If Keith is Black Paladin in season 3 (which, if they’re making an attempt to kinda segue into a team dynamic that’s more faithful to the original anime, is most likely) then I really hope they use it as a chance to let his character grow in a positive way in terms of not only his leadership capabilities, but also concerning his relationships with the rest of the team. Like, I can easily see it doing the opposite and causing some major rifts between him and the others, particularly Lance and Allura. I find it interesting that these are the two he’s had the most turbulent relationships with previously; Lance because of his jealously of Keith and feelings of inferiority, and Allura because of her trauma turning into prejudice and distrust. Although his friendship with Allura seems to have been repaired and the situation resolved, the fact that she’s also in a leadership position and that she worked so well with Shiro could very possibly cause further clashes or at least discomfort between them, particuarly in terms of leadership styles. Interesting that these are the three with the most potential for tension between them, and also the three that are most likely to be affected by any changes of piloting roles, based off the original show’s team positions. Anyway. Keith is already so distanced from the rest of Voltron, and the only one who we ever saw he had a close bond with that extended past just a tentative nod of friendship or camaraderie was Shiro. I guess I can make an exception concerning the few scenes he had with Allura in season 2, but it’s a bit of a different situation with Allura. She herself maintains a distance from the Paladins because of her position as their leader. As for the other Paladins, though…. I was hoping we’d get to see Keith integrating himself more firmly into their group dynamic. Outside of the battle scenes, Pidge, Hunk and Lance act like friends. Keith still acts like he’s just their teammate, and has maintained that distance with everyone but Shiro (especially after the Blade stuff started taking up his attention). I was really hoping we’d get to see him finally start making an effort to be closer to the others, but if this new dynamic goes anything like I’m thinking it will, I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon?? It’s always possible the writers could use it as an opportunity for positive character growth; I have the highest hopes for Lance and Keith, should that be the case. Without Shiro there to mitigate their bickering, I can see the tension between them boiling over into some big fight where they realise in the aftermath that there are underlying issues present that are becoming detrimental to the team and need to be addressed. They could actually have a genuine, meaningful conversation for once that eases some of the antagonism betweem them, where they actually LISTEN to each other, and it improves their relationship outside of battle as well. (And I really want that rivalry to be properly addressed, eventually. I noticed that some of it seems far more bitter and genuinly criticizing than the more playful almost-friendly banter they had in season 1, particuarly after the context we were given from the reveal of Lance’s own insecurities and his concern about how he fits into the team. Like? I wasn’t imagining that, right?? Keith was more distant when they bickered, but Lance also started to sound way less playful and far more bitter. Poor kids gotta sort out their shit)

I like?? REALLY wanna see season 3 focus on characters outsideof Keith, cos I love him to death but desperately need Lance and Hunk to get some decent character growth, too. But the issue for me is that even though season 2 gave us more context for Keith’s character, and some nifty reveals about his past, there still wasn’t really any substantial character development. Nothing really changed much?? He knows more about himself, sure, but he still distances himself from the others, he’s still impulsive and reckless and acts too independently on occasion, and I’m worried the sudden role changes are going to rob him of any chance for satisfying character growth on any of those fronts. Especially if he invests so much effort into the mission to find Shiro, which I can easily see Keith doing, that it further distracts him from forging any deeper bonds with the rest of his team.