Sunday, May 5, 2019

Hole in the Sky (Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 3 Episode 4) - 'Toon Reviews 31

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Hole in the Sky


One of the most mature moments of the series is Allura’s driving force to lead the Paladins to victory over the Galra Empire.  Her home planet, Altea, was completely wiped out while she and Coran were in hyper-sleep for thousands of years.  Now, anything that could dispel this harsh fact of life runs the risk of devaluing such a heavy tone.  However, this time, it brings a false sense of hope about people who seem flawless.  Not to mention, the unfolding events set up an interesting new direction for the Paladins’ ultimate goals. 
They get Altean distress signals from a nearby wormhole where a ship is stuck.  The wormhole is destructive to average ships, but Voltron is somehow immune to it.  All throughout this adventure, Keith is unsure and brings up a legit point that this setup could be a trap.  While it can be argued that it’s unwise for Allura not to consider this strong possibility, it makes sense on an emotional scale.  Evidence towards the idea of her people surviving out there is an exciting discovery, so she has a human reaction to want to look into it. 
What follows Voltron entering that wormhole leads to an impactful philosophy on life.  The inside of the wormhole is an alternate reality where not only have all Alteans survived, but they also dominate.  They also see Allura as an Empress as opposed to a Princess, and have followed her orders following the death of their father King Alfor.  Truth be told, Allura’s preconceived notions about good coming from investigating the wormhole feel like they were correct all along.  The Alteans seem warm and welcoming to their visitors, and their push for peace is genuine. 
Then you consider the ways they achieve it.  They’ve been after a comet whose ore contains the most powerful minerals in the universe, and the Voltron lions are one of many things it has made.  The comet will help make more powerful weapons to destroy anyone who disagrees with their approach to peace.  They’ve already gotten started with that by creating mind control devices that remove any beings free will and make them do the Altean’s bidding.  As the Paladins point out, this is borderline slavery, though the Alteans refuse to admit that since they have no will to give into enemies. 
It’s believably hard for Allura to accept this dark practice of her people, but the Paladins are there to bring her to her senses.  The biggest objection comes from Keith who reminds her that completely wiping people out is not the answer.  After all, they only just learned that not all Galra are bad.  So Allura ends up defying her own people for the Paladins who are clearly against these practices.  With the help of rebels, including an alternate version of Slav, known for calculating probabilities of survival, they escape and bring back the comet. 
Just before this episode can be written off as a one-off, Lotor suddenly appears and seizes the comet, enhancing the possibility of a Galra weapon as mighty as Voltron.  It really shows how well-calculating Lotor is as a villain despite being seen as a traitor to his own kind.  The episode ends on a bittersweet note as the enemy escapes with the most dangerous metal possible along with a dark look at what could have happened if the Alteans got it.  However, it’s great that a new big mission is in store for the Paladins, and everyone is reminded that there’s more to good and bad people than one may think.
A+

Season 3 Rankings

1.      Hole in the Sky

2.      Red Paladin

3.      Changing of the Guard

4.      The Hunted

 
The next Voltron: Legendary Defender review looks into what Shiro had gotten up to after disappearing during the attack on Zarkon.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Onion Gang" from Steven Universe.
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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