What do you think of Keith’s leadership skills at the beginning of S3? To me he was acting in a “I’ll prove I can’t be as good a leader as Shiro” kinda way…

dent-de-leon:

Oh that’s an interesting way to look at it! To be honest, I think he was mostly off his game because he was somewhat…resentful. He didn’t want to “replace” Shiro, and even begs Black not to choose him. It takes a lot of convincing for him to actually agree to it. And when he does step in to lead–people start to fight him on it, and he gets pissed. Because it’s very clear this is something he didn’t want, and he’s got all this anger and self-loathing built up that he’s just redirecting. “Please, no.” “First you want me to lead, then you complain about how I do it.” “I never wanted to be the leader! That’s just what Shiro wanted!” “You wanted me to be the leader? This is how I lead.” It’s kind of like saying, “You asked for this, so just deal with it.”

He didn’t want for this. He didn’t ask for this. He hates himself for having to do this. So when he’s forced into this position of authority against his will and then faces opposition–from the very people who put him there in the first place–he lashes out again. The way Keith fights with the others over “teamwork”–“Everyone stay out of my way!” that is just as much apart of the grieving process as his relentless search for Shiro. They tell him move on and then try to pull him back right after. When Keith starts throwing his life–and his team–away on careless risks, single-mindedly chasing after his goal, he throws his teammates’ words right back at them. 

“But our mission is bigger than any one individual. Even those who are completely irreplaceable.” “It’s not about the team. We have a mission that’s more important than any one of us.” They want him to put the mission before Shiro? Fine. Then the mission takes priority over everyone and everything else too. I don’t think anyone except for Allura really understood the gravity of what Keith was sacrificing. When he agreed to lead Voltron, he felt like he had nothing else to lose. 

His one constant, the one person who never abandoned him, who he undoubtably loved–they were gone, and all Keith had was the mission. So of course he throws himself into it headfirst with everything he’s got. This is what happens when you push someone before they’re ready, when you tell them to move on when they’re still shattering. 

I think that, at the beginning, Keith is so volatile and aggressive because he’s still working through the grieving process. And while it’s clear there is this innate desire to make Shiro proud and not let him down–“I know this is what you wanted for me, Shiro” “This one’s for you, Shiro”–it’s overridden by his his own inner turmoil. Does he want to fulfill Shiro’s last “dying” wish? Of course. Keith feels he owes him at least that much. But more than anything else he wants to run out and find Shiro and bring him back. If he can’t do that, if he’s told he has to sacrifice everything for the mission then, well–then the others shouldn’t be surprised when thats what he does.

This is what you all wanted, right?