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voyager-into-the-unknown · 4 years

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This is Part of a Plance fanfic series that I have been writing. Matt, Pidge, and Lance are going to play some Killbot Phantasm in this one.

Chapter 7: An Evening with the Holts

Lance and Pidge descended the staircase and returned to the dining room. Matt was there with the pizza, and Colleen had reheated the leftovers from lunch. After everyone settled down to eat dinner, there was a lengthy discussion of the Defenders project, most of it too technical for Lance to understand, but he still followed the gist of it. Pidge had taught him a great deal about science and technology over the years, so Lance wasn’t completely lost, and he was greatful for that fact.

There was also much reminiscing about their shared fondness for Shiro. Matt told stories of his involvement with the Rebellion, and Lance and Pidge told tales of the Paladins’ many adventures. Sam even had some interesting stories to tell about Pre-Kerebos space missions, and about life at the Garrison in Sam and Colleen’s younger days. Apparently when they were cadets, they knew of several different ways to sneak out of the Garrison Academy to have little mischievous escapades with their friends and not get caught.

“Oh, so that’s where Pidge gets it from,” said Matt, giving his sister a knowing look.

“Well, if you think of it, that’s how our adventures really got started,” Pidge replied. “I used to go out into the desert with the scanning equipment that I built in order to listen to top secret radio communication signals.”

“Which is illegal,” Sam added.

“Yeah, But Hunk and I caught her doing that one night.” Lance smirked.

“Oh, goodness! Did you turn her in?” Colleen asked.

“Of course not,” said Pidge. “Lance was always sneaking out of the dorms to go into town in search of pizza, girls, and astronauts, and not necessarily in that order. That’s probably what he was doing that night, am I right?”

Lance looked guiltily at her. “Well, yes, but I decided to follow you instead...”

Matt interrupted him, “And look where that led you.”

“We became Paladins of Voltron that night,” Pidge said.

“Oh. I was thinking more in terms of pizza, girls, and astronauts,” Matt said, and they laughed at his remark.

“Well, I am having pizza with these two lovely ladies and two genuine astronauts right now, so you can’t blame a man for living his dream,” Lance quipped. There was more laughter.

“That was the night of the U.F.O. crash. Shiro had returned to earth in a stolen Galra ship,” Pidge explained.

“Hunk wanted to go back inside before we got caught,” Lance added.

“But I wanted a closer look,” Pidge said.

“And I ran after her, of course. Hunk thought we were both insane, but he followed us anyway.”

“Hunk still thinks that both of you are insane,” Matt remarked. “But I’m glad he followed you. Someone had to keep you two out of trouble.”

“According to Shiro, that’s practically impossible,” Sam said with a chuckle.

Pidge smiled. “We actually met Shiro that night. Keith was trying to rescue him.”

“Hey, I was trying to rescue him too!” Lance said, unconvincingly. “Everything was going great until we all got on Keith’s hover bike and he drove us off the side of a cliff.”

Sam and Matt thought this was very funny.

“Who taught Keith how to drive that thing?” Matt asked.

“Shiro, of course!” Sam chortled.

Colleen looked horrified. “You all could have been killed!” She turned to her daughter. “Young lady, I should have grounded you even longer.”

After supper, Matt, Lance, and Pidge volunteered to clean up the dining room and feed Bae Bae while Sam was watching a favorite television program in the living room. Colleen went to check on the laundry. As they were finishing up, Pidge asked Matt if he wanted to play Killbot Phantasm with them.

“Neither of you has made it to level 36 yet, so you want my help, don’t you?” Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

“Maybe,” said Pidge.

When Pidge had finally convinced her brother to play the game with them, Lance grabbed the white bag from the sideboard and some cold drinks before following Pidge and Matt upstairs. He then helped Pidge set up the Mercury Gameflux II while Matt said in the chair by his sister’s desk.

“How many times have you two played that game?”

“Hundreds,” said Lance.

“You’ve had hundreds of video game dates with my sister? Alone in your room in your pajamas with my baby sister?”

“Matt—“ Pidge sounded annoyed.

“It was perfectly innocent,” Lance reassured him.

“Then why exactly do they call you Loverboy Lance? How many girls have you seduced in those Paladin Pajamas?” Matt asked.

“Matt, stop it!” Pidge was beginning to get really annoyed.

Just then, Colleen came upstairs with a basket of laundry.

“Matt, is this one of yours, sweetheart? Your father says it isn’t his.” She held up a light blue button-down dress shirt. Lance couldn’t hide his telltale blush.

“That’s Lance’s, Mom.” Pidge explained, a bit pink-cheeked. “There was a stain on it, so I put it in the wash for him.” Well, that wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Thanks, Mrs. Holt.” Lance said. He took off his sweater and began buttoning up his freshly-laundered shirt over his T-shirt. Colleen left, but not without raising her eyebrows and exchanging glances with Matt in such a way that said keep an eye on those two.

Matt looked at Katie’s bed. “Your covers are a bit wrinkled. What exactly were you two doing up here unchaperoned?”

“We had chaperones. Bae Bae and my trash nebula pets were with us.” The green and blue trash floofs trilled as if to affirm that statement.

“I was playing the guitar,” Lance said, pulling his sweater back on, “Pidge and I were singing a song that I’ve been working on.” Lance’s guitar was still leaning against one wall.

“Trying to serenade her, huh? Pretty slick. Loverboy is trying to put the moves on you, Katie.”

Pidge looked furious. “Matt, stop it! Lance wrote a song for me, and we were singing it together, and it was actually quite beautiful. Mom and Dad even came up here to listen and they loved it.”

“Okay, okay. Truce. I am sorry that you are so easy to tease.”

Pidge made a face at her brother, then turned to her boyfriend. “Lance, I hope you don’t have to deal with this sort of thing back home.”

“Well, I do have four older siblings instead of just one, so it’s actually much, much worse,” Lance confessed.

Matt cackled. “Well, that makes me look forward to meeting my future in-laws even more. When are you two getting married?”

Pidge glared at her brother. “I should have left you in space.”

“Yeah, But then you wouldn’t be getting these cheat codes. You are both up to level 34, right?”

Pidge sighed. “Yes.”

“Okay, well, you each get a turn to play against me. If I win, you have to answer a few very personal questions for me, and I will give you one of the codes as a reward.”

“Is this some kind of fiendish torture you learned as a Galra prisoner?” Pidge asked.

Lance moaned. “He’s worse than Veronica.”

Matt grimaced like the maniacal host of Garfle Warfle Snick. “Let the game begin!”

Pidge went first. There were some very intense moments in which she nearly beat her brother, and Lance cheered her on the entire time. In the end, however, Matt won. Pidge groaned.

Matt grimaced. “Okay, it is my understanding that you have owned those two fuzzy trash parasites since you were fifteen years old, but you have never revealed their names to anyone. My question is this: what are the secret names of your two trash nebula pets?”

Pidge covered her face. “No, Matt.” She was blushing.

“I’ve actually been wondering about that myself,” Lance admitted.

“Answer the question if you want those cheat codes.”

“Fine. The green one is named Pidgeon.”

“You named a trash parasite after yourself?” Lance couldn’t contain his laughter. “I’m beginning to like this game.”

“But what’s the blue one’s name?” Matt insisted.

“Let’s play another round.”

“Answer the question, Pidge. You want to get to level 36, don’t you?”

She sighed. “Okay, fine. His name is....” She would not make eye contact with either of them. “Lancelot.”

Lance and Matt erupted in a fit of laughter. Lance wiped away a tear, “Aw...that’s so sweet...I’ve never had a garbage poof named after me before.”

“Garbage poof?!” Matt laughed so hard that he nearly fell off of his chair.

“Hey! He’s a cute little garbage poof,” said Lance, giving the creature a little pat. It trilled happily.

“I hate you both.”

“And we both know that’s not true. Your turn, Loverboy.”

Matt made quick and easy work out of beating Lance, much to his embarrassment. But Lance dreaded what came next even more.

“Okay. Your question is this: what exactly are your intentions toward my little sister? Because if you are trying to seduce her and make her just another one of your conquests...”

“Matt, stop it! You have gone to far!”

“No, I’ll answer the question.” Lance said. “First of all, Even though I have flirted with a lot of girls, I don’t have any ‘conquests’ to speak of, and I have never thought of women in such a degrading way. Secondly, Pidge and I have been Paladins and best friends for three years, and I have the highest amount of love and respect for her.” Pidge smiled at him proudly. “Thirdly, both of us are in our first serious relationship, but we know that we are totally committed to each other and have even discussed our future together. A future that will hopefully include marriage and a children of our own, who I am sorry to say, won’t be named Pidgeon or Lancelot.” Pidge began to smirk. Matt was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

“I don’t think we’ll name any of them Kaltenecker either.” was Pidge’s deadpan addition.

“Aw, I thought Lance Kaltenecker McClain, Jr. would make a great name for our first child.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Pidge said before she finally collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Matt roared with laughter. He gave them all of the cheat codes after that.

Then Matt was finally silent, smiling to himself as they made it to level 36 to beat the final boss. They took on the challenge together, working together exactly as Paladins of Voltron should. As when operating the giant mecha’s right and left arm, the sword and shield of Voltron, they were unbeatable. When it was over, they high-fived each other.

“Team Plance does it again!” Lance kissed her.

Matt cheered. “We should celebrate.”

“I have already thought of that.” Lance said as he opened the white bag.

“Peanut butter cookies! I knew it!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Hunk’s special recipe.”

“I owe you both an apology,” Matt admitted. “I was just being an overprotective big brother, and I was really wrong about you, Lance.”

“No hard feelings. If I had a little sister as awesome as yours I would probably be overprotective as well.”

“A toast, then, to the garbage poofs! Or maybe to my sister and future-brother-in-law!” Matt proclaimed. “Here’s to Pidgeon and Lancelot!”

They clinked their bottles together, and then Pidge said, “We are definitely naming one of them after you.”

“One of your future kids?” Matt asked, flattered.

“No, the next garbage poof I decide to adopt.”

Lance nearly choked on his peanut butter cookie.

#plance #pidge #lance #matt holt #katie holt #colleen holt #sam holt #lance mcclain #voltron #vld #plance fic #plance fanfic

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why-am-i-up-at-4am · 6 years

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Full Review of Voltron Season 7

Hey! So people are very, VERY angry at this season of Voltron saying that it was definitely the worst season yet. I’m not so sure. I certainly had mixed feelings about this season, so I’ve decided to scientifically (kinda) figure out if I liked this season!

WARNING: The post ahead is LONG (seriously, 6355 words) and PACKED with Spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Each episode will get a point (or points depending on how strongly I felt about it) for a pro and lose a point for a con. The points will go towards the total of the season. I’ll also give each episode a personal rating out of 10 (Just based on how much I enjoyed it :))

ANIMATION (+13)

Voice-Acting (+13)

Points: 26

Episode 1: A Little Adventure

Pros: Younger Shiro accomplishing his dreams (+1) Keith kicking ass instinctively on the simulator (+1) “That emo kid’s doing it!” (+1) Shiro stands up for Keith immediately to his teacher (+1) Keith steals Shiro’s car (+1) Shiro gives Keith a second chance because he sees his potential (+1) Everyone is super concerned and willing to help Shiro (+1) Romelle is adorable, an outsider’s realism and her cute poses (+2) Keith is a tiny space nerd (+1) Shiro sees Keith’s potential and gives him CHOICES (+1) Pidge teasing Lance softly (+1) Lance being friendly to the thing that shrunk them (+1) Romelle mispronouncing “quiznak” (+1) TINY PEANUT LANCE AND HUNK (+2) Shiro is never willing to give up on Keith (+1) Romelle and Hunk are besties in agreement (+1) Lance is a quick thinker and a good shot and it saves the team (+1) Keith and Shiro on hover bikes (+1) Shiro teaches Keith the leap of faith from the first episode! (+1) Keith calling Shiro old timer (+1) Keith LISTENS to Shiro’s advice, but is allowed to make his own decisions (+1) Keith’s dad’s backstory (+1) their similarity (+1) and Keith’s admiration of him (+1) Early introduction of a secondary villain this season (+1) Sam Holt standing up for Shiro (+1) Adam is introduced (+1) Gay representation (+1) Teamwork (+1) Call back to Season 1 “linked at the ears like a pack of Yelmors” (+1) Paladin pile (+1) Keith saves Shiro because their BROTHERS and they LOVE EACH OTHER (+3) “We saved each other” (+1) Lance’s explanation of events (+1)

Cons: The lions, all powerful ships that run on LIFE FORCE, need to be charged? (-1) Lance interrupting Coran’s explanation (-1) Why is it ALWAYS Lance’s fault (-1) Keith is kind of a dick to the other cadets (-1) Voltron makes us automatically strongly dislike Griffin, but they expect us to cheer for him later in the season with no apology or acknowledgement (-1) We still don’t know Keith’s dad’s name (-1) Shiro’s disease is introduced, but never explained or brought up again after this episode (-1) No explicit gay representation (-1) Using Hunk as bait “because he’s the biggest” (-1)

Points: 29

Rating: 10/10 Honestly one of my favorite episodes this season

Episode 2: The Road Home

Pros: Pidge reacting realistically as a child her age to not being about to contact her family (+1) The young paladins are so excited to go home (+1) “I hope I’m not grounded” (+1) Lance’s little ghost (+1) Enthusiasm (+1) Lance’s description of elephants (+1) Allura and Coran’s reaction to elephants (+1) Allura is terrible at drawing (+1) Arguing like a real family over who gets to sit with whom (+1) Learning the Altean alphabet (+1) Romelle wanting to save the day (+1) Literally the worst arrangement possible (+1) Pidge ignoring everyone to play video games (+1) “He’s super drool-y” (+1) Early indicators of the time skip (+1) The wolf teleports between lions and everyone is amazed (+1) Lance using quiznak wrong again (+1) New weapons and formations show something is wrong, namely the pirates and time skip(+1) “It’s super dangerous…it’s perfect” (+1) Keith trusting Lance to help them (+1) “Rodger that, Team Leader!” (+1) Krolia taking care of Shiro (+1) Coran gets trapped which helps in the next episode, thinking ahead (+1) Krolia is a badass (+2) Hunk flipping out of his lion (+1) getting a bayard upgrade (+1) TURRETS (+1) Allura is a badass (+1) Romelle is fearless and also a badass (+1) Pidge talking to the wolf (+1) Wolfie saves Pidge and Lance (+1) Paladins are captured! I love angst (+1)

Cons: The power cores of the lions become a writing crutch (-1) 18 MONTHS (-1) Why is everything ALWAYS Lance’s fault? (-1) Coran being more annoying (immature?) than previous seasons (-1) Power core’s mean the lions can’t fight. It completely negates all their experience (-1) the Lions can’t form Voltron (of course) (-1) Everyone except Pidge and Lance get to have their awesome moment (-2) The wolf is injured saving Pidge and Lance (-1)

Points: 24

Rating: 8/10 I adored the first half of this episode. I struggled to maintain my focus on the second half. There are too many characters moving around the battlefield, and it makes it slightly more difficult to care because I only REALLY care about our originals.

Episode 3: A Way Forward

Pros: Zethrid and Ezor are back (+2) Lance is a dork (+1) Coran’s memoir (+1) The mice to the rescue (+1) The wolf can’t teleport Coran because he’s hurt, thinking ahead (+1) Coran knocked a guy out with his crotch (+1) Getting in disguise (+1) “I will always take care of you Ezor” (+1) They’re gay? Gay?? Are they Gay? (+1) Torture! I LOVE ANGST (+1) Coran tries so hard come up with a story (+1) Acxa is back (+1) Hunk making friends (+1) The power of teamwork (+1) Team Voltron does, in fact, have a soft spot for the small one (+1) LANCE immediately defending Pidge and rushing to her aid despite being handcuffed (+3) Shape shifting Coran (+1) Mice to the rescue AGAIN (+1) Lance taking care of Coran (+1) Coran calling Lance Allura (+1) Keith has flippity hair (+1) Keith summoning his bayard from across the room (+2) “Lance lead the team” (+1) Lance being concerned for Keith (+1) “Can’t we just fight?!” (+1) Paladin campfire (+1)

Cons: Why is Lance always written so stupid! (-1) “Will someone shut him up?!” (-1) No faith in Coran (-1) Zethrid doesn’t listen (-1) Why couldn’t Coran do this alone? (-1) Why couldn’t they show Coran as capable? (-1) Why couldn’t Coran put up a better fight? Let him have a MOMENT (-2) Forced romance between Acxa and Keith (-5) Identifying explosives based on two seconds of observation (-1) Time skip (-10)

*ten points might seem like a lot, but time skips are incredibly lazy writing. An author writes a world and a time period, but suddenly they decide they want something else, so they skip ahead. It undermines all the relationships and events from the first six seasons. The explanation isn’t bad; inter-dimensional travel would certainly cause time dilation, but it leaves the rules of the universe in a float-y and ambiguous. Anything can happen, and at this stage of the show they should really be wrapping up plot lines, not telling us the universe has been thrown BACK into turmoil after SIX SEASONS with only 13 episodes left. This episode also loses the points for it because this is where it is confirmed*

Points: 6

Rating: 6/10 I didn’t dislike this episode. I was glad to see the return of the generals, but I was fairly upset by the demonstration of Coran as this completely bumbling, failing fool. We know Coran is wise, kind, strong, and capable. He deserves better.

Episode 4: The Feud!

Pros: This whole concept (+3) Keith’s soft confused voice (+1) Lance’s pose as his name is called (+1) Bob is genuinely charismatic (+1) the cute boots (+1) the paladin’s cute nods (+1) Keith’s spin (+1) Pineapple Keith (+2) Artist Keith (+1) Keith breaking the pen (+1) Hunk’s cheer (+1) The Galra team (+1) “My lovely wife Haggar” (+1) Grumpy Lotor (+1) Quippy Zarkon (+2) Galra team cheer (+1) Artist Lotor (+1) Lotor smacking Movak (+1) Lance angst (+1) Terra advertisement (+1) Beautiful Lance (+1) More Galra dances (+1) The paladins spelling ROLO (+1) Bii-Boh-Bii (+1) Lance’s babbling is the only one who could have gotten Bii-Boh-Biis game (+2) Sal is still using Hunk’s recipe (+1) Pidge being brainy (+1) Mini golf (+1) Pidge tackling Bob like a badass (+1) The paladins all chose each other, selfless (+1) Each is given compliments and assurances of their importance (+5) Luxia’s kingdom and Plaxum’s bakery (+2)

Cons: WHY THE HELL IS LANCE SO BAD AT EVERYTHING (-1) He isn’t stupid! He knows what these things are! Stop writing him as a MORON (-3) “Lance would you stop talking!” (-1) ….the dumb one? (-10) He’s a social person, why wouldn’t he remember names? (-2) “You’re team is starting to lose faith in you, Lance” (-1) Lance ends up in the Garflator (-1) Lance did say “Bii” (-1) Lance, after giving Keith a GENUINE COMPLIMENT, is told he is too annoying to spend eternity with (-10) Lance is NEVER reassured that he is not stupid by ANYONE on the team (-5)

Points: 7

Rating: 7/10 I enjoyed this episode, I REALLY DID. It was a fun, softer episode after the action-packed start of the season. I LOVED the idea of a game show episode, but everyone was SO MEAN to LANCE? Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoy the angst, but no one comforted him or complemented him. It was sad.

Episode 5: The Ruins

Pros: Adorable sleeping paladins (+1) Pidge’s nightmare (+1) 15 more minutes (+1) “Like mother, like son” (+1) Hunk giving up to have breakfast (+1) Keith gets out and is salty (+1) Lance making a plan that works (+1) Hunk is an excellent chef (+1) Using the wolf to deliver food (+1) KOSMO (+1) Keith waiting the dog to tell him his name (+1) Lance acknowledging Hunk is fantastic (+1) MeMaw’s cooking (+1). Knowing the Blade code (+1) Recognizing magic damage (+1) Kosmo knows what’s up (+1) Romelle trying to patch up relationships (+1) The Blade’s sacrifice (+1) Keith refers to himself as a Blade (+1) Surprise druid! (+1) Keith’s wolf saved him from the time grenade (+1) Tension of the under the bridge scene (+1) Using the wolf’s teleportation to your advantage in battle (+1) Kolivan is alive (+1) Allura saves everyone with her magic (+1) Using your Galra ears? (+1) EPIC SWORD THROW (+1) “Good job Keith” (+1) Haggar probably has the Alteans (+1) “I love you too mom” (+3)

Cons: Keith being a bit of a hard ass (-1) unbeatable simulators (-1) hundreds of Blades died (-1) how were two blades and the princess able to kill four druids, but it takes hundreds of blades to take down one druid (-1) Exposition dump (-1) Killing the Blades for almost no reason? (-1) The same druid Keith fought in season 2? (-1) Keith continuing to be a lone wolf, even in battle (-1) Allura’s magic is a plot crutch (-1) The team is free and help Keith, but apparently can’t stop stumbling over each other long enough to be more than a distraction to the druid (-3) I honestly don’t know how Keith saw him, heard him, felt him? (-1) Krolia leaves Keith (-1)

*Krolia’s death is telegraphed SO HARD and I’m glad it didn’t happen*

Points: 17

Rating: 5/10 This episode kind of bored me. We had a good solo Keith fight and some truly wonderful moments between Keith and his mother, but it just didn’t keep my attention as steady as I would have hoped.

Episode 6: The Journey Within

Pros: Shiro and Keith trying to keep the team focused (+1) Lance’s totally right, something tries to kill them (+1) Hunk’s pun (+1) “This is why no one rides with me” (+1) No one letting Allura take the blame (+1) Shiro’s right, the paladin’s have been struggling to find balance for about four seasons now (+1) “We always come back” (+1) The paladins lift each other up (+3) When Keith thought Pidge was asking what flight formations were (+1) Lance using quiznak right (+1) Keith trying to keep them together (+1) Ziplines instead of magic (+1) Hunk keeps his stomach (+1) Paladins holding hands in space (+1) “We have each other” (+1) Lance reassuring Hunk (+1) Sound offs (+3) Keith referring to his time in the quantum abyss (+1) Pidge calculates pi for fun (+1) “Hadoop” (+1) Paladins look freaking awful (+1) The paladins really do be going through it (+1) Not letting go of Keith (+1) Lance initiating sound off (+1) Hunk trying to keep everyone together (+1) Lots of angst (+1) Hunk acknowledging that the paladins are afraid to be afraid (+1) Hunk in general in this episode (+1) Not letting Keith leave (+1) “Are we really even friends?” (+1) Hunk being the voice of reason (+1) Hunk being a good shot (+1) with a MASSIVE energy blast (+1) Hunk being incredibly heroic (+1) Paladins not abandoning him (+1) KEITH APOLOGIZES (+1) The power of friendship (+1) Paladins fighting a huge monster with just their bayards (+1) Lions to the rescue (+1) Forming Voltron (+1) LANCE AND KEITH TEAM BAYARD UPGRADE (+3) “did something try to kill us?” “yup” (+1)

Cons: Four weeks of empty space (-1) Shiro being snappy at Lance (-1) No one goes after Pidge when she flies off (-1) Were the paladins actually hallucinating? Group hallucinations? (-3) Keith snapping at Hunk (-1) Hunk doesn’t want to be a paladin anymore (-1) Keith STARTED the argument (-1) Hitting where it hurts (-1) “Guess I don’t know how to be a coward” (-1) Lance and Allura do not apologize to Keith (-2) No explanation of what exactly the bayard upgrade is (-1) Timeline confusion? Due to Lance and Keith did they get there faster? Not 18 months? How long did the paladins spend in empty space? (-3)

Points: 32

*When I think about this episode after the fact it leaves a bit of a bad feeling in my stomach and a bad taste in my mouth, but that might just be because I abhor the idea of being lost in space*

Rating: 8/10 I think the reason this episode got more points was for interpersonal relationships. People don’t watch this show for the plot, they watch it for the characters. So when you put just the characters in space alone you can really reflect who they are as people. That being said, there was a ton of wasted potential this episode. Liked it, but I could have loved it

Episode 7: The Last Stand Part 1

Pros: Pidge tearing up (+1) The Galra are at EARTH (+1) Appropriate reaction (+1) Colleen Holt (+1) Realistically messy hair, her entire family was missing (+1) Collen knowing where her kids are (+1) “You’ll get me clearance” (+1) Sam Holt throwing shade (+1) Colleen with her short hair (+1) AW Garrison pictures (+1) Sam starting formal and ending with “Pidge, this is dad” (+1) More new characters (+1) Cool new Garrison ships! (+1) Colleen knowing what is best (+1) Informing the world of what’s up (+1) Messages back home (+5) Paladin families! (+3) Iverson isn’t a dick? (+1) Particle barrier that works better than the Castle of Lions’ (+2)

Cons: Evilish military (-1) Sam Holt is a prisoner (-1) More timeline confusion, two years ago? (-1) Exposition dump (-1) We really didn’t need Sam Holt to explain everything, we know, we could have skipped this part (-2) Keeping secrets from Earth (-1) Even more characters (-1) Losing the Voltron Coalition Rebels (-1) I can forgive Iverson for being a dick to Lance…I’ll forgive but I won’t forget (-1)

*Telegraphing the new squadron as the new paladins of Voltron. Don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it makes me nervous. I don’t really want a new generation of pilots, but I also want the paladins to be happy. If the paladins want to stay on Earth I don’t think I would hate the new pilots. *

Points: 16

Rating: 3/10 It was…boring. Not overtly BAD, just really boring. There was a TON of information we didn’t need to hear again. I admire that the show wanted to show that they DID tell the Garrison, but we didn’t need to hear it again. I also don’t really care about any of these new characters, I care about the paladins. This could have been done in one episode, but they stretched it out to two.

Episode 8: The Last Stand Part 2

Pros: Sendak is back (+1) Elephants (+1) Strong particle barrier (+1) Sendak’s strong battle strategy (+1) Veronica! (+1) The paladins do return (+1) Sam Holt making inspirational speeches (+1) Sam Holt using quiznak (+1) Veronica throwing shade (+1) I like her too Rizavi (+1) Veronica is a badass (+1) Self-sacrifice (+1) Leifsdotter remembering the way home (+1) Sam Holt’s unwavering faith in Voltron (+1) “Silence promotes haste” (+1) Recognizing moral (+1) Sam Holt’s ringtone is the Voltron theme (+1) Lance’s family (+1) Smart strategy to contact Voltron (+1) More Sam Holt speeches (+1)

Cons: Tons of human death??? (-5) Killing a ton of Garrison pilots (-1) Killing Adam after barely any screen time (-3) The whole supply run is COMPLETELY unnecessary. This feels so disconnected from the rest of what the show is (-2) Making us think Veronica is dead when we know it’s utter B.S. (-3) Herding up humans. It’s a bit too serious? (-1) Veronica is dead for all of two minutes (-1) The resistance doesn’t really do shit? (-1) Even more time line confusion. Has the Garrison been on its last legs for two years? (-1) Playing the same clip of Voltron 3 times (-1)

Points: 0

Rating: 2/10 The show can’t decide what it wants to be. Is it a children’s show that won’t show blood? Or is a show aimed at older audiences where thousands of people are killed and rounded up to become slaves? This episode was also mostly unnecessary. The time line is also SO HARD to work out. Did Sam send the last communication JUST as Voltron arrived at the Milky Way? Another fairly boring episode to boot.

*This episode also made people angry because of the ‘bury your gays’ trope where people who are canonically gay are usually killed off. However, there is conflicting information about whether Adam and Shiro were really in a relationship. It was just bad marketing on Voltron’s behalf to announce Shiro was gay and then disappoint fans, especially considering what Voltron’s fanbase is like*

Episode 9: Know Your Enemy

Pros: Sam correctly figuring out how Sendak works (+1) Helping the paladins cut off communication (+1) LANCE’S BAYARD UPGRADE (+1) Pidge’s plan is very smart (+1) The mice and Kaltenecker (+1) Throwback to the first episode, being cramped in the Blue Lion (+1) The paladins are home (+1) Lance leading the formation (+1) Hunk bringing up the rear (+1) Keith and Lance working together (+1) “Don’t miss” (+1) Lance nailing the shots (+4) Pidge leaping into her mom’s arms (+1) “Uncle Lance!” (+1) Lance tearing up (+1) Sliding into a family hug and being drowned in people (+3) Hunk family flashback (+1) Hunk’s spaceship noises (+1) Iverson apologizes to Shiro (+1) Coran sticking up for Shiro (+1) Iverson apologizes to Keith (+1) Keith has matured as well (+1) Coran’s explanation of Kosmo’s power (+1) Shiro mourning Adam (+1) Hunk trying to protect people (+1) Sam standing up for Hunk (+1) The Atlas is amazing (+1) Shiro standing strong against the Admiral (+1) Allura knowing her shit (+1) Sam making prosthetics for injured soldiers (+1) Hunk’s flashback to fixing cars (+1) Keith offering help (+1) Hunk opening up (+2) Keith being so impressed with how brave Hunk is (+3) Hunk and Keith hug (+3) Awkward Keith (+1) Keith going with Hunk to get his family (+1) Sendak’s memories coming back is great long term writing (+1) Altea being destroyed because it refused to give up (+1) Flashback to Hunk’s baking (+1) Hunk’s mom (+1) Allura making Shiro a new arm! (+1) Hunk’s determination! (+1)

Cons: What exactly is the bayard upgrade? It’s still unexplained (-1) Why does the Earth team know more about the Galra than the paladins (-3) Griffin is still a dick (-1) Hunk’s family is missing (-1) Weird looks between Griffin and Keith, but no resolution? (-1) Shiro getting literally 30 seconds to mourn Adam (-1) All resistances were wiped out (-1) Griffin yelling at Hunk??? What the Fuck? Are we still supposed to be rooting for this guy? (-3) The Admiral isn’t stupid, why would she think the Galra would stick to this deal (-3) Lance goes missing after the first 3 minutes of the episode, unlike every other paladin (-1) Not saving Hunk’s parents (-1)

Points: 36

Rating: 7/10 I adored the family reunions and the Hunk flashbacks. I felt so sorry that Hunk couldn’t rescue his family, but it really motivates him. Overall not a bad episode. It was another prep and build up episode with a lot of exposition, but it’s setting up for the fight with Sendak.

Episode 10: Heart of the Lion

Pros: Sam being concerned for Shiro (+1) The paladins being concerned for Shiro (+1) Allura gives up the last symbol of her being a princess, her crown, for Shiro (+5) Allura’s epic arm tackle (+1) “I feel great” (+1) Keeping in mind civilian casualties (+1) Lance being concerned for his sister (+1) Hunk making friends (+1) Throwback to the maze guiding scene with COMPLETE trust (+3) Keith trusting Lance to cover them (+1) “It’s a…cosmic wolf” (+1) Lance giving GOOD instruction (+1) Really cool paladin tech, sonar imaging? Awesome (+2) Lance and Kinkade making awesome shots and team work (+3) Sibling teasing (+1) Throwback to the distraction scene on the Balmera, but this time Keith gets it (+3) Pidge thrusting (+1) Pidge’s victory laugh (+1) Bringing back the Zaiforge canons (+1) Chaff makes the people invisible (+1) More sibling teasing (+1) Paladins connecting with their lions! (+3) Lions flying next to their paladins (+1) Lance angst (+1) Concern for Lance (+1) Lance protecting his sister (+3) Red to the rescue (+1) Deferring for Keith for leadership (+1) A traitor! (+1) Some really great music this episode (+1) FORMING VOLTRON (+1) off camera! (+1) Voltron got FUCKED (+1) Paladins are captured. I LOVE angst (+1)

Cons: Shiro’s arm isn’t attached? That’s really weird (-1) As much as I love Cosmo, he’s ANOTHER plot crutch (-1) Why did Allura and Griffin come along? They didn’t really assist (-1) What is with Shiro suddenly being the expert on paladin bonds? (-1) Romelle has been missing for several episodes (-1) Lance and Allura sudden and out of nowhere romance? (-5) Why didn’t Lance and Red connect? (-1) Was Lance connecting with Red or getting ready to die? auditory clue would have been appreciated (-1)

*I just want to make it known that I don’t hate Allurance. I’m really okay with that ship if it does become canon. I just don’t like how out of left field it is. 10 episodes ago Allura was basically in love with Lotor. She has shown no interest in Lance in other seasons at all. If you wanted to give Allura feelings for Lance you could have given her blushies when she knocked him on his ass while sword training, or when he said they were a good team in the Monsters and Mana episode, or when she revived him, or when the mice told her what he said to them. ANYTHING. But there was nothing. They didn’t even bond particularly strongly in the journey home from what we saw. *

Points: 38

Rating: 9/10 I loved the action and teamwork in this episode. The whole sequence of infiltrating the base really shows how much the paladins have grown. Lance and Veronica getting attacked and Lance protecting her really made this episode awesome for me, but we also got the paladins deepening their bonds with the lions and Shiro’s new arm!

Episode 11: Trial by Fire

Pros: The Earth team figures out who the traitor is (+1) Shiro’s concern for the paladins (+1) Keith wakes up to hear who the traitor is (+1) Nunville? (+1) Commander Iverson evacuation (+1) Commander Shirogane (+1) Good intentions, still betrayal (+1) Sendak is a smart and cautious villain (+1) Shiro’s white hair doesn’t look that bad (+1) Kinkade’s awesome maneuver (+1) Leifsdottir is adorable and analytical (+1) The castle crystal comes in handy (+1) Leif continues to be a super cute super computer (+1) Altean magic doesn’t give a damn about engineering (+1) CAPTAIN SHIRO (+1) The Atlas is AWESOME (+2) Hunk reminds the paladins to call the lions (+1) Showing the paladins and their lions from the same angles is EXCELLENT cinematography (+5) Piloting the lions remotely (+1) Admiral is a badass (+1) Shiro’s happy laugh that the Paladins are back (+1) “WAIT! We’re still on that ship!” (+1) Redemption and self-sacrifice (+1) Black Lion saves the day (+1) Hunk tackling his door (+1) Ending on a cool group shot (+1)

Cons: Why aren’t the bayards working? (-1) Again, the Admiral shouldn’t have been so stupid to negotiate with the only hope for the universe (-1) It’s unclear how strong the MFEs are in comparison with the lions (-1) The “connect with your lions thing” is also a bit of a plot crutch (-1) Cheap redemption. Having the Admiral continue to fight while injured and give her life makes her seem deserving of redemption, but it’s a manipulation of pathos. Her intentions were good, but she made the wrong choice at every turn (-2)

Points: 25

Rating: 7/10 Another decent episode. Getting the Atlas in flight was amazing, and it utilized the Chekhov’s Gun that was the Castle of Lions Crystal. The Admiral’s sacrifice was a little cheap to me, but it was a lot of learning for her. The most amazing part BY FAR was when the paladins were trying to connect with their lions. They aren’t just the pilots, they ARE the lions, intertwined with their quintessence.

Episode 12: Lions’ Pride Part 1

Pros: Forming Voltron! (+1) Brutal and cynical replacement of Lieutenant Hepta (+1) Forming sword (+1) and shoulder cannon (+1) Amazing lighting on Sam Holt (+1) They do fire on their own ships! (+1) Leif’s battle strategy (+1) Hunk coming in a clutch AGAIN (+1) Clever solutions (+1) Throwback to pushing the shield plates together in season 6 (+1) WORKING PARTICLE BARRIER (+1) Reflecting the beams works (+1) Shiro is a BADASS (+1) Atlas particle barrier to the rescue (+1) Hunk’s parents (+1) “Wouldn’t be the first time” (+1) Poor Shiro, but he saves the day (+1) Sam’s avatar, just like Pidge (+1) “Victory or death” (+1) Lance saving his sister (+1) Lance starting the counterattack (+1) BADASS LANCE (+1) Paladins using their special weapons! (+1) Shiro versus Sendak again, after all this time (+1) Shiro’s awesome new arm (+1) The lions to the rescue! (+1) minimizing casualties (+1) Keith’s awesome finishing move on Sendak (+1) Lion pride! (+1)

Cons: Sudden base cannons? (-1) Didn’t they say there could be citizens inside those bases? (-1) Couldn’t they angle the plates to make the Ziforge cannons destroy themselves? (-1) Is the cannon blowing up a result of Shiro’s work? That’s a bit confusing (-1) I don’t think Shiro could survive falling through Earth’s atmosphere without a helmet (-1) Shiro doesn’t get to beat Sendak. Keith beats Sendak, but Shiro DOESN’T NEED TO BE SAVED. LET SHIRO STOP BEING A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS. Since the moment we MET Shiro he’s had to be saved, let him save HIMSELF. (-5) The season should have ended here, seriously. Or here-ish. The shoved one last battle into this season and it undermines the hard battle they just fought against Sendak (-3)

Points: 16

Rating: 8/10 Every second of this episode was wrapped in tension. Shiro commanding the Atlas is an EXCELLENT way to keep him as part of the action, and he saves the day by taking down Sendak’s ship. The paladins and lions all worked so hard to save the Earth, and the battles were well animated and engaging.

Episode 13: Lions’ Pride Part 2

Pros: Saving Shiro (+1) Yellow Lion to the rescue (+1) Epic new robot weapons (+1) Providing cover for Keith (+1) Atlas to the rescue (+1) Shiro getting back in the fight (+1) Forming Voltron (+1) off camera (+1) Pidge and Lance bayard upgrade! (+3) Sketchy animation! MY FAVORITE (+3) Dual wielding! (+1) Badass sword moves (+1) Pidge bayard upgrade! (+3) MFEs to the rescue (+1) Awesome lighting on the robot (+1) Voltron backflip! (+1) Hunk keeping the people on the ground safe (+1) Atlas mech is huge and badass (+2) Realistically show for a big machine (+1) …Atlas has thicc thighs… I DIDN’T WANT TO SAY IT (+1) Lance and Keith team bayard (+1) EPIC MUSIC (+1) Paladins working together to save the Earth (+1) Self sacrifice (+3) “It’s been an honor to fly with you all” (+3) Fading to white on the paladins, cutting the sound, and the music (+5) Lions crashing in their elements (+1) Shiro’s speech (+1) The paladins live (+1) Paladins healing (+1) with their families (+5) Shay is back! (+1) Rebuilding with help from the universe (+1) Visiting Dad Kogane’s grave (+1) Alteans are back (+1)

Cons: This episode exists! (-3) This new robot is out of nowhere. Thought it was Lotor, thought it was Haggar, was wrong both times (-2) New robot is insanely overpowered (-1) Why is the robot so much more powerful than Voltron? (-1) If Voltron is the most powerful weapon in the universe how does it continually get beaten like this? (-3) How is the Atlas not in pieces? (-1) WHAT??? (-1) How do you ACCIDENTALLY build a giant mech? (-1) I get that the castle of lions gave the ship new abilities, but WHAT??? (-1) Some of the machinery just APPEARS out of NOWHERE (-3) At least Voltron SHOWS us how it’s put together (-1) IT ALSO MAKES ME QUESTION, WHY LIONS? Lion can’t be aerodynamic, or the best armored and now that we see these super powerful humanoid ships it begs the question: why does Voltron have LIONS for HANDS (-5) Of course this robot can change size to fight the Atlas, of course it can (-1) Why didn’t it just get huge to fight Voltron (-1) Last second bomb, but it JUST exploded (-1) Making us believe the paladins are dead (-3) Matt has a girlfriend? (-1)

Points: 24

Rating: 7/10 This episode got a lot of points, but it lost a lot of points, too. I don’t think this episode should have ended the season, but only because it comes out of nowhere. It does set up the next season which I can appreciate. Lots of epic upgrades. I believed for a moment that the paladins had died, and they were setting up the earth team to take their places, but that scene was beautiful. I wish the others had said a little more to each other, just a few lines to say how much they meant to each other, not just Keith. I still think the Earth team might take over for the paladins and they stay on Earth. I REALLY hope that’s not the case.

Final Total: +296

Average: +22.77

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Overall, it seems I did enjoy this season. There are some things that I get simple joy from, like the bayard upgrades, and badass fights, but there are a lot of this that happened that could have been improved. My personal favorite episode is the Feud, despite its flaws. It was very funny and gave more character to the paladins. Plus, the scene at the end where they all chose each other, you could genuinely feel the love they had for each other (except Lance).

I think one of the best parts of this season was Hunk! He was a strong, brave, caring character and thought of his family and friends to give him the fire to fight. He really shone in the second half of the season but had some awesome moments in the first half as well! Seeing the flashbacks to his family warmed my heart, and I’m so, so glad he got to see them and Shay again! He was level-headed, and he was acknowledged for his bravery.

One of the main problems I have is with Keith. I really adore Keith, but he is starting to feel a bit like a Mary Sue to me. He’s good at EVERYTHING, and even when given help from the other paladins, still seems to be on a pedestal above them. I still love Keith as a character, but he’s gotten a bit bland as the show moves forward. One of the episodes where I felt like he had CHARACTER was the Journey Within. I’m not saying I want him to revert back to being angry and lashing out, but he felt more like Keith. I understand that as he develops he changes, but let the guy have a little fun! He felt so stiff and strict this season.

Pidge this season was pretty amazing as usual. Her smarts and tech expertise are always a major help to the paladins. I would have liked to see her succeed in combat a bit more this season. She couldn’t fight because her cannon wasn’t charged, she was pinned against the wall by Zethrid, and she was used as a distraction in the base infiltration. Reuniting her family was fantastic though, and it brings a heartwarming close to her story arc.

Shiro was a hero this season. Even with one arm he is fully willing to throw down, and you gotta admire that. I was a little bothered by Shiro suddenly becoming the encyclopedia on bonding with your lion, but it makes sense. He WAS trapped inside the mind of his lion. Even without a lion, Shiro still guides the team and captaining the Atlas was a good position for him. The biggest disappointment for Shiro is that he was announced as Gay and yet there is little to no explicit evidence. I wish he had more time to grieve Adam. As mentioned earlier, I also wished for Shiro to be his OWN savior, and maybe he will next season.

On to Allura! Allura’s best moment of the season for me was when she broke her crown to give Shiro the power source for his arm. To me, that felt like the culmination of Allura’s arc. She isn’t a PRINCESS to them anymore, she’s a paladin. She’s family. Allura doesn’t see herself as the authority over them anymore, but rather as a part of a whole. It’s also a realization of her dream to fight in the war, to be a part of it. She also showed some amazing strength when fighting for a planet that wasn’t even hers because it was important to her family.

Coran Coran the gorgeous man! They did him a bit dirty this season. Coran was always seen as a bit eccentric, but strong and capable when it came down to it. It felt like a major regression this season, even compared to just season 6! In season 6 when Coran set off the bomb in the engine, it was STILL A FUNNY MOMENT without making Coran seem like a total idiot. I wish he could have had ONE victory this season, but all his victories were given to the mice :/ That being said, he does provide the Atlas with a way to be powered, and he does an excellent job at the helm of the Atlas.

Lance…my best boy…. Speaking of doing characters dirty. Yikes! So from the very first episode, things are usually Lance’s fault. I don’t like that, but I don’t HATE it either. The team is also making fun of him from the first episode onward. And again! I don’t think I mind that, but if you’re going to have a character that is a fuck up (which Lance is, and that’s FINE) then when the character does something right you need to have it acknowledged. For example, it’s Lance’s fault they get shrunk, BUT he saves their asses by thinking fast and making an amazing shot. No one acknowledges that. Another example, when Keith kills the druid Lance says, “Good job, Keith!” When Lance shoots four moving drones within two seconds, Keith says nothing, but he DID give him a shifty look before and said, “Don’t miss”, like he didn’t believe in Lance. You can’t have a character that is exclusively mocked by those around them. In addition to that, Lance is called the dumb one over and over in the game show episode. No one on his team stands up for him. Lance couldn’t even get ONE victory that episode. When they were all complementing and validating each other, Lance was picked by his FRIEND to be the only one to leave because he could not STAND the thought of spending forever with ANNOYING, DUMB LANCE. Aside from all of that, Lance had some amazing action moments this season. He is motivated by his love for his sister and family to save her one the ground and begin the attack on the cannons. His reunion with his family was lovely and heartwarming. Again, I don’t really like the romance, but if it happens I’m okay with it.

I wanted to make this post to get what I was feeling out of my head. Usually, I would talk to my sister or brother (who usually watch the show with me), but I can tell that they are getting bored and annoyed with me. It’s helped me evaluate how I feel about the things I didn’t like and appreciate and remember all the things I did.

If you made it this far, thanks! This was really fun to write.

Additional Lol: This review was twelve pages long :)

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