The takeoff is rocky, but Season 7 of Voltron: Legendary Defender ultimately flies high.

In Season 6, Netflix’s Voltron: Legendary Defender reached the apex of its production values, narrative intensity, and thrilling action. It was so good, that it was nearly impossible for any immediate followup to match its quality, leaving Season 7 (the second to last in the series) with a daunting responsibility to carry expectations which had hit a sheer fever pitch.

This newest season hit Netflix with at least one tool in its arsenal to help it live up to the lofty expectations, or, maybe more accurately, 13 of them. Season 7 saw the return of a 13 episode batch after four seasons of seven episodes or less, having double the time to tell its piece of the story in the war between the Paladins and the Galra Empire. The greater quantity demonstrates both the risk and reward that comes with a longer season. On one hand, it tasks the show to be its best for far longer than its been used to for nearly two years. Conversely, it also offers the opportunity to rebound if one or two episodes don’t resonate.

That’s exactly what Season 7 eventually has to do after a sluggish start. The attention to Shiro’s and Keith’s history at the Galaxy Garrison sheds some very meaningful light on both characters, but it feels like it comes at an odd time. Aside from getting these pivotal flashbacks as the first bit of our narrative following the most dramatic season finale yet, you have to wonder why it took 52 episodes to show us the very personal history between perhaps the two most important characters, who have been at the forefront from the very beginning.*

The opening episodes, as a whole, are slow to address what impact the Season 6 finale had on the rest of the universe, spending most of their time with the Paladins being chased indiscriminately by Galra troops. These otherwise random forces turn out to be led by Ezor and Zethrid, two of Prince Lotor’s former lackeys, whose true motivations are unclear up until the closing moments of Episode 3, when the big revelation hits that the Paladins have been gone for three years while battling Lotor in the Quintessence Field.

The followup to that bombshell plot twist is the most ill-timed comedy episode that this show could have possibly scheduled. The Paladins’ relatively unexplained participation in a Family Feud knockoff called Garfle Warfle Snick utterly grounds the emotional momentum that Season 7 had begun to amass, abruptly pivoting from major story ramifications to trivial jokes. Voltron: Legendary Defender has had some very well-written humor to this point, but in the penultimate season, when the central conflict is surely approaching an epic conclusion, is an all-comedy episode really called for, anymore?

READ: The Paladin’s Handbook: Official Guidebook of Voltron Legendary Defender

Season 7 hits the boosters immediately after the game show gaffe, even if it takes a little time to hit full speed. The journey back to Earth is no quick flight through the universe―an admirable acknowledgement of realism by the writers, who procure every ounce of struggle for the Paladins that they can from the perilous venture through the cosmos. The episode where the Paladins get lost literally in the middle of space with nothing but their suits and helmets is an alarmingly bleak outing for Voltron: Legendary Defender. In the spirit of such other sci-fi stories like Gravity, the point where the Paladins become marooned among the stars captures the eerie hopelessness that comes from being trapped in an infinite, empty expanse, presenting an adversary for them that is far more terrifying than any evil alien race or giant monster.

That goal to evoke dread can be felt from episode one all the way to the very last in Season 7. The odds that are placed against the Paladins have never felt greater during the show’s run, with the Galra constantly one step ahead in their campaign to conquer (if not, destroy) Earth. The Paladins and their allies are forced into gut check mode time and time again, often leaving audiences to wonder just how they’re going to escape in one piece. With Season 7 taking steps toward more visceral portrayals of grim concepts like slavery, mass destruction, and the death of named characters, the main cast has never felt like they’ve been in greater danger. After 65 episodes to get invested, that’s difficult for a longtime fan to accept.

Where much of Season 7 is set plays a role in that, as well. After six seasons largely spent in the far reaches of the universe, in alien galaxies, in alternate dimensions, and on fantastical planets, the return to our solar system changes the tenor of the war with the Galra Empire. Seeing the Lions alight on the rings of Saturn is cool, but seeing parts of Earth laid to waste, hearing that recognizable regions like China, India, and Europe are under attack is sobering. The horrors of war become that much harrowing as they draw near. Familiarity breeds a special kind of attachment that the audience shares with the humans in the Voltron Coalition.

The drawn-out conflict on Earth is where Season 7 shines, particularly for the characters who are thrust into the spotlight. Earth’s meager defense is largely spearheaded by Shiro and Samuel Holt (Pidge’s father), whose fight through bureaucratic stubbornness and scant resources is just as heroic as their eventual, direct encounters with Galra fleets. What’s most compelling about their exploits is that they come from a pair of older characters. The majority of Voltron: Legendary Defender’s main cast are in their mid-to-late teens, and while Shiro, canonically at age 26, is technically still young, he’s portrayed with very little youth. Sam Holt has no youth to his name, being a middle-aged man who must use his wits and knowledge to lend a hand in the battle to save Earth. In a show that targets a younger audience above all, it is refreshing to have several adult characters take the reigns for so much running time, and another example of how Voltron: Legendary Defender is accessible for all age groups.

Fans young and old will appreciate the onslaught of action found in Season 7’s second half. The last several episodes never let up off the drama and peril as Earth’s defenses and the Paladins fend off the Galra invasion. It’s one continuous action sequence across several installments, allotting several episodes to showcase the most sprawling battle in the series to date. This is where the increased episode count really proves its worth; if five-to-six episodes were used to show a single event in a condensed season, it would be a season that came without plot development. To properly build up to such a grand set piece and achieve narrative merit, you need a sizable batch of episodes to tell the whole story.

COLLECT: Voltron: Legendary Defender 5 piece Combining Lions action figures set

It would all be that much better if Season 7 had a truly compelling villain. Sendak is serviceable, and to his credit, he’s been around since the earliest days of the show, but audiences don’t have a connection to him in the way that we do Emperor Zarkon, Witch Haggar, or Lotor. Those foes all had rich backstories fueling their motivations, as well as personal connections to the Paladins, making their encounters much more meaningful than just the “good vs. evil” theme that plays out against Sendak.

FINAL SCORE

8.75/10

This penultimate season of Voltron: Legendary Defender is a comedown from the landmark Season 6, initially faltering out of the gate, but it rights itself in time to deliver a series of explosive and thrilling episodes that feature some of the best action seen in the show thus far. Netflix and DreamWorks have confirmed that a 13-episode Season 8 is coming in 2019, and will be the last for this animated adventure. It’s more than bittersweet to know that Voltron: Legendary Defender is coming to a close, but at least all things are in place for this beloved show to finish with a very memorable finale.

+ Dials up the show’s gravity and grim themes, generating greater suspense than we’ve seen previously

+ The cast of heroes all get their opportunities to develop, display their heroics, and show how much they’ve grown

+ Having so much of the conflict set on Earth makes the widespread destruction that much more sobering

+ The multi-episode climax is an absolute roller coaster ride of action and emotion

― The season gets off to a slow start, failing to capture the urgency of the mission at hand

― Sendak simply isn’t memorable enough to be the appropriate villain for a conflict this monumental

* ― A special note, it is not lost on me the impact of and the mixed reactions we have seen to Shiro’s sexuality, and the plot point that is his relationship with Adam. I have not ignored them in this review out of any indifference to the very serious subjects. Rather, I thought it inadequate if I analyzed them with a mere paragraph or two as just one part of a whole review, to be promptly left behind as I moved on to the next narrative element in my critique. Shiro’s sexuality, and the responses to its handling―both supportive, and critical―from fans are extremely significant matters to me, matters which I feel deserve to be addressed in a more comprehensive fashion than this review for Season 7 would allow me. My thoughts on those subjects can be found here in a full, detailed editorial.

Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 7 is available exclusively on Netflix NOW. For more Voltron: Legendary Defender coverage from The Geekiverse, check out our reviews for the other seasons.

Jeff Pawlak is the animation buff on the Geekiverse. He’s watched plenty of anime in his time, and he’s glad to see that American studios have started churning out a string of animated epics in recent years. While he eagerly waits for Season Eight of Voltron: Legendary Defender, he points most of his attention to Nintendo video games, giant monster flicks, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and other animated shows and movies. Find him on Twitter @JeffreyPavs

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