Still obsessed with the crew going "yea they might not end up together this time, but Keith and Allura love each other to the ends of the universe" and kept posting all this art of other media where they're dressed as the love interests in that media – and did that whole con hunt with the storyboards for their Ark of Taujeer pre-escapade hangar talk – and had Steven put all the warmth and emotion into his voice for "Remember when we first met Allura..." in the conference room – and had him support her through the depths of her missions – and had Keith be told Allura would have been so proud of the man he became – and had them tell each other about how much impact they've had on each other – and made them embrace so lovingly but couldn't even animate them letting go of each other and and and
Thinking so much about the intimate way the camera focused on the physical closeness of Keith and Allura on their final hug... Zoomed all the way in to obscure how their bodies touch, yet still emphasizing the proximity of their faces to each other.
The way this hug, in 40 frames, establishes the intensity, yet deniability, of their relationship - because everyone else got visible loving yet despairing hugs and a soft kiss, but Keith and Allura got a sustained focus on just their faces. And still, the depth of the intimacy and sadness is laced in the animation - Allura, slowly approaching Keith, eyes closed even before she touches him; Keith, the curl of his body subtle in the way his head minutely bows as they hold each other, his facial expression central to the experience.
Gonna be honest, but every time I think about Keith, the first thing I think of is the intensity of his quiet love for Allura. It's like... I can't actually separate Keith's love for Allura from him at any time. Not that his whole life is in honour of Allura, because of course not. But I guess I've been so steeped in reading his late s7-to-s8 actions as an indication that he doesn't have the time to be selfish anymore with this woman — that his love manifested out of regret for his actions, reflection on its reasoning, and acceptance of the impact of her on his heart (and in s8, the overarching fear of losing her forever and wanting to facilitate her plans because Allura needs to know if there is dissent from everyone, he will always be behind her despite that — he will always be the single voice saying "yes" loudly over a chorus of "no"'s.). That's been a big part of Keith to me since 2018 and it's just... it's just him. His love for her is just a big part of him.
Let's talk about the conference room scene in Season 8, Episode 11.
I wanted to delve into the contexts of Keith and Lance's conference room conversation, their mutual resolve, and my observation that Allura has always been central to their conversation, especially from Keith's side.
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To add context to this scene, we have to take context from the previous scene and call-to-action - the Mission Postmortem.
Keith and Pidge debrief the ensemble on their findings and explanations of Honerva's behaviour from their previous mission in Episodes 9 and 10 - a mission where, at its tail end, Allura is incapacitated.
As Allura's partner, Lance doesn't take this well -
"We know what Honerva wants to do, but we can't get to her. [...] Without Allura, we can't chase her, and we can't form Voltron."
I've been a big proponent of the idea that narrative intention can be gleaned not just from the script and context of a scene, but together with how the final animation itself is framed and voiced - especially because animation as a visual medium is planned with specific intentions.
It's interesting to note that "we can't form Voltron" falls on a shot where Keith is in the foreground of the frame. I'm taking this from the bones of another piece of analysis, but Episodes 9 and 10 shows that Keith understands that Voltron requires connection -
and as such, having one person incapacitated means that the bond, and Voltron itself, is considered incomplete.
Keith knows that having Allura out of commission hurts the greater mission, but at its core, her being out of commission hurts Team Voltron. Lance's defeatism is an example of that - Keith understands exactly how Lance feels, and as such, he is the one who approaches Lance after the Postmortem, with:
"[Allura's] gonna be okay." - framing this conversation entirely in context of Allura.
Lance's "I hope so" and subsequent statements about Honerva's plans still highlight his defeatism about Allura's incapacitation and its impact on them, though - and Keith tries something different.
Note that Keith is in focus and dominates the frames in the foreground when he reminisces about meeting Allura for the first time -
And although he is out of focus while he reminisces on his observations of her, he is still in the foreground of the frames.
"... and it worked."
This scene, although between Keith and Lance in presence, clarifies exactly how Keith feels about Allura - taking note of three things:
His choice in highlighting their first days with Allura as a shared memory between him and Lance - appealing to both Lance's current romance with her, but also implying how closely he's held this memory himself;
His observations of Allura calling back to their earliest meeting, implying that Keith has been taking note of Allura and her habits since the first episode, seven seasons ago;
The animators' choice to soften Keith's facial expression for the sequence where he talks about her, because his expression prior to mentioning her by name is entirely neutral, implying that Allura is closer to his heart than otherwise believed.
I'm also of the idea that this current statement from Keith reverts his previous statement to Hunk in Season 7, Episode 6:
Keith states to Lance in the conference room that, yes, Allura's belief in them was insecure, but her unwavering faith in them has brought them this far, and has essentially changed the both of them:
And Keith extends to Lance, in the same way that Allura's faith has guided them to this moment, for him to honour Allura by having unwavering faith in not just her and her awakening, but also faith in the possibility of righting Honerva's wrongs.
I've been going through my final Netflix rewatch of the show with a friend of mine, and I caught this blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Keith glancing backwards to Allura after they stumble during AR!Slav's bomb detonations in 3.04, 'Hole in the Sky'.
And it's just... something to note because this isn't something I'd have expected to be included, with everyone's focus on their own footing. And yet, Keith is drawn and animated to look back at Allura in this sequence.
Keith's concern and care for Allura is sometimes hidden in split-second moments.
so like Coran knows Allura likes Keith and I have proof? it’s called s2e4: Greening the Cube :)
here’s my proof:
I know he’s looking for something and you know, mice are finicky, but here’s the thing:
1. They’re linked to Allura’s mind
2. Why would they need to be in Keith’s room like there’s no way they could have gotten in - the doors are closed and afaik there’s no random exit points in his room?
3. They’re linked to Allura’s mind aka: why didn’t Coran seek out Allura to ask her where they would be if she could communicate with them to bring back his item?
4. They’re linked to Allura’s mind aka: why go to Keith’s room unless you KNOW where Allura’s mind wanders 👀
there’s my 4 points. Allura has a crush on Keith. thanks for reading
