Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 8.2, "Shadows"

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As the final season of Legendary Defender moves forward, a look back at events seems in order--and the present episode offers just that.

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8.2, "Shadows"

Written by Mitch Iverson
Directed by Rie Koga

Synopsis

She's seen a lot. It hasn't all been good.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In an obvious flashback, Acxa attacks Honerva to defend Lotor; she escapes, sending Galra forces out into the cosmos. Her own forces press on, searching for Lotor; it is clear that the memories upon which she reflects are disjointed in time. They and a lack of news of Lotor overwhelm her as she comes across the physical remnants of Lotor's last fight with Voltron and reflects on her long past with Zarkon and Lotor. She rails against the druids and the fracturing Galra empire, bending to the purpose of reclaiming her son as her history becomes clearer.

It does not appear a good time is being had by all.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The commander she had sent out is returned to her, albeit in poor condition. Exercising her powers, she interrogates him, plumbing him for information about Lotor. His answers displease her, and she kills him before summoning a kral zera. Another flashback explicates the manner in which she killed the commander, an exercise of power that literally sucks the life out of those upon whom it is turned and akin to a planet-killing ritual she performs. Yet another leads to her being delivered of Lotor, away from whom her then-ruined-minded self turns, and the following discussion with Zarkon.

The kral zera ensues, with the usual posturing and fighting. Honerva appears, declares herself and her hatred of the Galra, and destroys those there gathered to the last and least, consuming them.

Honerva recalls a further break from Lotor occasioned by Zarkon, and returns to the site of his death, making one last attempt to retrieve him. His latter days are revealed to her, and she reflects on one of the few points of connection she was able to make with Lotor, though it was no pleasant thing for her.

There would seem to be more where that came from...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

Soon after, she arrives at the Altean colony Lotor had established, where she assumes control of it in her son's name. She soon converts it into a cult bent on eliminating Voltron and working her will: the resurrection of Lotor. They travel to Oriande to begin effecting that plan, with Honerva using what she finds there to construct the kinds of robeast that assailed Voltron on Earth. She also reflects on one of the points when Lotor's efforts to work peacefully were undone by Zarkon's orders, a point where he had been soured by the constraints of Galra society and where she had had to help sour him. And she sends our the first of her new robeasts to destroy Voltron.

Discussion

The present episode emerges from several earlier episodes, perhaps most notably "White Lion," "Omega Shield" and "The Colony." The earlier episodes make clear that Honerva seeks what Oriande offers; what is less clear then is what Honerva takes with her, which the present episode clarifies. The last makes much of Lotor's messianic persona and Honerva's somewhat frustrated desire to support him. The two tendencies combine in the present episode to make a darkly medievalist gesture; Honerva becomes a twistedly Marian devotional focus, co-opting an already-present cultish structure based on her motherhood and bestowing upon her most devout followers power and puissance deriving from clearly supernatural sources. In some senses, she has touched heaven, and she did bear someone perceived as a savior to an outcast people who might well be called chosen, so there is some resonance with a not often appropriated medieval trope--though, as with much else, that appropriation is made unpleasant, indeed.

That the series as a whole makes use of medieval and medievalist tropes, and that it does so for both protagonists and antagonists, is of interest. The idea embedded therein is different than the commonplace invocations of the medieval by current media, which tend to be either inaccurately nostalgic for a time that was somehow better and more pure (with "pure" being a decidedly fraught term, as is amply attested by a series of articles on The Public Medievalist and elsewhere) or inaccurately condemnatory of practices more modern thinkers like to believe they do not also share--or exceed in barbarity. The invocations remain simplified and adapted, of course, but that they are both to the good and the bad at least gestures towards an understanding of the medieval as a complex, nuanced time, one in which people fit into types no more (or less) than now, and which has something to say to later audiences, even if filtered through many lenses or added onto many times. And that is better than many "more adult" properties that claim to be "really" or "based on the real" medieval, to be sure.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 8.1, "Launch Date"

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The final season of Legendary Defender begins with a bit of relief--and some developments that seem to have been long in coming.

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8.1, "Launch Date"

Written by Lauren Montgomery
Directed by Michael Chang

Synopsis

It is a bit meta, isn't it?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Following up on the events of the previous season (and with an interesting call-back to earlier versions of the series), the episode opens with Pidge watching a television send-up of Voltron's adventures. Meanwhile, the Altean who had been piloting the robeast that landed on Earth continues to convalesce, with Allura and Romelle considering her condition and circumstances. Romelle tries to puzzle out what went wrong with her erstwhile friend. Additionally, Hunk and his family see to the supply of the Atlas in preparation for its journey into space to continue the fight against the Galra threat. He moves to console Lance, who has not been able to make sincere romantic overtures towards Allura, and pushes the Red Lion's Paladin to pursue her.

After, a meeting sees Shiro give a speech summarizing their current circumstances and situation. Reports are made and accepted. Keith voices the urgency of their mission, and Shiro authorizes an evening off in preparation for it. Lance manages to ask Allura out, albeit with some prompting from Hunk. Romelle encourages her to accept, and she does. The two Alteans enlist Pidge to help Allura dress for the date; negotiations with her mother allow it to happen.

It is as silly as it looks.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The captured Altean wakes as Romelle, Allura, Pidge, Nadia, and Ina proceed to shop for clothing. They find at first that they need trade goods to do so, but Pidge's fame is soon enlisted to secure most of what they need. There are limits to what it can do, however, and Pidge relinquishes a prized acquisition in favor of Allura's clothes.

At the same time, Lance confers with Coran regarding the date. Coran stands in loco parentis for her and harangues Lance. And Lance seeks out Keith for counsel about Allura. Although they do exchange barbs, they seem to hold one another in esteem and bond over the discussion.

Allura arrives at Lance's home for their date, a dinner with his family. Introductions are made, and dinner proceeds pleasant, replete with ribbing Lance. Allura is reminded of her own loss of family. After, she and Lance walk together, talking; Allura restores a park about which Lance waxes poetic before confessing his love to her. She responds in kind, the two sharing a kiss at long last.

It's not a face to look forward to.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Meanwhile, Romelle is enlisted to speak with the captured Altean, whom she knew before escaping from Lotor's machinations. She reacts badly to it, raging against Romelle for what she perceives as perfidy before Honerva, whom she reports is involved, kills her from afar.

Allura returns from her date to find a pensive Coran and Romelle waiting for her. They confer with Shiro about events and the resurgence of Honerva, but the mission on the Atlas proceeds as intended, the mighty ship bearing the Paladins back out into the cosmos to conclude their battles.

Discussion

The present episode is another that is minimally medievalist. That is, the common elements of the series that have long been medieval remain so, but little if any of the medieval is added by events in the present episode. The promises of the previous episode seem to be on their way to fulfillment, perhaps, with Haggar/Honerva clearly returning, so there may be some more medievalism to find or some reinforcement of it in the coming episodes.

And there seems to be potential for the culmination of another thread. That Lance stands in for Lancelot in many ways has been made clear. Although she does not hold the formal title, Allura may as well be queen of the Alteans--and the present episode suggests that social concerns will mean Lance and Allura are not looking at a long-term relationship. How Lance mimics or corrects his namesake's actions, if he does, will bear some attention, to be certain.

So will how the final season of Legendary Defender manifests the medieval, generally.

A Few Comments about Medievalism in the Non-Medievalist Classroom

ℑ've noted elsewhere that my continued engagement in academe is chiefly through the Tales after Tolkien Society, a few other memberships in scholarly organizations, and teaching at a for-profit university. I've also noted that, in the teaching I've done at for-profit and non-profit schools, technical colleges and Big 12 universities and small liberal arts schools, I've rarely been assigned to teach courses with explicit expectations of medieval content. Consequently, I've had to think of ways to incorporate my own work into what I offer my students, and I've had some success; if I may be forgiven a bit of self-promotion, my comments on the matter are available here. But there are some others I might add to them, given recent experiences teaching in the for-profit school; I have hardly exhausted the topic.
The recent experience suggests to me that some of my ideas continue to work in the different environment than existed for me when I wrote the chapter. I am, for example, still apt to use Æ, Ð, and Þ in examples, rather than X, Y, and Z, and I still work to make use of the medieval and medievalist when I put together examples of student work, whether the "major" papers asked for by their assignment sequences or the discussion posts that are the focus of the online and hybrid instruction I am paid to offer. (The medievalist is more common as it takes less explaining to make make sense to students not necessarily well steeped in the medieval--which is a concern with eight-week instructional sessions devoted to non-traditional students who are working full-time jobs for the most part and taught by an instructor who has a different full-time job. The academic expatriate life is real.) But such are only surface issues, amusing me, perhaps, and making my job easier, but not necessarily making it work better for my students.
I am, unfortunately, constrained in my current teaching by institutional demands. As noted, the term is only eight weeks long, and I see students once each week--if that often. As such, there's not much time to work even on the core materials, let alone to supplement them with works five hundred years old and more and that require explication--though I do still trot out some of my more...entertaining Kalamazoo papers for them. And my assignments are rigidly structured by centralized dictate, so I've not got much flexibility in choosing texts or approaches. I have, at times, developed supplements to the course structure, alternatives that fit institutional demands, but students avoid them time and again in favor of the worn-out standard topics that just so happen to have cheating materials readily available to get around the demands of doing the work the class expects. Making them more overtly medievalist is a thing I could do, certainly, but given how little interest students have shown in the other topics I've offered, I'm doubtful as to whether it would do them or me any good for me to do so.
I offer this post not to complain; I am aware that I am in a reasonably decent position, even for one who's not an academic expatriate. Indeed, I adjunct along something not unlike the traditional model for adjuncting--someone pursuing it as a side-venture and more or less for the love of it--rather than the hyper-exploitative horror it readily became. Instead, I offer it because I know I am not alone in facing such challenges, and I had the thought that others might well have insights I do not--and the hope that sharing them would suggest itself as a thing worth doing.

A Few Comments about a Medievalist Trope: Mead

𝔒n 28 November 2018, Fred Minnick's "Mead: The Return of the Sweet, Ancient Flavor" appeared in the online version of Forbes magazine. In the article, Minnick comments at some length on the resurgence of mead's popularity and focuses on an interview with Jason Phelps of Ancient Fire Mead & Cider. A too-brief gloss of mead's millennia-long history leads into the interview. The interview itself notes reasons for the association of mead with the current craft-brewing movement before explaining what mead is and allowing Phelps to explain his own preferences. Celebrity influences on mead-making are noted, as are entries for drinkers and makers of mead into doing so. A basic recipe for a variety of mead is presented, and final comments on the value of honey for mead-making are offered.
That such a piece would attract some attention for a member of the Society is eminently sensible, of course. Mead is a staple of medievalist works, ranging from the Game of Thrones that Minnick mentions through Katherine Kerr's Deverry novels to invocations of Norse myth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Tolkien and further afield. It is also a frequent attraction at the International Congress on Medieval Studies where the Society meets, courtesy of the Medieval Brewers's Guild and others. Too, meads themselves make much of their medieval association, as witness such brands as Chaucer's from California; the Thorin's Viking and Knightly Meads made in Marble Falls, Texas; several varieties produced by the Texas Mead Works in Seguin, Texas; and the many varieties of Dansk Mjød--among many others. For an article in a publication normally far removed from the medievalist--Forbes is not noted for its engagement with the deeper past, in keeping with its business orientation--to treat it is therefore welcome and deserving of the Society's attention.
There is another point of interest, aside from the medievalism in a prominent business publication in itself. Minnick makes repeated reference to the Vikings in situating mead as a largely medieval drink. (It is not necessarily so, but that is an argument to be made in another place and time.) That he does so seems to betray a common point of understanding not unlike what Paul Sturtevant observes in The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination (reviewed excellently by Shiloh Carroll here and elsewhere by me) and which Society Founder Helen Young observes in this very webspace (here and elsewhere). Ideas about the medieval are shaped by popular media (in part due to the longstanding association of medievalist works with those intended and appropriate for children), and, for whatever reason (likely the inherent violence and the association of the conquering, raiding, "brave warrior" spirit with cultural conceits in the United States, to which much media responds), Vikings figure prominently in prevailing concepts of the medieval. For Viking to be a shorthand for medieval is not a surprise, though there is much, much more to the medieval than the raiding Norse; while it is good to see the medieval appear in a prominent publication, it is a shame that more richness is not associated with it therein.

A Few Comments Inspired by Voltron: Legendary Defender

𝔗here are a few points at which events in Voltron: Legendary Defender seem to be iterations of deus ex machina, a sudden and un-looked-for occurrence of salvation without any real preamble. The humanoid form of the Atlas that emerges in "Lion's Pride, Part 2" is but one example; the far earlier revelation of Allura's special princess powers is another. Others pervade the series, and there is some justification for reading each as a kind of narrative dodge; the device is often used as a means to extricate writers from plot holes of their own making, and it is justly decried in such circumstances. Too, since it occurs in what is, ultimately, a children's program (though one with significant nostalgia value for older viewers), Voltron: Legendary Defender does suffer from some perception that narrative cohesion does not matter for it; kids don't care about that kind of thing, or so perception commonly (and not entirely accurately) holds.
However.
While there may be some truth to such readings, if Voltron: Legendary Defender is viewed as a piece of medievalist fiction, there is some justification for the prevalent deus ex machina in the series. Frankly, medieval chivalric literature makes much use of such devices; for the series to do so, then, becomes an iteration of the medieval within it. And while that may still make for some occasional annoyance for a twenty-first century audience, it does help to keep the series consonant with its medieval predecessors.
For one example, consider Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Considered by no few scholars to be the finest piece of Arthurian romance,¹ its narrative action hinges on the occurrence of unexpected events. Early on, the text notes explicitly that the milieu in which it exists relies upon them, noting famously that Arthur would not eat at feast until some wonder happened.² That is, feasts do not even begin--because eating before the king is a grievous breach of protocol and an insult like to be avenged with violence--until some (somewhat) unlooked-for occurrence comes about. The narrative milieu in which SGGK exists relies on the deus ex machina, which the narrative provides repeatedly, both in the entrance of the eponymous Green Knight and in many of the actions that follow.
The same is true for the more notable Arthurian work, Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, certainly. One of the better-known passages in the work offers an easy example. In Chalmers's influential 1816 edition of Malory,³ for instance, the sword in the stone that is used to assess the worthiness of a claim to England's kingship is a revelation ascribed to a merciful miracle from Jesus (even as it is more likely the machination of Merlin).⁴ Given the context, in which magic is real and Merlin is a known magician, it may not ring as being as much deus ex machina as might otherwise be the case, but it still smacks of being awfully convenient that such a thing just happens to be present at the exact moment it is needed--much like the emergence of Allura's powers or the Atlas in Legendary Defender.
And, to be fair, there is some similar antecedent or potential antecedent in the series for the sudden emergence of powers. Allura is the daughter of a long-dead alchemist king, one preserved for millennia by strange technologies that ring of the mystical; she inherits and more or less marinates in magic, so it is not a surprise that it would manifest in her in seemingly strange ways at times. Shiro, whose efforts awaken the Atlas, has been dead; it is to be expected that crossing back and forth between life and death would make for some strange abilities, especially since others known to have done so in the series--Zarkon and Haggar/Honerva--also exhibit such. The things in the series that suddenly emerge and evidently jar may not be quite so ex nihilo as they might otherwise seem.
Perhaps, then, there is not so much to decry in the series as might be thought. Even if the strangeness that emerges is strange, it is at least strange in a way that aligns with the medieval and medievalist works to which the series connects. And if the oddities are not so odd, they still connect to the series' forebears, and that is something worth consideration.

-Geoffrey B. Elliott

Notes
1. Thomas J. Garbáty, Medieval English Literature (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 1997), 254-55; Jennifer R. Goodman, The Legend of Arthur in British and American Literature (Boston: Twayne, 1988), 44-45; James J. Wilhelm, The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation (New York: Garland, 1994), 399; James Winny, introduction to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. and trans. Winny (Orchard Park, NY: Broadview, 2005), vii, x.

2. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. and trans. Winny (Orchard Park, NY: Broadview, 2005), ll. 85-106.

3. Barry Gaines, Sir Thomas Malory: An Anecdotal Bibliography of Editions, 1485-1985 (New York: AMS Press, 1990), 13-14.

4. Thomas Malory, The History of the Renowned Prince Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, vol. 1, ed. Alexander Chalmers (London: J. Walker, 1816), 7.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.13, "Lion's Pride, Part 2"

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As the seventh season of Legendary Defender closes, the Earth's forces put much to rights--but a new wrong appears that looks like it will need solving.

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7.13, "Lion's Pride, Part 2"

Written by Joshua Hamilton
Directed by Eugene Lee

Synopsis

The fireball at the end of the previous episode continues to fall, and the Paladins look at it agog. They recognize it as an imminent threat and brace themselves against it; it soon reveals itself to be a Galra Robeast, and it attacks.

This day just keeps getting better...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The Paladins scramble for cover against the sudden onslaught, and initial counter-attacks fail. Shiro is returned to the Atlas, and battle against the Robeast continues, going poorly for the Paladins as they attack individually. Keith marshals them together, and the Atlas intervenes, as well, faring less than well as Shiro staggers back to duty.

Voltron is formed as the Atlas tries to interdict the Robeast, its success limited. Voltron returns, and combat is rejoined. The Lions themselves call forth new weapons in the fight, which helps, but not for long.

...and better...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The other Earth forces rally to Voltron's aid. The cadet pilots have minimal effect, but the Green Lion's enhanced capabilities offer a bit of room to regroup. Only a bit, in the event; the Robeast soon resumes its attack. The fatigued Paladins resume their own efforts, as does the Atlas, but the effectiveness thereof is limited, and a mighty blast rocks the Earth forces' ship. Pidge determines that the Robeast has drained Voltron's energy to power its attacks, and an alternate method of fighting it has to be devised.

The renewed assault fares no better, with Voltron's attacks repelled and collateral damage becoming a concern. Distraction about the latter leads to Voltron being felled by the Robeast's attack; more of its energy is drained. The Atlas looks on helplessly as Voltron is depowered and the Robeast turns its attentions on the ship once again.

Shiro is stymied by the poor progress, and he slips into a sudden realization, calling for a withdrawal from the immediate combat zone. Once away, he communes with the ship much as he once had with the Black Lion, and a humanoid fighting mode for the vessel is revealed.

This seems somehow familiar.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The Atlas returns to combat in force. Its titanic frame dwarfs the threat of the Robeast utterly, and its destructive power outclasses it to the same degree, though its size makes is slower to respond than might be hoped, so the battle is not lopsided. Indeed, the Robeast is able to drain power from the Atlas as Voltron begins to recover. A single strike ends the fight in a massive outflow of power that disarticulates and depowers Voltron again. The Robeast begins to self-destruct, and the Paladins hurry to remove it from where it can harm the planet further. The Robeast is removed from the planet, and the Paladins and their Lions are cast back down, landing roughly and far removed from each other--and in their elemental homes.

Later, a ceremony honors the fallen. Shiro has survived the war, as have the cadet pilots. Earth joins the broader universe. The Paladins, too, have survived, albeit with injuries. Rebulding of Earth begins in earnest, aided by the members of the Coalition. But some questions remain, and the Robeast's power source is revealed: an Altean sits at its heart.

Discussion

For the US Thanksgiving 2018 edition of these commentaries, it must be noted that the episode reads as something of a coda rather than a culmination of storylines as would befit a season finale. Save for the last scene, which is clearly a setup for the season to come, as well as a call-back to Lotor's earlier perfidies. A return of those Galra forces aligned with Haggar seems imminent, which will likely do more to reinforce the medievalism of the science-fantasy series.

It needs some reinforcing, as there is not much of it in the present episode that reveals itself to easy view. The basic medievalism of the series remains present, of course; the Paladins remain so, and their chivlaric overtones still sound. But, as most of the episode is taken up with the fight against the Altean-powered Robeast, there is little room for the introduction or development of new-to-the-series facets of the medieval, whether the actual or the presumed. (Unless I am wrong; comments below would welcome additional insight.)

Finally, as of this writing (well before its publication date, mind), an eighth and "final" season of the series is promised for release in mid-December. I have every intention of watching and commenting on it, too, but there is a bit of time until then. I'll find something else to fill in until then--and, until then, thank you for reading!

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.12, "Lion's Pride, Part 1"

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The penultimate episode of Legendary Defender's seventh season puts one threat to rest--only to show another coming all too soon.

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7.12, "Lion's Pride, Part 1"

Written by Mitch Iverson
Directed by Rie Koga

Synopsis

Amid the ongoing fracas, Voltron is formed. Shiro welcomes the Paladins back to the fight for Earth and queries the fighting forces for their current status. The cadet pilots rendezvous with the Atlas and prepare to sally forth again. The Galra, meanwhile, regroup, assessing their situation; the siege weapons are moving into position, and all fire is to be directed at Voltron and the Atlas.

The new volleys begin.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As the Galra assault resumes, so does the Earth forces' counterattack. Bolstered by Voltron, matters seem to go better for Earth. But the siege weapons are converging to kill the planet, so Voltron redirects to take out Sendak. Artillery fire from the planet, however, interdicts them, and they are hard put to it. The Atlas is not doing much better, either, and the cadet pilots re-deploy to run further interference for the Atlas and Voltron. The latter is tasked with destroying the siege weapons; the Paladins formulate a plan and work on it as the fracas continues. Shiro and the cadet pilots continue along their work as they do.

Risky, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The Paladins experience some success; they are able to interdict the siege weapons' beams, though they cannot long do so. Shiro improvises a new plan, putting Coran in command of the Atlas and working to infiltrate Sendak's ship as the Galra assault continues.

Time to enact their plans grows ever shorter as they do so, and the interdiction fails--only to be succeeded by the Atlas interposing herself in the path of the siege weapons' beams. More time bought, the fight continues, and Shiro succeeds at his infiltration, making himself the agent of infiltration and disabling one of the siege weapons--as well as de-powering Sendak's ship.

Meanwhile, the Paldins begin to recover from their exertions, and Lance moves to assail the siege weapons. Allura joins him, followed by the other Paladins. The cadet pilots are also successful, and Sendak's ship is in free-fall towards Earth. Shiro attempts to flee but is confronted by Sendak; a melee begins, and the Paladins work to guide the ship towards an empty area. They succeed, and Shiro and Sendak's duel continues until Keith decisively intervenes, and Sendak falls.

After, Keith tends to Shiro, and the Paladins come to believe that Earth is safe--briefly. An incoming fireball puts the lie to that belief as the episode ends.

Discussion

As a culmination of what has gone before, the episode introduces little if any new medievalism. It does, however, neatly deal with the dark mirror relationship between Shiro and Sendak that has received comment before, doing so in a way that could easily be read either as mimicking Arthuriana or as the kind of theological parallel which medieval minds, by report, would have appreciated.

Sendak is defeated in his person not by Shiro but by Keith, Shiro's clear favorite. As such, the battle mimics the Arthurian chivalric in that it is only through carefully cultivated fellowship that one side prevails, Keith serving Shiro as Lancelot serves Arthur; the parallel is admittedly incomplete, given the character names involved (although the case can be made that the Paladin Lance is more like Gawain than Lancelot), but it is nonetheless close enough to be seen readily.

Keith's entrance into the battle, descending from the very heavens with sword in hand to vanquish a  foe clearly demoniac in both appearance and attitude, is also similar to the intervention of divine might into the human struggle against sin, both in medieval Christian concept and, not uncommonly, more recent ideas. Shiro is unable to defeat his evil counterpart without aid; it is only with assistance from on high that his foe is undone. The reading is similar to some interpretations of the third part of Beowulf, wherein the eponymous hero finds victory only through the aid of his kinsman, Wiglaf, and which has been likened to the need for outside agency to defeat sin.

In both cases, the parallels are not exclusively to the medieval, although they do certainly connect to medieval ideas. Given how much the series has done to connect back to the medieval, however, looking to it for antecedents seems still to be a way to understand better what is going on in the series and why it matters.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.11, "Trial by Fire"

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The fight to save the Earth continues as the seventh season of Legendary Defender comes closer to its end.

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7.11, "Trial by Fire"

Written by Joshua Hamilton
Directed by Michael Chang

Synopsis

The attack with which the previous episode ends leaves Voltron forcibly disarticulated, its component Lions adrift and their Paladins unconscious. The Galra do not relent in their assault, and Earth's forces look on in horror as they begin to realize the treachery that has been perpetrated on them. Shiro begins to plot a retrieval mission.

Not the best thing to wake up to.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Keith, captured by the Galra along with the other Paladins, wakes briefly and sees the traitor admiral exhorting Sendak to release the Paladins to her and depart Earth. He refuses and imprisons the admiral along with them, ordering the assault on the planet to resume as Keith loses consciousness again.

Back on Earth, Shiro and Coran try to activate Earth's defense ship, the Atlas, as the Galra siege weapons align themselves to assail the redoubt. Knowing that their defenses will not hold against the coming assault, the Earth forces decide to reroute power from the defenses to the Atlas, and they rush to enact their plans. The four cadet pilots are dispatched as the last defensive line as the Atlas is brought online.

The cadets are understandably concerned.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Keith wakes aboard the Galra ship again. He is alone in a cell, left isolated from the other Paladins and stripped of his weapons. The other Paladins make radio contact and assess their situation. The traitor admiral is imprisoned nearby and, overhearing, confesses her sins. She relates what she knows of Sendak's plan; the Galra leader means to destroy the planet.

Work to launch the Atlas continues. The Galra note the shifts in power distribution and attack the redoubt, hindering the launch efforts. A counterattack ensues, and the Atlas attempts to launch--unsuccessfully. Holt despairs, and Coran has a sudden realization. Taking the remains of the Castle of Lions, he is able to power the Atlas fully, and the ship successfully launches on her second attempt. Shiro is startled to find himself in command without thinking, the others deferring to him.

Sendak joins the battle as the Atlas launches, seeking to interdict her. The attempt is unsuccessful, and the Atlas joins the fray. Matters improve rapidly for the Earth forces. The Paladins begin to enact escape, exhorted by Hunk. The Lions activate, piloted remotely, and Sendak orders the Paladins killed. The traitor admiral appears to try to buy her life again, using it as a ruse to hinder the execution as the fight continues. She dies from the attempt, but she is successful in allowing enough time to pass for the Paladins to escape. Keith hears her last words and recovers her body.

Discussion

Much of the episode deals with the effects of the admiral's treason against Earth, and it will come as little or no surprise to the audience that the admiral dies as a direct result of her actual and expected betrayal of her home planet. And, though it is hardly unique to the period, the medieval was preoccupied with treason; any time perceived as being as concerned with social strata and "divine" order as the medieval could hardly help but be. Certainly, treason--with admittedly varying definitions--pervades chivalric literature and its surrounding history; Malory is a prime example of it, with his work featuring several cases of treason in several forms and his own life marked by accusations of and denied pardons for treason. As such, the focus of the present episode on treason does not make a definitive link between the series and the medieval, but it does add to links already present by emphasizing something that is emphasized in the earlier materials--a useful reminder as matters progress in the series.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.10, "Heart of the Lion"

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Matters grow more dire for Earth and its defenders as the seventh season of Voltron: Legenday Defender continues.

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7.10, "Heart of the Lion"

Written by Rocco Pucillo
Directed by Eugene Lee

Synopsis

It's something of a pattern for Shiro.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Shiro wakes once again on a table under bright lights. This time, however, it is because of a medical procedure he has agreed to and which is being conducted by friendly personnel. The procedure is the installation of his new arm; its capabilities are described to him, and he tests it briefly before matters deteriorate. Allura intervenes, restraining the arm and replacing its power source with one of her own. Shiro is eased by the procedure and enriched.

After, Pidge and Allura explicate Sendak's methods. The Galra commander has installed six massive emplacements around the globe, intending them to serve as deterrents and control points. How to proceed against them is debated, and an infiltration mission is decided upon and planned. Teams are assigned, and the mission begins.

The sniper team--consisting of Lance, Hunk, Veronica, and Kincaid--proceeds to its assigned location. The members confer with one another, learning something about each other along the way. They set up in position, overwatching the infiltration team as they proceed into the Galra facility. Infiltration proceeds smoothly at first, using Cosmos' teleportation abilities to enter and evade detection. At length, though, they are detected, and combat ensues, although Keith and Pidge achieve their objective. They find that the bases are, in fact, planetary siege cannons like those they've encountered before.

This does not bode well.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Outside, the fight continues. The Earth forces handle themselves ably, but the numerical superiority of the Galra forces begins to tell. The Earth forces enact their exfiltration plan, departing in haste but with no casualties--and their objective achieved. Debriefing, they report on the circumstances, and a plan to take out the weapons is hatched. A simultaneous strike on all the weapons is called for, and motion to make it happen begins.

The Paladins proceed to their assigned locations and summon their Lions to them. Their unity of purpose allows for the summons to be answered--save for the red Lion, which does not heed Lance before he and Veronica come under Galra attack. Four of the Paladins enter their Lions, and the attack begins--but Lance is taken out of the fight before it can do so.

Convenient.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

He wakes in pain and finds his sister injured. They are still under fire, however, and Lance fights valiantly. The Red Lion belatedly answers his summons, saving him and his sister. So armed, they add themselves to the attack, and the operation proceeds as planned. Battle is joined, although the Galra defenses are more powerful than expected. And the weapons launch, despite the efforts of the Paladins; it is clear that the Galra knew an assault was coming. What is less clear, though not for long, is that the commander of Earth's military is the one responsible for the Galra having that knowledge. Voltron is formed and an attack on Sendak begun as Sendak turns the weapons towards Voltron, forcibly disarticulating the robot.

Discussion

Something of the appeasement noted in the discussion of the previous episode appears to have happened in the present one. What effects it will have are speculative--but not likely to be better than those appeasement had in the audience's world.

Of more immediate moment to the work of the Society, perhaps, is the manner in which Shiro and Sendak more and more closely mirror one another--with Sendak being the darker reflection. The prosthesis Shiro receives in the present episode resembles Sendak's in overall outward form; rather than being a continuous physical object, it is composed of separate pieces joined together by energy, rather than matter. Sendak's remains brutish and belligerent, while Shiro's remains seemingly elegant, and the color schemes of the two push Shiro more obviously to the side of good. So does the fact that it is Shiro's right hand that is replaced (again); he is gifted with the work of others' hands, combining them in himself and so representing the whole in each of his actions. Given his death and return, it makes him something of a messianic figure, one laden also with medievalist parallels (Allura's attire when helping him with the new arm is reminiscent of the Lady of the Lake who awards Excalibur, for instance); he is more and more clearly the white knight who will ride to the rescue of all in the end.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.9, "Know Your Enemy"

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The full force of what has happened on Earth is made clear to the Paladins as they make what should have been a triumphant return to their homeworld.

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7.9, "Know Your Enemy"

Written by Joshua Hamilton
Directed by Rie Koga

Synopsis

Voltron approaches Earth at high speed, trying to make contact with resistance forces--and succeeding. They are warned off and informed of the current situation: Sendak's Galra forces occupy the planet and will leverage it against the Lions. The resistance interferes with Galra efforts to take the robot, and Pidge proposes a plot to make Earthfall covertly, using a seized Galra fighter craft.

It's a classic plan.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

It is a cramped flight in, and there is some tension as the fighter passes the Galra blockade of the planet, but entry is successful, if rough. In its wake, the Paladins, Coran, Romelle, and Cosmo look upon the war-stricken world in horror. Keith pushes them on through the devastation towards the resistance's headquarters, and Galra patrols espy them. They are evaded, in no small part thanks to Lance's marksmanship, but reinforcements attack. Fortunately, resistance forces counterattack, rescuing the Paladins and their companions and taking them back to the resistance's hold-out.

It appears formidable, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The impressive facility greets the Paladins and their companions. The Paladins mark the changes, and Pidge is overjoyed to be reunited with her parents. Lance is also greeted by his large family, and Hunk reflects on his own family before asking about them; they are not present. Shiro is returned to duty and presents his companions; greetings are exchanged, and Keith receives an apology from his former commander. Shiro also mas only moments to mourn his former lover before being called in for debriefing.

The Paladins are briefed on the straitened circumstances Earth faces. After some strained discussion, Allura asks to see the integration of Altean technology into Earth's defenses; the request is granted. The difficulties previously encountered are noted, and offers to address them are made. How to proceed is discussed, and surrendering the Lions is advanced. Allura reminds them that they have access to information about Sendak, and Pidge and Allura proceed on it as Corran works on the Earth's ship. Hunk rails against the situation in which he finds himself, and, to comfort him, Keith opens himself, as well, commending Hunk.

The two make to retrieve Hunk's family and are interdicted by two of the elite cadets as Pidge and Allura manage to pull up Sendak's information. His primary patterns of attack and occupation are pulled up, unsettling Allura. She ends up refining a new hand for Shiro.

Hunk and Keith's operation proceeds, with Hunk recalling time with his family. Contact with local resistors is made, and the status of the prisoners--inside forced-labor camps--is noted. Hunk sorrows, the more so when he sees his family imprisoned.

Discussion

The present episode calls back less to the medieval and more to the defining conflict of the 20th century: World War II. The Galra, with their insistence upon racial purity and propensity for enslaving populations, figure as the Axis; Earth figures as the Axis-occupied territories in both the European and Pacific theaters. The Paladins, then, figure as the late-entering Allied powers--chiefly the United States, corresponding to that country's propensity to present itself as having "won" the war despite other countries having endured it longer and suffered more greatly from it. There is clear resentment on the part of some resistors for the Paladins, whose work has been largely unknown and has not, to the understanding of local forces, incurred the same costs as their own. And there is some echo of appeasement practice, which did not work in World War II and is rejected as unworkable in the episode. At the same time, there is clear appreciation by no few resistors of the Paladins and the hope of salvation they represent. As such, there is no small amount of material to unpack from the episode--but it seems of much more recent vintage than that which this blog normally partakes.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.8, "The Last Stand, Part 2"

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Timelines return to union as Voltron heads to Earth and Legendary Defender continues.

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7.8, "The Last Stand, Part 2"

Written by Mitch Iverson
Directed by Michael Chang

Synopsis

Not the most welcome guest...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Following from the previous episode, the Galra besiege Earth, led by Sendak. Resistance ensues, meager as it is against the Galra's military might and genocidal tendencies. There is argument about how best to discharge the military resistance, and that resistance fares poorly.

Sendak demands the surrender of the Voltron Lions. Sendak disbelieves the protestation that the Lions are not present and focuses attention on the military installation where Sam Holt has been at work, and another attempt at resistance begins (one calling back to the 1980s Voltron series). The second wave fares somewhat better than the first, the enhanced technology proving itself in live-fire combat. Sendak withdraws to attack civilian populations, and the situation worsens rapidly. And Sendak determines to settle in to wait for the Paladins to emerge.

This seems somehow familiar...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Sam offers comfort as he can, effectively taking command despite the objections of his superiors. Resistance remains possible, despite the horrors that have been perpetrated. Reports of the resistance's situation follow; they are not good. Attempts to retrieve supplies using a literal underground railroad begin--involving another team of five: the four superior cadets (James Griffin, Rizavi, Kinkaide, and Leifsdottir) and Veronica, assigned to command them.

The retrieval mission begins smoothly, with the group proceeding to a known supply depot quickly and operations going easily. Galra patrols are spotted in time, though, requiring action, and the Earth forces have trouble repelling the higher-technology invaders, exfiltrating under fire as more Galra arrive. Veronica is cut off from retreat, but the retrieval mission must go on.

The materials are delivered back to the remaining military installation--as is news of Veronica's loss. Sam reiterates his faith in the arrival of Voltron and exhorts the others to work on the further enhancement of technology--as the Galra continue their assault on Earth and its defensive capabilities while they enslave the human population to build their own military structure. The military's plan proceeds with difficulty--and Sam is summoned to see the returned Veronica, who reports on the situation of the outside world. A paramilitary resistance is at work against the Galra, as well, and efforts to coordinate begin. Veronica asks after her brother--the Paladin Lance--only to be told that no news has yet come. Efforts will continue, however raggedly, and a warning beacon for Voltron is launched. The beacon is released as a flurry of decoys, allowing for a warning to be passed to Voltron.

The situation remains dire, but hope persists that one final effort can be meaningfully made.

Hope springs eternal...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Discussion

There is something of an elegiac tone in the episode, as is the case with the earlier "Defender of All Universes." The earlier episode has something of the "Þæs ofereode; ðisses swa mæg" of "Deor" about it, and something like it is at work in the present episode; Sam Holt's optimism that Voltron will arrive and put things to rights, even amid admissions that things are bad, rings of it. And it works into messianic tropes, as well; they cannot be called specifically medieval/ist, of course, but they were certainly prevalent in medieval works. Repeated insistence that an ancient salvific power would emerge to vanquish evil is shows up throughout medieval corpora, with seemingly relevant examples in the Chanson de Roland and among the hagiographies, with others appearing in Dream of the Rood and elsewhere. Thus, as in previous episodes, there are evocations of the medieval/ist that become so more in context with the rest of the series than necessarily directly in themselves--but that makes them neither less valid nor less entertaining to seek and find.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.7, "The Last Stand, Part 1"

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The Paladins return home to find that home is not so homely.

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7.7, "The Last Stand, Part 1"

Written by Joshua Hamilton
Directed by Rie Koga

Synopsis

The Paladins make their approach to Earth. Pidge attempts to make contact with her father, finding only an automated message calling for help from Voltron against a Galra force that has besieged Earth.

No, it's not good.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Four years prior, when Sam Holt had returned to Earth, he had been subjected to testing and investigation by the Earth military before being allowed to see his wife, Colleen, and asked to report. Contact with the Paladins is restricted against the concern for Earth's safety. Sam's freedom is curtailed, as well.

Sam's report is presented to the higher military. There are some troubles accepting the report, given its nature and the audience, but it is given, nonetheless, recapping many of the events of the first several seasons of the series and integrating them into the broader context of events. Sam calls for fortification of Earth, which is rejected against a lack of specifics. Sam tries to make contact with Pidge and cannot. The decision is made to keep matters quiet--and to prepare some defenses. Work to that end is demonstrated as in progress, and the potential linchpins of that defense introduced.

Four bright and promising stars...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Work on Earth's defenses continues, assisted greatly by Sam's involvement. His experiences pay off as Earth builds its new fighters, and the four promising officers train. Attempts to contact Voltron also continue, albeit with less success throughout a passing year. but contact comes from Matt, who reports the disappearance of Voltron in the wake of the fight against Lotor. Matt warns him to stop broadcasting against the Galra's efforts to eradicate the allied forces.

Sam calls for an increase in efforts to defend Earth against the Galra, only to have his proposal rejected. Sam and Colleen reveal the truth to the world, imperiling themselves but successfully marshaling the world to the effort against the Galra--who arrive all too soon and begin laying siege to the planet.

Discussion

Given the long-standing Arthurian overtones present in the series, the parallel that suggests itself is Arthur's return to Logres after the abortive siege against Lancelot. In Malory, Arthur, having left Guinevere and Mordred to rule in his absence, is declared dead and his kingdom suborned; he returns to find it in disarray, havoc having been wrought through it. While the parallel is not exact, there is much the same at work in the present episode; the Paladins return to Earth to find what had been a peaceful place in disarray after having been wracked by hardship in their absence. The scale and scope are grander, of course, and the complications of the life left behind less unsavory--but that is not unexpected from what remains a program aimed at a younger United States audience. (Indeed, there are some motions toward dystopic tropes that seem calculated to resonate with such an audience; the military leader verges on an unhealthy despotism.) How matters will play out will be well worth seeing...

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.6, "The Journey Within"

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Matters seem to improve for the Paladins as they progress through the seventh season of Legendary Defender.

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7.6, "The Journey Within"

Written by Tim Hedrick
Directed by Eugene Lee

Synopsis

The Paladins, Coran, Romelle, and Cosmo continue their journey through space, strain clear upon them. Efforts led by Shiro and Pidge continue to try to make contact with others, unsuccessfully, and the estimated remaining time of travel becomes a contested issue--again. Shiro calls for calm, Keith for discipline, and Lance for a backhanded optimism.

You can just barely see them there...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

At length, the Lions enter a darker area of space. Shiro advances an idea for how to re-power the Lions, calling back to the fight against Zarkon. Allura expresses self-doubt, which Shiro sets aside. Emboldened, the Paladins are about to proceed when Pidge spots a strange phenomenon in and lightening of the surrounding darkness. The Lions are enveloped in a radiant energy field and seek unsuccessfully to flee it. They are rendered powerless and adrift once again, waking only later and in some confusion--with their companions frozen. And they are drifting apart.

Keith decides that keeping the group together is their priority; Allura moves to that end, joined by the others. Coordinated action is needed and begins--when the energy emerges again, knocking them further apart. They manage to come together in their persons--but far adrift and out of view from the Lions. Lance's backhanded optimism resumes.

Much easier to see than the Lions.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Some time passes with the Paladins adrift. Keith does what he can to keep the others focused and sharp as more lights appear--luminous space creatures, in the event. The Paladins make to follow--only to have the creatures vanish, calling the Paladins' sanity into question as their ordeal continues. Hunk voices reservations about his worth as a Paladin.Another energy envelops them, actively tearing them away from one another. Keith fights it, experiencing his own break; it was not real.

The isolation tells on them as it continues. Lance, somehow, remains the most optimistic as talk of fathers and old grievances emerges. Hunk works as a peacekeeper, with Keith acting out in anger as another light--a planet--appears. It seems to be Earth, and the Paladins rush toward it--until Hunk voices reservations and tries to stop the others, dispelling the illusion--evidently caused by a massive, hungry space creature.

This might not be in good taste...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The creature attacks, and the Paladins evade as they can. Hunk's manifestation of his weapon is questioned, and he puts it to good use; the extravagance of his display evokes its power. Their team identity is reaffirmed and apologies made for words spoken in anger. And with that, their powers return; the fight goes better for them in the wake thereof. The reactivation and return of the Lions helps, as well, and the re-formation of Voltron enables the Paladins to face another energy wave with aplomb.

After they pass through, their companions awaken--and they find themselves near the Sol system at last and proceed towards home.

Discussion

The idea of visions appearing to the Paladins as an artifact of encroaching insanity voiced in the episode harkens back, if somewhat obliquely and unhappily, to the dream-visions of "The Feud." There is thus a bit more than usual of the continuity of the series's medievalism in the present episode, which is to the good for the kind of work the Society does. After all, if the property will continue to do such a thing, it means that the work of identifying and explicating that medievalism can also continue, giving those of us on this side of things more to do. Working through such puzzles as sources and antecedents present is a source of joy in addition to aiding understanding of the continual construction and reinterpretation of cultural touchstones.

Something else medievalist evoked in the episode is the hellmouth, the gaping opening to the netherworld that appears in much medieval art--suggested in the episode by the maw of the gigantic, illusion-inducing space creature. The use of lures to deceive prey is a natural phenomenon--note the anglerfish--and one commonly deployed by people--as witness fishing tackle sales. But it is also something traditionally associated with medieval conceptions of the underworld; foul spirits seek to lure nobles to their doom through deceit. Indeed, the deliberately medievalist Faerie Queene presents such things assailing the Redcrosse Knight, and Arthurian knights in more traditionally Arthruain works get similar treatment. While there are other possible antecedents for the imagery, the fact of the medieval and medievalist predecessors for the presentation does help to secure the long-established medievalism of Voltron: Legendary Defender as a whole.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.5, "The Ruins"

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Effects of the Paladins' absence are explored as the seventh season of Legendary Defender continues.

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7.5, "The Ruins"

Written by Mitch Iverson
Directed by Michael Chang

Synopsis

The Lions continue through the cosmos, evidently on autopilot as their pilots and passengers--save for Keith and Krolia--sleep until Keith calls them to wakefulness. He asserts that they cannot allow themselves to lose their edge along their journey and begins battle drills with them. They do not go well, with even Keith falling in it. Krolia notes that the simulation was designed to be unbeatable; the rigged test does not please the Paladins.

He seems to be enjoying himself.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Hunk practices his culinary work, preparing food for the others and sending it via the teleporting wolf. Keith rejects naming the wolf as the others agree to call is Cosmo, and there is some commotion as Hunk explains how he made the food he's served. Amid the meal, though, Pidge picks up a signal, finding it to be a broadcast sitcom. The others, save Coran, are not amused. Hunk hears interferences, which Pidge isolates and Krolia identifies as a Blade of Marmora distress signal. The Paladins move to investigate.

It's never a good sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As they do, they find ruins but no life signs. The ruins, though, show the result of battle--and there are watchers. Cosmo confronts one such, followed by the Paladins; they take the watcher and question him amid decay. The source of the message is revealed to be on site, and the watcher reveals that the Paladins are thought dead. There is something of a memorial to the Blades of Marmora who fell in battle, and the watcher relates the sequence of events that followed Voltron's disappearance. Galra civil war had allowed Haggar's druids to fight the Blade; a final stand was called for, and the druids attacked in force, taking them at great cost. The watcher's people were slaughtered, as well, and the watcher alone survived. Krolia knows the fallen, including the Blades' leader--but there is suggestion that the leader yet lives.

The watcher reveals himself as one of the druids, using the Blades' base to draw other Blades in and kill them. A trap takes all but Keith, whom Cosmo teleports away. A cat-and-mouse game with the Druid ensues, interspersed with melee between the two. As they fight, Allura's own power begins to work against the Druid's trap, and Keith comes upon the Blade's leader. The Druid's motivation is clear--revenge and return from exile to Haggar--and melee is joined again.

This is usually a better sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Allura frees the others, taking the power from the Druid's trap into herself at some cost and discharging it to move to Keith's aid. Battle is joined and the Blade's leader freed, in the end, by Keith alone.

After, they regroup and learn that the Blade is gone, save for a very few. Krolia returns to the Blade, leaving the Paladins in favor of rebuilding the group. Her parting from Keith is bitter, but necessary. They promise to see one another again, and the Paladins depart.

Discussion

The present episode follows on the exploration begun in earnest in "The Way Forward," doing more to plumb the effects on the universe of the Paladins departure and what they will face as they return. It additionally presents something not unlike the Christianization narratives of the earlier European medieval. In such narratives, there are pockets or holdouts of pagan practice against which knightly forces array themselves in an explicit effort to eradicate the earlier forms of worship. The connection of Haggar's Druids to their medievalist antecedents has already been discussed, as has the connection of the Paladins to medievalist Christian knighthood. (That neither is an "accurate" representation, although both accord with popular conception, has also been addressed.) For the Paladins to fight against a hold-out Druid, then, smacks of some of the less fortunate parts of the medieval, in which perceived-as-always-evil indigenous practices are fought against by outside forces with a different, "good" orientation--and that matters are cast in such a light also speaks to ongoing legacies of medieval European belief that have unfortunate resonances with their own contemporary cultural contexts.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 7.4, "The Feud!"

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A surreal experience punctuates the ongoing seventh season of Legendary Defender, offering strange retrospectives of the series so far.

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7.4, "The Feud!"

Written by Tim Hedrick
Directed by Eugene Lee

Synopsis

Strange that this would be a common cultural reference...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The episode opens as if a game show, complete with recording irregularities. The Paladins find themselves playing upon it--to their confusion. They appear to have been dislocated from their previous experience, and their progress through the show explicates their circumstances. Keith purposes to leave, and the Paladins find themselves made captive to the suddenly sinister show host.

The contests begin, following  what the audience is likely to recognize as familiar formats, and the Paladins do reasonably well. And they find themselves in opposition to Galra forces they had thought destroyed. The latter are introduced strangely, entirely out of character with their earlier actions--but befitting a game show. Play proceeds, with more recording irregularities showing up.

It is a disturbing disjunction.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After a strange in-show commercial, Lance is singled out for continued play. It does not go well; Lance is evidently bad with names. The stakes are increased for him, as well, and Lance actually manages to score before the Galra are sent away.

Play continues, still focused on Lance, with still-high stakes. He stumbles into some degree of success, but not enough, and another in-show commercial punctuates the action.

As play resumes, Allura pleads for release but is denied. Pidge is called up to play. As she does, more recording irregularities show up, and she attacks the sinister host, prompting them being called into a choice of who to release in favor of the other four. In the event, each of the Paladins receives a vote for release, with reasoning revealing much about their mutual regard. That all vote for another to leave receives comment--and the Paladins are released before the show is turned off.

Quite the change of setting.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After it is, the Paladins are revealed to be adrift in space. Hunk wakes from what he perceives as a strange dream--one that is revealed to be shared among all the Paladins. Coran confirms that their sinister host is something of a legendary god-figure, one who judges warriors' worthiness. None of the Paladins look kindly on the experience they had, however.

Another recording irregularity evidences itself, turning to Luxia's kingdom and presenting it as a vacation destination in disturbing game-show fashion as the episode ends.

Discussion

The episode plays with narrative reality, partaking of the "it was only a dream" trope that tends to annoy modern readers but forms a significant portion of medieval literature--and some of the most prominent works thereof--as dream visions. Described by Chris Healy of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as "medieval sci-fi" (which seems particularly apt in the current context), dream vision allows for manipulation of norms with less threat of potential censure; after all, dreams are strange, as all who have them know. And such tend to inform much of the conception of medieval literature, if the persistence of such works as Dream of the Rood and Pearl are to be believed. The knights of the Round Table, after whom the Paladins of Voltron follow, also experience no few dream visions; Malory's depiction of Lancelot's on the Grail Quest come to mind as convenient examples, as does Arthur's in the Alliterative Morte Arthure. (Indeed, Lancelot's dream vision highlights his faults--not unlike Lance's in the episode.)

For the episode to treat in dream vision, then, when the series does so much to invoke and evoke the medieval, reads not so much as a narrative cop-out, as dream-work often does, or as a non-canonical aside, but a callback to perhaps less recognizable medieval antecedents that are not the less valuable for being less familiar. They enrich, rather than detract from, the episode.