Sunday, April 28, 2019

Red Paladin (Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 3 Episode 2) - 'Toon Reviews 31

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Red Paladin
 
 
The feelings of loss continue here along with new dynamics between the Paladins and lions.  Everyone is still broken up by the loss of Shiro as well as worried about how they can possibly work as a team without their leadership.  That’s not even considering the concerns over where to find a new Paladin for the black lion. 
Keith reveals Shiro’s wishes about how Keith should take over as leader if something happens to him.  Now that Shiro is gone, Keith is in the clear for that position, but he openly states that he can’t take it which is telling of his inner struggles.  He’s aware of his own flaws and the pressures he genuinely doesn’t feel up for.  As for the rest of the team, they want the leader position for themselves.  There are tests where each one goes to the black lion to activate it.  Many of them provide a good number of laughs for the episode with everyone’s feeble attempts. 
Keith is ultimately the Paladin the black lion accepts, so he has to be the leader whether he likes it or not.  It does bring up another legit concern over his reluctance.  They got a pilot for the black lion, but that leaves the red lion without one.  This brings a particular emotional scene with Allura.  As someone who’s strived to find Paladins for the good of the universe, she sees this as a time to be one herself.  When the red lion doesn’t respond to her, you can feel her pain of feeling she let down not just the universe, but her people who have long since been wiped out. 
During this drama, we get a lot of great moments with Prince Lotor.  He proves to follow his philosophy of conquering planets by convincing their leaders to join him as opposed to outright killing everyone.  It’s a smart move we see in action, which is also part of a ploy to get the Voltron lions to come to him.  During this time, we see the difficulties coming from Keith as the leader.  Only three lions can go, and they can’t fight properly.  That’s where the episode gets interesting when Lance is unable to take control of his blue lion.  As someone who I’ve viewed as the least productive Paladin, the genuine sorrow over not controlling the lion brings out great endearment from Lance.  He reflects on his inabilities to take things seriously and wishes he can improve.  It works in an effective twist where admitting his shortcomings and accepting Keith as the new leader makes him the new pilot for the red lion.  So Lance proudly becomes the new red Paladin, and shortly after that, Allura ends up surprising everyone by gaining control of the blue lion. 
All five lions show up for the already intense battle, but Lotor demands that his troops retreat having seen what needs to be seen.  For all the excitement the action built up throughout the episode, it’s disappointing that we get such an anti-climactic payoff.  The emotions of everyone accepting their new roles though is very strong, and we end with great anticipation of Keith uses his own talents as leader.  He puts a tracker on Lotor’s ship, and commands the other Paladins to follow it. 
This episode ends up being a heartwarming story of learning to accept change enhanced by great moments from the major characters and creative occurrences.

A
Season 3 Rankings
1.      Red Paladin

2.      Changing of the Guard
The next Voltron: Legendary Defender review shows that Keith still has a lot to learn about being leader as he accidentally leads the Paladins into Lotor's trap.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the Steven Universe masterpiece, "Mindful Education."
If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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