SPOILER ALERT: Warning, this article contains major spoilers from the Season 7 premiere of Voltron Legendary Defender titled “A Little Adventure.” Proceed at your own risk.
Voltron: Legendary Defender had quite the announcement-filled San Diego Comic-Con panel this year. We learned the series will be wrapping up its story after 26 more episodes. Also, during the premiere of the first episode of Season 7, fans discovered that Shiro, the Paladin of the Black Lion, is gay.
The new episode, called “A Little Adventure,” flashes back to Shiro’s days at the Galaxy Garrison, where it’s revealed that Shiro is sick but still wants to fly on an upcoming mission. His stubbornness leads to an argument between him and his flight partner, Adam, about his decision.
That’s how we learn that Shiro is gay and in a relationship with Adam. Unfortunately, for Shiro, that relationship ends when Adam tells him, “Don’t expect me to be here when you get back.”
We learn about Shiro’s previous relationship with Adam at a time when the show is nearing its end. But that’s not a problem. In fact, the timing couldn’t be better.
We Weren’t Expecting This
While the response to Shiro’s sexuality has been positive, the moment was definitely a surprise. For one thing, Voltron has never really been about romantic relationships. Allura and Lotor developed feelings for each other and even kissed before Lotor’s betrayal in Season 6. And of course, Lance has been head-over-heels in love with Allura since day one. But other than that, the focus has been on the story and platonic relationships.
Second, a lot of fans ship “Klance” — the romantic pairing between the characters Keith and Lance. It’s become one of the most popular ships in Voltron and pop culture as a whole. With all the theories and perceived hints in the show, it seemed like Klance was going to be Voltron‘s endgame LGBTQ relationship.
And while Klance could still happen — no one’s ruled it out — Shiro being gay is the more effective choice. If Klance were to happen now, it might be seen as something the Voltron staff included because of fan requests, which could diminish its impact. Not a lot of people expected Shiro to be canonically gay, so his reveal feels more meaningful for representation.
Why Now Is the Right Time
We could’ve discovered Shiro’s sexuality at any point in the series, and it still would’ve been great for representation. But the fact that it’s done well into the series, after a major arc has ended, makes it even better. Shiro is already a well-established as the leader of Team Voltron — whose dark history with the Galra resulted in him being cloned.
Learning that he’s gay doesn’t change any of that. In fact, if we learned this at the beginning of the series, then it might’ve become Shiro’s defining characteristic. Luckily, it didn’t happen that way. Instead, his sexual identity is just another part of his character, and that makes the moment seem natural.
How we learn about Shiro’s sexuality is equally important. The creators decided to use a flashback instead of a big “coming out” moment with the main cast. That means Shiro being gay was a pre-series fact. It’s refreshing that his sexuality isn’t the central plot of the episode or flashback. Rather, the flashback focuses on Adam’s departure after his argument with Shiro about the latter’s mission. The creators don’t make Shiro’s sexuality a big deal, which is what makes this scene so great.
Instead of a boyfriend, the staff could have written in a girlfriend for Shiro and the story wouldn’t have changed. So the decision to include this in Shiro’s storyline is important and speaks volumes. It showcases what’s been true all along — LGBTQ representation can be included in media without taking over the character’s persona, and that’s perfectly alright.
Hollywood, Take Notes
Unfortunately, the way Shiro’s reveal is handled isn’t representative of most media. Some popular franchises have recently confirmed their characters to be queer, but only after their movies were released. For instance, Dumbledore from Harry Potter was recently revealed to be gay, Valkyrie from Thor: Ragnarok is bisexual, and Lando Calrissian from Star Wars is pansexual. Revealing these characters’ orientations in this manner has lead fans to criticize these films creators for tacking on token LGBTQ representation.
These franchises can learn something from Shiro, though. Right now, they seem to be doing these post-release reveals just to fulfill the pressing demand for representation, which leads to the criticism. Voltron, instead, simply dives into the argument scene with Adam and tackles Shiro’s sexuality on-screen. Other creators should follow Voltron‘s lead and include natural moments like this in their media. Doing so would allow them to break free from criticism and provide genuine representation.
Stories We Can All Relate To
Sure, it’s still important to have big “coming out” narratives, especially for fans going through similar situations. But unless the story calls for it, take a cue from Shiro. If you don’t make a big fuss about how to include LGBTQ representation and just do it, then fans will love it and make a big fuss for you.
It’s time to stop reaching for that pat on the back and get to work creating positive representations of LGBTQ relationships and people. That way, we can weed out the discrimination and tokenism and focus on creating awesome stories that we can all relate to. Trust Voltron, it works.
You can see how Shiro’s relationship with Adam plays out when Season 7 of Voltron comes to Netflix on August 10.
