Today’s hot take: Lotor killing Narti for being used as Haggar’s spy was shown for the sole fact that Lotor is going to figure out about operation Kuron and (attempt to) kill Shiro/Kuron and THAT’S what causes the rift between the trust he has with the paladins, not an active betrayal but attacking them. No matter how weird “Shiro” is acting it’s unlikely they’d want to side with Lotor over Shiro if the prince tried to kill him. And this is going to hurt all of them.
Haggar this season good lord. Episode 2 showing that she had Lotor as Haggar but implies she had memory issues, and Lotor’s resentment of her fully knowing her as his mother but hates her control. She looked beautiful and badass, especially when she dressed up as an assassin and had fun killing them. Also taking in the generals???? Godteir. Trugg and Ladnok were so awesome and we got Galra culture at last.
Haggar lost her husband but gained 3 daughters along the way
We see Haggar remembering things about their family ties, but never any behavior from Zarkon that acknowledges these things as true. The only fond gesture we get from him is placing utmost faith and trust in Haggar.
Which makes it seem like he might not know, only have some vague lingering respect for her abilities.
But he certainly knows Lotor is his child, doesn’t he? So how could he know thatbut not know who the mother is? How could he insult Lotor’s Altean heritage but remain so respectful of Haggar?
What if Zarkon remembered all along?
Zarkon remembered who Haggar was, whose son Lotor was, but Haggar didn’t, and any attempts to make her face that reality were greatly upsetting to her. Her mental state was incredibly fragile at the time, and she could not accept Lotor as her own child. So rather than disturb his beloved any further, Zarkon hid away everything that made her unhappy. He let her forget that she was his wife, and contented himself with merely having her by his side as his closest advisor. He let her forget that Lotor was her son and stopped reminding her. He let Lotor be raised without knowing who his mother was. No one would answer his questions, as they were forbidden by Zarkon to speak of it. Lotor grew up maybe suspecting, but unwilling to accept it because Haggar never showed him any recognition, and how could a real mother be so cold? Easier for a child to think his mother dead than come to terms with being unlovable and unwanted.
Zarkon pretended that Lotor wasn’t Haggar’s son for so long that he himself subconsciously started to resent his own child. It was a repressed resentment of Haggar’s mental state, but it eventually manifested itself as emotional abuse about Lotor’s heritage. If he wasn’t Haggar’s son, he was just a half-breed, and no amount of self-improvement could have helped Lotor earn the love of his father. In the end, Haggar had held the biggest share of Zarkon’s heart, and his grief, perhaps amplified by his rift-creature possession, was what left so little room for Lotor. How can you look upon the child that’s an endless reminder of how lost to madness your wife is and feel anything but resentment and pain?
