Speak no evil. See no evil. Do no evil. Hear no evil.
Honerva gives the Paladins exactly what they think they want, but in turn it destroys them. There is a chuck load of symbolism here for my Galra AU and it is giving me Feelings(tm). I will delve into the meta of this under the cut.
LANCE
In canon we see that Lance wants glory - he wants to be important and recognized as a hero. He craves attention and he wants to be fawned over by the ladies. Honerva gives him exactly this when she gives him power. Through his poison immunity and rigorous training, Lance becomes one of the most intimidatingly powerful galra within the Empire. He becomes the “super soldier” and in turn gets the attention of all the ladies.
In the end, he absolutely hates it. Probably likes it at first but he now feels trapped, constantly having to live up to this standard of the hero lest he disappoint everyone and stuck in this cycle of seeing girls he doesn't want to be with. Because of his poison he fears he can’t ever truly settle down with someone.
Speak no evil fits Lance for a number of reasons. His mouth is his most dangerous weapon due to his venom. He is the first to learn the truth and tell the other Paladins they were once human. Due to his many interactions courting women, he knows numerous secrets, even damning secrets of the Empire. And we all know Lance to be a talker...
PIDGE
A curious mind, Pidge has always wanted to know how things work. Especially at the young age of 10 where the story begins, she wants to learn and be as smart as her older brother and parents. When Honerva presents her with unlimited knowledge, of course she dives in with little doubt. But such knowledge comes with a price, and that price is the side effects of druidcraft.
Pidge gets all the knowledge she could possibly want when she learns druidcraft and with her high status she's left to her own devices. But over time she realizes how it alienates her from everyone else, that no one can understand her or even like her because everyone fears her, and she starts to feel very lonely. Pidge yearns to be loved. But due to her delving in druidcraft, she knows she is only feared by everyone within the Empire, and the negative side effects have made her unsightly.
See no evil fits Pidge because Honerva helps her to literally see the future, but never the bits that would destroy the lies she’s woven together. With her seer abilities she will also be able to look into the past and confirm Lance’s revelation is true, at least the part where they were once human.
HUNK
Hunk struggles with fear and anxiety and he doesn’t want to be a coward. He wants to be strong. Honerva promises him that with strength, he will have no need to be fearful anymore. Hunk cannot handle the carnage of war and becomes an engineer, designing ships for the Empire instead of fighting and conquering like the other Paladins.
But Hunk's strength comes in uniting people and supporting them and he doesn't get that when he's stuck in a lab all day. Like Pidge, he's lonely and feels very unfulfilled despite getting what he thought he wanted. Though he is physically strong, Hunk isn’t fighting any battles when he’s left alone tinkering on ships, and has no opportunities to grow.
Do no evil fits Hunk because he is the one who cannot bring himself to pull the trigger. While the others are transformed in more than appearance to become killers, Hunk stays true to his desire to do no harm to others. Even after learning the truth he will have a hard time fighting against his Empire.
KEITH
An outsider, an orphan, an odd one at best, Keith has never felt like he belonged somewhere. Losing his parents at a young age, he doesn’t know the meaning of family and yearns to have a home and people who love him. When he’s abducted and learns he was actually half galra all along, he finally feels like he’s where he’s meant to be. Honerva gives him the family he never had, the family he’s always wanted.
And ironically enough, becoming fully galra and being with a galra family is still not meeting his needs. He feels like he's just a disposable pawn despite being a favored Paladin. He needs genuine bonds, and even though he feels that with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, he needs them under Voltron instead of the guise of a fake family. He’s given what he wants, but in a way that doesn’t satisfy his needs.
Hear no evil fits Keith because he is the least objectionable to Honerva’s plans in the beginning. He believes they were meant to become galra, that all of this was meant to happen. He is the one who fights against Lance the hardest when they learn the truth. He is complacent to be galra and remain a soldier for the Empire, but he has to find it in himself to be the leader of Voltron and fight against that which he called home...
