Finally finished it. Well, that's...one way to end a season. Huh.
I liked it overall but there are some odd choices.
Pros
- The core cast is great. All the Paladins and Allura are far better characters than in any other incarnation of the show. I like all of them and want to see more of them, even the ones I didn't particularly like in the original
- There's not much forward motion in terms of the overall battle against Zarkon, but I feel like once that gets going with other planets joining the alliance, some really cool stuff could happen
- Some pretty smart ideas for battle sequences and tactics in places
- Rides the line between goofy and serious well
Cons
- The music is terrible. Not a single memorable track in the whole thing, and the main theme is anemic and anticlimactic. They should have used an updated or remixed version of the original theme, or at least something with some actual oomph to it.
- As a result of the weak music and the fact that they don't do the "Form feet and legs!" routine, the combination sequence lays there like a slug every time it happens. Just dead space with lifeless background music lolling around hoping to keep your attention.
- Speaking of which, I get why they toned the sentai elements way down, but the show could really use a bit more of the cheesy "Let's go Voltron Force!" kind of stuff in places. The original show leaned on it too much, but they pulled back on it too far here, IMO
- The biggest missing element for me is the idea of Voltron as a separate entity/character. The lions are treated as semi-sentient/autonomous, which is good, but Voltron himself is oddly hollow. In the original series there was always this sense that Voltron himself was sort of the sixth member of the team, with the pilots always reminding people to give credit to him for the day's victory and such. Voltron could really stand to be more of a presence in this show in that way.
Overall, while I sometimes got the impression that the show was a pitch that was adapted into a Voltron reboot more than it began life as a Voltron reboot pitch, the toughest part is making these paper-thin original characters into real people, and I think this show does that above and beyond the call of duty. If the second season can double down on Voltron as its own entity, and really congeal the team behind that idea to recapture some of the charm of the original, I think it'll become some thing really special.
And seriously, get new music and/or a new composer ASAP. The original Voltron theme is gold. Work with it.