On Lance and Keith, and the water/fire and sun/moon dynamics
Saw a post talking about how Lance and Keith are actually more like the other's element and is a really interesting but I found myself disagreeing though I didn't want to argue in OPs post.
I remember there was a part that said that Keith had to mold himself for survival, and, for what I remember, Keith very much does NOT do that.
Someone who molds himself to fit better would have gone into the Garrison to become a model of a perfect cadet, instead Keith is rebellious, and is not afraid of confrontation. He challenges Iverson and fights James and doesn't care if he makes an enemy out of the rest of the other cadets. They don't like it? sucks to suck because he is that good and he knows he is good.
In that same Garrison flashback, Lance actually tells Keith that if Keith keeps messing around he will be stuck as a cargo pilot, Lance tries to follow instructions, molds himself to be a good cadet because that's what is expected for him to be a fighter pilot, only that, things don't go that way, Keith is the one becoming a fighter pilot instead.
Even in his role as Black Paladin, Keith doesn't mold himself as much as he grows into it, like a flame growing to consume space.
Keith is a very straight forward guy, and rarely if ever, tries to hide his feelings, he is very sincere in what he does and means and he does things because he thinks is the best for everyone.
Take leaving the team for the Blades, while I do think he also did it so Lance didn't have to feel left out, I think he also did it so he could go and find more about his origins and himself, making what he thought was the best decision for both the team and himself.
What i'm trying to say is that t I never got the impression that Keith was afraid of showing himself. Just like a fire that doesn't change itself to fit in one place. He can be abrasive and powerful and hurtful like a wildfire and can also be warm and comforting and protective from the harsh circumstances like a fireplace. The presentation is the same, he just needed to learn to channel it better.
And that's why I think Lance had a bone to pick with him, or at least one of the reasons.
The previous description fits Lance to a tee, he can be downright mean and bitchy when he wants but also will give you friendly words and comfort when needed. Just like water can be overpowering and traitorous like the ocean while also bringing life and cleansing.
The thing is that while Keith didn't feel the need to mold for others, Lance does it with a lot of ease.
Being either a friendly welcoming face for the aliens they encounter, an emotional support for his team, a goodball to lift spirits for his friends, or a right hand man to two different leaders.
There is a reason he was usually referred as a jack of all trades just like Blue, not the tankiest or the fastest but it will be hard to find a place he won't be able to fill.
That's also while I support the sun Keith/moon Lance dynamic.
No matter how emo or mysterious he is, Keith shines bright not caring who may end up burning on his path, he is powerful and brilliant and good luck trying to ignore that. He burns but knowing he exists gives you hope for a new day. "He is the future" just like Lance said.
While Lance is the moon, who is always the same but will take on different faces depending the situation, the fact that you can stare directly at him doesn't mean he is letting you see the full picture. He shines in the dark offering guide in hard times but also caring for his team from afar as the resident sniper. Nurturing and kind, always tied to the waters and Earth.
They are still very similar, that's why they are a duo but I still think Keith at his core is fire just like Lance's is water.
And also to spread the Sun Keith/Moon Lance agenda.
Honestly, I’m thinking of making these charts for some other ships too (like Allura/Lance, Keith/Lance/Allura, Hunk/Keith, Shiro/Allura, Shiro/Adam, Hunk/Shay), but I’m not sure if I should — so feel free to tell me if you'd be interested!
tumblr will Snipe me if i put a link in this post but i finally posted that 64 slide klance powerpoint presentation i was talking about like 84 years ago. i’ll put the actual link in a reblog and see if that still gets me flagged but either way it’s up on my twitter rn <3 my handle there is the same as it is here
Okay so I know its been like months but I realized that I never really ranted about some things and its bothering me so now I just really feel the need to coz I have no one irl to talk to about this and I have like absolutely no life so listen up (this is gonna be long).
One thing I really never got was how they handled klance in s8. So usually when you kill off a ship you KILL IT OFF. But like honestly, even tho not everyone may think so, klance really thrived in s8 and I have no idea why. So let me explain.
First of all we have this scene right here:
What???
What did this even mean?
Was it necessary?
Was it deliberate?
Did it have a purpose?
Did it have to?
So.Many.Questions!
I think what really strikes me about this scene is the timing and the placement. Why this episode? Why didn’t they put this scene in an episode where Lance and Allura were already dating? It would have made more sense if they wanted people to see this as a friendship thing because Lance would have already been in a relationship so it clearly would not mean anything more than just friendship right? But because Lance was still technically single, it made people think that there might be a spark between these two characters.
In this episode they payed special attention to Lance and his relationship with Allura (or at least they tried to). The first episode is titled ‘Launch DATE’. This episode was clearly meant to focus on Lance and Allura’s date. But then we have this scene, randomly placed in the middle of the episode. Here Lance goes out LOOKING for Keith! He wants Keith’s company. The truth is that its actually never made clear why he goes to Keith in the first place. Lance goes to Coran before this but he had a clear reason for that visit. He wanted to ask Coran about Allura. But why does he go to Keith? Well actually it really doesn’t matter because Keith always manages to cheer him up. Maybe Lance just wanted support for his date? Maybe he thought Keith would tell him something? Stop him from going?
Not only that but this scene implies that Lance was desperate to see Keith because Keith was on top of black in the middle of the desert or something and Lance literally climbed to the top to find him. Plus Lance was still wearing the ‘courting vestments’ Coran made for him. So you’re telling me Lance didn’t even bother changing before looking for Keith!??? Maybe the pressure was just getting to him and he knew that the right person to encourage and praise him was Keith. And you know what, if anything this scene proves that Keith is Lance’s confidence because honestly, if this scene didn’t happen I wonder if Lance would have ever told Allura that he loves her. That was all Keith’s doing. Keith gave him the confidence he needed for his date.
If they wanted the Allurance date to be the main attraction or climax of this episode, they made a mistake putting in this scene because whether they did it intentionally or not this scene tops Lance’s ‘actual’ date. Keith tells Lance everything he needs to hear and Lance is HAPPY, no they both are, unlike in the Allurance date. For the most of that scene both Allura and Lance seem down and talk about serious worries like the war or having no home and family. It seems as though they only end up in this relationship because they almost feel sorry for one another.
Sometimes I truly wonder whether this sunset scene was meant to just please the audience. Maybe soften the blow a little bit and appease the shippers before their ship gets destroyed. Or were they consciously trying to prove that this relationship even tops the canon one? Maybe they put it in last minute because they realized they made a mistake and it was too late to change much. Maybe they put it in so that in any future projects if they somehow made it canon it wouldn’t seem so crazy because this single scene shows how close they grew. Or maybe they just didn’t realize how well they made this relationship. Guess we’ll never know.
There’s so many more scenes like this in s8. Like this one (also in the first episode):
Hunk is talking to Lance about the show (80′s Voltron) that was made about the paladins. He talks about how they’re portrayed within the show. He mentions how “Allura’s a little different” but something changes when he mentions Keith. Keith is the last one he mentions and he says “And Keith is friendly! He’s happy all the time!” and then he looks into the camera at the corner of his eye as if addressing the audience and says “They got it so wrong!”. Why does he look into the camera like that? As if he wants to see our reaction, kind of teasing us maybe? The truth is they know we ship Klance so they know what’s gonna make us excited or interested right! They deliberately have him mention Keith because they want us to think “OMG Hunk just mentioned Keith, lets see how Lance reacts!” And well he does, after Hunk mentions a hinted romance between Keith and Allura, Lance freaks out! Why!? Well what they try to do is have Lance seem upset by it because HE wants to be with Allura right? Well maybe, but there’s still something else implied there. Maybe Lance just doesn’t want the two people he has feelings for ending up together. He should end up with at least one of them right. And there’s no way he’s gonna admit to Hunk that he may have hidden feelings for Keith so he just goes with the one that seems more normal and says that it should be him and Allura. And I think in a way he himself doesn’t really understand his feelings toward Keith either. He just knows that the idea of Keith and Allura together sets him on edge.
But then Hunk mentions a love triangle but he doesn’t really mention how this love triangle works. We are left to think that there may be a love triangle between Allura, Lance and Keith right? but who’s in the middle of that triangle. I guess its up to us to decide. By Lance saying that it should be him and Allura instead of Keith and Allura it implies that Allura is the one in the middle. But actually, what if Lance is the one in the middle.
I mean that first episode did have a sort of love triangley feel to it didn’t it. But there’s no way Allura is in the middle because Lance and Keith don’t EVER fight over Allura. In fact Keith congratulates Lance on their date. They are clearly friendly with one another. Why does it feel weird if Allura is in the middle? Because she’s not, Lance is. And they mentioned this love triangle because they knew it was something that the fandom thought was happening to Lance’s relationship with Allura and Keith.
I mean take this scene for example:
This is some love triangle stuff right here. Lance is clearly tense being around both Allura and Keith. And even tho he’s already dating Allura at this point he still feels something toward Keith and having both of them with him in the same space is a bit pressurizing. Plus Keith isn’t exactly thrilled to be around the couple either. Right after Allura calms Lance down Keith says “Lets move out.” in a very blunt manner. Maybe he wanted to be the one to be Lance’s support in that moment? He always is, so why not now? He takes a step back and allows Allura to be the one to calm Lance down. Maybe he wants to distance himself a bit? Maybe I’m overthinking this? Who knows?
Although I do know one thing, and its that there is literally no other explanation for this scene right here:
With this scene either they were trying to tease their audience, please their audience or hint that Lance may have feelings for Keith and may be bi.
They’ve done scenes like this before where Lance freaks out about a girl mentioning Keith but this time its WAY different coz this isn’t some girl Lance has a crush on and wants to be with. No this is Veronica, his sister who asks about Keith this time. He freaks out and rambles on about how ‘bad’ Keith is and how Veronica and Keith is never gonna happen. Let me remind you that this scene literally takes place right after the sunset scene and if that scene was meant to imply that Keith and Lance were nothing but best friends then if anything Lance should be glad that his sister wants to be with someone who he admires as his leader and best friend. He clearly displayed that he doesn’t hate Keith anymore when they were watching the sunset together on black except they weren’t watching the sunset, they were staring lovingly into each others eyes.
So why does he freak out? Simple. Even though he’s going out with Allura he sill doesn’t want to give Keith away that easily.
What’s also funny is that right after this Lance’s mother tells Allura that “Lance never brings girls home”. Sooooo?...He used to bring boys home? And then Allura says “That’s strange. He always gave off the impression of being rather popular with women”. Well maybe that’s all it is, an IMPRESSION. Bi Lance anyone?
And of course we have this:
You know what I’m done! Just look at those faces! I don’t know what to say anymore!
Keith comforting Lance and making him feel better and giving him confidence again!? Really!?
Whether the implications within this relationship was intentional or not it proves that Klance didn’t even have to be canon for us to know how much they loved each other.
Okay so y'all are sleeping on the After Buzz interview!!! There's SO MUCH Klance goodness to unpack here, it's full meta worthy.
Okay, so I'm sure by now everyone who regularly views the Klance tag has seen a short 20-30 second video clip from this interview going around. We're all pretty hyped about it (as we should be!)
For those who haven't seen that clip because they live under a rock: it's basically a 45 minute interview all about The Fued episode.
Here's the thing though: that 20-30 second video clip does NOT even CLOSE to do justice to the significance of Klance hinted at in this interview!! That clip isn't even the best part, imo! I highly recommend, before you even scroll down to read this meta, that you click on that video and watch from about 34:50 to about 37:20. That's the clip I'm gonna write about.
Watched it? Okay. Good.
Now listen up.
Somebody was in the Klance tag earlier tryna get people down by saying the interviewer was the one who brought up Klance, but if you watch the video clip I reccomend above, that's not true at all.
The interviewer was asking in general about how they decided who would pick who at the end of the episode. Lauren is the one who brought up Keith and Lance and their dynamic, pretty much out of the blue.
The interviewer asked how they decided who was gonna pick who, and they're talking about who wrote the episode, giving Tim credit, etc.
Lauren started saying Bob was trying to get the better of the team, and having them all choose someone besides themselves and having everyone get chosen, and show they all respect each other, was the only way to beat Bob.
But JDS had a different view.
JDS: "I think Bob was just trying to help them realize it. I don't think he had it out for them, I think he was--his endgame was, like, I want these guys to work."
I know JDS was trying to sound like he was referencing the entire team here - but honestly? I don't think he was.
I say that because, when I first watched this episode as a Klance shipper, this was the exact thought I had regarding Klance. I flipped because I was thinking, "Wowza, Bob's really out here tryna bring Keith and Lance together, huh. Number one Klancer right there, ol' Bob." I've always thought that Bob was low key trying to play matchmaker for Klance and this kinda sort of confirms that in a way, I think.
JDS: "We were like 'how's this gonna happen?' then we read it and we were like '...oh that's pretty smart, yeah.'"
LM: "That is a good way for that to happen."
JDS: "It all worked out, yeah."
I don't understand how this relates to the team as a whole.
I don't understand how this relates to the team platonically choosing each other.
They all like and respect each other. We already know this. What does JDS mean by "how its gonna happen"? How is what going to happen?
Good way for what to happen, LM?
Keep in mind, Bob is essentially an all-knowing deity. If Keith and Lance have romantic feelings for each other, he for sure knows, and was trying to help them realize it just like JDS said.
After this, the interviewer continues on talking about Keith and Lance dynamic and how theres always gonna be that little bit of antagonism between them even though they're mostly getting along now. The interviewer even brings up the "dont miss" snippet scene that pretty much everyone but Klancers brushed off in season 7.
And if you listen while the interviewer is talking about Keith and Lance and their dynamic, LM is kind of saying "yeah" in the background in a weird way, like she kind of sees, the same way I do, that the interviewer is thinking along a line of Klance.
It sounds like she maybe doesn't want to talk about it? It's hard to explain, just listen to it.
And LM kinda awkardly says "aww" at one point while the interviewer is talking about Keith and Lance dynamic. Like I'm sorry but..why aww? And why so awkwardly?
I think LM's mind is thinking in a way geared toward Klance/not spoiling Klance in these last few moments of the interview and she's trying to placate. Again, it's hard to explain, just listen for yourself.
The same person in the Klance tag earlier who was tryna get people down pointed out that, after this, JDS compares Keith and Lance to a relationship he has with a buddy of his. Debbie downer said JDS thinks of Keith and Lance as friends.
I dont think so.
I think they say little things like this to kind of hint at Klance without straight up spoiling Klance. They throw in comments like that to throw water on the fire, so to speak, to keep people from catching on.
(Also: he's not wrong at all. At this point in the show Keith and Lance ARE buddies. It's slow burn. They aren't romantic yet - but they will be.)
But also...RIGHT after JDS makes the buddy comparison is when the moment happens of LM talking, the popular 20-30 second clip that's been going around tumblr.
This is the part I'm sure you've all seen. Lauren says that Lance is maturing, moving on, and opening up by calling Keith the future. She also puts emphasis on Keith's name. "I think KEITH is the future."
And after this is yet another moment that negative peeps are tryna bring KICKers down with; Lauren says Keith is so perturbed by the whole game show thing that he doesn't put much thought into who he chose.
But...that doesnt quite add up.
Earlier in the interview, they were talking about how Keith is just so calm through the whole thing.
LM and JDS said it's because they couldn't really get a hold of Steven Yeun to revoice the lines in a more concerned tone. They make a joke about how he's not exactly easy to get ahold of (lmfao yeah we've noticed.)
Then JDS points out that it really works out, actually, that Keith is so calm, because after flying magical mechanical space lions to form a giant magical mechanical space man, there's likely very little that could perturb Keith at this point, so his meh attitude toward the game show makes sense.
That doesn't add up with him being "so perturbed" by the game show thing that he just chooses at random.
Either he's calm and collected during the game show or he's not. It can't be both ways.
So did Keith choose Lance with a calm and clear mind, or was he shaken and choosing at random? They were very inconsistent with this.
But imo? Keith isn't one to get very riled up or perturbed by things like this. Keith also isn't one to make such an important life or death decision of who should be free to leave without putting any thought into it. That doesn't match his character at all.
LM and JDS did something they often do here, which is the good cop bad cop routine.
One of them hints at Klance, then the other pulls back and tries to make it seem less romantic. Then the one who tried to make it seem less romantic hints at Klance themselves, and the one who originally hinted at Klance tries to ease it back a little.
They do this constantly when discussing Keith and Lance in any way. It's like a rhythm they've got going to stoke the flames and then splash a little water in; not starting a wildfire, but not putting it out completely.
Another thing I noticed: they said earlier on in the video that, originally, the game show was meant to be the final episode before they got back to earth.
Originally, the stakes for the game show were supposed to be "win and you basically get wormholed back to your solar system."
They decided to switch the episode order around because it didn't feel right to have them get back to earth right on the heels of a silly game show; it made the stakes seem like they were less serious, and they didn't want that (makes perfect sense! Good call!)
One note of specific pessimism for Klancers after season seven was that we got that one he's like, the future moment and then Lance turns right around and is angry and snapping at Keith in the episode where they were going space mad.
This made a lot of Klancers lose hope because they felt like any potential was fizzled out when that one moment early on in the season was almost all the Klance we got (I personally think there were more Klance moments than just the Fued in season seven, and I even think Lance snapping at Keith about running away was a low key Klance moment, but that's another meta for another time.)
But...apparently...the space mad episode was originally meant to come BEFORE the Fued.
Y'all know what that means?
It means that, originally...Lance was going to snap at Keith about running away...and then he was going to call Keith the future later on.
This makes a hell of a lot more sense in the terms of Klance being a slow burn. It was the change of episode order that threw us.
Also notice that...they didn't specifically talk about any other characters or the relationship between any othercharacters. They JUST talked about Lance and Keith.
The interviewer asked in general how they decided who was going to choose who...and the showrunners just straight up spent three minutes talking about Keith and Lance without a single mention of the other three paladins.
The interviewer didn't bring up Klance. Lauren brought up Klance. The interviewer saw the opportunity and started digging a little, AFTER Lauren brought it up.
I just...
You guys.
You guys.
All of this, plus the fact that the Garfle Warfle Snick logo is an exact replica of the irl Dating Game logo, plus the fact that Josh Keaton said this episode contains "a lot of foreshadowing," plus the way Lance looked so kind and soft when he called Keith the future, plus the confused looks Pidge and Hunk had when Lance and Keith chose each other, like they sense this was more than a bro moment?
Do you think there’s more to Lance’s one-sided rivalry with Keith when they were at the Garrison ? Why do you think he started the rivalry ?
ooh, good question.
i definitely think there’s more to their rivalry xD here’s what i think:
first off, i don’t think it started right away. we’ve gotten flashbacks from their very early days at the garrison, all from Keith and Shiro’s perspectives, and based on those, it doesn’t really seem like Lance considered Keith his “rival” yet.
the one interaction we see between them in that scene is Lance warning Keith, in his own ridiculous way, about the consequences of his reckless actions.
both of them, at age ~13 or so, are MUCH less mature than they are now, but still, this is a huge reflection of where they ended up. Keith being impulsive, and Lance being the one to step in and (much more successfully) calm him down.
believe it or not in that interaction, which was probably one of their first, their dynamic was just a early version of their current relationship. they still had a LONG way to go, but Lance then was trying to help Keith out, just like he does now :’’)
Lance isn’t in any other part of those flashbacks. that episode was focused on Keith and Shiro, with a little Hunk/Keith interaction thrown in there, possibly to foreshadow the development they get later on in the season. we see Hunk’s scared reaction to Keith and James’s fight.
but we DON’T SEE LANCE’S.
Lance WAS there, he’s the one farthest over on the left:
but they chose NOT to include him in the fight scene. they included Hunk, but not Lance.
to me, this means that we’re going to get moments of Lance at the garrison in s8, maybe even this scene again but from his perspective. i wouldn’t be surprised if this scene was not only a big moment in Keith’s character arc, but also in Lance’s.
in this scene, Lance definitely didn’t consider Keith his rival. they had yet to be sorted into groups based on their abilities, and were being evaluated by the staff, probably to see where all their individual strengths lay. but i do think that Lance was already a little jealous of Keith’s abilities here, albeit annoyed.
at some point after these flashbacks, Hunk was made an engineer, Keith a fighter pilot, and Lance a cargo pilot. and what was Lance’s biggest dream?
when Lance was made a cargo pilot, he must have been FURIOUS.
but why pick on Keith? easy, he wanted to be just like Keith, the best pilot in their class. he admired him immensely, but obviously didn’t want to say that out loud, he couldn’t even admit it to himself, so he settled on creating their “rivalry.” and what exactly prompted this decision?
well, seeing how Lance was given Keith’s position as a fighter pilot after he got kicked out, i’m guessing that he was next in line for the spot. Keith and Lance may have been competing for the final fighter pilot spot. Keith, although he was the best flyer, had many discipline issues that obviously made the staff wary of making him a fighter pilot. Lance, on the other hand, had less skill, but was seemingly a good student (that we know of).
and as we know, the staff ended up choosing Keith, probably causing Lance to single him out and make them “rivals.”
if this is true, i have no idea. to me that seems like the best explanation based on what we currently know, but i could be completely wrong of course lol.
i do really think that we’ll get the true answer in s8 though. why? because of what we got for everyone else’s flashbacks.
for Pidge, her arc is about family and perseverance. we got flashbacks about her efforts to sneak into the garrison to find Matt, and individual memories she had of him and her that were important to her.
with Hunk, his arc is about bravery and believing in himself. his flashbacks were with his family, and how he started believing in his engineering and mechanic abilities. we also got that one of a younger Hunk at he garrison, looking worried because James and Keith were causing trouble.
with Shiro, we saw how seemingly perfect his life was pre-Kerberos, and how he selflessly helped and mentored Keith. but we saw how even great leaders like him have flaws, and that even Shiro does not have a perfect life, what with Adam and his degenerative disease.
Allura, we haven’t gotten SPECIFIC flashbacks for, and i wouldn’t be surprised if we got more in s8. but we HAVE seen her interact with her father’s hologram in s1, and saw her as a baby, during Coran’s story of the paladins of old. her interactions with her father were about leadership, the premise of her arc.
Keith, we got flashbacks of his infancy with Krolia and his dad. then we learned how Shiro took him in and the influence he had on Keith. Shiro helped him learn to believe in himself, and became the brother he never had.
i guess i’m trying to say that they don’t just stick flashbacks in for no reason. everyone else’s flashbacks were important parts of their stories, and Lance’s will be too. and with Lance, the most important thing to him was being a fighter pilot. so we will definitely learn more about his journey at/leading up to him becoming a fighter pilot, which no doubt will include how Keith fits in and how he started the rivalry.
their stories are intertwined.
Lance’s flashbacks are going to include this, no doubt. there’s no way they would leave this huge plot hole: the storywriters are great, and they definitely haven’t overlooked this, especially since they included information about everyone else’s pasts in great detail.
holy shit i feel like i got so off topic…i tried to answer your question and of course it got more detailed. whoops. 🙄🙄🙄 anyway, i hope this post suffices. have a good day, and KICK. ; )
I had to go over this scene again and I was surprised with what I realised. Going over it again without being anxious really makes a difference 😂
So this scene:
Keith is not being mean here. He was actually provoking Lance, he was challenging him.
Look, the people who are like "wtf Keith, you know Lance won't miss. You should know better, seeming as he shot a knife before it sliced you"
You are totally right! Keith does know. Just, don't automatically assume that Keith was being mean or off. His expression and tone don't match it.
Keith does know Lance is an excellent shot.
Keith also knows Lance's potential. That wasn't lost this season.
Keith was still building Lance up this season. He was doing that in here by exploiting their old dynamic; getting under the other's skin.
Rest lies under the cut:
We know that Lance likes to prove people wrong, it's a way of proving himself wrong. That's what gives him fuel. It's why he pushed himself to be a good pilot. We saw that majorly in the Family Feud episode:
He was pumped, enthused, determined
Though he did give in, when he got scared
"I wasn't listening to that. You know I'm the dumb one!"
Keith knew that provoking him would get a rise out of Lance because they used to be like that. Lance especially knew what got under Keith's skin.
Lance always challenged Keith, now Keith is doing that to Lance
But it's different now. These two still have the dynamic of S3, Keith knows Lance is insecure, Keith knows his potential, Keith also wants Lance at his best. So what better way to get Lance enthused that to challenge him?
The roles have been reversed. Keith is now the one challenging Lance
This is honestly so fucking awesome.
Keith, being the team leader now, knows each persons strengths and weaknesses, he is exploiting this knowledge here. So getting under Lance’s skin, challenging and provoking him gets Lance to play to his strengths. It’s what Lance did to get attention.
Keith knows that Lance has insecurities
He knows Lance has a weakness. But also in relation to the bedroom scene, Keith knows Lance's strengths. That is why Keith said things will work themselves out, then proceeded to step aside and left.
Lance is giving up on himself though.
But Keith continually showed that he is riding a lot on Lance and putting the most faith in him, despite Lance being unsure; of himself and of Keith's intentions (if he will leave again)
Keith and Lance always know what hits too close to home with the other. Hence why we still get this
Keith and Lance are bad at communicating at times because Keith used to be reserved, always better at actions rather than words and Lance always gets mixed feelings/emotions when it comes to Keith, especially when it seemed to hurt his pride. They are unsure about the others intentions and then have miscommunication and they end up hurting each other.
Keith is working on his words
Lance is finding himself still
Lance and Keith have a lot of talking to do. But the roles have switched slightly.
In this scene
It parallels them in 0107
Then of course is brought back up again with Pidge while Lance is the lookout (funny as Pidge is also the look out)
But in this scene I'm talking about the role change. Keith is giving the command, Keith is the distraction whilst Lance follows command and attacks. Why can't Keith also be the one who is getting under Lance's skin like Lance used to with Keith?
Keith is teaching Lance what he has learnt now. Lance has always followed in Keith's footsteps
Lance used to strive to be on par with Keith. Then he grew and encouraged Keith to do so.
That is their dynamic. One grows, that person then builds the other up so they are neck and neck.
This dynamic was there all throughout season 7 because Keith is more open now. Keith knows Lance is struggling and he feels bad about leaving him. Keith is encouraging to follow him in his footsteps.
When Keith said "Don't miss" it wasn't malicious at all, quite the opposite really. Listening to it alone is like a tease. His face also looked too funny for it to be harsh. The fact that Keith turned back to say that as well means something a little more.
I'm 99.9% sure that Keith did that to encourage Lance. Keith is just so awkward with how he gets things across, especially to Lance.
It is honestly a little similar to how awkward the A//urance scene was
Keith is unsure but he knows Lance and he was playing into his weakness to get out his strength. And it totally worked!!
Lance got to use his sniper as well!! (a.k.a indicates his growth and he used it a lot this season because Keith needed that from him ;) )
Lance was curt, precise and took those drones down in the fastest time we have ever seen him do something like that, he then proceeds to take down an extra drone, which was right by the rest of the team and kinda out of his peripheral vision.
Hunk and Pidge are dumbfounded.
Lance's sniper hadn't yet finished whirring both times (taking out the first three and then that last one) which means he started firing before the gun was ready. It was awesome, seriously. They make a lot of emphasis on these scenes with Lance, it's because he's in his element.
I felt something so different this time though. Not just because Lance was swift and fast, but there was something so off and hollow about it.
I mean, I know Lance is the person who does what needs to be done at the end of the day and doesn't ever gloat about those awesome feats.
Let me compare it to 0210
He was insecure throughout half of Beta Traz
Then when he makes that dire shot
It makes him feel good about himself.
This scene didn't, especially since Keith said what he did, and managing to take down an extra.
I know Lance used to gloat about like the stupid stuff and not actually the really cool, right stuff because he was an awkward person who just wanted attention.
But this scene... idk it felt a little cold. I think that is because of the doubts that Lance does have that he’s lacking in certain emotion. Maybe it’s just that the situation was too serious and nothing could make any of them happy, though Lance still manages to lightly boast when asked if his gun had infrared.
Though Lance has gotten good at remembering terms and such, so it might just be an exchange of knowledge. Still didn’t necessarily need to put in that last comment though.
So like, Lance has grown more and more into the shadows, though he has always wanted to be the centre of attention (I mean with sniping he is literally in the shadows).
But here eyes were on him, it may be why we get this reaction from Hunk and Pidge
Lance's doubts are growing more and more and that is not making him put in much effort, or to actually think properly.
It's why he gives up
Why he talks of death
and doesn't actually help the situation,
Why he parallels Keith
and also why he looks done with life when he is helping Allura.
It's honestly like he has no energy left in him, and this Allura.
Lance's hug back to Allura was pitiful, I'm sorry, it was. She was properly hugging him while he loosely put his arms over the top of hers. Then you see his face and you can tell that everything was fleeting.
I went back over this scene and I see what @the-red-paladins is saying about this being the moment Lance realises Allura isn't for him. I see why, he looks absolutely done with life. He had given up. That is a face of despair.
The dynamic of Allura and Lance has always been him building her up as an individual, but there is nothing to build up Lance, it's a one way system and that's on him.
He never trusted her with his feelings
Though he still gives her advice. Lance said the right words that Allura needed to hear and Allura has misinterpreted it and herself.
The fact that Lance seems to sink lower every time he gives Allura advice is very telling. When their new friendship starts Lance was relatively stable because he grew and also was in a comfortable position with Keith
Then he left and Lance had no one he was comfortable with and because Lance hadn't fully grown he slipped up and he's gotten to a bad place.
One that has made him give up completely and Allura doesn't have a clue really. But Keith does, I'm sure of it. Plus the no.1 scene parallel I can't get over is where Red saves him.
That is a complete surprise, we had no idea that Red had been activated, just that Lance was giving up completely on saving himself and his sister because of how low he has sunk.
Then it parallels to this scene because of how they framed it and also contextually as Lance gave up. Keith was giving up, but realised he wouldn't do that.
Keith is building Lance up, and at the end of the day, this lesson is something that Lance severely needs, and because for Keith that lesson is a part of him not giving up on his ties to the paladins, wanting to make up for it. Lance is shown to always follow in Keith's footsteps and Keith and Lance always being the ones to build the other, and then the role reversal. Keith will teach Lance this, he will save Lance from himself and it will be the game changer because it will be the growth that Lance needs.
If Allura was his endgame we wouldn't have seen the one time Lance shows his doubts while she is there and tells him to go to Red because of his growth and to then proceed in her own growth, that she made on her own without Lance because she saw Lance's growth. She let him pursue his own growth because she knew that that was what was best for him and for her, meaning she herself had growth.
If they were endgame, her words would change Lance and help him be more secure, but they don’t.
He would also feel secure in telling her.
Instead all of this went to Keith, and now Lance is super hurt because no fucking wonder.
They have a lot to talk about and a lot to patch up.
So that is why Keith is not being malicious. Keith is just an awkward fuck who's confused about Lance but wants Lance at his best.
Yeah, they’ve gone back to the playfulness of how they started out. There is no intent on wanting to hurt the other, because Lance was just trying to get Keith’s attention back then, so Keith is attempting the same thing because he needs Lance’s head in the game.
You know we actually got more Klance content than A//urance this season and I find that hilarious.
So Keith is not some clone, he is still Keith ^-^ just a grown one who is still trying to find a balance.
Okay, so. Keith in the series so far has been the only one who has said "I love you". No other character has said it in reference to romance or family - not even Lance in reference to Allura (his current canon love interest) and not even Allura to her father in the scene where she had to let his memories go. And not even Allura to Lotor. Part of Keith's character arc is accepting people into his life as well as learning what love is. He had it with Shiro when he was raising him and taking care of him, but he didn't quite know what to call it then. He wasn't quite sure what or who Shiro was to him yet. But, in s6, after he spends time with his mother and his arc has come to its peak, he figures it out.
Shiro is his brother. He loves him. He stated that very plainly and with certainty, compared to in s2 when he says "Shiro, you're LIKE a brother to me". He wasn't quite sure then, but here he is. Shiro is his brother and he loves him. He is one of the most important people to Keith.
Then, we got this moment in s7 that I cried over.
He finally has his mom. And this happens right when she says that she has to leave, after she promised she wouldn't do so again. But he accepted that - he knew that she was not leaving because she was rejecting him. He's grown and he knows that she loves him more than anyone else, but in war, sacrifices are to be made. He understands that, and this scene speaks volumes about how he has grown as a character.
Now. Why am I bringing this up. I just find it... interesting how Keith is the only character to have said "I love you" within this series. His character arc is about ACCEPTING LOVE. And what is Lance's character arc. About ACCEPTING HIMSELF and FINDING LOVE. Their arcs intertwine again and again - I cannot stress enough how romantically set up these two are.
Keith has said "I love you" to two people he views as family, which is the first step.
Shiro: who raised him and took him under his wing and saved him from himself when he was younger. The man who mentored him and gave him a reason to keep going - to not give up on HIMSELF. A brother and father's love; a symbol of strength.
Krolia: his mother. The person that he could never understand why left. But he does now. He has had 2 years and more to bond with her, to develop a relationship with her, and to trust her. He knows a mother's love now, which is one of the most important and unconditional loves there is to know; a symbol of compassion and endless and selfless love.
Lance: his equal, his right hand man, the one who was there for him when Shiro was gone and when he still did not know Krolia existed. Lance was there to guide Keith, to give him someone to turn to and lean on when he didn't have anyone else. He was Keith's stability during Shiro's absence, and that development was not erased during Keith's time gone. Lance has opened up to Keith about his insecurities and Keith is the only one who he has opened up to completely and was actually REASSURED. Lance was there for Keith, and in turn, Keith was there for Lance.
But Keith wasn't fully ready for Lance yet. He was not ready for that kind of love yet. He didn't know about the existence of the other two that he's learned from Shiro and Krolia. He needed to learn of those first, and accept them into his heart, before he was ready for Lance.
I'm not necessarily saying that we're going to get an "I love you" between Lance and Keith (though that would be... just amazing) but I am saying that Keith's growth with love has to lead somewhere. There's a type of love that's missing, and I don't think he's going to get it from a very rushed and sloppy romance with Acxa. Not when Lance has been here the entire time.
