REVIEW: Mecha-Lions Go! Super-Robot Voltron Battles in Season Five!

REVIEW: Mecha-Lions Go! Super-Robot Voltron Battles in Season Five!

March 15th, 2018

W.R. Miller

On March 2nd, Netflix brought us the fifth season of DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender [sic] with six new episodes. The fight continues against Emperor Zarkon and the imperial hordes of the Galra Empire. With the pilots—that is, “Paladins”—of super-robot Voltron leading the way, the Freedom Coalition now claims a third of the territory once ruled by Zarkon. That means two-thirds of civilized space has yet to be liberated. Earth has been unscathed by this interstellar war. So far.

Now comes a startling development. Prince Lotor, the son of Zarkon, offers his help to the Paladins. His desire is to obtain “quintessence,” a source of unlimited energy with which he wants to use for peaceful purposes. Or so he claims.

This season, the five Paladins—currently, Princess Allura, Shiro, Lance, Pidge and Hunk—have to contend with these challenges:

(1. The continuing fight against the Galran forces.
(2. Mysterious mood swings from the team leader, Shiro.
(3. Deciding whether Prince Lotor is trustworthy.
(4. Emperor Zarkon offering the release of Pidge and her brother Matt’s father, Samuel Holt, in exchange for Lotor.
(5. Lotor challenging his father in an epic duel. Who will survive?
(6. Infighting between Galran generals to obtain control of the Empire.
(7. The use of two biological super-weapons, one of which threatens the capitol of Olkarion, a Coalition world.
(8. Lotor and Allura traveling through a white hole to the land of Oriande, where they have to survive a barrage of purity tests for the secret of Altean alchemy—which enabled the creation of Voltron and its five component lion-shaped mechas.

This season, the drama has become so intense that the comic relief characters have been minimized. Coran, the Altean royal advisor, is less loquacious, and the hyper-intelligent mice of the Castle of Lions are nowhere to be seen.

Keith, one of the original Paladins, has joined a ninja-type group called the Blade of Marmora; he’s been reduced to a recurring role.

A horrifying moment occurs in Episode 42, “Postmortem.” From space, a Galra commander fires a weapon upon the Olkarion capitol. What is it? A nuke? A high-powered burst of radiation? Will we see this city obliterated in the blink of an eye, with zero warning for the population? In an interstellar war, that’s terrifyingly possible—though in this case, the weapon is a virus that alters the area’s vegetation—giving time for Voltron to overcome the threat of total destruction. But what if the weapon was a nuke or a powerful laser? What then?

Show runners Joaquim Dos Santos, Lauren Montgomery, Ki Hyun Ryu and their team are to be commended for their outstanding work. The show skillfully blends CG with hand-drawn animation. It improves upon the original Beast King GoLion in both visuals and storytelling. Equally praiseworthy are the actors, their voices perfectly matching their characters, their performances enhancing the drama—or silliness—of the moment. Of particular note are Kimberly Brooks as Princess Allura and A.J. LoCascio as Prince Lotor. Their cultured accents command respect in the roles they play.

Viewers will be rewarded with compelling drama, complex plots, and eye-popping action. This is, indeed, an epic tale. Voltron Legendary Defender shows what happens when you have creative people in charge who know what they’re doing, and can do quality work under a restricted time and budget.

As a series that’s successful on so many levels, it does have some instances of questionable decisions. The soundtrack is synthetic mood music. While it’s serviceable, it’s not memorable. It doesn’t use any leitmotifs as does, say, Robotech. Or Star Wars. Or Richard Donner’s Superman. People can recognize the theme for Indiana Jones. It’s hummable. Can the same be said for Voltron’s electronic tones? A soundtrack with appealing leitmotif themes would sell well for DreamWorks, I would think.

In Episode #40, “The Prisoner,” Matt Holt attempts to rescue his father, diving toward a facility where Dad is allegedly held. Matt’s jet pack falls. He’s in freefall. Luckily, the obligatory cute robot, Beezer, snags him with some cables, abruptly stopping him in midair. Now, do you Spider-Man fans remember when he shot a web at Gwen Stacy falling from a bridge? Snap! went her neck. Does it happen to Matt? Nope. Luckily for him.

What would you do if you’re attacked by a lion and you’re able to defend yourself? Would you fight, or quit? In the season-ender, Episode #45, “The White Lion,” Lotor and Allura are attacked by giant white lions. What does Lotor do? He fights back. Of course he does. His life is at stake. What about Allura, the hope of the universe? What does she do? She gives up. Quits. Fortunately both survive, yet Lotor fails the test. What kind of rationale is that? I can guess, but if I were Lotor, I’d feel gypped. No doubt some would find this to be debatable, and that’s fine.

Whatever the reason, that’s another virtue of the show. Amidst all the action, suspense and blowing up of spaceships, there are times when it wants its viewers … to think.

Season 6 will be streaming your way on June 15th, 2018.

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W.R. Miller

W.R. Miller - known informally as “Bob” – has written for Starlog, Comics Scene, Animation Magazine and Animation World Magazine. Bob has been involved in animation for two decades, as a writer, character animator, special effects animator, and storyboard artist - For more information about Bob, check his website: http://wrmilleronline.com/.

He has just completed Batman: The Animated Interviews, a five-volume work featuring the executives, producers, directors, writers, actors, designers, storyboard artists and composers involved with the making of Batman: The Animated Series and its spinoffs. BearManor Media is the publisher.