A Paladin's Philosophy

Kuratas, a mecha made by Suidobashi Heavy Industry at the Maker Faire Tokyo (2012). Photo by Kazuyoshi Kato. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en.

By Wynter Alexander

The five robot-lions which form the eponymous mecha (giant mobile robot) Voltron in the iconic 1980s animated series are operated by five chosen paladins who must save the universe from the evil alien Galra Empire. In the recent remake of the 80s franchise, Netflix’s original Voltron Legendary Defender, there are many thought-provoking concepts present within the writing of the script. Some of these are crucial ideas that are a part of philosophical tradition.

In the first season when the team of protagonists had just begun successfully forming Voltron, the paladin of the green lion, Pidge, says that she wants to leave the team so she can look for her brother and father on her own. She tells the leader of the group, Shiro, that she is sorry and that they will need to find someone else to fly the green lion. However, it was established that the lions are the ones who choose who can be their paladin as there are, compellingly, some spiritual components to forming Voltron. Therefore, if Pidge left the team, they would not be able to form the mecha form of Voltron and fight evil aliens. Shiro understands her decision and tells her that he will not force her to stay and that it is her decision. Keith on the other hand, who in the future ultimately takes Shiro’s place as the leader, blocks Pidge’s way. He tells her:

Keith: You can’t leave!

Pidge: You can’t tell me what to do.

Keith: If you leave, we can’t form Voltron. You’re putting the lives of two people over everyone else in the rest of the galaxy!

Shiro: Keith, that’s not how a team works.” (Voltron Legendary Defender Netflix, Season 1 Episode 3)

The three paladins have different approaches to the dilemma which doesn’t just say things about the characters; it also gives us an example of how we can act when situations like these come up in our personal lives. A dilemma is when we are in a situation where we must choose between two options with undesirable consequences with either decision. Most of our language can be broken down into equation-like elements utilizing symbols. A dilemma’s symbols would look like the following example.

Either a or b.

If a, then c.

If b, then d.

Therefore, either c or d.

When applying these symbols to the situation, Pidge is dealing with, she can either stay with team Voltron to work on a plan to take down the evil forces of the Galra, or leave Voltron to fend for herself and try to find her brother and dad on her own. If she should leave, the chances of her finding her family and surviving in space by herself would be very slim. Plus, even if Pidge should manage somehow to find her family, by not participating as a Voltron Paladin, she would be leaving every other person in the universe to die. If she should decide to stay, she would have to wait longer to find her brother and dad, but since she does ultimately end up changing her mind about leaving, Pidge is reunited with them in later seasons of the show. I’m saying all this to note that the team is clearly dealing with a dilemma, which has been one of my favorite topics to learn in logic and philosophy.

With that established, I wonder who is truly right in this situation and if there are other concepts of philosophy I could notice just within this one episode. Personally, I agreed with Keith. Since Pidge is such a small, young girl, her smart personality would not be sufficient to help her survive a trip through space. I also think the mental weighing of the entire population of the universe vs. two family members really makes the situation logically and morally more clear.

I do find it interesting that Shiro seems to prioritize free will and that he seems to allow Pidge to make this choice because he respected her enough to do so. As the team leader, he very much could force her to stay, but he doesn't. Knowing that all five lions are needed in order to form Voltron, and that that is the only way to save the universe, I find it careless of Shiro to leave the 15-year old to make that decision for herself. It makes me ask questions about the definitions of these concepts in the minds of the character, such as does giving someone their free will also mean allowing them to do dangerous things because they can choose to do so?

Ultimately, the show has many other examples of small concepts such as this which truly help the series feel more real and human. It also has helped me to understand concepts in my real life and philosophy class.

Wynter Alexander is a sophomore at CT State Tunxis.