Saturday, June 2, 2018

'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 6: The Ark of Taujeer


The Ark of Taujeer







This adventure is a big display of this show’s creativity and has the benefit of everything that happens coming together to develop characters and answer one of the biggest questions of the Paladins. 
Regarding how Zarkon constantly locks onto the Paladins no matter how far they go, we already have the possibility that Allura might be giving them away.  However, this episode provides another possibility tying into the past few episodes featuring short scenes of Keith pensively looking at a blade with a Galra symbol.  Although it’s never outright stated, there are hints that Keith has a bit of Galra inside him.  When everyone talks about how Zarkon keeps finding them, Keith says that he may be the reason claiming that Zarkon left a mark on him when they fought. 
Later, when he decides to leave to protect the team with Allura, he advocates that not all of the Galra are evil, even if his suggestion is shot down by Allura.  From these moments, we get a few sides that make Keith more interesting.  Not only is the idea of him being of Galra blood a remarkable possible attribute, but him believing there are good Galra out there shows how despite his tempers, he’s still considerate and open-minded, which means a lot contrasting to Allura’s biased attitude on the subject.  However, despite good intentions, it gets concerning that they’re abandoning their posts where they perform all their vital tasks with Keith helping to form Voltron and Allura piloting the castle, which the Paladins even bring up, and those tasks are desperately required in the episode’s mission. 
The mission provides the episode’s creativity, taking place on the Galra-controlled planet of Taujeer.  It’s inhabited by blobby figures with intercoms at their faces and talk with a robot filter to their voices.  The problem they face is also creative.  The outer layer of Taujeer is decaying like a layer of dry skin, exposing the aliens to deadly acid, and the Galra forces expect them to survive it, so they cut one of the engines on the escape ark.  This part of the episode mostly consists of four of the five Paladins doing what they can to keep Taujeer safe which is difficult without Keith, and a Galra attack, which proves that he and Allura were not giving the team away, makes it worse. 
Speaking of the attack, there’s a lot of time devoted to the commander in charge, Morvok, one of the more fleshed out members of the Galra Empire.  Rather than just acting menacingly, there’s an enjoyable edge as he shows a lot of focus on the possible quirks of fulfilling his mission and how over-the-top he is when commanding his troops.  He stands out among the villains for being both threatening and somewhat entertaining. 
As for the Paladins, following Coran’s hilarious attempt to pilot the red lion in Keith’s absence, the episode’s biggest reveal comes when the lion runs off and retrieves Keith and Allura just as they decide to go back to the team.  This allows Voltron to be formed, spelling Morvok’s defeat and the Taujeerians’ rescue.  The red lion locating its Paladin might not sound big, but this little moment has a lot of weight. A lion has a strong connection to its Paladin even when they’re really far apart.  The black lion once belonged to Zarkon, so his connection with that lion is strong enough to track the Paladins.  It’s impressive that Keith and Allura thinking they’re endangering everyone and everything to the mission ties into this huge reveal, allowing the story to really progress. 
Along with the interesting character developments and creative aliens and planet, it’s an ark worth getting on for a great episode. 9.5/10
The Ranking
  1. Shiro’s Escape
  2. Greening the Cube
  3. The Ark of Taujeer
  4. Eye of the Storm
  5. Across the Universe
  6. The Depths
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next Voltron: Legendary Defender episode where Shiro aiming to get better connected with his Voltron lion is told alongside a trip to a space mall.
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