#pro allura | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mckinlily · 3 months

Note

Um, okay this is a loaded question, and if you want to play it safe, you can answer me in DMs, but...I personally feel that there's something wrong about how VLD placed Keith in the lead. In a way, I can see him becoming Black Paladin, but Shiro...it feels more natural to me, it feels right that Shiro is Black Paladin. I'm not into VLD beyond Shiro, Keith's parents, and the Lions personally, but I know someone who loves it and makes good points about Keith as a leader, but something just isn't aligning for me. Maybe it's because Shiro and Keith are two radically different archetypes, and they got swapped when they shouldn't have, I don't know.

I came here because I saw one of your post S2 rewrites, and I appreciated it. So, again, feel free to answer me in DMs (if you have problems DM-ing me, let me know and I'll fix it for you) if you don't mind discussing this with me.

As a final note, I'm not trying to hate any particular character. They're all fine on their own, and I don't want to treat one as worse than the other. I just want to figure out this problem I'm having with Shiro and Keith.

Thank you for reading this, and take care.

You came to the right blog! Because I adore Keith and believe he certainly has qualities that could make him a good leader—and absolutely hate him as the Black Paladin.

The thing I never understood about Voltron fandom debates about who should be the Black Paladin is that they always seem based in the idea that because Shiro is a leader and the Black Paladin, that means the Black Paladin is the ONLY leader on the team.

It is worth noting that that premise was disproven in episode one. It was Allura who made the final call on whether the paladins should run or stay and fight Sendak, and Shiro explicitly bowed to her authority. From then on, Shiro and Allura both lead Team Voltron until the show decided to destroy their characters, accepting influence and trading responsibilities depending on which one of them fit the situation at hand. Typically, Allura functions more in a commander and diplomat role and Shiro is more of a field officer, but they both pick up the lead where needed.

I know you didn't bring up Allura, but I think it is vital she is included in any conversation about leadership in Voltron. She is introduced as THE princess of an entire planet, she has more knowledge and experience of the intergalactic landscape than any of the other characters, she's been set up to be a leader since birth, and she IS the leader of Team Voltron for two whole seasons. Shiro makes it VERY clear he considers her to outrank him.

So the question you have to ask any time you consider replacing Shiro as Black Paladin: why NOT Allura? If the Black Paladin is the "best leader", why are you skipping over the one character already established and thriving in a leadership role? (And then you have to ask yourself if that character being a Black woman has anything do with that.)

Now I do think there are ways narratively you could answer that question. For instance, if you keep the Lions as sentient beings, that means they can make choices—including wrong ones. For instance, for a time when I believed anything might be salvaged after season 3, my head canon for Black choosing Keith was that Keith was the one missing Shiro as intensely and desperately as Black in that moment. Therefore, the choice was not about Keith being "better" but rather them being at the same place emotionally and that allowing the bond. The major problem with the Lion swap in canon is that we're given NO reason for Keith to be Black Paladin besides "plot device said so". Especially when we have Allura right there. It's just bad writing.

(By the way, you don't have to be pro-Black Paladin Allura. There's nuance to be had, and I personally am actually more One True Black Paladin!Shiro. But you can't just dismiss her--a capable and proven leader--from the conversation. Erasing her character is not the answer.)

ANYWAY. Back to Keith. Or rather, leadership on Team Voltron. Thing is, there are many different WAYS to be a leader. We already touched on the differences between Allura and Shiro. Keith does a good job of making split second decisions in battle or calling shots if Shiro is incapacitated or somehow separated. If you're in the middle of a fight, the plan has gone to shit, and the team just got separated, Keith is great at telling people what to do and mobilizing because something needs to get done NOW.

But that's not the only way to lead. Keith, for instance, is terrible at pep talks. He misses a lot of the nuances going on between him and his teammates off the battlefield. He doesn't plan ahead, like, ever. Sure he's great at making up stuff on the fly, but sometimes you need a plan.

But it's not just Keith. For instance, when Shiro, Lance, and Pidge go on the mission to rescue Slav, it's Pidge who calls all the shots. Is that not leadership? Pidge is often the one telling people what they need to do to solve technical problems. She's a center for information, typically the one collecting it, organizing and interrupting it, and then instruction others based on her conclusions. We see her take point on a mission, give orders to her teammates, coordinate efforts, problem solve in real time and relay a new plan in order to navigate unexpected challenges. Why not argue PIDGE should be the leader?

And there's when they freed the Balmera and Hunk took the lead. That mission was more challenging, but I'd argue in that arc, Hunk's leadership mattered less in terms of orders and more in terms of determining what type of team they'd be. Hunk was ADAMANT they free the Balmerans and set a tone for the team where they didn't leave suffering people behind. Hunk set up a moral imperative for the team that they'd be lesser without.

And Lance! There's actually lots to say about Lance and his strengths and types of leadership. But it's easy to point out that Lance is the one initiating fun and team bonding outside of battle. And when you're operating a giant robot held together by emotion connection, that's pretty dang important!

Point is, they're ALL leaders. They all have the capability to take point when needed. We SEE them all take charge at different points of the show.

So what's the Black Paladin then? If Shiro's The Leader then what does that mean? And this is the cool part! Because you know what Shiro is really really good? Know who else to put in charge. He's the one who first acknowledges Allura as an authority because he sees she has knowledge and experience he and the others do not. He selects which paladins to go together on which missions based on their strengths and the situations. He steps back and lets Pidge or Lance or Hunk call the shots if they're in an area of their expertise. Shiro's job isn't to tell people what to do. It's to decide who to put in charge of what and place them in best position for success.

There's another aspect of Shiro's leadership that is supporting his teammates, offering comfort, teaching, and giving the kids something solid they can believe in so they don't have to care the full weight of the war. But like letting others take charge where they shine, Shiro's leadership is all about enabling those he leads. One of my favorite Shiro lines is "It's too dangerous—I'm coming with you." Shiro's goal is never control. He is support. He leads the paladins because he sees the best in them and helps them reach it.

Narratively, also, Shiro is just set up to be the Black Paladin. The parallels between himself and the Black Lion are too obvious. From both being controlled and abused by Zarkon to Shiro's missing arm and Black's mission bayard. It's a kid's show. The symbolism isn't all that subtle. And if that weren't enough, we literally get an entire episode A plot in Space Mall about it where Shiro literally fist fights Zarkon for the Black Lion and in the end, he wins because he makes it clear it's the Black Lion's choice and trust.

Remember when I said the problem with Keith in the Black Lion in canon is that we're never given an explanation beyond "because I said so"? We're shown repeatedly why the Black Lion chooses Shiro. Even before we meet most the Lions, the other paladins themselves choose Shiro as their leader when Lance asks him if they should go through the wormhole. We repeatedly see Shiro seek to understand the Black Lion better, and Black responding. We see the similarities between their situations and backstories. We see them bond.

And I think this is really important because when Shiro is in the Black Lion, it's not about him being "in charge." It's about his relationship with the Black Lion. Yeah, of course, the other paladins are leaders! And they should be! But none of them have Shiro's relationship with the Black Lion. In this narrative, the Black Lion isn't a prize to be won but a relationship to nurture, and Shiro has put in the work for that relationship.

Which is really important because it means the Lions aren't a hierarchy. The Black Paladin is one role, an important role in Voltron, but no more important than any of the others. "The Leader" is not the most important person in the room. Instead, Shiro is a facilitator who enables all the others to perform their roles better.

Also can I just remind everyone just how well the Red Lion fits Keith? The paladin who keeps throwing himself out airlocks get the Lion most likely to go AWOL and fly off to save him. Keith defends his friends and team by attacking first and asking questions later, and Red started destroying a planetary body to get to Keith. The kid with abandonment issues gets the Lion who doesn't hesitate a second to go after him. And even the way they're shown to bond—that it's so physical and based in action rather than words—it's so Keith. I freaking love Keith as the Red Paladin. He gets to be as chaotic and free as he was always meant to be and gets a Lion who meets him every step of the way.

But if you say, no, Keith should be the Black Paladin. Well. What about Red wasn't working? Why was that role not one Keith fit in? Because from my reading of canon, Keith was thriving in Red. He got a secure attachment to his favorite person in the world, he gets the freedom to fly while also being part of something bigger, and he's making friends. It's still in its beginning stages, but he's figuring out how to bond with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge and you get the sense these are a kind of friendships he's never experienced before. But you know what could kill that really fast? Making him The Leader, a position that inherently sets him apart from the rest.

This is actually a problem twice over for Keith because unlike Shiro, who is shown to be given his role voluntarily by everyone around him and repeatedly shows he's earned that trust and respect, Keith is basically thrown into the Plot Device Machine and gets a t-shirt that says YOU'RE THE LEADER NOW. And we never get a reason beyond that.

This is actually my biggest problem season 3 and the Lion Swap. Because as soon as they made that choice, the Lions became a hierarchy. But what other explanation do we have? Keith won Favorite Character status got "prompted" to Black Paladin. But as soon as Black Paladin is a promotion, that makes the other paladin roles inferior. Red becomes the "second in command". So Lance get prompted but can never be equal to Keith. Allura gets the "Training Wheels" Lion/Blue, and they didn't have to write that as a massive demotion, but they sure did anyway. Hunk and Pidge are no longer leaders because they aren't in the "Leader" Lions.

It makes me so mad. One of the things I loved first about Voltron was the message of equality and servant leadership. The idea that a leader (represented by Shiro) is someone who elevates and enables everyone else. A recognition for the more "feminine" types of leadership—nurturing, compassion, emotional support. Which support roles are seen as vital and just as if not more important than being the "boss."

But we only got two seasons of that before they pulled the rug out and said, "Nope. We're returning back to patriarchy." Suddenly the Lions were in a strict chain of command, one character was the boss and the rest were his subordinates. There was a top position and a bottom position, and the characters were all fighting over each other. Perhaps most damningly, the Lion lost all personality and agency and become trophies to symbolize a character's power. And I'm not saying they're an accidental representation of how women are treated in Western media but I MEAN. It's right there.

My response when anyone says "[X] character should be the Black Paladin!" is—Why? Is their connection with the Black Lion deeper than Shiro's? Do they have more in common with Black than Shiro does? What could they achieve or obtain as the Black Paladin that they couldn't where they currently are?

And, though I don't think most of us realize it, the answer to that last one is power. Because we're soaked in patriarchy and a certain portrayal of "leadership (derogatory)" that many fans automatically assumed the Black Paladin HAD to be in control of and have power over the other paladins. So of course you want your favorite character to be the Black Paladin! You don't want your self-insert to be inferior!

But that's all the patriarchy talking. The other paladins are NOT inferior. There is NOT a hierarchy of types of people. Keith doesn't have to have Shiro's role because he's already equal as Keith.

Keiths look different from Shiros, but they're all equal and valuable as they are. Same goes for Lances, Hunks, Pidges, and Alluras. The whole point is they're stronger together. Their differences make them BETTER.

So yeah. Of course, Keith has some good leadership qualities. There's plenty of situations where it only makes sense for him to take the lead. But why on earth does he need to be the Black Paladin to do that? He's already Keith!

#voltron: the legendary salt mine #thanks for the ask!#oh gosh this got so long #would you believe this is the SHORT version?#I have a LOT of feelings about leadership and patriarchy and how it shows up in voltron #i didn't even get to go into hunk and lance's roles #and how they deserve so much more respect and appreciation than they receive #hunk especially #if you're somehow not sick of me and want to chat more feel free to dm #or hit my inbox and i'll answer with another monster probably #mckinlily writes #long post #could i use a read more? yes #will i? unfortunately for everyone no

21 notes · View notes

the-kittens-of-vol-tron · 1 year

Note

Small t4t klance idea? Lance being very open about his trans identity to the team and Keith being more reserved? Pre, established, platonic, you decide!

Yes yes yes!

I will always write for t4t klance <33333

-----

"Morning everybody," Lance strolled into the dining room. He wore his blue lion slippers, dark blue sweatpants, and black half-tank binder.

"Morning Lance," everyone called out.

Keith stared at his goo. Breathing around the jealousy that always spiked when he saw Lance being...well himself. It sometimes vibe checks Keith when he remembers that somehow. He just happened to be in the universe where three out of the five paladins of Voltron were trans.

Lance came out first, though, it would be hard to come out since he was never in the closet. The first night they landed on Arus, and met Coran and Allura he was already asking about a replacement for his T-shot.

Pidge was next. Revealing their own nonbinary identity after the fight with Sendek.

Which just left Keith in the closet. Shiro and Coran were the only ones that knew. Shiro since he was his mentor before Kerberos and basically his older brother at this rate. And Coran so he could get his own T-shot.

Neither of them cared, and neither of them saw him any different. So why couldn't he tell the others? He wasn't ashamed of his identity in any way shape or form. But he wasn't like Lance. Nonchalant. Uncaring if people saw him in his binder or prepping for his injection. He was outspoken about when he came to terms with his identity, how he told his family, and how he chose his name.

Deep down, Keith wanted to be like that. But, it went against everything he had built for himself. He was Keith, the lone wolf, king of isolation. He kept his secrets under lock and key.

"Whatcha thinking about, Mullet?" Lance's face filled his vision, his head was leaning back on the edge of the couch.

"Nothing."

"Sureeee," Lance stepped over the back of the couch and flopped down next to him. "You had that look on your face."

Keith scoffed, "what look?"

Lance morphed his face into an over-the-top serious face. "I'm Keith and I'm thinking about flying my lion and punching Sendek."

"Oh shut up." He playfully shoved Lance.

Lance laughed in response, the room falling into a comfortable quiet. Lance hummed under his breath and Keith stole a glance at him.

Blue met dark purple and the skin around Lance's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Like what you're seeing?"

"As if," Keith forced himself to look at his boots, praying his face wasn't as red as it felt.

Lance hummed again, letting his head roll back against the cushion. "Would you ever kiss me?"

Keith choked on nothing, "what?!"

Lance whistled, his eyes looking at the ceiling. "Damn, way to hurt a guy's feelings."

"I-uh-shit sorry. It was just random."

"Yeah...I guess it was." Lance adjusted his head so he could look at the other boy. "Would you?"

Keith could feel his heart in his throat. His brain was split. Be honest or lie. He silently weighed the pros and cons.

Pros:

-He did like Lance. More than he cared to admit

-He did want to kiss him...a lot.

-They were in the middle of a war, tomorrow could be their last day so why hide them?

Cons:

-What if this was a weird prank?

-Would kissing him ruin their ability to form Voltron? Would it ruin the team?

-What if Keith was a lousy kisser?

"Mullet?"

"Uh...Yeah, I would." His skin felt on fire. "Sorry if that's weird to say."

Lance laughed, "why are you saying sorry? I asked you first!"

Keith shrugged, his face burning.

"Have you thought about it?"

Keith didn't respond.

Lance sighed, "I've thought about kissing you."

"You're lying."

"I'm not!"

Keith groaned, "you can't think about kissing me! You don't even know me."

Lancer rolled his eyes, "I know plenty about you. Got some deep dark secret? Like you need to sleep upside down or something?"

"No...How did you even come up with that?"

Lance shrugged, "trying to see if you're a vampire."

"Yes, I'm a vampire."

"Knew it."

Silence. And while Keith thrived in it, Lance became antsy in it. "I share a secret you share one?"

"This some kind of game?"

"Sure."

"Okay," Lance threw his head side to side. Making sure no one was eavesdropping. He dropped his voice into a whisper, "I've never kissed anyone before."

Keith raised his right eyebrow. "Really?" He said with a hint of uncertainty.

Lance gave a stern nod, "cross my heart and hope to die."

"Oh...I mean I've never kissed anyone either so join the club."

"Realy?!" Lance's voice jumped a couple of octaves. "But every girl at the Garrison was falling at your feet."

Keith shrugged, "I only like guys."

Lance clicked his tongue, "touche," he raised his eyebrows, silently begging to be told the deep dark secret. "Soooooo...?"

Keith wrapped his arms around his core. "I'm trans."

Lance blinked, "wait. Like you're a girl? Why didn't you tell anyone?!"

Keith laughed, throwing his head back at the motion. "No, I'm a dude. Like...a trans guy."

Lance froze, his mind clearly trying to put the pieces together.

Keith snapped his fingers in front of his ocean eyes, "Earth to Lance?"

"YOU'RE TRANS?!" He screamed, jumping where he sat slightly. "ohmygod the team has two trans guys what are the odds?"

"Shhhhh," Keith pushed his index finger against the other boy's lips. "I don't want to tell the entire castle yet."

Lance nodded, moving his head back away from his finger. "Does anyone else know? I swear to god I won't tell a soul."

"Just Shiro and Coran. And you now."

Lance beamed, grinning ear to ear. "Thanks for telling me."

---

Lance did keep his secret but eventually, Keith told the rest of the team. They obviously didn't care or judge him. The most stressful news to deliver to the team was after he and Lance started dating.

-----

They're in love your honor <3

Thank you for this, I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you for reading <33333

#klance #t4t klance #trans keith #trans lance #lance mcclain #lance vld #lance voltron legendary defender #keith vld #keith voltron legendary defender #keith kogane #posted to ao3 #no beta #kats writing #my writing

115 notes · View notes

lilflowerpot · 1 year

Note

This is probably not the direction you're going towards, bc you do stress the importance of Team Voltron IS A Family (occassional disfunctionality included), but sometimes some of them just act one way, or get goaded by Lotor to act that way, and it almost feels like the Keitor will be an "us against the world" deal with the rest of the team as the world too. That too would be interesting (if unhealthy) (dw I know this is not the fic for that)

That is indeed not my objective, but I 1000% agree that the keitor dynamic could very easily lend itself to that sort of narrative, and it would be........................ delicious.

Not to sound like a broken record but...... one of my keitor month prompts...... was a 'Keith gets captured by Zarkon at the end of s01' au where Zarkon has this like,, very unhinged and entirely unhealthy fixation with Keith due to not only learning that he's a galra hybrid, but also immediately latching on to his striking similarities to the first red paladin; so the Emperor oscillates between speaking to Keith-as-Alfor and Keith-as-Lotor, conflating their identities and timeline... It's a mess tbh, and I'm really capitalising on Zarkon's quintessence-fueled-madness like he is Unstable™

So the lion switcheroo happens a series earlier, but with Keith instead of Shiro (Lance still takes Red, and Allura Blue) and ofc this gets fed back to Keith as proof of how easily replaceable he is⁠—they risked everything to save the altean princess despite her not piloting a lion, but you? The galra paladin? They don't even care enough to try⁠—until ultimately Zarkon is felled at the end of s02.

Enter Lotor.

So upon arriving in central command to serve as emperor pro-tem, Lotor discovers that the former red paladin is a POW and also..... like him? And thanks to Zarkon's ramblings Keith knows a little about Lotor, but he still wasn't prepared to be faced with the reality of the prince because by this point he truly does believe everyone⁠—even Shiro⁠—to have abandoned him (and can he really blame them when he argued for leaving Allura when their positions were reversed?) so to be newly faced with Zarkon's son who treats him with kindness and dignity and camaraderie without condemnation for his heritage-

#bring 👏 on 👏 the 👏 angst 👏#Zarkon calls Keith ''fledgling'' it's important to me that you know that #Ao3 Little Blade #sa screams back #keith kogane #prince lotor #keitor #other aus #''flowerpot'' i hear you say ''have you considered actually //writing// these aus instead of just talking about them?'' and i hear you i do #but consider: i'm neurodivergent af and so simply sail the course as charted for me by the serotonin

135 notes · View notes

punkeropercyjackson · 3 months

Text

Actually lemme revert back to my Voltron days for a sec because i got rage.I got into the show the same time season 3 came out and the Lance x Allura development immediately stole my heart because why wouldn't it?It was the first time i saw people like me as a couple onscreen,by which i mean i'm a mixed latino like Lance-and we're even both carribean since he's cuban and i'm dominican!!!-and a black woman like Allura,and it was such a well-written ship to boot that gave me a good example of what i deserved to be treated like by my s/o and raised my standards for romance both fictional and for my own future(and current)dating life and it meant the world to me and i think it always will.And y'know what?Yes,Allura's death hurt a LOT and it still does sometimes but by now i've learned the sad truth that this is the norm for canon bw

The thing that REALLY sets me off?The fandom's response to them.Nonstop,i'd see 'Allura and Lance are such siblings!!!' 'Omg i'm so glad Lance is finally over Allura XD' 'I really hope Allurance isn't endgame afterall' and it was infuriating back then for the obvious people hating on my otp reason but i've realized that it was literally misogynoir.White and loads of nonblack Vee El Dee fans just couldn't stand that their precious Lancey boy genuinely loved the darkskin black girl mc with no ill-intentions and grew out of any bad habits towards her in season 3 of an 8 SEASON SHOW so that meant we were getting black4brown rep instead of sanitized twink tsunderes and they're STILL AT IT with the Le///akira desperation

But nah nah,y'all 'Space Mom and Dad' allegation makers ain't getting out of this!Allura was a GIRL,Shiro was a MAN-a GAY MAN FFS!!!Their season 1 dynamic was very clearly that of a tired dad and his rebellious teen daughter and all the 'baiting' you saw was you inserting your straight woman feminism fantasies onto them-Again,WOMAN,when Allura was an entire 17 year old and Shiro was in his mid-20s!You're literally the same as people who ship him with Pidge or even worse because there's an added layer of perpetuating the long history of adultification and by extension dehumanization of black children.Sit your tenheadasses down,it's not racist or misogynistic that people think you're gross and weird for infantalizing and straightwashing a canon gay japanese man

Keith and Lance weren't baited.Shiro and Allura were never even a fucking option.ALLURANCE was bait,for latinos and black people and those of us inbetween alike,they dangled it in front of us in promos and the vlogs and the official books and most importantly in THE ACTUAL FUCKING SERIES.Only to go 'Sike!!!The only deserving happy ending for traumatized black girls is to die for others and their soulmate to be forced to live on without them!!!' and the fact that y'all have the AUDACITY to make it about yourselves by twisting one of the best love stories in modern american animation into 'Nice Guy Gets The GirlTM' is bodyslam worthy.Be.Fucking Quiet.

15 notes · View notes

jasontoddssuper · 9 months

Text

Internalized racism is real and woc who ship Zutara and simp for Lotor are proof of it

#white people dni #anti zutara #zuko #katara #lotor deserved worse #atla geekery #vld #pro allura #allura deserved better #i'm black tag #💌#letters from summer

14 notes · View notes

the-lightning-strikes-again · 1 year

Text

New Chapter for Human!AU VLD Fic - Adrenaline Rush

Chapter 13 is now posted!

Summary: Lotor—the leather-clad heartthrob of the international drag racing competition—is a pro stock biker, undefeated with his Sincline motorcycles. Allura is a rising star in the top fuel dragster circuit, taking up her father’s mantle after his fiery death during a race with quintessence-injected fuel. Allura knows racing can be lethal. But between competing against her father’s rival and once-friend, Zarkon, and dealing with his arrogant son Lotor, she barely has time to consider the types of danger she’s in.

Rating: M (please read tags on AO3 for potential triggers)

For anyone interested, you can read the new chapter on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15836133/chapters/112137436

Please read and review! Thank you!

#Voltron #Lotura #Lotor #Allura #Zarkon #Honerva #Merla #Kova #well y'all we made it

33 notes · View notes

idoweirdcrap · 5 days

Text

some lame klangst bc i forgot abt it

Part 3-

"Lance. Lance? Lance, are you alright? You look deathly pale!" screeched Allura, looking down on Lance.

"I-I- aaAHAHHHHh." Lance was not okay. He wasn't stable, and he wasn't safe.

"Allura, step away from Lance," said Keith collectedly. He'd been through this himself, and he was ~kinda a pro~ at this shit.

"I shall do no such thing! The poor thing needs help!"

"And you'll need help when you lose your teeth. C'mon." The others trickled slowly out of the room, waving awkwardly to their friend until it was only Keith and Lance.

"Look, Lance. I know what you're feeling right n-"

"Get away from me, or I'll fucking bash your head in."

Keith backed slowly away from the feral beast before him.

Lance needed some help, and fast.

#klangst week #sufferrr #mwahahah #klance #klance pants

3 notes · View notes

nellie-elizabeth · 1 year

Text

The Legend of Vox Machina: The Killbox (2x10)

Goddamn, this show is something special.

Cons:

I'm not sure the utility of Kaylie coming back to witness the Kill Box fight. It feels like the exact same effect could have been achieved if Kaylie and the rest of the band had turned up after Kevdak's defeat, saying they'd gotten word that the herd was no longer going to be a problem. Having her around doesn't add anything, other than just a hint that she's trying to stay close to Scanlan for some reason, but I think that could have been achieved after the Kevdak battle.

The only complaint I have about the Kill Box fight sequence is that I wanted even more of it, which seems selfish because it was pretty incredible! I think the one thing that would have elevated it even just slightly, would be a bit more combo action. We saw each individual of Vox Machina fucking shit up, per Grog's instructions, and then obviously the awesome Vex and Grog combo there at the end, but my favorite part of the fight sequences is watching how all the different fighting styles and magics support and enhance one another. This fight had a lot of impressive single character actions, and then a lot of characters shooting a bad guy to protect each other, like Vex shooting bad guys near Percy and vice versa, which I obviously love, but I could have used some more combo creativity. This is such a nitpick though, it's only remembering the stream, how the Kill Box episode was one long combat from start to finish, and how fucking insane it was... when it ended here I was still eagerly wanting more.

The "I'm daddy" cliffhanger joke with Scanlan doesn't quite work because earlier he says he's not opposed to being called daddy, and then he says "I'm daddy?!" all incredulously at the end. I feel like it should have been him saying that he'd call her daddy, and then at the end he'd be like "I'm daddy?!" I don't know, for some reason the joke didn't land, even though the leadup to it was incredible.

Pros:

What to even say? This was so fucking good.

It was smart to check in at Whitestone at the start of the episode, see Kima, Allura, Gilmore, Cass, and Yennen all together. To remind us that Vox Machina has allies, and a place to fall back on, something they're looking to protect. This scene was so great, seeing everyone's relief, learning about Whitestone's magical defenses, seeing Cass in her leadership role. And Gilmore and Vax were pretty adorable too! Allura helps them to check in on Pike, Scanlan, and Grog, and we see that things aren't going so great for them...

I want to start by saying that I really felt the weight and gravitas of Kevdak as an adversary in this episode. His sheer physical size and strength, during the initial one-on-one combat with Grog, was so intimidating and legitimately distressing to watch. Seeing Grog stabbed with the wooden spike had me gasping. It was just such a smart narrative move to have Grog weakened in all sorts of ways, then at the mercy of watching tiny little Pike under Kevdak's boot, for him to have his big cathartic "where does your strength come from" moment. Just a brilliant restructuring of the way Grog's development happens in the stream. He realizes that his friends make him strong, and he's able to rage his way back into his full physical prowess, free himself of his impaled state, and rush back into the fight with Kevdak.

I was just really getting the feels about Grog and all his friends, especially the way he yells "No! Leave 'em!" when he realizes the herd is going after Pike and Scanlan, and then he says "they're more than just friends." Buddy! This is a smart change from the stream, because instead of Vox Machina lying in wait ready to ambush, Grog did fully intend to take this fight on alone, and it's only when the herd makes the first dishonorable move by getting Pike, Scanlan, and Kaylie involved, that all bets are off and Grog calls in his friends. Soooo glad they kept "Vox Machina, fuck shit up!!!" in there, because what a fucking line from Travis, holy shit. All the praise for his improv in the stream, and his performance here.

And the combat... so many individual shots I could call out about the group combat, but I think I just wanna say that the shot of Percy with his glasses flashing white as an explosion goes off behind him due to one of Vex's arrows is... the coolest fucking shit I've ever seen. The song was amazing, everyone was a total bad-ass, Grog was really getting to show off his more strategic mindset, focusing in on the gauntlets as he allowed his friends to clear the periphery for him.

Seeing the Titan Stone Knuckles in action, Kevdak pulling his arm off, really reinforced how bad-ass he is as a villain, but also was an excellent way to show that our good guys are having a real impact, here. Things aren't going great for them, but things are also not going so great for the herd. And then we get the poke-ball moment, one of Grog's most epic natural 20s brought to stunning life as he falls through the sky and slams down into Kevdak, cutting his evil uncle in half. I was so hyped for this episode, and that moment really, really did not disappoint.

And while I said above I would have loved even more combo action during the combat, there were a couple moments we did get that I enjoyed. Keyleth growing the wall of vines and Vex setting it on fire, Pike in peril and Keyleth as Minxie jumping out of nowhere to protect her... I particularly loved the moment at the end where Vax catches Vex when she tumbles off the broom.

Grog, as rightful Thunderlord of the Herd of Storms, immediately passes the mantle to Zanror, which is a nice moment. This season really does allow us to check in with most of our characters' families, between Vex and Vax's father and meeting their half-sister, Keyleth seeing her dad in Pyrah, Pike and Wilhand, Grog and the herd, even Percy gets to check in on Cass a few times. Funny how Scanlan is the only one who doesn't check in with family.

Oh, wait.

As if all that amazing combat wasn't enough, we immediately follow it up with an incredible tavern scene, full of so much fun, giving us a chance to decompress without ever fully taking our foot off the gas. I loved that they got "at dawn we plan" in there, as that's such a funny joke from the stream, and exemplifies so much of what Critical Role (and D&D in general, I suppose) can be. Lots and lots of discussion, and then total chaos once it comes time to actually implement the idea.

Keyleth and Vex fill Pike in on their adventure in the Fey Realm, while Percy talks with Grog and Zanror about how to kill Umbrasyl. Scanlan is up on stage singing a truly filthy song about masturbation, and Kaylie joins in... Vax seems to be enjoying the performance, when yet another vision from the Matron of Ravens unsettles him. The moment when Keyleth tries to ask Vax to dance and gets rejected is so quietly tragic! Kiki, he loves you, just hang in there, girl! I just loved all the vibes of this scene, the joy, the catharsis of everyone being together and safe and with new hope of defeating their foe.

And then...

Listen, the scene with Kaylie at the end filled me with so much dread, but in the best way. When you know what's coming, every compliment from Scanlan, every lascivious glance, it just makes you cringe. What a cliffhanger for people who didn't know what was coming!

As a last note, I loved the little detail of Scanlan telling Kaylie a story as they enter the bedroom: "and then, I disguised us all as cows!" This is obviously referencing an event from the stream that didn't make it into the animated show, but I also like that Scanlan is telling the tale of Vox Machina here. I've been so impressed with the adaptation in this show of Scanlan as bard, as storyteller, as the one who will pass the legend on through the ages. That's a common theme with this show, where not only are the big important plot moments adapted so well, often in surprising and fresh ways, but I feel that thematically, the characters are getting a chance to grow and develop much like we saw in the stream, albeit with the pacing drastically tightened up, and certain meandering paths shortened or cut.

And now, onward to episode eleven! I'm so mad the season is already over, I want more!!!

9/10

#review #tlovm #tlovm review #the legend of vox machina #critical role

20 notes · View notes