Ok... So I've just watched episode 14 of the new Voltron Force cartoon (which I'm still really impressed with, btw), and I think I've got a sense of where this is all going in the remaining 8-10 episodes of this first season. As of episode 14 Inside the Music, we've now seen all five Voltron configurations, beginning of course with Black Center in Episode 2 Defenders of Arus, followed by Red Center in episode 5 Joyride to Doom, after which came Yellow Center in episode 6 The Hunkyard, then Blue Center in episode 8 Deep Blue (my favourite configuration in my favourite episode to date), and now, after what seems like a long wait and much teasing, we've finally seen Green Center.
Each configuration has it's own strengths and weaknesses, each unleashes a different weapon. Black, of course, has the iconic Blazing Sword for up-close combat, Red has a pair of Magma Cannons for long-range combat and fast-moving targets, Yellow has twin Wrecking Maces for heavy assault in the middle range, Blue has Titanic Trident (I just LOVE Blue Center) which seems to be mostly for the manipulation of water and temperature, and Green has the Shield, which can be employed as a spiked projectile boomerang thingy (Interestingly, Green Center is the only configuration to have a different face, which is kinda cool). We've also seen Voltron taken over by Admiral Wade (episode 13 Clash of the Lions), and under those circumstances, slave to Wade's will and put to work as an instrument of conquest and punishment, the special weapon was a sizzling whip.
Now, I half expected Green's unique power to be an invulnerability to Haggarium, and I wasn't far off, I guess, the Shield being a powerful defense - we may yet see it used in that capacity. If the Red Lion's element is Fire, the Blue's is Water, the Yellow's is Earth and the Black is who knows what (Heart, perhaps?), it makes sense for the Green Lion's element to be Air, and certainly forests are the 'lungs' of a planet, and Green pilot Pidge's special thing (as we learned this episode) seems to be music, which is basically waves of sound through a medium, most commonly air.
Red Lion, and by extension Red Center, have a special resistance to extreme heat. Yellow Lion and thus Yellow Center are capable of withstanding powerful blows, rather like solid rock can. Blue Lion and Blue Center operate effectively under, on, in or around water, so what does that leave us? Green Center seemed less vulnerable to the soundwave attacks of the latest Robeast, and it certainly seemed to attack most suddenly and quickly, which is in keeping with Pidge's own strengths. But what of the future? Where do the Cadets fit in? Now that Vince has unlocked all the different configurations,what becomes of him? I rather think the final episodes of the first season will see changes in the regular lineup... it's starting to look more and more likely that Allura will step down as pilot of the Blue Lion to become Queen of Arus, and that Larmina, her royal niece, will take her place. What makes me think this? Well, a couple of things. For one, it wouldn't be that much of a change, Larmina's still an Arusian Princess, albeit one with a bit less maturity and compassion. Her Volt-com weapon is a staff, which isn't too dissimilar to Blue's Titanic Trident I guess. And she's already piloted Blue Lion by herself on a handful of occasions, most recently in Clash of the Lions, an episode in which Coran tells the Cadets that the Lions seem to be able to sense who is and who is not worthy of piloting them. Larmina replacing Allura in the Blue Lion is almost a sure bet.
Of the other adult pilots, Pidge is the only one who seems to have any real life outside Voltron, this most recent episode having revealed that he's a popular and famous musician. I have a sneaking feeling that Pidge is going to be replaced before too long, and most likely by Vince, the other resident tech-genius. I wouldn't be surprised if Pidge's double life turned out to compromise the team's safety in some way. Vince seems like the most logical replacement for Pidge, for as well as the aforementioned tech-genius they share, Vince has piloted Green before by himself a couple of times and hell, their names even sound kinda similar. Although, I can see Larmina ending up in the Green Lion as a somewhat less likely alternative, given that she and Pidge seem to share the same sort of agility and love of music, and that Allura and Vince seem to share a special bond. I think I'd be happier with Vince in the Blue Lion, to be honest.
Which leaves Daniel - bloody irritating, immature, Scrappy-esque Daniel, who doesn't have some sort of innate special quality (Princess or direct descendant of Voltron's creators), which means it's a sure-fire bet that his claim to fame is going to be that he will one day pilot the Black Lion, which has been his dream and ambition since the very first episode. From a narrative standpoint, it makes perfect sense. Which means that something's going to happen to kick Keith out of the command-chair, my guess is that he's going to be injured as a result of Daniel's stupidity, which will be one of the things that will force Daniel to grow up (Keith's uniform even looks a bit like Sven's from back in the old days, maybe it's a hint?). I think Keith's 'retirement' will be tied in to the romantic sub-plot that's been simmering away since before the beginning of Voltron Force - the rivalry between Keith and Lance for Allura's affections.
There's no question in my mind that Daniel will end up piloting the Black Lion and one day becoming the leader of the Voltron team, his character arc is the most classic and predictable of the lot, and he's already the primary audience identification figure. He narrates the intro, he was the first cadet, and indeed the first character that the audience was introduced to, he has the most growing up to do and he's the Cadet who's 'nothing special'. But of the three cadets, he's also undeniably the chief trouble-maker - he's got 'eventual team leader' stamped all over him, like Hot-Rod/Rodimus Prime in Transformers. Also worth noting, Daniel's Volt-com power is the most lion-like of them all, taking the form of glowing lion claws. That's gotta be significant. So yeah - I expect that we'll see at least one of the Cadets graduate by the end of this first season, most likely Larmina, but possibly Vince, as Allura steps down. The times, they are a'changing, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.
