Angered by Voltron's triumphant return and his recent defeat on Planet Arus, King Zarkon has his best gladiator turned into a powerful Robeast and sends it to Arus where it and Voltron engage in a fierce and lengthy battle.


WRITTEN BY: Jameson Brewer
TIMED BY: Helen Sosin
STORY EDITOR: Stan Oliver
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 14, 1984



  • Zarkon is referred to as Malvor on some of the script's pages, suggesting that that name may possibly have been an originally intended name for him, though there is no other evidence of this to date.

    The name Malvor was eventually used for another character in the Vehicle Voltron series.


  • The remastered and unremastered versions of this episode have different vocal reaction sounds from the Voltron Force in the split-screen shot of them as Voltron is falling after being kicked down by the Robeast.


  • This episode has some noticeable audio differences between the U.S. DVD's 2.0 and 5.1 tracks:

    1. For some reason, the ad break intros in this episode have an added sound effect at the start of them on the 2.0 track but not the 5.1 track or any other episodes.

    2. Roars from two Robeasts who fly in to do battle are present on the 2.0 track but not the 5.1 track. Also, a shot of the crowd after that brief fight has crowd reaction sound effects on the 2.0 track, but said sound effects appear to be either muted or non-existant on the 5.1 track.

    3. The sound effects of the Robeast being electrically zapped and physically altered in Haggar's lab is different on the 2.0 and 5.1 tracks. Additionally, both tracks have different music at the end of the scene.

    4. The shot of Yurak's ship hovering above the Castle of Lions has a little bit of extra music at the end of it on the 5.1 track.

    5. One close-up shot of two castle spires being blasted and destroyed does not have any sound effects on the 5.1 track. Neither do the shots of the castle door being shot and an explosion inside the castle caused by laser fire a moment later. Sound effects can be heard in these shots on the 2.0 track.

    6. In the shots of the Arusians as Allura speaks of them, there's an atmospheric sound effect present on the 2.0 track but not the 5.1 track.

    7. The recycled shot of two castle spires being blasted and destroyed and the following shot of Voltron rising up and seeing the attack on the castle have no sound effects on the 5.1 track.

    8. The shots of Voltron's sword being blasted out of his grip and landing blade first in the ground have an extra sound effect in them on the 2.0 track.




When Voltron was dubbed from Golion, the series suffered a number of edits, mostly to remove material that was considered objectionable or inappropriate for Voltron. However, some of the deleted material was intended to be featured in the series only to wind up on the cutting room floor anyway. This section details what deleted material was intended to be featured in "The Princess Joins Up". Also detailed here are lines of dialogue that was scripted (and likely recorded) but not present in the episode.

  • Before Pidge tells Allura that none of the Arusians wants to help, he originally had an extra line: “We're back with the latest field report.”


  • After Keith implies he'll hurt Zarkon if he lays a hand on Allura, he originally had an extra line: “We need Voltron.”


  • A close-up shot of Hunk spinning around in his cockpit when the Robeast flings Yellow Lion aside was deleted.


  • A split-screen shot of the Voltron Force, which was to be seen after Keith says they have their hands full, was deleted.


  • Deleted from the shots of Keith reacting before Voltron is punched in the rib by the Robeast was a line of dialogue from the Voltron Force leader: “Freeze all controls!”


  • The scene where Allura opens fire on the Robeast was originally a bit longer and had different dialogue from the princess. The scene as presented in the script:


    Deleted shots from the sequence:

*Dances as more shots rain down*
*Voltron picks up his sword*
"Voltron -- take charge!"

  • The shot of Voltron's sword embedded in the Robeast's head was trimmed of a few frames, resulting in viewers missing out on seeing the sword actually slice through the beast's head.




Some lines of dialogue were originally scripted differently. This section details the noteworthy differences.

  • Haggar's line “I have a new evil plan you'll love. Choose your best robot gladiator and I'll change him into a monster stronger than Voltron!” was originally scripted as: “I have a new evil plan, so horrible -- you'll love it! Give me your best robot gladiator -- I'll change him into a monster -- stronger than Voltron!”


  • A Doom soldier's line “It doesn't make sense. Even our gladiators can't stand up to Voltron!” was originally scripted as: “It does not compute...our gladiators cannot stand up to Voltron.”


  • The bushy, white-haired slave's line “The space explorers who escaped from here – they're the ones who put Voltron together again!” was originally scripted as: “The young ones who escaped from here are able to put Voltron together again!”


  • Another slave's line “I wonder if Voltron even knows we're here.” was originally scripted as: “I wonder if Voltron even knows there's slaves here.”


  • Haggar's line “My magic crystal ray will make you invincible!” was originally scripted as: “Oh my -- Oh me -- What a Monster Robot you will be!”


  • Haggar's line “Soon, you will dock on Planet Arus in the space coffin and Voltron will be finished!” was originally scripted as: “Now you'll be gift-wrapped -- What a lovely surprise for that Voltron bunch!”


  • Pidge's line “Maybe if they don't want to cook here, we could all eat at the castle.” was originally scripted as: “Maybe if they don't want to cook here -- we could all go out to a nice restaurant.”


  • Allura's line “Voltron doesn't attack anyone. He's the defender.” was originally scripted as: “Voltron can only be used to defend the good!”


  • Coran's line “I fear this time Voltron will face his greatest challenge ever.” was originally scripted as: “And I'm afraid this time Voltron's in for the fight of his life.”


  • Keith's line “Don't worry. We'll be ready. Right, team?” was originally scripted as: “We know how to take care of it, right team?”

    Incidentally, the originally scripted line was at one point re-written as: “We're more than ready to fight Zarkon. Right, team?”


  • Hunk's line “Go, Lion! Get that one!” was originally scripted as: “Hope lions are the king of beasts!”


  • Allura's line “Oh, no!” was originally scripted as: “Get up.”


  • Allura's line “Try your isotopic missiles!” was originally scripted as: “Try your Voltronic missiles!”


  • Allura's victory speech at the end of the episode was originally scripted as: “The people of Arus are grateful...to our friends -- the Voltron Force -- who fought bravely and stopped the wicked King Zarkon from destroying our planet. Thanks to you, we can begin restoring our world to freedom and prosperity ... I, Princess Allura, proudly join Keith, Lance, Sven, Hunk and Pidge -- forever entrusted with the secret of...VOLTRON! ... KING OF ROBOTS! ... DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE!”






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