Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 8 Plot Summary:
Having saved the Earth from a Galra invasion, the Voltron Paladins and the crew of the Atlas travel into space to finally finish the 10,000 year war waged by the Galra Empire. However, they soon discover that Honerva (Lily Rabe) and the remaining Alteans are a far greater threat than they could have possibly imagined. With all realities in danger, the Voltron Coalition must engage in one final battle.
Eight seasons and two and half years later, Voltron: Legendary Defender comes to a close. After giving the show’s first season a mixed review and comparing it somewhat critically to the Power Rangers, I went on to laud the series as one of the best shows on Netflix and one of the best cartoons currently in production. Now that its final season has been released, however, I find myself feeling disappointed yet again.
The last thirteen episodes of Voltron certainly exuded a sense of finality and contained many callbacks to previous seasons to illustrate that the journey was coming to an end. One of this season’s greatest strengths was the show’s focus on how much these characters have grown. Keith (Steven Yeun) has gone from loner to leader, Pidge (Bex Taylor-Klaus) has been reunited with her entire family, and Shiro (Josh Keaton) has become whole again (well, metaphorically speaking at least).
Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, is the romance between Lance (Jeremy Shada) and Allura (Kimberly Brooks). I have long complained about Lance’s ladies’ man routine and his crush on the princess, so I was shocked by how much attention the relationship was given and how well the romance worked.
While I wish their relationship was given more time to develop before they became a couple and think that Lance was largely rewritten as a character to make the courtship possible, the two lovers have wonderful chemistry. Overall, the final season provided a real payoff for the audience’s investment in the Paladins, especially Allura.
Unfortunately, the show’s swan song failed to provide such coherence and strength to its plot. After seasons of playing second banana to other villains, Haggar/Honerva makes for a compelling and intimidating antagonist, but her plan is too far out in left field. Her scheme and the Paladins’ response are over-reliant on elements that the show has hinted at but never adequately explored or set up; as a result, both sides’ actions and abilities are just too much of a jump.
In particular, the final third of this season introduces an overwhelming amount of mythology to the show and dramatic powers that come seemingly out of nowhere, unless you consider namedropping vague terms like “Altean alchemy,” “the entity,” and “Quintessence” to be adequate explanations. Such sloppy writing is unacceptable and compares unfavorable to the weaker reveals and deus ex machina of comic books and JRPGs. The final battles also highlight the show’s unfortunate tendency of letting the Paladins escape from tight spots and triumph simply because they (1) are such good friends, (2) fail to give up, and (3) yell. As much as I appreciate the emphasis on unity and friendship, those keys to victory exemplify weak, uninspired writing.
Considering how strong the character beats in this season are, the plot’s failings are that much more disappointing. Likewise, the finale’s epilogue is lazy and an awkward note to end on; rather than provide a sense of closure, the sequence feels like an unnecessary addition at the end of a bad biopic. What’s more, the last segment from the epilogue somehow makes season seven’s flawed attempt at LGBTQ inclusion even worse. While the decision to reveal Shiro as a gay man was incredibly well-meaning, the execution of that idea has been an embarrassment for the show.
As good as Voltron: Legendary Defender has been since its premiere in the summer of 2016, the show’s final season couldn’t live up to the quality I have come to expect from this series. Satisfaction is the aim of every finale, and despite its many strengths, Voltron failed to hit that mark.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
