However, a section of the fandom were ultimately disappointed when the season dropped on Netflix last week because Adam only appears briefly on-screen in flashback scenes, and is killed off battling for earth in the first major battle with the Galra Empire. Show bosses said that they always intended for Shiro to be gay and waited for it to play out on-screen because the world of Voltron is one of where 'acceptance and inclusion is part of everyday life'. The Netflix animation had been initially widely praised when it announced that the seventh season would acknowledge that Shiro (aka the Black Paladin) is gay and in a long-term relationship with a previously-unseen character named Adam.
Voltron: Legendary Defender writer Joaquim Dos Santos has penned an emotional open letter to fans who have been deeply hurt by the show's depiction of its first two gay characters.
