aceofspeight:

About Keith’s “age up”

So I’ve been noticing a LOT of people confused about this “two year” time lapse in season six, and I thought I’d say a little something about Keith’s “age up,” because it makes perfect sense to me.

In short: it was necessary because it shows an immediate sense of growth and maturity.

First, a few days, weeks, even months probably couldn’t get Keith the closure he needed to have with his mother. Keith is a very closed off guy. The only person he ever REALLY trusted was Shiro, who we now know was his guardian/mentor since he was a kid. Keith needs a lot of time before he can get comfortable enough to let down his guard, and having him spend a good amount of time with his mother allowed that bond to strengthen.

Second, it gives the mission a real purpose. I mean it REALLY shows the dedication of these two that they would spend YEARS on a space whale (to be fair they couldn’t go anywhere, but still) and not falter with their goal and mission. If the mission were just a few months, I think it wouldn’t have the sense of importance as it does when we learn it took TWO YEARS to cross. Two years makes us, the viewer, step back and think twice about what’s next! Anticipation and all that.

Third, two years is a good amount of time (especially at the 18-19 year old mark) to really mature. Keith probably learned a lot from his mom about leadership during that time, and Keith probably had a lot to ponder about his role on Voltron and as the former Black Paladin. Clearly we see when he returns he doesn’t HESITATE to take up the mantle. Before in his immaturity, he felt he “couldn’t live up” to being the leader, but with two years’ time to think about it, he probably learned that being a leader isn’t about “being worthy” so much as it is just stepping up to the plate. I’ll be so interested to see how he’s developed in maturity in other ways, but one especially of note was seen in Black Paladins, when Keith didn’t even consider what Clone!Shiro was saying to him when he called him “broken.”

At this point Keith understood through the two years of development, with another great parental figure at his side during that time, Krolia!, that he was loved and most definitely not broken. That’s maturity gained in that two years. That’s Keith’s GROWTH as a person, a leader, man, knowing that the Shiro he was raised by would never call him broken. A younger Keith might have doubted or gotten angry, but instead he did exactly what Shiro would’ve done, and he didn’t give up on him. That’s just, SUPER MATURITY. That’s knowing who you want to be and being that person. That takes time, and those two years helped guide him there.

And finally: space time travel is just cool!!!!! Yay!!!!!!