The Altean Broadsword: What it tells us about Keith and Lance’s relationship
I love going back to watch old episodes of Voltron and getting slapped in the face with some foreshadowing I missed. But guys, this scene didn’t just slap me. I was decked.
When looking at the context of what events are surrounding this scene and the events of season five, it’s easy to infer the deeper themes of this scene. At least, on a basic level.
Keith just left. Matt is back. He flirted with Allura, has a history with Shiro, is Pidge’s brother, and hits it off with Hunk. Lance, the most sociable and people loving of the group, decides to coup himself up in his dark room to play a video game that him and Pidge got together and undoubtedly play together. When you consider the fact that Lance and Pidge have been coded to have a sibling like relationship, combined with the fact that Lance has openly conveyed that he feels like a seventh wheel (extra, unneeded), it’s easy to deduct that Lance may be isolating himself because he doesn’t feel as if he has a place, or that maybe he’s intruding.This scene is dripping with isolation. Hell, as funny as it was, even Allura and Coran leave Lance after finding his milking of the cow to be “Alien”, showing once again a divide between him and the rest of the characters.
But that wasn’t my holy shit moment. This was my Holy Shit(™) moment.
Not only is he playing as a swordsman - using a broadsword at that, but his avatar’s design incorporates all the colors of Voltron and no others. (red hair, yellow scarf, green shirt, blue pants, black belt)
Before you say that this is just a coincidence, Imma stop you right there. Character design is integral to every piece of visual media, animation especially. I’m going to write a meta about this one day, but the character design in Voltron is really thought out and not only foreshadows but also, in certain cases, tells us more about who a character is on a deeper level.
So not only does this foreshadow Lance’s power up, but it gives us insight on his frame of mind. He’s taking on new roles, carrying the team both emotionally and physically, but he’s also doing all this while isolated.
The question is, what toll will this take on Lance? Remember that Lance couldn’t complete his level. Meaning, Lance can’t do this on his own. Everything about season five backs up this theory.
Season Five: Lance Under pressure
There are a few common themes surrounding Lance in season five: Isolation, self doubt, stress, and stability. They work together to form a vicious cycle for Lance.
Lance is concerned. His concern is brushed off. He isolates himself. He’s stressed. He hides it for the sake of supporting his team.
It doesn’t always happen in this order, but these steps can pretty much sum up all of his major scene sequences this season. His teammates don’t seem to see that this is happening, but it’s not something their intentionally overlooking. It all comes down to perspective.
This happens several times throughout the season, but for the sake of length, I’ll only run over the first major occurrence of this. - I may right meta’s for each individual scene sequence later
Lance attempts to be a right hand/good teammate to Shiro and is shouted at.
Then Allura come’s in. She compares Lance to Alfor and says that he has greatness inside of him that the whole team sees. Lance isn’t so sure.
Here’s where perspective gets important. While Allura validating Lance was great, her comment is met by one from Lance that us as the audience can see as his expressing self doubt. But Allura doesn’t really see it that way. In fact, we know she doesn’t because instead of her reassuring Lance that Shiro is just stressed, or anything of the sorts, she withdrawals into herself. It becomes clear to both Lance and us that she’s now thinking of the effects tension with Shiro is now causing the coalition.
Allura’s not selfish. If she really noticed the depths of Lance’s insecurity within his comment, she wouldn’t have just brushed it off or made it about something else.
This is when perspective comes into play.
Allura will do anything to continue the ideals of Altea, but more importantly, she’ll do anything to bring her father’s peaceful vision of the universe to fruition. It’s always been clear to me that this is an all consuming facet of her character.
In fact, I think its very relevant that both times she’s praised Lance, it was after she compared him to Alfor/saw parts of Alfor in him. That’s not to say her praise is any less valid because of that, but I do think it muddies it a bit. In her book, being able to emulate Alfor is of the highest regard, and in and of itself is the definition of greatness. Its everything she wants, so of course seeing Lance “mimic” Alfor will be at least one of the reasons she sees greatness in him. However, for that same reason, I don’t know if she realizes that Lance might not see the same thing.
This also makes perfect sense when you think back to when Lance says to Allura, “Maybe I’m not meant to be a paladin” He’s in the midst of being shut out by the blue lion. If you don’t know about Lance’s self doubt issues, it sounds less like something he’s saying out of feelings of low self worth and more like a literal assessment of what’s going on at the moment. But then he’s accepted by the red lion - the lion Alfor flew - and so it’s all good, right? Why would Lance doubt himself when he’s flying a lion that was once flew by Alfor, the person Allura respects more than anyone?
But even if you take that as just speculations, she undoubtedly feels the weight of this war more than anyone else. She woke up from a ten thousand year sleep to find herself the sole proprietor of both her Altean heritage and her father’s legacy. It will inevitably effect the way she see’s everything. It effected the way she saw the alternate universe Alteans. It effected how she judged Keith. It effected her feelings towards Lotor in this most recent season. LM and JD even said themselves that her want to further Alfor’s vision of the universe was a major reason she decided to trust Lotor. Meaning, it effects the way she see’s everyone and everything. Lance being no exception.
Seeing that Allura is upset, he bypasses his own emotional distress to reassure her.
The thing about Lance is that he doesn’t want to disappoint/burden any of his teammates. I think that he recognizes his part on the team. I think he recognizes how much pressure is put onto Pidge and Hunks tech’s skills and how much pressure is put on Allura as she comes to terms with her powers and tries to navigate diplomacy. I think he sees how much pressure is on Shiro to make the right decisions for the sake of the war. And mostly, I think Lance sees that he can’t really “help” with any of this. He can’t do the tech stuff. Shiro won’t listen to him and there’s very little place for Lance within whats going on between Allura, Lotor, and the coalition.
Lance want’s to be there for his team. He tries so hard, and in his mind, sometimes the only way to do that is by putting his feelings aside. So when ever he conveys self-doubt/sadness/concern and it’s met by dismissal/indignation/irritation, he just goes with it.
There is, however, a light at the end of this bleak tunnels my dudes. Because Lance’s struggle is acknowledged once throughout season five
And that’s by the red bayard.
Season Five: What It Means for Keith and Lance
LM said that Lance is good at being whats needed at the time and that’s true. Whenever the dynamic of the team shifts, Lance does too. He’s like water, he takes the shape of his surroundings.
So it makes sense that Lance would try to take up the space left behind by Keith. But it’s more than that. Either it’s because of his presence or because of his absence, Keith’s place in Lance’s life is a driving force behind every major development Lance has.
This isn’t to downplay Lance’s achievements, but to say that no one exist in a vacuum. Our interactions with other people will effect who we are and how we’ll grow.
Lance want’s to be fighter class but can’t because of Keith. Keith leaves the Garrison, Lance is promoted to fighter class, but is compared to Keith all the time. Lance finds Keith again, and Keith leads him straight to his lion. Keith’s presence exasperates Lance’s feelings of inadequacy and his need to show off. Keith can’t handle Shiro’s disappearance, Lance steps up to comfort him. Keith doesn’t want to be the Black paladin, Lance steps up and gives Keith his support. Keith leaves, and Lance starts to mirror him more in his absence.
Meaning, rather he knows it or not, Keith has been a big motivator for him. The show runners sure arn’t subtle about showing this visually.
This isn’t a one-sided equation, however. Keith, too, is effected by Lance. Just in a different way. Lance anchors him. He pulls him back when he’s running out of bounds. It plays into their whole ‘You’re shoving too hard, you’re not shoving hard enough’ dynamic. Even LM herself said, Lance is Keith’s stability.
Their arcs are intertwined and they have had a profound effect on each other.
Meaning, while yes, I believe that Lance obtains a sword because of his leadership skills and fluidity, I also believe there’s something more to it. I believe that Lance’s power-up can be correlated, at least in part, to Lance’s acknowledgment of what Keith means to him.
It’s like I said, Keith motivates Lance. Even if their both unwitting to it, in a big way, Keith inspires Lance. And this is actually really healthy and normal. Here’s the thing about greatness, it’s cultivated. No one is just born great. The same thing with motivation. Experts say we should find it outside of ourselves. It’s like I said, no one exist in a vacuum. We’re social creatures, and our entire selves are built on the backs of the people we met and interact with, family, friends, rivals, ect. Or to quote Chuck Palahniuk, “I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known.” Meaning, Keith being a pushing force in Lance’s life that brings out even more greatness in Lance than is already there is both a good and very plausible thing.
We know they’ve been set up as foils. While their similar in ways, each of them has something the other doesn’t and brings out the best (and sometimes worst) parts of each other. Throughout their combined arcs, there’s been such a focus on their dynamic as a duo, and how their individual temperaments compliment each other.
Meaning, when the one of them can’t do something, when one of them is lacking, the other steps up. So when Lance is having difficulty in the training room, obviously battling with self-doubt after his altercation with Shiro, the red bayard responses to Lance, gives him what he needs in that moment. It gives him the sword that he’s missing. It gives him a piece of Keith.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this either. In season three, the moment Lance starts to doubt himself, the red lion roars for him. A reflection of Keith’s soul essentially calls out to Lance ( I have no doubt that Keith is still the true red paladin, and even if he isn’t, it’s still…hmmm) Through being Keith’s right hand and flying the red lion, Lance unlocks a sniper rifle on his bayard. We even see this in the way Lance starts to take on some of Keith’s habits after he leaves, as if it’s needed to help him deal with the changes in the team. People might say that Lance acted more Shiro like after Shiro left the team, but… not really. Lance has always been a team oriented person and has always tried to reign Keith back, its just able to come out more after Shiro left.
Keith imbues motivation and confidence in Lance, even when he doesn’t realize it. At the start of Voltron, sometimes that motivation comes from wanting to one up Keith, but as the show goes on, It becomes more about how they work together as a team.
But most importantly, I think the reason the red lion and the red bayard responded to Lance’s self-doubt is because Keith has the confidence Lance lacks, both in himself and in Lance.
If you go back and re-watch Voltron, Keith actually praises Lance more than most. It’s subtle, because Keith isn’t much for words, but he’s never shy when it comes to thanking Lance or telling Lance he has a good idea/good question. He has confidence in Lance’s abilities, a confidence that’s been cultivated throughout the show.
He follows Lance’s plans.
He goes to Lance when he messes up.
He listens to Lance when he won’t listen to anyone else.
He trusts in Lance’s skills so much that instead of trying to take the red lion back, he leaves. I mean, really think about that. We know how important connections and family are to Keith, but he didn’t even try, and because Keith cares about the well being of the team, if he really thought he’d be better fit as the red paladin or put his skills above Lance’s own, I’m sure he would have. It would have also given him a reason to stay. These are things Keith wouldn’t do if he didn’t have some major respect for Lance/confidence in him.
I don’t think Lance saw this in Keith before though, because people communicate in many different forms. Lance understands verbal cues while Keith gives action cues. Hence the majority of their conflict throughout the show. That’s why the bedroom scene was such a turning point.
The bedroom scene is a big deal for Lance because while he isn’t going to Keith in an attempt to open up, he’s going there out of respect. The way Lance worded it, it seems as if he expects that the final say on rather he leaves or stays will belong to Keith. We’ve only seen Lance defer to people he respects. This is Lance coming to terms with his admiration for Keith and being able to voice it. But it’s also important to note that because he’s coming to Keith with this objective, no-nonsense mindset, he conveys his insecurities with a bluntness that Keith can’t overlook like everyone else has. Lance thinks Keith will agree with him, not out of malice but also out of an objective assesment of his skills. To Lance, it obvious that he’s the weakest skill wise on the team. Keith, however, doesn’t see it that way. Lance isn’t non-essential weight to him, hasen’t been for a while. So when Keith says leave the math to Pidge, conveying that “You got the math wrong. You are needed” This changes the perspective of which Lance views all of their encounters. It makes Lance have to reconsider how he feels about Keith and how Keith feels about him.
Lance is his own person outside of Keith, but the point I keep trying to make is that people need other people. Even from a scientific standing, a person can’t have a personality until they’ve interacted with another person. It’s just, some people work better with you and have a greater effect on you than others. That’s why there is such a focus on Lance and Keith’s dynamic as a duo, why it’s been built up so much, because Lance doesn’t need Keith, but Keith does make him better, just like Lance makes Keith better.
The red bayard turning into a sword is both a literal and symbolic manner of Lance starting to come to terms with that. Right in time for Keith to return as a paladin in season 6
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