Voltron: Legendary Defender: The End is the Beginning
December 21, 2018 9:04 AM - Season 8 (Full Season) - Subscribe
Voltron: Legendary Defender last 13 episodes expands the stakes to multiversal consequences and wraps up 7 seasons worth of threads.
We learn that Haggar has recovered her memory and is Honerva again, but a terribly broken version of herself. She has found the colony of Alteans left by Lotor and is leading them in another mad quest for Quintessance, this time not to take over the universe, but to find or make by force a reality that will reuinite her family. The Voltron Coalition tries to repair the damage from the war and to stop Honerva from leaving nothing left but ashes of all realities.
We learn that Haggar has recovered her memory and is Honerva again, but a terribly broken version of herself. She has found the colony of Alteans left by Lotor and is leading them in another mad quest for Quintessance, this time not to take over the universe, but to find or make by force a reality that will reuinite her family. The Voltron Coalition tries to repair the damage from the war and to stop Honerva from leaving nothing left but ashes of all realities.
up through episode 3
The flashbacks of how Honerva turned into Haggar was cool, and I like that they actually used two different voice actors to emphasize that she became a different person. Admittedly I would've appreciated a different visual cue for the flashbacks, but the context of the scene was good enough (if Zarkon in scene: flashback = true).
I'm glad they're tying up loose ends with the superweapon by Ranveig and unknowns like Lahn.
posted by numaner at 12:21 PM on December 21, 2018
The flashbacks of how Honerva turned into Haggar was cool, and I like that they actually used two different voice actors to emphasize that she became a different person. Admittedly I would've appreciated a different visual cue for the flashbacks, but the context of the scene was good enough (if Zarkon in scene: flashback = true).
I'm glad they're tying up loose ends with the superweapon by Ranveig and unknowns like Lahn.
posted by numaner at 12:21 PM on December 21, 2018
I found this all very touching. Tropey and silly to be sure, but just full of fucking heart.
I found Honerva Compelling through the show and liked her arc this season.
But that wrap up, all the feels. Happy about the state of kids shows in 2018.
posted by French Fry at 4:29 PM on December 22, 2018
I found Honerva Compelling through the show and liked her arc this season.
But that wrap up, all the feels. Happy about the state of kids shows in 2018.
posted by French Fry at 4:29 PM on December 22, 2018
That was a properly epic ending to the series.And Honerva showed that pissant Thanos how to be a REAL ultimate villain. Her motivation was better, and the scale of what she tried to do is breathtaking.
But still, Im not completely happy with the ending. Because Allura. Sigh. My thoughts on her ending are complicated and not fully formed, but I have decidedly mixed feelings.
posted by happyroach at 4:56 PM on December 22, 2018
But still, Im not completely happy with the ending. Because Allura. Sigh. My thoughts on her ending are complicated and not fully formed, but I have decidedly mixed feelings.
posted by happyroach at 4:56 PM on December 22, 2018
I feel awful for Kimberly Brooks, who frequently spoke about how much playing Allura meant to her representation-wise, and all the fans of color who embraced her, and also just everyone, for the decision to kill her off. A wonderful female character whose entire arc has been about legacy and risking her life not getting to have one herself after losing everything and everyone she loved just sucks to me, on so many levels. Let her live and be with her new family! Let her be a diplomat and a hero! Ugh, I fully respect not everyone is on the same page about this but I'm heartbroken.
posted by colorblock sock at 8:07 PM on December 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by colorblock sock at 8:07 PM on December 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
A while ago, I watched the first season hoping to find something to replace ATLA, which I had just watched, and enjoyed myself but wasn't inspired to stick with it. I'm surprised that this show has gone as long as it has. If you've stuck with it, should I get back into it? What's the arc in enjoyability over the series, in your opinion?
posted by Rinku at 10:50 PM on December 22, 2018
posted by Rinku at 10:50 PM on December 22, 2018
My 2 cents. So Allura thing is complicated for me, because magic lady dying is a really big trope and one with tons of cultural baggage. On the other hand Allura isn't a side character or a love interest she's arguably the main character of the latter seasons. Shiro is the first few, then Keith, then Allura. But there are a lot of negatives pitfalls her death doesn't fall into. She sacrifices herself but not in desperation or submission to a big-bad, she doesn't die so her friends/love can escape, she dies to save literally everything which was her driving motivation all along.
Her death isn't about motivating a male character to punch something harder it's about her and her power. It's a story of apotheosis and one that's really been set up since the first season, the arc of the show has been about the power of the 10,000 year old super beings, gods essentially and their war in heaven wrecking the universe. I think from a story telling perspective all the gods leaving the world, Zarcon, Lotor, Honerva and finally Allura, makes a lot of sense.
Her and Haggar's conflict and parallel motivations of loss fueled crusade also go back to the early show and really are cemented in their fight at the end of season 2 when we discover Haggar is Altain. I think overcoming Honerva/Haggar in the end with love instead of hate is corny/wonderful (it's a kids show) and made me feel like this ending was earned.
All of that doesn't erase the cultural baggage of the trope, but it does I think outweigh it. I watched the show with a 6yo boy and 7yo girl and they took away only the best lessons from the finale as they don't have the long cultural context of women in fridges re-color this story. Ymmv.
posted by French Fry at 7:14 AM on December 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Her death isn't about motivating a male character to punch something harder it's about her and her power. It's a story of apotheosis and one that's really been set up since the first season, the arc of the show has been about the power of the 10,000 year old super beings, gods essentially and their war in heaven wrecking the universe. I think from a story telling perspective all the gods leaving the world, Zarcon, Lotor, Honerva and finally Allura, makes a lot of sense.
Her and Haggar's conflict and parallel motivations of loss fueled crusade also go back to the early show and really are cemented in their fight at the end of season 2 when we discover Haggar is Altain. I think overcoming Honerva/Haggar in the end with love instead of hate is corny/wonderful (it's a kids show) and made me feel like this ending was earned.
All of that doesn't erase the cultural baggage of the trope, but it does I think outweigh it. I watched the show with a 6yo boy and 7yo girl and they took away only the best lessons from the finale as they don't have the long cultural context of women in fridges re-color this story. Ymmv.
posted by French Fry at 7:14 AM on December 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
colorblock sock put in words a lot of what I'm feeling. I mean yes it was some of the best writing of the series, but but but...there's a larger context.
And also, this series had always been about pulling out impossible victories, but then at the end, the single woman of color had to make the ultimate sacrifice for her white teammates.
So there's the larger context. In the smaller context, damn it, she was an inspiration, and damn it, she deserved a happy ending too.
posted by happyroach at 3:00 AM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
And also, this series had always been about pulling out impossible victories, but then at the end, the single woman of color had to make the ultimate sacrifice for her white teammates.
So there's the larger context. In the smaller context, damn it, she was an inspiration, and damn it, she deserved a happy ending too.
posted by happyroach at 3:00 AM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I just finished. I'm also conflicted with Allura, but I think French Fry's feelings are similar to mine. The trope is terrible but everything about her as a character leads up to that moment and it makes sense and also is great writing, I can see all the writers in the room sitting there going "none of us or the audience will like this, but it's where the character is going and it's what she would do".
The last moment with her and Lance, though, all the tears.
And they ended the flash forward with Shiro kissing his new husband at their wedding and that's just wonderful. I'm sure they recognized the blowback from kill-your-gays-ing his last husband and while it might be cheap, I think it's still an appropriate way to atone for that.
But I think one of my favorite thing about this final season is that they actually tied up all the loose ends.
posted by numaner at 8:36 PM on December 25, 2018
The last moment with her and Lance, though, all the tears.
And they ended the flash forward with Shiro kissing his new husband at their wedding and that's just wonderful. I'm sure they recognized the blowback from kill-your-gays-ing his last husband and while it might be cheap, I think it's still an appropriate way to atone for that.
But I think one of my favorite thing about this final season is that they actually tied up all the loose ends.
posted by numaner at 8:36 PM on December 25, 2018
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Yes, the princess was lovely and is now dead, but the hagiography is getting a little dull...
Shiro got hitched!
posted by Karmakaze at 11:15 AM on December 21, 2018