Unpopular opinion especially for a Keith stan: I never saw Keith as needing or having a leadership arc. Especially knowing what I do now, I saw the whole ’Shiro passing the baton’ thing as Shiro’s need to believe in himself as leader and not give up. I love Shiro to death so this may sound harsh, but, to me, his arc has always been about him sort of.. facing his demons, and believeing in himself, and stepping fully into the leadership shoes. Keith’s has been the incredibly rare (1)
But so healthy and VITAL concept that you can have all the qualities to lead, and be a leader in your own way and own right, but realize what specific areas are yours to lead, and it won’t always be ””the”” leader spot. And that his support of ””the”” leader is his strength of character. I loved Keith because he, to me, stood for the idea that there is value in places not necessarily ”leader”. And the shrug of American ideals that There Can Only Be One. Anyone and everyone will (2’
Chase the leader spot, but only really strong people can find the very real value in places other than leader. And by him taking on the ”leader” spot, it undid what make him so stand out for me. Still love him. Always will. But am so sad that the potential for a revoluntionary stance, one that could help ease pain for many and give a healthy perspective on life (aka the reality that not everyone will lead. By design) so they can grow in whatever role is theirs, was sacrificed (3)
Especially at the cost of making ANOTHER revoluntionary arc (with Shiro). : /
*especially cus i perceieve keith to be Asian. I was excited to see some of my own ideals. Obvs it complicated and I:m not saying asians dont lead or have desire to, but theres emphasis on importance for ALL places. Idk.
That’s what made Voltron so revolutionary to me. None of the lions were more important than another. They couldn’t form Voltron without one. Five becoming one.
Sure, Shiro has leadership qualities, but those are the qualities associated with the Black Lion. That doesn’t make him better than anyone else. Keith is the fierce warrior. Lance is the cool, level-headed sharpshooter - and heart of the team. Pidge is the brains, and Hunk is the strength/technical one.
But by making the Black Lion a prize to be one - and Keith being the one to win him/her to the detriment of Shiro - is the opposite message that the story conveyed in the first two seasons. It also did stunt the growth of characters who could have grown in other areas - including Lance and Allura - but were forced to embrace the qualities not their own.
I love Keith. I love him in Red. I love his fiery spirit. I love Lance and his fun-loving nature. I love Allura and her strong leadership. I wish the story would have embraced the idea of everyone having a place on the team, and everyone playing an integral role while being true to their own strengths.
And you know what I liked best about Shiro in the leadership role? He didn’t have all the answers. Not that Keith does! But in the first two seasons, Shiro listened to the team and then decided on a course of action. He wasn’t the be-all-to-end-all. Most of the time, he didn’t even make the decision alone.