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Things Get Weird in 'Voltron's' Fifth Season

Netflix's 'Voltron' Fifth Season Review

By Matthew DonnellonPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Image: Netflix

I can still remember the first time I saw Voltron. We had just gotten cable and I finally had access to Cartoon Network. This was a big deal to a 7-year-old. It was the first channel I put on after my dad told me the cable was working. It was one of the more influential moments of my childhood as I turned it on just as Toonami was starting. Children of the 90s will remember the cartoon block that dominated afterschool programming and I was no different. Voltron came on after Thundercats, another great animated show that might work well with a reboot (i know this was tried once before but maybe Netflix can do it right). Voltron was great. Five lions came together to fight giant alien robots. It made zero sense, but I was hooked. Also, when I was seven I didn’t notice that every episode was pretty much the same.

So, the fifth season of Voltron came out. I’m using the word season loosely though. This section is only six episodes. More on that later though.

I don’t want to spoil anything here so, in short, it's not bad. It's still entertaining. The action scenes are great. The animation is well done. And, there are a few moments that you wouldn’t want to miss if you’ve been watching it this long.

Spoilers for the Fifth Season of Voltron

Pidge getting her father was great to see and it’s the culmination of a plot point from all the way back in season 1. Though, it was bittersweet to see him leave so soon. Also, it dawned on me that Pidge is the only person to see her family since the team left Earth. It was smart of the show to acknowledge it. I don’t recall if they’ve mentioned how long they’ve been gone, but it’s been a while.

Prince Lotor was interesting this season. Superficially, he has renounced the Galra ways and wants to build a peaceful empire. I spent this entire season waiting for him to turn on the group, but he didn’t. I’m positive that he’s going to but it keeps the tension building. He also seems to have charmed Allura much to Lance’s chagrin.

His fight scene with Zarkon was amazing. The action was great and it was animated perfectly. I’m not quite sure how he was able to use the black bayard but seeing it transform into a couple different weapons was pretty neat. However, it didn’t seem to be the best time for the fight. I fully wasn’t expecting Zarkon to die and it happened in the middle of the season and not by the hands of the protagonists. It was nice to be surprised, but it messed with the season’s pacing. It felt like they had to fill the later couple episodes with discount villains.

The fight highlighted another aspect of this season. Shiro gave the Bayard to Lotor without asking Allura. In theory, this is his right as the black paladin. But, that’s not how any of the decisions have been made previously. This season showed some tension between Shiro and Allura. I guess the show is trying to write a way for Shiro to leave, but it’s kind of silly as they’ve made this move before, and Keith didn’t work as the leader. However, Shiro, and Allura hinted that Lance might be the next leader. Perhaps Lotor becomes a paladin if Keith stays with the Blade of Memora.

The final episode is where things start to get crazy. I know I’m already watching a show about teenagers flying robot lion ships, but it got a little weird. Lotor and Allura started glowing and then they tried to enter a “white hole” which is the opposite of a black hole. However, Voltron was stopped by a guardian white lion made of quintessence. Then Allura merges with the white lion and she enters another dimension and learns how to use Altean alchemy. It was a little trippy.

The season was a little jumbled but one thing I wish would happen less is whenever they get in trouble the solution always seems to believe in themselves and suddenly Voltron gets stronger. Several fights end with one of them jamming their Bayard into the slot harder than they normally do and it unlocks some hidden power.

Random Thoughts

The mixed up color schemes bug me so much. Lance should have just got the red uniform and Allura the blue.

No matter how much I try not to see it, Lance is just space Sokka to me.

Shiro’s Galra hand always seemed kind of lame to me. They could have done so many cool things with it but all it does is glow. It’s so boring.

Keith’s mom showing up was pretty rushed. They hixnted at that all last season and then she just appears and there’s no time left to address it.

Half the time Pidge’s Bayard seems super useful and half the time it seems super lame.

I really think they are trying to set up Lance becoming the Black Paladin.

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About the Creator

Matthew Donnellon

Twitter: m_donnellon

Instagram: msdonnellonwrites

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