A study on VLD's use of color theory in storytelling
Introduction
Team Voltron's scenes are usually very bright with a turqoise undertone/accents, whereas the Galra's scenes are usually very dark with a violet undertone/accents.
Cyan vs. Orange.
The interesting part of this analysis is that careful deliberation of colors was considered all the way down to the juxtaposition of two planets that we only get a very brief glimpse of. This is evident in the choice of color for Altea/Altean technology and the Galaxy Garrison/Garrison technology. With this section, I want to showcase that color theory was applied beyond the characters, and into environments and general concepts as well, which emphasises that very careful thought was put into every aspect of the design for this show.
Now, Altea vs. Garrison isn't immediately an obvious pairing, especially because we see the Galaxy Garrison very briefly in the first episode, and then spend most of the rest of the show in space. We also never meet Altea as a planet, but rather observe their characteristics through their technology and our Altean characters, Allura and Coran. You would think Altea would be contrasted with the Galra, since they are the antagonists and the forces of Evil, and the Alteans and Altean technology are ultimately presented as forces for Good. But the show didn't do that, they juxtaposed Altea and the Garrison. So, let's examine this a bit closer, shall we?
The Garrison is associated with Orange through their uniforms and their technology which contains many accents as well as features of orange.
[04:14]
And their hazmat suits also have orange aprons:
[09:08]
And their building and vehicles also contain orange accents, furthering the association...
[06:03]
Likewise, although we never see Altea as a planet in the first two seasons, we do see a specific color associated with them: Cyan/Turqoise. This is evident in the same way that Orange is associated with the Garrison, through mostly their technology, but especially in the design of their castle:
[24:12]
[24:36]
but also, importantly, through the clothes of Princess Allura, the monarch and representative of Altea:
[26:09]
Interestingly, the jewel of her crown is the same color as the crystal which powers her ship, and whose color runs all through the castle. This might mean that the jewel of Allura's tiara is a Balmera Crystal, but we never get this confirmed. It would make a lot of sense, though.
On a color wheel, Orange and Cyan/Turqoise are complimentary colors, meaning they are on opposite ends of the color wheel spectrum:
According to our color wheel chart, this is the description of complementary colors:
This is very interesting, since this suggests a contrast between the Garrison and Altea. Indeed, this contrast is actually already emphasised when they find the Blue Lion, an Altean-made ship, and they make it all the way out to Kerberos:
[21:33]
"Our ships" being the Garrison's ships. The Blue Lion, an Altean ship, is much, much faster than Garrison ships.
This is emphasised again here:
Shiro says, "such advanced technology" compared to the Garrison's. This serves to establish a contrast between Altea and The Galaxy Garrison and by extension Earth. This contrast is further extended onto our characters, specifically the Alteans vs. Garrison Trio. The Garrison trio, consisting of Hunk, Pidge and Lance, are the only ones in the whole team who have a family to return to on Earth, their home planet, contrasting the Alteans, Allura and Coran, who are the last survivors of their race, and had their planet destroyed.
Interestingly, we see that Garrison vehicles also light up cyan:
[07:56]
This is deliberate symbolism, signifying the compatibility of the two, since all the pilots of the Voltron Lions were enrolled in the Galaxy Garrison and are from Earth. The contrast between the Earthlings and the Alteans serves to emphasise the recurring theme of triumph through diversity that we see throughout the show. Despite their differences, or perhaps because of them, Voltron wins the battle against the Galra, a largely homogeneous population and military, by joining forces across the galaxy. We see this continue throughout the show, when Voltron enlists the help from various planets, all more different than they are alike.
So, it seems the show deliberately uses specific colors to convey and strengthen a certain recurring theme. Let's examine whether this can be observed in our characters as well.
Pidge vs Keith
Green and Red are complimentary colors in color theory, which, as we remember, means that they are on opposite sides of the color wheel.
This description fits Keith and Pidge perfectly, and the choice of red and green is very apt for our discussion of them. Complimentary colors in color theory are usually used to put emphasis on a certain object. Think of the green tree with the red apple.
The red apple looks more appetizing against the green leaves of the tree rather than, say, against a white background.
Pidge and Keith's characteristics are very similar, which is symbolized through both of their roles as the arms of Voltron. They are both passionate/temperamental:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 15:18]
they are awkward with people:
[Season 1, Episode 4: Fall of the Castle of Lions, 06:15]
[Season 1, Episode 4: Fall of the Castle Lions, 02:15]
and they can both get tunnel-vision:
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Galdiator, 11:13]
Their similarities are even present in their character designs:
But although they have a lot of similarities, they have one fundamental contrast in their goals relating to Voltron, which is used for conflict in Season 1 Episode 4: The Fall of the Castle of Lions:
[Season 1, Episode 4: Fall of the Castle of Lions, 09:47]
Pidge wants to leave Voltron to find her family, but Keith, wanting family in Voltron, wants her to stay. This is where their arcs contrast. Pidge finds her biological family while Keith (originally) finds his found family in Voltron.
As we discussed above, complementary colors can also be used to emphasise contrast. One author who utilizes this aspect of color theory perfectly is Masashi Kishimoto in Naruto. As I discussed here, Naruto and Sasuke are exact opposites, which is emphasized by their color palette. Kishimoto frequently uses purple/blue for Sasuke and yellow/orange for Naruto.
In Naruto, Kishimoto utilizes this concept to set apart Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship, compared to other relationships in the manga, and to symbolize their contrasting drives and goals throughout the manga.
Likewise, complementary colors in VLD are used to emphasise a contrast, and we see this in Pidge's and Keith's arc/plot progressions as well.
In seasons 1-2, Pidge's overarching plot was finding her family, which is tied to her identity, whereas Keith's overarching plot was his identity which is tied to his family.
By the end of Season 2, Keith has found out that he is half-Galra, but has rejected finding out more about his biological family:
While Pidge has revealed her true gender, and has made progress in finding where her family is, actively pursuing information regarding her biological family:
[Season 1, Episode 6: Taking Flight, 03:40]
[Season 2, Episode 10: Escape from Beta Traz, 16:59]
In this way, their arcs are inverted/reversed from each other. Their ages also serve as a contrast. Keith is the oldest member of Team Voltron (after Shiro), whereas Pidge is the youngest.
In VLD, the paladin's elemental strengths do not play as big a role as in Naruto or even ATLA, and have a much more subtle presence. Pidge's element is The Forest while Keith's element is Fire. Even their elemental strengths are opposite, and have different functions. The forest is the element of growth, but fire can be destructive to the forest. While Keith and Pidge’s strengths aren’t hinged on each other, their opposite nature do represent themselves in their roles as the arms of Voltron. In fact, here again we see compatibility through contrast, since they work more efficiently through divergent cooperation, as sword and shield (more on this later), just as we saw in Altean technology being piloted by Earthling pilots.
Lance vs Hunk
Blue and Yellow are complimentary colors, and just like Keith and Pidge, Hunk and Lance are also very similar, which is symbolized through both of their roles as the Legs of Voltron. Both are trusting:
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 04:35]
and both have a strong connection to their (large) family back on Earth:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 14:26]
They also have some, but not many, similarities in their appearance, for example:
They both have a darker complexion than their arm counterparts, and they both have a thin, colored neckline. Other than that, they don't look very similar, the way Pidge and Keith might. Actually, their silhouettes contrast already here. Hunk is broad and bulky, while Lance is thin and lanky.
What is their main point of contrast, though? Contrast doesn’t necessarily constitute conflict, so finding Lance and Hunk’s contrast was a bit more challenging than finding Keith and Pidge’s, because they are much more similar than they are different (personality-wise). Both are open to new people, both are caring and both put the team first.
However, their contrast lies in their ambition. Hunk is satisfied with his place and is content to stay there. He knows exactly who he is and what he has to offer. See for example Hunk running a whole restaurant in the space mall episode:
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 16:51]
Or Hunk building a Geiger Counter device:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 14:48 ; 15:19]
Or literally saying that he wants to stay in the Yellow Lion:
[Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin, 07:38]
But he is intimidated when he is faced with dangerous external challenges/obstacles. Unlike Lance, Hunk is comfortable in himself, but is scared of his surroundings. In contrast to this, Lance is comfortable taking in new external challenges, but struggles with his self-image. Lance is not satisfied with his place and indeed feels insecure about it and what he has to offer:
Hunk’s ambition is internal whereas Lance’s ambition is external. Hunk's insecurity is external whereas Lance's insecurity is internal. Again, here their main drives and motivations are inverted. Unlike Pidge and Keith, though, this does not end in a conflict for them. The difference here lies in their roles within Voltron. This remark by @californiannostalgia talks about the characters motivations as reflected by their roles in Voltron, and said something very interesting:
"the thing about the og voltron Arms is that both keith and pidge are solo players with a priority. [...] all Arms have a singular focus[...]"
We see that this is true for Keith and Pidge. Their respective drives, found family and biological family, are inherently conflicting, as we see in Episode 4: The Fall of the Castle of Lions:
[Season 1, Episode 4: The Fall of the Castle of Lions, 09:47]
Arms can perform different tasks separately, which we see again in Voltron during battle: Keith plays offence with his sword, while Pidge plays defence with her shield.
However, Lance and Hunk do not conflict because they are both Legs. One leg cannot walk independently of another, and thus are always in perfect harmony. They are both literally the support for the rest of the team, holding them up; therefore, they always have to be in tandem to keep them steady. If one leg goes out, so does the other, the team loses its balance and they all fall. We even have this literally happen to the team in canon:
[Season 1 Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 01:48]
“Your kick ruined our balance. We fell."
Here we have a direct example of how Lance's ambitions and need to show off (which stems from his insecurity) conflict directly with the balance of the team. While it isn't a direct and personal conflict with Hunk, like Keith's and Pidge's drives are, it is a practical conflict with the rest of the team. While Hunk rests in himself, Lance does not, and this affects their balance. However, unlike Keith and Pidge's conflict, this isn't resolved in the same or even the next episode. When Lance tries to do his kick a second time, he fails and causes the team to fall again:
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 16:48 ; 17:04]
This episode in general shows that Team Voltron still have a long way to go before they work perfectly as a team, however, I think it is an interesting choice to have Lance fail a second time within this episode, since usually in these types of episodes, they show how much the team has grown through hard work by having them succeed a second time, at the end of the episode. This type of composition is used in the second episode: Some Assembly Required, for example. Team Voltron are unable to form Voltron on purpose at the start of the episode, but at the end, they can form Voltron on command. But Lance failing here again, in the next episode, is consistent with, and reveals his arc. It wouldn't be satisfying to have Lance complete a successful kick here, because his insecurity is much deeper than this, as is his arc.
Interestingly, I was reading the comics for the first time for.... another.... analysis of mine -- I can't stop it seems -- and I found something very interesting in the second issue:
[Voltron Legendary Defender Comic, Issue #2, p. 13]
This particular failure of Lance's is consistent all through even the comic issues as well, which were written by Story Editor and Lead Writer, Tim Hedrick and Staff Writer Mitch Iverson, so they are to be considered canon. This is very interesting, and is even more indicative of the direction they wanted Lance's arc to go. This issue occurs directly after Season 1, Episode 8: Rebirth, where Lance falls yet again.
[Season 1, Episode 8: Rebirth, 02:48]
Clearly, they wanted to really emphasise that Lance's insecurity and need to show off is a detriment to the team, and puts them out of balance. And notice also how Keith is the one who points this out every single time. Not Hunk, who is the other leg, not even Shiro who is the head and knows what makes a team work. It's Keith. Wow, that sure is interesting... more on this later.
As for their elemental strengths, Lance and Hunk are compatible enough. Hunk's element is Earth while Lance's element is Water. Earth is the element of stability, while Water is the element of change, furthering Lance and Hunk's contrast. Both elements are a foundational force of nature, unlike forest and fire, and is reflective of their respective roles as the legs in Voltron.
Lance's element being water is also reflective of his flexibility and agility within Voltron. He is the only paladin on the team who is constantly changing his role (from leg to arm to head), which is expressed through his bayard's many forms:
The only bayard on the team to have this many different variations. This, coupled with Lance's conflicting ambition, suggests that Lance isn't 100% compatible with Voltron as a Leg, since this is a recurrent issue.
So, at the end here, we can conclude that VLD uses the complementary color scheme of the Voltron roles to emphasise certain themes relating to the characters and to signify a specific contrast within that theme. Pidge and Keith's theme is family and identity, whereas Lance and Hunk's theme is ambition and finding one's place in the world. Hunk has already found his place in the world, and is satisfied with it. He stays in the Yellow Lion from the beginning to the very end. Lance has not, and struggles with this throughout the show. He is constantly changing his role within Voltron. Unlike with Pidge and Keith, who show compatibility through their contrasts as arms of Voltron, Hunk works just as well, if not better, with Allura as the other leg, compared to Lance. Here again, Lance stands out in some way.
Lance vs. Pidge
Blue and Green are analogous colors, which means that they are next to each other on the color wheel.
Analogous colors are often used in art to create harmony, as the description says, and to create a sense of peace in the viewer. See for example this painting by Yuri Krotov from 1964:
Blue and green here are used in the water and contributes to present this idyllic scene of a warm summers day by the river. Even aside from that, think of the green grass field against the Blue sky:
So, does that mean VLD uses analogous colors to symbolize harmony in a relationship? Well, let's examine that.
As discussed before, Pidge recognizes Lance’s strengths and importance to the team before anyone else does, and holds him in high regard:
She also listens to him:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 06:49]
[Season 1, Episode 6: Taking Flight, 03:35]
and looks to him when she is unsure:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 21:45]
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 12:31]
Aside from that, they are also very good friends, and spend time together. Lance mentions in his story that they often play video games together:
[The Paladin's Handbook, Lance's Story]
and in fact, they get the video game together in the space mall episode, that Lance references in his story:
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 12:37 ;19:51]
Other than that, Pidge and Lance do not interact one-on-one very often.
Blue and Green are also considered cold colors in color theory:
Lance and Pidge are more calm than the other paladins. Associated with intelligence, rationality and strategy, Lance is the character most frequently coming up with a plan for Voltron aside from Shiro:
[Season 1 Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 09:38]
[Season 1 Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 45:23]
[Season 1 Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 51:26]
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 14:04 ; 17:36 ; 19:08]
[Season 1, episode 6: Taking Flight, 02:59]
and Pidge is notoriously very intelligent, always the one to gather information:
[Season 1, Episode 9: Crystal Venom, 11:13]
[Season 1, Episode 10: Collection and Extraction, 01:28]
Lance is also very calm and easygoing:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 12:07]
Pidge vs. Hunk
Green and Yellow are analogous colors. They get along and are friends just like Lance and Pidge, maybe even more so. Hunk and Pidge are the ones most often paired together in the show, usually through their shared interest in science and technology, but even sometimes outside of it:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 16:01]
[Season 1, Episode 9: Crystal Venom, 05:42 ; 14:13]
Short and skinny vs tall and bulky. Pidge is a cool color, being green, and Hunk is a warm color, being yellow. This contrast is also reflected in their personalities. Pidge is not good with people, but Hunk is. Pidge can be short-sighted and get tunnel-vision, while Hunk maintains focus of the bigger picture. Their contrasts complement each other very well. They also have something in common which enables them to connect: an intense interest in science and technology.
Pidge and Hunk's elements resemble the relationship between Pidge and Lance, since they are fundamentally tied to one another. Pidge's element is the Forest, which is the element of Growth. Hunk's element is Earth, which is the element of Stability. Earth is the foundation of the growth of the forest, thus the forest's existence hinges on it. So, Hunk is the perfect Leg, the perfect foundation and support, for Pidge.
Lance vs. Pidge vs. Hunk
The notion of analogous colors getting along very well in the show is exhibited the best through this team, also known as The Garrison Trio. See for example the following image:
The yellow poppy flowers harmonize beautifully with the green grass, and the blue sky tops it all off to create a perfect image. Blue, Yellow and Green are all analogous. Likewise, Lance, Pidge and Hunk get along swimmingly and are often grouped together in VLD.
Their character designs also subtly connect them together through their common ground:
When Pidge and Hunk discuss technology and science, Lance cannot participate in the conversation. He is just as confused as Keith is.
The creative team here has followed color theory to a T, and seems to use analogous colors as an indication of how well characters get along with each other. While Lance, Hunk and Pidge are all analogous, they are all friends, Hunk and Pidge stand out as a pair, because their personalities, interests and roles on the team complement each other much more than any other pairing in this group. Lance and Pidge are friends, sure, but they do not interact independently as frequently as Hunk and Pidge do. And while Lance and Hunk have known each other the longest, their roles within Voltron are out of balance due to Lance's conflicting ambition to prove himself. So... Lance here stands out yet again.
Hunk vs. Keith
Following this, we have our first non-analogous pair. Red and Yellow are both warm colors.
This description fits Keith and Hunk perfectly, since they are both more emotionally intense than the other paladins. With Keith, this is expressed through anger, whereas with Hunk, this is expressed through fear/anxiety as well as happiness. These colors are associated with warmth, passion, and security.
Hunk fits the descriptions of warmth and and security through his personality and his sturdiness. He is often seen approaching people in good will and making friends with unlikely allies:
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Galdiator, 04:25]
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 16:54]
Even though he can also be protective:
[Season 1, Episode 6: Taking Flight, 03:02 ; 10:03]
And his paladin's abilities are related to protection and endurance:
[Season 1 Episode 1: Rise of Voltron, 43:11]
[Season 2, Episode 6: The Ark of Taujeer, 18:22]
And although most of the examples include episodes after season 2, here I argued for why Hunk is the Heart of the team, since he fits the description best out of all of them.
Keith expresses passion and security through his desire to connect to other people and protect them. He is often seen being receptive to new connections:
And wanting to protect them:
[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 04:26]
[Season 1, Episode 4: Fall of the Castle of Lions, 09:47]
[Season 1, Episode 4: Fall of the Castle of Lions, 12:34]
Their common episode, the Belly of the Weblum, was interesting to rewatch. I've seen a lot of people say that Keith and Hunk connected during this episode, and that Hunk helped him come to terms with his Galra heritage. I think most people get this impression because of Lauren Montgomery's sketch of the major themes of Voltron that she posted November 2016, a few months before the release of season 2 (most likely as a response to Trump's presidency):
Here we see Hunk and Keith hold up the "RACE" sign, a direct reference to this episode (which she posted literally 3 months before its release...).
However, rewatching it, I really didn't get the feeling that Hunk helped Keith at all, more than just being the first person to bring it up. When Hunk talks to Keith about it, he brings it up by including the mission with him as "the worst job":
That being said, that doesn't mean Hunk treats him differently. He still trusts Keith to complete the job:
and listens to him:
[Season 2, Episode 11: Stayin' Alive, 19:11]
This was definitely intentional. Hunk's comments are all reminiscent of the usual comments and questions that people of a racial (or sexual) minority often hear, especially from those around them. I believe Hunk's role in Keith's identity arc is indirect in the sense that his comments are meant to emphasise this as an allegory for an ethnic minority in our world, as well as a sexual minority.
The way everyone is paired with each other in Lauren's sketch aligns with Hunk's role in Keith's identity arc. Allura is the first person (after Shiro) to know that Pidge is a girl, but she doesn't help her "come out" and tell them, even if she tries to encourage her indirectly at first. Likewise, Shiro's role in Lance's sexuality arc also isn't direct, but more so indirect through the reveal of his own sexuality, since by the time Lance realizes that he loves Keith, Shiro has long been dead (originally). The same goes for Hunk. Hunk is the first person to talk to Keith about his Galra heritage, and sorta stands up for him to Allura, but he doesn't encourage Keith to accept his heritage, nor does he encourage Allura to let go of her prejudice against him. Each respective character in the sketch go through that on their own.
You may ask why they gave Hunk such ignorant lines if he's supposed to be a hero in this story, or the heart of the team. Well, while his questions and comments are indeed ignorant, they are also mostly harmless and serve to show both us and Keith, that while people may be ignorant around you, they are mostly good natured and have good intentions. As I said, Hunk still treats Keith as a member of his team, trusts him, listens to him and stands up for him. Most importantly, his comment here:
[17:27]
and Keith's response cements Keith's own internal change that everyone deserves to be saved, no matter who they are. Before this, Keith was just as distrustful of Galra as Allura was. He even starts his encounter with the Galra in the Weblum assuming they have bad intentions, only from spotting the Galra symbol on their suit, despite them not wearing a Galra soldier's armour:
[15:57]
It is first after the Galra saves his life from the bacteria, that Keith changes his mind.
[16:50]
This internal change within him is what helps him accept his heritage, and trust Thace completely, when he meets him on Zarkon's ship:
[Season 2 Episode 12: Best Laid Plans, 13:40]
Aside from the Weblum episode, however, Hunk and Keith don't really interact unlike Pidge and Lance, and they don't seem to have an independent relationship with each other. They are not analogous colors, since there is a color between them: orange.
As we discussed at the start of this analysis, orange is associated with the Garrison. Hunk knows who Keith is in Episode 1:
And it's implied that he knows him because Lance talks about him:
[Season 1, Episode 5: Tears of the Balmera, 10:05]
(In season 7 we see that Hunk met Keith at the same time Lance did at flight trials, but this doesn't make any sense because Hunk isn't a pilot, he's an engineer, so why the hell is he in the pilot lineup? that's why I don't count that scene, but even if we do, Hunk still met Keith through the Garrison.)
So, Hunk is connected to Keith through the Garrison and through Lance, but not personally.
Their elements are also not related to each other at all. Keith's element of Fire does not hinge on Hunk's element of Earth, or vice versa, unlike Lance and Pidge. And in the Space Mall episode, they are not paired, each going on their own quest, again, unlike Lance and Pidge. I am not saying that they aren't or can't be friends, my point is that the show is clearly utilising analogous and non-analogous colors as an indication for harmony in a given relationship. There is no harmony between Hunk and Keith in any aspect of their characters, and they have no symbolic relation to each other, in comparison with the other relationships within Voltron.
As I showed and argued for in Lance and Pidge's section, Lance can easily be the leg to Pidge's arm, but Hunk cannot be the leg to Keith's arm under any circumstances. Which brings me to the next section.
Keith vs Lance
So, what does this mean for Keith and Lance? Red and Blue are also non-analogous colors, and so they should have no relation to each other, right? And yet, as we've seen again and again, Keith and Lance are frequently paired in almost every single episode from their positions alone:
Not only in the show, but in the extra material as well, from Comic Con posters:
To even the comic issues:
Hunk and Keith do not appear beside each other as frequently as Lance and Keith do, nor do they interact as often. So clearly, the crew and the show are trying to tell us that although Lance and Keith are not analogous colors, they are somehow different from Hunk and Keith as a pair, or even Lance and Pidge as a pair.
Well, let's examine their characters a bit closer then, and see what we find.
Remember when I said that Hunk and Pidge are physically contrasted with each other, to emphasise their compatibility as a Voltron pair, Arm and Leg? Well, the same goes for Lance and Keith, though their contrast lie in their personalities and every other aspect of their character, rather than in their physicality.
Keith is impulsive, temperamental and passionate. Lance is strategic, flirtatious and calm. Lance's main weapon is long range, being a blaster; Keith's weapon is short range, being a sword. Lance's color Blue is a cool color, whereas Keith's color Red is a warm color. Keith is an early riser:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 01:18]
Whereas Lance rises late:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 01:15]
Their elements are also contrasts, Keith's element being Fire and Lance's element being Water. Keith's element is destructive:
[Season 1, Episode 7: Return of the Balmera, 05:09]
Whereas Lance's element is creative:
[Season 1, Episode 7: Return of the Balmera, 05:41]
Keith lived in the desert for a few months:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 12:27]
And his father was a firefighter.
While Lance misses the beaches of his home, as well as looking over the water, and splashing in rain puddles:
[Season 1, Episode 4: The Fall of the Castle of Lions, 05:26]
Keith shoves too hard, Lance doesn't shove hard enough...
[Season 2, Episode 5: Eye of the Storm, 07:28]
In Naruto, the complementary color palettes between Sasuke and Naruto aren't only used to emphasise contrast, but also to emphasise compatibility through their contrast. Well, we've seen that VLD does this, too, as evidenced by Keith and Pidge's section. But Keith and Pidge aren't personally very compatible because their personalities are too similar. As I mentioned, they are both temperamental, and can get tunnel-vision. Hunk balances Pidge's personality out with his contrasting personality, being very compatible with her, and being very good friends with her. We see this same concept in Naruto, since Naruto and Sasuke complement each other very well and balance each other out because they are exact opposites, like Yin & Yang. This is expressed for example through their elemental strengths (read right to left):
[Naruto, Vol. 37, Chapter 333: The Moment of Victory, pp. 13-14]
(crazy of him to say at this point in the story btw, but anyway this ain't about him)
Thus, the concept “when put together, they appear more vivid than apart” is used by Kishimoto to accentuate Naruto and Sasuke’s compatibility through their elemental strengths, wind and fire and their complimentary colors.
This concept was actually used for another couple that the VLD team worked with: Katara and Aang from ATLA:
In fact, the color palette used for Katara and Aang is the same color palette which was used for Sasuke and Naruto: Blue and Yellow, which are complimentary colors, and even Aang and Katara are mirrored in the koi fish, Tui and La which represent Yin and Yang in the show, just like Sasuke and Naruto. This is even depicted for the official art of the 20th anniversary live concert tour.
But Blue and Red are not complimentary colors. They are not even analogous, so what's going on here? What is VLD trying to say?
Remember when I said that only Lance could be the Leg to Keith's Arm? What did I mean by that? Hunk and Keith, both being warm colors, are too similar to balance each other out, and especially, Hunk is too nervous to reign Keith in when he is acting out. Canonically, Lance is the only one who can calm Keith down, when he is acting out:
[Season 2, Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora, 02:48]
[Season 3, Episode 1: Changing of the Guard, 22:18]
[Season 3, Episode 3: The Hunted, 01:28 ; 06:16 ; 07:46 ; 08:03 ; 08:22]
[Season 3, Episode 6: Tailing a Comet, 3:37 ; 14:04 ; 14:12]
[Season 8, Episode 11: Uncharted Regions, 06:30]
(Made him laugh again... Btw I know I said I wasn't gonna talk about anything beyond season 1-2 but this was just so insanely consistent, I had to include it.)
This boosts Lance’s confidence of course, because he feels like he’s finally contributing to the team by having Keith’s back:
[Season 3, Episode 6: Tailing A Comet, 15:09]
Again, supported by the Paladin’s handbook:
“I didn’t know what my role was. I felt like a fifth wheel [...] But once I accepted Keith as the new leader of Voltron, something amazing happened.”
[The Paladin’s Handbook, Lance’s story]
This is in past tense, because Lance doesn’t feel that way anymore, as he said, because he stepped up to support Keith as his right-hand man.
In fact, all of Lance's other weapons he unlocks while he wields the Red Bayard, Keith's Bayard:
[Voltron Legendary Defender Comic, Issue #2, pp. 16-17]
Lance tried to force his Blue bayard to upgrade within Voltron, but this fails as well, just like the kick. As we know, Lance does not indeed use his bayard for an upgrade at any point while he is in the Blue Lion. So, already here, this is foreshadowing for a time where his bayard does upgrade, but it's not within the Blue Lion. No... when Lance upgrades his bayard, he is in the Red Lion, here:
Thus, Lance's biggest growth is while he is surrounded by Red elements. Keith's color.
Lance even unlocks a sword, which is Keith's weapon. And Keith unlocks Lance's weapon as well...
[Season 8, Episode 3: The Prisoner's Dilemma, 19:23]
Signifying their deep bond with each other, and their equality and compatibility. In fact, their equality is also expressed through their silhouettes:
However, while all of this may (or may not) be true, at the end of the day, Lance and Keith are never on equal ground. When Lance is a Leg, Keith is his Arm. When Lance is his Arm, Keith is the Head. When Lance is the Head, Keith is his Arm. So when will they be on equal ground, and how?
Well, as I said, unlike Hunk and Pidge, Keith and Lance’s colors are not right next to each other, they are not analogous. They have a color in between them, namely the combination of their colors: purple.
In VLD, purple is associated with the Galra. Using the same argument as the Hunk vs Keith section, this would imply that Keith and Lance are connected to each other through the war and thus through their roles as paladins. However, we know that this isn't the entire story, since Lance knew Keith from the Garrison.
[Season 1, Episode 5: Tears of the Balmera, 10:05]
But Purple is also associated with the Black Lion, since the Black Lions’s secondary colour is purple. That means Keith and Lance connect somehow not only through the war, but also through the Black Lion. Purple is also associated with Shiro, through his connection to the Black Lion. And in fact, when Shiro is introduced in episode 1, he is directly connected to both Lance and Keith, those two characters being the only ones who verbally recognise him:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 08:48 ;10:37]
Shiro's secondary color has a meaning for both Lance and Keith, since Purple is neither a tint nor a shade, but is a secondary color entirely, the combination of Red and Blue. Shiro has a connection to both of them, being Keith's mentor and being Lance's hero, and Shiro's secondary color being a combination of them subtly hints that Shiro indirectly affects their relationship in some way. Here, here and here I have discussed at length how exactly Shiro affects their relationship.
As we can conclude from my other analyses, we know that Lance and Keith are the only ones who pilot the Black Lion after Shiro, but as I said, they are still not equal at the end of it. This is because Keith and Lance's bond doesn't hinge on their roles as paladins in Voltron, like it might for the other characters in the show.
So, at the end here, I believe the show is trying to tell us that while their colors may not be analogous, there is still complete harmony between them because of their contrasting personalities. Lance and Keith's colors are not complementary, but their personalities are. All other aspects of their characters are exact opposites, which makes them fit perfectly together, like two puzzle pieces. Each of their qualities balance each other out, and even help them grow and learn, and become better people/paladins. Keith and Lance's bond transcends the war, transcends Voltron, which is why all of their compatible qualities have nothing to do with Voltron. Lance and Keith are equal when they are taken out of the color context, out of their paladin roles. They become equal once the war is over.
So what do their colors mean? And how do they relate to each other? Well... Keep reading 'cause we are far from done.
Allura vs Shiro
Both have two colors associated with them. Let’s talk about their chromatic colors first.
Pink vs. Purple.
Both of these colors are associated with them by proxy.
Allura is associated with pink already in her royal costume as well as her castle armour.
Both of these designs have subtle hints of pink, but it does not stand out as much as either the white or the blue. Allura's association with pink is solidified, however, in season 3, through her paladin armour:
(Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin)
(p.s. isn’t it interesting that we don’t have a character official art of Allura in her paladin armor, but only for her castle armor? The pink also isn't the same tint or hue as is on her dress or castle armour... Hmm…)
Pink is a derivate color (tint) of Red. This aligns with how the show mirrors Allura and Keith that I spoke about here. To reiterate (additions and changes marked in orange):
Both are orphans, both have a male authority figure that guides them (Coran for Allura and Shiro for Keith). They also frequently have the same ideas or react the same way.
Both opted for staying in season 1, episode 1, when Sendak attacked:
Both argued against finding the Blade of Marmora base in season 2:
Both thought Zarkon was tracking them:
[Season 2, Episode 6: the Ark of Taujeer, 05:03 ; 05:10]
Both are mistrustful:
[Season 2, Episode 3: Shiro's Escape, 14:34 ; 15:13]
Both had to inherit a legacy from someone they loved/looked up to:
[Season 2, Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora, 18:31]
And both said goodbye to their male authority figure before embarking on a mission:
[Season 2 Episode 9: Belly of the Weblum, 03:31]
[Season 2 Episode 9: Belly of the Weblum, 04:23]
Pink is red mixed with white. White is often associated with Wisdom, and that is also the case in VLD. In season 1, Coran describes the "sacred alteans" as being the ones to perform the Balmera rites, because they possess a certain quality. When he does this, we are shown a white-haired Altean.
[Season 1, Episode 8: Rebirth, 14:32]
We understand that this is Alfor, Allura's father, when Coran specifies this character. Both Alfor and Allura are seen as very wise in the first two seasons, and both possess white hair, but this is not exclusive to the royal family, because if it was, Coran would have simply said "a royal Altean", but he didn't. That means being a sacred Altean is independent of the royal family line, but the royal family line might not be independent of the sacred quality. We know that this is true because in season 2, Haggar is revealed to be Altean, and she has white hair.
[Season 2, Episode 13: Blackout, 18:07]
Allura not knowing that Haggar was Altean means that Haggar was not a member of the Altean Royal Family, thus, white hair, the sign of being sacred, is independent of the royal family bloodline.
White being a symbol of wisdom is further emphasised through the lore of the White Lion of Oriande:
The White Lion is a guardian of wisdom, and only permits Allura access to it, because she has a special power within her:
[Season 1, Episode 8: Rebirth, 10:22 ; 14:05]
Indeed. Allura is able to perform feats otherwise impossible, because she is a sacred Altean and has a special ability to wield alchemy. We are shown this again at the end of season 2, when Allura absorbs Haggar's alchemy and redirects it to destroy the Komar:
[Season 2, Episode 13: Blackout, 18:16]
Anyway, all that to say that Pink being a tint of red, being more mixed with white, and therefore, Allura being more wise than Keith, aligns with how the show portrays Allura as a more mature version of Keith.
So, Allura’s secondary color ties her to Keith. But that is not all. In fact, let's bring back Keith and Lance's color wheel chart:
What's interesting about this area is that the colors that stand in between Blue and Red are Purple and Pink. Purple and Pink respectively are associated with Shiro and Allura. Notice also how Purple is next to Blue (Shiro is a foil to Lance) and Pink is next to Red (Allura is a foil to Keith). This is consistent with Lance and Keith's parallels to Shiro and Allura, which I have mentioned here and here. Furthermore, in season 1, Episode 10, the episode where Shiro and Allura are paired and we really see their dynamic, I caught something here:
[Season 1, Episode 10: Collection and Extraction, 02:36]
Look at the way they're positioned:
This brings us to Shiro's secondary color, Purple.
This color, also called Violet, is associated with royalty, wealth and ambition:
We see this expressed through the one thing that is most associated with purple in VLD: the Galra Empire and the Galra. The Galra Empire's ambition and wealth is expressed through their colonization of most of the galaxy. Furthermore, royalty is expressed through VLD's first major villain, Emperor Zarkon.
The Black Lion's secondary color being purple directly links the Black Lion to the Galra, and in fact we find out that the Black Lion's original paladin was Zarkon in the final episode of season 1, when we see Zarkon use the Black Bayard:
[Season 1, Episode 11: The Black Paladin, 15:02 ; 15:23]
Zarkon is driven throughout the first two seasons by his obsession with the Black Lion and obtaining possession over it:
[Season 1, Episode 11: The Black Paladin, 15:23]
[Season 2, Episode 5: Eye of the Storm, 14:25 ; 17:36]
However, Black is also associated with death, and in fact, we see that Zarkon's unceasing quest for the Black Lion becomes his downfall.
[Season 2, Episode 13: Blackout, 20:56]
As mentioned before, Shiro is associated with the color purple through his connection with the Black lion, since the Black Lion’s secondary color is purple. But, he is furthermore connected with the color purple through his Galra-made arm, which glows purple when he uses it. The color of the Galra’s magic and empire. At the end of this fight, the struggle for the bond with the Black Lion, Shiro gains possession of the Black Bayard, the last symbol/shred of Zarkon's bond with it, but when he uses it, Shiro and Zarkon both disappear/die. Thus, Zarkon is Shiro's antagonistic foil.
Throughout the first two seasons, Shiro struggles with his inner demons. In fact, in the Crystal Venom Episode, we get a little bit of an insight into what this struggle looks like:
[Season 1, Episode 9: Crystal Venom, 15:39]
It's interesting that Shiro should consider himself a monster, because he's been victimised by the Galra. This arc was already resolved when Pidge finds out the true reason Shiro hurt Matt, which was to save him. We know that this isn't the crystal, because Shiro hears his voice. The crystal as far as we've seen has manipulated the castle's systems to harm the paladins, not make them hallucinate into giving up. So this is entirely from the inside of Shiro's mind... but why does he feel this way? Well... I don't have the complete answer, but I do think it has something to do with Shiro's connection to the Galra empire. After all, Sendak starts his speech with this:
[Season 1, Episode 9: Crystal Venom, 15:16]
And we get another hint when Haggar says this:
[Season 1, Episode 11: The Black Paladin, 16:50]
And she transforms into his prisoner self:
[Season 1, Episode 11: The Black Paladin, 17:12]
I think there was a time when Shiro legitimately considered joining the Galra, or at least succumbing to them using him as a weapon, and that's what's fuelling his own inner turmoil, and why he considers himself a monster and just like Sendak.
Shiro is very ambitious and skilled. He can do whatever he sets his mind to, much like Zarkon. Zarkon is an extreme version of Shiro, had Shiro decided to join the Galra. In fact, Shiro is also driven by ambition, wanting to prove himself when he was younger, which was the conflict of his departure for Kerberos:
[Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure, 17:38]
As we know, it is Shiro's presence on Kerberos which serves as the starting point of the show and all of the events in the first two seasons. Shiro chooses to go on the Kerberos mission, despite Adam wanting him to stay --> Shiro is kidnapped by the Galra --> Shiro escapes and crashes back on Earth --> Shiro brings the other paladins to Voltron and thus to the war --> Shiro dies in the struggle for the Black Lion's bond. Thus, Shiro's drive to prove himself, and ultimately to gain power, leads him to his death at the end of season 2, just like Zarkon.
White vs Black.
The color that is subtly most associated with Allura is white. Her hair is white, both of her suits are mostly white:
and she has a connection to the White Lion from Oriande.
Allura's association with the color white symbolizes her status as the Goddess of the Universe and the ultimate true hero in contrast to Shiro. Shiro echoes many of Allura’s feats in the show, almost as foreshadowing, and works as a red-herring to mask the true hero of the story. For example, Shiro’s crash on earth draws the other paladins together, and brings them ultimately to the Castle of the Lions, however, it is Allura who helps them find the other Lions and conjoin them. When they all connect to open the final gate to the Black Lion, they show Allura in the middle, not Shiro:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 58:50]
This is because this is half of the fulfillment of Allura’s legacy that she inherited from her father, bringing the Lions of Voltron back together. This is her moment, her triumph, and her success. Without her, the other paladins could not have found their respective lions. This also follows color theory: white is the combination of all colors in one, whereas black is devoid of all colors.
This further informs on their relationships with the paladins, but in a different way. In color theory, white and black are on a completely different spectrum from the other colors, the Value spectrum (also called brightness or lightness) rather than the hue spectrum, since they are achromatic and therefore do not have hues.
Allura and Shiro are already their most competent self, each with their own weakness of course. Their chromatic colors that are associated with their respective paladin roles are analogous colors, which indicates that they get along very well and have a harmonious relationship, and indeed we do see this expressed in the show as linked and shown above. However, their achromatic colors suggest a complete contrast, which is expressed through their respective story arcs and thematic roles: At first glance, this calls to mind Yin and Yang.
From the Wikipedia page of yin and yang:
"Yang" (for solar, masculine, active, warm) with "yin" (for lunar, feminine, passive, cool) [...] "yin" is retractive, passive, contractive, and receptive in nature, in a contrasting relationship to "yang" that is repelling, active, expansive and repulsive in principle. [...] The original meaning of yin was depicted as the northerly shaded side of a hill and yang being the bright southerly aspect.
[artistic rendition by me and my finger lol]
A lot of the things we usually contrast feels reflected in Shiro and Allura, even down to their designs. Allura has white hair, Shiro has black. Allura's skin is dark, Shiro's skin is light. Allura wears white and other chromatic colors, Shiro wears only black. Allura is feminine, Shiro is masculine. Allura is Altean, Shiro is an Earthling. Even symbolically, Shiro and Allura work as opposite forces in the story. Shiro takes the paladins away from Earth at the beginning of their mission. Allura (originally) brings them back to Earth at the end of their mission. Yin is associated with Life (Earth), whereas Yang is associated with Death (Space).
Color symbolism and subsequent foreshadowing in clothing
The consistent use of these colors to each respective character is also the reason that none of them change the colors of their gear once they switch lions, because their respective colors, established from episode 1, are continually used for other literary devices to tell the story such as symbolism and everyone's favorite: foreshadowing. Their colors are inherent symbols of their roles in the story.
See for example the colors of their casual clothing, which already subtly informs on their character’s relationships:
Hunk
Pidge
Shiro
First of all, Shiro actually ends up being one of the people who connect the most with his Lion, developing possibly the strongest bond in the whole series. He was the first paladin to bond with his lion enough to see through their eyes, already in Season 1 Episode 2, for the nose-dive exercise:
[Season 1, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required, 13:42]
The Black lion is also the first to rescue their paladin without a pilot
[Season 1 Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 12:03]
Shiro is the first paladin to unlock a new power in his lion, independently of Voltron.
[Season 1, Episode 7: Return to the Balmera, 04:33]
In season 2, the Black Lion only allowed Keith to fly it because Shiro was in danger.
[Season 2 episode 1: Across the Universe, 17:33]
The only point in which he struggled was when he had to fight Zarkon for the bond, who was the Black Lion’s original paladin, and thus had some residual connection to it. But the Black Lion chooses Shiro, in a fight between them, declaring Shiro as her true paladin.
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 18:33]
Thus, Shiro is the Black Lions true paladin through and through. According to the sheet, Black is associated with a lot of things that Shiro aligns with:
Shiro's past as a Galra prisoner is mysterious, he is serious and mature, he is the head of Voltron and thus powerful and he dies at the end of season 2. His white bangs, that we see change within the first episode, is meant to suggest that he has gone through something, that he has changed in some way, gaining a little bit of wisdom.
Aside from that, there is not much else to say about his clothes. There is not much else to his character.
Allura
Allura's design consist of three main colors: White, Blue and Pink. Only in her castle armour is another colour added: Black. This connects her to Shiro and also to the other paladins in general, but her armour is very different from theirs, suggesting that her role is different. Indeed, when she is wearing her castle armour, she is not a paladin, she is Captain of her ship, and leader of the Coalition.
The Blue on both of her designs foreshadows her role as the eventual Blue Paladin in season 3, and as I said above, the pink associates her with Keith, since Pink, especially this pink, is a tint of Red. White associates her with wisdom, and indeed, Allura is a sacred Altean, which allows her to connect with the inherent power of the Balmeran crystal that powers her ship. This power also grants her access to Oriande, where she gains otherworldly knowledge, as already discussed above.
Keith
Lance
Lance also exhibits a lot of qualities associated with the color Blue:
As we've already discussed, Lance has a huge association with the sea and water-based stuff, which makes sense, since water is his first element. He is also very calm, as we discussed above, and responsible, as discussed here.
However, Lance's design confounds me a little bit, because Lance doesn’t have an overwhelming association with blue on his shirt/jacket the same way Hunk, Pidge and Keith have with their respective colours. He doesn't even wear as much blue as Allura does, despite being the first Blue Paladin of the two. If I were to show a candid screenshot of him, it wouldn't be very clear which lion he belongs to. Take for example this random screenshot from the first episode:
[43:46]
Just from looking at this, we can already pinpoint everyone else and their role in Voltron through their clothes. Keith with his red jacket, Pidge with her green shirt, Hunk with his yellow shirt, and Shiro with his all-black outfit. Through the process of elimination, we can then pinpoint Lance as the likely contender for the Blue Lion, since he's the only one left on the roster, although Allura could also be a contender, because her clothes are much more blue than Lance's are. But it's a bit unclear. If his jacket had been blue, it might have been much easier, but it's not, it's army/olive green. The reason the characters are designed this way is to constantly associate the paladin with their respective Lion, but Lance is the only one who is designed differently, since his color palette doesn't immediately tell you which lion he belongs to at all angles, like the others do.
His shirt and his shoes consist of a very thin line of blue, but is otherwise mostly grey, which is very interesting. In colour theory, grey is an achromatic colour between black and white, which suggests that Lance somehow belongs on Allura and Shiro’s spectrum. And that's not all. Look here:
Lance’s clothes being mostly grey also informs something on his relationship with Shiro. Determining whether grey is a shade of white or a tint of black is impossible, because grey isn’t a chromatic colour like red, yellow, green or blue is. It is harder to determine where on the spectrum it lies since it is a mix of both colours, and essentially every value between white and black is grey. And in fact, Lance's clothes further mystify us on where to place him on the spectrum.
The soles of his shoes, the bottom most place of his clothes, are black, but his hood, the top most part of his clothes, is white. The other part of his shoe is a darker shade of grey, compared to his shirt which is a lighter tint of grey. In this way, Lance shows off a large portion of the white/black spectrum:
...Unlike Keith whose clothes are very dichotomously white and black, if they are not red.
How does this inform us on his relationship with Shiro, though? Where is the connection to his parallel with Shiro? Well, in order for grey to exist, you have to mix black with white. That’s strange. We already talked about this concept with Keith and Allura, where we concluded that Allura’s association with pink symbolises how she is a more mature version of Keith, since pink is red mixed with white (Keith mixed with wisdom). But for Lance and Shiro, shouldn’t it be the opposite, since Shiro is the mature version of Lance, as I keep saying? So why isn’t it? Are they trying to say that Lance is somehow wiser than Shiro?
Yes. That’s exactly what they are trying to say. But how? Well… remember what I said in my last analysis, regarding Shiro’s legacy? Let me reiterate:
Lance inheriting Shiro’s legacy applies to his personal life more so than his heroic feats. Shiro’s story resembles Lance a lot in this way, because Shiro doesn’t achieve peace in the universe, that was not his purpose. Shiro's story is a tragic love story. [...] Shiro didn't fail at being a leader, and he didn't fail at saving the universe, because his punishment started way before that. It started already when he chose to go on the Kerberos mission. He failed at choosing what was most important: love. Inheriting a legacy from a character usually also means righting the wrongs of the past. Lance was meant to inherit Shiro’s legacy, because he was meant to right his wrong. He was meant to choose love over [ambition/power], when he confesses his feelings for Keith. He is not meant to be the hero, or save the world, he is meant to find love and choose love, which Shiro failed at.
Lance's clothes therefore symbolise his constant dilemma between love (white/life) and ambition/power (black/death). I argued here that Lance's dilemma was between Keith and Allura, since this is a pattern that we see pretty frequently expressed in the show. But what I've also argued for is that Lance does not feel as deeply for Allura as he does for Keith, that he knows this and is hiding behind his flirting to cover it up and keep up his bravado and facade. We see this pattern emerge already from the first season, in fact. Allura is not a love interest, but rather a red-herring for Lance's true love-interest as I also discussed here. A red-herring AND a co-protagonist.
While white is usually associated with life, that is not the case in VLD. As we've already examined, White symbolises Wisdom. Allura’s actual true element is Wisdom, due to her connection with white; and when she becomes a paladin of Voltron, her element becomes Change, and it stays this way until the very last episode. Indeed, change is needed in order to win the 10,000 year war. But you know whose element I never specified? Keith's. Keith's element of Fire, while it can be destructive, is actually the element of Life.
Lance is wiser than Shiro because ultimately he makes the right choice in the dilemma between ambition/power and love, whereas Shiro made the wrong choice. Keith is the Yin to Lance's Yang, and as I said, Yin is associated with life. Shiro is associated with death and in fact his choice of ambition over love led to his death in season 2. Shiro chose ambition and died. Lance chooses love and lives.
Symbolism of the Lions 3.0
There is a reason that the Black Lion's secondary color is purple. It could have been the Alteans color, Turqoise, since they were the ones who built it. If they thought this resembled blue too much, they could have chosen orange. It could have been any other color not in use. It could have been pink, heck it could even have been white. But it isn't. It is purple. The color of the Galra. The color of Power, Wealth and Ambition. The Black Lion is the physical manifestation of ambition/power/death. Both of the Black Lion's Paladins, Zarkon and Shiro, meet their doom in their pursuit of it, and Lance risks going down the same path by his prevalent desire to prove himself:
[Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin, 08:17]
But it is precisely because of this desire that Lance isn't chosen. I've argued before that Keith was chosen by the Black Lion because of Shiro's essence stored in it, and he wanted Keith to lead, despite Keith not being a very good leader. Well, I am going to counterargue my own argument here. I don't think that is the reason anymore, because as I said here and here, Shiro was not meant to come back after season 2, nor season 6 for that matter, which means that Shiro's essence being stored in the Black Lion was a retconning of Shiro's death when they brought him back at the end of season 3. The Black Lion choosing Keith because of that would also be a retconning of what Allura says in the very first episode:
[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 32:47]
It cannot be forced. If Shiro influenced the Black Lion somehow, that would be a bond made out of force. So, Shiro did not influence the Black Lion in season 3. This also means that when Lance is rejected here, and Keith is chosen instead, it has nothing to do with Shiro.
Well, not nothing. As I mentioned, Shiro is the Black Lion's true paladin, having been chosen by the Black Lion itself in the battle between him and Zarkon. The Black Lion is sentient and clearly has a desire to save the universe from doom, from the Galra. That is why it chose Shiro in this battle, because ultimately The Black Lion works for the greater good. It recognised a lot of the same qualities in Shiro that its original paladin had, Zarkon, only uncorrupted. In fact, Shiro even renounces power in the struggle for the Black Lion's bond, which is what makes it choose him:
[Season 2, Episode 7: Space Mall, 18:14]
But it's too late. Even though Shiro is good, he still dies at the end of season 2. He is still doomed by the narrative, because in his own battle between love and power, he chose power:
[Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure, 17:19]
So, the Black Lion changes course completely. It can no longer choose someone who has ambition, who wants the seat, who strives for power, because it now understands that this dooms its paladin. So it doesn't choose Lance, even though Lance has all the qualities of a leader. It chooses someone completely opposite of its previous paladins, completely opposite of Lance. It chooses Keith.
[Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin, 09:14]
It is not a coincidence that the Black Lion wakes up right after Keith says that he is not like Shiro. Indeed, he is not like Shiro. Not at all.
Keith is a terrible leader, because he's not used to working in a team. He gets tunnel-vision and doesn't listen to his team members, splitting the group and putting them in danger much more than he keeps them together or puts their safety above the mission. He is the direct opposite of what Voltron needs in a leader. But that's exactly why he was chosen. The Black Lion doesn't want to risk another doomed Black Paladin, so it chooses the paladin on the other side of the spectrum, a pure-hearted paladin who has never been tempted by power, the paladin of Love.
Remember when I said that Keith is the one who is consistently pushing back against Lance's need to show off? Well, he is also the one to push back on Lance's need for glory:
In Season 3, when Keith is the pilot of the Black Lion, he isn't doomed, because he never chased the Black Lion, in fact, he spends most of his time in the Black Lion resisting it. He was always meant to step down again and go back to the Red Lion, the physical manifestation of Love, because that is his true calling. This is because Keith doesn't have ambition, he isn't motivated by power at all. Keith's drive is solely to love and be loved, that is his whole arc; this is why he is so fundamentally incompatible with the Black Lion, and why he never gets used to his role, because he doesn't care about it. Even in the Garrison, he was disengaged and aloof, even though he had a natural talent for it.
Keith is the agent and the symbol for Love in VLD. Keith is love abandoned, love left behind. He is the foil to, or perhaps a "reincarnation" of Adam, his father and Allura, all of whom were left behind by someone they loved. Keith was left behind by his mother, by his father, and by Shiro, encompassing all three of these characters. So Keith is in constant search of love reciprocated, which he finds in Lance:
[Season 1, Episode 5: Tears of the Balmera, 21:29]
But the problem is that Lance tries to ignore him, because he is confused about what he wants vs. what he needs. He is in a dilemma. Lance thinks that he needs to prove himself because of what Iverson said, but as we know, once he becomes Keith's right-hand man, he stops having this feeling. He doesn't question his place in the world anymore, because now he's found it. Lance gets an epiphany. Lance finally realizes his true feelings.
Here I argued that Lance was meant to be the true Black Paladin for the last two seasons, and although I stand by this, I would like to amend my wording. Lance is meant to become the Pilot of the Black Lion, not its true paladin. The Black Lion's true paladin is Shiro, as I also argued for here. But Lance becoming the pilot of the Black Lion is already foreshadowed not only from the design of his clothing alone, but also the design of the head of Voltron itself:
[Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin, 16:59]
Lance finally makes it to the Black Lions seat in the OG cut of season 7, but he isn't meant to stay there. When Lance is chosen to become the Black Paladin, he is chosen at a time where he least wants it. He now has all the qualities of a good leader, he has matured, he has changed, he is just like Shiro. But the major difference is that Lance doesn't want it. Lance has now become a Red Paladin, a Paladin of Love. At the end of Season 6, he realizes that he loves Keith. He is no longer motivated by power at all. He is motivated purely by Love. The Black Lion is purple, yes, the combination of Red and Blue, the culmination of Lance's growth. But first and foremost the Black Lion is Black. It is Death. As we have seen from the first two seasons alone, The Black Lion dooms all of its paladins. If Lance has to choose love and live, he has to renounce the Black Lion.
This is all further implied by the parallels of not only the (intended) deaths of the previous Black Paladins, but also the standoffs between the Red and Black Paladins, that I discussed here. The show has shown us a 10,000 year battle between Love and Ambition/Power. 10,000 years ago, Love lost to Power --> Zarkon defeated and killed Alfor, who was the Red Paladin, the Paladin of Love.
[Season 3, Episode 7: The Legend Begins, 22:14]
The next cycle presents itself when Keith is born. His mother leaves his father and Keith to go back to the war. Love loses another battle.
Love is again defeated in the present day by Shiro, when Shiro chooses the Kerberos Mission over Adam before the start of the show.
[Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure, 17:19]
But as I've said above, both Shiro and Zarkon are punished by the narrative for this, since these actions lead to their doom. That means that when Lance fights Keith (in the astral plane or wherever) he is literally fighting Love; he is carrying out the manifestation of his overarching dilemma, and he has to choose: The Black Lion or Keith. Power or Love.
But remember what I said before:
"Keith and Lance [...] break the cycle, because of their love for each other; specifically because of Lance's love for Keith. Instead of fighting Keith to overcome him, he fights Keith to save him."
He isn't fighting to overcome love, he is fighting to save love. To choose love.
And Lance will choose, and we know his choice, already here:
Here, Lance has a connection to both Allura and Keith, but when Lance seeks comfort and advice, he chooses Keith. Just as there is a reason that the Black Lion is purple, there is also a reason Allura's earrings are purple. Isn't it that interesting?? Not turqoise, like her crown? Or Pink? or Blue? They are purple. Haha, wow, this analysis just fucken writes itself.
Lance continuing to choose Keith is emphasised again here:
When Lance chooses Keith, he chooses love, becoming the first Black Paladin in 10,000 years to do so, breaking the cycle that Zarkon started.
Lance and Allura are both paladins of the Blue Lion, which means that they are both paladins of Change. And indeed, this is reflected in the show. Allura changes her persepctive on Galra as a people:
[Season 2, Episode 12: Best Laid Plans, 07:24]
Which strengthens the coalition and the rebellion against the Galra Empire:
[Season 3, Episode 1: Changing of the Guard, 12:17]
Lance changes his perspective on himself and what he has to offer:
[Season 3, Episode 2: Red Paladin, 10:19]
Which helps him feel more confident, as I said here:
“I didn’t know what my role was. I felt like a fifth wheel [...] But once I accepted Keith as the new leader of Voltron, something amazing happened.”
[The Paladin’s Handbook, Lance’s story]
This is in past tense, because Lance doesn’t feel that way anymore, as he said, because he stepped up to support Keith as his right-hand man.
And the beauty of this is that both of these changes were brought about by Keith. Keith finding out that he is part-Galra forces Allura to confront her prejudices and accept cooperation with the Galra if she wants to save the world; and Keith being chosen by the Black Lion forces Lance to come to terms with his shortcomings as well, and accept his supportive role if he wants what's good for the team. Both change for the better through accepting Keith. Through accepting Love.
Allura's acceptance changes the course of the physical 10,000 year intergalactic war, while Lance's acceptance changes the course of the symbolic 10,000 year war between Love and Power.
But that's still not all. Lance's last seat in Voltron is in the Black Lion. Before now, I haven't mentioned how the Black Lion's element plays a role in this. The Black Lion's element is Air. Now, why does that ring a bell? OH YEAH:
[Naruto, Vol. 37, Chapter 333: The Moment of Victory, pp. 13-14]
I mean, it's like the symbolism just writes itself. No, not by itself, but by the absolute genius skills of the VLD crew. I've already extensively examined the many, many, many parallels that the VLD crew made to Naruto that you can read here or here.
Lance's last element becomes air, just like Naruto's. And not only that, but Air is the element of Freedom. When Lance becomes pilot of the Black Lion, he is still in dilemma. He knows he loves Keith, but he hasn't said anything to anyone out loud. Although he stops hiding it outright, he hasn't confessed. He hasn't owned up to it, he isn't being truthful. And you know what they say about that, don't you?
"The truth will set you free."
When Lance chooses Keith, when he renounces the Black Lion, when he tells Keith that he loves him, Lance becomes free. Free of doubt, free of insecurity and free of deceit. He knows exactly who he is and what he's got to offer. And what he's got to offer is love.
Lance breaks the cycle, but he was only able to do it, because Lance was once the pilot of the Red Lion. He becomes a Red Paladin, just like his debut episode title says, a Paladin of Love. Neither Shiro nor Zarkon were called by the Red Lion, but Lance was. Iverson told him "Don't follow in his footsteps," but Lance did. He copied his flying style, he followed him to the tent, to the Blue Lion, to the Red Lion, to the Black Lion and finally to Keith himself. Because he was called by him. Lance was called by Love. And that's what saves him from doom.
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