S7E6 “The Journey Within”- My analysis/meta on Keith
Let’s start with this: Why is Keith a big focus in this episode?
Despite saying he already learned techniques to combat space madness, Keith is the first paladin we see who hallucinates alone. Also, his face is shown alone in several frames, even when he’s not talking. Keith may struggle with words, but his facial expressions tend to show us more insight into what he’s thinking.
This episode is where, I think, a lot of people might’ve first gotten upset with Keith this season. I’ve seen several posts hating on him because what he said was rude and uncalled for, and I’ve also seen posts claiming that the writers messed up Keith’s character in this scene because “Keith would never say things that harmful to the other paladins.” These negative posts are what inspired me to write this meta.
Yes, the comments Keith made were harsh (he knows this, and apologizes later on), but I assure you, this is very in character and consistently deals with Keith’s issues from previous seasons. The focus is on Keith for a reason.
In season 6, we got a great episode dedicated to Keith and Krolia bonding and becoming a family. (I know many people are unhappy with the time skip, but I truly feel that it was necessary for Keith to continue his growth.) This bonding needed to happen, as it is very relevant to S6E5, “Black Paladins.” After Keith’s dad passed away, Shiro, as far as we know, was the only adult who Keith admired and looked up to. To hear “Shiro” tell Keith that he’s broken and worthless, that he should’ve abandoned him is heart wrenching. But Keith stands strong.
Keith is confident in his relationship with his mother, and that allows him to keep a level head and finish the fight with Kuron.
Now, moving on to season 7. Keith is back to being the Black Paladin. Episode 5, “The Ruins” is a huge setup for Episode 6, “The Journey Within.”
Think about the order of these episodes. In order to focus this episode on only the paladins in episode 6, the other characters in the lions are frozen. It wouldn’t have been hard to keep Krolia around and freeze her as well– if these two episodes didn’t connect. But they very much do.
For the first time in two years, his mother isn’t with him.
Krolia leaves on good terms, of course, and Keith seems at peace with letting her go temporarily. But if there’s anything we all can agree on about Keith, it’s that he struggles with emotions. He may have said he’s okay with Krolia leaving, but he’s had abandonment issues his whole life. There’s going to be some part of him that hurts when Krolia leaves. Keith won’t understand it because he’s fine now, he’s over it, and he knows his mom loves him. Yep. Everything’s okay. No heartbreak whatsoever.
But suddenly, Keith is stranded in space with the only other people in his life he cares about. There’s too much time to think. He starts questioning everything about their relationships, if they’re even friends, and if the others are simply tolerating him because he ended up in the right place at the right time.
So he attacks Allura. She says, “There’s something my father always said in dire situations…” and Keith interrupts with–
Offended, Allura retaliates. Look at Keith’s expressions change.
He’s terrified. But this is how he’s learned to deal with the world.He lashes out in the face of conflict. He pushes people away before they reject him. (We know this from his vlog.) Yes, two years with his mother helped, but these issues never went away completely.
And then Lance says exactly what Keith was waiting to hear.
(It’s important to note that I am NOT blaming Lance for what he said! Keith hurt him and the team by leaving and his feelings are valid.)
This, for Keith, is a rejection. It’s a conformation of his worst fear: the paladins were rejecting and abandoning him, just like everyone in his past. And he tries running.
Keith tries again and again to run, but hunk won’t let him go. And this
is what helps Keith through it. Hunk refuses to let him go. He won’t abandon him. Hunk undoubtedly cares for Keith and their other teammates, and it especially shows when Hunk tries sacrificing himself for the team. (At this point, Hunk becomes the focus of the episode.) To Keith, actions speak louder than words. Hunk’s devotion reaches Keith, and our Black Paladin finally comes to terms with his confusing emotions. He’s able to apologize for the things he said, as he is now fully confident in his team.
In conclusion, with Hunk’s help, Keith finally understands that his teammates genuinely care about him. He apologizes for what he said. Part of Keith’s character development is accepting the love of others, even though it is so difficult for him to do so. This episode truly showed Keith’s “Journey Within.”
(There’s also a reason that this episode is the one right before the Earth Arc. Had these issues not been resolved, Keith may have felt like he was being abandoned when the other paladins reconnected with their lives back on Earth, and his confidence in his friendships with the other paladins would not have been as strong.)
TLDR: “The Journey Within” was about Keith continuing to overcome his abandonment issues. Krolia leaving in the prior episode contributed to revisiting said issues. He lashed out at the other paladins because he was scared and emotionally confused. Hunk helped him come to terms with the true friendship between the paladins, and Keith has grown more confident in their relationships because of the conflicts in this episode.
If you’re still here, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope this makes sense and provides some insight to some of Keith’s moments in episode 6. :)
