Voltron: Legendary Defender “The Black Paladin”

It’s good news/bad news time.

Good news:  Allura is still alive.

Bad news:  Zarkon is using her as bait to get Voltron.

Worse news:  that plan seems to be working.  Shiro is planning a rescue.  Keith alone points out that maybe they shouldn’t, and he isn’t wrong here.  Granted, everybody hates that answer anyway, but he isn’t wrong.  The Paladins have successfully fought off one of Zarkon’s big ships before.  Can they fight off a whole fleet of them?

Of course, it does look like they have to.  And the plan they come up with isn’t completely terrible.  Use the last of Allura’s wormhole energy to get to a hiding place, sneak in, blow stuff up, find Allura, get out again.

I suspect there are a lot of details missing from that plan.

But hey, it starts off strong.  But remember how when Allura was passing out those special weapons to the Paladins and how she didn’t have one for the Black Lion’s Paladin?  Shiro has been making do without, but where did that one go…

Um, Zarkon has it.

Why?

Apparently, he was once the Black Paladin.

Huh.

That must be why he actually forced Voltron to separate and took control of the Black Lion, ejecting Shiro into space and everything.  And just as Zarkon flies out to take possession of the Black Lion, Keith spots him and attacks the 10,000 year old face of evil.  One giant lion against one guy in space.  I’m sure…

Wait, Coran says Zarkon is too powerful?

And Zarkon appears to be winning?

Why does this guy need Voltron again?

Seriously, he’s holding his own.  That handheld weapon of his is blowing huge holes in his own ship.  And even when Keith does learn some new Red Lion tricks, he can’t even hit the guy.  Unless Zarkon’s one weakness is Voltron stepping on him, why does this jackass need Voltron!?

Well, this is still not a “bad guy wins” kind of show, so everything may more or less work out.  Hunk figures out to go for Allura, and he does rescue the Princess.  The two of them rescue Shiro from Haggar the horrible witch-woman, and Shiro reclaims the Black Lion to rescue Keith.  That leads all the good guys to fly back to the castle so Allura can open an escape wormhole.

But they can’t get through Zarkon’s shields.

Until one of Zarkon’s own people sabotages it.

And even then, Haggar uses a lightning attack on the wormhole.  That causes all the Lions and the castle to become separated in space.  It also causes the season to end.  Magic lightning can do many things.