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In Control at All Times: A Meta on Black Paladin Figures

Voltron does something interesting. In the first episode, we are told that the attributes of a Black Paladin are “a born leader; in control at all times; someone whose men will follow without hesitation.” And in every batch of 26 episodes there is always at least one character who embodies the darker side of those attributes.

For Seasons 1 – 2, it was Zarkon. He was the original Black Paladin who went to the dark side. We saw hints of it prior to his death and resurrection, but afterwards the qualities that made him a good Black Paladin were twisted into the qualities that allowed him to rally his subjects to war and spend the next ten thousand years conquering the universe. In the present day, he shows little tolerance for things and people he cannot control and demands unquestioning obedience from his people.

For Seasons 3 – 6, it was Lotor. Like Keith, he was stepping into the hole left by the absence of their respective faction’s previous Black Paladin. Keith outwardly lacked the stated qualities the Black Lion looked for, while Lotor was the same kind of charismatic figure that Shiro was. At the start Seasons 3 – 4, they both rely on a “shut up and trust me” style of leadership, as seen in S3E3 with Keith and in S4E3 with Lotor. But where Keith quickly learns that leading that way does not work, Lotor doubles down on this style of leadership, and drives his generals away twice as a result.

So who is the Black Paladin Gone Wrong in Seasons 7-8? It can’t be Honerva, because the focus is on contrasting her with Allura as Altean Alchemists. It can’t be Sendak, because despite his screen time in Seasons 1, 5, 6, and 7, we don’t really know enough about him as a character to really say he’d represent a Black Paladin gone wrong. Season 7 tends to emphasize that he is more of a representation of the Galra Empire and the last remnants of Zarkon’s regime. So if it’s not Sendak, and it’s not Honerva, who is it?

Remember how Black Paladins are said to be “in control at all times”?

And remember how Sam Holt accused Admiral Sanda of “trying to control every situation”?

I think that in Season 7, the dark Black Paladin figure was none other than Admiral Ellen Sanda of Earth. And her characterization fits this perfectly: Throughout both parts of The Last Stand, Admiral Sanda is constantly trying to stay in control. She refuses to share information or the new technologies they’re developing with the public and keeps Sam Holt under de facto house arrest at the Garrison. She insists on following standard military protocols despite Sam’s testimony about Galra technology and battle tactics and threatens to court martial Commander Iversen when he hesitates to carry out her orders.

In contrast to Keith’s reluctance to take up a leadership role, Admiral Sanda clearly sees herself as that Black Paladin-type figure of authority. But she doesn’t have that kind of charisma or magnetic personality like Zarkon, Shiro, or Lotor. Like Keith, she’s someone who outwardly doesn’t fit the temperament the audience expects from a Black Paladin. But where Keith learned to temper his impulsiveness and rely on his teammates to keep him in check, Sanda shows herself to be too stubborn and prideful to listen the advice of others even when her own mistakes blow up in her face – like when she sends Adam’s flight squadrons out over Sam’s objections, then after the MFEs prove successful, tells Iverson and Sam that she will have them both court martialed and jailed once Sendak is defeated because they went against her orders.

And even once the Paladins return to Earth, she is constantly attempting to assert control over the situation – first by suggesting handing the lions over to Sendak, and then going to Sendak herself to leak the plans for the Lions to attack the Zaiforge launch bases. And it’s only when her stubbornness and pride land her in the brig of Sendak’s warship that she finally admits how badly she screwed up. It’s only when her own actions to save her planet doom it instead that she breaks down and admits that she was wrong. Sanda’s time in the cells of Sendak’s warship were her equivalent to Keith admitting to Lance in S3E3 The Hunted that he messed up and wasn’t doing a good job of leading the team. And just like Lance told Keith in The Hunted that they had to make it right, Sanda makes her mistakes right the only way she can – by distracting hepta to buy the Paladins time, even when it costs the Admiral her life.

TL;DR: Every “act” of VLD has had a Dark Black Paladin figure. Zarkon represents the way that the virtues of a Black Paladin can be twisted into something horrific. Lotor represents Keith’s early “shut up and trust me” style of leadership taken to its logical extreme. And Sanda represents ignoring the judgement of your team even when you’re leading from a position that demands such trust.

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