Oh yeah, definitely. Because “emotionally sensitive” covers a lot of ground–and because we already know all of Keith’s emotions are heightened due to his galra nature–I’m going to focus on “sensitivity” in terms of sympathy and concern for the wellbeing of others. The first instance that really comes to mind is when Pidge tries to leave. She justifies it by saying she needs to find her family, but Keith quickly cuts her off with, “Everyone in the universe has families.” Except of course for him, given that he grew up all alone with nothing but a knife to remember his parents by. Even without that very personal connection, even when he has no family himself, Keith is still willing to stake his life on all this because there are other families that need protecting, and they’re just as important. That speaks volumes about his capacity for empathy, something that a few of the other paladins criminally underestimate.
Something else that I’ll never be able to let go of is just how unsettling it was to watch the other paladins respond to Ulaz’s death. Let’s pull Shiro aside for a moment–he has a very personal connection to Ulaz, this familiarity with him. Ulaz was the one who took the risk to help him escape, and Shiro feels indebted to him. He trusts Ulaz. So when that ultimate sacrifice is made, it just claws away at him. The other paladins, though? When Ulaz blows himself to pieces for their sake? They cheer. There’s no way around how sickening that honestly is, no way to escape the fact that one of their allies literally took his life for them–but because they were decidedly less human, the other paladins lacked the ability to empathize with him. Everyone except Keith. Just look at the contrast between Keith’s expression and the others’, and you’ll see exactly just how poignant this is:
The other paladins are smiling, cheering, they’re so happy and relieved. Ulaz dying also has the added “bonus” of essentially getting him out of their way, one less galra to worry about. There’s no excusing the fact that thy never really saw Ulaz as a person–and even in death, they never truly treat his final act as a redemption. Ulaz’s loss is a matter of convenience for them, and none of them even have the sympathy to pretend to mourn. Meanwhile Keith actually feels for Ulaz. And Shiro. Because Shiro’s clearly shaken by all this, because he’s genuinely hurt and grieving.
Keith is the only one who thinks to try and reassure Shiro, to go over and apologize for his treatment of Ulaz, to express his sympathies and try and give Shiro the support he grievously needs. “Sorry we doubted Ulaz, Shiro. He saved all our lives.” Even more telling, the optimal term he uses there is we. He doesn’t just apologize for his own behavior, he apologizes on behalf of the entire team. Even if they themselves won’t. He knows as a team they should be doing better, and he has the initiative to take the first few steps in that direction. He sees Ulaz as a person, a sign of empathy at this point that everyone but Shiro severely lacks.
Even more telling, Keith defends Shiro. When Allura tries to insinuate Ulaz’s sacrifice was just a ploy, Shiro is obviously hurt. But he’s still reeling from the grief, too exhausted and drained to put much heat in his words. So Keith goes on the offensive for him, ready to fight on his behalf. Keith’s always been very sensitive to Shiro’s needs, and he’s always been someone who will protect others first and foremost. Shiro is achingly vulnerable here, and Keith puts himself up as a wall between him and Allura.
And again, when it comes to defending others, we know anyone who abuses their position of power to wreak havoc on civilians–that strikes a cord with Keith. We see it when he makes it his personal mission to end Zarkon’s reign and confronts him alone in the finale of season 1. We see it when he lashes out at King Lubos for the atrocities committed against his people. “You’re no King.” At the core of his being, Keith fulfills the romantic knight archetype in every sense of the word. He possess a time honored sense of chivalry that compels him to always safeguard the weak and vulnerable–he was one of the first ones to really take his duty as a paladin seriously. And honestly, a code of chivalry like that only arises when someone is extremely empathetic towards their cause and the wellbeing of others. The thought of others suffering at the hands of a corrupt leader just absolutely makes his blood boil.
And before anyone says that Keith only cares about Shiro and neglects the other paladins or something, he’s very much someone who is often willing to hear them out and respond to their needs, he really does care about the whole team. When Pidge decides to stay, Keith is the first one to welcome her back–“Good to have you back on the team.” When Allura gives him the cold shoulder, he never complains or guilt trips her. When she tries to apologize, he even says it’s okay and she doesn’t have to.
When Hunk was panicking in the Weblum, Keith was able to ground him and tried to take his mind off things with some light humor. He saw Hunk was stressed and helped him work through it. Later, when Allura is completely mesmerized by the other reality’s thriving Altea, Keith is the one who tries to talk her out of it. And later, when she laments her misplaced trust, Keith is there to reassure her–“You didn’t know.” Even when Lance expresses his concerns to Keith about six people on a five Lion team, Keith tells him not to leave and tries to just take his mind off things. Keith has never been the cold person his team mistook him for back in season 1.
To clarify before this next part, I absolutely love the BOM. I’ll be the first one to defend them. But I think Keith is very much more in tune with his sensitive side and emotional pathos than the others. He’s never fully able to commit to the mission over his own emotions, something Kolivan berates him for–“You cannot allow your feelings to cloud your judgement. You have in the past.” This is evident in even the episode right before, where Keith risks everything–the mission, his own life–to go back for Shiro and Lotor. His teammate’s response to this is simply, “Then you’ll die with them.”
Again, Keith’s desire to protect others overrides his dedication to the mission. We also see this with Regris. And of course, it was always evident with Shiro long before that. There’s also the mere fact that he joined the BOM in the first place because he was sick of posturing in parades instead of being out there in the field actually doing something to stop Lotor. Because essentially, that’s how Keith viewed it. To interject here really quick, Keith’s sensitivity can be self-destructive as well–when it becomes apparent Regris is a lost cause, Kolivan just picks Keith up and drags him out against his will. Kolivan impresses the importance of self-preservation on Keith, and it’s painfully obvious he doesn’t want to lose anymore of his men.
In fact, given how new to everything Keith is, I’d argue Kolivan breaks a bit of protocol himself to ensure Keith’s safety. He has a soft spot for new recruits like that I think–and especially for Keith, who is so new to both his galra heritage and the BOM. From Kolivan’s prospective, it’s important for Keith to pick and choose his battles, to not be so quick to throw his life away for others’ sakes. From Keith’s point of view, it’s always better to sacrifice himself than risk the safety of those he cares about. And his feelings are just a vital character trait he’ll never be able to let go of.
And yes, I’m also going to throw that bit from the Weblum episode back in here, because I think it’s one of those instances where we see a lot of Keith’s character drop in just a few lines. “They look like dead planets…Something tells me they died an unnatural death.” When Keith says that, everything from tone of voice and inflection to the look on his face clearly expresses just how distraught he is. His heart breaks for those planets and the life that was lost too soon. Again, Keith is very sensitive to the wellbeing of others. Even people who may have existed eons ago.
Returning to Shiro for a moment, so much of season 3 just gives immense incite to his character. While everyone else is running missions like normal and pretending everything’s fine, Keith’s still out there scouting debris day after day. Even months later, when everyone has long since given up on Shiro, Keith remains ever loyal, ever faithful. He refuses to abandon him, something he cannot fathom even considering. Not after everything Shiro had ever did for him. The fact that everyone else is so quick to forget and move on feels like a betrayal. His grief-laden outbursts speak to a much deeper loss than anyone else–a very personal loss. He lashes out at the others as if to say, None of you care about him like I do. And he aches with the cruel injustice of it all.
And even when Kuron is safely back on the ship, he remains bedridden for days. And who is it at his bedside? Who is the one person “Shiro” trusts to see him so vulnerable, the one person that care for Shiro more than anyone else? The person that vows to save his life, “as many times as it takes?” Even torn asunder by the universe, Keith and Shiro will always sink back into each other’s orbit. Keith, like a knight in shining armor, will always ensure it. His unconditional, unabashed love for Shiro appears to be a double-edged sword. But it’s one he’ll carry with him always. By nature, Keith is a very passionate, loving person who’s just very protective of others.