Who was your fav character when you started the show?
If you had to change season 8, what would you write for Allura ? (I really like your posts about her)
When I started the show, definitely Allura. Now, though, I wouldn’t say I have a favourite character so much as I have a favourite dynamic -- I’m a sucker for all-girl groups lol, hence the Generals attract me. The antiPaladins ever!!
If I had to change s8… Oh, man. Well, what I liked most about s8 were two things. One, the focus on non-Paladin characters (Honerva, Acxa, Ryan & Nadia). Two, Allura and Honerva. The plot itself is weak and always has been, frankly, so its flaws don't doom the season... But for my own sake, I'll still attempt to clarify it. To begin with -- I don't like Honerva's motivation; the rotten root of the weak plot. Honerva has, before s8, expressed the wish to be with her family once, but she did so in an, uhm, interesting way, let's say. Her reunion with Lotor was a battle between entitlement and disgust. Honerva wished for Lotor's pliancy, as 'befit' a son; Lotor was repulsed by her transformation. Honerva attempted to connect him through their shared intellectual curiosity and when Lotor spurned her, she told Acxa to 'take him away'. As in, she had no more use for him. He rejected her, and so he would be her prisoner rather than her son. Acxa, of course, shot at her instead, and so Honerva evaporated and recuperated elsewhere. She showed no interest in Lotor's final battle until its epilogue. She could have aided or impedimented Lotor throughout its duration, but she did not. This, to me, suggests that Honerva has separated herself from fealty to the Empire and fealty to the family unit. In s8, however, she acts exactly how she did in 'The Black Paladins', but hyperbolized. Honerva's idea of being a mother in s6 was being Lotor's lab partner. Honerva's idea of being a mother in s8 was being Zarkon's wife and playing peekaboo with Lotor. Alright...
This is a flaw of the writing, obviously. They couldn't conceptualise more than one female character who didn't revolve around the men in her life. Also, they were a lot more sympathetic towards Lotor than they were to Honerva. I'll never understand the people who claim that s8 disrespected him through telling his story through the eyes of his abuser... Because while that is true, and while the aspect of his corpse piloting the Sincline is disgusting, having half of 'Shadows' -- a Honerva focus episode -- revolve around Lotor's childhood doesn't seem suspect to you? Having all of Honerva's grand speeches and gestures revolve around Lotor doesn't seem suspect to you? Having Honerva eviscerate all realities for **Lotor** doesn't seem suspect to you? Honerva -- Haggar, rather, I suppose -- has been a staple of the show since season one, episode one. And she kills everyone and herself for a character she barely knows, who is only introduced in season three and killed off two seasons before she commits in his name. Narratively speaking, it's weird. Honerva being a (brown) woman certainly influences this aspect; no male villain is treated this way. Anyway, I think Honerva's motivation ought to be anger at Zarkon instead. For the matter of **her** lobotomisation, I mean. It is, unfortunately, kind of difficult to make her out as a villain with this motivation considered without demonising violent resistance... But I don't suppose she would have recognised the anger she felt immediately. Let us say that Honerva chose to cling to the surface-level desire for a family. Let us say that that was not what she *truly* wanted, because she could not face up to how Zarkon abused her, and how she abused Lotor. She misdirected her anger at Voltron and the rest of the universe. I would've had Shadows focus more on her, rather than Lotor, though: I would've liked to see how she cultivated loyalty amongst the Druids, the nuances/memory breaks in her transformation, perhaps a snippet or two of Lotor, her forgetting her face and her Altean heritage, her remorseless hunting of the original Paladins, her relationship with Alfor, etc etc. And after that... I would've been more interested to see the Altean disillusionment of Lotor's good than its enhancement for cultish purposes. We never got to see their reaction to their exploitation because the narrative was cartoonishly sympathetic to Lotor in s8 -- so I'd utilise Honerva for that. Break their trust in Lotor to build trust in her; it'd show the contradiction between how she idealises a son and pushes his actualisation away. Which she ~technically~ does in s8 anyway, but like, whatever. Honerva has spent 10,000 years seizing power in another's name; be it Zarkon or Sendak. It wasn't even power for her own sake; she had no agency as Haggar. It was always for the Empire's sake. As Honerva, she should not need to speak through a posthumous other. She ought to be able to strike loyalty into the hearts of her people through her merit and charisma alone. So Honerva thinks that everybody is to blame for how her life turned out except for Zarkon, and that everybody is to blame for how Lotor's life turned out except for herself (and Zarkon). As a result, she targets -- Allura, specifically, who had the strongest relationship with Lotor until his death. (She might also do a little something with the Generals -- Acxa specifically -- but I don't think the plot has time for that, and Honerva's always kind of considered them NPCs anyway. Maybe if the season (this post) had a higher budget + runtime...)
So I'm guessing what we saw in s7 must remain intact, and I can make changes to s8 alone. That means that Honerva is still manufacturing Altean-harvesting robeasts en-masse. As for Allura -- I think Launch Date is a great episode; I wouldn't make any changes there. I've talked about my desired changes for 'Shadows'... 'Prisoner's Dilemma' is a useless episode that serves only to tie up the minor plot-thread of 'Ranveig's weapon' and wring out Galra-sympathy amongst the audience. But we *do* want to tie up the plot-thread of 'Ranveig's weapon', otherwise the story is incomplete. So let's keep the premise as is, but rather than a sympathyjerker for Lahn, I'd be interested in exploring the 'Alien'-like setting. One abandoned ship, an impostor among us, etc. I imagine something like Lahn sowing racially-charged discord between Allura and Keith. One of the issues I have with Keith is how his character is constantly utilised to peddle 'one of the good ones' rhetoric; ending on an abhorrent speech that claims the Galra, under Zarkon, were misguided and afraid. In s7, he also makes an incredibly distasteful comment about Alfor that isn't followed up with anything but a blanket apology. So there's kind of no two ways about it: Keith is racist to Allura, and the story doesn't ever take the time to address or overcome this. I think that 'The Prisoner's Dilemma' could be turned into an episode that *does*. So, let's say, Keith and Allura get into a spat because Allura sees that Lahn is doing to the people of the planet he occupies, while Keith insists that Lahn is acting in self-preservation, and that, due to his upbringing, he’s never had the chance to *know better*. They’re on the abandoned spaceship searching for Ranveig’s weapon, Lahn is with Keith, then it’s revealed that the weapon is a parasite within Lahn, who nearly kills Keith until Allura saves him. Keith apologises to Allura and they liberate the occupied planet.
‘Battle Scars’ is done poorly. I think it wouldn’t be amiss to edit it into a Hunk-and-Pidge-centric episode. Hunk and Pidge, in s8, act as the team’s glue: Pidge’s arc concludes with her reunion with Matt, Sam and Colleen, while Hunk hovers in the background, providing sentiments and snacks. So I think what could be interesting is if, as Pidge tapped into Olkarion, Olkarion tapped back. Pidge watched nature die and, in exchange, nature killed her back. Her hope, I mean. I don’t think there’s much room for more development for Pidge, given the Honerva-Allura-centrism of this season, so what I’d better like is an(other) exploration of her pain. Pidge is thrust back to when she thought she’d lost her family forever; Olkarion connects her grief for it to her grief for that. And then Pidge becomes petrified (literally speaking), and they’re running short on time because the Weblum is getting dangerously close. So Hunk takes it upon himself to reach for Pidge (his love for his team, his family, supersedes his cowardice), and he touches her, and connects to her pain; which is in turn connected to his pain. And, briefly, he is lost in the ether of that. They both begin to cry, and each hears the other’s cries, and each remembers that they have each other now. And then they hear the other Paladins calling out for them. It's kind of a nice way to tie in the meaning Voltron has garnered for the two of them without introducing extra plot baggage. A short conclusion, but again -- this season (this post) lacks budget and appropriate runtime. Ideally, I would've had a Hunk-centric season the way half of s4 and half of s5 were Pidge-centric.
So then we have 'The Grudge'. Which I like, really, but I think it was far too hand-wavey. I need Acxa to cite concrete circumstances beyond the scope of canon. 'Remember how we first met' -- and then you don't explain how they first met?? Are you serious?? Also, the Zethrid x Ezor stuff is really confused. Where did Ezor come from, how did Acxa come to reconnect with her, etc. Veronica's perspective is also important!! Perhaps 'The Grudge' could be split into two episodes, though I feel like if we cut out the superfluous Paladin action sequences we could just about cram all the required emotional exposition in. And I want more of Fentress! And I want Acxa's role in the Coalition explained!! AND I want them to mention Narti beyond implicitly alluding to the trauma her death caused!! To tell us what she was *like* beyond 'full of hate and rage', which is a shared characteristic anyhow. And while I have complained about the Lotor-centrism this season, I really do think we could have benefited from a contextualisation of his relationship with Acxa. As well as a proper contextualisation of her betrayals.
After 'The Grudge', we have 'Genesis', where Honerva kills the White Lion in exchange for Lotor's corpse, and she and Allura communicate for the first time. I think that this would be a good episode to finally explain the nuances of Altean alchemy. I believe that the 'secret' is transaction, and I've analysed why before (search 'Altean alchemy' on my account). I also think that the White Lion is a very morally grey entity, and that upon 'gaining the secret of life', one is forcefully fused with its essence (it explains why Allura and Honerva's sacrifice is able to restore all realities; they 'gave back' the secret of life). Honerva is, I think, angry at the White Lion for replicating Zarkon's abuse of her autonomy. I would like to see, in detail, how Honerva lures the White Lion through a replication of its (Zarkon's) tactics. And then how Allura attempts to revive it, and ultimately fails, because her alchemy is handicapped by her unwillingness to sacrifice anybody that isn't herself. I am kind of tired of stories where goodness unlocks one's greatest powers, and Honerva is canonically more powerful than Allura anyway, so it would make sense to turn Allura's ideology into something that is in conflict with her potential (it also gives us more room to get properly Dark with the entity... Not in this draft, but maybe in some other). The White Lion suggests something along the lines of 'an eye for an eye, a life for a life', but rejects Allura when she offers her own, because *another* rule of Altean alchemy is that once you gift a gift, it cannot be returned. The White Lion gifted Allura the secret of life; she could not gift it back. So it tells her to sacrifice, you guessed it, Lance. And obviously Allura says no, and so the White Lion perishes. Then, Allura and Honerva's interaction in the void. Basic exposition (Honerva admitting to puppeting Lotor and such) out of the way, I think this would be an excellent time for each to lay out their perspective. Honerva speaks of how the universe mistreated herself and her son, and how for this it must perish. Allura wildly combats this, speaks of Alfor's work, of *her* work, of Voltron and the familial camaraderie she has found there. Honerva points out Allura is (or, rather, considers herself as) a weapon of restoration who will permanently power down alongside the resistance; in the midst of the war or after it. Allura has no conceived purpose beyond the war. She then points out that they are very alike in that sense; that she too was a walking corpse for 10,000 years, that she will finish their mutual burial now. Allura is shaken by this, because there is a grain of truth to what Honerva says.
The only change I'd make to 'Day Forty-Seven' is that I'd include Veronica, Acxa and Ina in the footage too. Also, I'd rather Lance's speech to Allura be less about how her pain is inspiring and more about how she it's not something she deserves to feel.
Now. 'Clear Day'. So, I actually want to give Shiro some of the spotlight here as well as Allura, because he's been greatly neglected in the final seasons of the show. The time spent at Drazan ought to be centred around his reorientation with his body. There is an element of narrative exclusion that I think translates to material exclusion in Shiro's case: the team remembers Kuron more closely than they do *Shiro* himself. I think it would be a good opportunity to open us up to his relationship with Curtis, who does not have that kind of confusion going on. In Allura's case, I want her disorientation to mirror that in 'Crystal Venom'; I headcanon she has some kind of (relatively weak, For Now) Altean dementia, and would like to see that explored. The sequence with Tavo can remain. And after that, I'd like to see the Allura and Lotor sequences from s5-6 replaying, with Allura briefly losing herself in the fantasy before shaking herself and going like 'this isn't right'. I really like the sequence with Allura destroying the Galra -- and Altea -- upon Melenor's urging. Altea here acts as a metaphor for Allura, who is gradually destroyed in her heroic quest to vanquish all evil. And then, of course, Honerva-and-Melenor fusion at the end because Honerva is Allura's pseudomother, don't forget. And then Allura takes the entity into herself.
'The Knights of Light', as it is, is extremely disappointing. I quite like the **idea** of the original Paladins being our crew's guiding light, but they are ultimately too generic for me to care. Also, the bit where they affirm why each of the Paladins is right for their lion gives me the ick, because they are obviously not. Keith is not a 'good leader' because he has the special Galra gene; Allura does not have 'greatness inside', she has greatness outside. Also the whole 'soul-trapping' thing is weird and under-explained. Scrap it, apart from Alfor and Zarkon none of the original Paladins are compelling anyway. Here's what I propose instead! One guardian only, and that guardian is Zarkon. Not Zarkon's *soul*, to be clear, but Honerva's (Haggar's, I guess) *conception* of Zarkon. A man who ripples with strength, who cannot be overpowered on account of his omnipotence. Allura realises this, and uses her connection with the entity to tap into Honerva's neural network and project her conception of Zarkon as an ailing, failing man. This gets Zarkon out of the way, and reveals... Honerva. As in, Honerva, pre-corruption, pre-anything. The memory of the woman that she was before the rift, before quintessence. This version of Honerva explains to them where everything went wrong for the Honerva outside. Very tacky trope, but it's Voltron, and it's better than the og TKOL. Seeds of compassion are planted in Allura. Honerva explains that her older self is projecting her anger at Zarkon and herself onto the universe, and the real Honerva appears and cuts her younger self's throat, before forcing the Paladins out of her mind.
In 'Uncharted Regions', I want the focus to be on Honerva retributionally invading Allura's mind. So, Honerva taps into the Alteans aboard the Atlas in order to harness their quintessence and open the gateway between realities. Allura, being possessed by the entity, is one of those Alteans. But, given her alchemic prowess, she is naturally more resistant than the others, and Honerva has to hack through her mind and memories in order to properly subdue her. This sequence will directly mirror that in TKOL: Alfor is Allura's guardian rather than Zarkon's, and he guards her with love, rather than with terror. Honerva is confused by this distinction, and so she is nearly expelled from Allura's mind -- until that which Alfor is guarding, the child Allura, pleads for him to stop. She says, 'Father, why are you attacking godmother?'. Honerva is so surprised, she says to Allura that she should, by all rights, want her dead. Allura says something to the extent of 'Everybody deserves a second chance'. She then says that she thinks it's unfair that Honerva had to sacrifice her autonomy for Zarkon's sake, because no one person ought to live for another. Everybody should live for themselves. And then Allura's consciousness, teen!Allura, in a panic, kills child!Allura for fear of having to face up to her words. Honerva rushes to child!Allura, and as she does, Allura, with one final push, forces her out of her mind. Honerva finishes carving out the rift between realities.
Now, because I cut TKOL down to one episode, we actually have three more left rather than two. As Honerva speeds across realities, Allura is quick to follow. Except, before they go, Lance grabs her and wills her to stop. He tells her that he loves her, that he knows what she's thinking, that to stop this she's going to have to lay down her life. He tells her that he'll make sure she won't have to, that they'll figure out a way to save everyone without Allura's sacrifice. Voltron's travel through realities is framed as a journey through warped memory lane. Pidge is standing on the grave of Olkarion, through which she determinedly digs in order to unearth her family; she doesn't stop even as her fingers blister and tears of helplessness stream down her face. Hunk is hoisting the dying Balmera on his shoulders to protect his family from its weight; he rouses the spirits of the Balmerans to help him in an endeavour initially percieved hopeless. Lance envisions his family telling him he is weak, worthless, not enough. There are certain physical and personal inconsistencies amongst them, though, and confident in his self-worth, Lance points them out and banishes his insecurity. Shiro gets to reunite with Adam, and Adam tells him he is sorry, and that Shiro deserves to move on for all he's suffered. Keith gets to reunite with his father, who tells him to let go; that suffering does not constitute strength, that he cannot push himself forever. And Allura sees Lotor, who promises her the world, the universe, everything quantifiable. And Allura kills him. The entity is seated deeper within her now, and it preys on her sacrificial instinct like never before. She does not believe she is worth *having* anything.
Next, we have 'The Zenith'. So, Honerva's reunion with Zarkon goes a little... differently. It's implied that the Honerva of *that* reality was killed by her research. TKOL also implies that (through his comments to Keith) post-quintessence Zarkon's racial superiority complex was only heightened, rather than invented. I think it would be interesting to integrate that into this reality. Slowly, we -- alongside Honerva -- gather hints that Zarkon is not the good man he seems to be. That he is indirectly responsible for Honerva's death. And when Lotor rejects Honerva, and Honerva shows upset, Zarkon snaps. And Honerva realises what it is she's been angry at all along. Except, the fabric of all realities is being torn apart. Apart from those who cross realities (Voltron + Honerva), personages begin to merge. Lotor flickers between a child and adult; Zarkon flickers between pre-corruption and post. I think, with Lotor, it's important to recognise Honerva's entitlement towards him is very abstract. It's more like an entitlement to an idea -- so unlike what s8 shows us, I think that rather than have Honerva's end fixation be on Lotor, it ought to be on Zarkon. Her vengeance quest therefore culminates in her murder of Zarkon. Lotor oscillates between slow-clapping (as an adult) and wailing in agony (as a child). And then, I think, she realises that through Lotor she has perpetrated Zarkon's induced cycle of abuse. She tries to quiet his tears, but child!Lotor pushes her away and adult!Lotor is repulsed, and it's then that she realises that her effort has been for nought. Her life ceases to have meaning. She's gotten her revenge, and now what?
So, in the final episode, Voltron arrives at the reality Honerva is positioned in. Honerva finds herself steeped in regret; she sees Allura's perspective now. Allura, meanwhile, by the entity's urging, breaks free from Voltron and speeds to the skies to sacrifice herself. The entity whispers that this is her destiny, her purpose finally to be fulfilled. For a moment, Allura stops. She gains clarity: of Lance telling her he loves her, that there is another way. And that second is enough for Honerva to jar her out of the way and take her place. Subsequently, the universe is restored, and barring Allura -- on account of the piece of the White Lion still within her -- nobody remembers Honerva's sacrifice.
So, this is like, an extremely rough draft; I would like some character moments in-between, of course. More of Allura with the mice, Coran's fatherly feelings expanded upon, Allurance, Allura's relationship with New Altea & Romelle, etc. Many of the plot points are triggered by Honerva because she is a more active figure this season. I figured Allura's arc ought to be about being forced to reckon with the fact that she is worth something; being forced to live, as she deserves. Probably could be done better than how I envisioned it, but...
Thank you for the ask! I greatly enjoyed the brainstorm!!
