Peace, A Fish Story/ A Desperate Undersea Combining

Whew.  No more of those character-interest stories.  We're back to advancing the storyline!

Peace, a Fish Story

We close in on the asteroid outpost to the sound of Hazar complaining about his exile, and the fate of his people on their dying homeworld.  Hazar broods in his office with Dorma looking out the window at the fleet passing by.  They are both desperate in the face of war against the Alliance.  Hazar deermines to make peace overtures to the Galaxy Alliance.  Again.

The sea team launches from the Explorer and unites as the Aquafighter.  They approach a new planet.  He reports to the Explorer.  Hawkins orders him to begin the investigation.  Cliff warns him to look out for traps.  Crick teases him.  The planet looks a lot like a Jurassic Earth.  Or maybe earlier, like the Triassic.  With no sign of Drule hostility, the team separates to cover more territory.

Lisa sees tracks on the ground heading to the sea.  They circle back for a closer look.  The team follows the tracks and comes upon primitive amphibians--good ol' walkin' fish. 

Hazar tries to get Borgam to cooperate in peace with the Galaxy Alliance.  Hazar is set on finding a new planet and permanent peace with the alliance.  Borgam doesn't like the idea.  Borgam and his captains take a fancy elevator to a different level and do some plotting.  Borgam's got a scheme.

Hazar broods at his desk and Dorma looks out the window.  Again. 

Professor Page has analyzed the data from the sea team.  Yep,  Triassic earth, 300 million years ago.  Hilarity ensues.  Y'know, 'cuz they have to wait 300 million years for the conditions to be the same as Earth.  The Explorer settles into orbit.

The Drule fleet under Borgam is on the other side of the planet.  Borgam explains his plan to his XO.  Amphibious ships (a new design) submerge themselves and Borgam's flagship with two escorts approaches the Explorer.  Borgam calls and arranges for a peace meeting with Hawkins.  Jeff is suspicious.  Borgam's shuttle launches from the robeast chute.  Hawkins goes to his own shuttle.  Jeff and Cliff decide to cover him with their teams.

Borgam lands on a shore of red sand.  Hawkins' shuttle also lands.  The two face one another.  Borgam is no Mongo.  Cliff and Jeff watch the events, and Lisa sees the walkin' fish fleeing the water.  The sea team goes to investigate, and sees the Drule submarines.  Lisa actually says "Suspicous bleep."  Such language.  Borgam is snarky, and Hawkins finally calls him on it and he summons the robeast.  This robeast kind of looks like the one the Lotor clone rode to fight with Lion voltron.  Anyway, the robeast decides to smush Hawkins, and then fires missiles at him.  The Air and Land teams rescue him, and he makes it to his shuttle.  The onslaught of the Voltron teams occupies it from shooting down Hawkins' shuttle.

The Drule fleet moves in on the Explorer and damages the commander's shuttle.  Jeff calls Crick, but they're pinned down by the submarines.  They get trapped under a landslide.  The rest of the team separates and goes underwater after Crick, with the robeast close behind them.  The air team destroys the "remote control" hydrojet fighters, and Jeff blasts Crick free.  The sea team splits up, and they fom Voltron. 

The robeast launches missiles out of his crotch, and knocks Voltron down with a beam weapon in his wrist.  We get a neat view of a schematic designating the solar combat spears and spinning laser blades.  Then they form blazing sword and, yeah, the good guys win.

Voltron bursts out of the ocean and faces Borgam's fleet.  Borgam decides to withdraw. 

At the Drule HQ, Dorma describes the events to Hazar.  He's depressed.

A Desperate Undersea Combining

The Galveston outpost sits on a goofily-wrecked planetoid, surrounded by meteors.  Fleets move in and out.  Sirk watches the Juxon fleet return.  Teles broods.  Sirk tries to convince Teles to take control of Raucher's attack force.  Teles gets up and leaves, telling her to tell Caponero that he'll take command.

The Sea Rugger leaves the Rugger Guard and approaches a new planet.  Ise says he and the fleet will stay overhead when they repeat.  Keats bugs Walter about the last episode. 

The new planet, Triassic Earth, complete with volcanos and Starskey and Hutch music.  Keats begins the survey, the Sea Rugger seperating into its components.  Kaga sees the tracks of primitive amphibians, and then the amphibians themselves. 

In the base planning room, Teles is taking command of the attack force.  Raucher doesn't like the way the meeting is going from the start--he wants to stop Earth's advance.  Teles tells him that that is important, but not the first priority.  He orders Raucher to begin negotiating a cease fire.

Raucher and his captains take an elevator to the hangar bays.  Juxon, who now has white hair, asks Raucher if he's really going to negotiate.  Nope.  Raucher's got a cunning plan that cannot fail.  Teles broods and watches the fleet leave.

The sea team has sent back data on this planet.  Dr. Search tells them that this indeed is like Earth 300 million years ago.  And all the forests will turn into coal.  Somehow the fact that Aki new this is funny.  Ise orders them into a geostationary orbit.

On the other side of the planet, Rauchers miscolored fleet hangs in their blind spot.  He orders an amphibious detachment to lie in wait, and orders his XO to ready the battle attacker.  Racher then takes three ships as part of his peace envoy.

The Rugger Gaurd detects the three ships and Ise and Aki trade looks.  Raucher calls and asks for a meeting.  There's some back and forth, but Ise finally agrees to meet him at the red beach below both fleets.  Aki is uncertain, but Ise is open-minded.

Raucher discusses signals with his XO, then launches his shuttle from the battle attacker port.  Ise goes to meet him.  Aki tells Walter that they should launch and provide security.  Ise's shuttle takes off.

Raucher and Ise meet.  The surf crashes.  Ise wonders why they propose a cease-fire after the most recent attack on earth and the destruction of the frontline base.  Raucher is a smug bastard.  Walter and Aki watch from overhead, while the sea team sees the Ichthyostegai fleeing the sea.  Keats tells Aki that they're going to check it out.  The amphibians seem to be chased by something, then Kaga sees the Galveston subs on sonar.  They move in and find them in formation.  Keats tells Aki, and tells him that they're being quiet, and decides to just watch them. 

Ise is doubtful that Raucher's explanation will be sufficient for a cease-fire.  Raucher complements him, then starts the attack and tries to kill him with a battle attacker.  The Galveston ships also break away from the Rugger Guard.  Raucher runs to his shuttle as the battle attacker tries to squash Ise.  Aki and Walter knock the battle attacker down and Ise boards his shuttle. 

Raucher boards his own flagship and the attack commences.  Ise's shuttle barely makes it through all of the fire.  Walter and Aki find out that Keats is pinned down by the submarines.

We then cut to the Sea Team being pinned down by the submarines.  A rockslide literally pins them down.  Aki and Walter lead the battle attacker underwater, separating and then plunging into the sea.  Aki sends Walter to hold off the battle attacker, and the air team fights through the submarines and rescues the sea team.  Then the teams combine into Dairugger.

The battle attack immediately shoots missiles from its crotch, but uses a beam weapon on its wrist to knock Dairugger down.  Dairugger hits it with the lance and rugger sword, and we see that WEP had actually inserted English text into the weapons readouts.  Dairugger then cuts the battle attacker in half.  The triumphant mecha bursts from the sea and moves in alongside the Rugger Guard, and Raucher's fleet retreats.

At the Galveston HQ, Sirk tells Teles that the negotations have failed, and he misinterprets the events--he doesn't realize that Raucher started the attack himself and that there is still the possibility for peace with Earth.

Lotor's Clone/Mortal Combat of Light and Shadow

awesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesome
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Yeah, this was one of the most memorable episodes for me.

Lotor's Clone

On Planet Doom, Zarkon is berating Lotor for his defeats.  He demands that he rely not on robots, but that he should fight Voltron himself.  Lotor claims Haggar is working on a new scheme that will be sure to work--but Zarkon says he wasn't listening--Lotor should lead!  "Do you mean, from the front?"  Of course he does.

Outside Haggar's laboratory, two robots are discussing Lotor's failures.  They are surprised when Lotor appears.  He asks them what they're discussing, but they play him off.  They think.

Haggar presents Lotor with her new plan--a clone of himself.  One that will look identical, but be faster and stronger.  It will appear that he is leading from the front, but he will be completely safe.  She does some stuff that causes the new clone agony.  The it passes out, and awakens, startling Lotor.  Haggar explains that the clone is Lotor's worst side.  He wants to test the close out immediately.

The two robots Lotor walked in on as they were mocking him are summoned to the arena at night.  The clone, um, deactivates them.  The first one he defeats with his bare hands.  The other . . . um, with editing.  Lotor and Haggar are watching this.  Lotor is pleased.

On Arus, the team is training.  Pidge runs up a cliff, does a backflip, and fires at targets suspended from balloons.  He takes out the balloons rather than the targets.  Keith sternly reprimands him while the rest of the team laughs.  Suddenly, the controls of all five lions go crazy.  It clears up, but the team decides to return to the castle.

At the castle, Coran orders technicians to the backup generators.  The team returns just as power goes out.  Keith at first asks if Coran was testing something, but then all castle operations are disrupted.  Coran is concerned that the lions were affected.  The castle control screen opens up to show a new robeast, one with an enery-disrupting force field.  The team can't use the lions because there's no telling how they'll respond to the disruption.  Keith decides to go sabotage the robeast, using an underwater sled to intercept it at the lake.  The rest of the team will repair additional sleds and try to meet up with him.

As the robeast marches on the castle, Lotor watches and gloats in an observation ship.  His clone is riding atop the robeast.

Lance and Allura work on repairing the other sled while Keith makes his covert run.  Outside, the robeast begins firing charges directly at the castle from its arms.  The team rushes to repair the sleds.  Keith reaches the feet of the robeast and plants spring-loaded mines on  its legs.  The Lotor clone sees bubbles around the feet.  Keith abandons the sled and swims to shore.  The clone throws his axe spear but misses.

The team decides to concentrate their energies on one sled.  The clone, meanwhile, approaches the spear stuck in the river.  Keith jumps out of the water with a speargun, firing his only spear.  He grabs the spear as the clone draws its sword.  Keith is surprised to see "Lotor" leading from the front.  In the observation lounge, Lotor drops his wine as he watches the fight.  The two struggle, until the mines go off and blow the robeast over.  Its disruption field ceases and Coran has power in castle control.  He sees Lotor's observation ship and decides to launch the lions as he watches Lance approach the fight on the other sled.

Lotor is upset that the fight is taking too long.  Haggar explains to him that he can perform a "mind merge" and communicate with the clone.  The clone, with all of Lotor's ambition, doesn't like taking orders from him.  Keith watches the clone talk to himself and figures out what he is.  Lotor orders a soldier to reactivate the robeast.  The robeast tries to smush Keith, but almost his the clone.  The clone swipes at it with its sword.  In response, the robeast vaporizes him.  Keith looks on, and then evades the robeast.  An explosion knocks him off of his feet.

Coran, watching this, deploys the rest of the team.  Just as the robeast approaches to finish Keith off, two spears hit in in the underarm vents.  Lance has arrived.  He collects Keith and takes him back to the castle.  The other three lions buzz Lotor's ship, and then bombard the robeast.  They knock it off its feet with a barrage of missiles, and then black and red lions reappear.  Now it's time to form the big guy.

Keith immediately launches the lion head attack, punching four holes in the poor robeast.  They form the blazing sword and it's a done deal.

After Lotor leaves, the team is back in the rec room, talking about clones while using footage from the Love Bridge episode.  Keith suggests they clone Cheddar.

Mortal Combat of Light and Shadow

On Galra, Daibazaal is displeased with Sincline's bravado.  Apparently the people are calling him all talk.  Sincline tells him Radiomecha Beastman Deadzone will be ready.  Daibazaal says he should go ahead of the beastman and fight Golion himself.

We now get to see the people actually talking as two soldiers discuss Sincline's failures.  They think they get a reprieve . . .

Jaga is warming himself in front of Honerva's fire.  Sincline begs her to clone him.  Honerva is pleased that he has this much need for her services.  Sincline is suprised by the clone's formation.  He's also a little panicked when she seems to be torturing it.  But it's all necessary.  The clone's awakening is actually kinda freaky.  Sincline's reaction is warranted.  However, the clone is twice as strong as a normal person and has a faster nervous system.

In the test, the two gossip soldiers are wondering who summoned them.  The clone basically takes them apart with his bare hands.  We see exposed bone as clone-Sincline plays with his food, and then stabs the soldier with his own sword.  Real Sincline is pleased.

Training on Altea.  Same sequence.  Suzuishi hits the ballons instead of the targets and bounces in his lion.  Then the gauges go crazy.  In the castle, Raible orders technicians to switch to reserve circuits.  The techs wear uniforms similar to the guards', but gray and without helmets.

The team can't use the lions because the beastman's electromagnetic attack affects electronics--Golion's energy would be unaffected, but the controls are just applied electronics.  To me, that's a pretty cool bit of hand-waving to explain how elementally-powered lions are susceptible to an EMP.

Kogane's going to use a scooter.  It's a scoooooter.  It's simple enough to be unaffected by the EMP.

Sincline's observation ship is a pretty cool design.  It actually looks like something out of the Idion, like a Buff Clan ship or something.

Kogane's watch is destroyed by the EMP.  That's kinda cool.  And Sincline-clone is specifically watching for Kogane.  When Sincline drops his blood wine, he's excited to finally see the showdown between Kogane and his, um, other self.  The fight itself is pretty extensive.  I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow account.  Oh, Honerva is videotaping the fight.  Kogane is suspicious because Sincline-clones movements are unnaturally fast.  That corresponds to the moment when Keith says "Lotor's not this good a fighter."

The effect on Sinclines' voice(s) when he's telepathying the clone is a chorus or a flanger turned up all the way, so it warbles.  And the clone's dialogue is a lot more apparent.  That's when Logane figure's out that "this guy" is Sincline's double.

I guess WEP didn't feel they had to edit out the clone's entire death scene, but they did shorten the amount of writhing in blue flames. 

Our combination music today is the black lion theme.  It's been a while since we've heard Formation V, hasn't it?  Oh, hey, an instrumental version of it plays as they smash the radiomecha with the 100-ton punch.