Crack Theory: Shiro was actually supposed to be Kosmo
…no really. Don’t run away.
Shiro’s return to the storyline was tacked on to the back of Season 6′s finale, and if you look at a lot of Shiro’s interactions early in Season 7, it appears he was simply inserted into the storyline. From sleeping with Pidge in the Green Lion, seemingly in his armor -
- to the Pink Bayard and helmets being completely out of place -
(Black helmet on the right side)
- to Keith deferring to Lance instead of Shiro - it appears that Shiro was inserted in the first half of the season before finally taking a bigger role back on Earth.
@sol1056 explore this a bit more in Another Round of Asks: Keith, so I suggest taking a read.
But if Shiro wasn’t supposed to be in the story originally, then where was he?
Follow me down the rabbit hole, if you will.
The EPs spoke in various interviews about Keith’s wolf and how it would probably appear in the following season. They pointedly made sure not to say its name and even hinted at one time to it being a spoiler. I’m not sure why Kosmo would be a spoiler, but more on that later.
First, Kosmo comes to Keith on the whale - right after Honevra gets into Oriande.
Yes, dogs do get an affinity for their owner - or most of them - but the Wolf is almost always at Keith’s side, not unlike a certain paladin.
Plus, it’s weird that the Cosmic Wolf has the exact same powers that Shiro did in Black.
They even have the same color scheme when they teleport.
Plus, Keith doesn’t hug. He gets hugged - except when it comes to Shiro and the wolf.
Now, the Cosmic Wolf plays a big role in the early part of Season 7. It even rearranges Lance’s placement of people to where they should be in a fight before it takes out the Galra fighters on its own.
Maybe it’s a smart wolf but…really? To rearrange the team to how they should be?
I mean, the wolf and the mice are more than your typical pets - but…really? This much?
Plus, if it’s name was supposed to be a spoiler - “Kosmo” isn’t really a spoiler. Unless his name wasn’t supposed to be Kosmo at all but something else.
He even has Shiro’s fluff, followed by darker hair, followed by lighter hair.
And here’s the kicker - remember the paladin personality quizzes back a while back - not the ones in the book but the one on the Voltron website.
Remember what Shiro’s animal was?