Netflix's Voltron: Legendary Defender

OK, I just got done with the season. All together, I like it more than season one, but I do have to agree it works more if taken as the second half of a whole season.

Well I'm done with season 2. What do I do now

edited 21st Jan '17 8:07:07 AM by Cailleach

Well, I just finished it up a few minutes ago, and for the most part, I liked it. Again, this feels like "Season 1, Part 2" and viewing both as one big season seems to help a lot since the majority of the characterization issues of one group getting screentime over another are fixed when looking at it that way.

Anyway, spoiler time.

1. Coran's brief cameo as Major Armstrong was something to behold. That whole spat of intro episodes was pretty good, but again, Hunk is reduced to a fat joke. 2. Hunk didn't get that much time to do anything this season. Even with a brief Shay cameo, Hunk not being there felt kinda...meh. 3. More giant robot fights, a definite plus. They didn't feel completely like the Puzzle Bosses from before, although I'm glad that for the most part, Voltron's new weapons came out when it made sense. 4. Lot of Gurren Lagann references. The art shifts happen again, Pidge's glasses in the space mall, and the first Robeast was definitely homaging a Gunman. 5. Keith finally has a personality! And it looks like they are definitely pushing a Keith/Allura slow burning romance. Part of me feels like it's going "Hey, let's do Katara/Zuko, AND GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME!" I have no objections. Maybe it's just me liking slow burn romances, although it could always stay platonic. 6. I always love in super robot anime where the villain really wants a robot, (In this case the Black Lion) when he has a better one in the back. You literally have Anubis from Zoneof The Enders ready to go! I kinda want a toy of that now. 7. Can we get more giant robot homages in this show? Nothing would make me cackle louder than for Lotor's mecha to be an Expy of GaoGaiGar. 8. Another cliffhanger! Come on! Now I gotta wait till summer!

So overall, I would say this season gives you more giant robot fights, more Keith backstory, and more character development for most of the cast. It unfortunately also has more Hunk fat jokes, and doesn't really address Lance's insecurities as much as both Season 1 and the comic were implying it would. The positivies definitely outweigh the negatives though.

Netflix does have a lot of giant robot cartoons. Personally I'm wondering if we're going to get a video game, or at least more comics. Or that wished for (by only me probably) appearance in the next Super Robot Wars.

edited 21st Jan '17 8:26:33 AM by Beatman1

I really wish they would stop with all the Hunk fat jokes. Looking around the Internet it seems like almost nobody likes them anyway so I don't know they keep doing it. Hunk was at his bets in Episode 7 when the joke was less about being fat and more about how his love of food makes him good at cooking it too.

Well that's a positive talent that can be milked for humor, rather than a joke at his expense. I'd like to see that aspect of his personality followed up on rather than the stereotypical "He's fat and loves to eat!" stuff.

I still have a burning question from the first episode in season 2. Why wasn't Allura affected by the time loop? Is that ever explained?

Magic is my best guess.

Keith is best Saiyan.

Probably the same thing that helped her absorb the Quintessence blasts from Haggar. Might be a royal thing.

To be honest, Keith has basically become a more awesome, much more interesting version of Mako. It's kind of great to see what he should have been.

Speaking of the Bending Bros, yeah they really need to stop trying to make Hunk the "Bolin" of this show. Bolin's comedy was forced, but at least it was diverse and he was funny at the best of times. Hunk's a good character, but his fat jokes are terrible and far too cliche to work as comic relief.

Also, uh...

Voltron, outside of the finale, honestly seemed even less necessary than last season. Like, they never use any of its weapons against the first Robeast beyond the hand cannons (did those things ever work outside destroying the cruiser in the pilot?). Against the Cube, forming Voltron actually made things worse. Against the falling cruiser, it was...weird, since they'd been blowing those up left and right with just the Lions in the first season finale, and seemed like an anticlimactic place to introduce a four-Bayard attack. And again with the revived Robeast, since they only formed it for the finisher. I think the combination sequence possibly took up more screen time than those last two scenes, in fact. And the final battle...well, it was nice to have an honest to goodness, sword clashing, blow trading robot fight, but I thought it was kinda upstaged by the animation and choreography of Allura and the Blades' battle with the Druids and Haggar.

Also, I just realized that outside of knowing Keith is half-Galra on his mother's side, we have never seen a Galran woman, at all.

And lastly, damn, I kinda wish Laika WAS the scientist they were after. A big buff, mega-genius lady would've been a really fun character.

edited 21st Jan '17 2:44:25 PM by TheGunheart

I don't think it was ever confirmed that Keith is specifically half Galra, only that he had some Galra blood. It could be 1/4 or 1/8, or 1/16, or even smaller

I was actually hoping that Laika was the genius too. We don't get a lot of big, muscular Hulk-speaking geniuses (And who says a genius can't have Hulk Speak? Smart people can have speech impediments too!). I really hate how prevalent the Dumb Muscle trope is

edited 21st Jan '17 2:50:13 PM by Cailleach

Theories I've seen suggest she either modified herself and her son to fit in with mankind or they're likely part Altean as well.

I actually like that she's just a big dog with a humanoid form. She even has an affectionate, non-abusive owner which you'd expect from military Galrans.

edited 21st Jan '17 4:27:38 PM by OmegaRadiance

The mall episode was glorious. It's pacing and humor where so on point.

It's possible Keith is Altean on his father's side and that man was shifted to blend with the populace or merely adoptive.

Paul Blart: Galra Mall Cop was funnier than it had any right to be.

Also on the topic of next season:

Lotor. Lotor's whole thing is that he has a crush on the princess (which is even creepier in GoLion because he has a weird Oedipus Complex. Part of me is wondering if the writing staff will turn him into a Take That! against someone. Like Lotor is a parody of Mako turned up to 11 with all of Mako's worst traits dialed up in his pursuit of Allura (which naturally is going to pit him against a certain mullet-head).

edited 21st Jan '17 6:33:20 PM by Beatman1

If he was wouldn't Allura be the one pursuing him?

edited 21st Jan '17 6:48:02 PM by Cross

Season 2 Mako. Just...wow. Remembering some of what that guy did was...yikes.

You might have to fill in the gaps for me, because I don't remember anything Mako himself did that would warrant that response. Honestly, from memory, both party handled that relationship poorly.

I think the main problem is that Mako didn't really have a character outside of the terribly handled romance arc. Korra was at fault too, but at least she had her own character outside of it. A character that only serves as a love interest will never be popular

edited 21st Jan '17 6:58:56 PM by Cailleach

Korra lost her memory temporarily after the two broke up. He ended up using that memory gap to convince her she still loved him. That's the sort of thing Lotor would pull. And that's probably why I'm on board for Lotor as (More)Evil Mako. Also someone get Lotor his own super robot. Zarkon got the fusion of the Gundam Epyon and ANUBIS, someone get Lotor Voltes V.

I really don't want Lotor to be a one-dimensional parody though. Maybe a subtle Take That! that Korra fans can catch on to and wink at, but not a character that only serves as a parody. And being a dialed up Mako can only lead to the Scrappy heap

While it was one of his more dickish moves I didn't think Mako was that bad, and calling him evil is probably pushing into Ron the Death Eater territory. Though I'm not a huge fan of him I lways found the degree of hate towards him a little unreasonable, at least partly motivated by Die for Our Ship and biphobia. I remember him being very highstrung, duty-bound and unfun more than anything else. Not something fitting Lotor.

Now if any character had problems being a Satellite Love Interest it was Asami, who had three whole seasons for them to come up with something to make her plot-relevant but never got more than handful of token daddy issues.

My point is there's a lot to make fun of and Lotor is the perfect vessel to explore that. Just squeeze all of Korra's relationship fails into him.

edited 21st Jan '17 7:28:17 PM by Beatman1

This may sound kind of terrible but...I don't know if the writing in this show is necessarily strong enough to do a Take That! version of Mako correctly. Mostly because Mako kind of sucks as a character. I'd rather they make Prince Lotor more of a Zuko or Azula kind of character: a conflicted or formidable enemy who has a reason for his obsession with Allura other than the fact that she's Altean and pretty.