Voltron: Legendary Defender is a reboot of Voltron, an Australian show that was broadcasted from 1984 to 1985. The show released its first season on June of 2017, and as 2018 concludes, so does the loved reboot.
The show follows five pilots and their mechanical lions. They are accompanied by two aliens from another universe. As they defend the galaxy against the Galra, they meet new people, face issues, and form bonds between each other.
“Everything they’ve been through, everything they’ve fought for has been leading up to this. Season 8 of #Voltron Legendary Defender comes to @Netflix December 14th.”, the official Voltron Twitter account reveals on October 5th.
Dreamworks has formed an agreement with Netflix to stream around 80 episodes, and season 8 concludes this amount. Although, many fans are left wondering what is to come.
Season 7 left many watchers with questions on their minds. The team returns to Earth, only to find out that the Galra have invaded. Haggar, an evil witch who has taken the place of former villains Lotor and Zarkon, is still out there and is threatening to continue the Galra Empire, and take down the rest of the galaxy.
Not only has that situation got many fans questioning what challenges the group will face, but we also see drama in certain characters. Takashi Shirogane, also known as Shiro, lost his prosthetic arm at the end of season 6, but it was soon replaced with Earth technology.
Using Allura’s crystal, Shiro can use the arm without a hassle. That crystal also connects Shiro to the Atlas, Voltron’s new ship after their former castle was destroyed in a battle against the Galra. Now, he is in command of the very powerful aircraft, which leaves many wondering what else they’ll have to fight.
The characters have reunited with their family, and many watchers expect family bonding moments, especially since many of the characters missed their family dearly.
Many fans are expecting too see Lance Mcclain, one of the pilots, end up with someone. The teenager has always had a crush on the alien princess Allura, and the creators even suggest the two might further develop their relationship.
“And the relationship, the bond like with him and Allura will continue to grow.”, Jeremy Shada, the voice actor of Lance, reveals in a panel.
An interview with Polygon reveals that in season 8, the romance between Lance and Allura might further develop. Meanwhile, a one-sided romance might occur between Keith and Axca, a pilot of Voltron and a Galra rebel.
The possible relationship between Lance and Allura has caused severe controversy in the Voltron fandom. Keith Kogane is often paired with Lance, and many claim they have evidence that the two have feelings for each other.
Klance, the name of their pairing, has even held first place in Tumblr’s Top 100 Romantic Pairings from 2017 to 2018, until Catadora took its place when the She-Ra reboot was released.
There has been a lot of controversy towards the show, and even the voice actors of the show.
The reboot has been accused of queerbaiting when the seventh season was released due to Shiro’s partner. Producers confirmed that Shiro identifies as gay and even had a fiance named Adam, but the watchers later find out Adam dies in a fight against invading Galra.
Many critics explain how they wished to see LGBT content in Voltron and that by killing off Adam, they were queerbaiting. They also accused the show of using the “bury your gays” trope, which means to kill of characters of the LGBT community for shock value.
“I’d like to say that we created this version of Voltron with the intent of being as inclusive as possible within the boundaries given.Are there still boundaries? Well, for this type of action adventure/product driven/traditionally boys toys show the answer is unfortunately yes.”, says Joaquim Dos Santos, co-producer of the reboot.
There is still much more to cover, and many hope this will all be solved in the final season. It is predicted that there will only be around 13 episodes in the final season, so many wonder if al these sensitive topics will be addressed.
