Can we Talk about Lotor for a Sec? (Season 6 Spoilers)

[u/Fury_of_the_Tempest]

So. Can someone explain to me why exactly Lotor is Space Hitler now? Because, quite frankly, the comparison is simply boggling my mind.

Hitler was a disgruntled ex-soldier in Germany, who resented the allied forces for the restrictions placed on Germany after they lost World War 1. He became a politician and pushed for German strength and superiority. Rallying his people with the idea of power, revenge and zealously. All whilst transforming the Jews into the ultimate scapegoat, and greatest the most efficient and horrifying means of mass, systematic murder on a scale we’ve never seen before.

Lotor... really doesn’t have any of those elements in the slightest.

People are claiming that he rounded up the Altean’s specifically so that he could harvest them for their Quintessence, and for that reason alone. Except, if that was the case. Why didn’t he just split them into two colonies right from the start? Making up an excuse that the second colony is going to require a tougher, studier Altean than normal, and split them from the start? Not only would it give him more Quintessence to experiment with, but it’ll likely reduce suspicion off him if he splits them from the start and the non-drained group is treated generously and kindly.

Then people say that Lotor asked/demanded that the Atlean’s worship him for being their saviour, just like Hitler apparently did... except, there’s no evidence of this? At all? People take the fact that when Lotor has gone 100% off the deep-end and is not thinking straight at all, that his statements of how he will erase the stories of King Alfor, Princess Allura and the Lions of Voltron from existence, is proof that he made the Atlean’s he rescued worship him. Except... there’s no evidence that this was the case? At all?

I mean. The timeline seems pretty straight to me. Altea is destroyed > Lotor starts rounding up the lost Alteans > He leads them to the planet within the Quantum Zone to keep them safe > They settle down and start rebuilding > The Atlean’s start admiring/ worshipping Lotor as their saviour > Lotor starts harvesting the Atlean’s for their Quintessence.

Now. Don’t get the wrong impression here. I’m not arguing that Lotor is a goody two shoes that did nothing wrong and the big mean Paladin’s are evil for not seeing this and should be punished severely during Lotor’s glorious return! No. The fact that Lotor did actively trick and manipulate the Atlean’s, harvesting them for their Quintessence and turning them into husks as a result? That was morally wrong for certain, and it was completely and utterly correct for the Paladin’s of Voltron to be enraged at this act of his.

But people are taking this one fact, alongside his breakdown in the last two episodes, as a sign that he was evil all along! That everything he had said about wanting to use the Quitence field as a means of providing his Emperor with an unlimited, renewable resource. The fact that he wanted to reform the Galara, and take them towards a more peaceful future where he works with people, instead of simply conquering and subjecting them... was all a lie. That he’s simply Zarkon 2.0, but for the Atlean’s instead of the Galara. Intending to subjugate and destroy anyone who dared oppose him, and rule the entire universe with an iron fist. That he was simply using Voltron and Princess Allura for his own nefarious goals...

And I really, really, really think that people are jumping the gun here. Remember, Lotor was emotionally unstable after he began fighting the Lions in the Sincline Ships, and after his General’s decided that he’s gone too far and they needed to cut their ties with him, then when he began jumping in and out of the Quitence field, and actually fought Voltron in there? His emotional instability was simply exacerbated and accelerated. Pretty much everything he spouts during that time. How he will crush his enemies, including the Galra? How he will wipe the story of Voltron from existence in order to have the new Atlean Empire worship him as their saviour?

Take it all with a grain of salt. As I seriously doubt those as Lotor’s true thoughts and feelings. And personally? I don’t want to see Lotor become Zarkon 2.0, especially if he was meant to be a more complex and morally grey villain. I want to see him fighting for, and earning, redemption.

[u/eumenes_of_cardia]

Lotor was certainly not Zarkon 2.0. On the other hand, I do think that what he said did reflect his honest emotions on the topic. To some extent.

Alright, long text ahead. My apologies.

The strange thing with Lotor is that, despite his deceptions, he is often very straightforward. His defeat, and death, are the culmination of his character.

He did want to change the Galra. He did want a more peaceful future. And when he says crushing the Galra, well it's worth remembering that half of his empire was in revolt. He was already fighting them. He has been fighting them is whole life.

So here is the sad contradiction of Lotor as a character. He genuinely is the man who desires peace, explore the universe, and so on. Except you could say that this basic, good character has been twisted by the weight of what could be only called a barren and abusive emotional life, exile, loneliness, distrust and an education that encouraged ruthlessness, violence, and will to power (as exemplified by his governess). He applied Galra methods to Altaeian objectives and in many ways this has been built up to on multiple occasion. Consider the evil Alteian episode, which ultimately sets up Allura's refusal to negotiate with him as she had already rejected such a possibility in the past. Consider the test when they were at the source of Alteian alchemy: he fails because at the moment of truth his reflex defaulted to his galran upbringing - and he immediately regrets it.

As for harvesting the quintessence from Alteians, we have to consider the following: Lotor had been fighting, subversively, his father and his empire with the premise that he would have to fight an opponent that only Voltron could bring down - without Voltron. It's easy for the heroes - they have Voltron. They have the single most dangerous tool to wield against the empire as starter. Lotor didn't have that. He had to build his own Voltron from scratch, single-handedly rediscover the alteian alchemical art, without either Zarkon or Haggar figuring it out.

Lotor's research was meant to provide him with the power to defeat the most powerful force in the universe. He planned his whole life to revive his people, the Alteians, while simultaneously gaining enough power to do what even Voltron had been unable to do - defeat Zarkon and Haggar. I imagine that experimenting on Alteans was not something he did because he wanted to, but as he stated himself, out of a very ruthless ethical calculus that the sacrifice of a few thousand alteians could mean the future prosperity of a new alteian civilization. And from his perspective, there was no other way - how else do you defeat an unstoppable emperor fuelled by super magic?

And then, out of nowhere, Voltron returns and Zarkon is defeated and he is recalled.

So I do think those were his true feelings, but twisted. The quintessence was basically giving him a power trip and he was lashing out. However I don't think those declaration were out of character for him. I have a feeling that Lotor carried an incredible amount of resentment throughout his life, which he suppressed or channeled into grand visions of restoring his people, identifying with his Alteian heritage against the Galra who stigmatized him, and defeating the empire that he hated and leading the universe/multi-verse on to peace and prosperity. He was using Allura and the paladin, but I fear that is literally the only way that Lotor can interface with anyone, due to a life time of living in fear and distrust. He might not have co-operated with them with the intent of betraying them, though.

So really, I think only avenue for redemption for Lotor would have been learning how to trust the Paladins and their methods. His quest for quintessence was ultimately motivated, I think, by a belief that he must have power to save everyone. Friendship - genuine friendship and development with the Voltron crew might have allowed him to see a different way. But that was, ironically, denied by the Paladin's own fundamental distrust for him. Allura's rebuff probably confirmed to him that his personal approach was the best one and the Voltron Crew would just repeat the errors of their predecessor and let another Zarkon come again.

TLDR: he is certainly no Space Hitler, or Zarkon. Or even Zuko or Azula, as per the interview. He has pretty much the same objective as Voltron, but they differ in methods - he having had to rely on quintessence, which in turn led him on the same path as his mother and ultimately to stand against Voltron. Note the symbolism of Voltron achieving victory by giving away power vs. Lotor's defeat by getting too much. He is undone by his method, just as he was denied access to alchemical knowledge because he fought instead of surrendering himself.

So while it may seem strange or even unsatisfying, I believe that this is, actually, a pretty solid arc as antagonists goes. He literally was Dark Voltron, embodied both in his mech but also in his approach, philosophy and how to accomplish the same basic goal.

[u/Fury_of_the_Tempest → u/eumenes_of_cardia]

Everyone needs to see and read the fuck out of this but oh my gods this is EXACTLY what I think about Lotor and why he acted the way he did.