Three things about Lotor.
1. He has never, never, not for a day in his life, been ok.
This is not me being a Lotor apologist, or excusing his actions. It’s simply the conclusion I came to during episode 7.
We think we saw Lotor as his lowest after the generals ‘betrayed’ him, we thought he was at his most self-destructive, resorting to twisting his bones, flying into a star. We thought, with his support networks severed, he’s the lowest he can sink. And we thought with Voltron he can find refuge, of a sort. We called him strong, a survivor, someone who came out of abuse and neglect functional and self-sufficient.
Episode 6 and 7 proved us wrong, 7 especially. Unravelling in the very real sense — he’s throwing all those years of strategy out, all that planning, all those sacrifices he made, all those horrible, damning, repugnant things he did in the name of his self-proclaimed greater good.
We called him intelligent and manipulative. Where were these in episode 7?
Instead of using the speed and agility of his mech (hereby dubbed the Zora mech, because I’m a Zelda fan and I cannot unsee Prince Sidon) he just charges. Head first. Into the blaze. And when it proves too much? Keeps going. We see him falter, gasp, and keep going.
This is him letting go. Him giving up. And that implies he’s been putting up a facade, maintaining a face, all this time. Always.
2. He loves the idea of Allura.
Lotor has been established to be enamored with the idea of a lost Altean culture. I hesitate to say he exoticizes it, but the sentiment is close.
His instant attention to Allura in season 5 at first can be understood through cold efficiency: Allura leads the Coalition, she’s the one he should appeal to for pardon. But in the extremely fast progression of their romantic arc, (of which the entire ride I was personally going ‘whoa slow down’), it was, objectively, quite rushed. A professional relationship, suddenly becoming intimate? There’s merit in those who claim his relationship with Allura is a farce, something he’s using to manipulate her.
But I think, he simply loves what she represents:
Altea, and everything that comes with her.
Of course, that Allura is a strong, independent, capable woman just helped.
That doesn’t mean the emotions weren’t real. I will get to his attachment issues later, but as good a liar as Lotor is, he’s tricked himself, as well. He thinks this is real love. He believes it.
Lotor doesn’t understand a real, healthy relationship to the standards of us viewers IRL.
So when Allura rejects him, it’s not simply a love interest snapping her connection. It’s at once the personification of Altean culture and a connection outside of the Galra that’s shutting him out.
Allura represents so much, to him. A brighter future. A rekindling of the past. A connection out of Galra space. Potential for him to really get out of the shit pit his parents dropped him in. (Also part of why I think he moved so fast with Allura. He was desperate. All that he wanted was in reach, finally.)
And when she snaps at him, as a lot of us, me included, did? That was everything Lotor worked for, cutting him off.
Even if it’s all in his head, it doesn’t invalidate the emotions that comes with the rejection.
3. He is self-destructive to a fault.
It’s not a far stretch to say Lotor set himself up to fail.
The colony… Oh, the colony plotline. What are you doing, writers Lotor??!
I’d be the first to say it was not executed with any sort of finesse. Perhaps it’s a kids’ show, and that’s why the whole morality of it didn’t come up, or perhaps it’ll come up later on. No matter what’s the meta behind that decision, if we take it at face value, there’re some things that can still be said.
Saving Alteans, creating a home for them, and then betraying their trust? I see two sides: the kinder reading, that Lotor’s playing an obedient and opportunist Galra officer, to throw off Galra suspicion; the harsher reading, he’s setting himself up to fail.
Why would he do that, when there’s literally no way he can spin what he’s doing for his own gain? Utilitarian thinking is good, but when its extended to lives, it’s no longer so simple. Surely, Lotor knew that.
And he still thinks Allura can love him back? He still thinks he can be the savior of the very Alteans he’s stuck in tubes and harvests?
That’s either bad writing, or grade A lying to himself. I call the latter.
Self-destructive factoid number one.
Self-destructive factoid number two.
Why doesn’t he trust more people? He claims to trust his generals. Why don’t they know his master plan? If his closest and most powerful chess pieces can be incentized to betray him in the first place — Lotor, what are you doing?!
The only conclusion I can come to is he sabotages his own chances of success at creating relationships.
Aaand at this point I’ve run out of steam. He’s just a sob story that’s fated to probably never get a redemption arc. Good writing, though. Fun that we got a character like this.
I’ll never stop loving him.
( @starboysinspace helped me out a lot with this! check out her blog!)
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