lmao this is a real old ask from back when we only had up to season 6 and I’ve never gotten round to answering. RIP sorry bout that Dia. At least I can write more with s7 at the least
But yeah, loyalty is a very strong sociocultural (biological as well?) element found in the galra. I think in part, the root comes from the fact that betrayal in the galra is just as common. Think back to s6ep1, and Bogh’s non-reaction to his lieutenant’s betrayal. He’s not phased at all.
It’s almost like he must experience such betrayal on the regular that shit like this doesn’t even bother him anymore. There’s also that one scout from Krolia’s flasback in s6ep2 who states matter-of-factly how Krolia’s looking for glory when she goes to attack him.
Such betrayals are expected at this point. And frankly, while I do love roasting Acxa for this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of betrayals she’s gone through on the show (5) is actually the norm for the average galra soldier, and not the outlier.
How does this tie back to the idea of the galra and loyalty? Well, if the galra have an ingrained culture of betrayal, to the point that it’s seen as a normal everyday thing, absolute loyalty must be considered one of the highest forms of respect and love among the galra. Imagine how hard it must be to be loyal in a culture where betraying is so internalized? You must really care for that person or people or heck, ideals, for you to give it all, no matter how internalized the opposite is.
So you guys know how the galra have these weird eye marks on their chest plates right? like these
kinda look like eyes a bit. You know what might actually be the source of these?
the blovar raptors that found on this planet Krolia created for the simulator. Perhaps they were an old animal found back on Daibazaal, that are of course, extinct.
What’s interesting though is how all the armor incorporates elements of this in em. Maybe these animals were a symbol of power in the galra? Think of it sort of like how in many cultures animals represent things, like how the dragon represents power in the Eastern Asian cultures (a simplification, of course). Regardless, it’s a pretty cool detail they’ve got going on.
The Galra’s history with other species is utterly fascinating to me. They are incredibly diverse, while actively deny their connections to other groups in the galaxy. Observing how they are drawn throughout the series leads me to believe that this was the creators’ intention.
Anytime the past is shown, only this style of Galra is drawn (Space Mall & Legend Begins are two most notable). The people protected by Bogh’s shield station are of this type as well. Features such as markings, hair, eyebrows, skin color and crest/facial extrusions vary. But everyone has butterfly-shaped ears, long faces, yellow eyes and red pupils. Prior to Daibazaal’s destruction, they occupied all areas of society: King, soldiers, servants, aristocrats, and scientists. There are no furry or manta ray types to be seen, which pushed me to question my thoughts on genetic variety being caused by Daibazaal’s climate. Are we to believe that they had no place in Zarkon’s court prior to the planet’s destruction? Or could it be that the furry and manta ray type are mixed Galra?
I’ve never really made much of a deal bout this but I’ve never been a fan of giving the galra animalistic (usually cat-like) traits such as bleping. To me, that kind of thing doesn’t really go along with how the show presents the galra. They’re not really meant to be space cats, but really, are meant to be space vampires.
The creators themselves compared the Galra Royal family to vampires, which makes sense. Zarkon is almost entirely driven to find Voltron since the beginning to use it to farm quintessence from the rift.
In a sense, it’s very similar to how vampires usually are depicted as entities entirely driven by the search for blood. Much in the same way vampires hunt down people to suck their blood, the galra will go great lengths to acquire quintessence and the resources to obtain quintessence. Hence all the mining colonies we see from the beginning in s1, where as pointed out in the show, the galra took without giving back to the point that the colonies nearly died (like the Balmera). Very much in the same way we’d see vampires suck their victims dry of the blood their victim need.
And we see this most importantly in the designs of the characters themselves. There’s a reason why there’s not really a uniform galra look in the same way all Alteans are space elves. Cause like vampires in history, the galra have a varied look. The only things that define galra are the jaundiced eyes, blue or purple skin (like a corpse), pointy carnivorous teeth, and long talons. All of which are found in vampires across many cultures.
One of the biggest mysteries since season 1 were what are the Druids, and what do they look like, and where does Haggar get them from. There have been many speculations from corrupted Alteans to Lotor clones to dead Alteans revived and used by our favorite necromancer Haggar. It seems like the show is finally going to answer it now that Haggar is seemingly in control -of even Sendak I bet- as the trailer implies the Galra have new weapons and s5 reference to Sendak being her puppet.
The Druids have specific cuts on their arms, and now bandages, that the person Keith fights has as well, so it’s very possible to Haggar is creating them now faster than ever, be it from the Altean colony Lotor left behind with thousands of corpses or other methods. There seems to be an army of them now so their production must be urgent and clumsier. Perhaps it has something to do with this shot
Look at the mark on the man’s forehead, that says an interesting story all on its own.
The Galra side is built around the mantra that the dead or potentially dead fav is fine. Narti? She just sleeping she’s coming back. Ladnok? We didn’t see her die. Gnov? Didn’t show up after Kral Zera she’s off gathering more Galra. Throk? He’s alive and coming back with a hate boner to mother and son. Trugg? She’s alive with half her face eaten. Sendak? Oh he’s doing great on he’s way to earth. Thace and Ulaz? Married and off somewhere. Antok? A clone or something idk but he’s fine.
superheroladies 