The Sleeping Princess is the thirtieth episode of the lion series of Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
Plot Summary[]
Prince Lotor sleeps in his bed. Dreaming, he sees an image of a blond-haired woman from a distance. Spears are thrown at him as he approaches. The face of the woman then morphs to that of Princess Allura. Hands grab her throat and a shadowed figure keeps her from the prince. Lotor wakes up with a violent start.
The next day, in the Castle Doom spaceport, a staffer announces that Princess Corral of Deimos has arrived. And she steps from her spacecraft. She is a woman with red hair, wearing a veil over her face. Lotor meets with his father King Zarkon in the throne room. Zarkon announces that Corral will be his bride. Lotor, wanting Allura to be his future queen instead, protests. Zarkon is insistent that his son marry Corral. Corral says something in a foreign language, and Haggar announces that she will learn the Doomite language.
In another room in the castle, Corral and Haggar speak to the prince. The visiting princess agrees that Lotor should wed the woman he loves, being Allura. Haggar offers to help. Lotor kisses Corral to thank her for understanding. Haggar asks that Lotor share a position of power with her should she help capture Allura, and Lotor agrees. They both agree that Allura fears Zarkon, and Haggar has a vision of a woman with Allura's voice saying that she will not surrender Arus to Zarkon. Lotor does not want Allura to be hurt, and Haggar promises that the princess will be just fine. Using her magic, she forges a painless blade of sleep in a fire. Lotor protests that the blade is sharp, and Haggar says her cat Cova will use it.
Later, on planet Arus near the Castle of Lions, people pick flowers. The Voltron Force, Coran, and Nanny are rowing a boat on the lake where the castle is located. Haggar and Lotor watch. Hunk jumps off the boat and swims to shore, and Keith, Lance, and Pidge swim after him. One of the space mice swims after the boys. They pick flowers on the shore of the lake. The mouse squeaks to Pidge, and Pidge understands that Haggar's cat is here. Cova, blade in his mouth, jumps towards the princess. Keith throws a bouquet of flowers at Cova, but it is too late. Cova cuts Allura with the blade. Allura soon falls unconscious.
Oh, the irony; I am cut down by a blue feline with a dagger in its mouth!
That night, in the castle infirmary, Allura is on life support, with Coran, Nanny, the Voltron Force, and the space mice with her. Hunk swears to get Haggar for this. The princess stops breathing, and they all cry over her apparent death. In rage and grief, Keith runs outside the castle towards the drawbridge. But the cool, fresh air outside the castle allows his judgment to break through the wall of emotions. He realizes that Lotor does not want to kill Allura, and Allura must somehow still be alive. He convinces the others, and Hunk comes up with the idea of faking a funeral for Allura.
A bell tolls at the cathedral in the royal capital near the castle. Many of the commoners are in tears. Lotor and Haggar watch from a ruined building. In the cathedral, the priest gives a sermon on how the people of Arus should be joyed that they got to know Allura. Because of the mood of the memorial service, Keith did not resist remembering what Allura had done, both as ruler of the kingdom, as pilot of Blue lion, and as a person. The Voltron Force place flowers in Allura's casket. The casket is closed and placed in a ceremonial carriage by the Voltron Force. Coran reveals his suspicions. A few miles away, Haggar uses her magic to knock down a tree, spooking the horse who rocks the carriage and throws out the carriage driver. The Voltron Force runs after the carriage, and Pidge actually manages to grab on to the axles. Lotor arrives and jumps into the carriage's driver's seat, and Haggar uses her magic to send rocks crashing down, blocking the path of Keith, Lance, and Hunk. They head back to the castle. Pidge sneaks up on Lotor and gets his head in a scissor lock. Pidge demands that Lotor pull over, and Lotor hits Pidge with the whip and knocks him down. Pidge hangs on to the side of the carriage. Meanwhile, the Black, Red, and Yellow Lions deploy. Lotor pulls over and draws his sword, ready to slay Pidge. Haggar tells the prince the lions are approaching. Pidge stands in Lotor's way, and Haggar zaps him with her magic staff. Lotor grabs Allura from her casket. Haggar grabs Pidge and the lions arrive. Keith, Lance, and Hunk drop their weapons upon seeing Pidge and Allura being held by Lotor and Haggar. Pidge suddenly whips out a grenade, pulls the pin out with his teeth, and approaches Lotor, demanding he let the princess go. Lotor puts Allura down, and Pidge runs after him and Haggar with the grenade in hand. The other Voltron Force pilots are shocked, pleading that Pidge put away the grenade. Lotor kicks Pidge, and Pidge falls down next to Allura, while the grenade flies towards the carriage and destroys it in an explosion. Just then, Allura awakens. The Voltron Force engage in battle with Lotor and Haggar, and Haggar generates heavy winds with her staff to keep th Voltron Force at bay and cover their escape.
Later that day, a crowd cheers at the return of their princess, and Allura kisses Pidge on the cheek. Back on Planet Doom, Lotor rejects Princess Corral. He throws down a wine glass, and sees an image of Allura in the spilled wine, which changes into an image of another woman.
Featured Characters[]
Voltron Force[]
Other Arusians[]
Planet Doom[]
Planet Deimos[]
Quotes[]
"If the Princess were really gone, what a lot we'd have to remember, the way her smile lit up the day for everybody. And when we first came here, she gave us permission to form Voltron, so we could defend this planet, and this galaxy, against injustice and oppression. It was a great honor to kneel before her, and the shield of her high office. Her eyes were warm and friendly. Allura became one of us, pilot of the Blue Lion, a member of the Voltron Force. And she wasn't afraid of anything, always ready for more. Allura was cautious, concerned for others. She handled defense duties and affairs of state, in a manner all of us can be proud of. Allura took everyone's problems to heart, and had a special concern for children. She would speak in defense of troubled persons, her compassion showing. Allura liked being in the thick of it. Idleness bored her like gossip, but music and dancing brought out a lighter streak, which she shared with her tiny friends. The mice knew more palace secrets than the prime-minister."
— While only pretending to mourn (having already figured out Lotor's plan) Keith ponders how he'd feel if Allura really was gone
*****
"Her life means more than yours or mine or anybody's!"
— Pidge shows how much he cares about Allura while threatening Lotor and Haggar, with a grenade
Notes and Goofs[]
- This is the first episode since "A Ghost and Four Keys" where Voltron did not appear.
- The original source material has more background on Lotor's vision. [1]
- The priest's vestments are reminiscent of those used by Eastern Orthodox Christian priests.
The Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church in the East-West Schism of ~1054 A.D., yet its Priests are still validly ordained even today. How Planet Arus fits into all this is quite the mystery!
- The original Go Lion episode 'The Prince Imperial's Dark Love' actually had the Golion team fooled by Sincline's scheme. In the Defender of the Universe adaption, the Voltron force team initially suspected that it was a scheme from the beginning and used the funeral to lure out Lotor and Haggar.
- In the original Golion episode, Sincline is actually dreaming of his late mother whom Fala vastly resembles. The Japanese version explained that his mother was murdered by Emperor Daibazaal and, as a result, Sincline has nightmares of that event and sees Fala in his mother's place.
- In the Defender of the Universe adaption, it was simply passed off as Lotor dreaming of Allura in a more mature appearance. The flashback showing the death of Sincline's mother was adapted to be Allura's nightmare instead.
- Princess Allura's Gendo Ikari-lookalike doctor seems to be something of a quack, however; he even confirms her "death" by checking her radial pulse with his thumb (which has its own pulse to interfere with accurate readings)!
Dr. Gendo Ikari over here disappoints me (this is 9 years of lifeguarding talking); one never checks a radial pulse with one's thumb!
