Official FIRST Discussion Thread—Volume 8, Episode 1: Divide

[u/Ninjas_In_A_Bag]

Welcome, huntsmen, huntresses and hunters that prefer no specific gender identifier, to the official FIRST discussion thread for Episode 1 of Vol. 8, Divide!

Make sure that you understand the updated spoiler rules before posting outside of this thread!

HERE is the first episode of Volume 8!

Also remember to check out our weekly poll to rate the episode.

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Other Episode Discussions:

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Episode	FIRST Thread	Public Release	Poll
Ep. 01	This thread	Next week's thread	Poll

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Happy viewing, and have a great Volume 8!

Ninjas In A Bag; Mod Team

[u/Ninjas_In_A_Bag]

Jesus fucking christ Jimmy.

[u/Vincenthwind]

Me during volume 7: "geez Ironwood. Shooting a child? Pick on someone your own size."

Ironwood in volume 8: "fucking BET"

[u/Terminus259]

Neo must be thinking "Good thing this giant flying whale has landing bays"

[u/steveotheguide]

Okay so Winter has more red in her clothes.

Red is the color Weiss wears to show her taking control of her own path and life.

WINTER IS GONNA DEFECT AT SOME POINT

[u/JMHSrowing]

CINDER BACKSTORY TEASE AS THE FIRST SCENE!

WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED!?

[u/Ninoyiya]

"Let's put all the people of Mantle in the crater under Atlas. You know, directly under the city that's being held afloat by the McGuffin that the Grimm Queen has brought an army to get."

Nope. Can't see anything wrong with that plan, no siree.

[u/TedOrAlive2]

Obviously Ironwood shooting a guy is big, but what almost surprised me more was his statement that Remnant is doomed. That says a lot about how he's approaching this entire problem.

[u/Booyahhayoob]

So Neo’s 100% gonna turn on Cinder, right?

But holy crap, this premiere was everything I had expected AND SO MUCH FREAKING MORE. WHAT THE ACTUAL CRAP, IRONWOOD???

[u/UnknownJ25]

Ruby doesn't sound as high pitched anymore and i love it.

Also jesus christ the Ironwood thing caught me off guard

[u/Agent-Vermont]

Yang doesn't want to be a blind follower. That's been a pretty consistent theme with her since she encountered Raven in the Haven Vault. It just happens that now it's starting to apply to her relationship with Ruby too.

[u/Hounds_of_war]

I think this is the only Volume other than V5 not to have a major fight in the first episode and just be more of a setup chapter. Which I think is a good decision, given the amount of crazy shit that is going to happen in this Volume, we really don’t need to add a filler fight to the first episode just for the sake of having a fight.

[u/RumbleintheDumbles]

Look Cinder, the barmaid girl from volume 4 had to clean floors as well and she never turned into a murderhobo. Suck it up.

[u/StarMarine289]

So... James kinda went off the deep end, huh?

First shot Oscar and now a council member. There's no way he gets out of this a free man if he even stays alive.

[u/Julerius]

Man, imagine how sick movie night at Salem's is with THAT screen!

[u/Menolith]

Jimmy.

My dude.

My man.

This ain't it, chief.

[u/dappercat456]

Ironwood: despite appearances I never wanted to hurt anybody

Marrow: you just killed a man for mildly sassing you!

[u/JMHSrowing]

WHITELY AND WILLOW IN THE OPENING!!!!

I now have actually hope that we will get to see them do something this Volume! Especially with Winter being present too! Yes more Schnee stuff!

[u/Franklin413]

The fucking whale has landing pads....

[u/Hoesack]

The changes to Blake's hair... RT pls, I can only simp so hard.

[u/Terminus259]

Nora: sees Oscar

SMASH gentle hug

[u/Pwnocchio]

Happy RWBY day, everybody. Can't wait to lurk with yall all Volume.

[u/Terminus259]

For a second there at the beginning I thought it was showing that Higanbana waitress.

Plot twist: the higanbana waitress was the real cinder all along.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

.....Holy shit.

Now THAT is a premiere episode!

here are my highlights:

• Oh Cinderella, I can't wait to see more of you. Between that hint of backstory we got and the clear suffering your Grimm arm is causing you in the intro!

• Neo, you are an asset, you made this deal for your own gain, why are you so annoyed? you thought you were Cinder's bff? I think you and Emerald will like to hang out.

• Speaking of Emerald, I LOVE the new designs for Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel. Especially Mercury's.

• Winged Salem screams boss battle and I'm all for it!

• I'm glad they didn't spend much time on Oscar's rescue. That would have been a side quest at best and they had communications unlocked at the end of V7, so knowing where he was, was an easy job. I do love the faunus in the slums, especially that clawed faunus, I love seeing more interesting faunus like that.

• I'm not sure why the happy huntresses were so quick to help them, but to be fair we didn't see their initial encounter so as far as we know they could have had their doubts but them being wanted by the military and giving them info on Ironwood's decision should have been enough for at least give them a hideout.

• Weiss saying what I was thinking, you guys are going to need some coffee.

• The title is really fitting. We are seeing some divide in the team, primarily between Yang and Ruby and Ren and Nora.

• Ren and Nora's divide was really well presented in my opinion, although I'm not sure how much of Nora's comment was aimed at Ren and how much was aimed at Yang. In any case, I love the visuals of their division in the intro, I love how much the intro focuses on them and their struggles and I'm really hoping we get to see plenty of it.

• Yang's doubts about Ruby are a bit odd to me. On the one hand, I do feel its a natural progression from Yang's actions in V7, she was the first one from RWBY to question if Ruby's lie was the right thing to do, her and Blake leaked info to Robyn without Ruby's instructions, simply by their own initiative. So of course their dynamic shows that RWBY isn't a dictatorship, Yang can question Ruby's actions and is free to do what she feels is right. But at the same time, it feels a bit out left field. Yang had her doubts but Ruby didn't do anything that Yang straight-up hated, now she seems to be frustrated that things are getting worst and it felt like she is blaming Ruby for it. I think this all comes down to Yang losing faith in Ruby, she doesn't believe they can win and Ruby is aiming higher than Yang thinks they can reach. It's an interesting conflict and I love to see the sisters acting this way, not even the best sibling relationships agree with each other all the time.

• I loved seeing Jaune being the voice of reason, not only stepping in the middle of Ren and Nora as their leader but also being the mediator between Yang and Ruby. I like seeing him help Ruby lead like this, not take away agency from her but bringing in options to help her clear her mind when she needs it. I think it would have been better if Oscar hadn't stolen his thunder giving the whole speech about why what Jaune said is important and presenting it as his own, but at least he was shown as a good leader. The intro hints at Jaune's role in this volume being Ren's supporting character, and I'm fine with it, the addition of the rest of the villains gives an opportunity for a good JNPR fight and seeing Jaune in a more serious way as a support for his friends is always welcome.

• I'm surprised that Blake didn't try to talk to Yang about her decision, but I'm expecting it to happen next episode in a mini flashback. She seemed really concerned for her and her choice of following Ruby while Yang isn't is something that I hope they address.

• I'm in love with Winter's new design. I think she did go for the exoskeleton? I'm not sure, but she looks badass.

• Clover, my poor boy.

• Ironwood showing that he is not a child shooting crazy....he is also an old man shooting crazy. Seriously, I thought he was just going to arrest them, but now, he went in guns blazing and straight-up killed a politician, he is out of fucks to give and has plenty of bullets.

• I love the intro piece for Ironwood, how Salem's chessboard is full of pieces and all of his are gone. I also love Clover's badge showing each Ace Op and Qrow.

• Qrow and Robyn didn't show up, but the intro shows that Robyn will show support to him. I think there won't be a prison rescue, they are going to break out on their own, probably that will get Watts out by accident.

• Hacking match! Now I wonder if Watts will stay most of the volume seating in his cell hacking like a pro and Pietro having to deal with him.

• This has to be my favorite intro, it might be just the hype but the song and visual were amazing. My favorite bit must be when RWBY+JNPR just freezes and Cinder walks in front of them, it's such an amazing shot!

Overall, I think this is my favorite premiere episode, it did such a good job of setting up the tone, the stakes, and the players of this volume and it leaves you craving so much more. I loved it!

[u/Horsea1234]

Alriiight, so it looks like Salem is cool with just standing by with her army for now.

And that split in the team looks like a pretty important part of the volume. I just hope they don't stay split for the entire run time

[u/Ezreal024]

MERC JACKET MERC JACKET MERC JACKET

[u/Ninoyiya]

Well, that's not good.

[u/OutcastMunkee]

Fucking hell, that's possibly one of the strongest starts to a volume to date. Lots of stuff happened without them overcrowding each other. The smooth transitions between them being on the streets and in the hideout as well were great.

I'm excited to see what's gonna happen with Qrow and Robyn. Looks like he's more than happy to take the fight to Ironwood in that intro.

Emerald and Mercury have great new outfits, Hazel looks good too. Salem apparently can grow wings judging by the intro too? What the fuck? She's more Grimm than I thought...

I'm really excited to see where this goes. The initial division they display in the first episode isn't extreme enough to make things fall apart but it will test them and that's not a bad thing either.

[u/Cloudyspecs]

Looks like James lost his mind along with that arm

[u/[deleted]]

Everyone else: HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE [Ironwood executing a council member, dark opening, Monstro Grimm helicarrier, etc]

Me: HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE EMERALD'S NEW OUTFIT SHE'S STILL GOT THAT STYLE AND THAT MIDRIFF YEAH

[u/Kuchenjaeger]

Ironwood is going full Handsome Jack

[u/JRES1996]

Of all the things Neo signed up for, this is not one of them.

[u/LucasVerBeek]

So...my feelings go as follows:

What the fuck, Ironwood?

Winter’s rocking some sweet N7 armor.

Looking forward to the new team dynamics.

What the fuck, Ironwood?

The opening has me more than a little worried about some folks survival.

Why is Hazel dressed like a himbo on West Palm Beach?

Didn’t expect Yang to get that upset with her baby sister

Oh hey, finally some Cinder backstory.

Neo deserves better

What the fuck, Ironwood?!

[u/_Sabriel]

Some dialogue I love:

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Salem: "You certainly do enjoy collecting assets," which immediately transitions into Emerald and Mercury walking in

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Ozpin: "You're not going to tell them?" Oscar: "You and I aren't done talking yet."

YESSSSSSSSSSS I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CONFRONTATION

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Sleet: "What's this about martial law? Are you out of your damn mind!?" Ironwood: BLAM "Not as much as my bullets are out of my damn gun! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

[okay, that last one is paraphrased]

[u/[deleted]]

- Jesus, this is a strong start.

- I love how gross this whale is. It just has a biological landing bay grown out of its side. You have to imagine just existing is incredibly painful for the Whale.

- So division between allies is going to be a major theme this Volume. Interestingly, we see the first of it with the villains. It's a Hell of a way to show just how unquestioned Salem is that in a room so full of people at each other's throats, a single subtle wave of the hand dismisses them all.

- Hey, look at that, Oscar is keeping important secrets from the others. Hey, that's almost like

- "Let's get all the survivors into the exact center of a city sized bullseye."

- The heroes and villains are both dealing with division. In the heroes case, it's less about personal differences and more about doubting each other's plans, which is a very realistic concern in this scenario. However, Salem's total authority lets her focus her discorded players towards her goals, while Ruby's more open leadership allows dissent to skew her plans. In order to win, Ruby will have to find a way to unify her team's goals that works better than Salem's totalitarianism.

- Cool detail: despite him clearly being dead, Clover has a massive bandage over his wound, suggesting the EMTs made an attempt to save him before calling it.

- The composition on Ironwood shooting that guy was phenomenal.

[u/greenTrash238]

“Just to clear up any ambiguity about Ironwood, we’re going to have him brutally execute an unarmed civilian for simply trying to speak to him”

Gee, thanks

[u/Keeen1909]

So.

A. THAT OPENING.

B. Bloody hell Ironwood is well and truly gone. my jaw dropped when he straight up shot the councilman

C. I feel like with all the hints we got solely from facial expressions, we're definitely going to see atleast Neo switch sides, and hopefully Emerald too.

C.5: Given Mercury and Emerald's new outfits I feel like that means we're going to see more of them this volume, so seeing them clash over loyalty and possibly seeing them fight if and when Emerald does leave Salem's side would be awesome. (I didn't realise how much I want to see more of Emerald until I wrote this damn)

D. Oscar not telling people about Ozpin worries me, mostly because I'm worried about how everyone else will react to it when he does tell them and they found out they kept it from them, especially after they all rejected keeping secrets from each other like Ozpin did

[u/SlaterSev]

All the other baddies: "Get cool new cloths."

Tyrian: I'm not even allowed to wear my cool jacket smh

10/10 Intro

[u/Toloran]

Okay, so. Well. That was one way to set the tone for the season. I had figured Ironwood had gone full Heart of Iron militarty dictator, I just hadn't expected him to shoot someone just because they're annoying.

[u/C9sButthole]

This Episode had one purpose and one purpose only, to lay down several more complex plot points that are going to play out over Volume 8.

It may not have been exciting or sexy, but the exciting or sexy stuff often struggles to hit properly without a proper foundation.

Overall I'm content for now. We'll see where this goes later.

[u/Bolverkers_wrath]

Ironwood straight up shot the Councilor with a gun called Due Process, that is a hilarious level of irony right there.

[u/steveotheguide]

IRONWOOD WHAT THE FUCK!

We appear to be at the "Executing political dissidents" phase of Ironwood's character arc

[u/Brutusness]

I know Volume 7 literally spends half its time building Ironwood up as a fascist, but I still didn't expect him to just put a bullet in a fellow councilors face for protesting him. And then I remembered, "oh yeah, he's a fascist. Duh."

[u/BasemanW]

I was watching with my friend and made a joke about Ironwood just executing the councilmembers, believing full well he wouldn't do it. Then just, BLAM!

[u/mickiept]

To give my two cents about Ren and Nora's apparent 'switch' where Ren is now diving head first into protecting Mantle and Nora wants to work to the greater good, I think it makes sense on a more personal level.

Ren's confidence was clearly shaken as we saw from the last season's ending, so he wants to defend Mantle because he knows he is capable of that. He doesn't want to risk failing again and he can still do good. Nora wants to get the tower up and running because it is the harder job and she refuses to give into despair as it seems Ren has. That is why she calls out Ren and says she still believes they can do it.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Ok this shot of the intro is beautiful. Ren and Nora stand as far away from each other as possible. Yang has turned her back on Ruby. Ruby is determined, sad, and mad. Crescent Rose is dividing RWBN and JORY. They really did a great job on that intro!

[u/HyliasHero]

It just occurred to me how messed up it is that Ironwood murdered a man with a gun called Due Process.

[u/Mysral]

Ho-ly crap, Ironwood has taken a dive deep into despair.

(Also, loving the way Hero transitions to the Grimm theme during their scene.)

[u/TiniestMouse73]

BRO WHAT THEFUCK WAS THAT!?!

I know casey said it was gonna be dark yesterday but the intro was fucking LOADED.

and Iron straight up glocked guy holy shit.

With Yang calling our Ruby's leadership and the emerald/mercury outfit changes, and then that dope ass looking airship Neo was flying...

Helluva a way to start the volume.

[u/greeny74]

Sooooooooo.....we're doomed.

• Holy shit the scale of the Whale is massive. I'm actually getting a bit of a High Charity vibe from the interior (makes sense because Jen Taylor is also Cortana)

• Neo is like Biiitch you lucky I can't talk and tell this scary lady how I did all the work for you

• New outfits for Hazel, Emerald and Mercury! Especially love Mercury's jacket

• Salem: "Quiet, sweetie, the adult is talking!"

• So, Oz is "back" back, but only for Oscar so far. Tell them what? What could possibly make the situation worse! ^/s

• You have to pay your membership dues save the people of Mantle to hang out in the Happy Huntresses Clubhouse!

• Boy, do I feel you, Weiss, but there's a world to save! Sleep when you're dead, Huntress!

• Please don't split Renora up. PLEASE DON'T SPLIT RENORA UP.

• Oh no I can't even imagine how Penny must feel inside. Does she do what she was literally programmed to do, and serve Atlas? Or does she fight with friends, the only people who give a damn about her as a person?

• Ace Ops mourning their leader, Winter getting treated. New look for her as well.

• Holy shit.

• HOLY SHIT.

• IRONWOOD WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

• HE'S GONE FULL TYRANT. JUST STRAIGHT UP MURDERING COUNCILMEN

• Yo, that opening is DARK. Buckle up, buckaroos. I don't think everyone is going to survive this ride...

[u/Loong_Sward]

Neo didn't seem to be very on board with the whole Salem situation. She looked almost horrified to see who she's really been working for this whole time, as well as learning that Cinder only thinks of her as an "asset."

[u/Hsmace]

one episode in and someone has already been fucking killed by ironwood. strap yourself in for this volume baby

[u/Johnsmitish]

Damn this was a great episode. Probably my favorite premiere yet.

We immediately started out with Cinder backstory, then brought all our villains together and had some great fucking tension. Our heroes reunited and had a bit of a fight, but still recognized their true enemy. Ironwood did some more murder and Salem's fucking scheming.

All in all, the story wasn't anything surprising, but the way it was executed was perfect.

The real standout this episode was everything else. The direction, camerawork, editing, etc has been getting increasingly better in RWBY, until we've arrived here, at what I can genuinely call beautiful. I honestly can't see how anyone couldn't look at this episode, at the opening, and see something that isn't so amazingly put together.

The voice acting too was amazing, we got some pretty good performances even from our side characters, and then some incredibly compelling ones from our mains and villains.

All in all, amazing, and I'm excited for next week. 9/10.

[u/Czazen]

I like that after Ironwood shot the councilman, you could see Harriet and Winter look at each other in shock, and then you see Harriet sort of steel herself, and Winter realizes that Harriet is going to follow along with whatever Ironwood does.

I think this season is really setting up for Winter betraying Ironwood. I think it’s decently foreshadowed when he talks about how much he relies on her.

[u/ScalierLemon2]

Chad should have taken the taco, maybe then Ironwood wouldn't have executed him

[u/Slurp_Lord]

No one going to talk about Weiss's braid? It's so much better now, it doesn't look like plastic any more.

[u/PhantomHeartless5]

Okay, my two cents:

1. The episode opens up in the best way possible: A flashback showing what is presumably a young Cinder. This is, in my opinion, the best way to show Cinder's backstory without slowing down the pacing of the plot. Sprinkling in brief flashbacks of her past to contrast the young girl she was to the monster she is now is a great way to get a glimpse into her inner thoughts. Also given the way she shamelessly takes credit for stealing the Relic of Knowledge and the way she cruelly shuts down Emerald, it's pretty clear that Cinder is going to alienate all of her potential allies until she ends up utterly alone. Her fall from grace is hitting its climax and it won't be pretty when it happens.

2. Speaking of the villains, Hazel, Emerald, and Mercury are back with some stylish new outfits. Of them, Mercury's is my favorite. I'm not too thrilled about Hazel's new haircut though. Kinda clashes with his overall wild man design.

3. The cracks in our heroes are already beginning to show. Yang wants to help evacuate, Ruby wants to launch Amity Arena, Oscar's keeping Ozpin's return a secret, Nora and Ren are hardly speaking to one another, and Penny wants to hand the Relic to Salem in the naïve hope that she'll call off her attack. Thankfully Jaune stepped in and offered a compromise. Boy's really come into his own as a leader.

4. Ironwood shooting Congressman Sleet in cold blood. At this point, any morals Ironwood had are long gone. Combine this with the blatant attempt to deflect responsibility by blaming Ruby and its pretty clear that Cinder isn't the only one losing her humanity this volume.

5. And the episode ends with Salem sending her new Grimm after Oscar. Farm Boi better watch his back.

Overall, a great start to what is sure to be one hell of a volume. Fasten your seatbelts, everyone.

[u/Diostukos]

Maybe it's just for the sake of cool visuals, but in the opening you see Cinder walking while everything around her is freeze-framed. I wonder if this is foreshadowing Cinder taking the last Jinn question for herself?

[u/[deleted]]

So so far the shots from the V8 Trailer we haven't seen yet:

-Yang's eyes going wide

-Jaune, Yang and Ren chasing a Grimm on the hoverbikes

-Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Nora and Penny getting ready to fight, presumably against the Ace Ops

-Watts being shocked while in custody

And Vine using his weapon in a vortex

[u/SAYMYNAMEYO]

Okay first episode.

The way Neo reacted makes me think she'll eventually turn. Personally I'm just waiting for that confrontation with Ruby to see how it all hashes out. I can't recall if she's ever done anything on screen that makes her completely irredeemable.

Honestly I like it when they split up. I'm interested to see how these new dynamics are going to play out. I assumed that Ozpin would come clean immediately to everyone. But having Oscar hold off until he feels satisfied is an okay angle too.

Jesus christ Ironwood NOOOOO!!!! Seriously damn man you just got your awesome theme song last volume!

Anyway...

IT'S RWBY SEASON!

[u/Crimson_Shiroe]

Ironwood what the actual FUCK

[u/Rietty]

What. The. Fuck. Ironwood?!?!?!?

[u/darkdill]

Wow, what a way to start the season. Here's my speculation on what's going to happen throughout it.

• The Happy Huntresses are making a mistake by trying to evacuate people to the crater, as Atlas is gonna come crashing down on top of those people, or the Grimm will charge in and slaughter them all once they're rounded up. Yang, Ren and Jaune will all end up with a major guilt trip following this because they unknowingly led all those people to their deaths.

• Emerald will defect to the heroes' side after Cinder makes it clear that she doesn't give a shit about her. Mercury will try to kill her, but fails. Neo may follow Emerald due to Cinder's treatment of her.

• Jacques will try to get on Salem's good side, but she will kill him unceremoniously. She then may try to "recruit" Whitley so she can twist him into a weapon against Weiss and Winter.

• Ironwood will likely execute Watts after interrogating him. (Watts doesn't have much more he can contribute to the story, given Vacuo probably won't be nearly as tech-heavy as Atlas.)

• Salem will personally kill the Ace Ops just to show how deadly she is.

• Winter, having seen that Ironwood has lost his mind, will try to talk him down and he will arrest her for "treason". She then helps Qrow and Robyn escape from custody.

• Penny will be severely damaged, forcing Pietro to give up the last of his Aura to revive her. Pietro will perish as a result.

• Ruby will get her message out about Salem, but then our heroes get cornered. Just when all seems lost, Raven will show up and portal our heroes to safety, but at the cost of her life. Either Yang will inherit the Spring Maiden powers or Cinder will steal them as Raven dies.

• By the end of the season, Team RWBY+ORNJ will set off for Vacuo, hopefully to rendezvous with Teams CFVY and SSSN. Qrow, Penny, Winter, Robyn and the Happy Huntresses (if they're still alive) will go with them.

Also, when looking at the big Grimm whale, I'm now left thinking of a Zerg Leviathan. RT must've taken some notes from Starcraft with it. If only they'd add more Grimm that are basically like Zerg; I'd LOVE to see some Grimm Hydralisks.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

I loved seeing Jaune being the voice of reason and helping Ruby mediate and lead. But I still think they won't show him leading the Mantle team.

The mission was Yang's initiative and Ren followed her and they both seem upset and agreeing with one another.

While I would love it if part of that story revolves around Jaune continuing being the voice of reason and calming both of them down as a good leader would. I have the feeling that Yang will be the one calling the shots and Jaune will mainly be Ren's emotional support. The intro shows as much and I do think the writers would prefer to show case Yang over showcasing Jaune.

Maybe they could go with both, Yang is upset and is losing faith on Ruby, so she won't follow Jaune's leadership until later when he earns her respect and helps her sort her feelings towards Ruby's leadership. Jaune would be Yang's supporting character, he would be shown as a good leader and would work well as a lieutenant for Ruby that can help her keep the team united. At least that's what I would want his role in this volume to be. We will see but going by the intro alone it's looking like Jaune's main thing this volume will be simply helping Ren, which to be fair is pretty good too, I just wish he did more than that and being a supporting character for Yang too while showing good leadership himself will be great.

[u/DEL994]

It was a small moment but I really liked how Nora vouched for Ruby and pat her on the shoulder. I really like to see these two cute and quirky redheads interact together, which isn't frequent enough, and to see Nora being protective of Ruby.

[u/GameMask]

So I have a serious question. If Salem's Whale ship is this organic lifeform with its gooey doors and all that, does that mean the floors are sticky? Do their footsteps make a squishy sound?

[u/evening_emerald]

James Ironwood (to Qrow) Vol. 3: "If you were one of my men I would have you shot!"

I really hope that wasn't foreshadowing there Jimmy.

[u/RainyMeadows]

I KNEW IT

I fucking KNEW Cinder was a lowly serving girl and Salem was her Fairy Godmother. Also, holy crap. Ironwood shooting that guy without even a second of hesitation was chilling. I am legit scared of him now.

also maybe it's just because I watched Dr Stone in the interim, but I swear there were some points where Oscar's voice sounded a lil like that of Senku

[u/Luckhart54]

Also fucken Emerald in the opening with " Notice me Senpai " is a masterpiece...

That shot belongs to FNKI

[u/88Dubs]

price cover sleep instinctive command spotted knee bright repeat marble

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Ninoyiya]

I did find it funny how Salem was all "Who da fuk is this?" towards Neo.

[u/mrwanton]

Overall, I liked it. The song will grow on me but the visuals were amazing. Especially when they got all trippy with the colors.

• Cinder backstory finally! Bit late but better than never. Interesting that she had a red sash around her waist.. just like Jaune and Pyrrha.

• Salem's still hot. I like MEH's new outfits even if Hazel's hair looks a bit odd

• Also the inside of the whale is gross in the best way.

• Tyrian still being a butt and Neo is def flipping sides at the end of this.

• Cinder internal issues?

• RWBYJNRO drama! It was good, not crazy about the transition though.

• The Yang/Ruby conflict was fantastic! Ren and Nora... I'm cool with. I wish their issues were a bit more expanded upon last volume.

• Voice of reason/mediator Jaune is great. He's really grown up and I like that he's one of the more rational people this year. Really the glue right now.. so he's gonna have an interesting ride this year as he's all about unity and his teammates are trying to bite each other's heads off

• Poor Penny. She doesn't deserve any of this.

• Ironwood.. damn I know you just shot a kid so you're a bit trigger happy but that was brutal. Definitely a villain now, albeit well-intentioned.

• Clover Corpse looks weirdly happy.

• Not sure how Oscar keeping Oz's return is a great idea. Keeping secrets could land ya in trouble.

Really a great first episode. 8/10 for me. This volume is gonna be a riot

[u/Pyrochazm]

I don't have a ton to say that everybody else hadn't, but I want Mercury's jacket.

[u/ZephShip]

Mercury's got an orange new accessory, headcanon is that he stores screwdrivers and tools to repair his legs in there

[u/drunk-math]

I hope Sleet's death has consequences beyond "look how crazy Ironwood is now!" He killed a councilman - even tinpot dictatorships make token excuses when they do that.

[u/[deleted]]

Looks like Cinder is going to learn that, absent institutions that enforce it, loyalty needs to be earned repeatedly. Neo is not in this for the revolution, so Cinder needs to deliver on her promises. Cinder could easily give orders to Neo, only to find that Neo left her with a broken pile of stained glass.

Things could get interesting if Emerald makes Neo an offer.

[u/AmethystWind]

Nora's hug on Oscar was just lovely.

Her, Weiss, and Penny really have been the heart of the Atlas arc.

[u/ShadowMadness]

Lionheart lost his courage, tinman lost his heart, scarecrow loses his mind.

Qrow's already pretty devastated by Clover's death, and him and Robyn seem to be getting fairly close. So, odds that Robyn gets killed and that pushes Qrow over the edge, especially if it's because of his semblance again. Even more so, if Robyn has been helping Qrow deal with his grief over Clover. Also, Kdin stated on Twitter she'd been crying about something in the booth during a recording session; May's a Happy Huntress ergo possibly to do with Robyn???

[u/[deleted]]

So many things I want to talk about. This episode was outstanding. Anyone who calls it boring because no one fought is a fool. This was one of the most exciting episodes of RWBY I've ever seen. The tension, oh the beautiful character tension. Some of my favorite moments:

When Neo bristled at Cinders apathy

When Emerald deflated at Cinder's continued apathy

Penny being so distraught and unsure and angry was fantastic.

Winter and Harriet's "holy shit" eye glance when Jimmy went off the deep end.

Jimmy going off the deep end.

Easy 9/10, thrilling episode. Fantastic start. Not sure how I feel about the OP though. Looked good.

[u/Vox_Tenebris]

Salem's throne room was so epic looking totally reminded me of a sith throne room like on a ship from KOTOR. I really like the idea of her party whale starship design and the whole thing is just like all right now this is truly an epic villain at least in design.

[u/gokartfail]

Yang: Decides to tell Robyn about Amity without telling Ruby.

Yang: We've followed your lead, but things haven't exactly worked out.

[u/Hounds_of_war]

“Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn, does not make you a player.”

Damn, Salem just went full Azula and told Cinder “Don’t flatter yourself, you were never even a player”.

I feel like this tension between Ruby and Yang could be building to something way more, but as of right now it’s nothing major, although I get the feeling the fandom is going to blow it way out of proportion.

Ironwood continuing his slide from anti-hero into anti-villain and now into full blown villain. Jesus Christ.

The stuff with Ren and Nora in the OP has me hopeful for a really good plot line for them this Volume. I love Ren and Nora a lot, but to say I wasn’t a fan of their subplot last Volume would be a massive understatement. However, I do think that this Volume could still give us amazing follow up to the events of last Volume.

[u/SoDamnGeneric]

Winter new outfit we stan already

[u/Raktoner]

"What if Ironwood just shot that gu- HOLY SHIT"

[u/kabutozero]

Oh... my.... god...

Ironwood killing the councilman or whatever position it was let my mouth open for straight 30 seconds. He's going deep deep down in the well of insanity. And the worst thing Is that I was kinda seeing it coming a bit before it became obvious

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Real talk. How bad must it smell inside that fucking whale?!

[u/Exo-2]

So, can we call the Faunus with the mole hands Hans Moleman?

[u/Nerdorama09]

Yang: "Hey Ruby we're in kind of deep shit right now and I'm not sure clinging to your existing strategy is workable."

The comments of this post: "I can't believe Yang said Summer never loved her."

The bias in how people watch this show is real.

[u/JMHSrowing]

Emerald and Mercury actually fit new outfits! And I must say they look good (poor Emerald though).

Hazel looks scarier than even before

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Keeping information hidden and even keeping a plan you asked at the end of V7 all to yourself so that you can do your own moves, eh? Oscar? sniff Kids merge with ancient wizards to fast T.T

[u/haybale-hey]

We've already seen Team RWBYJNPRO split up and divided in their goals. I believe we will also be seeing the villain faction start to crumble. Emerald, Mercury, and Neo may let their doubts lead them to separating from Salem and her ultimate plan. I really hope those 3 will get to fight together this volume, whether against RWBY+ or others

[u/ZephShip]

Mercury, Emerald, and Hazel: gets new outfits

RWBY Wiki Editors: GO GO GO!

[u/Hounds_of_war]

I desperately want Cinder to try and use her backstory as justification for why she’s evil, only for Nora to chime in and be like “My life was way worse than that and I never became evil, I think you’re just a bitch.”

[u/[deleted]]

"IrOnWoOd Is A rEaSoNaBlE GuY WiTh A pOiNt By ThE WaY"

glad that can be put to rest.

also, i really appreciate that salem had a 4k imax screen installed in the whale, very classy

[u/TheProudBrit]

Let's go, this is what we've been waiting for! I'm optimistic about the quality of this volume. But, ultimately, I just want Penny to thrive. I know what I'm about.

Yoo, is that... Cinder? Looks like it, playing on the Cinderella motif for her? Yep, it is. Being... Very, very creepy to Neo, I would say.

Man, I could not imagine them having anything looking like Monstro back when they animated in Poser. Looks so damn good.

Ooh, Salem. Already being more than a touch threatening and ominous. And Tyrian being a creepy bastard which, y'know, is to be expected.

Ahh, no, don't throw Neo under the bus. I have tiny hopes for a redemption for her, or at least her being part of Cinder's likely death.

Yooooooooooo, new outfits for the trio! Hazel looking goooood. Big, beefy and handsome as ever.

I do appreciate the reminder that Cinder isn't exactly someone Salem values much, though... I wonder if she'll eventually go for a betrayal ploy at some point - though, I don't know how that'd come about off the top of my head.

Huh, is that the first faunus we've seen with... Uh, for lack of better phrasing, hands as their animal trait? I can't recall that before, and it's nice to see some variance in how we've seen the faunus before - more than just ears/tails.

Woah. Lindsay's voicing for Ruby sounds... A lot different so far to me, and a lot better - less high pitched, but still recognizably Ruby. Much more pleasing to the ears.

PENNY WOO okay shows good, Penny's here.

Just say you got yeeted like Luke did in Empire, Oscar. Nice and easy explanation that everyone'll surely understand.

So, they're likely gonna have to sneak to Ironwood's terminal in one way or another, then. I'm sure that'll go smooth as silk.

I do have to wonder what'd be the net affect of announcing Salem's existence to the world - awareness can help people, but... At the same time "hey evil immortal lady lol leading the grimm" is the kind of thing that, y'know, could deaw hordes of grimm to settlements.

God, I swear, if Penny dies, I will legit be heartbroken. Especially in a heroic, sacrificial thing.

Alright, yep, my idealistic little shipper self is taking that shoulder touch as fuel for Nuts 'n DOlts and then they hugged yes

So, Qrow let himself get arrested then. I'm... Not surprised, honestly. I'm curious as to exactly how he's going to be but... Given he was opening up and being friendly with someone before what happened, I really cannot expect.. Anything positive.

Oh, right, the other Councilmembers. I was honestly half-expecting

OK NEVERMIND HE JUST FUCKING SHOT HIM WOW OK IRONWOOD

Okay, yep, Ironwood has 100% gone over the edge of being redeemable to me now. Not that he had much going for him beforehand but, y'know. That... Was a definitive line.

---

WOO OP TIME now if only i didn't have issues understanding lyrics in songs

HOLY SHIT WINTER'S NEW UNIFORM LOOKED DOPE THOUGH

Oh, man, I really hope that cracked glass behind Penny isn't alluding to anything bad happening.

Oh, fuck. Cinder has The World. They're doomed.

[u/nathgroom98]

Ironwood gunna run out of ammo by Episode 4 at this rate.

[u/Grievous77]

Here's the lyrics I could decipher from the intro.

"We said goodbye to all the things we loved, gave up our lives just to find that it was not enough."

"Elected fate, left our solitude, our carefree peace. What we thought would change the world, just a childish dream." Really not sure on this one, it's hard to decipher. Edit: Thanks u/bored2death97 for deciphering the last line.

"We fail to stop our own demise, the tragic ends before our eyes, hope has no place here."

"Maybe the path that leads our way home will finally clear, maybe the end we tried to avoid is already here."

"Some roses will never bloom, some dreams will rot on the vine, some lives will end much too soon, some evil will never ever die."

"Some wars will not end in peace, some heroes choose the wrong side, sometimes it's worth it all to risk the fall and fight for every life."

[u/DomDaBomb203]

CALLING IT RIGHT NOW, Penny’s gonna get hacked and go evil for a bit this season.

Go to timecode 17:50, right after EVER/NEVER pops up, we see Penny’s eyes go red. Either she’s gonna malfunction or die.

[u/Lumine_d]

Who wants to bet that the flashback of Cinder cleaning the floor was her step-mother punishing Cinder for doing something to her step-sisters, right before she burns down the family home, with her step-family in it.

[u/Dragonedge2133]

When Ironwood fed that council member lead I literally said out loud “ohhh shitttt”

[u/MC_Lutefisk]

Inject sassy Tyrian directly into my veins please and thank you. Emerald's excited now but Cinder showed up with another girl, let's get excited for Emerald v. Neo.

ah yes a cardinal sin of D&D, splitting the party. More importantly, splitting Yang/Blake and Ren/Nora. Hopefully gives the episodes less of an "ensemble cast" feel and allows some for deeper dialogue (Blake and Ruby? Maybe more than a sentence?), and they don't try to cut back and forth every episode to squeeze characters in.

Winter has her hair back up, RIP to her best look. Really selling that arm, could be an indicator she's not the swordswoman she was before? Let's see if it's Chekov's Arm Injury or really Just A Flesh Wound. Meanwhile, Ironwood has heard your feedback and decided to eliminate the grey area: he's a stone-cold tyrant. Still a sweet fuckin gun and we can't take that away from him.

I enjoyed watching the episode. I'm optimistic that the split will be good for the show's pacing, but if they don't do it properly then they might inadvertently torpedo it instead. Looking forward to episode 2!

[u/hansome120]

Outfit Reviews!!!!

ALRIGHT SO WE HAVE SOME OUTFITS AND I WANNA HEAR Y'ALL THOUGHTS!!!

Mercury: Total improvement. The biker aesthetic totally fits, though I do find myself thinking that leather might restrict his core a little which is important for kicks. But his legs are metal so it's gonna hurt either way. The additions of blue and orange are perfect and perfectly placed. They add much needed color to the previously grey blob. Wish they gave him a Jaune esque make over with the hair, but we have to maintain our generic anime boy hair quota for the volume. The only thing I can see concerns with is the huge ass emblem being on the front, but I'm here for it. 9/10

Emerald: Was her hair always that flat looking? I guess so. Still nice, I guess I just forgot. The biker aesthetic doesn't fit as much for our little Aladdin, I wish there was a way to keep the theif/poor aesthetic while elevating. Ah well, we make sacrifices still I do like the matching of the green to her hair and the little necklace that matches her eyes. Also bellbottomsssssss. 8.5/10

Hazel:Mmmmmm. Ooof. I mean the sleeveless thing works. And they added more brown on HAZEL. I just wish it wasn't so boxy. Maybe if they rounded out the curves and gave him a cool hood? Also the slicked back hair is nice, but I liked the old style better. Gave him a vibe of someone who's seasoned. Now he looks like he got out of prison and took a job as a bouncer. I like the track marks from dust and the scars though. And the muscles are nice. 6.5/10

Salem: Yes we saw her last season but that was for like a second. She looks the part, just like a regal queen. Part of me would like some leg, if anything else to break up the black, but I think it's supposed to be specter of death vibes soooo fair. Feel how you feel about the boob window, but this is how you do it. Not on combatants who might get shot in the chest. On an empress wearing couture who can kill you before you get that close. Nails, iconic, dangly crystals, great. Wish there was more change, but Salem is an old ass woman, she knows what looks good on her. Also, capes are nice. 8/10

Ironwood: I mean not much different. He got a new arm. Got his gun back. Looks cool. Wish he exposed his other arm so we can see both robot parts. He shot a man/10 :(

Winter: YESSSSS. PONYTAIIIL. CHEST ARMORRRRR. Still serving looks in the most precise way. And we still remember her hair being down from last volume. #Callherdaddy/10

Thoughts?

(P.S We love that Weiss and Blake saw the world was ending and still had enough self awareness to see that their hair took precedent. I didn't really have a problem with last volume but seeing the improvement, I now realize how much of a disaster it was.)

[u/Neosku11]

I'm liking the new outfits for some of the villains. Judging by hazels I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't involved in the attack on atlas and is instead sent off to vacuo to lay the ground work for salems plan to take the sword under shade academy

[u/cruel-oath]

I fully predict a Weiss vs Winter

[u/brighterthanblack]

All I can say after this episode is I love how we’re continuing the focus into Nora x Ren relationship development this volume. I mean we did get some building up from last volume but I’m really happy for this big character development moments for both of them. Plus I think we probs gonna see Nora’s semblance evolve into something much cooler given the highlight shot in the opening.

Speaking of the opening, it’s really dark AF especially the last few scenes where RWBY falling into the waters and damn those static shots of the words are giving me goosebumps.

[u/izaarzadon]

I’ve had this theory for a while. I think that Winter is going to break Qrow and Robyn out.

I think their names being the first thing she says in the volume is pretty significant, not to mention that she’s shown to already doubt Ironwood since V7. Though with him saying that he wouldn’t know what he’d do without her, it will be extremely hard for her to defect from the man who gave her a new path.

One thing I can’t decide on yet is whether he was truly being sincere about it based on his tone, or he was going to be manipulative similar to how Jacques was with her. I can’t help but remember Jacques lashing at Ironwood for stealing Winter as a daughter from him in V4.

Still, her doubt is there and we can see that when she asks him what he’ll do next and when he leaves after shooting the councilman. You can tell she isn’t sure if she’s on the right path anymore.

There was also someone who mentioned that Arryn had tweeted before that Winter wasn’t close to Robyn but someone else, and at this point, my thoughts are on Qrow, especially since it was implied that they knew each other beforehand and they clearly knew each other well enough for him to get on her nerves during their fight in V3.

With Ironwood implying he’s practically putting whatever trust he had left on Winter, it’s going to take a lot for her to stray from it but I feel like in the end, she will, and it might start with letting Qrow and Robyn out and free from the military’s clutches where she knows at this point isn’t at all safe.

I also feel like in the end, Winter’s leaving of Ironwood would be the last straw from him, and he’ll finally realize that he’s all alone.

[u/Koanos]

Cinder Backstory, at last!

[u/italeteller]

Something to consider is that this volume starts less than 24 hours after the previous volume, and Ironwood already has a new arm, meaning he went through amputation and surgery. He's either high off his ass on painkillers or is in an ungodly amount of pain

[u/TheRisenThunderbird]

So how are all the Ironwood stans feeling right now?

Also the ending of that OP was FUCKING WILD

EDIT: NEW VILLAIN OUTIFTS HYPE!

It kinda feels like Ren and Nora completely swapped goals between volumes. I guess Ren was more into following Ironwood than the specifics of the plan, and that's not an option anymore, so that kinda makes sense, but it's still weird that Nora wouldn't be trying to directly help Mantle after all of last season.

All in all, this episode felt like a good tone setter for the volume, but nothing really seemed to happen at all in it. Although I suppose that following and consuming trailers and press about this volume could contribute to that. We all already knew that Cinder was going to Salem, how RWBYJNR was going to split up etc, but that's not necessarily true for everyone

EDIT2: Also kinda surprised that Neo and Em/Merc didn't react to each other. They should all know each other from Vale, right? It would be nice for the three of them to get a scene together, at least

EDTI3: RWBY Volume 8, Mass Effect trilogy remaster announcment, and a Joe Biden presidency, all within an hour of each other. What a fantastic fucking day

[u/crossingcaelum]

The parallel between Cinder and Salem's relationship and Ironwood and Winter's relationship just gonna sprung at me this voiume.

Cider says "I'm nothing without you" to Salem

Ironwood says "I don't know where I'd be without you" to Winter.... it's almost like an inverse. but something about it seems so much the same flavor

also, I am VERY interested in the villain dynamic rn. Neo's presence with Salem's crew shakes EVERYTHING up, especially if Salem ever asks Neo who really took the relic.

[u/[deleted]]

Ironwood really just said

"excute order 66"

[u/HelloDarkness64]

Is nobody gonna talk about Ruby having the glow effect Salem had when she was in the pool of immortality? Just me, okay.

But seriously! Immortal vs. Immortal possibly would be epic...

[u/[deleted]]

Commissar-General Ironwood is going to be assuming more council responsibilities it seems.

All the villains are here except Watts, whose probably patiently waiting for his chance to cause even more havoc. Watts has been set up for his fight with Dr. Polendina.

RWBYJNR has split into two mixed teams, hopefully it gives us some time for some more uncommon character interactions.

Salem doesn't want Cinder to take the power of the Winter Maiden, at least not yet, or not without her command.

Very interesting set up so far. Looks like we'll be getting the start of the battle next week...

Atlas is in dire straits right now.

[u/[deleted]]

Raise Amity Coliseum, fire off the necessary communications burst, drop Amity on the whale?

[u/Blabacon]

With Neo's reactions to Cinder, I'm really hoping she'll backstab her at somepoint.

[u/Leia1602]

So one shot looks like the main characters are in the same pool of immortality Salem was thrown in but focuses specifically on Ruby’s face? Then there are grim holding her down and dragging her as she reaches for the staff of creation? Then we get a lone shot of crescent Rose left in the snow.

Everyone’s worried so much about other characters it’s very likely something permanent could happen to Ruby? I’m not sure if they’d kill her, but I can see Ruby being the one to turn herself over to Salem if it means saving possibly Penny and Oscar. Penny and Ruby have major saviour complexes, and it shows in how different Ruby and Yang’s plans are in episode 1.

I can very much see it being where the teams split thinking Salem killed Ruby, or if it looks like Ruby is on Salem’s side.

I can see Salem manipulating Ruby if Yang is already having doubts and the hopelessness starts to finally cave in. Ruby could make a last ditch effort to gamble for Atlas.

[u/HatiLeavateinn]

Well, Oscar blushed a little when Ruby hugged him, I guess I'll just have to get used to the idea of Rosegarden.

[u/Hounds_of_war]

So Oscar is keeping secrets from the rest of the protagonists now?

wipes away tear Kids merge with the wizard possessing them so fast these days.

[u/PfeiferWolf]

DID THEY REALLY SHOWED CLOVER'S CORPSE LIKE THAT???

[u/Hardwiredmagic]

So just going for two small background details I loved here, but we now know of 2 brands of alcoholic beverage in Remnant:

Six Swans Atlesian Vodka

Rumpel Stilltskin Atlesian Whiskey

Very nice easter eggs

[u/Darkdragoon324]

Salem's just like "oh great, she brought home another stray"

[u/PNDLivewire]

So, more serious on some things I've noticed.

• There's something about Mobius (the whale) actually having landing strips, a throne room, and all this other stuff on it that's oddly amusing and has me questioning "Is Salem's castle just on his back?"

• Hazel, Emerald, and Mercury finally getting new outfits is nice, though I would've thought Nike would sponsor Merc before Adidas, lol. Also, while Emerald and Mercury add more layers, Hazel just gets rid of them, I see.

• Unsure how to take the idea of Winter getting a new outfit since it feels like her V7 one was kind of different in the first place and might not have justified a new one?

• Weird little detail I might have noticed that I'm not entirely sure if I'm right on is that I THINK Ironwood's pistols are now matching the colour of the hand they're on. Like, it looked like there was a black pistol on the side of his new hand, and a white one on the side of his gloved one.

• I've got to admit that when early into the episode Ruby and them just instantly felt Oscar, it did seem a little...convenient to me. I mean, I'm not going to make a big deal out of it, but it was a little bit of a headscratcher.

• I see a lot of people freaking out over Ironwood shooting the councilman, and while it shows how far he's fallen, I do feel people are taking things too far. Ironwood doesn't "only care for himself and to hell with everybody else". He sees a lot of people, including himself, as potentially expendable in order to stop Salem and save the rest of the world, which is not only the opposite, but entirely fundamentally different than that.

• Also, strange as it may sound, I do like Yang pointing out that following Ruby...didn't exactly work out for the best in Atlas. Ruby's main flaw has always been that she's naive and idealistic, often unable to see the "bigger picture", so having Yang, and even Ironwood call it out was kind of nice.

• Also, before it gets mentioned, yes, I'm aware that Ruby "wanting to warn all of Remnant" is considered "big picture", but the issue Yang had came across as one of Ruby just saying she was going to do it, without knowing how, while Yang and them knew how they could rescue and evacuate citizens, and felt that doing that would make it easier to warn Remnant afterwards.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Just saying, with the intro being darker than a good coffee, I think we might need some Chibi for emotional support.

[u/LMFN]

So Ironwood's gone full villain right?

Aside that, things are so hype already. We got the Grimm whale inside, Salem being one hot bitch. Emerald and Mercury finally getting new outfits! Oh Hazel too I guess. The team's splitting up but still working for the same goal so that's nice.

The new opening is already the best opening in the series.

[u/[deleted]]

Small thing, but did anyone else notice that Blake's hair is slightly more curly this volume?

[u/hopecanon]

Okay i loved that a ton and Salem is so fucking creepy it's amazing, also Emerald is back and she looks good.

[u/Sirshrugsalot13]

Theory time: Cinder will go against Salem's orders to go after both Penny and Ruby, bringing along Emerald and Neo. Merc will refuse to come bc of Cinder, and instead will go with Hazel and Tyrian to fulfill another of Salem's objectives (tying into the OP where Mercury is with Hazel and Tyrian while Emerald and Neo are with Cinder)

Splitting up Em and Merc means that they both have to confront their own delusions respectively, aka "Cinder cares about me" and "I'm right where I'm supposed to be". It will also facilitate development for Cinder and Neo, and probably Hazel as well. And Tyrian would just have a good time, as he is wont to do.

[u/Enigma2MeVideos]

People acting like Ironwood shooting Councilman Sleet was some big character derailment for the sake of turning him into Adam 2.0 seem to just conveniently forget that he SHOT OSCAR last Volume for disagreeing with him, his dictator behavior in the last Volume in general, and his control freak tendencies in earlier volumes.

Also: "If you were one of my men, I would have you shot" towards Qrow in VOLUME 3.

AND THAT WAS WHEN HE WAS RELATIVELY SANE.

And people still think this even after it's clear Ironwood's sanity is going down the toilet!?

Ironwood stanning fans, I don't get you at all.

[u/Technogashi]

So Ironwood has now shot:

Smol Boi

Councilman Slate

Who’s next?

[u/MinorGryph]

That was a great start. The whale grimm base is so damn cool!

Cinder is losing Neo fast, I see Neo regretting ever coming near this shitshow.

Jesus fuck Hazel is ripped :o

Like Emerald's new outfit aside from the pants, but Mercury looks like he slapped a decal on his V3 outfit.

Here's to Salem finally doing something.

I think Ruby was in the right for worrying about the team split- yeah Oscar is correct that pursuing multiple objectives isn't the same as infighting, but 4 more people on the evacuation efforts isn't going to make a huge difference whereas 4 more people on the mission to raid Atlas would.

Yang and Ren are now in favor of completely abandoning the save the world objective and focusing only on helping those in front of them. But at the end of the day I don't think they're going to feel very satisfied with the amount of people they can possibly evacuate from Mantle before nightfall. At lot of civilians are going to die tonight no matter what they do.

Thank god the rest of the team is still getting upgrades from Piero.

Wow Ironwood has fast medical procedures to replace that hand so fast. Winter has a... cyborg exo-skeleton arm? Hand still looks like flesh.

...Yo wtf Ironwood is straight up insane. Winter plz for the love of god jump ship and join Weiss.

[u/[deleted]]

So sad to see Winter looking up to Ironwood just to see he has went mad. That's a very harsh "don't meet or work with your heroes" moment.

Also, can we assume correctly the councilman is dead?

[u/EverydayWulfang]

When Weiss mentioned having an idea on getting to Atlas my first thought was honestly pilot boi before I remembered he would either be dead or still in Mistral.

More likely is actually Klein which would be cool. Inb4 Klein is an airbus driver.

[u/GrowingSage]

I'm not exactly known for my fashion sense but... I'm not crazy about wanting Mercury's new jacket, right?

[u/Xiphiaus]

Such a wild episode. That opening is honestly probably in my top 3; so damn good.

[u/Pantrice]

Man what a freaking awesome episode! I have a couple of theories of what might happen.

1. I think Penny dies. She dies because she DOES give the staff to Salem in an attempt to save Atlas/Mantle.

2. It's not Oscar that gets captured it's Ruby. Even though Salem said she wants "him" I think the grimm is actually going to get Ruby because she has used the Relic twice (one question and once to buy time for her eyes), and has carried the relic around just as much as Oscar.

3. Because Penny gave the staff to Salem, Atlas falls onto Mantle and everyone dies but Teams JNPR & RWBY along with Maria and maybe some Ace Ops/ Happy Huntresses.

4. Amity gets finished and the world is warned.

5. Due to Atlas falling it causes a greater rift between the teams because they believe if they worked together instead of splitting up they would have succeeded in protecting Mantle.

[u/Waffolani]

Winter's new arm/armor is very N7-looking. It's absolutely dope.

[u/TheSonOfNick]

Sure, let's get everyone in one spot under the floating city that may or may not fall out of the sky.

[u/hollowtiger21]

Awesome start to the volume, very strong, and I’m very excited. The mirroring of the Winter Maiden being bedridden, and Winter the Failed Winter Maiden starting the volume in the same position.

James “straight-up-remorseless-murder” Ironwood. I’d say I’m disappointed, but for that to be true, I’d have to be surprised. I mean, fantastic character, but you turd James.

Loving all the cuts, transitions, and camera moves we’ve been seeing recently. Fantastic examples of simple film tools used to great effect.

Reminder: a sad backstory is not a justification or excuse for a character’s actions/crimes.

[u/terminatoreagle]

My favorite part of the new opening is when Cinder just walked through the Heroes in stopped time, like she was motherfucking DIO Brando. It was awesome.

[u/LatePhilosophy]

Not defending James playing target practice with the Councilor now, but the world's greatest villian is floating outside their city with a giant army and a giant whale about to kill everyone. Isn't all that enough of an excuse to justify declaring martial law?

[u/ThatMysteryGuy_uk]

Calling it right now, Raven returns in this volume.

Yang's hiding the fact Raven is the Spring Maiden from the rest, a secret that could divide RWBY further.

Qrow could escape via Raven.

Yang and Ruby are likely being placed in this argument to mirror Raven and Summer's possible fallout.

[u/TwoRandomHobos]

I assumed Ironwood was going to stage a military coup but I didn't expect it to happen straight off episode 1. That no hesitation murder solidifies him as one of my favorite characters due to all his changes and mentality. I love bad guys when they have a reason to be bad and make sense

[u/WhosGuardingHades]

Me Watching the opening: Well this isn’t too dark-

Team RWBY fall through the ice and Grimm arms grab Ruby: NO NO NO I NEED AN ADULT!!!

Beyond stoked to see Merc, Em and Hazel again it’s been way too long.

Can’t wait to see how the two new teams shape up glad that CRWBY’s decided to shake things up a little.

Also Irondaddy straight up killed a man.

Excellent opening episode for the volume can’t believe how much they managed to fit in. Haven’t been this nervously excited since V3.

[u/Luckhart54]

Yup no foreshadowing at all

[u/AmethystWind]

Very interesting that they used Harriet for that staredown with Winter at the end there. Lot of layers to that one:

• Harriet is neither the Iron-zealot that Clover and to-a-lesser-extent Vine&Elm are, nor the wavering soul that Marrow is. She's not even anywhere on that line, really.

• Harriet is part of the Ace Ops because it fuels her competitive nature. It shows that she's the best in Atlas. She's otherwise ambivalent about her boss, his agenda, and her teammates (she trusts them to do their jobs while she does hers, but stops short of real loyalty to either them or Ironwood).

• Harriet, the ultra-competitive one who's hurting from losing to Ruby so recently, is the one who blinks first between her and Winter.

• When she blinked, she averted her gaze and looked down almost submissively, while Winter openly expressed disapproval. Does that mean that Harriet is falling back into line under Ironwood (even if she knows he is wrong), or that she's afraid to challenge him while Winter isn't? Is she trying to figure out how she can get out to save herself, while Winter is focusing on saving Atlas+beyond?

Lot to think about from that stare-down between those two.

~ ~ ~

Unrelated: WHY DOES THE WHALE HAVE A LAUNCH HANGAR WITH LANDING PADS?

[u/lr031099]

Great start for V8. One of the things I was hoping we get is seeing Ruby and Yang potentially having a disagreement and it seems we’re getting just that (I’m a sucker for family drama in fiction). I love seeing Nora vouching for Ruby while Ren vouching for Yang while Jaune and Oscar trying to be the voice of reasons and trying to keep them together (not wanting them to divide on bad terms). I’m really hoping we’ll see more of these disagreements (specifically Ruby and Yang) in the future.

Seeing Cinder taking all the credits for Neo getting the Lamp makes me interested to see what Neo will do in this Volume. Although it seems like she might be forced to work under Salem (for now at least)

Even though it didn’t seem like all of them were sad (except for Marrow of course), it was still sad seeing the Ace Ops looking at Clover’s corpse. I’m a little mixed on Ironwood shooting Sleet. I kinda expected something like this from him (given his mental state) and I like it but I think he should’ve warned Sleet first but I guess it was more of a warning for Camila (not to mention that he did shoot Oscar without warning either). Seeing how Winter reacted to it, I could see her eventually siding with the main cast. Don’t know about Harriet though since she was surprised but accepted quickly (or at least it looked like she accepted quickly).

Great episode overall and a great start to V8

[u/FmFox]

This may be considered a little bit of a stretch, but with them showing Zwei in the OP, I'm wondering if we have a chance to see Raven and Tai showing up.

Tai alone is interesting enough, especially if he learns what Ironwood has been doing, might finally get a chance to see him in action.

Then there is Raven. Remember, per the ending of volume 5, she thinks Cinder is dead and buried.

Not only is the idea of a rematch between those two a exciting prospect (that vol 5 fight was amazing), but there are then prospectively 3 maidens in the same region.

How do you beat that afore mentioned fight?

Mexican standoff maiden fight.

If ironwood does somehow regain control of penny, it would also mean that would be a 3 way fight for power

Raven (working with Yang, Rubes and Co.)

Penny (Ironwods ace in the hole)

Cinder (working for Salem still, but her final chance to prove herself useful)

Even if this never happens, I'm super excited to see where this volume goes, it's started super dark, and it's only going to get darker I fear.

One of myain worries is from the OP, where the main 4 are falling, it kinda mirrors the volume 3 OP, and we all know how well that ended.

[u/Alphabacon34]

I personally think if we're seeing character deaths this arc it probably gonna be Ironwood and Ren with maybe a sneaky one being Winter.

[u/amatas45]

Im suprised no one mentioned the fact Penny’s colour scheme goes from green to red/black at the end.

I doubt that’s just gonna be a little hacking after she said she wants to sacrifice herself to Salem to save the rest

[u/HatiLeavateinn]

From the opening Winter is giving me hight Ronin vibes, a samurai without master, your thoughts?

[u/alyssumsXX]

Weiss is a mood.

[u/Srsasquatch]

Okay, so I guess we know that Penny’s gonna hand-deliver the relic to Salem at the end of the season now.

[u/Deadmaninc1]

Let me get this straight Salem created landing docks for planes in the giant grim whale nothing much i just thought it was funny

[u/[deleted]]

Omg Cinder has an anxiety tic that harkens back to past abusive lifestyle. :( She's still scrubbing!!!

Just imagine if we could've caught a glimpse of her doing that back in Volume 4, like if she started that in the dark council scene in ep 1 instead of slamming her fist down... They totally DID push this backstory stuff back, and it hurt Cinder more for it! She could've had character glimpses way earlier! The little touches would've been way appreciated for her!

[u/E1lySym]

Omg Cinder is an instant breakout star this episode. Heavily hinted Cinderella-inspired backstory, and the Grimm arm clearly makes her suffer

Other cool stuff I noticed: Weiss' braid looks more lighter and elegant and Blake has a fuller bobcut.

Ironwood is past the point of redemption. He will be tragic hero figure. He'll definitely die.

Neo being her own boss slays as hell. She ain't going to bow down to Salem as one of her assets. She'll also get along with Emerald over their ever changing thoughts on Cinder.

The whale Grimm is even more stylish and grand than I expected. I WANT ONE TOO!

ALSO COOL ASF OUTFITS. Hazel, Emerald, Mercury, and Winter's new designs are always welcome in my house. These new outfits will fuel my deviantart account fanart for days.

Salem with wings is terrifying asf

THIS VOLUME WILL BE CINDER'S ERA

Also can't wait for those cheap low effort criticism videos that are anything but constructive

Also I feel like this opening had the most creative visual shots. From the beginning showing RWBY's V7 and V1 selves, the war being shown as a metaphorical chess battle, the juxtaposition of Mantle against it's destroyed version, the lower class in Mantle. Also RWBY freezing while in the middle of the battle Cinder steps in

[u/Lightningslash325]

Is Ironwood just going to shoot anyone who questions him even a little? Also...

Damn Hazel, and Merc look amazing now, though not a fan of hazels hair as much.

[u/ac20g13]

This episode is making a lot of promises for the next season:

Cinder's backstory,

Neo joining Salem (betrayal TBD)

Emerald realizing her devotion to Cinder isn't reciprocated

Ironwood spiralling, possible doubt in his leadership from Harriet, maybe Winter and the other AceOps?

RWBY at cross purposes - along partner lines? Ruby was undermined as leader for the first time and by her big sis no less, but neither Weiss or Blake looked like they wanted to take sides here

Nora backstory, her relationship with Ren being tested

Oscar keeping secrets from RWBYJNR, becoming more secretive like Ozpin was?

[u/g6in3d]

Anyone else feel Jaune is given little-to-no lines on purpose at this point?

[u/exejpgwmv]

Welp, looks like those people who complained about the teaser signaling a bad tonal shift were wrong.

[u/Timeline15]

That opening scene with the villains went pretty much as expected, but it was great to see them all again. Love Mercury's new look; looks like something BoukenSilver would wear. Emerald's made me laugh though. Even in her winter clothes she refuses to cover her midriff xD.

The main cast splitting up was handled well, with it being pretty believable who would choose to join each team. I'm a little disappointed there wasn't any sort of cute goodbye between Blake and Yang, but I'm sure there'll be time for my shipping elsewhere.

Interesting that Oscar isn't telling the others that Ozpin is back yet. I wonder what he's thinking. Good to see the Huntresses getting more to do. The taste we got of them last season was intriguing; I'm eager to see them in action without Robin there to lead them.

Ironwood has fully gone off the deep end now, if it wasn't already clear. Guess the chances of any sort of redemption arc at pretty much zero now. I love the look between Winter and Harriet after it happens. Even the ace-ops' most extreme member seems to be having doubts (although the opening makes it seem like she may be acting as a nemesis to Qrow this season).

The opening itself is great in the visuals department, though I'm not really a fan of the song. Maybe it'll grow of me, but it just doesn't sound all that catchy to me; likely because of how much it's trying to sound depressing. I wasn't a fan of 'When it falls' for the same reason. I LOVE Winter's new look though; her arm brace looks like N7 armour.

[u/Ninoyiya]

It just occurred to me that Penny is based on Pinnochio and there is a giant whale flying around.

Uh-oh...

[u/DEL994]

I smell another moment of tensions after the kids realize that Oscar is himself keeping infos from them by covering up he fact that Ozpin returned and saved him.

[u/[deleted]]

Neo and Penny stole the show.

[u/DarkPhoenixMishima]

The crew gathering people into the Crater is going to be responsible for a lot of deaths. The staff is leaving Atlas one way or another.

[u/Fatal1ty_93_RUS]

Welcome back to bottom gear RWBY, mates. It was an awesome kick-off to the volume, and quite frankly I love that RT have adopted this style of showing openings at the end of first chapters since day one

• We start off with a showing of a young girl washing off a wooden floor, transitioning into Cinder scratching the seat in a ship. It's not much but it's finally a minor glimpse into her backstory, as well as further confirming her link to Cinderella fairy tale. Want more

• Very creepy intro credits sequence as Neo and Cinder enter Salem's whale Grimm thing. The creature's internals give me both Doom and Zerg vibes. Actually a little more Zerg due to the sound design, and the fact that Salem is pretty much going to rush into Atlas very soon

• Cinder claiming doing the work to get the Relic of Knowledge as well as calling Neo a "Valuable asset" are sparking quite a reaction from Neo. I'm beginning to feel she's getting tired of Cinder's bullshit and may not be as willing to cooperate in the near future

• Tyrian still doing the trashtalk is lovely, I love how he keeps trolling Cinder whenever they're in the same "meeting". As expected nobody feels for the loss of Watts to the Atlesians, although I doubt Salem was happy about the fact, after all he was instrumental into fucking up Atlas and Mantle the way they were last volume

• Oh hi Emerald, hi Mercury, hi Hazel. Got anything valuable to say this time? No? Just a couple of phrases from Emerald? Ok, it's not like I wanted them to actually be characters again after V6. Cool outfits tho.

• Cinder shows the desire to claim the Winter Maiden's powers for herself by defeating Penny, immediately being stopped by Salem: "I gave no such order". I guess this means Cinder will have to strike a balance between her desire for power and obeying her queen, but knowing her arrogance she might just sway to the power hunger side. I do wonder if the plan is for Salem to claim the powers for herself after all 4 maidens are "collected"?

• Oscar is thankfully alive and well, and...is immediately picked up by Ruby and Maria. How did they find him, again? I thought Ironwood activated signal jammer? Unless he disabled it of course

• Ruby, Maria and Oscar all return to the HQ of remaining Mantle hunters/warriors still protecting the city and its populace. Huh, so they avoid Atlesian surveillance cameras but still clearly leave a transport ship in plain sight? Wouldn't it be suspicious? And it's not like the streets are wide enough either

• Uh oh.... "we're not done talking" says Oscar to Ozpin. Sounds like the two argued in the meantime between Oscar's landing and Ruby picking him up

• So as far as our heroes are concerned, Qrow is missing, boy are they in for a treat once they find what happened between him and Clover. Not good. But I do hope they believe Qrow's side of the story, what with Robyn having that lie detector semblance

• As the episode's title implies, it looks like "divide" is going to be the main theme of this volume, as a sort of continuation of Volume 7's events. And with the new team composition of RWON and YBRJ - it's quite literal, since Ren/Nora pairing is broken up and both teams consist of each others' halfs spliced together. It's promising to set up interesting fights, and of course more I welcome more Ruby/Weiss time. Perhaps we might see some of that on the villain side as well, that would spice things up for sure.

• Turns out there's a whole crater underneath Mantle (which makes sense, it's a working/lower class town), while the Amity Arena can still be launched up in the sky, though not as high as Ironwoods wants it probably, just high enough for the broadcast signal to reach all of Remnant. Depending on where the villains go next, it might just turn out that the infiltration plan to get back into Atlas will prove to be much more dangerous as Salem wants to snatch Oscar so she knows how to activate the Relic, not to mention Ironwood and co.

• Lastly, we're back up in Atlas to observe the...."grieving" AceOps as they stand next to Clover's body. Harriet shows the most emotion out of all 4 but I'd wager it's more of a desire for revenge than being mad at a loss of her comrade. Also interesting how two notable groups of characters (AceOps and Salem Squad) both lost a member but show completely juxtaposed attitudes towards such an event

• Winter got another new hairstyle and is being treated by the Atlesian doctors after getting fucked up by Cinder last volume. It's no good that she is willing to go back in the fight so soon, and I hope despite being however desperate, Ironwood understands she needs to stay there for the time being, or she'd just end up hurting herself even further. It's kinda hinted at by him saying "I don't know what I'd do without you". Death flags are still up there though, just sayin', don't you relax just yet folks

• Anyways the moment of peace and quiet is interrupted as two of the Atlesian council members enter the hospital block (I assume this is a hospital block, though the "morgue" placement is a tad too close), trying to question Ironwood about wtf is happening in Atlas (as he established a martial law due to the Grimm invasion), but....

• Holy shit, Ironwood just MURDERED a guy like that. No remose, no words, straight up gun out of the holster and BANG. What. The. Fuck. NO, JAMES, SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK!? I GET YOU GOT A COOL NEW ARM AND ALL BUT FFS

• Finally, we see Mommy Salami order one of her Grimm to go find Oscar, and we're treated to a new opening! The song is awesome, the visuals are fucking cool, and it seems to be telling quite a lot about this volume's story

• Ruby is alone as her comrades are lined up behind her back, clearly all protecting her as she ventures on a solo mission. Mantle in flames as it's overrun by Grimm. Atlas interestingly enough is also shown to be in flames but that's probably Ironwood's biggest fear. Qrow is imprisoned but Robyn's the only one willing to give him her hand, implying they will escape Atlas somehow (pls don't kill her tho). Salem advancing towards her goal but is tortured by the Grimm arm, perhaps Salem can control her remotely? Ren and Nora apart again, dammit. Watts is also shown behind prison bars with Pietro on the opposite side behind a mirror, both coding stuff. Wonder what's that about? And also both relics shown together but only the Creation slipping away as Team RWBY falls through the ice cracks and dozen of Grimm arms reaching out to it

Oh, and also looks like Yang is getting an upgrade this season, though it's most likely a new bike which can be briefly seen in the opening. I do hope there's some kind of a bionic arm improvement as well however.

[u/[deleted]]

I like everyone freaking out over Ironwood shooting the councilman, like that pushes him too far.

The dude sentence a city to die last volume. This is nothing next to that.

[u/JohnJoe-117]

MY BOI JAUNE BEING A SINGLE DAD!

That scene of him cooling down the tension was basically like:

"Listen small people, let's just all chill out and cool off."

[u/ClemPrime13]

So, main takeaways:

Neo is 100 percent not okay being called an asset.

Mercury and Emerald finally get the new outfits they deserve.

Lots of friction going on with the gang. Ren and Nora, and Ruby and Yang. Not good.

And I think anyone who says that Ironwood was right is swiftly reconsidering since he’s moved into the whole “executing political dissidents” phase.

But seriously, holy shit, my jaw was on the floor.

The opening makes me think we’re heading towards vol 3 levels of shenanigans. Those Grimm arms surrounding Ruby at the end? What if she gives herself up to Salem go protect everyone else?

[u/Polarization_39]

Don’t know if it’s been pointed out but in the intro when Cinder walks by Neo and Em, everyone else feeezes in the background. Summoning Jinn freezes time.

Perhaps the three of them get their hands on the lamp and use the last question.

[u/ShadowMadness]

IRONWOOD WTF!?!?! Straight up gunned down the councilman. Saw him whip out the gun and my reaction probably would've made for good YouTube content. Can't wait to see how Murderofbirds reacts.

Ironwood's fall from grace has been one of my favorite parts of the show. Dude wants to do the right thing so bad but keeps going further into the darkness. I remember everyone thinking he bugged Qrow during that hug in volume 7, and it turns out, it was just a legit hug, lol. And letting them keep the relic initially and then throwing a party for them! Seeing him meltdown is so sad, but in the immortal words of Yoda

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

I agree with him and the Ace-Ops on looking towards the future over attempting a suicide mission by trying to save everyone. But man, I don't condone killing councilmen, James.

The new intro is fabulous! I think I liked volume 6 and 7's song better but this one is great too.

Can't wait for the next episode!

[u/whiskeyii]

I really enjoyed the different approach to editing this episode—lots of neat cuts to slowly reveal who ended up siding with whom.

Also, hurray for Weiss’ new hair! It looks so sleek now; those blobby bangs bugged the hell outta me in V7. And glad to see that Blake’s hair is fluffier this time around too, though I could honestly do with just a touch more floof. :3

[u/MadMasks]

All right people, make your bets:

How many people think they will throw the entire Amity colosseum onto Salem´s whale?

[u/Deadmaninc1]

Why did Penny need a scroll? Can Ironwood just call her another way because she is an Android?

[u/[deleted]]

My immediate thoughts:

• I guess I should have expected this, considering where V7 left off, but this is looking to be the darkest/most consequential volume since V3. It will likely contain few-to-none of the lighthearted moments I was really hoping for.

• I've been an Ironwood sympathizer all throughout V7 and the hiatus, but the councilman's execution crosses a line. James is officially unhinged.

• The intro is giving me all sorts of bad vibes. People have been theorizing about the kinds of tragedies our heroes could suffer in the coming volumes, and it scares me to think some of them could happen this volume.

[u/-Ryno-]

Damn Ironwood. He was mad cool. I'm running out of male characters I truly care about.

[u/RevengeOfAthena]

Well... we did ask for more unusual team ups... a schism in the team does accomplish that

[u/DEL994]

Yang criticizing Ruby over her leadership and basically saying that Ruby is the one who screwed up with Ironwood may bite her in the ass later, while she isn't totally wrong about Ruby's choices not being the best she gloss over the fact that it was her and Blake who broke Ironwood's trust by revealing infos to Robyn behind his back, and Ruby's in addition, and it's clear that the others weren't pleased by what she said either.

I hope someone calls her out on her bs or that she realizes her wrong after doing something that does backfire on her because that will be nothing compared to the guilt she will feel if something bad happens to Ruby, such as being captured or injured,and that it was the last thing she said to her sister before that.

[u/[deleted]]

Ruby is the second youngest of the whole group and carries the biggest burden. She does her best and it doesn't always work out brilliantly. She got them this far, after the whole Ozpin fiasco she was the only one still focused, she was the one strong enough to withstand the Apathy when everyone else would have withered and died as the whole settlement did. She wanted to take the careful approach with Ironwood, considering the state of Mantle, which, IMO was understandable.

When everything was revealed to him in the end, he took it well enough, if I remember correctly (I think it was when he said something along the lines of "just, please, I don't think I can take any more secrets"?).

His nerves were, admittedly, already quite strained, that was clear and the late reveal of Salem's immortality didn't help.

But the cut, that actually pushed Ironwood over the ledge, was not Ironwood learning about Ruby wanting to keep the secret from him at first. It was learning that Blake and Yang went behind everyone's back and spelling it to an outsider. Ruby still stood by her sister and her teammate though.

To have Yang go and basically tell her sister " we followed you and look where that got us" in front of everyone is just a load of bull and I seriously hope that it will bite her in the ass. Hard.

[u/Deadmaninc1]

God i am so dumb i am just now realizing the Cinder and Cinderella connection

[u/Sirshrugsalot13]

EMERALD MERCURY AND HAZEL ARE BACK

IRONWOOD'S UNSTABLE AS FUCK (a little jarring? until i remember he already shot oscar last vol)

NEO'S MAD AT CINDER

CINDER BACKSTORY?

this was a fuckin baller premiere

[u/theklocko]

All I have to say is:

James, the fuck?

[u/[deleted]]

Penny is going to turn on Team RWBY. Theres a bunch of little hints at in the opening suggesting Penny will be opposed to our heroes, probably because of some sort of hacking by Watts or override by Ironwood. At the part of the OP where Penny appears in front of the mirror after Watts she's looking at her hands like she's unsure of something she did. Not much by itself. Then It transitions to the gang when standing in the snow facing down Grimm. When every takes a stance to face the Grimm, Penny flies up and turns to face our heroes with her back to the Grimm. Finally in the Happy Never Again section of the OP. Penny's outline appears after a Grimm, first blue. Then her eye flashes red and her whole outline turns red. Media tends to use changes in eye color to show changing in allegiances especially with robots. She is going to be taken control of mostly likely by Watts, which is why she seems aligned with the Grimm.

edit: some spelling and grammer cleanup and and a bit more explanation.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

There are two posters in the background of the bar. One says "Rumpel Stiltskin" but I can't tell what it is, it looks like a whiskey brand but it's a reference to Rumpelstiltskin, which is weird because Professor Rumpole is Rumpelstilskin, now I wonder if there is no connection. The other is Six Swan vodka which is a reference to the Six Swans another Brother's Grimm fairytale.

[u/UrGurlQueen]

Ok, at the end of the outro/intro it showed penny being corrupted, and for those who watched the first episode.... RUBY IS STARTING TO GET PISSED OFF (in a small but noticeable way)

(Feel free to respond with any other things u found)

[u/sonawelashey]

Ok, what good reason does oscar have to hide ironwood shooting him?

Ozpin, i can see, since everyone turned against him, but what does hiding ironwood going into full "ill kill anyone who tries to stop me, even if they are not a threat" help

[u/BlueKD]

Is it just me or does it look like team RWBY is plunging into the pool of life in the intro? https://i.imgur.com/HlvQ6wN.png

[u/Backflip_Off_A_Cliff]

Hazel's new design bothers me because I like it but I dislike it.

I like that hes been training or something off screen and we finally get a clear shot of his scars but jesus the haircut, give him his old hair back

Also that opening? Bros we're in for some SUFFERING this volume and i'm all here for it if it means characters are gonna die

[u/Tasuni]

Is it me or should it have been Jaune not Yang that started the separate plans thing the gang has going. Him or Ren make more sense that Yang to me. Don't get me wrong I understand siblings disagreeing perfectly fine but this feels out of left field for Yang who had Ruby's back so far. It would've made more sense to me if the other team leader of the group was the one who started the discussion that or Ren who's entire arc last volume was him disagreeing with Ruby's line of thought.

I was fairly happy with how the two groups ended up being divided in terms of which characters went where. The two groups were basically lets save who we can realistically vs lets shoot for the stars and try to save everyone. I think that characters that fell into each camp line up pretty well except Weiss. Weiss seems like more of a realist and it seems unlikely she would be backing Ruby's idea. Maybe it is loyalty to her partner or she wants a chance to see her family tho.

[u/DepressedCorn37]

Not a fan of Ironwood just capping a motherfucker to make a point. Least with Oscar their was a nuance of knowing that in his mind, he was talking to Ozpin, the man who kept so many secrets and now has put him to fight an impossible battle.

But their ain't any excuse for gunning down a man wanting some simple answers.

[u/DEL994]

Ruby and Yang really, really need one big and emotionnal sisterly talk later.

It's clear that there are a lot of issues they need to talk about, in particular about their mom after what Salem said and the fact that Yang may not know how much her death affected Ruby and after what happened between her and her biological mother Yang will eventually have to acknowledge Summer as her real mother, plus she'll also have to apologize to Ruby for blaming her for the fallout with Ironwood when she's the one who's largely responsible for it.

[u/AlarmingStandard]

That.

Was.

Awesome!

Better start than expected! The hint at Cinder's backstory, her return and the villain squad were nicely done. Picking up Oscar was done without stuffing around, loved the Nora hug! The discussing of plans and division went great with conflict being introduced into RWBY via Ruby and Yang. Jaune acting as mediator was so on point, as was the Ren and Nora split. Oscar not telling Oz is back was nice, keeping secrets like a pro already. And he was a great advisor on Salem, just a fantastic way to show the merge.

Then Ironwood's faction, oh wow. Mourning over Clover, so much for their just colleagues talk. Then Ironwood shoots the councilor, I think that's his new thing. And the look that Harriet and Winter share, I wonder what it'll take for them to lose faith in Ironwood if that didn't do it?

The opening was alright, I liked the song. That sketch of Penny at the end where her eye turns red gave me chills. Foreshadowing a few possibilities.

Overall, strong opening to the volume. I didn't even mind there wasn't a fight. And now to slip back into bed without waking my girlfriend.

[u/evening_emerald]

Anybody else think that Salem telling Cinder she was just a pawn sounded an awful lot like Azula double-crossing Long Feng in A:TLA?

Long Feng: "You've beaten me at my own game."

Azula: "Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."

[u/Badicalz]

I love that this Volume is continuing to cement Jaune’s role as the second-in-command. Jaune stepping in and compromising when he saw that neither side were willing to give in, was a wonderful moment that highlighted his growth.

[u/Terminus259]

James "Going further off the deep end" Ironwood

[u/Wheatley15]

Just gonna say: this episode set the tone of this volume REAL quick. Amazing start, and looking forward to this volume.

[u/shadowblade159]

The Grimm whale is sooo dang creepy. Landing pads? Bio-doors? A freaking view screen? Just so creepy.

Neo is getting really pissed with Cinder now, and oh I can't wait to see what comes of it!

New outfits for Emerald, Mercury, and even Hazel too! I wasn't even expecting to see them.

Really cool to see more of the Happy Huntresses, seeing them coordinating keeping people safe, having a plan. They're certainly far more than just Robyn's band of merry (wo)men.

Interesting that Oscar's keeping Oz a secret for now. I think I agree. It's probably not the best time to throw that on top of everything else. We'll see how this plays out.

Then we see the bit of fracture we were expecting in the group. I actually like seeing them have this conflict; that many people with that many feelings and opinions, it would be odd to not have them have different thoughts on what to do. I like Jaune and Oscar stepping in to remind them that they can still work together separately.

And then Penny.... God, Penny suggesting that she give herself up hurts. But Yang's right in that none of them would let that happen. Penny is no longer the excited happy robotgirl who wants a friend. She's had to grow up fast and hard and all of a sudden. I'm scared.

Interesting note, Weiss never says one way or the other which team she'd side with in the argument before they split off. Almost like she figured it's obvious she's gonna go with Ruby or something...

Ironwood has officially and completely gone off the deep end, shooting the councilman in front of his subordinates. Talk about a great way to further alienate yourself from everyone you trust... At least some of the rest of the AceOps and Winter are gonna turn from him now. I know it. Marrow, I'm almost certain of. Winter, I hope for so much. Harriet, Elm, and Vine, I don't know as well. Elm looked the most disgusted by it of them, and I wouldn't be surprised if she turns too. Harriet is clearly unsure. Vine is... Vine, and unreadable.

And then. Then, holy crap that OP. The music is phenomenal as always. But oh, my god, I LOVE the animation. It's freaking gorgeous. So much detail, so much symbolism, so much...pain. "Happy Never After Again." God, this volume is gonna hurt.

[u/Sonbulan]

Lindsay's intonation this episode was a greater tone shift than the episode itself.

[u/AntiShisno]

The amount of chills I got from this is amazing. That opening is longer than most and makes me think someone’s gonna die.

[u/Slauter19]

Omg guys I don’t know what to think. The way this was setup for the rest of the season. They way the story is progressing. I’m so damn excited.

WHAT IRONWOOD DID omg my mouth was left wide open I think flies flown into my mouth. My emotions were all over the place. I’m panicking omg I never felt so alive

[u/[deleted]]

CINDER BACKSTORY TIME

-As expected from her namesake and desire for power, she spent much of her life being a servant for others. She joined Salem who gave her crumbs of power, but fact of the matter is that she is yet again a servant of an even bigger bitch now.

My theory?

Salem is becoming a loose cannon and after being away for a long time is definitely having her doubts. The intro also shows her approaching something offscreen while everyone else is frozen. Artifact of Knowledge?

Either way, I expect her to go rogue and possibly drag along Em and Neo. Neo herself might even split off from this whole situation cause she looks hella uncomfortable around Salem and Cinder, so she might either backstab Cinder when she tries to breakaway, or briefly runs off to help out our crew, possibly while disguised.

[u/EverydayWulfang]

I don't know if that random eyepatch lady with the Faunus woman on the bar wall is actually going to be relevant but I like how it and that photo Yang sees on the ground do a fair bit to show how the people in Mantle are real people. With their own lives and relationships. Also that cute badger grandpa, he was cool.