This is full-spoiler discussion page for Netflix's third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, for those who've watched all seven episodes of the season. For my overall, non-spoilery thoughts, read my full Voltron Season 3 review.
Voltron: Legendary Defender made some pretty significant changes to the status quo with this new season, all of which served to make the series even more engaging. None of these changes benefited the show more than the temporary absence of team leader/Black Lion pilot Shiro. Not that I disliked Shiro by any means in the previous seasons, but he seemed to serve more purpose as a lingering shadow over the rest of the team than an active player in the plot. His disappearance served as a catalyst for Keith's character arc this season, forcing Keith to embrace the responsibilities of team leader and learn to make hard decisions in the heat of battle.
This really worked wonders for Keith as a character, and it also opened up new challenges for Lance and Allura as the former took over the Red Lion and the latter finally got her wish to become a Paladin. And Shiro himself was pushed in interesting new directions when he did finally return late in the season. Is there still a place for him in this team now that he no longer pilots the Black Lion? And what lingering damage (physical or psychological) remains from his ordeal?
This game of musical chairs also had the benefit of forcing the team back into Season 1 mode as they re-learned how to pilot their Lions and work as a cohesive team again. It was a nice way of adding tension to the conflict this season without simply ramping up the scale of the enemies Voltron faces. Speaking of which, Prince Lotor proved to be another winning addition to the series. Whereas his father was an oppressive tyrant of a villain, Lotor is more a crafty schemer who relies on trickery and manipulation to get what he wants. It helped that what Lotor wants isn't as cut and dry as "ruling the Galra Empire" or "claiming Voltron for himself." It's not even 100% clear what Lotor is trying to accomplish, but that only adds to his general aura of mystery and danger.
I was very impressed with the finale episode, "The Legend Begins" and the depth it added to Voltron's origin and the shared history between King Alfor and the a younger Zarkon. These flashbacks gave Zarkon and Witch Haggar some much-needed depth, as we learned the two were lovers who were basically driven mad by their efforts to harness the powers of the Quintessence. Seeing the brave warrior Zarkpon was before he became an intergalactic tyrant lends a strong touch of tragedy to the villain, which should pay off handsomely now that Haggar seems to have re-awoken her comatose husband. It was a nice touch that Zarkon was even voiced by a different actor for those flashbacks, as Kevin Durand brought a humanity to the part that you don't get from Neil Kaplan's cold, cruel Zarkon.
It was a little frustrating to see the season end on such a flashback-driven episode. As I said in my main review, it seems pretty clear that Netflix simply took what would have been a standard 13-episode season and broke it in half. That said, Zarkon's awakening makes for a pretty good cliffhanger, and it's not as if we're being asked to wait very long for Season 4.
One of the coolest developments this season was the emphasis on the concept of alternate realities. We now know that Voltron is forged from a comet that can open breaches between realities, and we even got a glimpse of one of those realities in "Hole in the Sky." Fans of the classic Voltron cartoon were no doubt thrilled to see the Norwegian character Sven make his Legendary Defender debut. That was a great little cameo, but I wonder if it's also a hint of things to come for this series? Just how far are they going with the multiverse angle? Might we see the Voltrons of other universes, and possibly even a full-fledged crossover between the Legendary Defender crew and the characters of the original Lion Force Voltron team? That's a pretty intriguing thought.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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