there’s a misconception that i want to correct about lance and keith’s dynamic in the franchise: the idea that lance and keith were at odds/rivals/hated each other in past continuities, when in fact they had always been best friends.
isamu kurogane (GoLion)/lance mcclain (DOTU/80′s):
leadership: kurogane/lance was kogane/keith’s right-hand man who respected and protected him. he never expressed any interest in leading the team or any jealousy/resentment towards kogane/keith. they had one argument that was precipitated by fala/allura being injured and was never brought up again. kurogane/lance was kogane/keith’s best and most trusted friend, whose input was sought out and taken into consideration.
romance (lance mcclain only): lance may have still been crushing on allura, but he prioritized his friends’ happiness over his own desires. when allura was upset about keith’s absence, lance was concerned for both of them. when they started dating, lance was happy for them. there was no drama.
leadership: lance frequently drove keith nuts and recklessly disobeyed certain orders, but he was loyal to keith when it mattered. he was also very protective of him, to the point of following him to certain meetings to ensure that he wouldn’t get hurt. they had one ridiculous fight (in which keith pulled a gun on him?? tf?), but otherwise, lance mostly just made his life difficult while also being 100% ready to die for him at any given moment. lance was keith’s best and most trusted friend, despite snarking at him all the time.
romance: lance was way too concerned with cooing at the red lion to pay any attention whatsoever to keith’s little crush on allura.
leadership: lance led the team in keith’s extended absence, but when keith returned, he was still incredibly loyal towards him. they actually had an argument as to who would die for the other (”are we really arguing about who gets to make the noble sacrifice?” “only if you won’t let me do it!”) because they’re Extra like that.
they did have some minor tension in terms of leadership because: a) keith had been gone for ages, and lance had become accustomed to leading in his own way; b) the cadets (all young teens) were preparing to take over for the previous paladins, and keith kept asking when they were going to leave, while lance basically adopted one of them immediately because he loves kids.
if VF hadn’t been canceled, we would have probably seen keith continue as king of arus and lance continue leading the kids, without any serious conflict.
lance was keith’s best and most trusted friend, one of the few people capable of making him smile.
romance: certain writers planned to create a love triangle, but what they actually accomplished was making lance ridiculously close to both keith and allura, who randomly hooked up near the end of the series, to the confusion of everyone around them (not just lance, but also hunk and pidge). in fact, lance was so close to both of them that allura included lance in the discussion that really only pertained to allura and keith as the rulers of arus, because, y’know, he’s their best friend! i’d argue that lance had better chemistry with each of them individually than they had with each other, but hey, what do i know? regardless, there was no jealousy or resentment of any kind in this regard.
lance has always been keith’s best friend. it was only very recently, under unique circumstances, that they had a “rivalry” of any sort. they never fought over leadership or allura in the way that many people assume in any past continuities.
i can only hope that s8 delivers something akin to their classic best buddies dynamic.
