#bonus points if you know what hellpost inspired this meta

[blackpaladin]

here’s a thing about s1 eps 10 & 11…and how it makes it clear that shiro and allura and intended perceived to be seen as on equal footing.

so allura decides to come along with the team on the mission. 

she asks if anyone has a problem with her going along with them. of course it’s pretty much less of a genuine question and more of a “i’m going and you can meet me in the pit if you’ve got something to say” tone lol.

none of the paladins object, because even if they did have a problem it’s not their place to say. allura is their leader. the only one with any problems is coran, which is entirely understandable. we know he deeply cares for her like a father would. coran turns to shiro because he’s the only one who would object. while coran could say something if he wanted to, coran probably doesn’t want to appear disrespectful or domineering towards allura. while coran is a father figure to allura, he still respects her leadership. 

coran turns to shiro not because shiro is above her in any sort of way, but because he knows they are coleaders. he’s her equal, so if anyone were to speak up or have any reservations he’d be the only paladin who could do so without appearing entirely disrespectful.

but shiro doesn’t, he doesn’t hesitate to say allura can come. not only because he doesn’t mind it, but because he knows it’s not his place to tell allura where she can and can’t go. from here we can clearly see the difference between coran and shiro’s relationship to allura. regardless of how you interpret allura’s age, he’s not a parental figure to her at all. nor does he view her as his subordinate. lauren montgomery, a showrunner, describes allura’s position on the team in comparison to shiro’s.

“Shiro may be the head of Voltron, but Allura is really the one in charge of the whole operation. They all look to her for guidance, and it’s often she who makes the final call” (source)

they are intended to be seen as coleaders. equals, in which allura often makes the final call. that’s power, and it’s something that shiro clearly recognizes. this doesn’t mean that shiro doesn’t care about allura’s safety. he just knows it’s not his job to boss her around.

(this got Long so here’s a readmore)

so later on, allura rather impulsively decides to go to zarkon’s central command. shiro says that he’ll come with her because of how dangerous the situation is. allura immediately tells shiro she doesn’t need his permission. 

...the paladins reactions are pretty clear, they know it’s not his place to say that she must bring him with her.

but we have to be considerate of shiro’s past here as a former prisoner. he knows what the galra can do to people. it’s already established earlier in the episode that shiro boss allura around or tell her what to do. he’s not doing this because he’s protective or because he thinks that allura is weak.

only when pidge explains why shiro is needed, from a technical standpoint, is allura convinced to bring shiro along. at the end of the day it was allura’s decision to make, and she only allows shiro to come after pidge reasoned with her. even so, it was more of a “well fine i guess if you put it that way”. either way, it was allura who made the final judgement. she’s in control.

so later on, shiro snaps a bit at allura for holding her gun incorrectly. he doesn’t yell at her, just speaks sternly, and actually comes off as disappointed. he expects her to know how to hold the gun correctly. he doesn’t speak in a patronizing tone, or keeps the gun away from her. he moves the gun in the correct position and hands it right back to allura. 

allura doesn’t back down or apologize, either. she snaps right back at shiro and says it’s a tense situation. they’re clearly not afraid to speak their minds to each other.

towards the end of the episode, allura orders shiro to leave her and get in the pod. shiro however refuses to leave her, but not out of disrespect for her authority. he cares for allura as a fellow teammate, and plus knows what it’s like to escape from a dangerous situation leaving a teammate behind. like allura, he’s self-sacrificial. he’d rather go back into the galra’s clutches then leave a teammate behind again.

....of course we all know allura throws him in the pod to safety.

arriving back without her, shiro immediately decides his only choice is to rescue allura. it’s an impulsive and emotionally-charged decision. hunk even points out how he previously said go straight to the central command would be a mistake, and keith reasons that going on the mission is a reckless decision, putting voltron at risk. shiro is not just putting himself at risk, he’s putting the whole team, he’s putting voltron at risk, he’s putting everything at risk.

while shiro is generally the calm and collected leader, he’s determined to get allura back no matter what valid points his team points out. shiro can make impulsive decisions like allura, even if it’s much rarer and under high emotional circumstances.

afterwards, there is a moment where shiro apologizes to coran for letting allura slip away. it’s a quiet moment after coran snaps at shiro. shiro obviously feels guilt here, even though it’s not his fault. 

coran acknowledges that it isn’t his fault. we don’t know if shiro ever told anyone what actually happened outside of him saying “she sacrificed herself for me”.  but we do know that coran is aware about allura’s self-sacrificial tendencies, like her saving the balmera. i think coran kind of put two and two together here.

even if coran doesn’t know the full details of what happened, coran knows shiro was there as a teammate, he wasn’t there to babysit her. even though coran is a fatherly figure to allura, he doesn’t treat her like a reckless child. he respects her decisions. while coran snapped at shiro in the heat of things, he doesn’t blame shiro or treat him like he’s responsible for controlling allura’s decisions and actions.

when the team goes back for allura, she’s immediately upset. even though allura can be impulsive and reckless, that’s not her only quality. we know that allura is a capable leader, even if she’s still has growing to do. she’s aware that bringing voltron to an obvious trap to save her is a risky and reckless decision on shiro’s part.

(i could go on a whole rant about allura being self-sacrifical and her self-worth and but that’s a meta for another day)

no matter how you view shiro and allura, these episodes are important because it gives us further insight to how they interact with each other. it reinforces in their dynamic as coleaders, and establishes a foundation for future character development between shiro and allura.

tl;dr

shiro and coran have very different relationships towards allura

coran’s is like an advisor, and also fatherly, while shiro is her teammate and coleader

neither of them treat her like a reckless kid who doesn’t know what she’s doing, even when they’re concerned for her safety

allura can be reckless but she’s still a capable leader 

thanks for coming to my TED talk!!