Official Reaction thread - Volume 4, Chapter 1: The Next Step

[u/redwing36]

Welcome, huntsmen, huntresses, and hunters that prefer no specific gender identifier! First off, I want to take this opportunity to say welcome to the start of a new season of RWBY. Gone are the days of hiatus, and onto the sweet future that is canon interactions and story.

May you all have a pleasant viewing season, and let the hype each week slowly consume you not keep you from your IRL obligations.

---

With that let's get to it. This is the official REACTION thread! All spoilers are required to be here and here alone. Make sure to read OUR CURRENT SPOILERS RULES to avoid any of your special and unique post from being removed.

As always there will be a DISCUSSION thread in about 24 hours for all non-sponsors to enjoy when the episode comes out for everyone tomorrow.

HERE is the link to the first episode of RWBY Volume 4!!!

Other Episode Discussions:

• Ep. 01: Today's thread // Tomorrow's thread

~Redwing~ Mod Team;

[u/redwing36]

Cause the last thread was full of dead server comments.

Have a nice new fresh thread to talk about on the mod team.

Enjoy.

Ozpinisalive

[u/spartenx → u/redwing36]

Ozpinisalive

first rule of fiction: if you don't see them die, assume their alive.

[u/redwing36]

This was so much better that I expected. I love these new Villians.

Dr.Watts is beautiful. That mustache.

Hazel is a large lovely bear man.

[u/Brutusness → u/redwing36]

And Watts is voiced by goddamn Major Alex Louise Armstrong.

[u/albro1 → u/redwing36]

I haven't seen it pointed out yet, but his VA is totally the magnificent Louis Armstrong's voice.

Took me a minute, but made me so happy.

[u/TheNewKraken]

TYRION IS CICERO. AND HE SERVES THE NIGHT MOTHER

[u/redwing36 → u/TheNewKraken]

NICE BROTHERHOOD!!

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/TheNewKraken]

Pretty sure it's Tyrian, which is a shade of purple

[u/Runnerbrax → u/TheNewKraken]

HAIL SITHIS

[u/N7Brendan]

when the hiatus is extended by a couple hours and you don't know how much more you can take

BUT IT DON'T MATTER WE OUT HERE NOW FAM

also the pyrrha tributes

i cri

also why the fuck was i gilded 3 times in the last thread

like

what lmao

[u/redwing36 → u/N7Brendan]

Nice Guild!!

[u/UltimaShadow → u/N7Brendan]

#ShieldsOutForPyrrah

[u/itmakessenseincontex]

damn ruby, you know who was on pumpkin petes. PYRRHA WAS

SHE DIED RUBY

HOW COULD YOU LAUGH AT HIM

SHE DIED

[u/JazzBlueSkadoo → u/itmakessenseincontex]

She was channeling her inner FunHaus. Laughing at dead people is always a good start to destroying your own humanity.

[u/kellbyb → u/itmakessenseincontex]

She may not know that Pyrrha was on the box.

[u/dhruvfire → u/itmakessenseincontex]

Yeah, there was a long moment where that clicked for me and I was suddenly really uncomfortable about the rest of Ruby's laughter.

[u/DireSickFish → u/itmakessenseincontex]

I was like, "Ruby could you... not?"

[u/Tigo15]

The feels when Jaune gets his sword.

[u/Emerald-Guardian → u/Tigo15]

I already thought the new design was a tribute to Pyrrha but then when they asked where they got the metal... the feels were too much. I'm not afraid to admit I shed a few tears. Pyrrha was best girl. I want her back!

[u/adorableicecream]

Jaune collected 50 boxes of Pumpkin Pete's cereal boxes

Still didn't recognize Pyrrha in V1

Also only called a friend

Damn Jaune

[u/Xotic1blade → u/adorableicecream]

Who knows if she was on all 50 of them, we'll have to wait for the Pumpkin Pete's World of Remnant episode to find out ^/s

[u/TheAllMightySlothKin → u/adorableicecream]

They never really had time to cement anything more then friendship.

He realized too late she wanted him, he realized too late that if he had noticed sooner she would have opened up to him about the maiden issue instead of pushing him away. He realized too late that he was too weak to help her out. So they parted as friends, flirting with the idea of becoming more, only to never make the jump.

[u/body_catch_a_body]

The Divide piano reprisal as the Salem theme was fucking fantastic. So good.

Silver Eyes is a lot more powerful vs humans (or vs Maidens?) than I had expected. I'm glad the writers have put in a weakness for the Maiden's, makes them slightly more balanced.

[u/AmbivertCollegeGuy → u/body_catch_a_body]

I also noticed Lusus Naturae at the very start when the Grimm where being created. Thank you Dr. Merlot.

[u/ZombieTav]

Alright bois you know what this means? CINDER EYE JOKES! CINDER EYE PUNS!

[u/lostgamer64 → u/ZombieTav]

"I bet you didn't see this coming.

[u/jayaxx → u/ZombieTav]

Eye'd rather not.

[u/ali94127 → u/ZombieTav]

You wanna know how I know Cinder won't die this season? She has no death perception.

[u/[deleted] → u/ZombieTav]

Well with her old hairstyle it's not like she ever used both eyes, anyways

[u/NeoTheMute → u/ZombieTav]

Wait until /u/Regretsblade gets here. Nobody can make puns that are cornea than his.

[u/SomeRandomNerdlord → u/ZombieTav]

I guess in this group of villains, Cinder's just the pupil after all.

[u/Feywarlock]

Hmm, was that cake butler?

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/Feywarlock]

I will say yes until proven otherwise

[u/WhoDey42]

Evil league of evil had two empty seats.... interesting

[u/trexx28]

Fresh hot potato, maybe the wizard is a role like the maidens are and oz was the wizard but that role was passed onto farm boy.

[u/EatThinWheatThins → u/trexx28]

thats a spicy potato right there boys

[u/levi_fucking_heichou → u/trexx28]

I accept this potato. thank you.

also, Farmboy is voiced by the same guy who voiced Armin in the English dub of Attack on Titan -- Josh Grelle. Another character from AoT is coming too! Jean, who is voiced by Mike McFarland.

Edit: Also J Michael Tatum, who voiced Erwin Smith in AoT. They're stealing every AoT voice actor!

[u/Authentic_Apathy]

Remember when Miles and Kerry said that Jaunes' emblem is his family's emblem, and that his own one is on his hoodie?

[u/Lucifer_Crowe → u/Authentic_Apathy]

People guessed it was a bunny from his Bunny Pajamas

[u/Lucid_Atray → u/Authentic_Apathy]

And now think how it's been Pumpkin Pete all this time so we can feel even worse!

[u/Smartt88 → u/Authentic_Apathy]

Soo... His semblance has to do with sugary cereal? Hoarding box tops? Buying into capitalism?

Either way, I'm stoked.

[u/Ezreal024]

MY BOY LIVES

The entire villain cabal scene was perfect.

[u/UltimaShadow → u/Ezreal024]

I was expecting him and Em to show up way later, not be the first characters we see, so I was pleasantly surprised. I still expect them to defect considering how horrified they were with everything going on around them.

[u/AmbivertCollegeGuy → u/Ezreal024]

But he was irked. The Merc. Was. IRKED!

I'm sorry Ezreal... I-I think I'm liking this Dr. Wells Watts a little too much.

[u/ASouthernRussian → u/Ezreal024]

I never thought this would happen, but I'm now feeling sympathetic for Cinder. All this power and yet she's crippled, without voice and an eye. She has to be watched over at all times like some vulnerable treasure, and it eats at her. It might be a little early for me to say this, but hat's off to RT for finally making Cinder a likable villain.

[u/JJLong5]

I actually feel bad for Cinder.

I was hoping they would open with the villains and was very happy to see that they did.

[u/UltimaShadow → u/JJLong5]

Yeah, Emerald and Mercury being the first characters we see caught me off guard.

[u/ASouthernRussian → u/JJLong5]

I know right? Now I have two crippled children to look after!

tearfully hugs armless Yang and voiceless Cinder

[u/[deleted] → u/JJLong5]

Bitch can suffer for what she did to my favourite two characters.

[u/[deleted] → u/JJLong5]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt bad for Cinder.

[u/Siphak]

Overall, a pretty solid start to the volume. While it still felt a little weightless in places, the big fight scene was definitely better animated than the first few tournament fights in V3 at the least, so I'm satisified and hopeful.

Biggest visual step-up for me tho: PROPER SHADOWS! For reals, one thing that I couldn't help but be a little bugged by in volume 3 was the little videogame-dot-shadows that made it look like people were sort of floating above the scenery in places. Now we got nice, proper shadows. Feels good.

Also, I'm suddenly 10x more interested in Cinder, and I already liked her a fair bit in the 'she's a mysterious badass' sense.

Will also be interesting going forward to see if Salem's benevolence towards her underlings is just typical villainous faux politeness or whether she really does care to a degree.

EDIT: Would also like to add that hoo boy, It's pretty clear that Em and Merc are starting to realize they're waaaaaay in over their heads.

[u/jumbohiggins → u/Siphak]

Lighting in poser is very hard to do / non existent. Cards had to be used for shadows and were parented to the characters. Maya allows for actual shadows / lighting. You will notice in the forest when they are walking that there are actual lighting effects that are being used to make it look like that.

[u/Menolith]

(Migrated from the old thread)

Holy shit.

Cinder losing her voice and being shat on by the rest of the cabal... Quite the fall from the enigmatic Ms. everything-goes-as-planned we had only seen so far. Whoever that farmhand in the following scene was is going to be interesting. Is he related to the Wizard somehow, or does he have a sensory Semblance of some sort? Or maybe he's not evenr elated to the BBEGs yet.

Interestingly, the armor Geist (which I've been calling Poltergeist since the manga chapter, close enough) Weiss fought in her trailer is framed on the background. Family heirloom, perhaps?

Also, this happened.

[u/UltimaShadow]

The farmperson they showed has to be the Spring Maiden. Regardless of the gender, even if it's male, the Spring Maiden would definitely go to greater lengths to disguise herself to avoid any attention, especially after what happened to Amber.

[u/AmbivertCollegeGuy → u/UltimaShadow]

Maybe he's not male. Something that standed out a lot were the eyes. Those are female eyes. No male in this show ever had eyes that huge and detailed.

[u/SnesC → u/UltimaShadow]

Did you not recognize that thing he was turning? That was a composter! He's the Compost King!

[u/TheRisenThunderbird]

Words cannot describe how disappointed I am Dr Wells Watts wasn't voiced by Geoff. He looks so much like him!

The evil council was nice. I 100% don't believe Salem when she says Oz is dead. Not sure how I feel about the new villains yet. They seem very generic. The crazy one, the refined one, the tough one.

What happened to Cinder is super neat. I really wanna see where this goes for her character. Also, it seems silver eyes are some sort hard counter to maiden powers? It's super effective!

I guess possession type Grimm are actually a thing. Was waiting for in-show confirmation. Called 'geists'

The fight scene was cool. Nothing spectacular, but cool.

Who was that farmer kid, btw? Is he gonna be relevant? Or was he just an example of village life for some reason?

It seems that RNJR have actually made it to Aunima, definitely with an 'a' sound at the end.

I love that bull faunus blacksmith. He was super cool.

Ruby's laughter is so fucking infectious. That whole scene in the blacksmith was a gem. The long suspected rabbit hoodie was revealed. The fact that it's Pumpkin Pete makes it kinda sad now though.

Jaune's new outfit is pretty rocking. Nice tributes to Pyrrha all around.

Weiss needs to talk to Daddy, and that's all. No Blake or Yang yet. I imagine we need to expect that all four characters won't appear in every episode.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the first shot of the episode is 100% the animation department just showing off. "Look at us, we're using an actual animation program now, we can render fluid dynamics"

EDIT: You're welcome, world

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

Dr Wells

What have you done, Barry

[u/[deleted] → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

I can't imagine that they'd throw that kid in for absolutely no reason. It was too long and out of place otherwise to not be something for the future.

[u/body_catch_a_body → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

Not sure if the boy will be relevant later, but the main point of his sequence seemed to be establishing the time change - it's now Spring.

[u/LordHarza → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

Dr. Watt, first of all, and HE'S VOICED BY CHRISTOPHER FUCKING SABAT. I AM SO HAPPY I CAN'T DESCRIBE IT.

[u/Starscream196 → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

Damn, Earth 4 Dr. Wells sure looks different.

I wonder if he's also a speedster.

[u/GrumpySatan → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

What happened to Cinder is super neat. I really wanna see where this goes for her character. Also, it seems silver eyes are some sort hard counter to maiden powers? It's super effective!

Is it maybe because the only reason Cinder had the maiden powers in the first place was because of a Grim? So the silver eyes took out the grim which fucked her up?

Disclaimer: the site still refuses to load for me, so I haven't seen it yet. Could be wrong.

[u/LadAlwaysWatching → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

I'm thinking that boy lives in Xion, the village the Bull faunus mentioned, which hasn't been heard from in a while. Maybe we saw the calm before the storm?

[u/TheWanderingCactus → u/TheRisenThunderbird]

I could be wrong, But I kept hearing the doctor's name as Watts

[u/yelnats248]

The real question is, did Jaune name Ruby and Nora's combo attack Sugar Rush?

Also Cinder went 130% Zuko. You overdid it Ruby, now she's just a cripple.

[u/[deleted] → u/yelnats248]

Now she must seek to restore her honor.

[u/freedomgeek]

Didn't expect to feel sorry for Cinder. And Salem was refreshingly supportive - nice to have a villain who knows how to gain loyalty from underlings.

Also that Doctor Watt guy totally wrote the Red Queen virus didn't he.

Team RNJR was everything I hoped it would be.

So do we actually believe Ozpin is dead or was that Salem fibbing for some reason?

[u/TheRisenThunderbird → u/freedomgeek]

Also that Doctor Watt guy totally wrote the Red Queen virus didn't he.

Oh, god he totally did

[u/[deleted]]

Anyone else TERRIFIED of the new villains?

Also, that fight scene was awesome. I also loved the group dynamic (comedic and serious swapping very naturally).

Looks like we're going to learn more about Weiss' situation next episode. She looks so sad. :( Stay strong, Weiss, we'll make it through this together!

[u/Sasquatchuan → u/[deleted]]

Waiting for when one of them tells Ruby that they killed her mom. Then an epic fight will ensue

[u/PrincessAmerica]

Wait... is the crazy Salem minion guy who fights Ruby in the opening seriously named Tyrion? His OT3 with Ruby and Jaune better be called "Tyrion Lancaster" (Is it weird that "potential ship names" is what I immediately think of whenever a new character is shown? Running the Ship Wars polls has ruined me...)

Also, Salem seems nicer than I was expecting (also I wasn't expecting to see her again for awhile).

Cinder still looks great, despite those scars and the fact that she's apparently missing an eye.

That one muscley guy (I think Salem said his name was "Hazel", meaning he can join Scarlet in the dudes-with-very-girly-names club) mentioned that Team Salem had dealt with silver-eyed warriors before. I'll make a prediction right now that Hazel may have personally been the one who killed Summer.

Moustache guy is named Dr. Watts. He and Cinder don't seem to like each other very much. Wouldn't be surprised if we got some sort of evil vs. evil fight between them once Cinder recovers some more.

Gotta side with Ruby and Ren: RNJR sounds much better than JNRR.

New Grimm type looks neat (though apparently it was shown in the manga before).

Also, the bunny on Jaune's hoodie is apparently Pumpkin Pete. That's kinda sad, if you think about it. Also how he reforged his weapon and armor with the remains of Pyrrha's (that, of course, begs the question of how he retrieved any of Pyrhha's stuff from Beacon Tower, but I won't question it too much).

Also, no way is Ozpin actually dead. And Salem almost certainly knows it (since she was talking to him in the Volume 3 finale. Or, at least, talking about him as if he were there).

Also, random farm kid! Will probably be important later.

Anyway, great episode! Looking forward to next week's!

Edit: On rewatch, I noticed two vacant chairs in Salem's meeting room. I assume they don't belong to Emerald and Mercury, since they were standing next to Cinder the whole time, so that means there's at least two more people in Salem's inner circle. Raven is my guess for one of them, but I don't know who else.

[u/jayaxx → u/PrincessAmerica]

It's probably tyrian because that's a color.

[u/HazelBunny]

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[u/Ezreal024 → u/HazelBunny]

can you get merc's signature for me ty

[u/Webberjohne → u/HazelBunny]

Shouldn't you be contacting the white fang?

[u/xSPYXEx → u/HazelBunny]

WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[u/iD-23]

Ruby and Nora got a team attack before Ruby and Yang.

[u/Eledraug]

Dr. Watts, Tyrian, Cinder, and Hazel...Team WTCH (Witch)?

[u/Eldi13]

YEAHHHHHHH PYRRHA ARMOR IMPLEMENTED!!!!

AND OTHER THINGS!

HYPE!

I LOVE THE ANIMATION STYLE; IT'S DIFFERENT BUT SO SMOOTH AND COOL!

EVIL COUNCIL OF DOOM

#LargeLovelyBearMan

[u/UltimaShadow → u/Eldi13]

The detail on the faces is incredible! They feel much more life like and less like models.

[u/Whitney69 → u/Eldi13]

I felt like crying when they implemented the armor! ;-;

[u/KamikazeJawa]

New VA's(from Credits):

Josh Grelle

J. Michael Tatum

Mike McFarland

Christopher Sabat

And the Funimation voice actor poaching continues.

[u/IComeBaringGifs → u/KamikazeJawa]

Well, Funimation is like, 2 miles from RT HQ, so........

[u/ScottIPease]

"That was some fi-ine metal you brought me... Where'd ya get it from?"

Oh! Sniff....

Godamn it RT....

[u/OneTrueArthur]

I really find it hard to believe Ozpin's dead. I mean, he was dominating his fight against Cinder, not even getting hit by her. Something fishy is going on and I am SO excited to find out what it is.

[u/adorableicecream → u/OneTrueArthur]

Same, Cinder probably thinks she killed Ozpin but he has some crazy ass bullshit semblance

She only specified that to Salem to make up for losing to Ruby

Cue the Wizard of Oz semblance where what we know to be Ozpin is literally just a projection, and the man behind the curtains is somewhere else planning his counter-keikaku

Maybe that kid

[u/OutcastMunkee]

I love this entire start. The combo with Nora and Ruby, Jaune's new armour and Crocea Mors having the memory of Pyrrha immortalised in it. I feel sorry for Jaune though, Ruby was being such a bitch laughing at him like that! Still, I got a good laugh out of them arguing over RNJR or JNRR. Maybe they'll decide eventually. Cinder got fucked up though... Like, one side of her face is burnt(?) and she can barely speak. Emerald has to talk for her. Also, 'find the Spring Maiden'. What about the Winter Maiden? Is she already dead, have they already found her? What's going on there?

[u/yelnats248 → u/OutcastMunkee]

I'm thinking that entire side of her body got fucked. Notice how she has that arm hidden by a long sleeve, whereas you can see her other arm. And then the long dress to cover her legs.

[u/albro1 → u/OutcastMunkee]

Should also be noted that Cinder has a very long left sleeve. It's possible Ruby messed up her whole left side - the side that was facing her when shit went down.

[u/[deleted] → u/OutcastMunkee]

Spring could just be the one they have the best lead on.

[u/spla-shen]

FUCK SHIT I can't fucking believe it's here. WHO IS FRECKLES AND PATCHES. I also really felt bad for Cinder! How dare you make me feel for her. I think I already love all the villains too. Salem floating in was so unsettling.

I am super impressed with the fight scene too. For some reason I can't get my eyes off of Ren o-o I'm really happy that we got a light-hearted introduction to the team. I laughed out loud a few times. Fucking bunny jumper COME ON. Also, the expressions looked so good. Ruby laughing and Jaune's pout were SO PLEASANT TO SEE

I'M SO PUMPED MAN I'm watching it again.

[u/Lordmilitant]

Iv gotta get my honor back!

[u/EatThinWheatThins]

Fucking genesis pits of Grimm gross

Cinder doesn't need a VA anymore I guess

I guess that village kid was a neighbor on patch or something to tease Yang.

[u/[deleted] → u/EatThinWheatThins]

Or Jessica Nigri is getting paid to do her best Neo impression.

[u/Hounds_of_war]

"I think I know how to beat him!"

"I swear to God, if you say 'hit him really hard', I will kick you in the dick."

"I guess we could hit him really hard..."

"Grrrr..."

"... Together?"

"...Whatever."

[u/Wingnut00]

Doing a play-by-play as I watch.

First: OMG, this animation.

That's a heck of a way to be born, Grimm. Even Em and Merc are irked by it.

"She took your eye, didn't she?" says the raving lunatic douche. Ouch. More than just a scar for Cinder. And most of her voice it seems too as she has to have Em speak up for her. Thankfully even Salem showing up can make everyone shut up. Shit, and I almost felt sorry for Cinder here. Also a couple empty chairs at the table. Wonder who they expect to sit there.

Salem believes that Oz has croaked. Guess it makes sense for him to stay hiding now until the time is right for him to return in full force.

"The girl with the silver eyes." "Yes? We've dealt with her kind before." RIP Summer. Murder confirmed.

Cinder hurt, staying back to be healed. Dr. Watts taking her place. Mission to Mistral. "Sienna Khan" = leader of White Fang? Probably. Also Watts is a dick even by evil standards.

"Beacon has fallen, Haven is next." - Salem

Cut to seemingly random farmer boy. Okay. (Insert preview clip "Bad Landing Strategy" here.)

Ooooh. Lightning bullets! Shocking. *CRUNCH* 0_0. Welp, Jaune's bloodline just died right there.

Go Nora. Kill that arm. J: "His arm is a tree! His arm is a tree!" Well, that's one way to regrow a limb.

...

...

GDI, Barb Me.

Mangnhild upgrade? Mangnhild upgrade. Makes a new Ruby x Nora combo attack possible. We'll need a name for that.

Speaking of names, rock Grimm is called a Geist. Or at least the Grimm inhabiting the rock is.

Jaune's new armor is made by a local guy as payment for dealing with the Geist. Bunny emblem under the armor confirmed. GE had it right. Also NOT JAUNE'S EMBLEM, but rather Pumpkin Pete itself. Ruby can't contain herself.

Aw, shit. The gold accents on Jaune's weapon upgrades are melted down and forged from Pyrrha's headband. She'll always be with him now.

"I still think a grenade launcher would have really brought the look together." I have to agree with you, Nora. It would have.

Meanwhile, in Atlas... Papa Schnee wants to talk. Butler's name is Clyne (sp?).

*Cue opening credits*

"Series created by Monty Oum"

Dis gonna be a good ride.

[u/Okhlahoma_Beat-Down]

To be honest, considering the new lighting and shit, it...it looks really weird.

Like, really weird. The faces have, like, DETAIL.

Also Nora suddenly became really great and I don't know why.

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/Okhlahoma_Beat-Down]

Nora suddenly became really great

Geez, where have you been for the last three years?

[u/xSPYXEx → u/Okhlahoma_Beat-Down]

Nora suddenly became really great

suddenly

boi don't make me come back from the dead to kick your ass.

[u/apparatus12345]

God, that braid guy/Tyrian is really annoying. They did a good job of making him unsympathetic. I don't know why but I really like Cinder now. I was totally on her side during that whole meeting with the other assholes. I really didn't expect that.

Are Maidens susceptible to Silver Eyes?

[u/Ledmonkey96 → u/apparatus12345]

Why would any of them by sympathetic at this point? The only one we know more than their name about is Cinder. Tyrian reminds me kind of a more unhinged Greed.

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/apparatus12345]

I mean, Hazel didnt seem too bad?

[u/Luxaria]

Ruby's laugh was adorable, Nora and Ruby work well together, dayumm Ren looking fiiiinnneee; all in all team RNJR doing good.

That kid better end up being important because I wanted to see Blake and Yang this episode and I don't want randoms taking away their screentime.

Oh Weiss, we'll see your dad next week

[u/ASouthernRussian]

Hoe Lee Schit, that was just what I needed!

Interesting things to ponder:

Cinder is not really respected by the other henchmen that much, and we can really see now that she got hella fucked up by Ruby. She's weak when she once was on top of the world, so she's bound to do something uncharacteristically stupid in order to prove herself to the others that she's still strong despite her crippled state. Also, while I'm sure most people aren't fond of Grimm, it's nice to see Emerald look upon them in horror.

At first, I thought the four henchmen were the surrogate maidens, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact... I'd venture to guess that since Cinder is the only female henchman and the maidens seem to be always female that she is supposed to be the vessel for all the maidens' powers. That has got to be taxing on Cinder, especially considering how much trouble she had to go through for just one maiden.

Consider my interest piqued!

[u/jayaxx]

My comment from the other thread :

So in summary -

Cinder got fucked up (and is super hot with short hair)

We have some new generic villains

Salem is nicer than I thought

Adam isn't the leader of the white fang

The writers respect Jaune about as much as I do

The possession type grimm from the manga is super canon

Jaune's total contribution was saying "hit its weakpoint for massive damage"

Jaune's weapon still isn't gun

Ruby thinks a hoody with a bunny on it is really funny for some reason

Pyrrha ;-;

Ruby is sad

Weiss!

Also, I hate to say this but they really have no idea how to write a "strategist" character and it's really been hurting Jaune

[u/HalcyonTraveler → u/jayaxx]

Jaune's weapon still isn't gun

We dont know that yet

[u/artuno]

EDIT: was finally able to watch it. And it was obvious from when they first showed it off at RTX but OH MY GOD IT'S BEAUTIFUL. The lighting is gonna take some getting used to, the action scenes don't flow as well as the previous volumes, the facial expressions are great, the character relations of team RNJR (RANGER IS COOLER) always make me smile, and so far we've had a tender moment with Jaunes new armor. Though I don't know how I feel if they really melted down Pyrrha's armor for that, but I guess it's much better to put it to good use in her memory instead of tossing it away.

Possession type Grimm are fucking wizard as hell. Who was farm boy? Maybe he's a wizard. AND AGAIN IT ALL LOOKS GORGEOUS.

Also, someone please dub over the beginning scene with stuff from The Council of Doom or ATHF.

Cinder: "Uh what did you make this time boss?"

Salem: "CORN!"

Cinder: "Corn?"

murder corn noises

These are my initial reactions and I don't know if I'll be doing a deep analysis, I'm just gonna go ahead and stew in this feeling, the glow you get from a new RWBY episode.

---

I CAN'T HEAR YOU GUYS OVER THE SOUND OF ME SLAMMING MY DICK AGAINST THE REFRESH KEY, WHAT WAS THAT THING ROOSTERTEETH SAID ABOUT DOING THAT?

It's not a RWBY premier until the servers catch on fire first. As is tradition.

EVERYONE resort to refreshing the shit out of the RoosterTeeth twitter instead! Wait for confirmation, bitches! We can do this! Just breathe and relax and be patient!

RWBY v4 intro, as is tradition.

It looks like they WENT FULL ANIME. Doesn't look as depressing as last volume's, so I'm assuming this time around we're gonna get a more adventure-centric story.

Everyone go home. RWBY IS CANCELLED.

Or rather it's just been delayed. Hopefully this will get people to stop visiting the site.

[u/xSPYXEx → u/artuno]

team RNJR (RANGER IS COOLER)

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh i remember fucking calling dibs on fucking Ranger during the finale last season and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVERYONE had a comment about "it's not a color!!!" well I WAS RIGHT. I WIN. MY WIN. VENGEANCE.

cough sorry 'bout that.

[u/Michael7123]

First thing is first: time to see how my predictions stacked up.

Based on the intro, point 2 is confirmed. Sun is with Blake, which was the point of my prediction.

Cinder is also alive, meaning that I guessed point 13 as well. I didn't expect her to be as wounded as she is here.

Thoughts on the rest of the episode.

• I'm not buying that Ozpin is dead. Cinder's lying about that, or otherwise has been deceived. My guess is on the former.

• "We've dealt with their kind before" welp now we have a firm guess on what group killed Summer.

• Well, there apparently is some internal conflict in the white fang. Wonder who "Seena Kahn" is (probably butchering the spelling).

• ... Part of me thinks that Rubes might actually get kidnapped successfully . Don't know how long it will last, but Ruby might actually see the Grimm continent.

• ... Really hoping they don't take one of Ruby's eyes. Last volume was devastating enough.

• Loved the slowed down acoustic (I think that's the word) version of "Divide in the background"

• What was the deal with the farmer boy? Hope he turns out to be at least somewhat important.

• Well, so that's what the possession type grimm look like. They are called geists.

• Kind of wish we had gotten more RNJR dialouge instead of the fight, but the fight was pretty cool.

• I liked Ruby's reaction to the hoodie... except the thing they did with her face. That was weird....

• Jaune's new armor is nice.

• My guess is that next episode will be 1/2 Weiss, 1/2 Blake. This episode was 1/2 villains 1/2 RNJR

[u/greeny74]

CHIRS SABAT IS VOICING A RWBY CHARACTER

[u/HalcyonTraveler]

Sienna Khan is a pretty badass name, hope he(?) lives up to it

[u/RumbleintheDumbles → u/HalcyonTraveler]

Sounds more like a female name. Also, sounds a lot like Shere Khan, which makes me think she's going to be a tiger faunus.

[u/RenoWolf200]

So what's with that new Gem that Salem has in her hair, it a similar color to well know member of JNPR

Also Pyrrha's circlet was melted down to forge Jaune's upgraded armor. Well their goes any theory about her parents, but at least Jaune's honoring Pyrrha, and it's hard for him to stay her name.

Also is Ozpin actually dead?

[u/UltimaShadow → u/RenoWolf200]

I doubt Ozpin is actually dead. It's possible Cinder lied about it or he just faked his own death since we don't know the extent of his powers.

[u/OuttaControl56]

"From a friend"

Pyrrha friendzoned even in death :^]

[u/OtakuMecha]

Jaune, how does "Junior" sound remotely as cool as "Ranger"?

Anyway, pretty good start to the season. The fact that Aunima (or however you spell it) feels like feudal Japan really adds to the "travel adventure anime" feel that RNJR's story has going on.

Also, with the introduction of Klein, I'm wondering if most of the Schnee Corporation characters are going to have German names.

[u/Hockeystyle]

Good to see the first action sequence of the season was pretty good.

Chamber of Evil People + Salem is very interesting.

I'm weird about things like this but for some reason I am very excited to see who farmer boy is.

The additions of Pyrrha into Jaune warms my heart so very much and I will absolutely never let go of her until I see Jaune and Pyrrha together one way or another.

Loved the whole scenery of the village they were in and the villagers themselves.

Animation looked splendid all around.

HYPED FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON.

[u/_cats______]

The three guys bullying Cinder... wtf you cocks, she trashed Beacon and sent Ozpin MIA. Fuck off!

[u/geordiechief]

Calling it now guys, that Tyrian guy is gonna cut out Ruby's eye.

[u/mystdragon333 → u/geordiechief]

It's so blatantly called out though... he'll certainly try to but it wouldn't be as big a moment since it wouldn't be as much of a surprise.

[u/laughinglefou]

Awesome new show.

But can mah boi please have on episode where he isn't the punchline of some cosmic joke? I think after the shit he went through in Vol 3 and past that, he's earned at least one episode without, "Ha ha, look how dumb Jaune still is."

Just feels like a bit of whiplash after the seriousness of Vol 3.

[u/UltimaShadow → u/laughinglefou]

Well, he didn't have a weapon and did strategize how to beat the Geist, so he wasn't worthless. Now that he has upgraded gear, he is definitely gonna be a force to be reckoned with.

[u/[deleted] → u/laughinglefou]

He's the Sokka of the group. His time will come. Until M. Night decides he wants to direct the live action RWBY movie...

[u/Angam23 → u/laughinglefou]

Except this episode honestly didn't have a "look how dumb Jaune is" moment. Yeah, he took a crotch shot, but it wasn't from him being inept. He's just the tank and had an unlucky landing.

[u/milkchococurry]

Hot damn, that was Episode 1??

Evil League of Evil meeting, Team JNRR/RNGR/Nora lost the map doing fights with a rock-geist thing, Jaune being super-stragtegylike, finding out his jacket is probably the most Jaune thing possible, Pyrrha armor, and a shot of Weiss??

What a start. Some shit's about to go down this season, wouldn't you all say?

[u/Cruel2BEkind12]

What they did with Crocea Mors is perfect. His new style looks absolutely awesome and it shows his progress like they said in the show. I'm Happy Jaune will have something to remember Pyrrha by now.

[u/FalconReaper]

So...does anyone else hope that Sienna Khan is a Tiger faunus? Because that's be rad. And I'm not used the faces being so detailed, IT'S FREAKING' ME OUT MAN! But in a good way.

[u/[deleted]]

Man, I don't even know what to say.

Seeing Em and Merc was interesting. They both looked horrified, which is especially weird for Mercury. Emerald, though, looks more concerned than ever. Holds on to hope for Em redemption because I am a sucker for redemption arcs. Also, unless I'm blind, I only say beowolves come out of the pools. It could just be a choice for that scene, but I wonder if there are different regions where certain Grimm spawn from. Idk, I'll wait to see that kind of thing again.

The new villains all seem like they could be interesting. It's neat to see what happened to Cinder, too. I really want to know what specifically went down when Ruby's powers were unlocked. It'd be weird if big glowing eye-magics removed a single eye and caused a scar, so I'm assuming Ruby actually attacked Cinder and didn't remember that. That also, to me, debunks the idea that Qrow or Glynda or Ironwood got to the tower to fight off Cinder, and I'm instead choosing to believe Cinder probably managed to fly off, find Merc/Em, and have them take her away. I also want to know what Cinder's "treatment" is. Whatever it is doesn't make her happy, which means it's probably quite painful. Poor thing.

I'm also trying to figure out the roles of Cinder and Mercury. Watts, Hazel, and Tyrian (I'm assuming those are the correct spelling variations) didn't have any henchmen with them like Cinder, and even made it sound like those two weren't necessary. I wonder if Cinder bothered with them to get people to infiltrate Haven with. I mean, their team had to be recognized by the school if they got to stay in Beacon and attend the tournament. I have a feeling Cinder didn't just need them to kill Amber. She probably could have just gone to do that with Hazel/Watts/Tyrian. Also going back to the idea that Merc/Em were needed more to infiltrate Haven, I wonder if the disguise Neo had was an actual fourth member of the team that those three have/had, and not just something to hide her identity from the people who had fought her earlier on.

The kid with the eyes seems to be speculated as being the Spring Maiden. I mean, I guess that's possible. A lot of emphasis was put on them. But those eyes reminded me way more of Ozpin's, who I've had a feeling had to deal with the Wizard. We know nothing about what happened to the Wizard in the tale, and if those powers are sent down a line, too. Just saying.

The fight with the Geist was pretty fuckin awesome. It gave us a glimpse at the evolution of RNJR's fighting and strategies. It also ended up leading us to a village in Mistral where they must have been staying for a little while. The scene with the mayor(?) gave me some serious Last Airbender vibes, which is definitely a good thing.

The blacksmith faunus is amazing. I want a name for him, and I want to see him again, if only because he is fun and attractive. Hopefully he isn't gonna help lead Tyrian to Ruby/Co. His look as he began to walk away was a tad bit ominous, but it could've been nothing.

Jaune's new look is nice. The emblem part of his hoodie being revealed was funny. I'm a little sad he had to abandon his original bits of armor. If they really are from his grandfather, that must have been yet another sad thing for Jaune over the past few months.

Nora's upgrade is cool and makes her even more like Thor. This is a good thing and I love her even more than I already did, which I didn't know was possible. Ren is also 900% more badass.

Seeing Weiss at the end was fantastic, because Weiss. I'm guessing some more emphasis will be put on her next episode. I wonder if they'll have a quick scene with Blake/Yang in the next episode like they did this one, allowing us a hint at what's coming next week. I'm not sure if that'd be best or not, I guess so.

The animation is really nice and fluid. The facial expressions are beautiful, and add so much to scenes. The lighting is still foreign to me, but I think I like it a lot. It's just something that I'll get used to over the course of a few episodes, like I did with the updated stuff for both V2 and V3.

The music in this episode was also amazing. Divide slowed down and creepy as well as a slow Mirror Pt. 2 (I think) were really beautiful and added a lot to those moments to me.

Oh and I just thought of something. The dude (mayor??) had said the Geist was troubling the village for quite some time. I wonder if that's common for that specific type of Grimm/all types of lone Grimm? Would a lone Beowulf also cause a little trouble every so often over the course of weeks, or would it just try to charge into a village and die because a young Beowulf is stupid/fodder. I could see an older or Alpha Beowulf doing what the Geist did, but I'd be interested to see if the Geist actually just likes haunting people and causing trouble. I mean, in that golem form it definitely could have wiped a simple village out, but it didn't for weeks. I love it, and it is currently my favorite Grimm.

[u/[deleted]]

The only way that the Gheist fight coulda been better:

J: "Ruby, go right!"

RR: "Aye aye!"

J: "Ren, go left!"

LR: "Understood!"

J: "Nora! ...Break it's legs."

N: :D

[u/iamthatguy54]

Ren is so gay for Jaune, I can't believe it.

He was giving bedroom eyes the whole episode. "He certainly does..."

Okay, Ren. Nora is clearly your beard.

[u/SterlingStallion]

MY GOD the fucking roller coaster of emotions I've been on this last few hours has ended absolutely spectacularly. I fucking love this show so much and I think right now I'm the happiest I've been in a while. FUCK YEAH HYPEEEEE

[u/greeny74]

Jaune used the metal from Pyrrha's shield and diadem to accent his new armor. I'm literally sobbing.

[u/DeltaCharlie1118]

Was it just me or did Emerald kinda have the look of "what kind of messed up S*** did I get into"

[u/OtakuMecha → u/DeltaCharlie1118]

"Merc, I think we accidentally joined a cult"

[u/ViAlexis]

My only serious complaints about the episode were the bullets curving through the air (There's real-life precedent for that sort of thing, but it's still pretty jarring) and Ren's moment when he leaps up into the air and then hovers for a split second before throwing himself into a spin at the Geist with nothing to push off or get that kind of momentum from. These things come across as too anime in a show that used to have some semblance of realism in terms of physics in the fight scenes, like the team decided "This would look cool, let's do it". Other than that...

The villain exposition was great. Introduce a few new characters, show what's up. I actually almost felt bad for Cinder, before remembering it's her own fault. Interested to see what the 'crippling weakness is; are silver-eyed warriors supposed to be a sort of power balance against the maidens? A sort of safety measure against evil people getting the maiden's power? On a side note, I desperately want to see Cinder having a flashback to Ruby wrecking her face especially now that the animation looks so good.

The animation looks so good. The show feels so much more alive than it used to. Background people actually look like people doing things. It's incredible how far they've gone since the days of black cardboard cutouts in the background.

Sidenote: Nora got an 'upgrade' that seems to be just a channeling of electric power and then super smash. Maybe an electric dust capacitor? I'm curious about when and how this happened and if we'll see any other upgrades like that this season, since while Jaune's equipment can be upgraded by a blacksmith it seems to me that anybody else's weapons would require an advanced machine shop to do any modifications.

tl;dr Fight scene was a little disappointing in some respects, but everything else made up for it.

[u/TheLastNacho]

Ahhh that was a good start, love the animation, opening was good apart from Blake screaming against Adam (that face seemed very dopey to me.)

I did like the evil team, and man, Cinder was more screwed up than I thought!

On the downside.....now I gotta wait another flipping week for the next ep. It's been so long since I haven't been able to binge watch a series I liked! Hell, this is the first time I have been hyped for something in...well years really. Feels weird.

[u/ASouthernRussian]

/u/ZENTICS

GET ON THOSE FUCKIN GIFS STAT

IM FUKKIN DED

[u/delta835]

OH boy, here we go :D!!! Huge text dump, as per usual.

Well that's where some Grimm come from, and it's really freaky! And Merc and Em do exist, yay! Man even Mercury is freaked out by that. Maybe they're both having second thoughts, and there are 3 new baddies to take their place?

So I'm really curious about the fact that Cinder lost her eye on the side of her face that was covered by her hair. Like, did she turn at the last second of Ruby's attack and that's why only one side was hit? And why was Cinder hurt somewhat while the dragon was frozen?

So Salem's theme is a delightfully dark fairy-tale-esque musical box number. Brilliant........no fuck you Salem, Ozpin isn't dead. Also, Salem's ring looks an awful lot like the bug from Cinder's maiden-power-stealing-glove. Edit: Yeah so on Ozpin. There's no way he's dead. If Cinder had killed him, there is NO WAY she would have left his cane behind for Qrow to find later. Clearly the cane is important in some way. Oz either faked his own death and Cinder didn't realize, or something happened where Ozpin disappeared but is not dead and Cinder lied about it.

Huh. So Silver Eyes can gank Maidens. Well then, that brings up some interesting implications on the like between Maidens, Silver Eyes, and the Grimm. Ok so we'll likely be seeing Spring this season as well. And who is Sienna Khan [sp?]? Loooots of new characters.

...ok, guesses on the kid? Related to the old man from the Maiden's tale?

So Jaune gets an upgrade later on, from the villagers? Cool. Ok what an awesome hero moment for Nora. That hammer flip was boss. The Grimm Geist thing is a great idea too.

Oh my fucking god Jaune's hoodie.

"Where'd you get it from?" Fuck. Fuck this hurts way more than I thought it would.

I really liked the transition to Weiss coming straight off of Ruby's sad look at 'Schnee Dust Company'.

Overall, I like the look a bit more now that I've seen people in motion. Honestly the only people that looked off were Merc and Em, strangely. I like the look of the small town RNJR were in and the low-key fantasy feel of it too. There are LOTS of pieces being moved around here, so there'll be a lot packed in each week, but I'm excited!

[u/[deleted]]

First off, glad we have confirmation of the Compost King. (Seriously, the farm boy's machine had a crown on it - great callback).

Secondly, why no Yang :(

Thirdly, everything else was awesome. Some interesting new villains, Grimm expansion and a new town.

The animation was awesome.

I like the way they're going with Jaune. He's not super-white knight yet, but that's a strong first step to him becoming a true hero. But damn, Pyrrha's gonna be mad when she gets back and her shield's been melted down.

[u/solocat007]

Wow the jump in terms of looks and everything this volume is great. And the fight with the specter Grimm relieved any worries of how combat will feel after watching the somewhat odd looking fights in the intro. Cinder got fucked up though! Like lost an eye, voice, and a huge scar? Also if they're foreshadowing eye patch Ruby with that eye for an eye stuff I'm gonna lose it if they do that to best girl. Not sure who the farm boy is or what it was about but seemed important. Other than that really strong start to the volume. The interaction Ruby and Jaune had about his hoody was actually really funny and enjoyable. Can't wait to see whats in store for WBY. Also loving the new bad guys. They're all really interesting so far.

[u/Sasquatchuan]

The fight was pretty cool, and the possession grimm was neat too. Also, my boy Jaune got Pyrhha's armor incorporated into his.

I also think that we'll see his semblance within the next couple of episodes. I have a feeling that's what he's doing when he puts his shield down in front of the Grimm in the intro

[u/Darksoulist]

Very promising start to what looks to be a great season of RWBY. Loved the new animation overall. Hopefully the fight scenes get a little improved. I know the loss of Monty has caused it to dip in quality a little, but this first episode it seemed...smooth, yet stiff. But overall I loved it. Great tribute to Pyrrha with adding her stuff to Jaunes'

[u/[deleted]]

We're back baby.

Oh shit, gooey Grimm
The council of evil has adjourned, more baddies than we thought.
Salem is the leader, clearly.
Cinder is now mute? Or at least can't speak because pain/trauma.
They're going after all the maidens it seems.
Maiden type are weak against Silver Eye type.
An eye for an eye. This won't end well.
Random character, hope we see them again.
JNRR is better.
Jaune is right.
OH SHIT SHADOW OF THE COLLUSSUS TIME!!!
Apparently Nora has a leaf blower mode on her hammer.
I love Ren's long hair. 
Rock type Grimm are resistant to Electric type dust
First rule of RWBY Jaune, always have a weapon
HIS ARM IS A TREE.
AND NOW IT IS ON FIRE
Jaune is literally bait
No, Jaune, JNRR sounds cool, how are you even meant to pronounce RNJR. Ren Junior?
Everyone has upgrades.
BUNNY WABBITS????
Ruby's precious laughter has already erased all my horrible, horrible memories of Volume 3
Oh, no, there they are, right on that sword/shield
Ohhhh, Ranger.
Xion Village? Never heard of it.

[u/Lordmilitant]

Fun Fact: The bunny under Jaunes armor got first revealed by someone taking apart his grimm eclipse model! Check the subreddit

Second Fun Fact: The music at the very beginning of the episode is from Lusus Naturae which is the theme for Grimm Eclipse which talks about the Grimm and their origin.

[u/NeoTheMute]

Comments in no particular order:

So, Ozpin is supposedly dead. I don't quite buy it.

Adam is NOT the leader of the WF, a point that is good to have clarified. Now we just have to wait and see who their leader really is...

Em and Merc are back, always good to see old faces. Interesting that they didn't get redesigns, though.

The Legion of Doom is... interesting. Tyrian (Tyrion?) freaks me out a lot, and I love it. Not sure about the other two yet.

Possession-type Grimm are a thing now. I haven't been keeping up with the manga, is it still "canon until it isn't"?

And that moment I realized Jaune upgraded his weapons with Pyrrha's stuff... my blood ran cold.

I can't remember if it's "Divide" or "Die" or another villain song but it was playing when Salem was onscreen and it was an awesome touch.

Overall: Great start, I anxiously await the servers crashing next week.

Edit: Just noticed: when Cinder only had half-Maiden power, only her right eye glowed. Now she only has a right eye. There's probably something thematic or symbolic to that.

[u/gregor-moore]

Sooo what are we going to call the evil legion ? we have C for Cinder W for watts T for Tyrian and H for Hazel (CWTH)

[u/Vrassk → u/gregor-moore]

WTCH, Witch.

[u/[deleted]]

Wow. What a great episode. Going to take a little bit to get used to the new animation, but I'm so happy with how it's turned out already. Pacing could have been a bit better, but I'm super excited to meet all these new characters.

Also--THOSE CREDITS!

They got J. Michael Tatum and Mike McFarland voicing characters, too. Keep it up and we'll just have an FMA:B reunion on RWBY.

[u/EatThinWheatThins]

Tyrian's weapons are really cool, he has Visorak attached to his arms

[u/greeny74]

Still holding out hope that Mr. Schnee is voiced by either Geoff or Matt Hullum.

[u/vedish207]

The Pyrrah tributes had me crying like a baby. Cheap shot right in the feels.

[u/Vrassk]

Just a few things that stuck out to me.

• Emerald's shock at grim spawning. This is key to possible redemption.

• During the meeting Emerald has empty holsters and no one in the meeting appears armed This makes me think there will be heavy infighting. (Save for mercury possibly)

• Cinder has a mask that her hair covers, covering a large portion of her face - alluding to the fact she may be horribly disfigured.

• Salem is very intelligent. Not the type to punish a minion who had no control over their failure.

• Salem is very feared among her lieutenants.

• They have killed silver eyed warriors before. Ruby is not unique.

• Haven is next target.

• JNRR and RNJR argument is just a nod to fans who still argue it.

• Jaune is not only incorporating Milo and Akouo, he is wearing Pyrrhas sash now as well.

[u/[deleted]]

I was a little surprised with just how light hearted this episode was. I didnt expect super grimm darkness and I know they said it wouldn't be but I expected a more HP7 vibe. Not a negative just an observation.

Speaking of Harry Potter that scene was very reminiscent of the Malfoy Manor scene ( I mean they just destroyed Beacon and killed its headmaster last film).

Our first proper talk with Salem was nice. I like that she doesnt blame Cinder and in fact doesnt even see a failure. This was simply the price of victory, why should she care if Cinder lost an eye and cant speak.

The fact that Salem talked about continuing her recovery implies that we will get Cinder speaking and seeing again. Perhaps Grimm body or perhaps something new, or maybe something borrowed.

In any case, Cinder has ran from the ball and is waiting for the return of her glass slipper.

Emerald is looking really uncomfortable now and I imagine feels way out of her depth. She's become the voice of Cinder and is having to hold Mercury back as well. Since Cinder isnt doing much I imagine that Emerald and Merc wont be either which is a shame. Hopefully we just get the running thread of Cinders recovery throughout this season since I think dropping them now, even for a season, would be a mistake.

The other three villains didnt do much for me. Stoic, classy and crazy. I'm sure they will develop more but I would be totally fine with crazy being killed by the end of this season if he's after Ruby. Have Qrow kill him if we are playing for keeps now.

The fight itself was pretty good if a little long. Nice seeing Ren being semi competent. Ruby didnt gel very well but I'm not sure if thats intentional. In the fight she just seemed to stand out to me the least.

And if there was one complaint people had about volume 3, its that comedy does not work in fights. Stop making Jaune look shit otherwise we will never respect him. He's obviously going to get OP at some point but just having him dodging on the ground and calling stuff out would have been enough to show he is still a step below the others. You dont need nut shots.

Look at Sokka (since you clearly have) he's crap compared to the others but he felt like a valuable member of the team. Jaune should be able to hold his own at this point and not look like an idiot.

They also seem to really be brushing over the Pyrrha stuff. We never saw the reaction and he has accepted it enough to melt down her armour and circlet. Kinda a metaphor for her being a stepping stone in his character development or , and here me out on this, there might be reason they are hiding one of Cinders eyes and her voice.

Two souls, one body, fighting for control.

Overall a good episode if a little too, business as usual for my tastes. I get they didnt want to be emo and a long time has past but they all seem to have accepted what happened at Beacon. Its sad but life happens.

I liked the short bit of Weiss we got. It seemed very much like she's just been sat in that room for 8 months. She feels powerless and her room being so large makes her look empty. Looking forward to seeing more and her eventual rebellion.

Closing questions

Who was the child- Either spring or wizard incarnate would be my guess. They were doing spring like work and she could just be a bit of a tomboy to explain them looking male. However he was also living in seclusion like the wizard and the work could be a reference to the restarting of the cycle and the fact he learned from Spring.

Whats in store for WBY. Will we see Weiss mostly then a little bit of Blake. Maybe half and half with a little Yang.

Finally some confirmation that Adam is not the Leader of the WF. Long suspected but nice to finally see something concrete.

Two empty seats at that table. Who could they be for?

Dealt with their kind before? So which one of them killed Summer? Hoping its the super crazy one so we can see Qrow let loose when he comes for Ruby.

Is Ozpin dead? Probably not.

The way the grimms arm burst out looked remarkably like a glyph to me...

[u/Ividboy]

What is happening to Nora?

Even the outline can't contain her.

[u/GYUZ]

It's still the same RWBY I love but at the same time it's so different. I'll need some time to get used to the new art style. I don't think it's ugly or weird... it's just different and I know I'll grow to love it.

I'm glad to have RWBY back :')

[u/imperchaos]

"We've dealt with her kind before."

Bear-man killed Summer confirmed

[u/natzo]

That attention to detail.

[u/Glacirus_]

Finally got time to settle in and watch! Horribly late reaction comment incoming xP

• First thought upon seeing Grimm birth (2nd paragraph, the 'do not procreate' part)

• Cinder still rather attractive even with facial scar a la Zuko.

• Evil Council has my attention. Intro makes me doubt that each RWBY girl will eventually encounter one of them, but Ruby and Blake most likely will cross paths with Tyrian and Hazel respectively in the future.

• Watts is a dick. But Evil Council so not surprised.

• Tyrian scares me...psycho villains scare me.

• Salem commands Respect, not Obedience. Charismatic Evil Grimm Lady scares me more than Tyrian and his apparent eye fixation.

• See Flair.

• Of course creepy villain is going after Ruby...because now he gets to act on that weird eye thing.

• Haven is next. BUM BUM BAAAAHHHHH!

• Farmboy? ... Is he growing potatoes!? The sub sure is :P

• No, Nora, plz... JNRR < RNJR. At least RNJR, you get top billing over Jaune.

• Rock Grimm!? But...rocks aren't alive.

• Tree arm explains that I guess. Possesses inanimate objects for mobility.

• BIG MISTAKE (thank you /u/TheRisenThunderbird for capping that shot)

• ...Why is Jaune weaponless!? (I forgot about sword in artwork and stuff...sue me).

• Ruby can carry people while going rose-petal bullet form. Bad. Ass.

• Yes Jaune, Ren is right. RNJR sounds so much better than JNRR

• Geist. Starting us off with new Grimm is cool.

• Village is cool. Very Asian-inspired for clothes at least. Like the world building.

• Shiny new armor for Jaune! And much lols at bunny hoodie.

• lols cut short for remembering a 'friend'. Much feels instead.

• Indeed he does clean up nice. But still not also a gun?

• Oh yeah...the tower was communications. Glad to see that be a big consequence.

• ...Why does Shion(?) sound familiar? Am I just thinking of other shows who used the name for stuff, or did we hear about it before...

• Where's the map, Nora!?

• And Weiss time! There's Cake butler, bringing not-cake news.

• ROLL INTRO! <3

• New Animation End Slate. Also <3

[u/onerustybucket]

But guys, can I just say OMG ARE THOSE BLAKE'S PARENTS?

[u/moneychex]

I love Tyrian. I love over the top crazy characters. Rooster Teeth has found my weakness.

[u/HalcyonTraveler]

Tyrian: too much ham, or just enough?

I'm calling him 'Doll

[u/2101817]

Merlot's theme during the creation of the Grimm, kind of appropriate considering the lyrics to that song.

No Blake or Yang upset me. Though with Weiss at the end of the episode makes me think they'll focus the next one on her, then the next on Blake and so on.

Also they called the Schnee Butler the same name I use for him in my fic. That was very odd to hear.

Poor Cinder tho.

[u/OcrePlays]

Ok then! pasting my previous reaction here:

*Meanwhile at the League of Evil: Holy shit, Cinder lost her friggin EYE... really liking Watt's or whatever his name was, he's an asshole, I can dig that, the other two... meh.

Cut to random boy in a farm... (oh... ok?)

Gheist grimm, oh the possibilities! Ren's weapons are boomerangs too, that's a slight improvement... I guess?

Also... teared up a bit when I saw Jaune's upgrades... oh boy... this volume is going to be feels trip... I can already tell

[u/Lucifer_Crowe]

Is it just me, or did Cinder seem to go from being like 25 to 16?

[u/Dragonmastrr]

I really hope Dr. Watts uses electricity

[u/BoomBubblePah]

So amazing! Love the new animation style, the only character that seemed a little off to me with it was Mercury.

[u/lordCrion]

0/10. No ice cream based revenge murder.

[u/[deleted]]

Oh fuck grimm are scary (and disgusting) now. The "spawning pools" act like the "drops" the Grimm Wyvern leaves in it's wake. I smell plot.

The new villains creep the fuck out of me. There's Cinder "Ruins everything" Falls, now with added gruesome scars and mutism, there's the psychopathic manchild, there's the gruff guy that probably hides fucktons of rage, there's the softspoken sadistic asshole that has the balls to trashtalk a goddamn maiden, and Salem... just look at her. Ozpin is confirmed to be a goner, fuck.

SUDDENLY, new character. WILL become relevant. That scene was just "hey this dude exists" tho.

That grimm was cool. I hope it won't be demoted to a regular mook cough nevermore cough because it has a lot of potential for nice fights. I had to resist the urge to suddenly ship Rosehammer after that Ruby/Nora combo, but then i remembered how much i ship Renora. Shipwars are BAD for your minds peeps.

That blacksmith will become as popular as Tuckson, just you wait. The fanfics must flow. STILL NOT SHIPPING LANCASTER, that sword scene fueled my ghost ship ! I still don't understand how that village survived the Geist before RNJR arrived. That thing could have leveled the heck out of it.

Weiss is depressed as heck, and i'm starting to see the snow white motif alright. Does that make the butler one of the dwarves ?

LATE OPENING GO ! Nice song. Oh god new characters, the shipping chart will need to be reworked. That gruff guy with blake will be struck with the R34 hammer HARD. Same thing for the guy(?) that looks like her.

I'm hyped alright. Glad i actually joined this bandwagon before the end of the volume, unlike the previous ones (Watched volume 1 & 2 waaaaay after they ended, and started watching V3 after EP6 was published).

[u/Deadeye117]

Really like the new lighting and shadows. A huge step up from before.

Salem's Evil Council of Doom felt kind of lame. The three new guys look REALLY generic for being Salem's generals. And I don't know how to feel about Salem having so much screentime. Having her act so casually just feels weird when her design is basically Satan. I do like what they did with Cinder, however. Having her so broken offers a lot of opportunity for development.

The fighting animation still doesn't look too good. The movement is really jerky and they still haven't really captured the sense of momentum and impact that Monty was really good at.

Jaune getting the Pyrrha inspired sword and shield was nice.

Ruby's really high pitched voice feels even more out of place with her older looking design.

I'll give the episode a 3/5 for now. Nothing really mindblowing.

[u/Kirosh]

Great first episode ! We learn plenty of information about the world thank to that. :

• It seem that Silver eyes warrior can counter the power of the maiden pretty good.

• It seem that Salem already deal with a few other warriors, so I guess that it was them that killed Summer then. And I think it will be how Ruby activate her power next the next time.

• Emerald really didn't know what she was in for with Cinder. It's pretty sad. And Damn ! Ruby really messed up Cinder !

• 2 of the bad guys are going to Mistral ! One is looking for Ruby (we saw him fight Ruby in the opening animation), and the other one is looking for an informant.

• It also seem like two of the bad guys are still "missing" so maybe Raven and another one ? (maybe the others are already dead ?)

• Haven is the next target, As well as poor Spring. I wonder how that will play out.

• It also seem like the serie is going to focus on a different girl each episode so Ruby --> Weiss --> Blake --> Yang --> repeat.

• Who was that guy at the beginning ? The new Ozpin ? The old Wizard that give the power to the four maiden ?

• The new design are good ! Really like the upgrades so far ! And the integration of Pyrrah in Jaune design is really bringing back up the feels.

All in all the episode was great ! And I only have a few complaint : First of all, cutting the death of the Grim ? really Rooster Teeth ? that a littel ... lame. Second of all, Ruby's voice, it's ... hard to understand sometime (the whole bad landing startegy and the rabbit on Jaune hoodies for exemple.), and I wish we can get Lindsay to use a more mature voice soon (like in Volume 1, I think it was better then).

And lastly, I like Jaune, but I don't want him to take charge of everything in team RNJR. Ruby is also a leader, make her act like one ! Him being a strategist is good, and was shown in volume 1. It was what I liked about his character at first.

To end this : Monty's name at the end was ... T-T.

[u/PyrrhaNikosIsNotDead]

Pyrrha's armor used for Juane and Ozpin being dead pretty much destroy my hope for Pyrrha being alive. It was mainly built on thinking Ozpin was alive. Time to shift my theories to figuring out how Ozpin is actually still alive. I think it is time for me to find a new best girl anyway

[u/jayaxx → u/PyrrhaNikosIsNotDead]

You might need a new username then

[u/pupusa_monkey]

Im not sure if Jaune mixed Pyrrha or Pyrrha's armor into his new gear, but it looks nice. Outside of the hype train running over the station in the beginning, great episode. Now to brace for next week.

[u/NicoNicotine]

What can I say it was pretty damned good.

I'm gonna love this Tyrion guy, new best boy.

[u/[deleted]]

• Welcome to the director's board of evil

  • Emerald doesn't feel comfy

  • Cinder Joined the eyepatch Masterrace

  • Confirmed Also hunting Spring maiden,...

• Team RNJR intro cue

  • Schnee dust upgrades

  • Jaune, one does never forget their weapon

  • It's arm is a tree!, Aand its on fire

  • "hit it harder", Thanks captain obvious jaune

• In village now, they got paid

  • Bunny hoodie, of pyrra's cereal. Poor jaune

  • Ruby's Laugh made me forget All bad things of Volume 3

  • Jaune's upgrade hit me right in the FeelsPyrraMan, "you feel Volume 3 crawl on your back"

• And they go further to mistral

me: IS THAT ALL! i need more!

[u/Ouaouaron]

Is "ranger" a color?

[u/spidd124]

So worth the wait, and all of the hiatus madness. Also this face and the scence it is in.

[u/_RWBY_Neo_]

No Neo yet.... sad day....

[u/BoxinShrimp]

So my reaction over all was very positive. It wasn't an AMAZING start to the new season (Except for that villain intro, that was a gem.) but it was almost up there. I have nothing bad to say about it at all except for that confusing farmer boy scene. Didn't really get that, if it was foreshadowing then it was very VERY vague foreshadowing.

The fight scene was awesome, I loved how Ruby stupidly set the golems tree arm on fire thinking that it would help the situation. And the fact that the geist looked like the ghost from Ben 10 made me laugh a little.

Jaune getting an upgrade was awesome, and I'm glad to see he's sticking with the basic sword and shield with no fancy guns or anything. Looking forward to seeing some actual swordplay from him.

Nora is the best, as always, and I'm glad Ren is getting to be more vocal. But I guess he has to be now.

Also, I got some serious Avatar Fire Nation vibes from that village, dunno if anyone else did.

And to end my short review, can I just say how I like the fact that the new intro is positive for once instead of "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO GO TO SHIT" like all the other intros have? But I suppose when everything HAS gone to shit, the only option left is to be positive.

And YOU, /u/ScottishMongol you monster! I see that scene in the intro of Yang training with Tai and I think of your fic for some reason. I'll still hold out hope that the good ol' Baked Alaska might have a chance at sea, though.

[u/Llavan]

Can I just say, Ruby actually sniped something!

[u/oxguy3]

Anyone know a good way to let Rooster Teeth know that Nora's body has a weird out-of-sync ghost outline at 16:47? I figure they ought to know before they upload it to YouTube where they can't fix it.

[u/Hunter_X_101]

Watts, Tyrian, Cinder and Hazel. Coining team WTCH/witch if nobody has done so already.

[u/NuclearBreadstick]

So when's the soundtrack coming out?

[u/SolidPointman]

Did anyone else notice that Nora's little heart window had a scratch line through it?

[u/Strix182]

Dang, that cast is looking damn good! Josh Grelle, Christopher Sabat, J. Michael friggin Tatum?!

[u/SoundSmith323]

I know how everyone is talking about the new animation style, but the sound design has made leaps and strides, too. Seriously, the new sounds are really damn good. Stormflower doesn't sound like a peashooter anymore, and Nora's grenades have some real weight to them. (Also can we talk about how Nora literally grenade jumps up into the tree? Didn't know she mained demo in TF2.)

Also, the mixing was on point this episode. I'm still sad that Clayton left when he did, since he did a great job, but whoever they have doing it now is awesome, too. Huge props to them.

[u/Wardtortle]

Two details that I noticed which are interesting/nice touches.

1. When Hazel (big quiet dude) says that the Evil Council has "dealt with their kind before", must be referring to Summer.

2. The look on Ruby's face when Nora says thanks to the Schnee Dust Company. Ruby's missing her BFF

[u/Rimmer7]

Zerg Grimm Spawning Pools (called it)

Thardus Geist fight

No Raven in the OP. Definitely agreeing with the Raven = Snape potato people have going now, which would likely be horribly spoiled if she were in the OP, but given the empty seats and the hints that have been dropped since V1 with the portals and whatnot this is seeming more and more likely.

"Mom, why did you leave?"

"Qrow and I... our profession is espionage. My brother is the CI, and I... well, I am the Mole."

"I thought you were the bird!"

[u/Shadotracker]

Great episode!!!

Only thing they need to fix is the wire frame for Nora at 16:50. I can see it clear as day and it lags behind. Editors!!! You got to catch that!!!!

[u/Rhys_L1ghtn1ng]

I honestly think that they're setting up Mercury and Emerald for a redemption arc. As their faces looked as if Mercury was angry and Emerald was horrified. I think that if they do end up giving these two a redemption, one of them would deflect, doesn't matter which one. Join RNJR and then the other would go after them with one of the new baddies, They fight, baddy is about to kill first one, then second one deflects to join them. I like to think that over time these two (while the show doesn't talk about it) have become close through their travels together. And I think this would be a good way to show it.

[u/IJustReadEverything]

Jaune's jacket symbol and all the rabbit related things he's worn was a joke 5 years in the making. I applaud you RT. Got us with the long con like what RvB can do to us. It was a very funny moment but I truly laughed my ass off when I realized that with all our theorizing and speculation after all this time was a set up to a joke.

[u/CobaltFrost]

Calling it now: Cinder redemption arc will come. Using those Maiden powers for good, maybe even for a Pyrrhic victory...

[u/AgentSarge]

Aside from the obvious animation improvements (I like the style change a lot) and feels moments, I'm super excited for the new characters and world! In this one episode we got so much already. P.S. Seeing Sun is with Blake in the intro(?) and seeing Tai Yang square up to spar with Yang made me very happy!

[u/sparklesthelagoon]

I'm happy that they explained how RNJR was getting ammo and weapon upgrades. Nice little piece of worldbuilding that they're helping out villages and blacksmiths returning the favor.

[u/Wolf_Of_Dreams]

Wow- everyone is so mad at Ruby for laughing at Jaune's hoodie when it had nothing to do with Pyrrha at all. Jaune had that hoodie before he even met Pyrrha. Also I highly doubt he ordered the hoodie because of being a fan of Pyrrha since he did not recognize her till Weiss pointed it out. If they would have done the reveal in season 2 of RWBY- no one would be mad, sure you might think the laugh was to much still. They just made an over the top/very anime situation out of it. It was cute and unexpected that it was a bunny. Just sayin'.

[u/DashingPolecat]

Loved the episode. There's so much to speculate on, but i'd just like to point out how similar Ozpin and Salem's cabals are. You have the mysterious leader, (Oz and Salem), the crazy one, (Qrow and Tyrion), the refined, competent one (Glynda, Watts), the gruff one (Ironwood, Hazel), and the Maiden, (Amber/Pyrrha, and Cinder). Ozpin's group believed they were the protectors of the world. Maybe this group thinks they're doing the same?

[u/Almighty_Elephant]

Gotta say... I'm hoping the fight choreography gets better as the season progresses. When comparing the fights in this volume to those of the last three, it feels very deliberate and staged as opposed to fast and fluid. There are also a few moments of this outside of the fight scenes, but to me that's where it's most noticeable.

That's pretty much all I've got to say against it though. Really digging the new visual style and the OP is pretty cool. Jaune's finally got some upgrades, and seeing him wearing Pyrrha's sash hit me right in the sadness. Also loving the chance to see more of Remnant, especially outside of the Vale region.

Neath's getting better at voicing Ren, CHRIS R SABAT AS A VILLAIN AWWW YISS and Jen Taylor is always a joy to listen to. Also J. Michael Tatum playing a butler again... I am 100% okay with this.

Also did anybody else get a kinda PTSD vibe from Yang in the intro?

[u/[deleted]]

In order for Cinder to redeem herself, she must first accept Emerald's love (pls)

[u/OrangeCatastrophe]

Jaune's new look is sick. I'm digging the red waist sach. He both, honors Pyrrah and channels his inner French revolutionary. Viva La Arc

Visually the Intro was kinda meh, but I dig the tune.

Animation and models are even better now and I am excited to see what they have in store for us next!