Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 5.1, "The Prisoner"

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Following a short fourth season, the series presses on with the continued fight against the Galra--and the promise of a difficult decision to come.

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5.1, "The Prisoner"

Written by Eugene Son
Directed by Chris Palmer

Synopsis

The Paladins of Voltron assail a sinister-seeming Galra installation in orbit around a dark world, one manufacturing new matériel; success will hinder Galra efforts for months to come. Initial stages of the assault proceed well until a piloting error occasions problems and alerts the facility to the Paladins' presence. The Paladins improvise and successfully complete their mission, destroying the facility in spectacular fashion.

After, during debriefing, the Paladins question their good fortune and propose pressing their advantage. Doing so involves interrogating Lotor, taken at the end of the previous season, who works towards manipulating the Paladins--Allura, particularly. He lays out his grand plans for reorganizing the Galra Empire along the lines of clean energy--in Machiavellian fashion. It is not a pleasant conversation, and Lotor sues for fair judgment.

Is this the face of a penitent?
Image taken from the episode, used for critique.

Later, Lance comes in on Allura preparing for a meeting. After a brief exchange, Allura proceeds to the meeting, updating the coalition on current affairs. Bonds are reaffirmed, and, afterwards, the Blade of Marmora reports on its own progress. Pidge notes the impending changes to Galra procedures, and Allura notes the possibility that Lotor plots against them--something seemingly confirmed when Lotor offers additional information, data noting Pidge's father's location.

Pidge and Matt confer with another member of the coalition about updates to their technology. They are reached there by the Paladins, who note the information to them. The two rush off before they can be assisted by the other Paladins; others of the coalition accompany them as they proceed to their father's last known location and reconnoiter the facility--attracting attention as they do. A fight ensues, with the Green Lion acquitting itself well and dropping Matt and the coalition forces onto the facility. Matt has equipment trouble, from which he is extracted as infiltration continues.

The infiltrators find the ground forces of the facility quiescent--although air forces are not, as Pidge continues having to fight them. They find workers toiling over machines and are discovered; the workers are fearful and note a "scary lady" who had threatened them; the presence of other prisoners is noted, and Matt investigates, searching for his father. Extraction is delayed by continuing air action, and an alternate egress is found--which is delayed by Matt, who returns without his father. Escape is treacherous, especially given the continued aerial fighting, but it is accomplished successfully. In its wake, Matt reports his failure to Pidge, and the two sorrow over their continued loss.

Amid the Galra, Lotor's erstwhile lieutenants begin to plot their return to the Galra. Soon after, Zarkon sends the Paladins a message, offering to trade Matt and Pidge's father for Lotor.

Discussion

There is something medievalist in Lotor's situation. The decree of outlawry that attends on him rings of the medieval, and connections could be drawn between him and various heretical movements that sought to reform and reinvigorate medieval Europe, particularly those that sought to foster diverse coalitions rather than those that worked with disaffected nobles. Similarly, his imprisonment in the Castle of Lions has a medievalist feel to it; Shiro and Allura are depicted as descending--insofar as such a term has meaning in space--to speak with him, and his cell is isolated amid darkness, alone.

Deep and dark, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for critique.

As has been remarked in many other places, the carceral experience looms large in medieval European thought. The ostensible grounding of the European medieval in Christian holy texts demands it; the Epistles are, themselves, carceral writing. Too, major works of the European medieval thought are products of incarceration--Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur is an easy example, but far from the only one. And many such works make much of imprisonment--again, Malory offers an easy, but not an exclusive, example. (My training's in Malory, in case you were wondering.) The expectation for such things, fueled by the kind of pop culture background Paul B. Sturtevant discusses in The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination: Memory, Film , and Medievalism, is that noble prisoners will be held in deep, dark dungeons, waiting either to extricate themselves or to be extricated by their fellows--and while Lotor is in something like a deep, dark dungeon, and his carriage is one that bespeaks a certain nobility (albeit one tempered by his Machiavellian speech and earlier actions), but there are no comrades to extract him. (Escaping on his own is far from out of the question.) The situation is itself something that he would not be wrong to lament--the more so if his protestations of intent are sincere.

That he looks to face a return to the unmerciful hands of his father does not improve matters for him. Indeed, it may well put the lie to Malory's contention that sickness is the worst of a prisoner's travails...

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 4.6, "A New Defender"

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The short fourth season of Voltron: Legendary Defender draws to an end with a crisis narrowly averted and a change of allegiance looming.

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4.6, "A New Defender"

Written by Tim Hedrick
Directed by Steve In Chang Anh

Synopsis

Immediately after the events of "Begin the Blitz," Corran reports Galra forces moving on Voltron's position. Alliance efforts to seize territory continue, and Matt attempts to use one of the seized weapons emplacements to intervene, but he is prevented by the emplacement shutting down--as is that held by the Blade. Voltron's fight continues, however, and Shiro is confident in Voltron's success--with some justification. The incoming cruiser, however, is commanded by Haggar, which bodes ill.

The escaped Lotor proceeds along his own course, although he is tracked, and a newly armored and isolated Zarkon pursues him. An attack ensues, which Lotor is hard-pressed to evade. He flees, and pursuit continues through dangerous space, but Zarkon does not waver. The superior capabilities of Lotor's craft are evidenced, however, and Lotor is able to make an escape.

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

Haggar calls for a halt towards Voltron's position, confusing her own lieutenants. She proceeds through the corridors of her vessel, demanding not to be disturbed until the planet where Voltron fights is destroyed. She begins a ritual to enact her will, gathering dark power and releasing it through the ship in an unholy conflagration that resonates with the world. The dark energy surrounds the world, affecting Allura before paralyzing Voltron under crushing gravity. An escape attempt fails.

The Paladins disembark from Voltron and seek to fight their way to where Pidge and Hunk can work to disrupt the devices holding them on the planet. their process takes them deep into the world, where Allura identifies Haggar as the source of their trouble. She seeks to interdict Haggar's work, but she cannot, and the Paladins come back under attack. The nature of the threat is made clear--and it is a substantial threat, indeed, one that will eliminate the alliance if it succeeds. Alliance forces begin to recognize that something is wrong, and Keith moves to investigate, taking a seized Galra fighter and picking up Matt along the way.

Lotor observes as the search for him continues. He hears about Haggar's impending action--the world where the Paladins struggle is set to explode spectacularly, taking whole systems with it. He proceeds thence.

The Paladins return to Voltron, finding themselves isolated and disabled. They attempt escape again, the ground beneath them crumbling and dumping them in a crevasse. Lance exhorts Allura to exercise her power, and she endeavors to do so. Voltron is empowered and clears the planet, reestablishing contact with the alliance and asserting the need to interdict Haggar. Corran is ordered away; he complies reluctantly. Keith makes a suicide run on Haggar's ship; before he can complete it, Lotor arrives and disables Haggar's vessel, ending her ritual. Haggar orders withdrawal, and Lotor offers to treat with the allied forces.

Discussion

As in the previous episode, there seems little overtly medieval about "A New Defender." Indeed, throughout the season, the series has appeared to move away from the medievalist tendencies of early episodes as it has taken a darker, more somber tone. How much of the motion stems from the idea that medievalist work is principally fit for lighter tales is unclear, but some of that idea seems to be at play--despite the popularity of the decidedly dark work of George R.R. Martin and its derivatives, or the well-received and generally better medievalist fantasy work done by Martin's contemporary, Robin Hobb. And that does not even begin to treat the enduring appeal of medieval literature, with its often "adult" themes, or of nonfiction that treats the period.

While medieval and medievalist material does pervade work meant for children (which I have addressed in small measure), that does not mean it ought to be restricted to it and bowdlerized as is the overwhelming tendency with things given to kids. (Note that I am not saying a four-year-old necessarily ought to be given a detailed explanation of, say, the Miller's Tale or the gory minutiae of the conditions faced by such knights-prisoner as Malory, but circumscription reminiscent of the Comics Code Authority's dicta are also unhelpful.) Conversely, "growing up" should not mean setting aside the medievalist, and, while Voltron: Legendary Defender seems to be trying to grow up, it seems to try to do so partly by shedding the medievalist as childish--which seems a strange thing, given the franchise concerned.

Even though I make such a complaint, however, I did enjoy the season, and I look forward to continuing to look at if and how the series plays with the medieval.

About a Piece by David Graeber

𝔄s I've noted elsewhere:

On 6 May 2018, David Graeber's "Are You in a BS Job? In Academe, You're Hardly Alone" appeared in the online Chronicle of Higher Education. The article--a longer one--opens with a plain statement of intent (to write about bullshit academic labor) and a clarifying definition (bullshit labor is work known by the worker to be pointless). Graeber works to establish his ethos for conducting his discussion before suggesting that perhaps half the work being done could be eliminated as bullshit, noting that the increase in bullshit labor is detrimental across fields of endeavor--especially academe. He explicates the degree of bullshit-spread throughout academic institutions, noting that marked increases in administrative staff have prompted the increasing proportion of bullshit labor being done by academics. A case study focused on "Chloe, the nonexecutive dean" is used to exemplify the problem, and Graeber takes pains to note the prevalence of the problem not only in Europe, but also in the US, as well as commenting that the interaction of fields promoted by academic establishments conduces to the peculiar proliferation of bullshit work in academe. He adds that workable solutions are likely to come from neither academic management nor academic labor, but from outside academe--although he expresses hope that such may happen, citing earlier intellectual movements and reformations as examples and shifting into the claim that a universal basic income is one of the more effective potential responses to the spread of bullshit throughout academia.

(Clearly, I have permission to use my own stuff. Who's going to tell me no?)

While I respond in that "elsewhere" to the bullshit aspects of Graeber's piece (and, yes, enjoy the opportunity to write "bullshit" more than a few times), there is something else to treat in the article: Graeber's misuse of medievalism. The article repeatedly invokes the medieval; for example, Graeber comments about "the university...in its original medieval conception as a guild of self-organized scholars." He also notes a "managerial feudalism" in which "Rich and powerful people have always surrounded themselves with flashy entourages....[and] the accumulation of the equivalent of feudal retainers often becomes the main principle of organization," with those surrounding the mighty being "officious armies of functionaries than the kind of feudal retainer a medieval knight might employ ton tweeze his mustache or polish the stirrups on his saddle before a joust."

While Graeber has grounds to make the first statement, the one about the medievally born self-organized scholarly collective, there are problems with the rest. For one, the use of the medieval as a repeated referent yokes it to the bullshit labor that is the thrust of the article;the repetition cements the connection, suggesting strongly the misguided notion that the medieval is bad--more so than the present. Additionally, most of the invocations of the medieval come alongside more explicit disparagement. The "retainers" described are couched in terms of their uselessness, once again connecting the medieval to being less worthy than right-thinking modern ideas--or the Enlightenment ideals contrasted with the "corrupt, pedantic, moribund, and medieval." It is hardly a glowing description, and one that medievalists can certainly be forgiven for finding distasteful.

Additionally, the repeated assertions of a feudal relationship between management and staff suggest a misunderstanding of feudal structures. The traditional conception of feudalism is that a royal or noble offers land to other nobles in exchange for precisely defined services to be provided--typically military and financial. The relationship can extend laterally at titular social levels, as well, with kings in their own right being feudal vassals of other kings. As it tends to be expressed, the feudal retainer retains particular rights in the relationship, partly through recourse to outside agencies (the Church for much of the High Middle Ages), and there is an expectation of reciprocal loyalty. Such is, admittedly, more an aspirational standard than an enacted one, but it is still the perceived dominant paradigm for the medieval European feudal.

The comparison breaks down when applied to contemporary corporate and corporatist culture at three points:

1. The European feudal relationship could exist within titular levels of authority. A crowned king could, in fact, be a vassal of another crowned king, as the relationship between England and France between the Norman Invasion and the end of the Hundred Years' War demonstrates--among many others. In contemporary corporate and corporatist culture, such is not the case; the retainers are always hierarchically lower than their ostensible lords, their lower status denoted by titles, facilities, rates of pay, and other factors in plenty.
2. The modern "retainer" does not have nearly so many rights as the feudatory. Without pretending that medieval Europe was anything approaching egalitarian, there were explicit limits on the authorities of feudal lords over their retainers. Military service, the primary obligation, was bounded--traditionally forty days, and able to be offset by scutage. In England, Magna Carta sharply restricted the rights of the highest feudal lord of the land. And over all hung the threat of clerical censure or punishment, the efficacy of which would vary, but which still appeared to have no small influence on the actions of those in the system. In modern corporate and corporatist culture, with the expansion of right-to-work jurisdictions and the releases of employers from terms of their contracts (notably pension obligations), as well as the increasing waiving of rights in employment agreements and an increasingly deregulated labor market, the "retainers" are far more subject to abuse and exploitation than might otherwise be assumed--and certainly more than the noble-born retainers of a noble-born lord would have been.
3. The modern "retainer" generally does not and should not expect reciprocal loyalty. Again, the medieval European feudal relationship imposed obligations on the lord as well as the vassal, and feudal compacts typically expressed lifetime if not generational commitments. Modern corporate/corporatist culture benefits from increasing numbers of right-to-work jurisdictions, making dismissal of employees easier--particularly given the increasing tendency in the academy and elsewhere to rely on "just-in-time," contingent, temporary, part-time workers--who are expected in many cases to offer full availability to their employers while accepting either limited compensation for unstable hours or, as in the case of the "zero-time faculty" proposed at Southern Illinois University, no compensation for unstable hours.* Such things are hardly loyalty pledges, and they should hardly be expected to elicit loyalty--although there still seems to be an expectation that people will "ride for the brand."

This is not to say that ideas cannot be applied across time, of course. The whole point of the Society is to look at ways in which the medieval is (mis)appropriated, and a paper I presented some years back looks at how an idea deriving ultimately from contemporary corporate practice offers a rubric for examining at least some medieval literature. But, as has long been held by the Society and evidenced in this webspace, accurate understandings are essential to doing such work. Graeber seems to be working outside of such things, and, given the platform on which his article appears, those other-than-optimal representations of the medieval do not help the case of those of us who study that part of what came before and what we still do.

*It does not escape notice that the proposal, voiced politely but tending towards the abuse of those who would accept it, enacts a form of bullshit, itself--that articulated by James Fredal in a 2011 College English article, brought to mind by the older presentation referenced.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 4.5, "Begin the Blitz"

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Tumult among the Galra opens an opportunity for Voltron and the Paladins' allies--and they seize upon it to great strategic effect.

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4.5, "Begin the Blitz"

Written by Rocco Pucillo
Directed by Eugene Lee

Synopsis

The Paladins and the Blade of Marmora confer regarding recent developments; the attention of the Galra Empire is on the search for the outlawed Prince Lotor. Shiro suggests a plan to capitalize on the Galra internal disorder. He notes a critical location to cut off a large part of the Galra empire and outlines a strategy for taking it, and small units are assigned to the individual tasks needed to accomplish it. The strategy is risky, but the potential rewards are great.

The green is what it gets the alliance.
Image taken from the episode, used for critique.

As Shiro's strategy proceeds and forces are marshaled and directed towards their assigned ends, Lotor and his lieutenants proceed to a new location. There is internal dissension among them as they make their way to the broken Galra homeworld. He reports that the rift in the Galra homeworld remains open--and that he has the means to traverse realities and harvest raw quintessence. He enacts his plan to do so.

The forces arrayed against the Galra confer, Allura broadcasting across their alliance to coordinate events. Their assault begins, with Pidge and Hunk infiltrating a communications station and taking it handily. Other teams take on massive Galra weapons emplacements, encountering some difficulty in doing so; one of the emplacements falls quickly, the other, less so and at great cost, a deed accomplished only through the intervention of the taken emplacement.

Voltron itself descends upon the critical location, soon stumbling into a minefield. Allura contrives an escape, and Voltron's assault continues.

Meanwhile, Lotor considers his unsuccessful efforts. His three remaining lieutenants confer, their dissension showing, and they take him captive, thinking to return him to the Galra in exchange for clemency. He is, however, able to make an escape, stranding the erstwhile lieutenants.

The alliance's plan falls into place, its disparate parts succeeding in their objectives as the Galra communications station comes back online. The success of the alliance is reported to Haggar--to her expressed approval.

Discussion

The present episode continues the series's tendency towards multi-threaded narrative, and the amount of attention given to Lotor and his surroundings suggests an increasing focus upon him. It is sensible enough, since he is now a proclaimed enemy of the Galra despite being the son of Honerva--now Haggar, whose approval of the alliance's success against Zarkon's empire makes sense in that context.

If there is medievalism being invoked in the episode other than in the long-identified use of Paladins and the Arthurian overtones of several characters, or in the outlawry of Lotor noted previously, it may be in a couple of things. One is a certain nostalgia for a somewhat imagined past, with Lotor looking back to the founding of the Galra empire for his own inspiration in a manner not unlike a return in thought to an imagined Classical era by Western European medievals in the High Middle Ages. Another is in the clear turnings of the Wheel of Fortune--not the game-show icon that evokes some of the same nostalgia as the current series, but the philosophical construct articulated by Boethius and present in the medieval mind in Latin and in many translations, including Chaucer's Boece. It must be admitted, however, that tying the trajectories of the various characters in the present episode explicitly to Boethius or overt translations or editions of his work is tenuous at best; the episode more addresses the kinds of thoughts that give rise to such texts more than the texts themselves. And a 22-minute cartoon cannot do much to make any connection overt, in any event. Still, the episode does continue at least to pass forward what the medieval passed forward, and it is worth looking into what it does with what, and how.

Kalamazoo 2018 Report

𝔓er §5.1 of the Society Constitution, an Annual General Meeting of the Tales after Tolkien Society was held during the 2018 International Congress on Medieval Studies. The meeting happened at 5:15pm local time in Bernhard 213 on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Geoffrey B. Elliott presided and recorded minutes; present by signature were Matthieu Boyd, Shiloh Carroll, Rachel Cooper, Dimitra Fimi, Andrew Higgins, Kris Larsen, Jewell Morow, John D. Rateliff, Luke Shelton, and Kris Swank.

The meeting offered two agenda items: panel proposals for the 2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies and elections for officers (per §4.2.2 and subsections in the Society Constitution). After discussion and refinement, and as accepted by the present membership, the panels to be proposed are

• The Legacy of Tolkien's Medievalism in Contemporary Works, which will examine the continuing influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on conceptions of the Middle Ages and medieval prevalent in academic and popular cultures; and
• Afterlives of Medieval Religion in Contemporary Works, which will look at how the post-Tolkien works that are the Society's focus mis/appropriate medieval religious constructions (and which will help to undergird the collection proposed during the 2017 AGM).

More formal CFPs will be forthcoming.

Elections were conducted by Social Media Officer Luke Shelton. Three of the four offices up for election had a single candidate nominated; per accepted motion from the floor, the ballot was accepted. The fourth office was elected from the floor. Results are

• Geoffrey B. Elliott, President 2018-2021
• Andrew Higgins, Vice-President (At-large) 2018-2020
• Luke Shelton, Vice-President (USA) 2018-2019
• Rachel Cooper, Secretary 2018-2020

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:45pm local time.

The Society thanks those whose terms have ended for their service and congratulates its new officers.

Updates to related pages are forthcoming as of this writing.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 4.4, "The Voltron Show!"

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In a welcome bit of silliness that pokes fun at many animation tropes, the Paladins find themselves putting on shows within their own show.

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4.4, "The Voltron Show!"

Written by Joshua Hamilton
Directed by Chris Palmer

Synopsis

The Paladins confer regarding their current status, noting that matters are improved and the rebellion against the Galra empire is increasing. Part of the upswing has resulted from the parades the Paladins have been doing across space, and Coran is tasked with seeing to the logistics of the next such event.

No, not going well.
Image taken from the episode, used for purposes of critique

It does not go well, and in its wake, a trader known to Coran offers him assistance in the form of a consciousness-altering medicament. When another of Coran's events goes poorly, he avails himself of the assistance--which takes the form of a parasite that attaches it to his brain.

Changes to his personality are immediate and noted--but they have the result of producing improved performances from the Paladins in their recruitment drives. Despite some complaints from the performers, the shows go over exceedingly well--until Shiro reminds Coran that their tour has a definite end and the Paladins need to go back to the overt, direct fight against the Galra. Coran rages at the seeming betrayal and engages local megafauna in a parasite-induced rage. A fracas ensues, although it takes some time for the danger to become clear; it begins amid the Paladins' last show, and they believe it part of the festivities--until the parasite is extracted from Coran and he warns them of the threat. It is swiftly dispatched--to the acclaim of the crowd--and the debriefing that follows is a relatively pleasant one.

Discussion

The referentiality of the present episode is delightful, with call-outs to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and to the various anime series that precede Voltron: Legendary Defender both in the overall Voltron franchise and in popular US conception, generally. While many of the jokes were doubtlessly lost on the expected primary audience of current children, the presumed secondary audience of those who were (nerdy) children in the 1980s and whose nostalgia for such media can be counted upon doubtlessly got most or all of them.

More to the point, while complaints about "spit and polish" likely go back as long as soldiering itself, it seems odd that the Paladins--most of whom are not much more than children and few if any of whom actually trained as warriors (Allura is the likely exception)--would chafe at an ultimately useful respite from active combat. That they are affected by their experiences is clear; Shiro's seeming PTSD is a recurring element of the series, after all, and even for those who are not drastically impacted by such concerns, the physical tolls of combat demand occasional rest. Too, as noted in the episode, the parades and performances have actual, useful effects on the numbers of recruits to the cause of overthrowing the Galra regime. It may not be particularly medieval, but, as has been noted before, a series that borrows from the medieval and medievalist cannot be expected always to adhere to them.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Re)Watch 4.3, "Black Site"

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Matters turn darker for the Paladins and one of their adversaries as an old threat returns to the forefront and makes itself known.

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4.3, "Black Site"

Written by Tim Hedrick
Directed by Steven In Chang Ahn

Synopsis

Aboard the Galra flagship, Haggar faces herself, revealed as an Altean, before she is summoned to an interrogation in progress. She intervenes in it, beginning to puzzle out Lotor's involvement in affairs.

Elsewhere, the Castle of Lions returns to the Alcari world, delivering personnel and materiel to the continuing war-efforts against the Galra. Pidge returns from the events of the previous episode and is greeted warmly--along with her brother, Matt, whom she introduces to those he doesn't know. He is smitten by Allura--and Lance grows immediately jealous. Shiro, Matt's old friend, greets him warmly, as well.

Back aboard the Galra ship, Zarkon is outfitted with armor and resumes his throne. Haggar reports events to him, and he chastises her before purposing to relieve Lotor of duty.

Matt receives a tour of the Castle of Lions and a frantic explanation of events. He is clearly pleased to see his sister at ease. Hunk asks after Matt's activities--he had been an intelligence agent after being freed from Galra prison. And Matt commends Pidge.

Inspecting work on his comet-made craft, Lotor receives a summons from Zarkon. That Lotor has plans independent of his father's throne is noted; he takes one of his lieutenants, Narti, with him to answer the summons.

In something of an aside, Allura and Corran address a cow that had been acquired in the Paladins' earlier adventures. Their confusion about the animal is clear.

Haggar greets Lotor and escorts him to Zarkon. Lotor greets his father and is relieved of command by him, utterly dismissed--to his quiet delight. Haggar notes oddities about him, but Zarkon discards them. Haggar, however, works on Narti in some strange way before she and Lotor return to Lotor's own plots.

Matt and Pidge continue to reconnect, and Matt ingratiates himself to the other Paladins, offering information to facilitate better reconnaissance. Lance, meanwhile amuses himself with trifles until interrupted by Corran and Allura--with the cow. He shows them how to handle the animal, scandalizing them utterly.

Upon his return, Lotor reports events. His own plans, however, have been proceeding apace in his absence--of which Haggar is now aware. The comet-craft are reported to Zarkon--and Zarkon's counter-plans begin, with Lotor now their target.

The Castle's Galra-detection network is enhanced, and new intelligence arrives. Pidge, Hunk, and Matt decode it, finding that Zarkon is returned and a massive troop movement is underway. The Paladins move to investigate before intervening in what is ultimately the attack on Lotor by the Galra. Lotor makes to flee as Voltron approaches under its new cloaking ability. Lotor realizes that Narti is the source of the Galra intelligence on his location and kills her without hesitation--and he escapes. A fight ensues, with Voltron making a quick escape as Lotor's forces do--and Zarkon declares Lotor outlaw.

Discussion

While Zarkon does not use the word "outlaw" to describe Lotor in his episode-ending message, the label applies--not in the sense American audiences might typically know from Westerns, but in the medieval legal sense. In that sense, the protections of the law do not apply to the person declared to be an outlaw--and the distinction is one that matters. Typically, a criminal who is not an outlaw is still entitled to some protections. That is, there are limits on the use of force against that person, and that person may still be entitled to some due process and acceptable penitence--a trial, by jury or by combat, to prove innocence, or the opportunity to pay a wergild to make restitution, or else an at-least-symbolic attempt to fulfill the terms of banishment, or outright imprisonment. Outlaws, however, have no such protection, no such expectation; as Zarkon declares of Lotor, no force applied against them is excessive, no clemency is to be extended them, and their deaths are not accounted murder or manslaughter, but of no more moment than the extermination of vermin.

It is of such things that rebellions are made--in the medieval imagination as well as in the world that does the imagining. The Robin Hood mythos centers around the title character being an outlaw, for one, and while Lotor is not so romantic a figure as Sherwood's archer, he does seem to represent a more sympathetic figure than his tyrannical father. The present episode may well be setting up such a notion--although it is decidedly thwarted by Lotor's ruthlessness towards his own lieutenant, which must make her comperes nervous about their own possible fates at his hands, even as they must fear what will befall them if the Galra forces find them. But that is also not unlike the medieval and its prevalent dynastic upset, with warriors finding themselves amid shifting loyalties and needing to be suspicious of all.

Reminders about Kalamazoo 2018

Just to remind everybody, the Annual General Meeting of the Tales after Tolkien Society will be held on Friday, 11 May 2018, at 5:15pm local time on the campus of Western Michigan University in Bernhard 213. Agenda items will be planning for future conferences and the election of new officers.

Nominations are still open for the President, Vice-president (At-large), Vice-president (US), and Secretary. If you're a member and would like to take an office (it's good CV-building!) or retain one, or you know a member who would, please let us know!

We hope to see our members there!