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They Came From Outer Space: “Lions’ Pride Part 2” (Voltron Legendary Defender)

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Greg Tyler

By the end of “Lions’ Pride Part 2,” the final episode of Voltron Legendary Defender‘s seventh season, Voltron and the Galaxy Garrison have defeated Galra commander Sendak and his occupation of Earth, and they have destroyed an unusually powerful Robeast of mysterious origin. The planet has been devastated, but its people remain strong, and they open their world to beings from throughout the universe who have struggled and fought against Galra oppression.

And they come. Let’s take a look at the new arrivals from other worlds.

Although it’s difficult to recognize the species of many beings in this establishing shot, it’s easy to spot some Balmerans and Olkari.

N-7 (artificial intelligence), and Captain Olia and her two children (unknown species). The third being from the right is an Unilu with a distinctive headband, who was seen in episodes as early as “Begin the Blitz.”

In no particular order: Slav (unknown species), an Arusian, Balmerans, a masked rebel (unknown species) who helped to free Matt Holt, Olkari, Nyma (unknown species), Ozar (unknown species), Olia (unknown species)

In the left foreground, an Olkari ship (I think). In the background, Balmera X-95-Vox, as seen in the first season (but rotated, so it’s less recognizable).

In the left foreground, an Olkari ship (I think). In the right foreground, rebel ships. In the background, Balmera X-95-Vox, as seen in the first season (rotated, so it’s less recognizable).

Blades of Marmora (who are, of course, Galra), Olkari, a Taujeerian, Puigians, Captain Olia, and a Balmeran, on whose shoulder is a (presumed) child of an unknown species

Shay, a Balmeran from Balmera X-95-Vox

Shay (hugging Hunk) and… her brother Rax?

N-7 (an artificial intelligence) and Nyma (unknown species)

Alteans, who arrived before the other non-humans: Romelle, Coran, Allura, and Space Mice (also of Altea)

Kolivan and Krolia of the Blade of Marmora — both Galra

A Balmeran

A Taujeerian in the foreground, and a Balmeran in the background

A being of an unknown species. The being reminds me a bit of the Pink Panther.

Vrepit Sal (a Galra), Vrepit Sal’s dish washer (species unknown), and a Balmeran

Allura operating a teludav, closing a wormhole

Olkari and Coran

Voltron Easter Egg: To Boldly Go Where No Rugger Has Gone Before?

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Greg Tyler

During a recent re-watch of the Voltron: Defender of the Universe episode “Letters from Home,” which was adapted from the Armored Fleet Dairugger XV episode “Get Yourself Together, Mutsu,” I noticed a funny Easter egg.

In this single shot, Ginger’s Voltron vehicle or “Rugger” bears the name “USS Enterprise,” presumably from Star Trek! Some old-school fans differentiate the Vehicle Team episodes of 1980s Voltron by likening it to Star Trek, while likening the Lion Force episodes to Star Wars. Maybe this is why!

I have no idea why the “USS Enterprise” marking would be next to an “SR-5” marking. Ginger’s Rugger is Rugger #5, so “R-5” would make sense… but what’s with the “S?” In Voltron, Ginger is part of the Air Team — but “Air” doesn’t start with “S.” The five Air Team vehicles combine into the Strato Fighter, so maybe that’s where the “S” comes from. On the other hand, in Dairugger, the team is called the Air Rugger Team — the “Aki Team” for short, and the five Ruggers form the Air Rugger. None of those terms start with “S.”

Then again, I’m trying to rationalize a marking that’s next to a nonsensical “USS Enterprise” marking. Curse you, brain, for overthinking yet again! :)

Where on Earth Is the Galaxy Garrison? (Voltron Legendary Defender)

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Greg Tyler

In Voltron Legendary Defender, where on Earth is the Galaxy Garrison? The seventh-season episode “Trial By Fire” shows us the location of the base! It happens during this scene, starting at about 3 minutes, 51 seconds into the episode:

VERONICA: I’m detecting movement from the Zaiforge cannons.

IVERSON: Where are they headed?

VERONICA: Based on our projections…The cannons are converging above our location!

During this scene we are shown a graphic of part of Earth’s surface, and near the center of the image, we see a glowing marker that represents the main Galaxy Garrison base. It’s somewhere in the 48 contiguous states of the United States of America.

I took a screen capture of the map without the marker, and a screen capture of the map with the marker (and other stuff), and I isolated the marker. Then I compared the location of the marker with a real-world map of the United States of America, and I tried to estimate the location of the marker.

It appears that the Galaxy Garrison is located in… Nebraska!

The Galaxy Garrison seems to be “framed” by four highways:

To the north, NE12
To the south, US20
To the west, US281
To the east, NE14

If the imagery in “Trial By Fire” is to be believed, then the Galaxy Garrison is located in northeastern Nebraska in the United States of America.

Who’s Running This Planet, Anyway? Earth’s Government in Voltron Legendary Defender

Posted on November 18, 2018 by Greg Tyler

The Voltron Legendary Defender seventh-season episodes “The Last Stand Part 1” and “The Last Stand Part 2” tell an entertaining tale of what happens on Earth between the departure of Shiro and his comrades, and their return as Paladins of Voltron, to defend their home from a Galra occupation. These episodes also suggest an alarming situation on Earth that predates the Galra invasion:

The entire planet Earth seems to be governed by the military.

In “The Last Stand Part 1,” Sam Holt has returned to Earth after having been gone for six years. Admiral Sanda of the Galaxy Garrison informs Sam that the joint chiefs want to debrief Sam, to learn about his intergalactic experiences.

We know nothing about the organization or authority of the joint chiefs on Earth in Voltron’s time.

According to the About page of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff official website, the Joint Chiefs of Staff consist of chiefs of staff of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the National Guard. During World War II, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had command authority over combatant commands. In later years, the Joint Chiefs lost their executive authority and began to serve instead as advisers, entrusted with providing advice to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council.

If the joint chiefs in Voltron’s future Earth were similarly empowered, then this would suggest the existence of a civilian government.

Or would it?

As of this writing — less than one month before the December 14, 2018, release of Voltron Legendary Defender‘s eighth and final season — no other evidence exists to suggest a civilian government on Earth. On the contrary, “The Last Stand Part 1” and “The Last Stand Part 2” suggest that Earth’s government might actually consist of the senior-most officers of the Galaxy Garrison.

In “The Last Stand Part 1,” Admiral Sanda seems to be the commanding officer of the entire Garrison. At the end of the episode, Sam Holt challenges her leadership.

SAM HOLT: Right now, the world needs a leader that’s not afraid to face facts, and you’re not it.

SANDA: And you think you are?

SAM HOLT: Yes.

Sanda then yields much of her authority to Sam. On the other hand, in “The Last Stand Part 2,” after Galra Commander Sendak addresses Earth and demands that Earth turn over the Voltron Lions, it is Admiral Sanda who replies as Earth’s representative. Whatever the case, there are no references in these episodes — or any others — to Earth having a president, a prime minister, a congress or parliament or governing council, or indeed any civilian political entities.

It’s possible that Earth does not have a central government, and that individual nations have their own governments, and that the Galaxy Garrison controls only Earth’s exploration of space, and planetary defense. On the other hand, if this is true, wouldn’t Garrison leadership advise the countries of Earth during the Galra invasion and occupation? The episodes don’t suggest that anything like this occurs.

It’s also interesting to note that the Galaxy Garrison is a military organization. Everyone seems to be a commissioned officer or a cadet. Sanda is an admiral, Sam Holt is a commander, and at the time of Shiro’s disappearance at Kerberos, he is a lieutenant. Regardless of whether the Galaxy Garrison controls Earth, why is the Garrison a military organization when, in episodes like “The Rise of Voltron” (“The New Alliance”) and “A Little Adventure,” Iverson and Shiro mention that the Garrison consists of astroexplorers? Why is a space exploration group organized like a military, and why is the group called a garrison?

“The Last Stand Part 2” mentions that humanity experienced a third world war. After World War III ended, did the people of Earth decide to create a military organization charged with exploring space, defending Earth, and oh, by the way, governing all of humanity? Is Admiral Sanda, and later Sam Holt, a benevolent dictator?

Maybe the eighth season of Voltron Legendary Defender will reveal just who is in charge of Earth and its people. I’m hopeful that it isn’t the Galaxy Garrison.

To the Letter: The Altean Alphabet in Voltron Legendary Defender

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Greg Tyler

In the seventh-season Voltron Legendary Defender episode “The Road Home,” Coran and Romelle sing the Altean equivalent of the English “alphabet song” — the “ABCs.” The lryics are:

♪ Exus, plexis, ceedus, flee,
jaydus, nacto, pledum, ree ♪
♪ Joodum, ruu, and leeum too
That puts us just halfway through ♪
♪ There’s mai-ox, kay, and jibley-way
Afus, nofus, youkus-play ♪
♪ Beefur, leefur, agus-play ♪
♪ At the end, flancko and blee! ♪

It’s almost a certainty that the show’s writers created this song purely on a whim, just to give the Paladins another source of annoyance during their long journey to Earth. Having said that, let’s look more closely at the song, in typical Lions and Pilots and Bots Dot Com geeky fashion.

Letters

According to the Altean alphabet song, the Altean language includes 22 letters. We don’t know which are consonants and which are vowels — or indeed whether the Altean alphabet even has such concepts.

It’s also worth noting that many letters start with the same phonemes. Examples include…

Phoneme	Letter(s)
Short e (as in “egg”)	exus
pl	plexis, pledum
s	ceedus
fl	flee, flancko
j	jaydus, joodum, jibley-way
n	nacto, nofus
r	ree, ruu
l	leeum, leefur
m	mai-ox
k	kay
Short a (as in “apple”)	afus, agus-play
y	youkus-play
b	beefur, blee

At first glance, it seems that at least some letters aren’t named for their phonemes. For example, if there were an Altean word that sounds like “bell”…

Which letter might make the b sound? Beefur? Blee?
Which letter might make the l sound? Leeum? Leefur?

Glyphs

Throughout Voltron Legendary Defender, we catch glimpses of Altean text, featuring distinctive glyphs. There’s no way to know how all of these might match the letters that were identified in the Altean alphabet song, but it’s still fun to look at them!

In search of Altean alphabetic glyphs, I skimmed three episodes of Voltron Legendary Defender: “Eye of the Beholder,” “Reunion,” and “The Colony.” I found at least 27 — possibly 28 — glyphs. Each episode revealed glyphs that weren’t in the other episodes. The glyphs that I identified are shown below.

With 27 or more glyphs, and only 22 letters in the Altean alphabet, it’s clear that there can be no one-for-one mapping between glyphs and letters. Maybe Altean uses cases (upper case, lower case, etc.) like English does, or some other means of giving each letter multiple glyphs.

Whatever the case, after finding new Altean glyphs in each of the three episodes that I checked, I decided to stop. It looks like Romelle and Bandor were thinking the same thing in “The Colony.”

Blue Lion – Made in the USA (Voltron: Defender of the Universe)

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Greg Tyler

In the Voltron: Defender of the Universe episode “The Lion Has New Claws” — the episode immediately following the one in which Blue Lion pilot Sven is seriously injured — Princess Allura secretly takes Blue Lion for a ride in the middle of the night. Despite the princess’ attempt to be stealthy, an alarm sounds in the Castle of Lions. Keith, Lance, and Pidge race to Castle Control and check the monitor for the cause of the alarm.

The monitor shows a simple wireframe of a lion flying erratically. The lion wireframe is accompanied by seem tiny, barely legible English text. I point out that it’s English because this episode was animated in Japan for a Japanese audience as part of Beast King Golion. Even if the monitor text is fully legible, it appears for about one second — hardly enough time for someone with little fluency in English to have read.

Anyway, here is the monitor, showing the text.

The most legible text is… MADE IN THE U.S.A.

Made in the USA? This is the planet Arus, not Earth!

A closer look reveals the source of the text — it’s the back of a package of… Push-Pins!

I wasn’t able to read all of the text, but here’s what I was able to decipher:

…Push-Pins instead of thumbtacks to put up…
…calendars, pennants and light wall decorations.
…tie-backs, shelf paper…and
…other household uses.

…Push-Pin between thumb and forefinger and insert
…of the…. They are easily removed…the
…The…-tempered steel…the
…possible…. Millions of Push-Pins are used…
…decorations, the…, the…and…
…as a superior pin-… device.. Push-Pin…the
In both aluminum and plastic, the plastic available in
red, yellow, green, white, and blue.

…and…up to 100…
…

In schools, apartments, or office buildings where nails
are not allowed – use the new 2-in-1 “…-…”
…picture hanger. Will support up to… pounds
while eliminating the use of nails,…
and picture…

MADE IN U.S.A.

I’m not sure why the Castle of Lions’ monitor would display text about Push-Pins while displaying an animated wireframe of Blue Lion. Maybe Coran had left the interstellar feed of the Home Shopping Club on overnight.

Castle Ships in Voltron Lore

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Greg Tyler

In the first-season Voltron Legendary Defender episode “Taking Flight,” the Castle of Lions tears itself from the surface of the planet Arus, and assumes what became its ongoing new form: a spacecraft. Its crew informally called it the “Castle-ship.”

Voltron Legendary Defender wasn’t the Voltron-related program with a Castle-turned-spaceship.

In Beast King Golion, one of the anime programs that were adapted into Voltron: Defender of the Universe, the Golion Team calls Castle Gradam its home. In the 50th episode, “The Great Storming of Galra,” Raible reveals that the Castle can convert to a spaceship. The Golion Team uses the ship as part of a final assault on the planet Galra.

The Castle’s transformation initiates when Raible inserts a special key into the Castle’s main console.

The Castle does not launch from Altea until Golion‘s 52nd and final episode, “Burn Galra Castle.”

Because Golion‘s 52 episodes were adapted into episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Castle Gradam and its ship mode appear in Voltron, although in the latter program the Castle is called the Castle of Lions. In Voltron, the Castle’s ship mode is revealed in “Zarkon Becomes a Robeast,” which was adapted from Golion‘s “The Great Storming of Galra.”

The Castle of Lions’ ship mode makes a notable reappearance in “Fleet of Doom,” the two-part final story that was animated entirely new for Voltron. In that story, the Castle of Lions transports the Lions to the Galaxy Alliance’s Power Base, to rendezvous with the Voltron Vehicle Team and remove the Drule/Doom forces that threatened the base.

Although Voltron: The Third Dimension featured a Castle of Lions, no ship mode is seen or referenced in the program’s 26 episodes. Perhaps a ship mode would have been revealed had more episodes been produced.

In the 26th and final episode of Voltron Force, the spirit of King Alfor activates the Castle of Lions’ transformation to its spaceship mode. The Castle’s ship mode is a surprise even to Princess Allura. The Castle helps Voltron win a decisive victory over Maahox.

Castles-turned-spacecraft are seemingly as much a part of Voltron lore as the Defenders of the Universe themselves.

Same But Different: The First Episodes of Beast King Golion and Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Greg Tyler

As a longtime Voltron fan, and as co-host of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast, I am sometimes asked which episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe is my favorite. My response has probably varied over the years, but the episode that I find myself watching most frequently is “Space Explorers Captured,” the first episode in original air date order, and the first episode to feature the Lion Force characters.

During my most recent re-watch of the episode, as well as “Escape from Slave Castle,” the Beast King Golion episode from which it was adapted, I realized why I’m so fascinated with “Space Explorers Captured”: unlike nearly every other episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, “Space Explorers Captured” isn’t a straight adaptation, with violent shots removed for an audience of largely American youths – the Voltron episode has its own distinct narrative, and it sets up a surprisingly different premise from that of Beast King Golion – and all of this is accomplished with clever editing and new writing.

Golion #1 Story	Voltron #1 Story
On the planet Galra, five earthlings are in a cell in Slave Castle. The earthlings had been captured shortly after returning from a space mission and their discovery that, in their absence, Earth had been devastated during World War III. The earthlings escape Galra in a Galra slave ship. Emperor Daibazaal orders Sadak to pursue. Sadak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Altea. The escape ship’s descent is watched from an ancient castle by a beautiful princess. Before the ship crashes, a strange beam of light emanates from a statue in front of an ancient castle. The ship’s descent slows, and the earthlings’ leader, Kogane, takes the controls and flies the ship past the castle.	Five Space Explorers from Earth’s Galaxy Garrison reach the planet Arus, which is under attack by the forces of King Zarkon. The Explorers’ ship is captured, and the Space Explorers are taken to the planet Doom. The Space Explorers escape Doom in a slave ship. Zarkon orders Commander Yurak to pursue. Yurak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Arus. The escape ship’s descent is slowed by a strange beam of light emanating from a statue in front of the legendary Castle of Lions. Keith, captain of the Space Explorers, tells his team the legend of Voltron. With hope that the Space Explorers can locate and bring back Voltron, Keith guides the escape ship past the Castle of Lions.

Golion #1 Story

Voltron #1 Story

On the planet Galra, five earthlings are in a cell in Slave Castle. The earthlings had been captured shortly after returning from a space mission and their discovery that, in their absence, Earth had been devastated during World War III.

The earthlings escape Galra in a Galra slave ship. Emperor Daibazaal orders Sadak to pursue. Sadak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Altea.

The escape ship’s descent is watched from an ancient castle by a beautiful princess. Before the ship crashes, a strange beam of light emanates from a statue in front of an ancient castle. The ship’s descent slows, and the earthlings’ leader, Kogane, takes the controls and flies the ship past the castle.

Five Space Explorers from Earth’s Galaxy Garrison reach the planet Arus, which is under attack by the forces of King Zarkon. The Explorers’ ship is captured, and the Space Explorers are taken to the planet Doom.

The Space Explorers escape Doom in a slave ship. Zarkon orders Commander Yurak to pursue. Yurak’s ship shoots down the escape ship as it approaches the planet Arus.

The escape ship’s descent is slowed by a strange beam of light emanating from a statue in front of the legendary Castle of Lions. Keith, captain of the Space Explorers, tells his team the legend of Voltron. With hope that the Space Explorers can locate and bring back Voltron, Keith guides the escape ship past the Castle of Lions.

Golion #1 Premise	Voltron #1 Premise
Several thousand years ago, the mysetrious robot Golion arrogantly challenged the Goddess of the Universe to a fight. The goddess punished Golion for its arrogance by splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion. In 1999, five earthling space explorers from the war-ravaged planet Earth rediscover the robot Lions and form Golion, to protect the planet Altea and its allies from Emperor Daibazaal and the Galra Empire.	Some years ago, King Zarkon’s witch Haggar placed a curse on the mighty robot Voltron, splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion. Now (the future – in an unspecified year), five Space Explorers from the Galaxy Garrison rediscover teh robot Lions and form Voltron, to protecdt the universe from Zarkon and the forces of Doom.

Golion #1 Premise

Voltron #1 Premise

Several thousand years ago, the mysetrious robot Golion arrogantly challenged the Goddess of the Universe to a fight. The goddess punished Golion for its arrogance by splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.

In 1999, five earthling space explorers from the war-ravaged planet Earth rediscover the robot Lions and form Golion, to protect the planet Altea and its allies from Emperor Daibazaal and the Galra Empire.

Some years ago, King Zarkon’s witch Haggar placed a curse on the mighty robot Voltron, splitting it into five parts, each a robot Lion.

Now (the future – in an unspecified year), five Space Explorers from the Galaxy Garrison rediscover teh robot Lions and form Voltron, to protecdt the universe from Zarkon and the forces of Doom.

I also studied the Voltron premiere episode, and I discovered that — Ignoring the opening, closing, teaser for the next episode, and minor edits such as trimming violent Golion content, the first Voltron episode is comprised of:

Eight segments from the first Beast King Golion episode. (The overwhelming majority of the content is from this episode.) In the Voltron episode, these segments are re-sequenced and given a different context.
Three short segments from the third Beast King Golion episode. These segments support Voltron’s altered premise.
Two short segments and one longer segment from the first episode of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, the anime program from which the Vehicle Team episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe were adapted. These segments also support Voltron’s altered premise.

Here is a breakdown of the segments in Voltron‘s first episode:

Voltron #1 Seg #	Duration (mm:ss)	Voltron Context	Source	Golion #1 Seg #	Source Context

1	00:19	Keith reports no problems approaching Arus, but Space Explorers notice problems as they reach planet	Golion #1	N/A	Part of Golion main title sequence

2	00:01	Keith reaction shot	Dairugger #1	N/A	Manabu Aki reaction shot

3	00:01	Hunk reaction shot	Dairugger #1	N/A	Shinobu Kai reaction shot

4	00:09	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

5	00:16	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

6	00:05	Forces of Doom attack Arus	Golion #3	N/A	Sadak’s forces attack Altea

7	01:51	Arus fights back against Forces of Doom, but Arus is devastated; Yurak captures the Space Explorers	Golion #1	5	Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback)

8	01:48	Keith contacts Galaxy Garrison; Galaxy Garrison high command discuss Keith’s message	Dairugger #1	N/A	Galaxy Garrison meeting

9	05:16	Yurak brings slaves including Space Explorers to Doom; Zarkon believes he will be unopposed now that Space Explorers are captives; slaves sent to arena against Blue Robeast; Space Explorers talk of escaping before they can be sent to arena	Golion #1	4	Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman

10	10:45	Space Explorers escape cell, steal slave ship, escape Doom and approach Arus; Yurak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Arus is slowed by Castle of Lions (Note: Princess Allura and Coran are not shown here, delaying their introduction until the next episode)	Golion #1	7	Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle)

11	00:11	Reactions of Lance, Sven, Hunk, Pidge	Golion #1	9	Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi

12	02:09	Keith tells legend of Voltron	Golion #1	2	Narrator tells legend of Golion

13	00:49	Keith talks of somehow finding and combining Lions to bring back Voltron to help Arus	Golion #1	N/A	Part of main title sequence

14	00:20	Keith takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle of Lions	Golion #1	10	Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea

To contrast the first episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe with that of Beast King Golion, here are the segments of the Golion premiere:

Golion #1 Seg #	Golion Context	Voltron #1 Seg #

1	Narrator tells legend of Golion	N/A

2	Narrator tells legend of Golion	12

3	Episode title card	N/A

4	Sadak brings slaves to Galra; Daibazaal seeks amusement; five earthlings are already captives on Galra; lively new slaves are slaughtered by Deathblack Beastman in arena to amuse Daibazaal; earthlings discuss having nearly died when they fought a Deathblack Beastman	9

5	Earth is devastated during World War III (Kogane imagines these events, which took place while he and his fellow space explorers were on space mission); Sadak captures five earthling space explorers who just returned to Earth from space mission (flashback)	7

6	Kogane reaction shot	N/A

7	Earthlings escape cell, steal slaves ship, escape Galra and approach Altea; Sadak shoots down escape ship; escape ship’s descent to Altea is slowed by Castle Altea (Note: Princess Fala and Raible are shown watching escape ship from castle)	10

8	Medium and close-up shots of Princess Fala watching ship descend	N/A

9	Reactions of Kurogane, Shirogane, Seidou, Suzuishi	11

10	Kogane takes controls and guides descending ship safely past Castle Altea	14

“Space Explorers Captured,” the first Lion Force episode of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, is surprisingly different than its Beast King Golion counterpart, “Escape from Slave Castle.” The episodes are a testament to how important editing can be in telling a story — or two. IF you’ve not watched these in a while, or ever, then check them out.

Lauren Montgomery’s Captain Olia Head Canon

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Greg Tyler

Captain Olia is one of the more intriguing guest characters in the fourth season of Voltron Legendary Defender. She appears in only three episodes, and speaks in only two, but her canine-like visual design and her distinctive, sweet-but-tough voice, provided by Jessica McKenna, make her easy to like and easy to remember.

Olia first appears in a brief cameo in the season-opening “Code of Honor,” as one of many rebel fighters on Olkarion.

She next appears in “Begin the Blitz,” commanding the rebel fleet that attacks the Zaiforge Cannon orbiting Teq. Her shipmates are Matt Holt and an unnamed, possibly cybernetic character. Olia’s struggle continues in the season-ending “A New Defender.”

On October 12, 2017, Voltron Legendary Defender co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery revealed on her Tumblr page that Olia is an homage to Hayao Miyazaki’s Sherlock Hound.

In an interview with Marc Morrell and myself for an upcoming episode of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast, to be released on February 7, Lauren mentioned that she had developed a “head canon” backstory for Olia, and that she’d tell the backstory if people were interested.

Afterward I reached out to Lauren and asked her if she would share Olia’s backstory with LionsAndPilotsAndBots.com — and she did! Keep in mind that this story is Lauren Montgomery’s “head canon” and is technically not part of the canon as defined in actual episodes of the program. (The italicized statements below are direct quotations from Lauren Montgomery, and the screen caps were made by yours truly.)

In one of the final episodes of last season, you can see in a shot of Olia piloting that she has some photos taped to the side of her console.

In those photos there is a picture of Olia and her eldest son. He looks to be about the human equivalent of 15.

There is a picture of Olia’s younger son on a playground. He looks to be about 10.

There is also another picture of 2 adults. On male, one female. The male is Olia’s brother, and the female is the sister of Olia’s late husband.

The pictures were all taken by her late husband which is why you don’t see him in any of the photos. But he looks a lot like his sister and his older son.

Olia and her husband were active in the rebellion from a young age. But Olia scaled back her involvement when they started a family, while her husband continued working full time with the rebels. Eventually Olia’s husband and brother were killed in an attack. They are just 2 of the many honored by the monument that Pidge visited in “Reunion.” As the rebellion continued to lose numbers, Olia asked her sister in law to care for her children while she stepped up and reclaimed her place as one of the rebellion’s top pilots. She tries to visit her children as often as she can between missions.

She’s had a tough life, but if she can help free the universe from Galra rule, then it all would have been for something.

Thanks to Lauren Montgomery for providing some insight into Olia that we might not have otherwise gained from the program itself!

Voltron’s in a Winter Wonderland (Let’s Voltron Holiday Carol Video)

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Greg Tyler

On December 13, 2017, shortly after Marc Morrell and I recorded the (not yet released) 4th-anniversary episode of Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast (Link), I had the idea of celebrating the holidays Voltron-style, by creating a holiday carol video. One week later, Marc and I have just released the video on the Let’s Voltron YouTube channel (Link)!

Voltron’s in a Winter Wonderland

(Inspired by “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”)

I wrote the lyrics, edited the video using screen caps from Voltron Legendary Defender, and added some visual effects. More on this later.

Cast

Five fellow Voltron fans sang the lyrics while doing their best impressions of characters from Voltron Legendary Defender.

Shamus Kelley – Lance, Zarkon, Slav
Mel Meiko – Allura, Haggar, Shay
Marc Morrell – Matt, Voltron, Laika, Galra commander
Greg Tyler – Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Lotor, Coran, Kolivan
Zilla – Pidge, Bi-Boh-Bi

Lyrics

(Allura) The princess sings
(Allura) Are you listening?
(Coran) I’m youngish
(Coran) though I’m glistening
(Pidge) The Castle’s in space
(Lance) with Lance’s hot face
(Hunk) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland.

(Keith) Gone away
(Keith) is Galra Keith
(Kolivan) Blade of Marmora
(Kolivan) stuck in its sheath
(Bi-Boh-Bi) Bi-boh-bi boh-bi
(Slav) in this reality
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland

(Galra commander) On the cruiser
(Galra commander) we can build a Kuron
(Galra commander) We’ll pretend that
(Galra commander) he’s the real Shiro
(Galra commander) He’ll say, “Do you trust me?”
(Galra commander) They’ll say, “Yeah, man!”
(Shiro) ‘Cause I look just like their beloved hero.

(Zarkon) I’ll be your boss
(Zarkon) at Central Command
(Lotor) I’ll pursue
(Lotor) my plans which are grand
(Haggar) I’ll cast evil spells
(Haggar) and ring Paladin death knells
(Laika) Yup-yup yup yup yup-yup yup-yup-yup.

(Hunk) In deep space
(Hunk) we all can have a snow fight
(Pidge) They’re not snowballs,
(Pidge) they’re Olkari spores.
(Shay) I have never seen
(Shay) a single snow fight
(Matt) You know, I really ought to
(Matt) find some mistletoe

(Allura) Our Lions
(Allura) contain quintessence
(Lance) But I still
(Lance) want holiday presents
(Shiro) We’ll fight as a team
(Allura) To restore Alfor’s dream
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland

(Pidge) With family, there’s nothing
(Pidge) we can’t withstand
(Allura) Voltron’s in a winter wonderland
(Voltron) Yes, I am in a winter wonderland

The Snowflakes

The snowflakes were a visual effect that I made using Adobe After Effects, following this tutorial video: Link

Rather than use just any old snowflake, I decided to create one that was Voltron-themed, even though it’s impossible to notice this in the finished video. Here is a close-up of the snowflake:

I made the snowflake from a drawing that I made a few years ago:

That drawing was based on a logo that was featured on much of the 1980s Voltron: Defender of the Universe merchandise that pertained to Vehicle Team Voltron. (Yes, I had to work Vehicle Team Voltron into this video somehow!)

Happy holidays to fellow Voltron fans across the universe!