Ok but can we talk about how the Paladinâs bayards donât just suit them, but actually ARE them? THE BAYARD PICKS THE PALADIN, MR. POTTER.
The bayards are frankly the coolest metaphorical device happening in this show and I havenât seen anyone talk about it yet (Iâm sure someone has, but I feel like itâs not really⌠a thing??), and if my major has taught me any(useless)thing itâs to get stuck on functional motifs in storytelling so
I mean this is just fun. Youâre probably not surprised that he gets the big blade because heâs main-character-red and the emo/possibly-Asian-one, but letâs consider a few things:Â
The fact that itâs sharp on both sides acts as a physical reminder of the duality happening within his character (he cuts others down, but internally heâs cutting himself down just as much: a double-edged sword).Â
Furthermore, that double edge reminds us that itâs a lonerâs weapon: he needs to be able to attack with each swing, in any direction, because no oneâs coming to back him up. It may be space, but dude is clearly rockinâ the lone wolf/samurai vibe. The length backs that up a bit as wellâit keeps everyone he sees as an âenemyâ or a ârivalâ at a distance (//side-eye @ lance).Â
Whatâs even more interesting is that if you look at Keithâs relationship with his bayard compared to his Marmora blade, they represent his hidden and public selves: who people see him as/expect him to be vs. who he truly is and wants to be (is afraid to be) himself.Â
Most people only see his bayard, a classic warrior/knight weapon that represents strength and grace and leadership. Keith brings this out in battle, in front of his friends, before enemies, etc. But when heâs alone at night or when heâs holed up in the desert, the blade on his mind and in his hand is his Marmora dagger. Despite being a secret for so long, it is actually this blade (and not the bayard he got from Voltron) which Keith always keeps close to him (and which he keeps strictly concealed).Â
He covers up the mark on the hilt as if to cover his own hidden thoughts and feelings (and maybe even dubious past). In public, he feels he can proudly show his bayard but doesnât want anyone to know he has the dagger, even before he himself knows what it might mean.Â
Even more interestingly, this blade also represents close combatâletting people get close to youâand the desire to protect others, showing that these are things Keith thinks about, feels, and even wants, but is afraid to show to those around him. Whatâs more, while the obvious skills and general cool-dude-ness associated with the bayard are something Keith has earned/achieved by his own merit, the Marmora dagger (and all the things it represents) were something he was born with; something inherently part of him. Ironically, once Keith learns more about his dagger and what it represents, it becomes longerâit adds distance, just as the truth about his past puts distance between him and the other paladins.
Like, I could literally (gladly) write an entire essay just on the symbolism of how Keith treats these blades, but you get the idea.Â
I was gonna do Shiro next but his is even sadder than Keithâs so letâs do
So some things about this are obvious: it bears a (kind of adorable similarity) in shape to her head. Itâs small, sheâs small, but if you underestimate either of them you will be sorry. Itâs an incredibly quick/nimble weapon (a great parallel for her stinging wit). Her bayard is designed for quick, surgically precise movements, which is exactly how Pidge works (both mentally and metaphorically).
However, while it has great attack capabilities, thatâs clearly not the bayardâs (or Pidgeâs) main purpose; itâs a necessary consequence in the pursuit of other goals. Rather, the transformative and flexible uses of Pidgeâs bayard emphasize the desire to be useful and to solve problems over attacking. This is belied by the fact that Pidge forms Voltronâs shield. Pidge would much rather think her way out of/around a problem than charge in head-first.Â
Her bayard is a reflection of that. Pidgeâs bayard is also the most technically complicated, which is another great parallel for her mind. Furthermore, the grappling hook function of her bayard echoes her desire to find things out of reach, and cast out into space and bring those things close to her, or herself to them (*cough*MATT*cough*).Â
TL;DR: itâs an all-purpose, unassuming weapon meant to perform multiple tasks in an efficient, creative way, and it focuses on problem solving/extraction more than brute attack (though it packs plenty of punch when cornered). And, of course, though she be but little, she is fierce.
As his swagger (and even his name, like talk about being on the nose) suggests, Lance is totally in-your-face, up-in-your-business blabbermouth who seems pretty simple to understand. So why does he have the weapon that arguably requires the most finesse, patience, and also has a long range? Because thatâs what Lance is really like under all that talk. It may seem like Lance lives with the words âare we there yetâ on his tongue, but consider this: Lance wanted to be a pilot, but was originally relegated to commercial-class ranks. Did that stop him? Nope. He kept at it until he made it to the top of those ranks (itâs safe to assume that if they only promoted one pilot to fighter-class after Keithâs expulsion, it would be the top of the commercial-class students). Thatâs more patience than any of the other paladins have shown.
As a gun in a team that has close-combat weapons, Lanceâs bayard automatically assumes a supportive role (despite all his talk about beating Keith and being the best), and we see this multiple times throughout the show. His first day as a fighter-class pilot, what does Lance do? Talks to his team and says they should stick together. How does he find out about Shiro? Heâs following Pidge and asking about what sheâs up toâcrazy theories that others wouldnât care to hear out. There are a lot of other examples of this (notably, when he throws himself in front of Coran), but from the get-go weâre slyly shown that Lance actually cares about and pays attention to those around him (even though he keeps talking about kicking their butts and being #1). It makes sense, then, that his weapon would be one designed to support and provide cover for others. In fact, we see Lance doing exactly this in the first episode when Pidge mouths off and he rushes in to cover for her.
Sadly, as one of the longer-range weapons, Lanceâs bayard is also one of the loneliest metaphors in the group, and we see the reason for this just as much in VLD: Lance doesnât feel appreciated (or sometimes even accepted) by the people around him. He often feels distant, though not by choice. He may shoot (ha) his mouth off a lot, but at the end of the day itâs pretty apparent that this boy craves love and attention, almost as much as he wants to be perceived as a âtop gunâ (double ha) within the group.
A gunâespecially the rapid-fire type that Lance hasâfurther mirrors his tendency to be impulsive (and even impetuous) rather than controlled and thoughtful. On the bright side, though, it is exactly that willingness to pull the trigger that has catapulted the gang forward on a number of occasions.
Between Shiroâs arm and his bayard there are so many different things going on here I donât even know how I can touch on all of them. If I could write an essay on Keithâs weapons, I could write a BOOK on Shiroâs.
First, letâs talk about Shiroâs actual bayard. In Zarkonâs hands, you can read this as a physical extension of Shiroâs freedom, or even as Shiro himself: Zarkon took the bayardâsomething meant to be used for goodâfrom another world, and then warped it in the hopes of using it to cause destruction.Â
The good news is that both Shiro and the bayard escape Zarkonâs clutches because of Voltron, and though Zarkon intended to use them, they instead become the strongest weapons to fight against him. They will always feel the effects of Zarkonâs influence and ownershipâthe bayard because of Zarkonâs former paladin connections, and Shiro because of his arm and PTSDâbut they still fight. In the end, it is Zarkonâs obsession with them as his former âpossessionsâ that becomes his downfall. So deep is his trauma that Shiro actually waits until it looks like theyâre about to die (when Voltron is in an electric headlock) to activate his bayard. Why? Because he doesnât trust his arm, he doesnât trust his hold on the bayard or the lion (donât even get me STARTED on how the lionâdown itâs right-hand weapon and still somewhat under Zarkonâs controlârepresents Shiro himself), and as a result he doesnât trust himself to be stronger than Zarkon.Â
Even when Shiro finally gets the bayard back, he doesnât call it his bayard, or the black bayard; he calls it Zarkonâs bayard (and it looks the part). This can be seen as a mirror for how Shiro sees himself: even though itâs a bayard, Zarkon tainted it, and now it doesnât belong to him even though itâs rightfully his and he has it in his hands (which, ironically, is still technically Zarkonâs hand⌠you get the picture).
However, as Keith corrects him (âyouâve got your bayardâ), the bayard rejects the changes Zarkon forced upon it, and reverts to a form that matches Shiro and the other paladins (likely how it looked before Zarkon started using it for evil). Just as the paladins healed Shiro by rescuing him and making him part of Voltron, Shiro does the same for the black bayard. Indeed, he only pulls out the power necessary to retrieve the black bayard once he wakes up to find the team fighting to protect him. It might be telling symbolically that Shiro leaves his bayard behind when he goes missing at the end of the seasonâperhaps heâs won his freedom only to have it taken once again.
The black bayard could also represent Shiroâs memories: both are known to exist, and we get hints/flashes/teases throughout the show, but both are initially âlostâ. Slowly, it is revealed just how both Shiroâs bayard and his memories have been taken/corrupted by Zarkon. We see this in the way Shiroâs memories haunt him, only to frustratingly elude  him when he needs them. When Shiro finally tries to find out more about why Zarkon has the bayard, heâs also facing his own mindâhis memories, his insecurities, and his apprehension at what fate awaits himâas well.  In this sense, when Shiro reclaims the black bayard, he is also reclaiming so much more: the hold/fear Zarkon held over him, the insufficiency and anxiety he felt because of it, etc.Â
You can also read the bayard as a mirror for Shiroâs arm: Zarkon took Shiroâs arm and replaced it with something Galran. Shiro joins Voltron only to find that Zarkon also has his metaphorical right handâhis weapon. Shiro canât use the weapon he should be holding (in a hand he doesnât have because of Zarkon) because Zarkon took it. Talk about a vicious cycle. This symbolism is supported all through season 1 and parts of season 2 where we see Shiro simultaneously struggle with controlling Zarkonâs lasting effects on Voltron and coming to grips (ha) with controlling his arm. Itâs hintedâboth during battle and through PTSDâthat if Shiro doesnât control his arm, it will control him, just as Zarkon demonstrates that if Shiro canât reclaim the bayard, Zarkon will use it to kill him (we see a similar parallel with his memories).Â
Iâm just going to stop here because the black bayard and Shiroâs arm can represent so many different things that it totally distracts me and I can only really do it justice by literally sitting down and writing out a full on dissertation on it.
But TL;DR: Shiroâs arm and his bayard are in a crazy, soap-opera drama with Zarkon on so many different levels and it is symbolistically incredible.
Hunkâs bayard, much like Hunk, is pretty straight-forward and simple. Physically, itâs a big weapon. A big, hulking (Hunking????) weapon. It looks incredibly imposing, but its chief function isnât destruction, but preventing destruction. Just as Hunk likes to avoid violence, his canon is mostly used to disable enemy weapons as part of Voltron, and individually Hunk uses it to provide long-range cover fire for his team (when he tries to use it in a more actively combative role, he just ends up almost shooting Pidge⌠gg, Hunk).Â
Unlike Lanceâs more nimble and quick-fire weapon, Hunkâs takes a lot of strength to move around and a long time to power upâthis mirrors Hunkâs own well-rooted stance (heâs not easily swayed), and his cautious nature. He doesnât do things off-the-cuff or on a whim; he thinks them through first. Indeed, itâs almost always Hunk warning the others of the possible outcomes of their proposed escapades.Â
Heâs also slow to anger, just as his weapon is slow to fire. However, once he has decided to take a shot, his firepower is incredible, just as when he does decide to take action (like with the Balmerans), his will is unstoppable.Â
I could go on for days, guys. I have so much stuff I had to cut out because even the hardcorest Voltron fans donât care about underlying motifs this much, I know, but AGH. GUYS. GUYS. THE BEAUTY??? OF THIS WRITING??? IN A KIDSâ SHOW?????Â
PS this is long I didnât proof read it SO SUE ME
blakekathryn
titsay
kianamaiart
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
