It’s amazing how relatively upbeat the paladins of Voltron can remain when it seems like the universe is constantly falling apart (or on the brink of falling apart) everywhere they look. The war against the Galra Empire seems at turns in the bag and wholly unwinnable, and yet the heroes always tend to look at things with an optimistic eye. Well, not Keith, but everyone else. As we head into the sixth season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, it’s hard not to wonder if the paladins aren’t just puppets in the grander scheme of their apparent ally, Prince Lotor. As the newest trailer shows, that might well be the case.

If you remember the end of the last batch of episodes–and Spoiler Alert if you’re not up to date–Lotor formed an alliance with Voltron to take control of the Galra Empire in the wake of Lord Zarkon’s incapacitation. While some Galra pledged loyalty to him, a great many did not, and it has led to, judging by the trailer, a full-on Galra civil war which will definitely not be good for the galaxy at large. If they thought being under the Galra thumb was bad, imagine getting between two warring factions of them.

And that’s why I’m so worried about Allura and the Gang (their funk band name), because they obviously have to side with Lotor in these matters, but maybe he’s just using them to take out his enemies and possibly die for his cause, allowing him totally unfettered control of the whole wide everything. There’s a lot to digest, clearly.

But digest we must, and quickly. The next batch of Voltron: Legendary Defender episodes–six in total–drop Friday, June 15 on Netflix. Let us know your predictions in the comments below!

Images: DreamWorks

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s written the animation retrospectives Batman: Reanimated, X-Men: Reanimated, Cowboy Rebop, and Samurai reJacked. Follow him on Twitter!

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