Voltron Season 5 Episode 3 Review: Postmortem

This Voltron Legendary Defender review contains spoilers.

Voltron Season 5 Episode 3

Ah, so that’s how Lotor got the bayard. That retroactively makes the last episode a little better, especially since most people will just be viewing these episodes in one long binge.

It’s telling that Shiro/Kuron is now openly trying to move Lotor into a position of power. Before now any differences between what fans assume to be the Clone Shiro and the Real Shiro were very small and it could have been argued it was still the real Shiro. Now something is for sure amiss and driving that home by having him straight up yell at Lance was the perfect way to convey that.

Delivering plot relevant information is one thing (and this challenge to become the new emperor sounds awesome) but having it deeply impact our characters relationships is what really makes this new twist work. Seeing Lance despondent over how Shiro treated him is also a catalyst for development!

That scene with him training (which was sadly released online before the season dropped, which placed it super out of context) shows just how far Lance has come over the series. No longer just “loverboy Lance” he’s actually having scenes with Allura where he isn’t trying to flirt up a storm. The two now have a beautifully respectful friendship I am so here for. The flirting stuff was cute but seeing that fall away into mutual respect? That’s far more powerful.

It’s been awhile since returning to Earth was even brought up and I’m glad it finally got a mention again. Of course Pidge and Matt will be staying with the team but with Sam going home that really opens up a whole new path for the series to follow. What will Earth do when they hear what he knows? Will they try to hide his story from public?

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Planting these seeds now will hopefully pay off soon because adding another side to this conflict, especially after Zarkon’s death, could really spice things up. It also would finally put Earth on the Galra’s radar as a possible threat. Sam warning the Earth about the Galra might seem like a good move but it might be dooming them to entering the war. 

Man, how about that Galran plant monster thing though? The show has really focused on Voltron itself fighting against spaceships or the individual Lions being used as space fighters so I’m down for a good ol’ fashioned monster brawl. It respects the origins of the series while varying up the kinds of action we’ve been getting.

It also used this very alien creature and setting to finally raise the characters suspicions about what’s going on with Shiro. That whole scene where the Paladins were connected through their lifeforce was beautifully executed. It also makes me question how much this possibly Clone Shiro is even aware of what he’s doing. We saw Haggar seeing through his eyes but is he just waiting to turn on the team? Maybe he’s not even aware of what he’s doing, which would make this possible clone even more tragic. He doesn’t know he’s selling out his team!

Also, hey Sendak! It’s been awhile, huh? Bringing him back as Haggar’s representative in this upcoming conflict is a great idea but I really hope they address where the hell he’s been. Did Haggar have him attack Voltron all the way back in season one solely to get him in place for this? Did she mess with Shiro’s head just so he’d shoot him out into space? If so, that’s some chess master machinations that could put her on par with Lotor.

The more this show delves into Galran politics the more excited I get. This mad scrambling for power, with the various generals trying to murder each other to get ahead? I live for this kind of storytelling. It’s like something out of Game of Thrones but way more entertaining and without being needlessly violent. 

And man, that shot of Lance when he fires his lion cannon right down the throat of the monster? Hot damn. Steve Ahn’s direction for this series has always been top notch but that was next level.

This episode was incredibly dense but it never feels overstuffed. It had solid action while still developing all the major plot threads of the season. I even felt a little bad for Lotor. His relative quiet while talking with Allura about killing his father said everything. It’s not something he wanted to do but he had to do it. This guy is one hell of a layered villain and, like all the best bad guys, doesn’t think he’s bad.

Who knows, maybe he isn’t.

Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. This space is now fully devoted to Lotor’s hair. While Lotor was full of sadness this episode his hair was still… perfect. Follow him on Twitter!