Last weekend, the amazing third season of Voltron Legendary Defender finally arrived on Netflix. Although it was just seven episodes, a lot happened, including a bit roster change. For those who haven’t yet binged the series, you can now watch the moment Keith (Steven Yuen), the Red Paladin, takes command as the Black Lion pilot, just as he did in the original classic anime.
In the whopping four-and-a-half minute clip, which is taken from the first episode of Season 3, all the paladins attempt to control the obnoxious Black Lion, including Princess Allura (Kimberly Brooks). But as it’s been established, only the Lions pick their pilots, and in this scene, the Black Lion makes its pick.
This is hardly a spoiler, by the way. Not only did this happen way back in the original Voltron: Defender of the Universe anime from 1984, it was also hinted at in the Season 3 trailer released a few weeks ago. That DreamWorks finally uploaded the scene on YouTube shows just how much the change is actually a selling point for the season, not a secret plot twist.
In the Season 2 finale of Voltron: Legendary Defender, the real pilot of the Black Lion, Shiro (voiced by Josh Keaton) had a climactic showdown against Emperor Zarkon (Neil Kaplan), which left Zarkon in a coma and Shiro missing. Without someone to control the Black Lion, the paladins are unable to form Voltron. In the new clip, Keith discovers a psychic connection with the Black Lion, which allows him to become the new leader of Team Voltron. And since Keith is no longer the pilot for the Red Lion, a significant change in the roster is required.
Last year, when DreamWorks’s Voltron Legendary Defender debuted on Netflix, one of the best things about the show was how the color-coordination between the pilots and the Lions finally made sense. It was baffling when, in the original series, the Red Pilot controlled the Black Lion and the Blue Pilot controlled the Red Lion. And that Princess Allura, who joined the team as the Pink Pilot, took control of the Blue Lion.
It was all very messy, but when executive producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery took on the show, they finally had a chance for everything to make sense. “A lot of it was just [about] making sense,” Montgomery told Inverse in a previous interview. “For me, we switched up the palettes and the lions because I have color OCD and I wanted everyone to match.”
Voltron Legendary Defender Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix.
