The Return of the Mechanical Lions: Watching Voltron Season 6

Yes, Voltron has returned. And while I refuse to consider seven 23-minute episodes a season, it really does finish up a whole series of arcs and well, after doing 1-5, may as well do Season 6, right? Since this is my third time reviewing the show, refer back to my reviews of seasons 1-2 or seasons 3-5 if you need a refresher. For the record there will be spoilers from here on out.

Seriously. Spoilers. Turn back if you don’t want them.

Characters

Keith is the center of the big emotional arc of the seven episodes. It was nice to see him back with the core cast, get some more of his back story, and of course plumb the depths of his relationship with Shiro. His confrontation with Shiro: so many feels. Keith might have been my favorite part of the season – he’s probably my third favorite character now after Shiro and Pidge.

And there is Lotor. What can I say? Slytherin to the core. Maybe he’s more purple Lucius Malfoy now than purple Legolas, but you can still see where he was coming from. And also, why am I not surprised to discover a cult developed around him?

Lance is no longer the worst! He had little to do but there was actual depth and some emotional maturity in there which was really nice to finally see. Pidge and Hunk had almost nothing to do, although after all of the Pidge-related plots in the previous set of episodes, that seems fair to give her a break. It would be nice for Hunk to actually get some kind of character development or plot or anything really. Heck, Corran has had more of an arc at this point.

As for Allura, I get how she got sucked into Lotor’s orbit, but I felt like her about face in that relationship was a bit too sudden and kind of unearned. And no one ever actually held her responsible for her actions in creating a superweapon. But, she’s the beautiful princess in a kids’ show, so I shouldn’t expect anything else. Sadly.

Weirdly Delightful Bits

For only seven, largely plot and arc-heavy episodes, there were a number of extremely delightful moments in this season. Lance trying to evacuate his pet cow from a ship about to explode (also 100 bonus points for world-consistency to the Voltron staff for that). Keith acquiring a pet wolf-thingy. And, of course, the entire D&D spoof episode, which was glorious. It’s so nice to have those moments and bits of levity.

Shipping

Sorry Sheith shippers – Keith’s “I love you” to Shiro was prefaced by “You’re my brother.” Not that it will stop anyone, but canon has made its position on that couple crystal clear. Also, there are definite hints of Lance/Allura for the future. To which my response is a shrug.

I’m still not invested in any given ship for the series although I’m good with the idea of a Pidge/Hunk couple now. They even referred to themselves as “Team Punk” in season 5, which is cute. I really don’t have a horse in the race for anyone at this point.

Conclusion

This felt like a solid end to a chapter of stories. The giant questions actually got solved! Shiro – solved. Lotor – solved. Keith’s family and past – solved. Seriously, I’m not sure if there is a major plot question mark left at the moment, which, honestly, is kind of refreshing.

At the same time, there is still a civil war, and lots of threads to be explored. And bringing Earth back into the mix will be an interesting wrinkle in the narrative. Honestly, feel like I just finished an actual season of a TV show; five and six are really one season split in two, and this was a good ending to that seasonal arc. I’m curious where the show is going to go next, but also completely satisfied with how it has left things. And that is a great place to be at the end of a season.