed!” girl from 1x01??

->tbh i literally could give less of a fuck about these people. The girls seem cool I guess. But I don’t really care about any of them.

->also no way they deadass named a dude kinkade. That was wild even for them (I’m so sorry if it’s a cultural thing)

->^I love it when they do little homage bits like referencing back s1 or 2 like this

->^screaming crying throwing up.

->^^that hug between pidge and her mom..i felt that. that shit was personal. Ya’ll see the way she held on to her? Diabolical work. (I’m tearing up as I type this)((that’s exactly how I’ve held my mom b4))

->^^^“uncle lance!” STOP. DON’T DO THIS TO ME. I CAN’T DO THISSSSSS *screams*

->HUUUNNNKKKK. MY BOYYYYY. UGHHHHHH. I’m gonna die

-> I will say this tho, I’m glad he’s getting a lot of focus and attention his way these last few seasons (6&7). Like yes!! Give the realest mf in the whole show the attention and appreciation he deserves!!!

->I was so happy when he got his parents back like I genuinely did a little celebratory dance (jumping up and down and going “yes!yes!yesyesyesyes! yeeeessssssss!” while doing exaggerated hand gestures)

->Adam fucking died.

->not even one scene showing his and shiro’s positive interactions. or them being romantic. one and a half scenes. And then he’s gone.

-> while, for the most part, I try to understand the writers faults further than just face level, (ie netflix or dreamworks just didn’t let them explicitly put anything there) idk I just. I feel like they could’ve at least played it off as them being “good friends” or something. But to kill him off is just…it feels wrong.

->and it feels like a wrong for shiro too. He finally gets to be on earth after everything that’s happened to him, and the one thing he’d been hoping to finally see,,is gone.

->I just feel like they did shiro dirty. they can never give that poor man a break.

->^I was right! Keith is definitely acting different because of his growth on the quantum abyss (or “space whale” as people seem to call it). It’s nice to know he’s matured and stuff, and can actually say what he feels and such, be a good team member/leader. I just wish it wasn’t all off-screen. (and while I’m happy for him..I do miss his more broody early-season self a bit)

->as much as I think allurance is cute, I feel like they’re kinda rushing it. Like. by the time they got to Earth it had barely been a month of being stuck in space post-s6. Maximum it’s been 3 months by the time of the final battle. she would not be blushing. She would be mourning Lotor. They could’ve had a little subplot about that,,the crushing weight of knowing she could’ve both stopped his death and the guilty feeling of “why am i mourning him..? He was a bad person” because she still loved him!! She still loved him when they were about to leave him in the quintessence field and she felt conflicted!!

->she would’ve also not caught feelings that fast. Let’s say she somehow miraculously got over Lotor in 2 months. (minimum!) she still wouldn’t have caught feelings! Maybe she would start like. the budding processes to begin to fall for lance…but she wouldn’t be blushing and being all bashful like that.

-> basically all I’m saying is I really hope they don’t rush this. It would feel unfair to both her and Lance. Allura literally was like “oh..😕 he said that..☹️?” In s6 when the mice told her about Lance’s feelings because she felt bad about breaking his heart.

->and Lance has literally been after her for a really long time,, so it’d be unfair to pair him with someone who only started liking him like a week ago.

->I also hate the “guy pines after girl, girl doesn’t reciprocate and turns him down a lot, guy almost gives up, girl starts falling for him just as the show ends after not showing any interest previously” trope. (I am aware Allura and Lance do share some more sweet and romantic scenes/moments in s4-6, but you catch my drift, right?)

-> I really hope they put it well in s8.

->^I got to that Lance scene I’ve seen everywhere and just. Wow. it was so intense. I actually got chills. Amazing work from the animation crew yet again.

-> the final battle was sooo amazing and so beautiful.

->the atlas stuff kinda threw me off tho.

->that admiral sanda girl was a bitch (i do not use that term lightly, especially for female characters) and not to sound like a maniac im glad she died ngl. She was stupid as hell if she thought her plan would work.

->also if the galra can invent something that can easily overpower Voltron, then why don’t they just take over the universe themselves?? They clearly have the resources to.

->seriously the atlas’s stuff was insane. Fym it’s a ship that makes a bigger, cooler, grizzled Voltron??(yes I will forever use that joke)

->^because like. Then what do you need Voltron for??

->like the pacing and plot twists and shit felt so off and out of nowhere this season.

->and the real kicker was the altean chick controlling that giant monster thang. literally what the freak. where the cameras at I know I’m getting pranked right now. they were just pulling shit out of their asses by then.

->again, need to say, if it weren’t for that altean chick, this could’ve also been a good ending?? like after reading the Wikipedia page I found out they had a 72 episode contract, so they need to get those last episodes out, (76 total, I did the math) but if anything I think it would be best if it was just a little anthology sort of thing. Like them defeating the rest of the galra left out, freeing planets, and focusing on their own lives and relationships (during and after). That would be probably the best course of action for s8.

->but apparently it has a “bad ending” (which I’m pretty sure is just ship stuff and people exaggerating)

->erm yeah that’s pretty much it. I think. Yay!

These are thoughts I compile over time. I finished Season 7 on 10/12/24. I apologize for my delay on posting this, I was meant to post it last week. I will now finally start what you have probably all been waiting for: Season 8.

Remember, my ask box is always open!! Feel free to ask anything on my opinions and such!!

[alienboy51]

shiro being terminally ill is not canon in my mind because it was SO last minute and IT LITERALLY NEVER MATTERED. IT WAS BROUGHT UP IN A SINGULAR EPISODE AND THEN NEVER AGAIN. SHIRO LIVED A LONG LIFE WHEN HE SHOULD'VE DIED AS SOON AS HE WAS PUT IN THE GALRA PRISON. HE WAS NOT SICK FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE SHOW AND IT'S SO OBVIOUS THEY DIDN'T PLAN FOR THAT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T PLAN ON SHIRO LIVING ANYWAYS. SHIRO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE IN THE SECOND SEASON AND NEVER COME BACK shiro was so neglected as a character omfgggggggg

[kismetconstellations]

Allura in Crystal Venom

[year2000electronics]

Hi nagito komothra, what's your opinion on popular ship klance from hit Netflix show voltron legendary defender

a once-beloved ship turned into a pariah.... a once-beloved show running for seven despicable seasons... ahhhh...! such overwhelming despair!

TELL ME, TUMBLR USER EGGLANDART, HOW WILL YOU OVERCOME THE DESPAIR OF THIS IMAGE?? SHOW ME YOUR TRUE HOPE!!!

[leg7]

just finished my rewatch of voltron (never watched the last season) and honestly I think it’s better that it was such a shit show or else ppl wouldn’t be traumatized and still making content to this day (it’s been seven years?!?) I fear I may never move on from klance 😭😭😭 ty to all the fandom creators who keep the fandom going and my heart warm

[i-am-grell]

Poll Time, Weebs

I'm nearing another little One Piece break (Water Seven is an incredible arc, but I'mma need to breathe because I get the feeling Enies Lobby is gonna wreck my shit), so let's see what I watch next.

If you're new here: We do anime polls to decide what I watch. That's the gist of it.

As always, propaganda* (*yapping) below the cut. You're allowed to reblog to yap in tags, bully your followers into voting, or insert third reason here. You do not have to know me, follow me, like me or know/like/have seen any of these shows to vote. "Because vibes" works for me.

Propaganda:

Free! - If we keep it in the poll, I get to quote 50% Off! even longer. You can vote for it and end this. But I'm nowhere close to running out of quotes.

Voltron: Legendary Defender - If you try to pedantic me, the Um, Actually board game says this is legally anime and if the pedantic nerd show says it's anime, then I can put it in a poll. Legally. Anyway, I can't remember specifically how much of this I watched, but I'd blink and there would be a new season, so I desperately fell behind and just never finished it. It enters into my polls when I'm willing to make that mistake.

Fairy Tail - Edolas arc and 24 Hour Road Race? 👀 This poll option covers Seasons 3 and 4 (ep 73-125) and Phoenix Princess.

Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective - They turned Gregory House into a cute anime girl, which is what he would have wanted. Since it's still airing, if this wins, we'll do another poll immediately for something longer to watch in the mean time, and my typical Notes App reaction will be delayed season 1 of this finished airing.

Handa-kun - Saiki K., but a normal guy.

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time - I've only heard one person give their impressions of this show and it was "She sure will." Incredible. Uh, same poll-triggering disclaimer as Ameku.

[nina-a-pines]

With that said, it's interesting to think how this changes.

The show never gave this any focus, it's something that happens slowly and in the background and people will miss if they're not paying attention on these two characters specifically. But in later seasons, Lance himself goes to Pidge with science-related questions, and Pidge is able to answer him in a way he could better understand.

That, I think, is what makes Lance comfortable enough to ask her questions in the first place, and also what makes him try to understand a scientific therm or another she still uses, meeting her half-way.

What I’ve always found so compelling about Plance is they have a kind of language barrier. At the Garrison they weren’t on the same wavelength, but even on the Castle the big communication issue was their vastly different vocabularies.

In The Ark of Taujeer when Keith and Allura ran off to test their theory, the following exchange happened:

P: “They’re isolating the variable! Or, isolating two variables.”

L: “In English?”

P: “When testing a hypothesis -“

L: “I said English!”

P: “UGH never mind!”

This tells me so much. Pidge isn’t elitist - she was more than willing to explain what she’d said to Lance. But she did it in the jargon of a trained scientist and Lance felt insecure and annoyed that he didn’t understand and lashed out at her. Pidge came from a family of scientists and engineers - she wasn’t used to speaking in laymen’s terms. They were unable to communicate in this scene and it frustrated them both.

[mateushonrado]

If Netflix does greenlight season 8-10 of The Dragon Prince

Status Post #11345: Then it could become the longest-running Netflix original animated series with ninety episodes if the last three seasons comprises of the same number of episodes as the past seven seasons, though I'd love to see the last two seasons being 12 episodes each.

Current record holder in terms of overall episodes

Tales of Arcadia (2016-2021): 52 Trollhunters episodes + 26 3 Below episodes + 10 Wizards episodes + Rise of the Titans = 88 episodes + film

Current record holder in terms of overall seasons

Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-2018): Eight seasons (13 [10 + film] season 1 episodes + 13 season 2 episodes + 7 season 3 episodes + 6 season 4 episodes + 6 season 5 episodes + 7 season 6 episodes + 13 season 7 episodes + 13 season 8 episodes = 78 [75 + film] episodes)

[evi-anxiety]

Why Allura's Death Was Unsatisfying

You know, I think the reason Allura's death was so unsatisfying was that there was no buildup or closure to it.

I've been thinking about. Major character death isn't new to audiences, and it can be done well. It's sad, yes, and not wanted by most means, but it's possible to have it written in a way where it not only

makes sense, but

delivers closure to both the character and the story

So how do stories do this? I've found the biggest way is through buildup.

We as the audience already know, or at the very least have a feeling, that this character is going to die. Maybe they are destined to die by prophecy, or have some sort of illness that has no cure. Whatever it is, we have the suspicion that this character might not make it to the end.

Another thing is that when a character dies, it serves to wrap their character development and personal arcs. They have grown to be the most ideal version of themselves within the confines of the show, and now they're moving on.

This is satisfying to the audience. It makes sense.

Allura's death has neither of these things.

There was no buildup to her death. For a majority of the show, fans expected Voltron to end with all of the seven main characters alive, because there was no need to expect otherwise. The writers did not give us a sign that someone might possibly sure. So when Allura dies at the end of the show, it's sudden, and it feels almost abrupt in a way.

It didn't wrap up her character arc. Now there's a lot of controversy on whether or not characters even acted remotely like themselves in Season 8, and I'm not going to get into that. It was clear though, that Allura still had a lot growing and learning to do, what we were meant to interpret after the show's ending. She also never really got the chance to be a leader or avenge her nation the way she wanted to. Sure, she defeated the Galra Empire, but she still needed to rebuild Altean civilization and fix what the Galra had destroyed for the entire universe. She doesn't get to do any of that.

In conclusion, Allura would have been better off as a character had she not died, OR, they should have written Allura's arc differently in a way that it would make sense for her to die. She simply had too much to look forward to after the events of the show that nothing of her personal arc got tied up with her death.

Free my poor girl she did nothing wrong.

[alienboy51]

you ever really hate a show but you're obsessed with it and it genuinely changed your trajectory on life

pretty sure there's a high chance i have autism

really i think the biggest gripe i have with voltron is the fact that there's very little episodes that just build upon the character dynamics or world building. sure, the bulk of the series is plot progression, but we really don't learn a lot. it's a very convoluted series. we don't know much about the magic system. i think a big thing that voltron: legendary defender missed was the art of "show, don't tell." they TELL us that lance and allura are in love, but there's very little buildup to this, especially since they get together almost immediately after lotor dies. they TELL us that keith views shiro as a brother, but we don't see WHY until season seven. it's a great episode, but with keith and shiro's relationship being so very important to keith as a character, i wish they'd explored it a little more. this is why so many people like klance, platonically or otherwise. keith and lance INTERACT and their relationship grows with time. we don't get any episodes of them solo, like we do with other characters, which i think was a big missed opportunity since they are the only characters that are really at odds with each other consistently. i think exploring why they don't get along, and why lance is so resentful towards keith would've been a big stepping stone in progressing their friendship. i think having solo episodes between characters that don't interact as much would've been a great idea, such as hunk and shiro or allura and pidge. those characters would definitely be compatible. show, don't tell, like i said. show us that the characters love each other. don't tell us that they're close friends, don't TELL us that they view each other as family, if you're not going to show us WHY they care so much about each other. keith said it in season seven, why are they really friends? they're just people who got stuck together due to circumstance. why weren't we shown how strong their relationship supposedly is throughout the show? why is the character development lacking in so many aspects? why does keith grow as a character and leader off screen? why don't hunk and lance get to grow into their own people; why does lance only get TOLD that he's strong and self assured, if that's not really the case? honestly, why does coran not get anything outside of being comedic relief when he's just as much a tragic character as allura? oh my god iris stop yapping challenge

[klancer-warrior]

DO WE KNOW WHERE I CAN WATCH VOLTRON NOW. GENUINELY. I DIDN'T FINISH IT BEFORE NETFLIX REMOVED IT (I AM A DUMBASS)

hells yes do I know where u can watch vld. I got the link for the Google drive with all seven seasons from tiktok!! I can't for the life of me remember or find the tiktok so if anybody knows who the original creator was, please @ them!!!

here's the link:

[rae-not-rey]

In honor of Voltron being taken off Netflix, here is my review of each of the seasons as I rewatched it for the first time in eight years, as well as my ranking of all of them.

Season one: Kind of boring, a little childish, but I can see where it was setting up future plot arcs (Galra Keith, Shiro trauma).

Season two: Getting more interesting, diving into Keith and Shiro especially. Episodes are just generally more fun than the first season. Characters are taking shape. Bonding moment! LOTOR???????

Season three: This season is much shorter than one and two. I believe this is the beginning of the end, unfortunately. Not as exciting as season two was, but still interesting to watch. Lots of lore, especially on the original paladins. Didn't conclude in a big fight, so it was a little underwhelming.

Season four: I will NEVER get over the scene where Pidge finds Matt's grave. They definitely got way more creative with the animation style this season. The ice show!! The end was slightly disappointing. I'm upset by the lack of Keith, and how short this season was. But overall a decent and fun watch, even if it was in one sitting.

Season five: Started pretty slow, but picks up quick! Krolia is here! I feel like season four and five were meant to be one season, considering how short both of them are. The character and plot arcs also make more sense as one season.

Season six: So far, Keith is gone and Lance is straight. Not pleased. The D&D episode is fun though. SHIRO AND KEITH FIGHT??? Overall, this season turned out pretty... okay. Not awful, but definitely not the best.

Season seven: Starts off with Keith and Shiro, very nice. Romelle makes a point about how fast the plot is moving along and I agree. Oh my God I totally forgot about Adam.

Ranking (favorite to least):

Season two

Season five

Season four

Season six

Season one

Season three

Final thoughts

I never got to rewatch season eight, because I started my rewatch too late. And honestly, I'm not too upset about that. From what I remember, season eight sucked. I hated the ending, it felt rushed, everyone felt out of character.

I was a Voltron fan from the time it aired in 2016 until it ended in 2018 and let me tell you, those two years felt like a lifetime. I'm glad I watched the show. I'm glad I was a fan. It was a huge comfort to me in those two years and the years since. I just can't believe it started airing when I was in middle school, and now I'm almost done with college. It truly is the end of an era.

I'll miss VLD, but it's a different feeling because I never actually rewatched the show. I would say that I was blinded by nostalgia, but honestly, most of the show still held up! Do I think it was rushed and the second half of the show was aimless and drama in the fandom influenced how the end of the show ran? Absolutely. But I still think overall it was a decent show. At the very least, I'm still in love with the characters and the universe, even eight years later.

So long, VLD. You were the best recurring nightmare I could have ever wished for. Perhaps I'll see you on the seven seas someday.

[kismetconstellations]

There are so many ways that Voltron: Legendary Defender failed its characters. From the unfathomably idiotic decision to kill Allura off in the finale, to putting Coran through the pain of losing his family twice over, to all of the "jokes" at the expense of Hunk's anxiety, weight, and stomach problems.

But, to me, the most egregious example of this will forever be the numerous ways that Shiro was mistreated, even though I fully believe that most of them were unintentional and the fault of incompetence, rather than maliciousness.

I never expected a show with a TV-Y7 rating that was made to sell toys to children to address this character's extensive trauma in any meaningful way. And, perhaps there was a push behind the scenes to sideline him in order to bring Keith to the forefront, due to Keith being the head of Voltron in previous incarnations, and Shiro essentially being a Canon Foreigner created exclusively for this series.

But, when you have: - A poorly executed attempt to recreate Shiro's fight with Zarkon in the Astral Plane, void of the stunning visuals, impressively fluid fight choreography, and emotional and narrative stakes.

(Shiro fighting the show's main villain and his predecessor hand-to-hand for control of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, vs the Paladins fighting shadowy, faceless foes that none of them- aside from Allura- have any personal connections to or conflict with, even once their identities are revealed, with long-range weapons, inside of Honerva's head.)

- Shiro, the previously "undefeated" Champion of Zarkon's gladiatorial arena and a highly trained and skilled martial artist, being slapped across the bridge of his own ship.

-Shiro's personal abuser telling him that the arm that was forcibly grafted onto his body in an attempt to turn him into a weapon for the Galra Empire is "the strongest part" of him,

Slav, an ally, echoing the sentiment and arguing that Shiro would be "even stronger with two robotic arms", and the first half of Season Seven confirming as much by depicting Shiro standing, often completely mute, on the sidelines

until he's outfitted with a new prosthetic arm. Only then is he actively allowed to participate in combat, again, and promoted to Captain of the Atlas.

-Shiro winning an intergalactic arm wrestling tournament to prove that he isn't a washed-up retiree (at the ripe old age of twenty-six), with that prosthetic.

-Said prosthetic being a mirror of his abuser's.

-No acknowledgement of Shiro's essence being transferred into the body of his clone that is down an arm. Or, how he's coping with not only not having a right arm at all, but also having been dead for a huge chunk of time, trapped inside the consciousness of the Black Lion and watching on helplessly as someone wearing his face tried to kill everyone he loves, and then resurrected to be suddenly "retired" through no choice of his own.

-Aside, of course, from an all-too lighthearted and chipper comment on routine helping him get through "being in the infinite void of the Black Lion", and a throwaway quip about how "having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself" has left him "a little out of sorts".

-And, Shiro not getting to kill his abuser, or even best him in combat.

Instead, he lies beaten and helpless, once again, as Keith, his replacement, takes Sendak out.

It crosses the line from clumsy writing to infuriating negligence and ineptitude.

The repeated violations of Shiro's autonomy, and what seems by all rights to be unintended ableism, even though it borders on outright disrespectful, went above and beyond any terrible writing and direction that I anticipated gritting my teeth and slogging through when I decided to finally bite the bullet and watch this show. It's utterly baffling to me that no one seemed to stop and realize that, "Hey, maybe introducing and then reinforcing the sentiment that a disabled man's prosthetic is the 'strongest part' of him, and he's effectively weak and useless without it, is a bad idea", at any point in the creative process before these episodes made it to air.

I wholeheartedly believe that as much as other characters were wronged, Voltron: Legendary Defender and its notoriously hellish fanbase that was more concerned with who these characters were having sex with than the actual plot, did not deserve Takashi Shirogane.

Shiro; a gay man, ace pilot, ambitious space explorer, and scarred trauma survivor who was abducted and forced to kill for the entertainment of his captors, subjected to unimaginable torture, and had his body modified without his knowledge or consent twice, yet never let any of his experiences, no matter how grueling or dehumanizing, stop him from being gentle, compassionate, noble, brave, self-sacrificing, and everything that epitomizes a True Hero, right to the bitter end.

[squeakyleftsneaker]

Watching Voltron for the 1st Time: S7 Ep 12-13

Somehow I am still watching, still present, still accounted for. Stumbling across this clusterfuck in the wild? Have a long explanation of how we got here, or if you prefer shorter explanations, I got recommended this by a middle schooler whose respect I very much NEED (so she takes me seriously when I tell her about science), and now I've gotten far enough along that I feel like I have sunk enough cost to NEED to finish it. I make a list of what I like and don't like and then ramble at the end of a run of a few episodes. I have now finished seven fucking seasons of this show. I'M ALMOST DONE FREE MEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Rare! A Good Decision!

Obligatory Shiro eyeliner appreciation comment

Veronica is so pretty and I am so gay

I'm really struggling here guys uhhhhhhhhhhhhh the artists draw earth very pretty our lil marble-y home looks lovely

I am happy Shiro gets to ruin Sendak. Will we explore the fact that he does it with an arm weapon that resembles Sendak? No. But the thought that it might have happened in a world where this show was actually developed with any time at all is nice

I actually really like the Shiro and Sendak fight. Very nice environmental use, very good stakes, solid motivation.

I am also very okay with Keith getting to murk Sendak. "As many times as it takes" and all that. [EDIT since apparently this seemed unclear. I am okay with this because I think Shiro as a character is shown as being very burdened by having been forced to kill BY Sendak. Shiro not having to kill Sendak, to me, in a better show, could be representative of the burden of having to kill being lifted from him at last. idk what to tell you man. That kind of story would speak to me as meaningful]

I have so little nice to say about robeasts but at least they remind me of the fun stuff in OG Voltron.

The new robeast is a great Haggar moment

Self sacrifice is a very poorly handled theme of this show fr but I can theoretically appreciate it

If I had any goodwill left in me for this show I would be like "What a great way to set up season 8 with the Altean in the robeast" but I don't so I will just say in a better show it'd be a good move but I have faith they'll bungle it.

Typical. A Bad Decision.

I cannot believe this fucking launch sequence has to be so long every time bro I can't take it anymore

The technobabble in this show bro I "Particle emission amplification" I can't do this anymore let's cross beams like in Ghostbusters I am PHYSICALLY tired as a result of this shit. The Death Star never explained to me how it worked with made up science words. The Death Star just murked a planet on camera and we comprehended the threat. SEE MY POINT VOLTRON????

In all honesty the second you have to explain battle strategy to your viewers mid-fight scene rather than just letting the fight play out you've failed to make it work.

STOP EXPLAINING EVERYTHING WITH YOUR FAKE MADE UP SCIENCE OMFG YOU DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN YOU JUST NEED TO D O THINGS IK YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO THAT

This air fight really has so many moving parts that were just. Not adequately planned for and. Well. Usually I say the fights are a strength of this show. This certainly was not the case here. AND THIS IS A SEASON FINALE???

We've reached a point where not a single paladin feels like even their little trope selves.

I am OKAY with Keith killing Sendak because I think in a better show Shiro's original "I need Sendak dead" moment would've been a big thing for him (it makes sense. He lost his head back in season 1 and launched him into space. Having him NOT have to kill Sendak now after being forced to kill in the arena by Sendak? Okay!) but this moment is just robbed of ANY of that because. Well. WELL. THE SHOW NEVER EXPLORES ANY OF THAT. SO. YAY SENDAK DEAD IG BUT IT MEANS NOTHING NOW

I also think really missed opportunity to have that mean something in that we haven't seen Keith and Shiro really speak AT ALL since Shiro's mind controlled clone tried to murder Keith and Keith broke him free and then Keith had Shiro's dead consciousness transfered to the clone body like what even are they to each other now. Show has Keith say they're brothers, then they don't act like siblings or really ANYTHING??? And now I'm supposed to think Keith murking Sendak matters NOT COMPARED TO ANYTHING ELSE HE'S DONE AND CERTAINLY NOT TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP WHICH DOESN'T EXIST THIS SEASON

Everything in this show becomes a giant mecha inevitably and I think this is modestly lame and uncreative

For the record I predicted the Atlas becoming a giant mecha a few episodes ago and I still think it's kind of lame

The IDGAF Atlas truly does nothing for me I am NOT moved

Self sacrifice is a very poorly handled theme of this show and practically it pisses me off that the show does nothing to really drive home how significant it is. With the blades that die, with Keith pulling that move at Naxela, with Shiro, with the paladins now, it goes on. If you want to examine self sacrifice but you're unwilling to look at what it does to people, if you're unwilling to look at people's relationships and the love that DRIVES people to do that, then you shouldn't! There is no self sacrifice without someone to sacrifice yourself FOR.

Bro what is Axca doing here CAN WE NOT HAVE THAT POOR GIRLIE EXIST OUTSIDE OF THE CONTEXT OF SOME FUCKING MAN FIRST IT WAS LOTOR NOW IT'S KEITH ISTG SHE IS NOT A PERSON TO THESE WRITERS I AM SO MAD FR

I finished this season and I feel nothing at all! Wow! Here's the thing right. This show has a lot of potential tucked away in a soup of bad decisions and a supremely rushed development. I WANT to appreciate what could've been.

But that also feels like appreciating something that is entirely constructed. Yeah, if there'd been a lot of things going differently this show could've been good. If my mom had balls she'd be my dad, if you will. I can't appreciate what's not there. I just. Man! Plenty of things have pretty good concepts. If the actual execution isn't there behind it, there's nothing. Most sci fi has a fun concept. I mean come on, "What if some people got shot into space and there were ALIENS and GIANT ROBOTS" is really hard to make seem boring as an idea. So like. When I mention good ideas being in this show as the only positive that's like... just the fact that the genre conventions are FUN.

I get it man. I get that making a whole animated show in under three years is an impossible task. WHICH. BY THE WAY. IS WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT! It's just. Unthinkable to me that anyone thought this was a good idea. When I am done with this show and therefore unafraid of spoilers/fandom interpretation leakage into my interpretation of the text, I am going to seek out interviews and explanations with showrunners because it is BAFFLING to me that anyone thought this timeline was a good idea.

I've said before that the story feels like it's just moving characters from A to B to C without much thought as to the journey. The meat on the bones. The depth to the story. And that kind of. HAPPENS with first drafts. It does! And you can see the first draft traces all over the show– characters suddenly changing in characterization with very little explanation (cough Lance and Allura and Keith) (Lance's characterization is all over the damn map! That's because they probably MEANT for him to have a pretty significant development as the audience's surrogate, but they just. Did not have time to write the in-betweens) (Allura just doesn't get nailed down at ALL and especially the second they throw Lotor in they forget about anything they had established about her) (And Keith is. Well. The fucking 180 they did on him to the point where he is now. Boring. Without showing us anything)

The plot itself has SO MANY significant moments happening offscreen, or in exposition dumps, or in flashbacks to things we didn't see! There's threads brought up and abandoned (the Blade of Marmora is being hunted down, the fact that Lotor made Voltron his representative to the Galra empire and that's never addressed, hell even Shiro's time as the arena champion!) that would also probably get worked out and refined WITH TIME.

There's also a really spectacular amount of gays that got buried this season. Which. Uh. Makes me a lil uncomfortable! Ezor and Zethrid our space lesbians, fucking Adam. Hell even Shiro himself if you really want to nitpick lmfao. No gay left unburied! There's characters that they just have no clue what to do with (Acxa) that are likely remnants of some plan that never came to fruition.

This show is underbaked! It didn't finish marinating before they threw it in the oven and it CERTAINLY didn't finish cooking in the oven. You can dress it up any which way you want, it doesn't WORK.

And that's a shame because there's a lot of talent on the show! I've spoken before about how great the performances are, how beautiful the art is, and when the writers have something substantial they've written, it's really really lovely (the Keith and Shiro fight and in general their development through the first six seasons is excellent and has subsequently just been lost in the season 7 shuffle) (I really loved Allura and the Balmera as well). But there's just SO MUCH that doesn't have any development.

It's a children's show (or at a minimum geared to middle/very early high schoolers) and they've got characters KILLING other characters and that's never explored! I don't understand how this came to be! Main characters killing other characters on screen in ANY work of fiction, even those for adults, is typically treated with gravity!

There is also how poorly this show handles race which..... I think is also something that would've benefitted from Further Marination Before Attempting To Finish It Off. All of the things I've mentioned about it in prior posts are not in and of themselves inherently problematic if they are handled with some sort of grace.

I do not think this draft of Voltron possessed much grace.

Ultimately the themes of this show just. Are lacking in every way. What is the point of this show? Self sacrifice? In some sense? But that's certainly not explored. To show us absolute power corrupts absolutely? It doesn't! Not in canon! Oppression and colonization are bad? Certainly not a narratively challenged idea in the text!

Ultimately I think the only thing this show successfully says is "Hey isn't space pretty? Isn't it fun to draw bigass robot lion spaceships? Isn't this fight cool?" Which. I think is kind of a shame because of how much the show brings up and either fails to address or just. Reinforces (again, the symbol of peace in this universe is a weapon)

None of the characters are friends, the few that have meaningful relationships are just kind of dropped or forgotten about, the characters don't feel like themselves. I feel like they're all just dolls being moved around. An empty husk of a figure so you can choose your favorite color and a toy they pilot and pretend YOU are your favorite trope, buy it now!

And maybe I was the real clown to hope for more than that when that's what this show was about all the way back in its first iteration, but I don't feel like it's my fault when the openings of this show promised so much, only to deliver on none of it.

ANYWAYYYYYYYYy uhhhhh idk I do have so many fucking thoughts as a result of this show so send me asks DM me do whatever if you wish to access more of them bc I feel like my brain is going to explode like there is so much about this show in it that is. Giving me great distress.

PS: I’m editing this to add that if you don’t get where I’m coming from with something, you can always ask! I’ll clarify, we can discuss it. But I really would appreciate if you come into it in, yknow, good faith given the fact that I am a person YOU DONT KNOW and assuming that you have a better picture of what I mean about something than I do is kinda unfair to me.

[harukamitsuki]

I'm procrastinating writing at the moment, so I decided to create a list of the things I hate about Voltron, a show I can't help but love and rewatch 200+ times. I mean. I've been pretty damn vocal about one thing in particular, but I should probably remind people I hate other things too so...

This list will be long, so read more under the cut!

1 - Okay, let's just get the obvious one out of the way: Lance. Reasons why can be seen here, here and here. The first link really goes into the details, the second one is more confusion as to why people think Lance is treated the worst, and the last is more why Lance would be horrible as Black Paladin. MOVING ON TO NEW POINTS!

2 - The ships. Specifically... ahem... Klance, Sheith, Allurance, Lotorance (Lotor/Lance), Shidge (Shiro/Pidge), Shance (Shiro/Lance). Those, in my opinion, are the top offenders. I've explained my grievances with Sheith in a post here. It's not that it's paedophillia, it's the bond. As for the rest, while I dabbled a bit in Klance and Allurance in the aforementioned posts against Lance, I've yet to actually explain.

First of all, the fans are awful. Tip: If you keep trying to force people to like your ship instead of letting them get to their own conclusions, they're just going to hate that ship even more. This isn't a Voltron-specific thing, but it's still rampant.

Second of all, Lance doesn't treat either of them well. He's constantly antagonising Keith, even when Keith stops biting back in season two. The closest he gets to respecting Keith is telling him to suck it up when he's upset that the Black Lion chose him. Keith does try to be amicable to Lance, but it doesn't work because Lance is always picking a fight.

And Allura. Lance is constantly ignoring her boundaries and invading them. There isn't a single moment where they're alone together and they feel like friends, much less pining, before season seven. The only time is when Allura encourages Lance to take up Red, and he didn't even notice she was upset that Red rejected her. In fact, Lance just keeps talking about himself and how he was rejected, ignoring how Allura was rejected twice, and by the Lion her father piloted. Allura also never reacts well to Lance's flirting, always ignoring him and frowning when he does. If Allura, at least, used to laugh at his terrible attempts at flirting, maybe I could try to believe it.

Third, general grievances with these ships.

Lotorance. Lance hated Lotor from the get-go. They barely have a scene together without Lance glaring at him. If they shared some sort of chemistry outside of Lance hating him from afar, and if the writers didn't make Lotor a twist villain for no reason, then maybe. As of now, I only like it as a complete crack ship.

Shidge. Pidge is fifteen. Shiro is twenty-five. You do the damn math.

Shance. I can definitely see Shiro being Lance's bi awakening, if I believed canon Lance was bi. (Canon Lance was straighter than a chopping board, but fanon Lance is a walking bi flag). But them being together? Ignoring that Lance is 17 and Shiro is 25, if you can do that, it wouldn't feel like a healthy relationship. Lance is blinded by hero worship and, from his canon personality, he likely wouldn't realise if Shiro isn't faring well or would just constantly pile his troubles onto him without thinking about if Shiro could handle it. So, yeah, don't like this ship.

So, yeah. I don't like any of the popular ships, which is surprising. I don't hate all of them. I do like Kallura, (should have been canon), and Shallura, (surprising, because I really do like gay!Shiro), and Shunk, (who doesn't, honestly?). But I tend to prefer the nicher ones. Katt (Keith/Matt), Heith (Hunk/Keith), Hance (Hunk/Lance)...

3 - The writing. Usually, I would respect the writers because it's hard as fuck to plan and write an entire series, but they just kept missing. They would set up so many interesting plots and ideas, only to do absolutely nothing with them. This, in and of itself, is not enough to make me lose respect, but that's not all. Plot holes, terrible escalations, too slow pacing, (slow burns are good - great, even - but not when things are supposed to be happening), horrible romances... It's to the point where, for a long while, I avoided the show and only read the fanfiction. There are so many people who don't watch the show, only exposed through fanfiction and social media posts, because the writing just isn't good.

The writers get things right few times. I'm sorry, but if your entire job is to write a coherent, well-thought out story, why did they do such a bag job at it? I'll tell you why - they let the fans control what they did. Shiro was never supposed to come back. He was supposed to die at the end of season two and never come back, but the fans wanted him back so guess what? The writers brought him back! In doing so, they cut right into Keith's character arc and made him go through it off-screen. The fans built Lance up as the main character and fan-favourite? Well, the writers just decide to hand him everything. Reward him for being the fan-favourite and then ruin his character by never making him work for what he got.

The writers decide to pull a J.K.Rowling and went 'aw, yeah, Lance is bisexual!' despite him never showing an interest in a guy throughout the entire show, other than being a big fan of Shiro. They throw in gay!Shiro at the literal last minute with some background character who only ever had one line. Thanks, DreamWorks. It's not like you could've just let Adam live so Shiro could be going home to SOMEONE.

Unexpected things always happen. An actor being unavailable, a sudden irl event making it so the episode you planned would appear tone-deaf, the joke you wrote was less funny and more offensive... So on and so forth. Sometimes you have no choice but to change what you have planned because delaying it would just make the studio and the fans mad. Just... TRY to make it make sense. And don't fold to the fans, dammit. Shiro should have stayed dead because he just doesn't do anything when Allura and Keith saved him. The main character should have stayed as an ensemble, rather than pushing Lance as the central focus, because it would have left less reasons for me to hate Lance and give other, specifically Hunk, the development they deserved.

The show also never adresses traumatising shit, (*cough cough* Keith's sacrifice attempt *cough cough*), but that can be forgiven because it was aimed at children. I do, however, like that LM corrected an interviewer when they asked about Keith 'attempting to kill himself'. It was quickly corrected to 'sacrificing himself' because that's what it was! I'm sick of people acting like he was suicidal because he wasn't. He was actively scared of what he was going to do, i.e. sacrifice his life for everyone's sake. He tried to do it for the greater good. Would you call one of the many who died during wars suicidal? No. You would call them noble and heroic for their sacrifice, because that's what they are. That is what Keith was trying to do. He saw the only way out and decided one life in exchange for the many is a damn good deal and took it. Saying he was depressed and suicidal is undermining the actions he took.

So, yeah. In my eyes, the writers did two good things. Correcting the mistake belief that Keith was suicidal, and creating this shit-fest of a show. (God, I love/hate Voltron).

4 - How Pidge is treated by the fandom. Pidge is so mean. She's rude and callous and selfish and that's okay. What's not okay is acting like these traits make her a queen. She's rude, fine. She's callous, fine. She's selfish, fine. She's incredible for this? Um, no? Stop treating her like she's just sassy. She's mean. I mean, not long after Shiro's death/disappearance, she calls Keith, who is mourning Shiro so deeply, a 'loner'. Without even getting to know him. She just deems him a loner, even though Keith is just so genuinely kind?

Don't get me wrong. I love Pidge. She's great and she's an absolute joy to write. I admire her tenacity in trying to find her missing family members while also able to put the universe before them. Watching her break down about Matt when she thinks he's dead is so utterly heartbreaking because I really did like her.

But acting as if she's perfect because of this? No way.

(Also, I refer to Pidge as 'she/her' only in these posts. I much prefer gender neutral or trans Pidge.)

5 - Hunk's treatment. He deserved SO MUCH BETTER! This sweet, precious boy. He's the only one who reacted approppriately to becoming a child solider. He's an anxious, terrified kid and he's still able to swallow that fear and fight on because there are people, people like Shay, who have no idea what freedom means and if the sky is blue.

He's the only one who has to find and fight for his family when they get back to Earth, which makes me sad. Very sad. He cares so much about his friends. Even if he's scared, he'll still put himself in danger for them.

But the narrative treats him like garbage, reducing him to the comedic, fat joke, while Lance never treats him like a best friend. He deserved so much more than what he was given.

6 - The people in charge were so obsessed with doing every character dirty. They wanted to keep Shiro death, wanted to kill Keith after admitting to not knowing where they were going with him, tried to kill Hunk who did nothing wrong to deserve this, and actually killed Allura off when they realised Allurance would not work in the long-term because Lance would not be able to part from Earth for so long while Allura would not be able to stay confined to Earth at all.

7 - Lance fans would hate him if he was white.

[plantsandpies]

You know what absolutely sucks? Is when a character (mainly women but a few men also get this treatment) starts out well developed and then when romance comes into play, gets that character completely destroyed.

Uraraka got her development in season 2. But as soon as the arc was over, they just didn’t do anything with it? Like her main objective couldn’t have come into play before she became a hero. But her growing up poor, dealing with the feeling of being responsible and having a duty (even if it’s out of care, it’s still become a goal made out of self imposed duty) would still effect her actions. I don’t believe this was just because of her romance with Deku, but also because the author doesn’t know how to apply it.

But this happened to Allura and Lance in voltron. They were getting development (though lance’s got cut off pretty early). But you can’t tell me that Allura, the one we’ve known for the seven previous seasons would’ve had a relationship like that. ESPECIALLY after her previous boyfriend just died. In fact, even if she did have feelings for him (which I feel is questionable), she’d be dealing with grief? And Allura wouldn’t get into a relationship when dealing with that. Like yeah there’s two seasons more, but not that much time passes between seasons? But from season one to season six it’s like a year? So I doubt much time has actually passed to the end of the show. Grief takes time, and given it’s probably a few months, she’d still be dealing with it. But they wanted an ending and threw away what they had for it.

People just don’t know how to write motivations especially for women and for romances. They just don’t know how to connect them. And it’s really sad to see.