- Shiro: I don't think they've heard of us.
Keith: It has been ten thousand years.
Lance: Voltron? Five robot lions that combine into this big robot... guy?
Rolo: Sounds impressive. I'd love to see it. Or him. Them.
The Castle of Lions is finally ready to depart on its first mission to save the Balmera from Galra control, but a distress signal along the way leads the group to a pair of shady freedom fighters in need of aid.
Tropes:
- Activation Sequence:
- Early on, there's a sequence where Allura and Coran prepare the castle for flight, activating various systems until it finally launches into space.
- Later, we have another one as the Galra Druids test their quintessence-draining machine for the first time. It doesn't say what exactly they're doing, but various parts of the ship start glowing in sequence until it begins drawing life energy from the planet below into space.
- Aesop Amnesia: Hunk mentions that the last time the castle let their defenses down, Lance nearly got killed by a bomb. Lance remembers this for a few hours before he gets suckered by Nyma into showing off the Blue Lion to her.
- Asteroid Thicket: Rolo tries to lose the crew in one of these, but Keith is able to use the Red Lion's speed and agility to keep up with him.
- Chained to a Bed: Nyma catches Lance off-guard and ties him to a tree. He first has a sly grin before she leaves him and takes the Blue Lion.
- Character Development: Hunk has become more Properly Paranoid and less of a Cowardly Lion to repay the favor he owed to Shay, recalling what happened in the previous two episodes.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Nyma is this to Lance who can't help but try and show off in front of her.
- Double Take: Lance tries to shake his head clear after Pidge tells Allura to launch the castle ship. He's still trying to process that Pidge was a girl and now he has to deal with the fact that the castle is a ship; he wonders in confusion on how long he'd been out.
- Everybody Knew Already: The only person surprised by Pidge's reveal that she's a girl is Lance. Everyone else either knew already (Shiro), figured it out (Hunk, Keith), was informed (Allura), or plain didn't know that it was a secret (Coran).
- Faking Engine Trouble: Played With. Hunk realizes belatedly that the freedom fighters' ship wasn't broken because, as he explains to his team, only one pipe was cracked when the whole engineering should have been busted. This means Rolo had sabotaged his own ship.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: The bounty hunters Rolo and Nyma after everything is done give this as a reason for their actions, it's pretty obvious that for once they are speaking the truth. Seems under Galra rule, you are either a criminal or a slave.
- Foil: Shay, the "hero" in the previous arc, risked her life and safety to get Hunk and Coran off the Balmera with a crystal. Rolo and Nyma in contrast are criminals on the run from Galra, and they take advantage of Team Voltron's developing Samaritan Syndrome to earn a pardon and a bounty.
- Gambit Roulette: Rolo and Nyma were counting on many factors on luring in the Lions to win the bounty: that Team Voltron would answer their distress signal, that they'd be allowed on the ship to get close to the Lions (and Nyma was only due to Lance being a Casanova Wannabe), and that the other Lions wouldn't be able to give chase.
- Honey Trap: Casanova Wannabe Lance falls for one named Nyma, getting the Blue Lion stolen.
- I Knew There Was Something About You: After hearing Lance tell them over the comm channel that Rolo and Nyma stole the Blue Lion, Hunk goes on a long-winded rant about how he knew the aliens were deceiving them.
- Internal Reveal: Pidge decides to confess to everyone that she's a girl. Lance is the only one shocked by this.
- Irony: As Hunk points out, Keith really did bust up Rolo and Nyma's ship when before they were Faking Engine Trouble, but Team Voltron isn't going to help out this time with repairs or spare parts. Rolo's just grateful that he and Nyma don't receive a death sentence.
- Jaw Drop: Lance has a long one after Pidge reveals she's a girl.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After Taking Advantage of Generosity and Faking Engine Trouble to steal one of the Lions, Rolo's ship does end up sabotaged for real due to the fight with the Red Lion, and Team Voltron leaves them for another ship to find.
- Mugging the Monster: It's not a good idea to steal one Lion from the Castle of Lions when there are four more that will take it back.
- Mythology Gag: The classic "Activate interlock, dynotherms connected, mega-thrusters are go" command used to form Voltron in the original series is now the command for getting the Castle of Lions ready to launch.
- Not So Above It All: When Pidge starts comparing Altean "ticks" to Earth seconds, everyone takes interest, even the generally serious Shiro and always grumpy Keith. Justified in that knowing how to measure time is quite crucial while traversing the galaxy.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hunk is the one being brusque with the freedom fighters?! He justifies it as needing to go rescue Shay because he and Coran owe her for saving them in turn.
- Parental Bonus: Lance begins to comment on Nyma cuffing him to the tree until Rolo cuts him off as he retrieves Nyma from the ship.
- Properly Paranoid: Hunk is the only one to not trust the "freedom fighters". Unsurprisingly, he is proven correct.
- Samaritan Syndrome: Allura mentions that Paladins must help anyone in need, without playing favorites.
- She's Not My Girlfriend: Hunk practically badgering the others that they had to hurry back to the Balmera to save Shay gets him teased, especially from Pidge who uses a Mocking Sing-Song voice to say that he was "excited to see his new girlfriend". Hunk quickly claims Shay wasn't his girlfriend but a rock that he met and admired very much.
- Something Only They Would Say: The crew realizes Lance is fully healed when he flirts with Allura and denies that he and Keith had bonded.
