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.