Still in favorites territory. I partly like this episode because I always like "winter" episodes in my vintage cartoons. Because I've spent a good chunk of my life in that frozen tundra known as the upper-midwest, and always thought it was funny when cartoons have maybe 1 in 50 episodes set in snow. When, y'know, most years like this one, 1 in 50 days is WITHOUT snow.
Sorry. That's just an exaggeration. For comedic effect.
I also like it because it brings back a thread established a few episodes back, and one that will run through to the end of the series (the Romelle/Amue thing). For a cartoon from 1981, this is very Babylon 5-ish, to set something up in a way that's pretty casual and then have it carry through to the end. Of course, anime is different than American prime-time live action science fiction, but it was a sophisticated concept for me when I was 8.
It'll Be A Cold Day
The episode opens on Doom, with Lotor laughing maniacally. His voiceover continues as the scene changes to Romelle and several other slaves in the Doom prison. He plans to use her as bait to capture Allura. He enters her cell, and I bet he's in a bad mood because he put on the wrong animation model--it's a bad face day. He abuses Romelle for a while, then carries her out. Later, she stumbles back into the cell alone, and flashes back to the events on Pollux that led her to this state. The three other slaves tend to her and bring her water. The begin plotting to escape.
Romelle has a plan involving fire.
Guards on duty near the spaceport loaded with Skull Slave Galleys suddenly see smoke, and react the way any guards on duty near expensive ships under a totalitarian regime would: They panic. Romelle and her three co-conspirators board one of the galleys (they were wearing headscarves. To protect themselves from the smoke? As disguises?)
Zarkon in having a feast. Many officers and Lotor are present. An officer in yet another uniform variant approaches Lotor and apprises him of the fact that Morgil is in pursuit of Romelle, who's escaping. We next see the galley fleeing Lotor's fleet. This is the first time we actually see his ships doing things close up (last episode, they just kinda bombarded the team from a distance). Lotor orders his fleet to use only stun beams. The stun beams leave the galley tumbling through space, in flames. That's some nice stunnin', boys. Romelle gets an S.O.S. off to Bandor. Haggar contacts Morgil with a plan . . ,
The team is in castle control. They receive her SOS from the ice planet Neve (clearly named in honor of that frigid bitch from the Scream movies). They see that Bandor is also en route. They launch in the lions and form Voltron.
This is also the first time we actually see the Polluxian trireme-ships in action. Voltron reaches the planet and disassembles into the individual lions (using reversed footage from the Golion opening). Bandor and his men (who fortunately have snowsuits to wear over their togas) drive to the galley in a slick snowmobile. Allura is surprised to find Cheesey, the mouse, hiding in her, um, uniform.
They enter the galley. Allura goes off alone (HOCKEY MASKED KILL-oh, wait) and finds Romelle. Who is actually Haggar in disguise WITH A CHAINSAW--oh. No. Before Haggar can grab Allura, Cheesy attacks her. Bandor comes in and doesn't quite get it, until Haggar reveals herself. The blue cat foes after Cheesy, but Pidge very elaborately kicks him. Bandor goes for Haggar, but she . . . bops him on the head and takes him captive. The team opens fire, but she escapes. They follow her on a Doom-built snowmobile (we'll see then later as air-speeder things).
They lose the witch, but hear Lennie Weinrib practicing his Vincent Price--er, Lotor cackling evilly. Then his ship scrapes to a landing on the ridge above them. He proposes a bargain--Romelle and Bandor for Allura. He threatens her with his laser sword, which is pink today (this must be part of his craggy-face animation model). As the team debates and Lotor gnaws on scenery, a blizzard blows up.
Keith tells Allura to go to Lotor. And he's got a plan. Keith tells Lotor to perform the trade simultaneously. Romelle and Bandor trudge down the hill in the snow, while Allura trudges up and Keith sneaks along with her, keeping in cover. Haggar orders Morgil to prepare the robeast for when Allura is in their clutches.
Keith gets ahead of Allura and uses his belt buckle to attract snow as a disguise. He passes Romelle and Bandor and they don't notice he's not Allura. Just as he reaches Lotor, the Robeast emerges from the snow--and this guy's back to the classic deathhell/Galcia design lineage (I like it, in other words). The team even engages the robeast all old school, ramming into him.
Bandor vows to go back to Lotor for vengeance. Romelle goes with him. Keith approaches Lotor and de-ices and draws his weapon on Lotor. The cat jumps on Keith's face and Keith finds himself held at bay by Lotor's sword--until Bandor shoots the sword from Lotor's hand. He tosses the pistol to Keith, then draws his own sword. Romelle's packing a dagger. Of course. Lotor manages to reverse things again, with Haggar's help. Bandor and Keith are knocked down and Romelle is recaptured. Keith assures Bandor that they'll get her back, then rejoins the team in black lion. They reform Voltron.
Wow, two combination montages in one episode. Was Toei running low on story for this one?
Voltron punches the robeast, who responds with an energy blast "High voltage ray." Amazingly, they wrestle around some more and then we get the blazing sword. First they lop of robeast's arm, then cut him horizontally, and then vertically. Has Voltron been practicing Toyama-ryu?
In a scene cut from another episode, they threaten Lotor, who . . . agrees to release Romelle?! And then Voltron lands in the city ruins on Arus and happy villagers rush to him. Errr . . .
Altea's Sister Planet
This time, we have the narrator explain Amue's situation. With a lot less moustace-twirling laughter (oh, come on, if Lotor had a 'stache, he'd be twirling it). Sincline's abuse of Amue is much more obvious in this one. Again, the narrator does the explaining during the flashback sequence. And the narrator refers to Amue's situation as being "Sincline's plaything." Oi.
Huh. The Galra spaceport fire alarm is the same as Castle Gradam's alarm.
The music the Galra officers like to party to is, as always, completely thwacked out. Again, Sincline is advised that Gobra is pursuing Amue in her stolen ship. Sincline apparently catches up, and instead of ordering his fleet to use "stun beams," he urges them to "KILL THEM ALL."
Just a slight change in translation.
They approach Planet Russel, just as a lone fighter takes one last shot at them. She manages to get off an SOS. Sincline complains that those Golion jerks (actual translations) might show up. Honerva decides to use it to their advantage.
And, the SOS is actually in something like morse code when they hear it in Castle Gradam.
They try out some new sound effects when Golion combines (to the instrumental theme song version).
Seriously, just because the planet's named Heracles, do they really have to wear togas and Roman legion helmets?
Apparently Chuchule told Platt to help out. And when Fala puts Platt back into her . . . uniform to stay warm, Kurogane very blatantly says "I wish I was Platt."
Umm, where'd Amue's fellow slaves go? Probably best not to ask.
Akira Kamiya's laugh is much lower key than Lennie Weinrib's.
Fala says she must go if it means saving Amue and Alor--they're like her brother and sister. Woah, Princess, in the last episode with them, they spend most of the episode plotting to invade your planet! I guess she's the forgiving and not the vengeful type of monarch.
Oh--Sincline actually uses a pistol to prod Amue and Alor into the exchange. I think that's the first time he's used something other than a sword.
The beastman's name is Killwrestler.
Kogane disguises himself simply by switching off his suit's heater, rather than doing some tekspeak thing.
We also see that Sincline's flagship is able to transfer a space coffin into the ground. So that's how they get all the beastmen underground on Altea.
Galra's tactics, and particularly Sincline's, have mostly been to separate one of the lions from the others so they can't form Golion. This is yet another of those attempts. Of course, Sincine is so preoccupied with nabbing Amue again that he sort of just lets Kogane get away and rejoin the team.
For the second Golion gattai scene, they combine to the black lion theme. And, seriously, the first thing they do is use red lion to punch Killwrestler. God, they don't watch enough MMA. I mean, a good grappler is more than a match for any striker. Oh, shit, Golion's using a sword now. Nevermind.
Okay. Killwrestler is dead. Golion lops the top of Sincline's ship off, and Sincline escapes in an escape ship. I guess this does actually happen often enough that it's plausible when WEP just sort of mentions it in the dialogue. And we hear Amue cry out, and Sincline laugh, and Alor collapses to his knees, weeping, while the Golion team all look distraught.
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