In the 26 years since the final episode of VOLTRON: THE THIRD DIMENSION (“V3D”) television program aired, each episode list that I have seen numbers the episodes out of order with respect to the show’s overarching story. The episode numbers seem to be in production order rather than story order. Even the original air date sequence doesn’t fully align with the story order.
To prepare for my 2015 guest appearance on Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast, to discuss VOLTRON: THE THIRD DIMENSION with host Marc Morrell and guest Shannon Muir (Podcasts #40 and #41), I rewatched all 26 V3D episodes and created an episode list that sequences the episodes in story order.
Recently I realized that I had never posted the episode list…until now.
In the table below, The Story Seq # column is my recommended sequence for watching the show in proper story order. The WEP Seq # column is the list of episode numbers from WEP, LLC, the Voltron IP owner and a production company behind V3D.
| Story Seq # | WEP Seq # | Title | Original Air Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Escape from Bastille-12 | 1998-09-12 | Clearly the first episode of the program |
| 2 | 2 | Red Lion Breaks Loose | 1998-09-12 | Direct follow-up to “Escape” Lance’s back story revealed |
| 3 | 3 | Building the Forces of Doom | 1998-10-03 | Direct follow-up to “Red” |
| 4 | 4 | Lost Souls | 1998-10-24 | Direct follow-up to “Building” |
| 5 | 5 | A Rift in the Force | 1998-10-31 | |
| 6 | 6 | Shades of Gray | 1998-11-07 | Over end credits, Hunk teases the premise of “Bride” |
| 7 | 7 | Bride of the Monster | 1998-11-14 | Over end credits, Hunk teases the premise of “Dominus” |
| 8 | 9 | Dominus | 1998-11-21 | Keith and Allura revisit Geo, which they had visited in “Rift” |
| 9 | 10 | Voltron Vs. Dracotron | 1998-11-28 | Voltron Force learns about the dragons for the first time All five dragons combined were more powerful than Arusian Space Knights All Allura’s ancestors were needed to chain Draco, the black dragon |
| 10 | 8 | Descent into Madness | 1999-02-06 | Keith learns, but then forgets, that Zarkon is still evil |
| 11 | 12 | Pidge Gets Iced | 1999-02-13 | Keith witnesses Zarkon tampering with Amalgamus Zarkon introduces IGOR; Amalgamus does not believe IGOR was a plant by Zarkon |
| 12 | 11 | Dark Heart | 1999-02-20 | Coran mentions Ariella Alfor’s ghost tells Allura that, after hearing the voice of a guardian spirit (Ariella), he used his will to tame a black dragon and leave it in chains Allura hears the guardian spirit voice (Ariella) and faces a Robeast using her will |
| 13 | 13 | The Big Lie | 1999-02-27 | Lance and Keith have been spying on Zarkon, believing he will commit treason Voltron Force lacks proof that Igor works for Zarkon, or that Zarkon tampered with Amalgamus Amalgamus permanently disbands Voltron Force IGOR rebuilt |
| 14 | 25 | The Trial of Voltron | 1999-05-01 | Clip show; clips from “Escape”, “Red”, “Shades”, “Lost”, “Bride”, “Dominus” Voltron Force found not guilty |
| 15 | 14 | The Troika Moons | 1999-05-08 | Lions are destroyed Features IGOR |
| 16 | 15 | Queen Ariella | 1999-05-22 | Direct follow-up to “Troika” Queen Ariella’s spirit tells Allura about lion spirits Amalgamus finally learns Zarkon is evil IGOR reprograms Amalgamus as video game Zarkon becomes leader of Galaxy Alliance Features Ariella |
| 17 | 16 | The Voltron Force Strikes Back | 1999-10-09 | Direct follow-up to “Ariella” Amalgamus is a video game Under Zarkon’s influence, Amalgamus had previously tried to disband Voltron Force five times Ariella tells Allura that Ariella and lion spirits have guided her throughout her life Lion spirits recreate the Voltron Lions Features IGOR |
| 18 | 18 | Raid on Galaxy Garrison | 2000-02-12 | Direct follow-up to “Strikes Back” Voltron Force rescues and repairs Amalgamus, now a Voltron Force ally Features IGOR |
| 19 | 17 | Mind Games | 2000-02-05 | Recalls Lance’s back story from “Red” Recalls Space Lice from “Rift” Features IGOR |
| 20 | 19 | Castle Doom Dead Ahead | 2000-02-19 | Allura voices apology to Ariella (not featured) for destroying the lions Features IGOR |
| 21 | 21 | Stealth Voltron | 1999-10-23 | Introduces Stealth Voltron Features the dragons, whom Coran knows to be from an alternate universe Coran was with Alfor when he battled dragons with a sword Dragons were bred by a race of Hunters |
| 22 | 20 | Gladiators | 1999-10-30 | Features Stealth Voltron Features IGOR |
| 23 | 23 | The Hunter | 1999-11-13 | Kolak’s first encounter with Voltron Force A Hunter, Kolak has control over dragons Features Stealth Voltron |
| 24 | 22 | Dominus Goes Home | 1999-11-06 | Hagar’s first encounter with Kolak Features Stealth Voltron |
| 25 | 24 | Consider the Alternatives | 1999-11-20 | Features Stealth Voltron |
| 26 | 26 | Biography: The Voltron Force | 1999-05-15 | Cheramoya describes Voltron Force as heroic Amalgamus is Voltron Force ally Clip show Cheramoya mentions “current turmoil surrounding Voltron, with clips from “Trial” (Force on trial), “Ariella” (Lance in Bastille-12 prison cell), “Troika” (Lions destroyed) Does not feature Stealth Voltron Other clips from “Escape”, “Red”, “Building”, “Lost”, “Shades”, “Bride”, “Descent”, “Dark Heart”, “Gladiators” (which is after intro to Stealth Voltron) |