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My crush on the creators of VLD continues- they understand relationship dynamics so well. There are so many things going on in this show that seem flighty or as if they are bending a character to suit a need that doesn’t fit with who they are, but that’s just not the case. We place our hopes and wishes for characters into these episodes and in the process ignore what canon is telling us. I want to talk about Keith x Team Voltron where this is concerned.

RE: At the Loss of Shiro

Keith’s relationship with the team has been touch and go for the entire show but throughout everything it seemed like things were going well until suddenly they weren’t. The first two seasons are spent building this group into a unit that is able to achieve a great deal in a short amount of time. They find their niche and begin to flow well together so it feels like whiplash when the team turns on Keith in season 3.

It’s implied a significant amount of time lapses between Shiro’s disappearance at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. When we open to s3, the team has recovered from their battle with Zarkon, started gathering allies for the coalition, and have gone through the stages of grieving. Keith on the other hand refuses to accept the loss of Shiro; he’s continually searching for him and is frustrated that the rest of the team has given up. When the time comes to address how they move forward without Shiro, Keith fights it tooth and nail. And when the team finally does get Keith to admit they need a new paladin, it’s under extreme duress. Keith becomes the black paladin, only taking up the mantle because it is what Shiro and the Black Lion chose for him. And when Shiro returns, Keith gladly wants to hand the reins back to him.

While all of this is happening there is a lot of friction between Keith and the team that is upsetting to watch because of how little they trust him. From what Keith has demonstrated, we feel like the team should recognize he has a good head on his shoulders and gets results.

But you know what, this is the most logical scenario when we look at how Keith operates. The overlying problem is that Keith does not take the time to communicate. He thinks on his feet and acts intuitively, leaving everyone behind to follow if they want. “You wanted me to lead Voltron? This is how I lead.”

It is difficult to build trust and respect for someone when they won’t communicate their reasoning and motives, even if the end goal is shared. The team knows Keith can be counted on in a pinch, but they aren’t prepared to trust his instincts because the foundation has not been laid. In the first two seasons there are several instances of Keith seemingly acting brash while the team reals at his decisions when actually Keith is just thinking at a different pace. Off the top of my head:

• 01x10 where Keith trails a druid to learn about quintessence 
• 01x11 when Keith speeds in to confront Zarkon and protect the Black Lion 
• 02x06 where Keith abandons ship because he thinks Zarkon is tracking them through him
  

In all of these instances Keith is acting against team member’s wishes, but it’s because he sees something they don’t and won’t take the time to explain himself. During seasons 1 and 2, the team trusts Keith because Shiro does first and Shiro is easy to follow. But with Shiro’s disappearance Keith falls into wildly erratic behavior that catches everyone off guard. Keith is an intensely private person who does not expose his vulnerabilities easily, if at all. He acts brash for weeks while searching for Shiro without explaining why he is so upset so by the time s3 picks up the team is at the end of their rope with Keith. They are trying to move forward, like Shiro would want them to, but Keith won’t let them. So really it’s no surprise when the team questions leader!Keith at every turn. Keith is a good leader, yes, but he’s also a leader who demands trust when he rarely explains himself or gives trusts in return.

RE: Operation Kuron

The team absolutely should have noticed ‘Shiro’ was acting weird right out the gate, but they didn’t until he started lashing out at them specifically for two reasons:

1. Selfishness-  I’ve said it before and this won’t be the last time I say it:  the members of Team Voltron can be extremely self absorbed. Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Yes most of those ‘other things’ they’re working on are vital to the war effort, but these people all suffer from extreme tunnel vision which means Kuro’s behavior and treatment of Keith slipped through the cracks. 
2. Shiro is their steadfast, unquestioned leader. The team debates with each other a lot throughout the show and I say debate rather than argue because they communicate respectfully with one another. But I could probably count on my fingers the times someone who is not Keith was the first to question Shiro’s opinion- and remember that this crew has been in space for over a year by now.
   

The team expects Keith, Shiro’s right hand man, to hold him in check, and Keith does a good job of this- questioning Shiro and opening the floor for the rest of the team to chime in. So if Keith isn’t calling Kuro’s strange behavior out, why would they?

Of course, Keith never mentioned this issue to anyone. He’s an overly private person who prefers to deal with problems internally. As far as he’s concerned, the war comes first. What the team needs is a reliable leader; they need Shiro. Calling Shiro into question would be counterproductive; Keith’s job is to support and bolster Shiro because it’s what everyone needs.

Keith clearly knows something is wrong with Shiro and he reacts to it with more erratic behavior and mistrust. So even if the team did notice atypical behavior in this pair, they aren’t going to comment because Shiro is their leader and Keith has been acting wildly for weeks or months- nothing new to see here. Keith is okay with this; he can handle the team turning on him- it’s nothing he hasn’t dealt with before. But Shiro. Shiro is the best option for this universe- Shiro is someone strong and capable, intelligent and fearless, someone people will gladly follow into battle. From Keith’s view, the universe, the team, needs Shiro way more than they will ever need him.

Sidebar: I’ve seen loads of complaints that VLD never gives up emotional moments. Let’s correct this statement- VLD isn’t giving the emotional moments you want to see in your specific pair. Look at Pidge x her family reunions. Keith x long-hair!Shiro. Lance x Allura- when these two are assaulted with Kuro’s aggression they have an open conversation about it between the two of them. We’re not likely to get an emotionally charged, cathartic scene between Keith and anyone and it’s not because they would rather show big robot fights. It’s because 98% of the time, those conversations with Keith do no exist. It’s just not in his character to talk when he could be moving, taking action.

RE: Keith as a Blade of Marmora Member

Back to Keith as the Black Paladin, this is a storyline that I see coming full circle. The first time Keith piloted Black was to save Shiro- a willful hero. The second time was to replace Shiro- a reluctant hero. The third time is likely going to be of his own volition and probably to save Shiro again because Kuro is eliminated and they’ve got to get the real Shiro back.

The team struggling to accept Keith as the head of Voltron is understandable because as I said, Keith acts on instincts and rarely explains his decisions. Trusting and following someone like that is extremely difficult. It’s hard to give something that hasn’t been earned or isn’t even mutual. Additionally, Keith never fully embraced his role as Black Paladin. Keith inherited this mantle at a time of extreme loss, something that has happened to him twice now, and he rejects it. Then when he does lean into it, he’s doing it for Shiro but still not owning his new role.

Keith as Black Paladin is an ongoing story and we have yet to hit the point where Keith welcomes the role. So it absolutely makes sense that he would willfully step down from the position on Shiro’s return even if Shiro was acting really strange. Keith rejects the role continuously, not for lack of skill, but because he hasn’t accepted himself for who he is and what he has to offer, yet.

His time with the BoM is serving him well because it’s giving him that sense of action and agency he needs to feel value. We are seeing him grow into himself, take on more responsibility, going on more solo missions, making more quick decisions that have huge effect. We are seeing him grow into a leader by doing- the best way Keith can learn.

This works well for Keith because he doesn’t have people constantly questioning him, people he feels he has to babysit. It’s him, out in space alone, figuring things out- with the bonus of Kolivan personally grooming him (no pun intended). Keith has proven he’s okay if he comes into harm so long as others are preserved. So removing others from the equation while he learns to be a decision maker and a leader absolutely makes sense.

People who say Keith as a Blade member is a waste of storyline frustrate me.

So yes, the team doesn’t trust Keith and his instincts enough and yes it shouldn’t have taken this long for them to realize something is up with Kuro. But flipside, Keith never took the time to explain anything and had a lot of growing to do.

Summoning @akaiikowrites because she demands this.