Season 6 of Voltron: Legendary Defender is as satisfying as it is thrilling. With all that excitement, it’s easy to miss some special references the show makes. In Season 3, it calls back several times to its 1984 origins of Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Season 6 expands on this, including references from Defender of the Universe, the Legendary Defender comics, and even the show’s real-life staff. Here are the best easter eggs from Season 6 of Voltron.
Siblings Then and Now
This season introduces two new characters to the fray: Romelle and Bandor. Even if you haven’t watched Defender of the Universe yet, you’ve likely seen these two names at some point. In the 1984 series, Romelle and Bandor are princess and prince of Planet Pollux, the evil, warring twin planet of Arus. As such, they’re distant cousins of Princess Allura of Arus. Also, Romelle prefers peace over war, unlike her home planet, but later becomes a rebel to fight against the Drule Empire.
Romelle and Bandor return with some modern changes in Legendary Defender in “The Colony.” In this incarnation of the show, these two are neither royalty nor related to Allura, but their sibling bond is as strong as ever. Here, they’re Alteans, like Allura, that Lotor saved after Zarkon destroyed their planet. However, Bandor dies due to Lotor harvesting his quintessence later on. Like her predecessor, Romelle becomes the odd one out when she questions Lotor’s true motives while everyone else worships him. And now that she’s with Team Voltron, she’s on her way to becoming a fine rebel as well.
The Legacy of a Name
This reference is actually a small nod to the origins of the origins. Defender of the Universe is the American adaptation of the Japanese anime, Beast King GoLion. The ’80s series changes the plot, dialogue, and names of characters. One of the GoLion characters is Prince Sincline of the Galra Empire who becomes Prince Lotor of the Drule Empire in Defender of the Universe.
Legendary Defender‘s Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire is an adaptation of both versions of the character. But the name Sincline still exists in the Netflix version with the three ships Lotor’s been building called Sincline ships which are a clear nod to the original anime prince. It’s only in the Season 6 episode “The Black Paladins” that we first hear Lotor call them this.
Tributes Are Go!
Trademark lines are key in any franchise, and Voltron has no shortage of them. In Defender of the Universe, whenever the team is about to form Voltron, Keith leads the way by giving a series of commands. In order, he says, “Activate interlock, dynotherms connected, infracellls up, mega-thrusters are go!” While it can get repetitive, Keith’s commands are an iconic part of Voltron.
Thankfully, Legendary Defender doesn’t go through this for every Voltron formation sequence. But Keith’s famous words have now found their way into the new series twice. The first time was in Season 1 when Allura and Coran first start up the Castle of Lions. The second time was in the Season 6 episode, “The Colony” when Lotor and Allura go through a pre-flight checklist for his Sincline ship. As Allura confirms steps, she says, “Infracells up,” “Dynotherms connected,” and “Mega-thrusters are go.” This was a great way to pay respect to the original series.
The Return of the Pearl
Legendary Defender does an amazing job of tying all its storylines together with continuity. Yet when they work in material from beyond just the various TV show sources, they take Easter eggs to a whole other level. Over the last two years, Lion Forge Comics published several Voltron comics. The first five issues of volume #1 focus on Team Voltron having to complete a quest to save Coran from an old enemy. Their goal is to find and retrieve a Yalexian pearl to exchange for Coran’s freedom. A Yalexian pearl is a giant rare pearl that comes from the middle of a Yalex, an enormous spider-like creature.
The events of that comic fall into the middle of Season 1, after “Rebirth.” Fast-forward to Season 6’s “Monsters & Mana,” where the team plays the titular game together. When Allura and Lance join the game, Coran explains the rules, including that players must roll a 20-sided dice. Stunned by the number of sides, Lance exclaims that “it’s gotta be the size of a Yalexian pearl.” To the casual viewer, this might seem like a throwaway bit of space lingo. But for fans who know the comics, it’s an acknowledgment of past adventures not seen onscreen.
Cameo Goals
One particularly fun Easter egg involves the real-life crew of Voltron. Again, in the episode “Monsters & Mana,” Pidge and Hunk’s game characters enter an inn only to see a bunch of alien patrons staring back at them. They seem like random faces at first glance, but they’re actually based on the real people who make Voltron, including producers and directors. It’s a nice shout-out to the crew for all the epic work they put into making an awesome show.
While Voltron: Legendary Defender can get quite intense at times, it’s great that it can still find moments to work in little Easter eggs for fans to spot. Season 6 had plenty to find, and if we’re lucky, we’ll hopefully see more in the future.
