It’s been a few short days since Season 8 of Voltron: Legendary Defender dropped on Netflix, and in that time, it’s gotten quite the mixed reaction. With it being the final season, many fans waited to see how their favorite storylines and ships would conclude. One of the most popular ships people were hoping would be endgame was Klance, the relationship between Keith and Lance. It’s been a fan-favorite since the beginning of the series, but many were disappointed to see Lance end up with Allura, who sacrificed herself in the end for the sake of the universe, leaving Lance single.
But Klance fans should take heart. You may not have seen Klance get explicit confirmation onscreen, but there is much evidence to the contrary that you have every right to believe that they would have been endgame had the series continued. Here are all the major moments that confirm Klance is canon king (no matter what anyone has to say about it).
“We Had a Bonding Moment!”
It’s the moment that started it all — the bonding moment. In “Tears of the Balmera” in Season 1, Team Voltron outmaneuvers Sendak to regain control of the Castle of Lions. In the aftermath, Keith tends to Lance, who’d been unconscious for most of the battle after being knocked out in a bomb explosion. Keith holds Lance and asks if he’s okay. Lance responds, “We did it. We are a good team.”
After Lance heals in the next episode, he and Keith squabble about the latter’s participation in the battle. At one point, Keith insists in a betrayed tone, “We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!” Lance denies it happening. However, writer Tim Hedrick has confirmed since then that Lance does indeed remember the moment, he just wasn’t emotionally ready to go there. Sounds like a certain former Blue Paladin has been trying to sort out some repressed romantic feelings, no?
A Season of Evolution
There’s a reason Season 3 is known as “The Klance Season.” As the team faces big changes, Keith and Lance strengthen their relationship through many close interactions. Lance comes to accept Keith as the new Black Paladin, a position that he himself has desired for a while. Lance’s acceptance, however, makes him the new Paladin of the Red Lion and Keith’s right-hand man. This new dynamic encourages them to support each other.
Season 3 gave us heartwarming moments like Lance calling Keith “team leader” and helping him regain his confidence after Keith realizes he put the team in jeopardy in “The Hunted.” In “Tailing a Comet,” after Shiro rejoins the team, Lance comes to Keith’s quarters to discuss his worries about there being one too many Paladins now. Keith reassures him things will work themselves out and, in an effort to cheer him up, that he should “leave the math to Pidge.” Later in that episode, when fighting Lotor’s generals, Lance saves Keith by shooting away a knife that Ezor throws at him. Lance says, “I got you, buddy,” which makes Keith smile fondly in return. All in all, Season 3 is a wonderful Klance-filled season full of cute moments and more bonding.
Keith’s Back!
Season 6 got dark, no doubt, but one of the shining lights amidst all the angst is Lance’s reaction when Keith returns to the team in “The Colony.” Keith first hails the Castle of Lions from an Altean pod. While everyone else is concerned with what’s happening, Lance’s thoughts wander to Keith’s much bigger size (the result of two years spent traveling in the quantum abyss).
When Keith lands and exits the pod a few minutes later, Lance approaches him first. He questions if he’s actually Keith and “not his bigger, cooler, grizzled older brother.” Keith brushes him off since he has troubling news about Lotor — but Lance looks genuinely disappointed that Keith ignored him. For all their bickering and rivalry, that was quite the flirtatious compliment for Lance to pay Keith. But even more so, it sounds like the perfect cover-up to hide just how much Lance missed him.
Watching the Sunset
Season 8 definitely seals the deal on Klance being canon. In “Launch Date,” Lance finds and joins Keith on top of the Black Lion, and they talk while watching the sunset together. Lance voices some concerns about keeping track of Altean customs so he can date Allura, but Keith reassures him that she likes him, the “annoying, stupid, Earth version” of him. The affectionate teasing makes Lance laugh. Keith then goes on to say that they’re gonna win the war with “the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.” The entire time they share many soft and grateful smiles.
The scene may have been born out of Lance’s insecurities about dating Allura, but if anything, it only reaffirms these boys’ feelings for each other. Keith all but lays bare his true feelings for the Red Paladin, and his playful teasing is more sentimental than competitive. The whole scene feels more natural and romantic than Lance’s actual date with Allura later in the episode. And considering how successful that date was, Klance feels like a guarantee.
We’ve Come a Long Way
Another major Klance moment comes in Season 8’s “Uncharted Regions” after everyone is dismissed from a meeting in the situation room. Lance stays behind, worried about Allura’s fate, and Keith once again reassures him that she’ll be okay. They reminisce about what they were like in the early days of the series, with Keith saying, “We’ve come a long way since then.” They then gather up hope to finish what they started and finally take each other’s hands in determination.
It may not be under ideal circumstances, but this scene shows how far Keith and Lance have come, both as Paladins and in the evolution of their relationship. Gone are the days of being naive, arguing rivals. Now they’re partners who have each other’s back in battle and in life. While it comes toward the end of the series, it’s a perfect segue into the future of their relationship. It instills the hope that, when the time is right, they’ll realize their true feelings for each other and take the next step forward together.
