So I’m rewarching this disaster of a show Voltron and analyzing some stuff over
This is no secret, that the first three seasons of the show are the best, everything was going by the trope it was meant to and everything was just on it’s own place.
I, to this day, am still very disappointed by how dirty the showrunners did Lance. He was, and remains, my favorite character, and I believe that there were so much more the showrunners could’ve done to develop him, but alas.
One of the best tropes for Lance that they set the ground for, but didn’t take any further action on - is Lance’s insecurities.
In season 2, when Shiro, Pidge and Lance rescue Slav from the prison, Lance begins to question himself, his abilities, and his place on the team. He thinks that no one else sees him for his sharpshooting skills, thinks that he is the “fifth wheel, seventh if you count Coran and Allura”. No one ever adresses that, so that is left hanging until the beginning of Season 3. There, with Shiro gone, the Black Paladin seat is empty, the team needs a leader. That’s where it gets interesting.
From the beginning of the show, Lance set up thos rivalry for him and Keith, even though Keith had no idea what he was on about and had no part it this. In season 7 flashbacks to the Garrison we see how Lance already back then had some sort of problem with Keith, who paid no attention to him whatsoever. Keith was better that Lance at class when he didn’t even try to be on top, and that hurted Lance’s self esteem like a bitch.
When Keith eventually flunked out due to the “discipline issues”, Lance is promoted to the fighter class pilot. See, Lance always dreamed of becoming a pilot, of ACHIEVING that title, but he didn’t achieve it, he was just placed on an empty spot, because the best pilot dropped out. Commander Iverson doesn’t fail him to remind that every once in a while, that he is just a “replacement”.
So, coming back in space, imagine how hurtful it is to him that when the team needs a new leader, a new Black Paladin - Keith is, once again, better at him at that.
Lance sees Keith coming out of Black, while Allura congratulations Keith on being the Black Paladin.
Here, I can literally see all these thoughts running through his head. That Keith, once again, is better than him; that he isn’t capable of leading; that he simply isn’t good enough.
In the next shot, he is already back to his normal self, as if nothing has happened at all. While everyone is saying words of encouragement for Keith, Lance remains silent, with a blank expression.
Then, of course, this scene. Here Lance literally sucks up all his insecurities, because he comes to understand, that Keith is going through some stuff too. That it’s not easy for him to just move on, to replace Shiro. He bottles all his insecurities up, closes that box and tosses it itno the nearest dump, because he’s gottabe a good teammate.
anyway yikes thats y lance is my fav character thanks for coming to my ted talk fuck v*ltron
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