'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 12: Best Laid Plans

Best Laid Plans

The first part of the season's final battle is impressive with a consistent focus on the Zarkon defeat plan.  However, the way the team puts everything together not only gets them closer to their goal, but also leaves several impacts from the characters’ moments. 

Keith in particular stands out among the heroes by offering to infiltrate Zarkon’s base, being of Galra blood himself, to input a code to make it susceptible to viruses, which Pidge will provide.  It’s great to see how far Keith has come, playing to his usual traits of willfully sticking to his risky ideas, but having strong reasons to validate them.  There’s also a heartfelt scene between him and Allura before he leaves.  Allura has had a lot of Galra prejudice throughout the season which wasn’t always comfortable, with some disdain towards Keith becoming more prominent recently.  For her to confirm to Keith that she’s become less judgmental through seeing him and the Paladins as family is great, and shows that her views are not all black and white. 

With the antagonists, they continue to improve as well.  The trend of good members of the Galra is as strong as ever. Much of their moments are spent on interrogating the member they found out allowed the Paladins to escape a while back, a commander named Thace.  Even the empire's emperor is shown to have humanity.  Zarkon has had the black lion, the Voltron lion he used to pilot long ago, on his mind, but now, his desire to get it back has become very obsessive. It’s starting to get in the way of the Galra Empire maintaining control of the galaxy right down to falling for Shiro’s trap of using the lion as bait to get his base to the teludav.  The obsession is a relatable flaw to anyone, so the audience can see a part of themselves in the main villain. 

As for Thace, it’s a bit contrived that Haggar’s druids let him go while Zarkon’s absorbing energy to track the black lion.  The druids could’ve kept him cuffed up during that time and what later happens could’ve been avoided.  Even if we don’t have a logical explanation for them letting Thace go, his moment with Keith is thrilling and impactful.  Thace helps Keith by trying to enact the code needed to shut down the anti-virus system, but the druids changed the code.   With that, Thace turns the control room into a bomb and lets Keith escape while he stays behind to fight the druids before the bomb explodes, sacrificing himself in the process.  It’s not as impactful as Ulaz’s sacrifice since we don’t know as much about Thace, but the lengths this Galra soldier goes through for the greater good are still of high value. 

With all these character actions in place, the episode reaches an exciting climax where the whole team rushes to move their big teludav over Zarkon’s base now infected with Pidge’s virus while the Voltron lions reassemble.  It’s a grand sequence that impresses with how well it works after many episodes of buildup, thus making a perfect moment of satisfaction to make worth out of the trouble and sacrifices made prior.  However, when the episode ends with a statement that this is just the beginning and the Paladins forming Voltron, the excitement remains as you’re left with something to look forward to next time. 

With all this said, all the shining character moments and the built-up climax really delivering make this a truly great penultimate episode for Season 2. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Shiro’s Escape
2. Best Laid Plans
3. Greening the Cube
4. The Blade of Marmora
5. Escape from Beta Traz
6. The Ark of Taujeer
7. Eye of the Storm
8. Stayin’ Alive
9. The Belly of the Weblum
10. Across the Universe
11. The Depths
12. Space Mall

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode of this season which sets the next steps of the plan into motion and leads to big game changing results.

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 9: The Belly of the Weblum

The Belly of the Weblum

The Paladins all have their own distinct personalities as well as their own bonds with other teammates.  Keith, for example, has attitude issues, but also clearly has a good heart as he slowly prepares to become a potential leader for the Paladins, mostly teaming up with Shiro.  This episode shakes things up by teaming him up with another Paladin, the kind-hearted overly nervous Hunk, which is a good way to exercise his leadership skills by bonding with the rest of the team more. 

It happens when, following a light-hearted explanation on the team’s new plan to defeat Zarkon, they split up with Keith and Hunk assigned to collect huge teludav lenses from the inside of a giant planet-eating worm called a weblum.  On the way, there are some nice interactions from Keith and Hunk.  It’s not just their personality clashes that stand-out.  After learning that Keith is part-Galra from the Blade of Marmora, Keith himself feels uncomfortable about being around the team, particularly feeling that Allura, who’s frequently been harboring major Galra prejudices throughout this season, hates him now.  Hunk, despite being nervous about the new information, still treats him as a friend and teammate which is very endearing.  In fact, there are little to no moments of anyone being affected by Keith being part-Galra, and the most we see of Allura is one little look of discomfort at Keith which makes it feel like Keith is worrying about nothing.  If there were more scenes of others reacting to the information, Keith would be more justified to feel how he does. 

As for the weblum, how Keith and Hunk learn about it continues the trend of fun light-hearted material delivering serious information. It’s through a 10,000-year-old video with Coran explaining about the creature as if he’s doing an infomercial.  With a peppy attitude and working with a cute Altean in a weblum costume, Coran’s video is another entertaining highlight for the episode.  Another thing that makes the instructional video stand out is how it keeps skipping information due to its age.  It seems like an amusing side effect at first, but it plays to the dangers of Keith and Hunk actually facing the weblum without knowing what to do.  Eventually, when the information comes too late, there’s a mad dash to utilize it to get away from harm and inside the beast through its blind spot. 

From there, the two Paladins search for the teludav lenses inside the weblum via many creative challenges.  They’re pursued by the worm’s antibodies which seem too cute to be dangerous, Hunk is set down a wild slide of the bloodstream, and he only escapes through literally getting farted out, making for possibly the most productive fart I’ve seen in a show.  Hunk also gets a crowning moment by shooting at the weblum’s face, breaking the number-one safety rule which is the right thing to do to help obtain the teludav lenses.  Keith’s moment in the weblum is saving a Galra soldier trapped inside, claiming that Paladins should help everyone in need, even if they are Galra.  It seems like the soldier’s on his side through watching his back and helping him out of trouble.  However, in the end, the soldier takes some lenses and leaves Keith behind which doesn’t tie into his genuine help earlier.  You could argue that the soldier was hiding his true intentions, but in a season that’s showing not all members of a villainous race are bad, it doesn’t feel appropriate. 

Regardless, with an interesting rarely-seen character dynamic, legitimately entertaining moments to convey big information, and more of a sense of imagination to its missions help the episode stand strong. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Shiro’s Escape
2. Greening the Cube
3. The Blade of Marmora
4. The Ark of Taujeer
5. Eye of the Storm
6. The Belly of the Weblum
7. Across the Universe
8. The Depths
9. Space Mall

The next Voltron: Legendary Defender review covers a jailbreak featuring Shiro, Pidge, and Lance as we explore their part of putting the defeat plan together.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a look at another Steven Universe episode, "Keystone Motel."

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora

The Blade of Marmora

This episode begins the next phase of the plan to defeat Zarkon by allying with the Blade of Marmora. 

In addition to consisting of Galra members against Zarkon, more interesting details are revealed about how the organization works.  Their base is located between two active black holes.  The members are also suspicious of newcomers and aren’t easily convinced to join the alliance, even if they’re the universe’s best defender.  These reveals add on to the creativity of their environment and the believability of its members’ mindset.  They’re fighting against their leader, so that gives great cause for caution. 

As for the Paladins, Keith is the standout character for this episode.  When approaching these Galra traitors, he’s completely anxious to get there, and snaps at the rest of the Paladins as they partake in their usual small talk.  Keith is known for attitude issues, but when you consider Keith observing his Galra blade in prior episodes, his outbursts have more weight to them than usual.  Of course he’d be anxious to meet these rebels so to learn more about the artifact to find out the truth about his upbringings, a very relatable desire.  The Blade of Marmora only allow two Paladins to speak with them, and Keith is chosen to go with Shiro. 

However, it’s Keith’s ties to his blade that becomes a drawback when the whole group accuses him of stealing it even though he had it all his life.  So, Keith is thrown into challenges to get the Blade of Marmora on the Paladins’ side, prove he didn’t steal the Galra blade, and possibly learn about his past.  The catch is that every challenge is a grueling fight that gets harsher every time, and everyone shoots down any valid statements of how unfair they are.  It’s remarkable to see how much hardships Keith’s willing to put up with to get what he desires.  It doesn’t paint the Blade of Marmora as very sympathetic though.  They may be understandably wary of outsiders, but Keith’s a main protector of the galaxy regardless.  It doesn’t warrant this magnitude of tortures. 

What they do to Keith gets worse when they mess with his desires, starting small with creating a vision of Shiro to get Keith to hand over the blade, and then tapping into Keith’s bigger desire to learn his background.  At least out of this vision, we do get an interesting look at Keith’s Earth life in which he had a human dad who got the Galra blade from his mom whom we get an interesting suggestion for who she is following Keith ending his suffering.  Knowing that he promised Shiro to lead the team someday, Keith decides that learning where he came from isn’t as important as being there for others and decides to give up his blade before anyone can save him. 

Through this gesture, the blade grows in size because Keith is of Galra blood.  When you put this and the vision together, this concludes that Keith’s mother was from the Galra Empire which is interesting trivia for this character and something intriguing to look into in episodes to come.  Keith’s development does wonders for him not just with the insight on his background, but also how what he learns helps him overcome his attitude faults to become a better leader. 

It helps the whole episode come together as a great step in our heroes’ plan especially when short scenes of Haggar interrogating Zarkon’s crew to find the traitor bring a strong sense of urgency.  Above all, it leaves us with a strong, thought-provoking watch. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Shiro’s Escape
2. Greening the Cube
3. The Blade of Marmora
4. The Ark of Taujeer
5. Eye of the Storm
6. Across the Universe
7. The Depths
8. Space Mall

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Paladins split up to get the appropriate components for their Zarkon defeat plan and we focus on what Keith and Hunk get up to.

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 7: Space Mall

Space Mall

This episode offers significant progression on the main plot following up on the previous episode’s reveal that Zarkon keeps finding the Paladins because of his strong connection to the black lion.  Its current Paladin, Shiro, sets off to rectify this issue by making his own connection with the black lion stronger so Zarkon can’t overpower it every time Voltron is formed. 

Given the title of this episode, there’s also a lot of focus on the rest of the team going to a space mall for replacement teludav lenses for wormholes.  The mall trip plays out like a comedy with everyone getting up to some wild and crazy antics.  The mall perfectly resembles a common Earth one, meaning the only thing to set it apart from ordinary malls are the alien creatures who work and shop there.  The antics at the mall are very fun and play to each of the characters’ personalities. Hunk is forced to pay off a debt at a food court washing dishes but becomes chef thanks to his culinary interests. Keith gets caught in an auction for his Galra blade.  Lance and Pidge look for money to get a game console.  Coran winds up in an energetic bidding spree for the lenses at a shop resembling an old alien swap meet. 

Some of these antics allow many characters to shine like Hunk becoming a chef bringing something impressive out of his constant thoughts of food, and a deeper look into Keith’s Galra roots through his protection of his blade, suggesting it’s from his family.  All the same, it’s concerning that these subplots take up a lot of the episode. They’re fun sequences, but that’s all they are.  They only exist for humor’s sake and that’s a problem when your show is heavily plot-driven.  There’s more focus on the light-hearted mall scenes than far more important ones like Coran getting the lenses, which doesn’t feel right.  If they existed in short scenes like humorous moments in other episodes, that would be a much better way of integrating them while still focusing on the main story. 

Fortunately, enough time is devoted to the most important plot information we have at this point.  Referring back to Shiro attempting to bond with the black lion, this part is done insightfully.  When he goes to his lion, it flies to Zarkon’s home planet, and grants Shiro visions of when Zarkon piloted it, forming Voltron with other original Paladins including Allura’s father, King Alfor.  Zarkon was even able to unlock powers of the lion that Shiro hasn’t.  The memories are interrupted when Zarkon locates the black lion again, and Shiro ends up fighting the leader of the Galra Empire inside his mind.  It nicely interprets how strong Zarkon’s connection to the black lion is with him constantly popping up around Shiro who can’t strike a blow.  However, as soon as Shiro points out that the true bond to a lion depends on trust, the black lion sides with him which helps him win a fight he could’ve lost.  Then there’s the interesting twist that everything Shiro saw, even leaving, was just a vision set up by the lion, implying that the strengthening of Shiro’s bond was all in his mind, and the growth was all done through his power.  It’s an interesting and creative depiction of overcoming one’s innermost turmoil and a great one to lead into the next phase of our heroes’ mission. 

The episode still loses points for giving too much focus to frivolous stuff no matter how fun it is, but it’s still enjoyable and several moments offer great plot and character progression that must be seen to be believed. 8/10

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
7. Space Mall

The next Voltron: Legendary Defender review officially introduces us to the Blade of Marmora while also brings interesting reveals about Keith.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is another review of a Steven Universe episode, "Chille Tid."

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'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.

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 17: Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2 Episode 1: Across the Universe

While adhering to this new review practice, I've decided that it’s high time I get back to talking about the second season of the first Netflix original series I've ever seen:

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Season 2)

Basic Premise

I must admit that Netflix isn’t that huge of a provider of interesting animated TV shows, either original or acquired, to look into for potential reviews, at least to me.  At the very least, there is one original animated series from the popular streaming site for me to frequently check out, and that is Voltron: Legendary Defender.  Thanks to one of my friends inspiring me to check it out, I found a very good way to expand my entertainment horizons and offer a fresh, first-time perspective of a show I’m simply getting to know, and through reviewing the first season a while back, I say it’s pretty great. 

It’s an epic galactic apace battle saga at its core with a distinct cast of characters to follow all throughout with a story that gets bigger with every new challenge they have to face.  The premise itself is quite imaginative in which the fate of the universe rests in the hands of five small robot lions that form one large robot who defends the innocent from an evil empire. The catch is that the pilots of the lions, called Paladins, are mostly inexperienced when it comes to piloting and fighting and need the constant guidance of the two survivors of a planet wiped out by the Galra Empire which adds to the intensity of the mission. 

For the most part, each episode really delivers on an exciting scale you’d expect epic action series to.  It is held back from a lack of character development and the villains all coming off as the same dark and serious character, but every new season offers huge possibilities to expand upon areas previous ones didn’t, and since the first season impressed me significantly, I’m open to see what’s done with Season 2.

A huge reason for excitement on exploring Season 2 is how much the first one left me wanting more.  I mean, our Paladins were forced to go to the Galra Empire headquarters to save their princess leader, Allura.  Although they did rescue her, they got totally overpowered, mostly through overconfidence on Keith’s part, and in Shiro’s case getting hurt both mentally and physically.  Even when they escaped with the help of a mysterious traitor to Galra, things remained intense with the season ending with the whole team separated while going through a corrupted wormhole. 

As a result, we’re left with an exciting point to work off of with much promise for even more excitement.  In order to see exactly what great adventures we’re in for this season, I’ll just sign into my Netflix account, select the show and rejoin the Paladins for a lion’s share of Voltron action.

Now on with the reviews:

Across the Universe

The follow-up to the Season 1 finale features some of our heroes in various escapades after getting separated in the wormhole jump that helped them escape Zarkon. 

There’s a demonstration of how distinct they are with how they approach everything that happens to them in the galaxies they end up in.  They may have a huge responsibility of protecting the entire galaxy, but they’re still human beings with their own day-to-day problems to deal with.  In addition, there are imaginative interpretations of the galaxy from a few places and scenarios. 

Specifically, this episode features Pidge stuck on a trash nebula with no one to help her, Allura and Coran struggling to escape the compromised wormhole, and Keith saving Shiro, who was wounded by Zarkon’s witch wife Haggar, from a pack of strange aliens.  These subplots have different forms of appeal. 

There’s nothing too special about what Pidge gets up to since she just stays where she is until someone finds her.  However, it’s still cute and funny when she befriends a flock of cute fuzzy multi-colored aliens and her interactions with them are very sweet.  As for humor, it stems from her me-time which includes making dummies of her friends and poking fun of their quirks which is honestly a good interpretation of the basic personas and lack of development for some of them.  Pidge does still sees the good in her team when her technical know-how gets an old satellite working which ties into another subplot. 

Allura and Coran’s part is filled with creativity as they directly deal with the effects of the wormhole while piloting their castle ship.  Every time they go through it, they hit a black void that keeps them stuck and affects everyone with the mice becoming different creatures and Coran getting significantly younger, yet for some unexplained reason Allura is unaffected which holds the subplot back.  What's more, Coran’s personality changes with his degrading age are funny, and he surprisingly gets good ideas to get out of the mess the younger he gets, even if they don’t work.  Not to mention, it’s suspenseful when getting younger puts him in danger of disappearing forever. 

Shiro and Keith’s subplot is even more suspenseful though with Shiro stuck in a weakened state in a cramped cave with monstrous aliens outside.  Given how brash he was at Zarkon's base, you might think that Keith wouldn’t be effective as his rescuer, but he impresses through being resourceful and patient as he fends off the aliens and even gets the trust of Shiro’s lion.  This subplot is also the most impactful for ending with Shiro asking Keith to lead the Paladins if something happens to him which gives the story something to look forward to while also starting a nice character arc for Keith. 

Also impactful is an ending scene of the leaders of the Galra Empire, Zarkon and Haggar, setting out to find out who helped Voltron escape their grasp.  We start getting some new layers to the villains’ personalities when one of their own, Commander Prorok, shows genuine fear when the leaders imprison him for letting it happen.  This too sets up an arc where they try to find the traitor, and the fact that their own crew begins to fear them does start to paint the Galra Empire as more than just a seriously evil threat. 

Overall, while this premiere is mainly a showcase of various character moments and creative scenes, it’s a great way to ease us back into adventures with the main cast with distinct and appealing personalities and even a few starts of potentially beneficial arcs. 9/10

The next Voltron: Legendary Defender review will cover the galaxy Lance and Hunk ended up in which is inhabited by seductive mermaids.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews, we'll be covering the second episode of Steven Universe Season 2, "Joy Ride."

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Voltron: Legendary Defender reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.