Voltron Theory: Keith and Lotor
So, okay, after my first Voltron theory, my follower count kinda... spiked, to put it somehow. Sorry for not putting out more of those, but I have a new one this time!
Today, I want to bring attention to two cool posts (x) (x) that called my attention and, given those, I think it’s quite evident what I’m going to talk about. Let’s get to it, shall we?
What if, Keith were to abandon and give his back to Voltron, and join Lotor?
Now, disclaimer, disclaimer, this theory is 100% speculative and 0,000001% possible it’ll actually happen, but hey, these are just for fun, so don’t sweat it about Keith actually being a traitor, it’s just something that I imagined (and we all know how my first Voltron theory went). And also, another disclaimer, this is gonna be a theory full of S4 spoilers, so, if you prefer to watch Voltron without those, please save my theory for after you’ve finished watching.
I’ll be leaving all my reasonings under a cut because this is gonna get long.
Okay so, let's analyze Keith for a second, shall we? Keith is, currently, at a horrible mental state; he's hopeless and devalues himself highly. He thinks he contributes very lowly to the team and the whole mission in general, and this can be explained by the following stuff:
Season 3:
Keith is forced to abandon his highly mobile and perfectly-fit-for-him Red Lion, and now has to pilot the Black one.
At the same time, he's forced to dismiss his emotions and rage about not knowing where Shiro is, to become the leader of the team.
Besides, he's never wanted to be the team leader, but just because he can pilot Black, he has to.
But as he becomes leader of Voltron, and tries his best to make the best choices, he struggles with a team that's barely learning how to function with the new arrangements. They’re all prone to fail somehow.
And the blame for the team's failures falls on him, because he's the leader.
Let's not forget that Keith is hotheaded (and self-aware, as it’s seen in his vlog), so the stress of the situation causes him to get angry and make more mistakes. Oh look, even more failures to think of, and more stress!
Yes, eventually he manages to guide the team, but still, he knows himself not a leader, and it's not helpful that people around him remind him so.
Season 4:
Now, Keith has joined the Blade of Marmora, which I personally understand it as both exploring both a part of his identity and a way he could be even more useful to the team.
But there's a problem: He has a hard time balancing both the BoM and Voltron, and people call him selfish for it.
Like, c’mon give this boy a break he’s just trying his best and he’s trying to be useful for heaven’s sake.
And then, there’s Allura, who tells Keith “The Marmora can go on without you. They have for thousands of years. Voltron cannot. We cannot.” Do you guys realize that this is basically Allura telling Keith “Leave the Marmora, they don’t need you.”
And it’s not only that. Who does Voltron really need? Keith? Doesn’t seem like it. Voltron needs the Black Paladin, that Keith is currently playing, but Keith feels as if he, himself, wasn’t needed.
So Keith is just being a bother for the team, being in the Blade of Marmora. If only Shiro could take his place as the leader Keith knows himself not to be.
And it happened; Voltron recovers Shiro, and no one needs Keith anymore.
He gets sidelined for most of the season, and no one mentions him ever again. No one asks "How is Keith doing? Should we give him a call? Let's tell him we're doing Super Sentai shows and give him a ticket!" No one acts like Keith's friend, no one seems to care about him as he’s gone. (I’m not salty DreamWorks what are you talking about it’s not like kEITH DESERVED A MILKSHAKE TOO OKAY?!)
And Keith knows this: it's a reason why he's now with the Blade of Marmora, where the mission matters more than the individual. No one misses him either way, if he were to die, it wouldn't matter.
You don't believe me? Then watch the very last episode of S4; Keith most literally attempts a Kamikaze at Haggar's ship for the sake of the mission.
TL;DR: Keith is lonely. He feels as if his first family since the Garrison doesn't care about him anymore; he's not useful or matters in any way, and he's currently surrounded by people that would die if it benefited the mission. He's starting to internalize that idea too.
And that's the point that's got me worried; Keith is vulnerable, weak, and feels as if he didn't fit anywhere else.
Do you know who's also an outcast? Someone that doesn't belong with his people? Someone that's been abandoned by the team he trusted the most?
Lotor.
Apart from the obvious "we're both only half Galra" parallelism, Lotor has been framed as a State Criminal by his very father, his people will kill him on sight, his generals shot him unconscious and were willing to give him away to the empire, and let's not get started on how not even Voltron would like him among his lines.
Lotor is a pariah. Keith is an outcast. And it’s pretty evident that not making them interact would be a waste of writing resources, you get what I mean? Dreamworks is guaranteed to make them have a talk at one moment or another, BUT.
But, but, Lotor is way too smart to let it all sit just like that. He has no allies right now, he cannot trust anyone surrounding him, and as a last resource he has thrown himself to Voltron, in hope of getting some help in defeating his father and claiming his throne. He desperately needs allies, people that he can trust.
And knowing Lotor as charismatic and good with words, my theory lies on the idea of Lotor befriending Keith; using all the points they have in common, and making the most use of Keith’s loneliness, Lotor is more than able to establish a bond with Keith, because they’re equal in more than just one way.
And yeah, Keith knows Lotor for a bad guy, but... Keith is only human guys. He needs a friend he can trust, a friend that is physically there for him. He’s at such a vulnerable state, that I wouldn’t blame Keith for giving it a try.
Now, this could go various ways:
Lotor befriends Keith in a cynical manner, manipulating him to get an easy ally from the Voltron Coalition, so Lotor can coerce Keith into abandoning Voltron and causing horror among both Voltron members and the Blade of Marmora.
Lotor befriends Keith in a truthful manner; at first only focusing on his own gain, but slowly and steadily realizing how Keith actually... gets him. And Keith is charming and funny and a good friend and Lotor can feel... comfortable, around him. It reminds him of what he used to have with his Generals. Friendship is something that Lotor wouldn’t want to lose again.
At the same time, this has two pathways; for one, Lotor could end up giving up on his purpose of ruling, given that Keith convinces him of that.
The other possibility is that, when Lotor is set to leave and pursue the Galran throne again, he offers Keith the chance to follow him, because, “There’s always going to be a place for you and you only, for you are... my friend.”
Unlikely, but not impossible, some brainwashing involved? If Keith were especially unwilling to follow Lotor’s plans, we know that, besides killing recklessly, Lotor is willing to do anything.
Lotor doesn’t try to befriend Keith, but rather, to show him that there could be a place for him among his troops, along with continuously dismissing how Voltron and the Blades care about him. After all, it’s not like anyone actually did, right? No one seems to. Lotor would be the one to twist the knife that’s stabbing Keith, and later on, offer to heal it.
There could be more ways to do this, but, honestly, I can’t think of anything else.
(Low-key, I’d like to see Lotor truthfully befriending Keith, because it sets up the possibility of a redemption arc; there could be no point in ruling over the Galra if Lotor is alone up there at the peak of power)
TL;DR: Keith needs friends. Lotor needs allies. They’re bound to talk to each other at any moment, but, just how much their relationship is gonna end up working both of them up? Because, as weak as Keith is, Lotor has all the tools he needs to make usage of Keith, as his new anti-Voltron tool.
And, another detail; a friend told me that, if the ship that Lotor built from the trans-reality comet were to need 5 pilots (originally meant to be Lotor, Axca, Zethrid, Ezor and Narti), if Keith, like... ended up joining Lotor... there would be 5 pilots for the ship again (Lotor, Axca, Zethrid, Ezor and Keith). Just gonna leave that there.
