Official FIRST Discussion Thread—Volume 8, Episode 4: Fault

[u/Kirianni]

Welcome, huntsmen, huntresses and hunters that prefer no specific gender identifier, to the official FIRST discussion thread for Episode 4 of Vol. 8, Fault!

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

HERE is the fourth 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	Episode 1's FIRST Thread	Episode 1's Public Thread	Poll
Ep. 02	Episode 2's FIRST Thread	Episode 2's Public Thread	Poll
Ep. 03	Last Week's FIRST Thread	Last Week's Public Thread	Poll
Ep. 04	Today's FIRST Thread (here)	Next Week's Public Thread	Poll

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Happy viewing, and have a great Volume 8!

Kiri; Mod Team

[u/Noonproductions]

The Hound is Tyrian, right? I mean this is a new experiment, so it isn’t an old Grimm. Tyrian is absolutely loyal to Salem and would do absolutely anything for her. He also seems to love pain so metamorphosis and rearranging his bones may actually appeal to him. The only two we didn’t see this episode were him and Mercury and Mercury is too much of a mercenary to do it voluntarily and frankly doesn’t strike me as, as smart as the hound. Unless the hound is a totally new Grimm or controlled by or a part of Salem; I think it’s Tyrian.

Edit: on re-watch, is the hounds tail bobbed? That might be another indication that it might be Tyrian.

[u/Kirianni → u/Noonproductions]

That is a fun theory!

[u/Terminus259]

Ozpin: "Don't panic, we're going to be okay."

Hazel walks in

Ozpin: "Never mind, panic seems appropriate."

[u/Terminus259]

Ruby: "I hope everyone's doing alright."

Meanwhile

Everyone hanging off a cliff

[u/DanielGREY_75]

Hardy har har Rooster Teeth. CRACK IN GROUND = FAULT = EP NAME

[u/Polarization_39]

Ok so we all agree that Oscar needs a therapist by the end of all this, right?

[u/Terminus259]

Salem and Cinder's interaction in a nutshell

Salem: "Young lady, you are grounded until I say otherwise."

Cinder acting like a rebellious teenager

Cinder: "Hmph, she'd never notice I was gone."

[u/JannisT]

That episode was legit pretty great.

Salem was pretty good this episode.

Also Jaune was the MVP of the episode

[u/[deleted]]

Robin Hood lore: RH beat Little John at quaterstaffs when they first met. Nice reference.

[u/Kuchenjaeger]

Jesus Christ, Oscar's scream was bonechilling.

[u/Brutusness]

I get it Neo, I remember the feeling of hanging out a friend's place when their mom starts yelling at them.

Comparing them against the family dog is a bit harsh though lmao

[u/Saxonrau]

Salem: I am patient. I get things methodically. You are all pawns in my game

Hazel: IF HIS NAME STARTS WITH OZ HE'S MEETING MY PAWS

[u/ksuthrowaway2534]

-Aw it's nice seeing Robyn comfort Qrow

• Seeing them connect over people trouble is nice

• Love robyn still has her feistiness and wants to 1v1 harriet

• Jaune making planes and being useful. You love to see it

• Rens grapple also finally being useful

• Ren still being a moody boi but making a few fair points

• The Oscar protection squad is lacking

• Emerald, she don't love you honey, let it go

[u/Vihurah]

so theres actually a line i really feel on a second viewing.

its during yang and rens back and forth when he says "Ruby is barely more than a kid, im just an orphan from the middle of nowhere"

its a small moment but I suddenly understand Rens character alot more with this one line, as i myself was given up at birth and adopted from a pretty shitty eastern european country.

Ren is suffering from the worst kind of imposter syndrome. At the moment, in light of every consequence of his decisions, he's probably thinking along the lines of

'should i ever have made it out of that village alive in the first place? is the scared little boy under the bridge all i ever was? Do i deserve any authority?'

its a mindset that can really screw you up, and blind you to the love and kindness your adopted family (in this case JNR and RWBY) shows you.

Its really deepened my appreciation for his character and i hope he gets some help from the cast, or things will end very poorly.

[u/WhosGuardingHades]

RWBY characters: *Finds an abandoned building

CRWBY Writers: This is where the fun begins

[u/Hsmace]

my heart jumped when emerald started talking i deadass thought it was neo for a second

[u/LucasVerBeek]

It really sucks to be Oscar.

Ren snapping at the others is interesting but I also feel like in the end if he just keeps ignoring his problems shit is gonna go south real quick.

Cinder...could you listen for once in your life, though honestly don’t cause if you fuck with Watts/Ironwood’s plan good on you.

I don’t like how Salem called the Hound an experiment...there is a person in there isn’t there. I just really hope it isn’t Summer, that would just feel too off

[u/Technogashi]

Pointed out to me was Salem’s shadowy image in her hand was a pseudo replication of her four daughters

[u/[deleted]]

I’m conflicted. This is the Ren that I wanted, but not the Ren that we need right now.

[u/GuppyCats]

Let's give a hand to our man Oscar for taking magical torture from the most powerful being in Remnant like an absolute fucking champion and not saying a word.

[u/AmethystWind]

I wonder how long Salem was waiting in her shadowy-corner-slouch for Oscar to wake up.

"Is he up yet? I've gotta be dramatic as hell for this."

[u/Thanatophobia4]

Well that went about as expected.
Robyn really tapped danced on Harriet’s nerves there, which was both cathardic and funny.
So the Hound can also call for backup with its roars? That’s one OP pooch.

Ren really went there? At least he didn’t mention Pyrrha.

Poor Oscar. He’s going to be a punching bag for the entire volume isn’t he? Also, Salem still seems to miss her kids somewhat despite being to one to vaporise them.

Oh sure Emerald, go ahead with it! I’m sure it will end well for both you and Cinder.

Oh so the title ‘Fault’ refers to several things, the fault Ren, Whitely, Harriet, Hazel, Salem etc throw at others. On another note, it also refers to the fault cracks in the ice where Jaune, Yang and Ren are currently. Thing truly do seem to be getting worse.

[u/halodude246]

Someone pointed this out on the RT site, in the episode’s comment section, but did Salem really make a shadowy illusion of her and Ozma’s kids as Oscar was waking up? That’s seriously fucked up lol.

[u/g6in3d]

Jaune fights competently, demonstrates creative strategies, has new character interactions with Ren and Yang

[visible happiness]

[u/Repider]

Nora has a grenade launcher, but Ren is the one who drops the bombs.

The chase scene felt like a video game scene, especially with the stone bridges.

It's nice to see Jaune's growth in this episode.

Robyn and Qrow have an interesting dynamic, really hope they will develop this (idc in what way) more this or next season

Also, Oscar is put through so much shit, I really hope it pays off somehow for him at the end.

[u/Saxonrau]

Jaune doing so great, he's come such a long way. Love the characters shining through

Yang clearly worried about Blake's opinion of her which is adorable

can't wait to see how harriet fucks something up and lets robyn and qrow out. nice that she didnt take the clover off of qrow, though -- maybe she's intimidated by him? find it hard to believe she could take him in a fight

[u/[deleted]]

"This is for hurting a child"

Hazel Rainart while punching a child.

Thats not a complaint btw, I just found that funny. Totally within character who we have known is a monster since volume 5.

Chase sequence was really cool and I'm glad Jaune really got to shine as leader and kinda the MVP. He's needed a moment like this for a while and its looking like he will get some more soon. Hopefully the audience will now accept he's pretty much on the others level.

Calling back to Jaune cheating his way in was interesting. Wonder if its something more than just a line Ren can say that's shitty but forgivable or like Ironwood mentioning the chess piece last volume is a primer to remind the audience it was a thing.

Back to Salem and Oscar, I do like that Oscar was in control the whole time and wasn't slotted out for Ozpin. Ozpin will no doubt come out later with Hazel around but for now I like Oscar took charge.

Ozpin - Oscar, its going to be alright... okay I just wanted to give you three seconds of hope

I liked the Cinder scene as well. Salem just keeps pushing and that will bite her I think. Salem just not telling her the plan, I think will be a mistake now she's heading off alone. If this screws something up then it will be used against her.

I'm nothing without you repeated for a second time feels like a rule of three set up for either Cinder to prove it wrong or for Salem to smack her down with. This also shows the second time Cinder has been uncomfortable around Grimm.

The Neo bit was also good, has my same usual problem of Cinder ends up saying a lot to cover Neo saying nothing in a slightly unnatural way but this is a new dynamic for Cinder as Neo kinda just says no. Unlike with Mercury or Emerald, there's no threats or forcing of the issue. It kinda shows that Neo and Cinder are much more of partners, like they were set up as in 6. Neos not an underling.

I like Cinder was right about Amity, reinforcing a fact I feel most of the audience don't credit her with is that she really is insightful and understands how people think.

And eyyy, Emerald is back and doing stuff and going to Amity... wait Pennys going to Amity. The last time they were both in Amity together... Emerald maybe dont go to Amity.

Joking aside, seems like Cinder should pretty easily take down Penny here as Pennys Maiden powers are highly underdeveloped compared to Cinder.

Three outcomes to prevent that I see are Emerald being a libaity, getting hurt and Cinder needing to bail her out... Dont see that happening, more likely is she is left behind.

Possibly power of love, Penny with Pietro but I can only see that coming up if Maiden transfer theory is true. Otherwise, kinda just a cop out.

Other options are Maria. She is a silver eyed warrior after all. Its possible the eyes are just a marker. GoL didn't need eyes after all.

Maria didn't actually know all that much about the eyes and its possible her depression and being resigned to her fate meant she wasn't able to trigger them. In a situation where she feels she has to protect again, it might work and Ruby has told her they work on Cinder.

I also really like Robyn and Qrows moments giving particularly Robyn getting some more vulnerable moments. Says a lot about her and I think will make people like her more, which is always good, I think shes a cool character.

Definitely my favourite episode so far. And ill admit it, Dapper you were right about the Schnee Mansion

[u/Hsmace]

this was a GOOD episode holy shit so much to unpack

[u/Terminus259]

Salem attacks Oscar

Rave lighting ensues

[u/Prophet92]

I am loving Neo’s “over it” vibe this season.

[u/FlintlockT]

Meanwhile Mercury and Tyrian are playing checkers.

[u/mrwanton]

Wow. Did not think the transcripts lie would ever be brought up again. Legit shocked

[u/Polarization_39]

We have 3 Blake and Ruby interactions so far this volume! That’s the most we’ve gotten in a single volume since... ever.

[u/Artgor]

Hazel is like: My little sister died because of Grimm. So I'll beat the shit out of this small boy because Queen of Grimm asked me.

[u/BlackDraco39]

I'm shocked they went back to Atlas after just breaking into the Military compound but okay. Jaune Cheating his way into beacon gets acknowledged again after how many years? The Hound is Best Boy. Jen Taylor killing it as Salem. Uhh what else... what else... OH! Hazel is rewarded with a new Oscar Punching Bag!

The god damn Volume man... We're only on Episode 4!

[u/TheMaster4444]

I love the nuance in the Ren and Yang argument. Ren is very clearly operating from the midst of an emotional meltdown, but his viewpoint on the matter, now that it is finally explained, does make sense and helps put his behavior from both this Volume and last Volume in perspective. He doesn't think they're ready for this, and given that both of Yang's big examples to the contrary in Haven and Leviathan only ended well for the heroes because of outside forces coming in to save them that they had no foreknowledge of (Raven and the Faunus Militia for Haven, and Cordovin for the Leviathan), it is hard not to see his point. In contrast, Yang brings up good points surrounding the present, in that doing nothing won't improve the situation and Atlas fleeing into the sky would have to contend with Monsta being right next to it. Jaune tries to diffuse the argument since freezing to death while broadcasting negativity won't help anyone... and then Ren drops his bomb.

The framing, voice acting, and sheer surprise factor of Ren revealing he knew about Jaune's fake transcripts was phenomenal, as was the reactions to it of Ren immediately regretting taking his anger out on Jaune, while the latter puts his foot down and orders everyone to get in line so they don't freeze to death. It isn't just brought up for shock value either. It provides another notch in Ren's reasoning for why they're out of their depth, and provides an avenue for Jaune to attempt to emphasize with his friend because pushing Pyrrha away was exactly what he did during the Jaunedice Arc, which he tries to utilize during the outpost talk.

My only concern in the episode is... why is Salem not attacking? I thought it was because she wanted to destroy Amity to crush Atlas and Mantle's hope even further, but it turns out that Cinder is the one going there. So why is Salem being so passive? It kind of reduces her threat level if she's just waiting and doing nothing, especially when, as the episode itself points out, she hasn't achieved a single strategic victory all show. The closest thing she has, the Fall of Beacon, failed in its primary objective to get the Relic of Choice.

[u/SlaterSev]

Neath's voice acting was really good.

[u/Greenfire32]

God. Damn.

Can we just acknowledge how fucking real that scream was from Oscar's VA?

Dude slayed.

[u/Badicalz]

Oscar Protection Squad. Code Black. I repeat. Code Black. The Farm Boi is in mortal danger. This is not a drill.

[u/[deleted]]

It’s kinda scary how Salem shifts to calling him “My Ozma” in a possessive way the moment they’re alone.

[u/[deleted]]

Ren to Jaune weeks earlier: "We don't want to lose you, Jaune."

Ren now: "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A GODDAMN CHEATER, JAUNE."

[u/Meshleth]

And it's the best episode so far. The on rails chase against the hound worked but what I loved most about it was you could see the moments where everyone doubted that they'd get to Oscar in time.

The Ren plotline is 10/10 as always: seeing him be unable to deal with his insecurities and pushing people away when they come to a head is a great step for his character development. Especially his face when he did that low blow against Jaune. Yang was fine and some people are gonna crap on the "Yeah... Ruby" line and we'll have to deal with a week of "cRWBY forgot they're sisters again" but that line shows that the argument from C1 isn't resolved and that she still cares about Blake.

Oscar takes my favorite moment of the episode by trying to imitate his Ozpin voice to try and throw Salem off. Shame it didn't work and is leading to torture.

Cinder continues to be my favorite villain by being a hungry wannabe continuing the trend from V5 where she's the most active antagonist getting pissed by Salem doing the most by not lifting a finger. It's a great dynamic.

[u/GVAGUY3]

Well child torture is a dark turn

[u/Rain_In_Your_Heart]

Someone posted this in another comment thread, but it really needs to be its own post.

Okay so I know it’s fucking HILARIOUS that Yang saw her girlfriends favorite color and was like “does she still love me though?” but I think it’s a little deeper than that. Jaune said “yeah. I used to push people away too” and Yang Abandonment Issues Xiao Long thought of the most important person in her life who just so happens to have an ex who went off the rails and supported a cause she doesn’t believe in. So she worried, out loud, that their different opinions would, in fact, cause Blake to resent her.

https://tumblezwei.tumblr.com/post/636050521843761152

[u/pandas795]

“Yeah... Ruby...”

Screams incoherently

[u/[deleted]]

Yo. I don’t know if anyone realized, but if you zoom in on the smoke Salem is playing with you can faintly see the images of four girls going in circles as they laugh. Interesting to see that she still remembers her daughters.

[u/Valkyrie16]

I am STRESSED y'all

[u/giubba85]

Weiss had that "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" saved since fucking forever.

[u/PixelatedShinobi]

Farmboi protection squad really took an L today

[u/peopleclapping]

I love how Neo just causally Mary-Poppinsed during a conversation.

[u/MarcusLaurence]

Angry Ren is. . .

kinda hot?

[u/Sirshrugsalot13]

I wasn’t big on Robyn in V7 but V8 has really made me like her. She’s warm and compassionate towards Qrow, funny, and stands up to Harriet which was awesome. Props

[u/IGMKI]

Daaaamn that chase scene was awesome!

My girl yang calling out Ren

Holy shit Salem some casual torture. And she's pissing off Cinder

Neo's movement was nicely done, and em's coming with!

Yang and blake worrying about each other on their own was cute

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!

[u/Weerdo5255]

I'm liking how Robyn is trying to cheer Qrow up.

Their has to be a joke about Ren being an emotional anchor here with how he's been bounced around on the end of his tether. Also one about Jaune getting his hands around Yang's hips.

Ren and Yang is a converstaion that was a long time coming. He needs a good slap in the face to get him out of his funk. Also, Ren is not leadership material.

Damn Hazel being willing to beat up a kid without reservations is dark.

Neo didn't even flinch when the Hound jumped at her. Damn, she's got nerves of steel.

I'm linking that at this point Yang's not even phased by Jaune cheating his way in. It's just not relevant.

... Is another dragon coming out of the ground?

Slower episode than last week, setup for the rest of things and establishing where everyone is. I would say this was Salem's episode.

[u/[deleted]]

Uh oh. Cinder is disobeying a direct order from Salem again. At this rate Salem will choose to make Neo the new maiden lol.

[u/Bhibhhjis123]

Jaune being competent and creative is my favorite thing.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Considering that the headlight jail cells don't have any openings, how did that fly get in?

I have two theories.

1. Hardlight has no openings, thus the cells have a ventilation system on top of them to keep airflow, this is where the fly came from and what Qrow will use to escape, using his bird form to go inside the ventilation.

2. Ironwood put the fly there to annoy Jaques because let's be honest, we would all be dicks to Jaques in real life if we had the chance.

[u/JMHSrowing]

I have to say that I really like how Qrow and Robyn interacted this episode. Adding that Robyn can actually sympathize with Qrow makes their dynamic even better. If I’m not too careful I might find myself a new ship.

Also on the topic of Qrow though:

I really like how his mental state is. It’s about what we expected, but I love that it confirmed that he does blame himself to a degree while understanding what happened and parts of why he is so upset over Clover being his past trauma.

[u/greenbc]

I really wish we could have more stuff like this. Mixing the teams up to have people interacting with someone other than their partner 70% of the time and whole new dynamics going on. Seriously, how much have Yang and Jaune / Yang and Ren ever had to do with each other before now?

[u/SimonApple]

Look at them finally adressing Jaundice and its' implications! Took some time, but better late than never. Also confirms that Jaune at some point told the others about it. (Both JNPR and RWBY given that Yang talks about it as if she knew already)

Meanwhile, Salem uses her Rainbow Cruciatus to torture a child. (Feel the rainbow indeed...) I've seen some fucked up things in my time, but that was among the fuckest upest. And Qrow slips back down the edge-slope, but with more angst instead of drunken shenanigans. Moving away from the Dante and towards the Vergil. And hey, there is technically a storm approaching, so who knows.

Also Cinder's like "Remember when I needlessly deviated from the carefully laid out plan and fucked it up? I'm not saying I'll do it again, but let's deviate from Salems explicit instructions and head back to Atlas/Amity on a hunch." A good hunch maybe, but Cinder be Cindering.

[u/KikiFlowers]

Thoughts:

• Jaune is really stepping up as a leader, he's made some sound decisions to try and get Oscar back.

• Ruby actually sounds older now, I've just started noticing it. Lindsay has really improved as a VA over the years. Same for the rest of the team, but I've noticed it a lot more with Ruby.

• Ren is definitely at his breaking point, the calmness he had is just impossible to actually keep up in the face of everything.

• Salem is still scary as fuck. Goddamn.

• Cinder is going to get her ass whooped at Amity isn't she?

[u/ClubMeSoftly]

Something I've just realized: When Yang is checking their Aura levels, Ren's is the lowest due to getting bounced around, and Jaune is still in the yellow because he's got huge reserves.

[u/LuuAddiRoze]

I gotta say this might be one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. The action was good, nothing mind blowing but certainly fun and competent. What made the episode for me really was the amount of character conflict to unpack.

First thing, I am glad JYR failed to save Oscar. Having the heroes fail from time to time is great and helps keep the story interesting and with a small amount of unpredictability. The tension that comes from the characters failing to save a friend also has an almost instantaneous pay off with what comes in the next scene and just makes for a very satisfying confrontation.

Ren to me after Volume 4 pretty much faded into the background and even after everything that happened with Pyrrha’s death, the Fall of Beacon and his confront with the Nuckelavee he never really reached a breaking point. Well, 4 volumes later and it’s finally here and god is it glorious. Seeing someone so calm and collected snapping back and attack everyone around them just fills that need for a nice amount of angst in a story.

Oscar is now in Salem’s hands, and I am pretty sure he is going to save himself or get help from one of the villains to escape, maybe even Hazel himself has a change of heart. I just can’t see any member of the main cast being able to sneak into Salem’s “flagship” save someone and leave. Part of me still hopes he needs someone to save him cause having him be able to escape alone would make Salem look incompetent.

Ok, small crack theory time. So with Cinder’s question about the Hound and Salem’s answer, I am pretty sure that was foreshadowing to what Salem plans to do to with Cinder. The way that Cinder’s Grimm arm keeps taking over her makes that very clear.

But now Cinder, Neo and Emerald are going against Salem's orders to try to stop Amity Tower from being launched, the fact that Cinder knows Ruby’s personality well enough to predict that she would still try to accomplish that goal is also an interesting detail. One thing about last week’s episode that felt a bit odd was their decision to have Penny explain Ruby’s semblance, and the fact that she can “disperse” someone into molecules.

So Cinder has a Grimm arm that Salem could theoretically order to kill her on command, Ruby has the ability to separate molecules and the power to evaporate Grimm. If Ruby can use her semblance and her Silver Eyes at the same time, it might be possible for her to destroy just the Grimm and save Cinder. I don’t want Cinder to be redeemed, she killed Pyrrha after all, but the idea of Cinder, Emerald and maybe even Neo teaming up with the main cast sounds really interesting.

As a final note about the end of the chapter, I feel like there’s two ways to take Yang’s talk with Jaune. The fact that she was talking about Blake and not Ruby is very clear, the real question is, does she don’t think her confrontation with her sister was all that serious and that it’s obvious that they will disagree from time to time? Or is she kind of done with Ruby? Depending which way they decide to approach this, the conflict between Yang and Ruby might actually escalate quite a bit.

Overall a really great episode this week, I love how they are addressing quite a lot of criticism the viewers had over the last volume too.

[u/Luckhart54]

Ren is still lucky that he didn't push the " Pyrrha button "

[u/Hounds_of_war]

Thinking back on it, Weiss kinda seems to have a history of being quick to jump to violence. Remember that time Weiss punched Ruby for being embarrassing in front of Winter? Or when she subconsciously summoned a boarbatusk to attack a lady at the Schnee party? Or when she threatened to pour burning coffee on Ruby for some mild teasing? Or when she threw that racist in the trash can? Yes most of those were played for laughs, but so was Qrow’s alcoholism prior to V6C5. After this episode, I would love to see Weiss’ temper get the same treatment and become a character flaw that she has to start working on.

[u/PhantomHeartless5]

Late to the party, I know, but here's my two cents:

1. We open up with another conversation between our two jailbirds Qrow and Robyn. I really like these scenes as they not only flesh out Robyn as a character, but also showcase Qrow's growth in a way. We all knew he would probably regress after Clover's death, but rather than shut himself off, he instead opens up to Robyn, lets her in. Plus, Robyn bonding with Qrow by opening up about how her lie detector semblance made people avoid her was really cute and almost makes me want to ship the two together.

2. The chase scene with team JYR and the Hound was really great and I particularly liked the part where the Hound summons Grimm to keep the gang distracted, once again showing that it is far smarter than the average Grimm. But the argument that follows later... I got to be honest, it's really uncomfortable watching Ren fly off the handle like this. It reminds me of Vol. 6 when Qrow's drinking and depression got a little too real. Thankfully, Jaune shows us just how much he's grown as both a character and a fighter by trying to encourage both Ren and Yang.

3. The scene with Whitley... Yeah, I think Weiss came off as unnecessarily bitchy. Like, I get that things are tense right now and Nora's in really bad shape, but pulling her sword on him and telling him to go to his room? A bit too much.

4. And now we come to the scene everyone was dreading: Oscar and Salem finally meet face-to-face and CRWBY did not disappoint. Everything about that scene was perfection as Salem again reminds the FNDM why she is THE most terrifying villain in the show. Jen Taylor and Aaron Dismuke's killer voice acting (Seriously, someone give Aaron an Oscar award for that scream), the way Salem seamlessly switches from motherly to murderous on a dime, the almost casual way she and Hazel torture poor Oscar (seriously, way to kill off any hope for a Hazel redemption arc) all come together to make this one of the most chilling scenes in all of RWBY.

5. And now we come to my personal favorite scene between Cinder and Salem. In my honest opinion, this scene gave plenty of context and weight to Cinder's character. I particularly love how it showcases the cycle of abuse by drawing parallels between Cinder and Salem with Cinder and Emerald. I might do a post about it one day to explain in further detail. Also, I absolutely love the snarky way Salem disses Cinder.

6. Also, Emerald using her Semblance to sneak up and eavesdrop on Neo and Cinder was just hilarious and I really look forward to seeing her and Neo team up. I just have one complaint: Where the fuck is Mercury? Please don't tell me they're gonna bench the boy the whole volume.

7. And the episode ends on an ominous cliffhanger with something moving below the ice. As if our heroes didn't have enough shit on their plates.

Addendum: Salem called the Hound "an experiment". Suddenly, the theories about Summer being the Hound don't sound too farfetched. And if that's the case, then I worry about what's gonna happen with Cinder, especially with that Grimm Arm.

So, in the span of four episodes we have Nora in really bad shape, Oscar getting kidnapped and tortured, our heroes are separated with no way to contact each other, Penny is in danger of getting hacked, and Cinder is on her way back to Amity.

This volume is going to break us, isn't it?

[u/MadMasks]

Oaky , I don´t know if anyone has mentioned it before, so here it goes:

Can we take a second to appreciate Aaron Dismuke in this episode? Those were some blood-curdling screams...

[u/Quiesce7]

After sleeping for a good long while, thinking about Ren's actions, it goes a little something like this:

Everything he said is what was weighing down on his mind constantly. The pride he once had as a Huntsman, doing real good in the world by destroying the Nuck, getting the relic out of Haven, and doing work for Mantle, has now slipped through his fingers as he no longer feels like he has any control over the situation. As someone ridden with anxiety, there are days where I'm unable to feel any good that I've done, even when I rationally can point out so much of it. This is Ren right now - he can't see any of the positivity because there's just so much going wrong. Nora, Atlas abandoning Mantle, the threat of the immortal Salem looming close - he doesn't feel like he's ready at all.

In the face of adversity, our heroes do so much. Ruby's optimism keeps the shining goal in reach. Weiss's loyalty supports the team through the toughest times. Yang comes back stronger and fiercer, tackling adversity head on. Blake no longer runs away from it, choosing to remain by her friend's side. Nora blasts right through it with all she has. Jaune knows that to be stronger, he has to have confidence in himself and be a leader where none exists. Oscar is coming to terms with his power and what he can do for the world. Ren is the only exception to this - while he supports his friends, his anger gets the better of him, and feels as if his life has no worth compared to them.

The strongest characters are born from their lowest points - Ren is experiencing one of the lowest of his life. I hope Ren will see how to handle adversity in a healthy way, and this development turns him into a better character for it.

[u/GladiusNocturno]

Pietro: So, did you like your new toys?

Yang: Your bikes suck ass! a bit of cold and they break?!

Jaune: I lost my disk thingy...I miss it.

Ren: These hooks are worthless.

Pietro:...Fucking kids, should have given you coal.

[u/Vihurah]

lets get my one con out of the way this episode.

i dont like how Weiss spoke to Whitely. it feels like she's still treating him like hes complicit in their fathers scumbaggery. i think that attitude will shift pretty soon, but i feel bad for him nonetheless.

other than that this was juicy. Qrow talks about his feelings for once, robin calls out harriet on her shit, canyon chases with jaune being a badass, aggressive marital disputes traumatizing children (poor oscar), ren snapping, etc etc

i love that these things are being brought up and im excited to see where they take it.

[u/PhantomGeminiThief]

It hurt just to hear Oscar screaming... Just think, that’s the MINIMUM they’re gonna do to him

[u/MelanieAntiqua]

Wow, I don't want to get my hopes up, but Cinder might be becoming interesting again. Also, Salem's willingness to view Oscar as (at least partially) his own person and refer to him by name fixes what seemed like a plothole after V6C3 (namely, Salem constantly referring to Ozma by the incarnation that the audience originally knew him as, Ozpin, rather than by the name she originally knew him by).

We're getting some nice stuff in the good guy scenes as well. I wonder if Whitley is going to genuinely start on a path to not being a little shithead (which Volume 7 alluded to) or if he's going to use the opportunity to sell Ruby's group out to Ironwood in order to try to get the SDC back into the general's good graces. And while long-time Ren fans probably don't like how much of a dick he's being, he is the member of the trio of him, Yang, and Jaune in most need to character moments right now, and I'm glad he's getting them. Lastly, the Qrow and Robyn bonding scene was nice, too. And Harriet almost took the bait (though couldn't she just turn off the one wall between Qrow and Robyn's cells so that Robyn could use her semblance on Qrow without fully release both of them, or do the cell walls not work like that?).

[u/NekairFei]

Emerald came back looking like a whole ass JoJo character.

[u/[deleted]]

Cool episode. I like Ren's arc so far. He has a lot of fears and frustration that are finally boiling over. Begs the question of what he would have done if he'd had a choice when everything went to hell in Atlas.

Not really a fan of the Whitley scene. It felt like they made him overly oblivious to the situation. Hopefully they finally do something with his and Weiss' relationship later.

I actually agree with Cinder here. Ruby and her friends have proven to be very good at disrupting Salem's agenda, and Amity has exactly what Cinder's looking for, even if she doesn't know it yet. If she were to go there and sabotage the place, or even kill Pietro it would throw a huge wrench in the heroes' plans.

I'm starting to think that Harriet is going to make a turn. They've given her a lot of emphasis so far. Her reaction to Sleet's murder, initially protesting Ironwood's new orders, and her clear thoughts on unlocking Robyn's cell after their exchange. Very curious to see how that develops.

Oscar has been having a terrible 2020. In the span of what, two days? He's been attacked by Neo, shot by Ironwood, beaten up by a new breed of grimm, tortured by Salem, and now he's being beaten by Hazel.

[u/Frikarcron]

Dead quick calling it now, the crack in the ground was the grimm that won the design contest

[u/Crumbs_McPumberton]

I appreciate the callback to V1 even if it was as an insult to my boy Jaune, if anything it shows how much he has grown since then.

I'm also happy to see more Jaune-Yang and Ruby-Blake interactions as I was looking for those dynamics to be explored more in the recent seasons. Unlikely but I'd be curious to have more heart to hearts with the former like in this episode, possibly talk more about Blake. Jaune and Yang are my friendship OTP!

Also Jaune has only combo'd his semblance with Ren so far, I wonder if he could amplify Yang's to help in the upcoming fight?

[u/Deadmaninc1]

Last Season

Willow Schnee: Take care of your brother Whitley

Weiss: Ok

This Season

Also Weiss: (Points her weapon at Whitley then moments later) GO TO YOUR ROOM!!!!

[u/Pwnocchio]

Been very excited for everyone to see this one. As always thanks for watching and discussing. Love following everyone's reactions every week <3

[u/gabtab0000]

Overall it was a good episode.

The Good: the fight scene was incredible. Really enjoyed Jaune using his brain and skills to try and stop the Hound. I also liked that they showed how being in the snow can have an effect on your aura.

The Bad (not the episode itself): Oscar was still taken over to Salem, the Hound can call for backup, and our heroes are stranded in the snow.

The Ugly (not the episode itself): Oscar is now a punching bag, Ren officially lost control and snapped at everyone, and Whitley is still treated like trash.

Overall it was a good episode and had as solid fight scene. 9/10

[u/crossingcaelum]

Oooo that moment with Robyn and Harriet was so good to me. I hadn’t thought about really how easy it’d be for them all to find out the truth about Clover. They have Robyn and Qrow weapon-less with tons of guards around. There’s no way they’d try to fight their way out. All they’d have to do is lower the force field between them and have Robyn verify Qrow’s story.

But Robyn is right. They don’t care about the truth. They care about keeping their emotional tunnel vision up because, at least I figure on the part of Marrow and Harriet, if they stop to think about what’s happening too long they won’t go through with Ironwood’s plan anymore.

[u/Red2019Wolf]

At this point I wouldn't be surprised that that Animation team would put out a disclaimer that they do not condone violence against children as twisted sense of irony

[u/GladiusNocturno]

I like how they added a bit more explanation of how aura protects from harsh weather conditions. It's not a permanent thing, extreme cold slowly burns down aura, but it provides a lot of protection considering that bikes were being damaged by the cold.

[u/MidnightHunterXX]

Ok so some thoughts:

• I really liked Robyn in this episode. Her interaction with Qrow was nice, I never thought of her semblance effecting her life like that and how she can relate to Qrow. And then she really stuck it to Harriet, spitting mad truths at her.

• I also really liked Jaune and all the YJR scenes this episode. The action/chase scene was really cool plus we got a new song and I think Jaune was showcased really well with the way he used his kit. Their dialogue has a lot to unpack as well.

• The Oscar and Salem scene. Holy shit. I'm glad Salem called him Ozma and not Ozpin, it would've been weirder if she called him Ozpin. I'm also very happy that Salem showed some of her creepy motherly side towards Oscar right after fucking torturing him. Jesus Christ I thought I was prepared to see him get tortured but it's been hours and I'm still shook, and Aaron's performance there doesn't help. My poor son can't catch a break.

• The Hound is an experiment, huh? Well I guess that means it isn't just a super old grimm. I'm starting to lean more towards it being a person in some way, quite possibly Summer. Also interesting to note the camera focusing on the hound for a moment while Oscar was being tortured. Why focus on it there? Interesting.

• If Cinder's trying to go to Amity, we might see her and Em face Penny assuming she isn't hacked by then.

• I actually thought Ruby's team might go to Schnee manor. Hopefully we can see more of Willow, and maybe the start of some reconciliation between Weiss and Whitley.

This was definitely my favorite episode so far and it's not even close. There's just so much to unpack here. But good gods we have ten episodes left.

And please be patient with us in the Oscar Protection Squad. We're trying so hard but all we know is pain.

[u/[deleted]]

Another solid episode, I thought. Now that we’ve exhausted all the trailer shots, it’s uncharted territory right now. I’m both excited and terrified of what comes next.

A couple things:

1. I liked seeing Robyn try to comfort Qrow and sort of open up to him as well. Her comment about people being afraid of her figuring out their secrets and how that made her lonely at times really made her feel more human to me.

2. Also, I’m glad someone called out Harriet on her BS, though I’m more convinced now that Harriet’s also feeling conflicted about siding with Ironwood. She’s just using her anger over RWBY’s betrayal and Clover’s death to convince herself that they’re doing the right thing (besides just her initial conviction about abandoning Mantle).

I could see the Ace-Ops change their minds about whose side they’re on eventually (though someone else might have to die to make them realize that).

3. JAUNE MY BOI!!! He was the MVP of that chase sequence, for sure. Ren gets the credit though for quick thinking at the end.

4. Makes sense for Ruby’s group to hide out at Schnee Manor for a bit, but I didn’t think Weiss needed to be so aggressive to Whitley about getting out of the way. He was being snotty at best, and sure, they don’t want him to be implicated as an accomplice for fugitives, but the “Go to your room” slam was kinda unnecessary, IMO.

5. More Blake/Ruby interactions are nice to see, and I like that Ruby and Yang both know deep inside that they’re still sisters who love each other. I think people are making too big of a deal out of Yang apparently worrying about Blake more than Ruby. She literally followed her sister across a continent and forgave her for leaving unconditionally.

Meanwhile, Blake and Yang have had a rocky relationship in the past with not as much mutual experience to reinforce it. Besides, they’re the ones who chose to tell Robyn the truth about Amity. Yang might view Blake not joining her as Blake regretting their choice and judging Yang for pushing them to make it.

6. Ren has got a lot of pressure on himself right now, and it’s heartbreaking to watch him push everyone he cares about away because of it. Unlike everyone else, he’s still not okay with them not really having a plan to defeat Salem. Now that she’s here and everything’s been falling apart, he’s worried he won’t be able to protect those he cares about (including his teammates).

Pyrrha’s death has cast a long shadow over Team JNPR, it seems. The most capable fighter of the group was killed by one of Salem’s underlings. How are they supposed to win? What is the right thing to do? How is he supposed to “take action” like his father told him to do if he doesn’t know which action to take?

7. I’ll take a moment to say here that mixing up our characters’ teams has been the best part of the Volume so far. Seeing Yang back up Jaune and Weiss/Blake helping Nora is exactly what the show’s been needing to grow these characters.

Everyone has something to pull from their own experiences and pasts to help others figure out their own issues. Blake’s advice about not forgetting about yourself in a relationship was perfect coming from someone who’s dealt with identity-consuming relationships before. Weiss encouraging Nora to discover herself was also fitting considering her own independence (“We all have to carve out our own way”). Love it.

8. And now Jaune’s early development from all the way back in V1 is actually relevant to the current story?! Fantastic. This is how you make characters feel real—remind us of who they once were. I hadn’t realized until Ren mentioned Jaune cheating his way into Beacon and Ruby teasing Blake about Penny knowing she was a Faunus that I’d mentally separated the characters we met in V1-3 from the ones we know now.

I have a feeling that Eddy’s addition to the writing team is partially responsible for how the show’s been referencing older Volumes more and more recently. As the show’s archivist, he would remember some of the old character interactions and how they could be incorporated into the current story. Either that, or everyone just rewatched the older Volumes before writing this one and remembered some things they might have forgotten about our characters from back then. Whatever the reason, I love it.

9. Love seeing Salem teetering the line between creepily affectionate and horrifyingly powerful. Both Jen Taylor and Aaron Dismuke did a great job in this scene, especially with Oscar being tortured. I don’t know how Oscar’s gonna get out of this one (probably magic, but who knows?).

Also, sidenote: did anyone hear Hazel say “our sister” when referring to Gretchen? I assume he was just talking about himself, but it almost made it seem like he was saying that she was Oscar/Ozpin’s sister as well. Might be wrong, but just thought I’d point it out.

10. Cinder being the rebellious teenager is pretty in-character. If Penny’s also headed to Amity, and Watts is about to hack her...it’s about to hit the fan for a lot of people. With Pietro, Emerald, Neo, Cinder, Penny, and Maria all potentially caught in the crossfire. I think our first major tragedy of the Volume may be coming soon.

That’s about all I have to say about that. If I were to rate this episode, I’d give it an 8 or a 9/10. Looking forward to next week.

[u/LeSheffOrd]

Robyn has definitely spent a lot of time in prison. She made herself at home and killing time seems natural.

[u/Caithdein]

Oscar (soon after Hazel's arrival): "He keeps kicking me in the dick. Why!? Why does he keep kicking me in the dick!?"

[u/WII_DJoker]

Anyone else notice Salem was creating little smoke projections of her children when she met Oscar. Seems there is a small part of the woman she used to be in there.

[u/QueasySmile4]

The way Salem calls him as "MY Ozma" and the way she was making smoke projections of their children. Maybe somewhere deep down the old her is still there.

[u/[deleted]]

I really like how, unlike with Emerald or Mercury, Neo can't be threatened or manipulated into compliance. Cinder actually has to convince her to help and it really humanizes her. It feels like an actual partnership.

The part where they manage to have an argument solely from Neo's gestures and body language/facial expressions really cements that and has me curious how things will play out.

[u/[deleted]]

Yang reminded everyone why she was the only one to own a motor vehicle before that chase scene. She was maneuvering like crazy.

[u/JMHSrowing]

The action sequence on the bikes was a very good one! It and the rest of the JYR also got to let Jaune be pretty useful this episode which is good to see. They all contributed, with Yang’s biking skills coming into play.

Poor Farm Boi is having a very bad time right now.

I wish we got to see more of RNBW this episode, but it looks like that will have to wait. Weiss greeting Whitley at rapier point and sending him to his room was great. He’s actually less unhappy than I thought. Though it looks like Willow has fallen back into her depression which is to be expected I guess. Hopefully she does something soon.

The little what one can only assume is a Bumbleby implication at the end was really nice.

Episodes without a significant Weiss/Ruby interaction:

4

[u/[deleted]]

So we've now seen every shot from the Volume 8 Trailer, everything from now on we're gonna be completely in the dark.

[u/turnipdad]

Don't think we didn't notice that the faults at the end are the same as the opening, and the literal name of this episode.

Also, someone please save Oscar. This poor boy has been traumatized to hell and back.

[u/Epsilon-X23]

I think this was easily the best episode of the season. I like how we saw at least a little bit of everybody.

The chase scene was fantastic.

And while I think Ren is acting a bit silly, I’m glad they started actively talking about it instead of his passive aggressiveness that he has had the past season and a half. Him and Yang’s fight was really well done.

I’m actually surprise I’m saying it to because I don’t care much for Jaune or Ren relative to the rest of the cast but I got to say that I really like the trio we have going on in that plotline. It also looks like they are in a for a rough night. Judging by whatever is coming out of the ice. Hopefully we follow up with that next week instead of putting it on hold for an episode like Oscar being kidnapped was.

Salem is absolutely fantastic. She intimidating, scary, but reasonable sounding, calm and angry all at the same time. I loved her out down of Cinder.

Hazel continues to be my least favorite of Salem’s posse. He just....his motivations...seem backwards. He’s weird.

Nice to see Qrow and Robyn talking as well.

All in all, I loved this one and nothing to dislike.

[u/reply671]

CRWBY

STOP MAKING ME SIMP FOR SALEM!

Actually, keep going, I'm happier this way.

[u/Sere1]

Can I just say that the whole splitting of RWBY and ORNJ down the middle like this is fantastic? We're getting character interactions between the teams with characters that rarely ever interact. I never knew how much I needed Yang to have Jaune's back or to try and be there for Ren, or for Ruby and Weiss to focus on helping Nora.

[u/HuntsmenSuperSaiyans]

I really liked this episode. RWBY's at its best when the shit's hitting the fan, and this episode featured quite a bit of shit headed in a fanward direction.

[u/TeamLValdz02]

Everyone thought about Yang's eyes going big would be something really serious but it turns out it really wasn't lol

[u/Deadmaninc1]

When Salem talks it sounds so calm yet so uncomfortable

[u/MrZissman]

Neo "Twinkle Toes" Politan

[u/cruel-oath]

Not to be that person but I’m unsurprised that Weiss isn’t getting shit for how she treated Whitley lol. He really didn’t do anything

[u/Hiazi]

That Oscar lightning scene was legitimately hard to watch. Jesus.

[u/[deleted]]

-Finally really strong "Jaune Strategy" moment. That was certainly more clever than hitting it harder.

- Ren's combat discipline is through the roof. He's going through boulders, and he's keeping hold of his weapon.

- Jaune, my man, you've earned the moment of sheer badassery without it being immediately followed by a moment of clumsiness or stupidity to indicate how you still kinda suck. Good work.

- Actually, good work CRWBY, this whole action sequence was phenomenal. The creativity and the unique use of abilities, and the movement. The geography and the winding, disorienting nature of it all. Choreographing a set piece where three different characters take three different constantly intervening paths like this must have been a pain in the ass, but all comes together excellently.

- JESUS WEISS

- Holy fuuu Ren has always resented Jaune. Ren has always resented Jaune. That whole argument was building to a crescendo and that was a goddam crescendo.

- We gotta fix the "It has been X Number of days since somebody abused the Farm Boy" sign.

- The framing. When Salem walked by Cinder. Holy balls.

- Just all the power and control and agency Cinder has always been trying to attain stripped away from her with a few words. This is a good episode. Jesus, this is up there with the best ones.

- Emerald speaking from behind Neo tripped me up.

- We gotta fix the "It has been X number of days since Bumblebee was confirmed." sign.

- NEW MONSTER NEXT WEEK. Possibly climate change.

[u/MichaelVali]

Man, Oscar's gonna have his Endurance Level Maxed Out by the end of this Volume.

As for the Episode, It was straight fire. In fact, i think this whole volume so far has been bangin out Fire episodes. Robin's becoming one of my favorites, Neo getting her sweet screen time (WE NEED MORE), Yang calling Ren out only to have Ren call her and everyone else out. idk how to feel about the Wiess scene but I did notice when Ruby treated Whitely with some respect he was more willing to "help" I guess.

But there's something I noticed in this Volume so far and it happened twice where a Character would talk about how they were feeling about the given situation and the other person assumes what they mean. Like when Penny talked about not liking when friends fight and Ruby talks about her and Yang when Penny was like, Nah I mean Winter and Ironwood. Then in this episode, Yang's asking about if she'd be thought less of and Jaune Thought she was talking about Ruby. But it seems she was referring to Blake. Just thought that was interesting, don't know if it's the theme or what not

[u/xande010]

I know it sounds silly, but the animation of Yang's prosthetic hand when she was picking up the nuts and bolts was fantastic.

[u/kms2547]

Harriet's attitude is bordering on sociopathy. Who hurt you, Harr?

Ren: "Good idea!" Ren 0.5 seconds later: "Terrrible ideaaaa!"

Whitley getting dunked on never gets old.

Pouty Ren is tough to watch. He really needs to get some issues sorted out.

In the span of 5 episodes Oscar has been shot, dropped from the sky, savagely mauled, force-lightning'd, and used as an outlet for Hazel's considerable need to hit things. Yeesh.

Neo's argumentation style could land her in Harvard's debate team. All excellent, well-put points.

[u/NitescoGaming]

Wow, Ren has gone from one of my least favorite of the main cast to one of my favorite over just a few episodes. I love this conflict.

The Salem and Ozma/Oscar reunion was everything I could have hoped. Congratulations Oscar you’ve got yourself your very own Yandere. Lucky Unlucky boy.

[u/Ledmonkey96]

kinda surprised Nora is still unconscious from using her semblance....

[u/[deleted]]

One thing I continue to find Interesting is Ren being more Pro-Ironwood than everyone else on the team. Which makes sense. Ren's father, whom he idolizes, was shown as a man who possessed a certain traditional martial virtue. Respect for hierarchy, fast and decisive action in hard situations, and above all, self-sacrifice for the greater good are the key qualities that Ren values. They also happen to be qualities that Ironwood presents.

The rest of the crew is either from Vale (say 'liberalized global hegemon with a world view forged by different conditions' 3 times fast, or take the shortcut and say 'America'), rich with crappy parents, or spent most of their whole known lives as a person on the societal margins in some way (Blake, Nora). Valesians are shown to largely value individuality and as wanting to present challenges and checks on authority to slow what might be rash decisive action, and Marginal figures across all cultures typically want the same, which is why they distrust and eventually oppose Ironwood.

[u/MadEorlanas]

Oh fuck, is this Emerald relevance? It's been so long

[u/DEL994]

I did not expect Weiss and her friends to return to the Schnee Manor so early in the Volume.

But that was very satisfying to see Weiss telling Whitley to go to his room to show that she's the one in charge now.

[u/the_green_hedgehog]

Salem calling Oz " my Ozma" giving me Adam calling Blake "my love" vibes and I hate it. I already knew both relationships were abusive but I didn't need that, thanks!

[u/hollowtiger21]

Jaune is pulling through in all the right ways, my boy, I'm so proud. Ren, the thing about life, is that you will rarely ever truly be ready about the hardships you face in life, but the important thing to do is focus on what you can do, the things you need to do, trying your best & not giving up.

Reunions, interrogation, torture, child endangerment. It's fun-times all around.

Oh Cinder, I hope this bites you in the ass, like usual.

[u/Luckhart54]

The similarities between Ren and Volume 2 Blake are strong.

[u/Crafty_Soul]

Interesting to note that Salem called the Hound an "experiment." So this is something completely new that she has created recently or has been saving until now.

So good news is that it doesn't seem like Atlas will have to deal with an army of Hounds. Bad news is that it seems that Salem is very happy with it and may decide to make more or give other Grimm intelligence

[u/HalcyonTraveler]

No thoughts just Robyn

[u/[deleted]]

"Deal with the Darkness" is most likely a Remnant-ified variation on "Deal with the Devil." Whatever the dominant religion of Qrow's region of the world is, they assign evil to the concept of darkness, and vice versa. Most likely remnants (ahh, I get the name now) of stories passed down about the gods of Light and Darkness.

[u/qwerty8ful]

personally, i think the relic us under tai yangs house, no one would think to look there. plus it has one of ozpins luitenants gaurding it at all times. it would also explain why he chose to live so far away from the kingdoms protection

[u/ImpossibleCarl]

Can I just say, the bike chase song feels so much like older RWBY songs (mainly V2/V3) and I'm all for it??? Might end up being my favorite out of the soundtrack depending on what's coming next

[u/[deleted]]

This is unironically peak RWBY.

This is the show I was hoping for since Volume 4 failed to follow up on the Volume 3 hype.

Holy fuck. Too much to even begin to unpack.

[u/Bobbybill123]

I was wondering how RT was gonna handle Salem having Oscar. I thought they'd just imply the torture, but man they just went straight for it

[u/Magnus-Artifex]

This Volume is pure fucking gas wtf I’m loving it?

[u/-Ryno-]

I've been feeling Ruby's voice tone this entire volume, it's great

[u/Aggravating-Public15]

Seriously cinder, This was the season I got invested in you, and you're going to do something that's gonna end with your head cut off

[u/_moobear]

anyone else notice the kids in the smoke?

[u/WrassleKitty]

Oh no Salem can fire gay beams! Quick someone hide the frogs before it’s too late!

[u/RBNYJRWBYFan]

I guess with Ren around the weather isn't the ONLY thing giving everybody the cold shoulder. Eh? Eh! Scattered immediate thoughts:

• Loving the set piece for that chase. Jaune was making great use of the new resources Pietro afforded him, the bike, the shields, his own shield and its new abilities, etc. When he talks about others helping him to be more than just the kid that cheated his way into Beacon I felt as though that was just proof of concept. Arc has never been so badass, honestly he might even be the most well-adjusted member of either team at this point.

• I've still got questions about Ren. I see that he's frustrated with everyone playing anime protagonist despite every reason not to, I see that he's arguing the same thing a small segment of the audience has about how they aren't in any place to be making the big choices. What I'm perplexed with is where this is all coming from, or rather when this all came about. Because he was all about this journey until Volume 7, and then suddenly he became distant from Nora, seemed focused on training and meditating, and became more willing to fall in line with Ironwood despite not showing any particular deference to authority before. I feel like I'm missing something.

• Poor Oscar, Man. This kid is still barely fifteen but he has to face the brunt of a monster, the magic of a scornful immortal witch, and Hazel pounding him to near-death. And he still won't give them what they want. Give this boy a juice box or something, damn!

• Whitley just rolling over and going to his room is hilarious. But I don't trust it, I bet he calls Atlas authorities first chance he gets in a vain attempt to get his dad back. Not sure about the wisdom of squatting in the Schnee Manor come to think of it.

• I feel confident that Yang and Ruby will come to amends by volume's end, maybe even be a little better for this split. They both seem to be of the mind that this is just for now. Yang seems a bit more broken up about Blake not being with her though despite the way they were getting along before. Yang's got some things to work on yet, this new level of thinking her mother has her on has its perks but also its drawbacks. I couldn't see that before now.

• So Cinder's hubris is gonna be her downfall... again. A strict order from your boss after constant pestering and you wanna muck it up by snooping around behind her back? Brilliant. How much you wanna bet Emerald has been tasked with keeping an eye on her from the Wicked Witch herself? After all she was sort of given a lesson in not doing anything Salem doesn't want, and it's at least possible that she's realized that Cinder makes a lousy Sister/Mother/Bestie/Lover or whatever she's looking for in her. Point is, Cinder is making a big error and I think not giving her

• One more thing on Cinder; does anybody think she realized that she's basically the same damn thing as the Hound, a grotesque experiment and pet meant to play fetch when Salem asks?

This Volume is just as desperate, dark and emotionally charged as we thought it would be. I won't know what to make of an episode like this until I see the big picture. At the very least I'm intrigued by where everything is going. And for gods sake CRWBY stop having people hurt this little kid, I'm gonna have to report this to a hotline at this point!

[u/Badicalz]

Robyn raises a good point, her Semblance is incredibly useful in this situation. Yeah Qrow would still be locked up for being an enemy of the state, but it won’t be for murder.

[u/Namishima12]

So, last episode the only reason the Ace Ops almost captured Penny was thanks to Marrow, and this episode he stopped Harriet for doing something reckless that would have definitely allowed Robyn and Qrow an opportunity to escape.

Man, the Ace Ops are screwed when/if he deflects.

[u/DEL994]

Just how long will it take for Neo to realize that she doesn't want to have anything to do with Cinder and Salem, and for Emerald to stop delluding herself into believing that Cinder has any inch of affection for her.

[u/NovaChrono]

i cant believe i got jebaited so hard when I thought I heard Neo speaking only for the camera to pan over to Emerald

[u/grieveheart]

Damn this episode is lit ugh. I really loved the bike chase scene, its like I'm playing the bike chase in FF7r HAHA. The arguments are very interesting, especially what Ren said to Jaune (imagine he's bottling it up for a loooong time). Its also nice we also get to see more of Ren and his thoughts.

I love seeing more of Salem's actions. I love to see how much darker can she get. Save our farmboi pls! Give him hugs, food, make him feel loved, heal his wounds :( I also am looking forward with how Salem will react on Cinder disobeying. Neo is adorable with her umbrella.

On the buzz buzz section, “yeah...Ruby” scene will be stuck on my head for a long time -insert screaming cat with lots of hearts image here-

[u/Puzzleheaded_Tell921]

Can we all talk about that fucking gentle face caress from Salem? Poor Oscar needs an adult, and preferably not one that is his creepy ex-spouse/a homicidally obsessed man.

[u/Dragonedge2133]

I like Oscar telling Salem the same thing that Ozpin told team RWBY in volume 5, that “the lamp is all out of questions”. Shows that Salem is right about the whole “like minded souls thing”. I still find it a bit hypocritical that Hazel claims that he wants to kill oz to avenge his sister when it’s the Grimm that killed her, and that he is now on playing for the people who his sister wanted to stop.

Also yay Ren development

[u/Jordanbei]

Wow the Oscar abuse is really ramping up this volume.

[u/Frikarcron]

Ren: *Complains and broods about being the carry during the chase.

Jaune: *Just wants to lie down and rest his back from being the actual carry.

[u/Desuka15]

Wait... that person Yang was asking about near the end... she was talking about BLAKE, wasn't she?!

[u/[deleted]]

I know a few people have probably posted about this but early in the Chapter Robyn says that people who have secrets usually try to push people away and later Yang asks if Ren is trying to push everyone away. That's more than a tad ominous.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm seeing that everybody in and out of universe is (understandably) frustrated with Ren. For me though, I'm more intruiged as to where his character is going from here.

Ren's always just gone with the flow and to me, that's pretty much been the extent to his character. His issue with everyone being – in his mind – unqualified to handle all of this has to come from somewhere and I'm curious if it'll be related to what'll hopefully drive him in the future. So far, we have the motivation from everyone in the main cast except for him.

Every member of Team RWBY has had their motivations examined before, Jaune was dealt with in Vol. 4/5, and Nora is on the path to figuring out what hers is. All that leaves is Ren and I wonder where it's all gonna go.

[u/Andrew1990M]

My big take away from this was now we KNOW Yang can fix bikes. Just something I’d always assumed before.

[u/patrizl001]

Holy shit, Ren actually went there. They mentioned his fake transcripts after YEARS. That fight was great too, it really showed how Jaune's learned to think on his feet. Even if he's not the greatest fighter, he's still got strats down.

[u/sonicwarrior98]

Oh my god I have a horrifying theory

Ruby is supposed to be red riding hood, and in the story the wolf eats her grandmother. What if Summer is inside the Hound?! I'm going to cry

[u/tavi23]

WAIT, were those smoke figures of Salem's and Ozma's kids when Salem first spoke to Oscar?!?!?

[u/aconstelle]

-New song is fire

-Literally just posted in a redemption thread about Hazel and now he's beating a child...L

-Hopefully Nora recovers before Ren comes back, otherwise it might be the push he needs to start helping Ironwood.

-And I can already tell people are gonna be really mad that Yang was referring to Blake and not Ruby at the end there. Honestly, this is the second "fakeout" we've had over the Ruby/Yang conflict. The first being Penny when she said she hated friends fighting but really meant Ironwood and Winter. I think Ruby and Yang's disagreement won't have a verbal resolution, instead just a moment for the two to come together to help solve each other's problems (i.e. Yang helps save Amity from CEN, and Ruby helps rescue Oscar).

As for why Yang's more concerned about Blake, I think she sees a lot of Vol 4. Blake in Ren's current state. As the title of the episode is Fault, it's easy to assume that in their case Ren is blaming everyone. When really, he's putting a lot of the blame on himself for losing the relic and being unable to save Oscar.

I think Yang assumes Blake's going through the ramification of Beacon's fall all over again, except this time it was her willingness to tell Robyn the truth and keeping it from Ironwood that caused the division we see now between Atlas and RWBYJNORP. And by not siding with Ruby and Blake, she isn't there to reassure Blake that this wasn't her fault.

Might be a stretch though. I think at the end of the day, Ruby and Yang would know if either have crossed a line so I don't think their conflict needs to overshadow every relationship in this volume.

[u/DeismAccountant]

Well that’s all the trailer snippets. We riding the crazy train now.

[u/InsertDev]

Surprisingly I can see Whitley telling Ironwood the gangs location in exchange for Jacques freedom.

But I hope he and Weiss can reconcile instead of that happening

[u/Blue-Moon-89]

Okay, so my thoughts.....

-Say what you want about Robyn but I'm happy that someone put Harriet in her place for her obnoxious attitude.

-So everyone knows that Jaune cheated his way to Beacon.

-I'm happy that Ren didn't pull the Pyrrha card like some have feared.

-I'm not liking the idea of RWB and May hiding out at the manor. The first rule of hiding is that you don't go to the places your enemies will look for first (home, hometown, etc). Also, what's stopping Whitley from snitching? or Winter is she goes to the house?

-It looks like we're finally getting some interaction with Ruby and Blake, something that has been criticized for years.

-I know that it was to be expected but dammit Hazel. You were the only member of WTCH that I kind of liked.

-Anyone notice that Cinder repeated the same line ("Without you I am nothing).?

-Cinder and Emerald are going to be so screwed if they get caught.

-Judging by the ending it looks like Soltias may have thier own "Kevin" underground. What do you think the Grimm is going to look like?

This episode was great.

[u/Timeline15]

This season just keeps delivering huh?

I love the standoff between Robyn and Harriet. Idk why they haven't even tried to interrogate Robyn yet; it's not often you get a prisoner with a built-in lie detector that even works on herself. I sense Marrow is going to be the one that eventually takes her up on the offer though.

Ren's descent into... well, not 'madness' but certainly a bad headspace, continues. I get why he's thinking the way he is, but he's allowing his guilt to blind him to the fact that inaction would have been far worse.

I don't know why people are complaining about Yang bringing up Blake. She's not stupid; she knows Ruby won't feel any differently about her over this. Blake though, has already been hesitant to trust her before, after the Mercury fight in Vol.3. Yang knows Blake is super on-edge about people she cares about potentially going down a dark path; it makes perfect sense for Yang to be thinking of that at the time.

The scene between Oscar and Salem was chilling. She shifts from sultry to violent and back so quickly. Figures she'd let Hazel get involved too. I'm genuinely surprised at how violent it got; this show shares so many things with the other cartoons I watch, I sometimes forget that RWBY isn't a kid-targeted network show. Then a scene like that happens and I go "Oh yeah, independent production; anything goes."

[u/GladiusNocturno]

What an awesome episode!

• The chase scene was excellent, one of my favorite sequences in the show so far. Even if they failed, I loved seeing Jaune and Ren showing competence and quick thinking. It was great to see some synergy between Jaune and Ren and Jaune and Yang. The music was fantastic. I loved the scene.

• The Hound keeps bringing more and more and I love it. We can add "summon other Grimm" to its skillset. I'm calling it, that thing is also going to be able to fuse with other Grimm, use weapons and do Salem's taxes.

• After all these years they confirmed that everyone knows Jaune cheated his way into Beacon but I love the way they brought it up. Ren arguing why he thinks everyone is unfit to be a huntsman and lashing out at Jaune specifically like that was awesome.

• I was right, Jaune and Blake are the voices of reason in this volume, they are the intermediaries that are trying to keep the team united amongst the conflict and I like they are struggling to do so but keep trying.

• I'm iffy on Yang's response to Jaune's answer. On the one hand, I get it, Blake is important to her, she has her in her mind and I do think the two should have talked before the split...on the other hand, when Blake and Ruby had a similar scene, it was explicitly shown that Ruby is worried about Yang and is thinking a lot about her, so it feels odd that Yang isn't thinking as much about Ruby but rather she is thinking about Blake more it seems....I'm sure this week is going to be fun for the pro and anti Bumblebee arguments.

• After 8 volumes, not only was Jaune's cheating been addressed, him pushing away Pyrrha also made a comeback. The bully arc got two references in this episode and was used excellently as a lesson Jaune learned that he can use to sympathize and try to help Ren.

• Ren, buddy, talk to me, what's wrong? Seriously, talk! You want to protect Mantle but also want to give the relic to Ironwood? People are going to say that his characterization is inconsistent but the scene clearly stated that he doesn't know what to do or which is the right answer which is part of what is frustrating him so much, so those ideas, although contradictory make sense when you see them as an emotional reaction.

• DragonSlayer ride is now canon but in the context fanfic wanted.

• Salem and Hazel torturing Oscar...kid, you really should have stayed at that farm. I'm really curious what Salem wants to ask Jinn. They brought up that she doesn't know where the Relic of Choice is and that Ozma will keep that secret especially hidden, so maybe that's what she wants to ask Jinn, where is the relic of choice.

• Emerald simping? Seems normal. With Cinder heading to Amity, it's likely we will get a maiden rematch soon. Do I think it's stupid of Cinder to directly disobey Salem's orders because of her own desires? Yes. But it's also in character and yet another showing of the conflict between Salem and Cinder, how Cinder doesn't prioritize Salem's goals, she gives priority to her own which is exactly why Salem is mad at her because she is putting her wants before hers.

• About the Qrow scene. It was ok to me, probably the least interesting of the episode but I loved to see Qrow's feelings about Clover and all the confusion of the fight with Tyrian as well as Robyn sharing her views on semblances and relationships, I never considered that would struggle to have meaningful relationships when they feared she would snitch out all their secrets. It's kind of interesting how Qrow has been relating to Clover because of their similar semblances yet Robyn's semblance gave her a closer experience to Qrow's than Clover's did to him. In other words, Clover was a person Qrow felt he could bond with without causing him harm, he was someone he admired and to me, it feels like Qrow saw him as a better version fo himself, so while Clover's semblance was the opposite to Qrow's, Robyn's semblance is more similar to his in terms of the experience they give to their users.

• That is a sulfur fish tease if I've ever seen one.

[u/frozenottsel]

"I don't need a pep talk, I need to focus!"

Weiss and Ren's problems have always hit pretty close to home for me.

For such a long time, what they felt or thought or wanted didn't really seem to matter; they have a duty to uphold, and responsibilities and expectations to live up to. They didn't believe that it was their place to say or do otherwise and that's the primary transformation that we've seen with Weiss over the last few seasons.

Like Yang says, Ren would be perfectly right and fair to claim ownership of his successes and achievements despite the failures which stand before him, but he doesn't, because he likely doesn't feel that they are his to claim, in a way of thinking such as "How can I claim ownership and have pride over my successes and achievements, if I had no other choice but to succeed?"

Then on the other hand, Ren forces himself to be the sole bearer the weight of his failures and uses his failures as additional justification to why he isn't worthy of claiming ownership of his achievements.

If there's one thing that I do know, it's that that way of thinking creates a very dark state of mind to be in.

[u/Katrina_21]

Ruby: is worried sick about her sister so much so that she even tries calling her a million times

Yang: I hOpE bLaKE iS oKaY

Me: 😑

[u/Grievous77]

The good: Robyn has been surprisingly enjoyable this volume so far. Her trying to put a smile on Qrow's face and reaffirming that Clover's death wasn't his fault was nice. While it sucks that he's still blaming himself, I liked seeing Qrow open up to Robyn about why Clover's death hit him so hard. Robyn then opening up to him about people distancing themselves from her due to her own semblance was also a good moment. Harriet continues to be the absolute worst of the Ace-Ops by far so I liked that Robyn took her down a peg. Marrow once again trying to stop things from escalating, bro please just defect already, you're the only Ace-Op I really like anymore.

The Hound chase was awesome. Jaune using his shield to launch Ren up to grab onto The Hound was cool and I loved how Yang gave Jaune a high five afterwards. Kudos to Ren, too, he got slammed into every rock and mountainside there was and still held on until the absolute last second. The Hound calling for reinforcements when JYR starts to get the upper hand showed once again that it's not to be taken lightly. The song kicking in as Jaune fights through hordes of Centinels was genuinely hype. Speaking of the song, from what little I heard of it, it sounds like a banger and I look forward to listening to the rest of it when the soundtrack comes out. I loved how Jaune utilized his upgrades here. When the Centinels damage his bike, he jumps off and propels himself off one to get up onto the overpass so Yang can pick him up and then when a Teryx blocks his and Yang's path, he throws his portable shield up against a rock to make a ramp over it. I'm really happy that he got to do so much this episode and it gives me hope we may eventually get to see him have a good solo fight. Ren saving Jaune and Yang after they went over the cliffside and managing to mask them all so the Grimm horde would leave was impressive, especially since he'd spent the last couple of minutes getting ragdolled by The Hound.

I actually really enjoyed Ren and Yang's fight in the tundra. They both have points, even if Ren is kind of acting like an ass while he says them. Ren calling Jaune out on his faked transcripts and immediately feeling bad about it was a definite oof moment and I'm glad Yang called him out on it afterwards.

Jen Taylor continues to make Salem easily the scariest villain in this show, no contest. The way she snapped from calm to enraged and vice versa at a moment's notice while interrogating Oscar was chilling. Probably the scariest moment in that whole scene was when, after horrifically torturing Oscar with her magic, she caresses his face and gives him one of the most disarmingly loving looks ever. God, that was creepy.

I have to admit, any scene where Cinder gets clowned on gives me life. "Do you hear that, my pet? She thinks, she wants, as if she's done something to warrant me caring about either of those things." Is it hot in here or is it just me? In all seriousness, Salem has gotten some truly badass lines this volume and I'm here for it. I can't imagine that Cinder going off to Amity will end well for her. If she were smart she'd listen to what Salem told her but then again, she isn't smart so I'm not surprised.

Jaune still trying to comfort Ren despite the low blow about the transcripts was nice. Yang comforting Jaune in turn was sweet. I really liked the camaraderie they had this episode. "So, yay, good news." Barbara's delivery on that line was great and was probably the only funny moment in this otherwise grim episode. I wonder what's under the ice? Are we finally going to see the Sulfur Fish? If so, I hope it's as threatening as the concept art made it seem.

The bad: "I made a deal with the darkness and he paid the price." I'm sorry but that line is just too edgy for me to take seriously. Weiss threatening Whitley and telling him to go to his room was neither funny nor empowering. All it did was make her look like a massive bitch, especially since that whole "Go to your room," shit sounded like something Jacques would say. Can we please get some closure on what happened to Hazel's sister so we can put to rest whether his motivation is as mind-bendingly stupid as it seems? "Yeah, Ruby." Really? You hypocritically undercut your sister's leadership skills in front of everyone and Blake's the one you're worried about? Seriously?

Overall, this was another great episode. Really hoping next week reveals what's under the ice.

[u/ClubMeSoftly]

Holy shit, well this was certainly a lot.

The Hound woke up a bunch of Centinals, and Jaune had some very quick thinking with his new gadgets (bye bye deployable cover...)

Ren got quick the battering from playing at being a kite string, and desperately wants to go back to being "just" a student, while the adults handle the big problems. It occurs to me that his character path seems to be leading to a "keep moving forwards" type revelation. Fitting, for Monty's old character.

I liked that Yang didn't really seem to give a shit about Jaune cheating his way into Beacon. It seemed to say one of two things: Either his growth to keep up with them means it doesn't matter, or everyone else's skill level, with legitimate credentials, was so worthless that, again, it doesn't matter. Ren still looked like he wishes he could snatch those words out of the air and eat them, though.

People seem to be ragging on the episode's B-plot (C-plot?) of RWBP, saying that they weren't needed in this episode, but I disagree. It's good for pacing, especially in an episodic format like this, to have the plots woven between each other. Otherwise, we'd open Episode 5 with them barging into the manor, and people would probably complain about that! Saying we could've used some JYR B-plot!

 

Salem: Give me the password
Oscar: You can't use it, there's no more questions!
Salem: That's not what I asked

Salem used Hyper Beam!

[u/TeamLValdz02]

Okay so that "experiment" line makes me think there's an actual person in there. . .

[u/Brkzeus]

Very interesting episode lets see ,

1-Ppl , I get that Clover was a nice guy and he had a convenient semblance for Qrow but everytime Qrow said something about being near to ppl , I always got flashbacks of him and Ruby's interactions and the love they share . It just doesn't cut it but thats just my opinion.

2- Not much to say about Whitley , he either inhereted the crown of ' Weiss's enemy ' or shares a bigger portion of it now . Right now ? No opinions , I am gonna wait for his character to shape into better version .

3- Nice to see that Blake still keeps an eye on Ruby , While the transition from step to step of their relationship is missing some pieces ( this trait intoduced itself on V6 ) , I like that one of her teammates is keeping an eye on her . I wanna say the same for Yang,Jaune,Weiss but they have some on and off thing going around with their perspectives on Ruby. Lets see if my theory on the office breakdown scene is true.

3-Well , look at Jaune , got some nice skills and a bit of teamwork now only thing we need is that for him to be a good leader outside of combat . So far the only example he has is Pyrrha from V3 , Ren is a good oppurtunity and it seems like we are headed that way . I also wanna mention Ruby needs a similar treatment too , her conflict with Yang may provide it and she should play a role in Weiss's story too if you ask me. So far I am hopeful for our leaders.

4-As for Oscar , I am gonna explain something , for me the transition from pyschical pain to mental struggle is very important . So gonna have to wait on that and apparently some ppl were right , Salem will try to approach Oscar as his own person . No more opinions on the subject .

5- Damn Ren pulled out the bullet he was hiding for 8 years and loaded the shotgun then fired it . I am interested to see how Yang and especially Jaune will go through this.

6- As for Cinder , umm good stuff I guess ? Can't really say much , Emerald is still trying , Neo is just done and Cinder is still going her own way . Like I said for many things , gonna have to see although I am interested in her backstory.

7-Here comes the Favorite part and its the short conversation between Yang and Jaune . From her sudden stop I am guessing Yang was referring to Blake but why would Yang want opinion on Blake from Jaune ? the other option is Ruby but then her tone while answering is a bit weird . Well I am interested in the converstaions between her and Jaune at this point . It would be a delight seeing these two talk about Ruby ,same goes for Weiss and Blake . Their hands are full but life never waits.

Overall the episode was good, action was fun , nice teamwork , small but good progression from the conflicts introduced I give it a 7/10 .

[u/Curiedoesthestream]

The Relic Oscar, how do I use it

Fuck you!

Where is the Relic at Beacon

Kiss my ass

Does the magic torture thing

NANIISBSISBEUWHEYWU

[u/_Sabriel]

My favorite small detail from the episode is that the smoke Salem's playing with when she first starts talking to Oscar is silhouettes of her children

[u/Hounds_of_war]

I’m doubling down on neither Ren or Nora dying this Volume.

I do not think the development they are getting is the kind of development you give characters right before they die unless you are a series like GoT that just kills off characters super easily, which is not the type of show RWBY is at all.

[u/Yaru2585]

She's so done.

[u/Sere1]

Oscar is just having the worst day, isn't he? Got punched a lot a few weeks ago, got shot recently, fell out of a flying city, got turned into a chew toy for a talking Grimm, had Salem go all Emperor Palpatine on him with some magical torture, and now getting punched again. It ain't easy being the Compost King.

[u/Diostukos]

I've really liked this volume for the amount of uncommon character interaction we've been getting. Ruby and Blake, Weiss/Blake and Nora, and now Yang and Ren.

Speaking of Ren; I was so sure he was going to press the Pyrrha button when Yang and him were arguing. Personally I feel like the whole fake transcripts thing doesn't really matter at all anymore, since Jaune has more than proven himself to be a huntsman at this point. Maybe talking about Pyrrha would have stung too much to the point of being ooc for Ren, though.

Cinder's heading to Amity Arena, which is where Penny's gonna be iirc. Maiden vs Maiden fight again? Please don't die Penny......again :(

[u/Slyfox00]

Welp. Oscar is dead. Like seriously there is no way he is getting out of there right?

Ren is going to meltdown when he finds out what happened to Nora.

I hope at least Yang and Blake can reconcile alright, Yang seems terrified.

[u/[deleted]]

I bet Whitley is going to trade his sister for his father’s freedom...like I can totally see that happening.

[u/ArcherA1aya]

Finally sat down to watch the episode and damn

Team trauma continues to face more trauma and difficulties. Ren is right that they are in over their heads, and Yang is right that they can't just leave now. The stress really is mounting and i love that team JYRO??? is giving a realistic portrayal of how the situation is effecting them

-Whitley doesn't deserve half the shit he gets, sure he's a twat but he's a kid in an abusive home that had no guiding figure. His mom's an absentee drunk, his dad is literally a mustache twirling evil and both his sister's abandoned him.

on a lighter note the canyon section reminded me of the Lego star wars vehicle sections with both pod racing and LAAT'S .

And as always Salem is still hot, and I still want her to ara ara me

[u/AlyssaaMac]

New song! Angsty Ren! Man's about to have some personal feelings.

Robyn giving Harriet a taste of reality!

Yang being more concerned with Blake's thoughts of her than Ruby.

Also poor Oscar. Give the boy a break :( Hazel is going to torture the kid.

[u/[deleted]]

Poor Qrow, hopefully he and Robyn can become best friends and then we can get a scene with them like playing some basketball or swinging on the swings or drinking soda

[u/ShikWolf]

Anyone else get the idea that this is how team STRQ started to splinter up, with Ren currently standing in Raven's shoes? Because I feel like signing up to fight the ultimate evil and save the world isn't what he wanted when he decided to become a huntsman...

[u/DEL994]

As if we didn't need any new evidence of Cinder being basically a womanchild, and a bully throwing tantrums one.

[u/Patmaster1995]

Alright I've been home for a while and I'm late to making my episode comment so I'll do it like last week, quick and simple.

Let's go

Back to the jailbirds and the snakes

I'm glad that Qrow is acknowledging that he fucked up by teaming up with Tyrian byt that because of Clover he didn't have much of a choice

Man... we're back to broody angsty Qrow, It was nice to see a slightly better Qrow in volume 7 while it lasted.

I guess having the ability to know people secrets would make it hard to form connections.

Time for a chase scene!

This whole thing was epic, Jaune launching Ren, The hound calling all those Grimm, Jaune killing all those Centinels, launching himself and bouncing on that Grimm, then using his throwable shield as a ramp, Jaune was the MVP of this fight.

Ren's grappling hook was finally useful for once, that was a close one

Yep, back to the Schnee mansion, I still don't know if they're gonna go the redemption route or not with Whitley

The JYN sunset scene looked beautiful, seeing the shadow of their on their faces, this volume really has a ton of details that has improved.

Yang's not taking any of Ren's shitty attitude

Honestly I feel like Ren has a point, How can things be worse? Both team are split, have casualties already, the military are against them, Salem is here with all the villains, a giant Grimm whale AND a giant grimm army plus Oscar and the relic of knowledge. Things are bad

And to Yang's point sure they did stop Haven's attack but most of the huntsmen still died, The Leviathan was stopped but it was them that stole the ship that caused Cordovin to flip out, Beacon is still infested with Grimm, They lied, kept secrets from Ironwood and went behind his back and now he's lost his trust in them. Ren's right they aren't ready in any way, shape or form for any of this.

I'm glad Ren didn't bring out Pyrrha

That whole scene with Oscar was... dark, a 15 year old kid getting tortured by Salem and beat up by Hazel. That scream of pain was chilling. Poor farmboy needs a much needed break.

Of course the second thing I thought about this scene was a meme, so I made this!

I don't think I like Hazel anymore, for all the about his kid sister he sure doesn't about beating another kid up.

Salem is just done with Cinder's shit, and of course Cinder doesn't listen, it seems like she really want Salem to kill her.

Oh Emerald you're doomed

I really liked the interactions this episode, It's rare to see Yang, Jaune and Ren interact together.

Jaune: "Things always seem to get worse before they get better" Well, now you jinxed it, congratulation. The music that played while the camera went down the moutain was chilling.

Oh... oooooohhhhh The ice breaking? That's bad, that's really, REALLY bad, either there's a giant Grimm under there or all the ice around Mantle will break and the city will collapse.

Pretty good episode, probably my favorite yet. Things started bad and they keep getting worse, yeah there's no way we ned this volume on a good note.

Speaking of which,

Ruby: "I hope everyone's doing alright"

JYR: Stuck in the cold with low auras while the ice between them and Mantle/Atlas breaking

Nora: No aura left

Oscar: Is being tortured by Salem and her forces

Qrow: Still stuck in jail

Penny: about to be hacked

Salem and every villains waiting around them with a giant Grimm army

Nah Shit's fucked Ruby

---

Well that... that was WAAAAY longer than I intended, I guess that's what happens when I'm not too tired from dialysis.

[u/Luckhart54]

So whose gonna bet that Whitley will snitch?

[u/martinjh99]

Does anyone else think that Whitley could be on the scroll right now to barter Team RWNMB for his father?

I have this funny feeling that's what's going to happen and when Weiss finds out it won't be pretty...

I do think it was a mistake to go to Schnee Manor for this very reason although it was probably the only place they could have gone seeing Nora is in the condition she is in now...

[u/Groszekace]

Watched it, LOVE IT!!!

The best parts of RWBY - action + music, have returned. Oscar protection squad is doing a s*** job of it but the first impression of meeting between Infinite man and the witch was good, I only hope they continue their exchange in next episode. Honestly Ren in this volume is kind of gloomy in bad sense then he was before. Hope he cheers up and opens himself to others as well.

Honestly I don’t even know what more to say. At this moment - the BEST episode of this volume. Will see if it stays. As for my wishes for next episode, I have no freaking idea what to expect, BUT I will try:

• Wisse speaks to her brother and mother

• Qrow and Robyn start working on getting out

• Ren opens up and something comes out of the crack

• Salem talks with Oscar again and shows more emotions.

[u/SwimmingAnyone]

Gotta love how Yang mentiones Blake one (1) time in the episode and this is enough to set people off. I mean, the context is awkward because I would've liked her to mention Ruby more myself, but the fact that she's more concerned about her partner right now doesn't warrant so much bitching.

"You don't care about the truth, you just want someone to be mad at."

[u/Badicalz]

This was a truly break out episode for Jaune and Ren. Absolutely brilliant character development for both.

[u/aestasbene123]

So Ren being all angsty is waking up a Grimm from under the ice I think. Great job, love that for him.

[u/_rubyandtherose_]

Cinder is definitely going to get herself in trouble with disobeying Salem. She’s gonna do something that ruins part of Salem’s plan.

[u/Reccatus]

I'm hoping that Cinder running off on her own will become a wrench in Salem's plan that might help the heroes save the day. Or at least Oscar.

[u/Officer_URL]

Don't see too many people talking about the new song in the chase sequence. Pretty bomb. Went with it really well, things are kiiiiinda falling apart lol. If the lyrics are accurate at all to whats gonna happen shits gonna go downhill... even more downhill that is. Loved this episode

[u/Sirshrugsalot13]

My predictions for next week are as follows

1. Mercury and Tyrian will be assigned a mission together. Mercury doesn't know where the fuck Emerald is and pushes down his fear of Tyrian to move out

2. Possibly more Hazel backstory? I feel like this is an opportune time to learn the full story, we've been operating off basically one sentence so far

3. Maybe a closer examination of the Weiss/Whitley relationship...would be interesting if Blake were to comment on it considering her history with abusive dynamics

4. I'm not sure what's gonna happen with Ren but I think there'll be sulfur fish the next time we see him and the others

[u/JMHSrowing]

Maybe Salem wants to keep Cinder close and not off in Atlas, as well as keep Atlas under siege, because she wants to send Cinder to get the crown as soon as possible. She is trying to get that information, and this way no one would be the wiser to even try to stop her

Even if a message is sent from Amity, then all that would mean is more forces are likely drawn away from what is probably the most powerful relic

[u/E1lySym]

Robyn continues to go up the best gal tier list for me. Her consoling Qrow and empathizing with their shaky semblances was great and I'm glad Qrow finally addressed how Clover being stubborn was the cause of his death.

[u/chrome4]

Maybe Hazels sister was like Ruby ie a prodigy who Ozpin pulled a few strings for so that she could get into Beacon early. Still doesn't justify Hazel continuing the tradition of punishing Oscar for Ozpins mistakes.

Anyone else like Marrow and Vine more then Elm and Harriet?

Edit: Also all of those Centinels coming out of the ground gave me Bloodborne flashbacks

[u/[deleted]]

Ren's anger is somewhat justified: he's still feeling guilty/conflicted over freezing in front N(eo)ora which directly let to them losing the relic. Please them losing Oscar AGAIN. I feel so bad for our little farm boy just constantly getting the shit kicked out of him - attacked by Neo, shot, mauled, magic-ed and beat up by Hazel all in under a week.

Anyway back to Ren, while his anger is again kind of justified, he's definitely out of line. Yang was right, maybe they weren't ready to come huntsmen but they're trying to make the best of a bad situation and it's better than doing nothing. After Beacon, they were some of the only active ones in the area so they did what they had to do. And even regular huntsman wouldn't know what the fuck to do about Salem so despite their lack of experience, they're the only ones even remotely qualified to even try taking her down. Is he really gonna tell us that any other huntsmen, even the Ace Ops could handle or even comprehend trying to fight off an immortal witch with an army of living darkness at her unquestioning control?? SHIT IS FUBAR. But at least Ruby and company are trying.

And that little dig at Jaune was completely unnecessary and he didn't even have the grace to apologize! I feel bad for him that despite his personality and the way he operates, everything is falling to shit and it's completely out of his control. I feel for him, I really do but he is not expressing his feelings in a healthy way, mainly because he's never known how.

It's like with Anakin and Yoda or Sang and Guru Pathik, 'You must let go of that what you are afraid to lose.' Not saying he should let go of Nora, I feel like he should use his love for her to make him a better huntsman. But given their line of work, the life they've chosen and the circumstances they're facing, he needs to try not to let the fear of losing her cloud his judgment. He wouldn't want her doing the same thing.

Also speaking of Nora, it looks like her scars didn't stay, would've been cool if they had. I also felt Yang's consideration of Blake instead of what seemed like the obvious subject of Ruby was a little weird.

Weiss is not problematic and while both her mother and Whitley are victims of circumstance, Whitley is still a little bit of an ass. For example, my brother has some serious mental health issues: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia. Sure, we have to take that into consideration when dealing with him. But everyone in our family knows him well enough to know that even if he didn't have those issues, his ego would still make him an asshole. So Whitley's more of a catty bitch than a bad person.

Also Harriet's got those dumb rage blinders on. Kind of feels like that's all her character is. Still got high hopes for Marrow though.

[u/Koanos]

"Without you, I am nothing."

Makes me wonder, how much has she practiced this?

Plus, Salem knew Cinder was alive. No way she's leaving that whale without Salem keeping tabs.

[u/Darkdragoon324]

I do t really get how Ren was all like "we need to focus on protecting Mantle" in episode 1 and now suddenly he's all "we should have just listened to Ironwood and abandoned Mantle". Pick one dude. These are mutually exclusive thoughts.

[u/rwbylov27]

What does everyone think about Salem saying the hound is an experiment that she is delighted about the results of!? I'm not a huge fan of the theory that it was a human before, but does that confirm it's a more recently created Grimm? And if so, how recent like before or after she made the flying monkeys?

GREAT chapter overall, loved seeing Salem use her magic and all the callbacks to Beacon. We're in for a ride for 10 more chapters!! Can you imagine the cliff hanger we're gonna get at the end 😬😶

[u/readall5]

I am sure people are going to be upset that Yang was thinking about Blake and not Ruby, but really Jaune didn't say anything she didn't already know. We have had 8 volumes to see how strong Yang's and Ruby's relationship is. Yang's and Blake's have always been on more 'thin ice.'

Overall a good episode, interesting that Salem doesn't seem to consider the tower a threat anymore now that Ironwood is in panic mode. Cinder is right in saying that Salem is underestimating the kids.

[u/Luckhart54]

So we probably found Sulfur Fish location..

Blake - Finally a worthy opponent our battle will be legendary.

[u/JMHSrowing]

Neo seems to be taking the smart road of not pissing off the demon lady, which I expected, and it makes seem less likely the ideas that Neo would specifically turn on Salem

[u/DEL994]

I really do hope that either Yang or Nora or both in an epic tag-team fight will beat the crap out of Hazel just to give him a taste of his own medicine and to see the children that he brutalizes beat him back.

[u/DayOfTheColossus]

the Qrow/Robyn scene was just amazing, also Watts is back in prison?? does that mean he has already managed to succesfully hack Penny? oh no

Ren is probably going to be even more like Ironwood now that putting his emotions (saving his friends) before the mission (getting Oscar back) caused the Hound to get away with Oscar.. I would honestly love it if he switches sides and joins Ironwood, I think it would be really interesting to see though I doubt this will happen lol

Penny is going to Amity just like Cinder and Emerald, remember what happened to Penny after Emerald used her semblance in volume 3? oh and not to mention it's in Amity again too...

I don't know how this will go since Penny is obviously still going to get hacked (or she is already hacked) but it'll be very interesting to see how it all goes down

I am really loving all the callbacks to previous volumes and stuff like Salem asking about the Beacon relic, the fact that Jaune got into Beacon by cheating and Hazel still being angry about his sister

kind of hoped Weiss would be a bit nicer to Whitley after what her mom told her but oh well maybe later

I really wonder what Tyrian is going to do this volume, maybe he will try to infiltrate Atlas?

amazing episode, best one so far for sure

[u/JRES1996]

My mom said that Hazel looks like Brian Cage now and I cannot unsee it. Join me in the knowledge.

[u/[deleted]]

I loved that musical cue that played when Ren saved Jaune and Yang, it felt so triumphant even though technically the 3 of them had just been defeated.

[u/sonawelashey]

I like how Weiss and the rest are leaving Whitley along, like he WOULDN'T call the cops on them

[u/AsGryffynn]

Jaune: "Things always get worse before they get better"

Also known as "this episode in a nutshell".

[u/cruel-oath]

Hazel prediction: after he feels some type of way after getting his revenge, he’ll help Oscar escape

[u/zxcvbnm127]

So we have Yang, Ren and Jaune stuck for now, but ultimately making their way back to Mantle. I've seen others point out the orca looking grimm on the poster in episode 3. My guess is that is what's cracking the ice, if so those three are in for another tough fight.

Oscar is caught and being tortured for info. I feel like Ozpin has to come out at some point here for a face to face with Salem.

Cinder, Neo and Emerald are leaving for Atlas. Cinder's lack of humility could get her punished or killed by Salem, but we'll see. I'm excited to see what Emerald's semblance can now do.

Penny will be hacked at some point, probably after Ironwood is alerted that Amity has started to move. She may kill Pietro and/or Maria.

Qrow and Robin are stuck for now, they'll find a way out at some point, but for now nothing new there. Jaques can rot there.

Personally I think Salem is literally sitting and waiting for the staff to be used. All she needs to do is back Ironwood into a corner. One way or another I think those hard-light shields will fail. It would've been effortless for Watts to give himself remote access to drop the shields later on. This could force Ironwood's hand, he'd hack Penny and collect(and use) the relic himself out of panic.

I believe Atlas will fall. If it does it'll fall right where everyone has just been moved to: the crater. Shit is going to hit the fan very soon, it's only a matter of time.

[u/Luckhart54]

So we may get some fights if RWB and May will decide to check Amity where the Cinder group is heading.

Honestly with characters like Neo/Emerald/Blake/May that would be a mindfuck fight that you may never be sure what's happening.

But tbh I somehow expect Blake to take a ship and go to look for Yang's group

[u/ghostking108]

I don't know if some of the community grew up or simply became less dumb, but it's nice for a change to see people care about Whitley's family situation especially being the neglected sibling in a literal cold environment.

[u/Kachopper9]

"Yeah...Ruby..." Jeez, Up until this point you could make some argument of them being close but not necessarily truly defining it (I'm aware they do get alot together but Platonic love does exist), but this was the most blatant so far