REVIEW: “Voltron: Legendary Defender” Continues to be a Force to be Reckoned With!

The first season of Netflix and Dreamworks’ Voltron: Legendary Defender was not only the biggest surprise of 2016 but more so the gold standard of a remake done right. But then again there shouldn’t really be any doubt in the first place as this was backed up by a creative team with Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery of Nickelodeon’s Avatar fame leading the charge.

I know what you’re all thinking! The GoLions? Really? Well, this was not a dull and dry serious remake (side-eyes Thundercats 2011), or a lighthearted one that only exists for nostalgia factor but an improvement on both areas; it was a remake that honors the source material, and enriches characters in their highest and lowest points and exploit a much bigger universe within. The follow-up season ups the ante even more with even bigger stakes and a much better adventure.

Plot Summary:

The story continues after the ill-fated battle between Team Voltron and the Galra Empire as The team is separated in the far reaches of the universe. Once they do reunite, they have decided that it is time to take the fight to Zarkon as they rally their new and old allies together.

Review:

It is very much as straightforward as you read the plot but that’s just scratching the surface of what the entire season is really all about. But as most people say whether it is your father, your English teacher, or your pastor it would be that the journey is much more interesting than its destination. We see more of our heroes learn about themselves and the abilities of their lions each day, even seeing Princess Allura and Coran have some heartfelt moments here and there. And along the way we see even more of the universe expand with so much mythology behind the world meeting distinct alien races like mermaids, technological tree people, or space assassins. There are exciting new worlds and the designs were actually eye popping this time around too.

If there’s really one flaw I have with the entire season is that most of the main cast felt like they took the back seat, maybe it’s because characters like Hunk, Lance, and Pidge explored enough with them last season but when they do have new developments like Lance trying to know his place in the team, it gets resolved too quickly in just 5 minutes – whoop dee doo! It’s sort of similar with Hunk and Pidge, although Hunk was really just the comedy relief this season.

What makes the first season great about their narrative is the conflict, people make choices and tough calls and you actually see them go through it and don’t just shrug it off. They never forget those tough calls and you could feel how it can be difficult to bare them through these characters. Keith with having an expansive role is the best example of this (Keith is cool and all but he was “just there” last season) with a mindblowing backstory that has an effect on his relationship with the team and even Princess Allura. Speaking of Keith they play on big brother dynamic with Shiro even more this time around as he tries to make him the leader he saw in him since last season. The superb voice cast really did let out the best emotions.

What makes this season more interesting too is that they gave room to have the villains have some form of development. We see Zarkon’s obsession of retrieving the black lion corrupt him while Haggar is frustrated of this as she gets the heavy duty work on figuring out who the spies are among their ranks. It’s quite refreshing that they did this angle, it sort of shows that there’s more to Zarkon than the brooding villain sitting on a chair barking orders.

Outside of all the heavy themes, it was quite impressive how well the humor was implemented within the narrative. The humor is an even bigger improvement than last season. Last season felt a bit redundant with the slapstick, stupid outbursts, and awkward silences, but for this season they had more to work with. Heck! They even dedicated an episode to make a Paul Blart Mall Cop parody with a chase scene that involves a flying cow – and no, I’m not making this up – Coran really gets the most laughs this season as everything that comes out of his mouth is comedy gold; whether it’d be through an instructional video, meeting his past selves, or being generally sweaty.

Visually, Studio Mir always has a good marriage of Japanese and Western Art Styles, right from the familiar elements of the Avatar series too. The latest experiment they had for the show was Cel Shading being blended with Traditional 2D animation. Much like the previous season it still features smoother and a cohesive whole to form action scenes with robots and environmental stuff too. The last two episodes were if not the best half hour of television that has an even better robot space battle than last season, let alone having a smoothly animated choreographed hand-to-hand combat scenes as well.

Conclusion:
In the end, Voltron: Legendary Defender makes another triumph this season as It offers impressive rock em’ sock em’ robot action, hilarious moments, intense scenes, heartfelt stories, and great characters. The show sets out to be more than just a toy commercial but an excellent character drama.