As a fan of “metafiction” books such as Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, the Star Trek Chronology, and Timeline of the Planet of the Apes, I’m fascinated by how some enthusiasts of a television or movie-based fictional universe create chronologies from clues in the TV episodes or films. In two previous articles on this website (https://lionsandpilotsandbots.com/2017/12/27/5-11-14-and-monday-chronologizing-voltron-legendary-defender/, https://lionsandpilotsandbots.com/2017/11/12/yearning-for-a-year-voltron-legendary-defender/), I attempted to start a Voltron Legendary Defender chronology from clues in the episodes.
I decided to try once more, now incorporating information from Voltron Legendary Defender: The Paladin’s Handbook, plus additional information from the television program that I had not previously considered.
Data Points:
- In “The New Alliance” (the first part of “The Rise of Voltron”), Lance records a Galaxy Garrison Flight Log with a date of “5-11-14.”
- In “The New Alliance,” in daylight on the day after “5-11-14” – Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk leave Earth in Blue Lion.
- In “Some Assembly Required,” Hunk recalls his last night on Earth being on a Monday.
- In “Reunion,” Matt Holt’s false grave marker displays an incorrect birth date of “0010.05.25,” and a death date of “0014.04.28.”
- In “Reunion,” shortly before the launch of the Kerberos Mission, Katie Holt wonders how she’ll “have to go through middle school without” her brother Matt.
- In “From Days of Long Ago”, Shiro states that he had been “locked up by aliens for a year.”
- In “Tears of the Balmera,” Sam Holt hints that the Kerberos Mission’s journey from Earth to Kerberos will take two months.
- In “Tears of the Balmera,” the public announcement of the missing Kerberos Mission crew was made five months after the mission’s launch.
- Voltron Legendary Defender: The Paladin’s Handbook states that Katie Holt (Pidge) was 14 when the Kerberos Mission launched.
- Voltron Legendary Defender: The Paladin’s Handbook provides the age and birth month and day-of-month for each Paladin from Earth:
- Shiro: Age 25, born February 29 (during a leap year, since February 29 is a “Leap Year Day”)
- Keith: Age 18, born October 23
- Lance: Age 17, born July 28
- Hunk: Age 17, born January 13
- Pidge (Katie Holt): Age 15, born April 3
- Voltron Legendary Defender: The Paladin’s Handbook describes Allura as a teenager.
Assumptions:
- “5-11-14” is the actual date on which Lance records the Galaxy Garrison Flight Log.
- “5-11-14” is an Earth calendar date, rather than something exotic like a Star Trek “stardate.”
- “5-11-14,” Hunk’s last night on Earth, is a Monday.
- “0014.04.28” is a plausible date of death for Matt Holt. In “Reunion,” Pidge notices the incorrect birth date on Matt’s false grave marker, but she does not seem to question the plausibility of the death date.
- The dates on Matt Holt’s false grave marker are Earth calendar dates.
- “5-11-14” occurs sometime between Earth years 2100 and 2599. Preferably the date occurs sometime between 2200 and 2499, to avoid dates which are “too soon” or “too distant” in the future. (This date range is a personal preference.)
- On Earth, an academic year begins sometime between June and August, and it ends sometime between May and July. (These month ranges accommodate year-round schools and schools with summer breaks between academic years.)
- Most kids begin kindergarten at age five and complete kindergarten at age six.
- Pidge’s middle school included the seventh and eighth grades, and possibly also an earlier grade or two.
- For Pidge to express concern about going through middle school without Matt, she would need to be in the eighth grade or earlier as of the launch of the Kerberos Mission.
My approach to creating a Voltron Legendary Defender chronology was as follows:
- Compute all reasonable Earth calendar dates that “5-11-14” might represent.
- Although the format of “5-11-14” is likely either month/day/year or day/month/year, assume it could be any permutation of year, month, and day. (Having said that, month/year/day and day/year/month would be… strange.)
- If “5” is a year, then allow the possibility that “5” could be a one-digit year or a two-digit year. (Having said that, a one-digit year would be… strange.)
- Compute all reasonable Earth calendar dates that “0010.05.25” and “0014.04.28” might represent.
- Assume both dates have the same format.
- Although the format of the dates is likely year/month/day, assume it could be any permutation of year, month, and day.
- For “0014.04.28” to be a plausible date of death for Matt Holt, it should be no earlier than roughly two months after the Kerberos Mission launch date, and it should be no later than when Pidge discovered Matt’s false grave marker (sometime not much later than 5-11-14).
- Score each possible “5-11-14” date according to the following criteria:
- Format Score: If the “5” in “5-11-14” is a two-digit year, and the format isn’t “strange” (day/year/month or month/year/day), then the date is given one point. If the “5” is a one-digit year or the format is “strange,” then the date is given only 0.7 points.
- Monday Score: If 5-11-14 is a Monday, then the date is given 1 point; otherwise it is given 0 points.
- Matt Score: If “0014.04.28” can be parsed to a plausible death date relative to 5-11-14, then the date is given 1 point; otherwise it is given 0 points.
- Shiro Score: If Shiro’s age can be 25 as of 5-11-14, then the date is given one point. If Shiro’s age can be 26 as of 5-11-14, then the date is given 0.7 points. Otherwise the date is given 0 points. (I assumed that age 26 was acceptable, although not ideal. A 26-year-old Shiro’s age could still be 25 in the Galaxy Garrison records as of 5-11-14, if the Garrison had assumed that he was dead.)
- Total Score: Add the previously mentioned scores.
- Adjusted Total Score: If “5-11-14” is between 2200 and 2499, then multiply the score by 1. Otherwise, if “5-11-14” is between 2100 and 2599, the multiply the score by 0.7. This reflects my bias that dates between 2100 and 2199 are acceptable but “too soon” in the future, and that dates between 2500 and 2599 are acceptable but “too distant” in the future.
- Sort the “5-11-14” dates by Adjusted Total Scores, from highest to lowest. The highest-scoring “5-11-14” date “wins.”
Result:
- Based on the approach above, the highest-scoring date parsed from “5-11-14” is May 11, 2314. (This is consistent with my reckoning here: https://lionsandpilotsandbots.com/2017/12/27/5-11-14-and-monday-chronologizing-voltron-legendary-defender/.)
- May 11, 2314 has a reasonable format. (It’s neither month/year/day nor day/year/month.)
- May 11, 2314 is a Monday.
- Matt’s false date of death can be parsed to April 28, 2314, which is plausible. Matt’s false date of birth can be parsed to May 25 during some year ending in 10 – likely 2210 or earlier, making him at least 104 as of his falsified death. (This age would be absurd to Pidge or anyone else who had known Matt on Earth. On the other hand, Matt’s non-human rebel comrades would not likely know a human’s average life expectancy — but even they would be suspicious of a 2310 birth year, making Matt only four years old as of his falsified death.)
- For Shiro to be 25 as of May 11, 2314, his February 29 birth month and day would need to be in the year 2289. Unfortunately, 2289 is not a leap year. The closest leap year is 2288, which would make Shiro 26 as of May 11, 2314.
- (The single highest-scoring date parsed from “5-11-14” which enabled Shiro to be 25 as of that date is November 14, 2405. Unfortunately, no plausible date of death for Matt Holt could be parsed from “0014.04.28”, and the adjusted total score of November 14, 2405, was less than that of May 11, 2314.)
- Derived dates:
- As previously stated, Matt Holt’s false date of death is April 28, 2314 – about two weeks before Shiro crashed to Earth. Matt Holt’s false and incorrect date of birth is May 25 of some year ending in 10.
- Shiro, age 26 as of 5-11-14, was born on February 29, 2288.
- Keith, age 18 as of 5-11-14, was born on October 23, 2295.
- Lance, age 17 as of 5-11-14, was born on July 28, 2296.
- Hunk, age 17 as of 5-11-14, was born on January 13, 2297. Hunk is about six months younger than Lance.
- Pidge, age 15 as of 5-11-14, was born on April 3, 2299. Pidge had turned 15 about a month before 5-11-14.
- For Pidge to have been 14 when the Kerberos Mission launched, the launch date could be no earlier than Pidge’s 14th birthday, April 3, 2313. Shiro returned to Earth on May 11, 2314, after about a year in Galra captivity, which followed a two-month flight from Earth to Kerberos. If Shiro spent slightly less than a full year in Galra custody, and/or the flight from Earth to Kerberos took slightly less than two months, then the launch date of the Kerberos Mission could plausibly be on or shortly after April 3, 2313. Since Pidge’s birthday isn’t mentioned in “Tears of the Balmera,” it’s likely that the launch date was soon after rather than on April 3, 2313. If so, then the Kerberos Mission crew could plausibly have been captured shortly after their arrival on Kerberos in early June 2313 – meaning Shiro would have spent about eleven months (close enough to round up to a year) in Galra captivity. In conclusion…
- The Kerberos Mission launched in April 2313, sometime soon after April 3.
- The Kerberos Mission reached Kerberos in early June 2313. Soon afterward, the crew was captured by the Galra.
- Pidge and her mother watched the news announcement of the disappearance of the Kerberos Mission in September 2313, about five months after the mission launched. In “Tears of the Balmera,” Pidge was surprised by the news announcement, but in “Reunion,” it was established that Pidge could communicate with Matt using a secret code. This implies that, for about three months after the Kerberos Mission crew was captured, Pidge was unable to communicate with Matt. Perhaps other factors had already prevented Pidge from communicating with Matt, so that she could still be surprised by news of the crew’s loss.
- The future Paladins left Earth in Blue Lion on the morning after 5-11-14; that is, on May 12, 2314. On this date they reached Arus and inadvertently revived Princess Allura and Coran from cryo-sleep.
- Allura and Coran, in cryo-sleep for 10,000 years by the time of their revival, would have been placed in cryo-sleep in roughly 7787 B.C.E.
- If we conjecture that Allura was 17 years old when she and Coran were placed in cryo-sleep, then she would have been born in roughly 7804 B.C.E.
- The Castle of Lions, built some 10,600 years prior to 5-11-14, would have been built in roughly 8387 B.C.E.
- About Pidge’s grade in school:
- As of the April 2313 launch date of the Kerberos Mission, Pidge was 14 years old, but she had not yet completed middle school. If like many kids, she began kindergarten at age five and completed it age six, then she would have begun eighth grade (a middle school grade) when she was 13 and completed it when she was 14. It’s plausible that a 14-year-old Pidge was in the final months of middle school when Matt departed Earth with the Kerberos Mission.
Partial Chronology
- 8387 B.C.E. (approximate): The Castle of Lions is built.
- 7804 B.C.E. (approximate): Allura is born.
- 7787 B.C.E. (approximate): Allura and Coran are placed in cryo-sleep.
- February 29, 2288: Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane is born.
- October 23, 2295: Keith is born.
- July 28, 2296: Lance is born.
- January 13, 2297: Hunk is born.
- April 3, 2299: Pidge is born.
- April 3, 2313: Pidge becomes 14 years old.
- April 2313 (shortly after April 3): The Kerberos Mission is launched. At this point, 14-year-old Pidge is an eighth-grade middle school student, and Shiro is 25 years old.
- June 2313: The Kerberos Mission reaches Kerberos. Shortly after its arrival, the crew is captured by the Galra.
- September 2313: Pidge and her mother watch a news announcement that the Kerberos Mission has been lost.
- April 28, 2314: According to Matt Holt’s false grave marker, Matt Holt died on this date. (The marker’s false and incorrect date of Matt’s birth is May 25 of some year ending in 10.)
- May 11, 2314: Lance, Hunk, and Pidge fail a simulated Galaxy Garrison rescue mission. That night, Shiro crashes to Earth.
- May 12, 2314: Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk leave Earth in Blue Lion. They reach Arus, where the group inadvertently revives Allura and Coran from cryo-sleep.
This chronology is conjectural, but it holds together surprisingly well. I doubt that there will ever be a “canon” chronology for Voltron Legendary Defender, but for now, this partial one is good enough for me. In the future, I’ll probably add information from more episodes as well as tie-in fiction.
In the meantime, I hope this chronology doesn’t tick off too many fellow fans. (See what I did there?)
