Coran plans several publicity events for Voltron to boost morale and convince more worlds to join the Coalition. Unfortunately he made a deal with a shady salesman for... inspiration.
Tropes featured in this episode:
- Adaptational Wimp: Voltron gets hit with this the hardest in the episode, as he finds himself struggling against a Kaju-sized wild animal that isn't even a Robeast.
- Affectionate Parody: Coran's Voltron shows clearly fall under this when recapping the story thus far. Given the staff's resumes, it's easy to see this as the show's equivalent of "The Ember Island Players" or "Remembrances."
- All Part of the Show: When the Swathian Meerakeet appears, Pidge comments on it thinking Bi-Boh-Bi had upped his effects game to the aliens confusion, but he ends up shrugging it off and treats it as part of the show.
- Artistic License: Invoked. Pidge complains that the science doesn't make sense in the script, but Coran shrugs it off.
- Bad "Bad Acting": The Paladins' acting as they read from the scripts Coran prepares for them is hilariously terrible.
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: The leader of Swathia. Since his people blamed him when Voltron didn't show up for their air show, he's understandably frustrated.
- Bigger Is Better: How Coran justifies the changes he keeps adding on to the show.
- Breather Episode: Compared to the previous episode, this is a true break from the drama and intrigue, without a single appearance from any of the Galra.
- Character Exaggeration: Coran's shows are more focused on presenting the legends of Voltron and its Paladins than on what actually happened. He later assigns the paladins with certain character traits that most of them aren't pleased about.
- Shiro as The Hero
- Pidge as a Nerd
- Hunk as the Fat Comic Relief
- Lance as the Loverboy
- Allura (as Keith) being an Emo Teen
- Continuity Nod: The Unilu running the swap shop back in Space Mall returns in a hospital for injured soldiers.
- The team returns to the mall for their second performance.
- Varkon and the merpeople are seen watching the broadcast of the final Voltron performance.
- The alien child who Lance and Pidge took a coin from in Space Mall makes a reappearance as he watches the show and is awed by their performance.
- Control Freak: Coran when he starts getting ideas.
- Cringe Comedy: The entire episode practically runs on this and meta humor.
- Crosscast Role: In-Universe. Given that Keith is elsewhere, Coran has Allura play his role. She's grumpy about it, but since Coran thinks Keith's main trait is grumpiness, he finds is appropriate.
- Death World: The Swathians has only one day of the year with clear skies and nice weather. The other 720 are marked by extreme winds and kaiju-sized predators.
- Denser and Wackier: Only "Space Mall" approaches this episode in terms of silliness, compared to the rest of the show.
- Do You Want to Haggle?: Coran gets into this with the same clerk from the Space Mall.
- Drugs Are Bad: If Coran is to learn anything from this episode.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: As the performances go on, the bags under Coran's eyes get darker.
- Fighting from the Inside: Coran start doing this once he gets knocked against the wall and the brain worm starts to dislodge.
- Flanderization: Invoked. Hunk laments that Coran keeps using him for fart jokes.
- Heel–Face Turn: Varkon the mall cop appears to have undergone this, given the fact that he's seen playing with Voltron merch.
- Hero Stage Show: Coran, under the influence of a Puppeteer Parasite, starts setting these up to promote support of Voltron. As the episode goes on, the shows get sillier and sillier.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
- Hunk asks Coran not to use him for more fart jokes, referencing fans who feel the show has put too much focus on his love of food to the detriment of the other aspects of his character.
- Coran tells Shiro he would never get rid of him because he's their most popular character, referencing his extensive popularity with the fandom as a whole.Lance: Wait, you're the most popular character?!
[The rest of the Paladins groan]"
- Mr. Fanservice: Invoked. Coran tries to get Shiro to wear a "super-tight shirt" for one of his performances.
- On Ice: One of Coran's ideas includes Voltron on Ice.
- Orifice Invasion: The brain slug enters Coran through the ear. Fortunately his assistant is aware of this, once he realizes what's going on, and extracts the slug easily.
- The Other Darrin: Invoked. Coran threatens to replace everyone with new Paladins for the Voltron shows when his obsession starts to reach its peak.
- Pokémon Speak: Bi-Boh-Bi and his people only say "Bi-Boh" to communicate, and somehow Coran understands them.
- Puppeteer Parasite: Played with. The brain worm doesn't directly control Coran all the time, it instead pumps ideas into his brain while he sleeps.
- Running Gag: Bi-boh-bi getting yelled at by Coran for walking in on him while he's "with The Talent."
- Sanity Slippage: The brain slug makes Coran get more and more over the top as the episode goes on.
- Secret-Keeper: Coran's final price for his deal with the Unilu is keeping quiet about the fact that he's running a swap shop in a hospital without a license.
- Shout-Out:
- Star Wars: Coran channels Princess Leia at the end of the episode.
Coran: "Help me, Bi-Boh-Bi, you're my only hope."- Coran tells the Paladins to strike poses after each action, not unlike Super Sentai/Power Rangers or even Sailor Moon.
- The way Coran attracts the Meerakeet is similar to the famous T-Rex scene in Jurassic Park.
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Spiritual Successor: This entire episode seems to be the Voltron equivalent of "The Ember Island Players". - Suddenly Voiced: A speaker on a Voltron prop gives the robot a voice.
- Stylistic Suck: Coran's Voltron shows are So Bad, It's Good.
- Techno Babble: Played with, Pidge tells Coran she doesn't like using all the fake science words he keeps putting in her script and worries that audience would get confused. Coran justifies it by saying they would be confused if she used the real words anyway.
- Twitchy Eye: Coran starts doing this the more unhinged he becomes.
- World Shapes: The bii-bohs and boh-biis live on a planet that looks like a larger version of their tube-shaped bodies.
