The Alliance Strikes Back

The Alliance Strikes Back

We get an interesting little opening montage this time around.  Coran proclaims the castle of lions as a symbol of hope for those fighting against Zarkon.  Hunk starts out with the uprising on Zahl, and then Stryde the Tiger fighter--and Stryde's recolored to be pretty badassed in olive drab.  Then Hunk's little buddies have driven off Doom forces as well.  Maryanne reprogrammed all the captured robots.  Then we get a montage of oddly-colored skull slave galleys being destroyed by a Galaxy Alliance fleet.

The team decides to bring the fight to Zarkon.  They launch in the lions. 

Zarkon's purple and blu flagship is approaching Doom.  As he lands, he is dismayed to see there is no welcoming party--they're all fighting and then the robot talking to him gets blown up.  The lions are making a surprise attack.  They destroy some robot ships, then they form Voltron.

Zarkon launches all the rooster frigates from the last episode of the first season.  Voltron destroys them using the same footage.  Running out of animation budget, guys?  Zarkon and Haggar discuss defeating Voltron in direct combat.  Then Lotor takes Zarkon's ship to attack Voltron.  Then we get some dialogue that's supposed to pass for humor.  Then Merla tries to dissuade Lotor from this potentially self-destructive battle.  It doesn't work.  Merla's not feelin' too evil anymore.

Lotor's ship lands on the Uranium plateau and deploys his battalions in a Mastodon formation.  Voltron arrives and the skull tanks fire on him.  Zarkon and Haggar are watching.  When it looks like Lotor is winning, Zarkon pushes a switch on his sceptr, and suddenly the skull tanks launch cables and ensare Voltron.  Lotor is surprised.  Then Zarkon sets Lotor's ship on a collision course.  Haggar pleads on Lotor's behalf.  Rather weakly.  Then Merla tries her whammy on Zarkon and it doesn't work. 

As Lotor's ship is v-e-r-y s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y closing in on Voltron, he and his robots try to retake control.  Then Merla shows up in her pegasus mecha that we've never seen before.  She melts the cables.  Voltron breaks free, destroys the tanks, and crashes, out of power.  Merla gets all philosophical.  Zarkon doesn't like this turn of events.

Lotor staggers out of his ship, and then robots arrest him.  Merla tries to rescue him, but her weird mecha is disable by an explosion from the downed flaghip.  Then the robots have Lotor chained to a tree at the Pit of Skulls.  There are some goofy-looking attempts at the Doom council from the first season.  Zarkon and Haggar arrive and sentence him.  As an example. 

Merla regains consciousness outside her mecha and her pet vulture tells her that they're going to execute Lotor.  In footage from a different epsiode, Pidge and Hunk discuss the mysterious mecha.  Then Merla appears.  Where ARE they?  It doesn't look like Doom.  Merla throws down her weapon and urges them to help Lotor.  Then Pidge suddenly remembers that the horse mecha was Merla's.  They finally decide to help Lotor. 

Lotor his hanging on the tree.  of Woe.  (Contemplate this).  The Voltron force and Merla disable the guards and get Lotor down from the tree.  Then searchlights come out of the SKY and find them.  Merla leas Lotor away and the team shoots a bunch of robots.  Merla gets Lotor on the horse mecha and Zarkon throws a tantrum.  He fires a beam weapon that melts her mecha.  It crashes and Merla flies out.  Then her Fish Speakers come out of her star cutter with jetpacks and rescue her.  Lotor crawls out of the horse and Merla tries to talk to him with her mind.  Lotor wonders what it would be like to be good.

The team is running, and Haggar opens up a fissure and releases a robeast.  A big, fishy robeast.  Gods.  A mecha-grouper.  It shoots giant quills and then opens its mouth to fire a beam weapon.  Keith runs out to Voltron and then has the team run to Voltron in his wake.  This was your plan?  Then Voltron lifts off and faces the fishbeast.

Voltron gets knocked down by the fish beam weapon, then try to hold it off with an assortment of weapons, and very awkwardly kick the robeast.  Then they form the blazing sword.  They throw the sword to destory the fish.  They throw the sword at the base.  Haggar grumbles.  Voltron leaves for repairs, and Zarkon apparently has a personal grudge against Voltron.  He didn't before?  Voltron is escorted by some Galaxy Garrison ships from nowhere.