It looks like King Alfor either lied to or hid a lot of viltal information from Allura.
Allura mistakingly believes that the Black Bayard is lost with its Paladin.
We know that Zarkon is that Paladin and he does have the Black Bayard.
We know that King Alfor wanted to hide Voltron from Zarkon and hid things from his daughter.
King Alfor knew that Zarkon was the Black Paladin. And when Zarkon came to take Voltron, Alfor understood that Zarkon, as the head of Voltron, would succeed. He would only need to make the Black Lion obey his commands once it was in close proximity and the rest of the Lions would follow, as we have already seen here:
Zarkon floats above Voltron and tears apart Voltron into the Lions.
He overrides the controls of the Black Lion and makes it his, even though Shiro is still inside.
The Black Lion even goes in full power when Zarkon takes it over.
The most important part: it ejects Shiro.
This whole situation makes three things very clear:
This could have happened 10,000 years ago, when Zarkon first attacked Altea and Alfor knew it. That’s why he hid Voltron instead of going out and attacking Zarkon; he would have given Zarkon Voltron 10,000 years ago and then the Galra Empire would have been truly unstoppable.
That’s why King Alfor made the Black Lion available only if all the rest were present and scattered them throughout the galaxy: he tried to tear the bond between the Black Lion and Zarkon.
And the most important of all:
Shiro is not the Black Paladin.
This last one may be hard to swallow, but it’s true. When the two men had a battle of wills about the Black Lion, Shiro got [r]ejected by it. And as we know, the Lion chooses the Paladin and not the other way around. We also know that the relationship between the Lion and the Paladin is “a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion” (Allura, ep.1).
In other words, Shiro worked only as a contemporary replacement for the Black Lion. When shove comes to push, the Lion responds to Zarkon.
This was also hinted in episode 9:
“You’ll never beat Zarkon.”
Add to all this Shiro’s fear that he’s part of the Galra Empire already and that he’s a “broken soldier” and we have a nightmarish scenario for Shiro: not only he’s not the official Paladin of the Black Lion, but he’s been able to connect with it just because he’s part of the Empire that Zarkon created.
Or, at least, that’s how Zarkon can present it and throw Shiro into despair.
However this rabbit hole goes even deeper:
King Alfor knew all of this.
How could he know that Zarkon would do all of this? His actions in hiding the other Lions and making the Black one available only when the rest of them were present worked as a counter to this particular bond Zarkon has with the Black Lion: that of a Paladin.
King Alfor tried to severe the bond between Lion and Paladin.
How could he know the extend of Zarkon’s abilities?
There is only one simple answer:
He was a Voltron Paladin as well.
OK, obviously, everything in this show is colour-coordinated. King Alfor wearing all this blue kinda seals the deal.
However, there is also something else.
This post by @arcticfoxbear is a good guess about the quintessence of the Blue Lion, the only Lion whose quintessence we know nothing about yet (and trust me, it is on purpose).
Alfor trusted Zarkon. He trusted him to the bitter end.
It’s no question that since Zarkon was the Black Paladin, he fought on the good side once upon a time. He fought for freedom, for the good of the people and for justice. His change into a power-hungry monster who sees weakness as a sickness that must be ripped apart from the root couldn’t have happened in one day. Zarkon must have spend years having these thoughts.
And as we know, the Paladins are of one mind, without any secrets.
“The original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side by side. They were like a pack of [insert alien animal speces here] linked by the ears.” (Coran, ep. 2)
Actually, the whole of episode 2 tells us that the Paladins are of one mind, that they put each other’s safety above their own, that there is unquestionable trust amongst them.
So, there’s little doubt that Zarkon’s ideas about power must have been known to the other Paladins early. How come they didn’t do anything to stop him before the situation reached.. well…
The answer: Alfor trusted that Zarkon, his brother in arms would pull through. That he wouldn’t become a tyrant and a monster. That things would become better again. Alfor had trust and most importantly, faith.
(BTW, faith is what I believe that the quintessence of the Blue Lion is.)
Lance has faith in all of his friends (yes, even Keith) and that is his characteristic. His childish ramblings about parades and kicking Zarkon’s butt easily come from this.
Also, here’s a nifty parallel:
Allura falls asleep in the arms of her father, the original Blue Paladin, calling “Father…”…
…and wakes up yelling “Father!” and falling again…
…in the arms of a boy who is the new Blue Paladin.
Subtle, but well-crafted.
And let’s be honest here: Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reboot of a shounen anime and anyone who has watched even one shounen series knows that the power that makes the protagonists pull through anything is faith. Despite all weaponry and training, above technology, magic or experience, what makes shounen heroes win is faith to oneself and…
Faith to one’s friends. I believe in my nakama, bitch!
This elemental power is still missing from the quintessence of the Lions and since the Blue Lion’s is still unknown, it is safe to assume that Lance is the one whose characteristic is the faith to each other.
And let’s not forget: faith is the best weapon these kids will have in the climactic battle.
Lance is bound to become the glue that brings them all together and makes them beat Zarkon, from this perspective.
Plus, it’d be a good way to undo the damage King Alfor did by putting his own trust in the wrong person (Zarkon) and letting things reach a point where Zarkon was capable of defeating the fleet of an entire planet.
And to return in the beginning of this post: Lance’s faith will be what brings Shiro back, what helps him pull through. The previous Blue Paladin let the Black one fall into the darkness, the new one will save him.
I know that Shiro and Keith seem to be closer now, but Keith’s immaturity and overestimation of his abilities (he tried to take on Zarkon on his own!!!), plus his short temper make him unsuitable to be the rock when everything falls apart.
…and I have zero complaints about it.
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