Note: In this work I’ll be referring to Shiro’s clone as “Kuron”.
So after today’s episodes most of us hated that goddamn clone and wanted him gone and are now cheering and happy to have our classic Space Dad™️ Shiro back.
And while I am happy to have the real Shiro back and safe, please don’t write off that clone as a villain. Kuron, while only a copy of a person, was in fact a person himself. Let me explain why:
Kuron was designed to be an exact replica of Takashi Shirogane. Not only was he physically reconstructed with Shiro’s features and body type, he was created (programmed?) with all of Shiro’s memories, emotions, and idiosyncrasies. Kuron had everything from the way Shiro presented himself to even something as intamate as the “shoulder touch” Shiro and Keith had. He knew and he was Shiro. The memories he had might not have been Kuron’s, but the feelings and bonds those memories created were.
Kuron had no idea he was a clone either. He truly and wholly believed he was the fun-loving, PTSD ridden, and heroic leader of Voltron. And so whenever he had doubts of that, he lashed out.
Like in this scene here for example:
This was arguably one of the more obvious moments that showed Kuron and Shiro were two separate entities. Kuron was programmed to be the leader of Voltron. In his created memories, everyone did as Shiro had instructed because that was his job.
In this moment, Lance questioned Kuron’s leadership and that triggered Kuron’s agressive nature. Something was happening against Kuron’s protocol and he didn’t know how exactly to respond, so, much like a toddler not knowing what emotion to use when something isn’t going their way, he lashed out. Kuron was also heavily under the influence of Haggar during this time. Haggar’s anger and desire for Lotor’s return to her obviously carried over and made Kuron himself more and more agressive.
In the later episodes Kuron begins to notice his behavior and starts reflecting on himself. He even pulls Lance aside and tells him he’s not, “feeling like himself” which, in Kuron speak, means, “I’m supposed to be Shiro but for some reason I’m not acting like him”.
However, despite these confusing moments, Kuron still believes he’s Shiro. He has moments of humanity and personality. Kuron smiles when he sees Keith— someone Shiro cares about so therefor Kuron cares about them— and laughs and teases the other Paladins. The the DND episode, for example, was all about the team having fun and being alive and being normal. Shiro believed there was nothing more worth living for than protecting and caring about the ones he loved, which is why Kuron so strongly chose to be the plaladin. He was programmed to be the Paladin because that’s who Shiro was.
Shiro also had fun and put his all into everything he did. And so Kuron did too. He had his own emotions just like Shiro did.
In the end of Kuron’s life, he was finally taken over by Haggar and forced to attack those he loved and cared about. Yes, those he, Kuron loved. He lost all consciousness under Haggar and was just a meat puppet for her to use and play with. But the most awful part was that Kuron was awake to see what he had become.
Even though Kuron was just Shiro’s clone he still felt the emotions that Shiro had. Emotions like love for his adoptive baby brother. It was Kuron who flinched when Keith called out to him, and it was Kuron who, in the end, had realized he nearly killed Keith.
This photo right here is Kuron awake and not controlled. It’s only seconds before he dies but in those seconds Kuron realizes the people he cared about were dying because of him. It’s debatable whither or not Kuron knows he’s not Shiro here, but it’s obvious that he cares about these people regardless and he put them in danger. Kuron died doing the exact opposite of what Shiro would do, the person he was supposed to be.
