Media RWBY Discussion

So, now that Volume 4 is done, what are my thoughts on what happens in Volume 5?
Well, we know for sure that RNJR + Yang are going to Haven Academy next, which also seems to be where Oscar is going. This ties back into my theory about ORNJ, and from what it seems, Oscar is getting involved with our current group. But there's no reason for Ruby to leave RNJR when she doesn't have the rest of RWBY to go back to.
I'd say that this is where we get Weiss and Blake back in to reform RWBY, but there really seems to be no reason to get Blake back in. And while it seems likely that Weiss would go to Mistral, we don't have good evidence to say that she's gone there. Really, what I think will end up happening is we just get RNJR + Yang for the time being.
Unfortunately, this is where my theories end for now. I don't really have much evidence to support anything that comes to mind.



Okay seriously though are the villains just going to show up ominously and then just not do anything else, or..?

Quoting myself to reflect on the theories I made when V4 ended, since we're halfway into V5 now.
So at the end of the volume we know that RNJR safely made it to Haven, and it's good to see Qrow not die, because god forbid the capable chaperone dies and leaves the kids unprotected. Yang also went to Haven, though it's nice to get more information on Raven instead of what I thought would happen, just having Yang ride her motorcycle all the way there.

So what about Oscar? I'm glad he didn't replace Ruby and just kind of steal _NJR for his own team. I'm happy the whole theory I made about ORNJ is false. I still don't really like Oscar as a character, and it seems like with each passing minute we just have more questions about Ozpin.

What about Wei- GUYS, WEISS IS BACK WITH RUBY AND YANG. AND THEY HUG. AND IT'S SO PURE AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Weiss is back where she belongs, out of her awful father's hands and into the loving arms of her teammates. (and her girlfriend, please make White Rose canon)

Not sure where this leaves Blake, though. Not a whole lot has happened in this volume for her, and all we really have right now are just death flags flying around for Kali and Ghira, but we've practically had those the entire volume, even though I don't think they're actually going to die. Deaths are very limited in this series so far and they're only the ones that really mean a lot (see Jaune's constant sorrow over Pyrrha in V4, Ruby's now shown sorrow for Penny and Pyrrha in V5) and I doubt they're just going to be given to Kali and Ghira simply because some White Fang higher-ups want her dead. Because really, everyone in the White Fang wants the Belladonnas dead.

I want Blake to join the rest of the girls. I really do. But Blake still has no reason to go back to her team, and that hurts me.
I have to wait longer.
 
So besides Blake, the gang has reunited and I'm LOVING IT. It reminds me of their "good ol' days" and it makes me smile. It's all just really warm and fuzzy and adorable. I missed it so much, Blake please come back we all need you.

Ozpin is just getting more and more complex with each coming episode, and I'm increasingly afraid of him. His constant needless lies make no sense, maybe they'll be cleared up later and we'll be told why there were kept under the wraps (besides the plot intensifies part of it).

Then the ending. OMG Emerald and Mercury are back! I love both of them so much, and the lack of their presence in Volume 4 saddened me, but maybe they get to return full time! Yes!!!
 
So besides Blake, the gang has reunited and I'm LOVING IT. It reminds me of their "good ol' days" and it makes me smile. It's all just really warm and fuzzy and adorable. I missed it so much, Blake please come back we all need you.

Ozpin is just getting more and more complex with each coming episode, and I'm increasingly afraid of him. His constant needless lies make no sense, maybe they'll be cleared up later and we'll be told why there were kept under the wraps (besides the plot intensifies part of it).

Then the ending. OMG Emerald and Mercury are back! I love both of them so much, and the lack of their presence in Volume 4 saddened me, but maybe they get to return full time! Yes!!!

The reunion was freaking fantastic. I'm so happy to see Yang all cheery, especially, seeing as how it's been a while since we've seen Yang smile and laugh with the rest of her team and friends. Especially those scenes with Ruby gawking over Yang's new arm, and the arm-wrestle between Yang and Nora, with Yang ejecting her arm and laughing. I'm really happy to see that Yang who can laugh and smile and joke around, but still be a badass.
Speaking of Badass Yang, that conversation with Ozpin, especially when Weiss has to speak for Yang because she's too angry to say anything. Even throughout a volume and a half I'm still sticking with my statement that Yang is just straight-up the best character in the show.

Ozpin is becoming more complex every episode, and having to lie about turning the Branwen twins into birds didn't really seem to have a reason. It just seems like they're making him that "mysterious superpower" kind of character just to look cool, and he has no reason to be mysterious, yet they keep writing unanswered questions into his character. Why did he create the maidens and give up his own power? Who is he? How does he play into fighting against Salem? And why is this all kept secret? It honestly bothers me.

Emerald and Mercury are back! Oh my god! It only took seven episodes into the volume where they're shown in the intro! I'm honestly pretty happy they're back and now that the two of them and Cinder are part of Salem's faction, I'm curious what we're going to see the three of them be doing as the volume goes on, potentially into the next one as well.

WE NEED BLAKE BACK. #BRINGBLAKEBACK
 
I am yelling and screaming after V5C8. This is written just minutes after finishing the episode.

KALI AND GHIRA. WAS I WRONG TO NOT BELIEVE IN THE DEATH FLAGS?
Now I'm certainly skeptical. I'm so scared they're going to die, oh god. I need to relax.

Blake has a reason to go to Mistral, which I love! But it's a reason I hate. She's being sent for Adam, either being captured by the White Fang and forced onto a boat as a prisoner, or going willingly to put a stop to Adam's... plans? Whatever he's got going on besides stabbing Sienna.
She's not being sent for her team. We haven't seen her even think about her teammates since a small amount of Volume 4 when Ghira asks why she leaves. Blake is distant from her team and this episode and specifically this reason hurts me, it seems like she does not care about her team. At all. She had the best friends she could have with her team, and now she really does just seem to be abandoning them for Adam and the White Fang. This makes me hate Blake's character right now. Everything with the White Fang is so disconnected from the rest of Team RWBY and everything in Haven. It's like there's a completely separate show going on in the middle of this show going on.

I could scream like the fangirl I am over how I have more shipping fuel for Bumbleby because of how hurt Yang is over their separation, but being a bees shipper or not, we get this incredible view of how deeply hurt Yang is. We've only seen Yang ask Ruby to leave once before, for her to want to be alone without her sister, and that was at the end of V3. She was traumatized and in so much emotional pain from having her friends leave her, and she didn't even care if Ruby left her or not.
Yang's eyes flash red when talking to Ruby and Weiss about how hurt she is from Blake being gone. Then they turn purple, as she regrets what she's said, but she still leaves because she knows that's how she feels. And she doesn't apologize. Yang's character just keeps on getting better in my opinion, and if you couldn't convince me that Yang's no longer the best character in the show, you sure as hell can't now.

I'm going to stop my rambling here and create a separate spoiler for talking about how I feel about the two characters together and how the ship looks right now. But back on track...

The big things we get out of this episode are coming to somewhat of a close on V5C5's events of "needing a necessary sacrifice" of Blake's parents, and finally having an accurate representation of Yang's feelings towards Blake leaving her. Another touching backstory moment for Team RWBY, this time between Yang and Weiss.

Also, am I just imagining things or do we have a clear confirmation of the rumour of LGBT+ characters in RWBY?
Was that a clear confirmation of romantic feelings from Ilia towards Blake?​
Blake's not going to Mistral for her team. She's not going to Mistral for Yang. She's going for Adam. This hurts so much more when we really see an accurate representation of how Yang feels about being left by Blake. She doesn't even have an idea of what reason Blake would leave for. I could go on and on screaming about relationship angst with Bumbleby, but Yang cares so much and is in so much pain about this. We see her holding her team's photo, and we see her cry with Weiss with how hurt she is over the two not being able to be there for each other, the lack of trust or anything of the sort. But Blake! Blake doesn't seem to even carry any emotions about Yang right now! I just... have no clue.

Current "ship viability":
Bumbleby sails incredibly hard right now because of Yang. It sails incredibly hard because we now have a full picture Yang's pain of Blake's absence and just how hard the feels hit. You cannot convince me that this is not relationship angst involving girlfriends. This isn't "just a friendship" and you can't convince me it is.
However, Bumbleby cannot sail for certain right now. Any ship with Blake really doesn't seem like it can sail right now unfortunately, except for Black Sun [Blake/Sun], but we now have more material for Changing Colors [Blake/Ilia] if you're interested in that. Blake doesn't seem to have the mindset to think romantically about other characters right now, as it just doesn't seem like she cares to visit or even think about the rest of her team right now. This entire fact creates a collective scream from Ladybug [Ruby/Blake], Monochrome [Weiss/Blake], and, unfortunately, Bumbleby.
 
I've practically been watching Volume 5 alongside @Lord o da rings and we've both been telling people that Volume 5 is amazing whenever we talk with anyone about RWBY. Semi-devoting this post to both Lorde and @double o squirtle who I've also been watching the series with. Enough of that, Chapter 9 is out!

Raven. Is. Fantastic. I love Bird Mom.
She's getting so much of her character fleshed out and it just makes her better and better by the minute. How is she involved with Salem? Why did she run from Ozpin? Why is she so disconnected from her brother, and how did she become chief of the bandits? How do her and Vernal connect?
"I want my brother dead."
Raven's a fantastic character. We're getting this amazing transfer from her character simply being what I refer to as a "force character", one who's never seen or speaks, but who we can see strongly affects other characters (Yang, Taiyang, Qrow, even Ozpin, who indirectly uses Raven's actions to affect RW_Y/JN_R) as they act as more of a force affecting the others rather than a character themselves, but still being a good character.
Raven's now a full character who we can now see interact with others. Her interactions between Yang, Vernal, Cinder, and hell, even with Weiss, shape her fantastically from simply a force character into a full character, who now has some really great plot revolving around her. I can't say enough how much I love Raven right now, and how excited I am for what happens with her as the volume continues, and even throughout the rest of the story as a whole. We know she has her eyes set on the Relic of Knowledge, but what will that all mean? Death flags for Vernal??? But also low-key shipping Raven and Vernal?

This episode was very Raven-centered. Not much else entirely happens, we get to see a bit of Blake, Sun, and Ghira defending the Belladonna manor, and Kali/Ghira still aren't dead. Which is a good sign if you ask my frail heart. I do like the banter that Sun and Ghira have between each other, though. I think it's really charming and while it doesn't add much, I think, it's nice to have.

Ohhhh, Blake vs. Ilia. I'm going to not go too deep into theories with what'll happen with Blake from this point on unless something makes me lift that rule. I feel like there's not really much to add onto theories with Blake right now. So instead, let's talk about Ilia. I want her to be Blake's ally, teaming with her and Sun to kill Adam, and take back the White Fang. I feel like it's a safe guess for the V5 finale to be the White Fang's attack on Haven Academy, Blake meets back up with her team, but is confronted by Adam and while I don't believe Adam will die, we'll have some closure there. I want Ilia to join the team, she's clearly hurting as a member of the White Fang, under Adam and having to fight Blake. I want her to play that role of "coming in clutch", when the team is backed down against Adam, and she comes to save the day. I don't see that happening, and I honestly see Ilia just being a villain for a longer amount of time. Sadly.

Not much shipping analysis here, so I'm keeping it in the same spoiler.
Bumbleby doesn't change at all. Everything I said last time stands.
Changing Colors has some exciting moments coming up, though nothing right now.
Freezerburn doesn't change at all.
Black Sun doesn't get anything out of this episode.
Spring Bird [Raven x Vernal] has set sail! I'm low-key shipping this, even though I still like Rosebird [Summer x Raven] more, even with how incredibly illogical it is. It's the one current ship I can see working for Raven that isn't really awkward (Qrow x Raven, Yang x Raven) or something like Phoenix [Taiyang x Raven] which we've already seen happen and crash in canon.
 
. I want her to play that role of "coming in clutch", when the team is backed down against Adam, and she comes to save the day.

If she does indeed do that, she's probably gonna end up dying herself though...

Also, as out of nowhere as it was, yaaaaay LGBT stuff in RWBY. :D
 
I saw the episode a few days ago, but forgot to give my thoughts...

Ozpin and Qrow have a talk, didn't pay much attention to that and didn't think much of it, it was just another "Oh, Salem's power is growing, we seriously do gotta stop her" kinda thing. Skip.

Raven and Lionheart's conversation was more interesting, and both of them shared their similar motive for working with Salem, they wanted to survive. Lionheart wanted his own protection, and Raven wanted the protection of her tribe. They're both terrified of her, but anyone who saw the episode before knows Raven has a different plan than what Salem is going for.

Then we got to the interesting part, the fight at Blake's house, and wow it could not have gone any better. Yay, CRWBY actually animated fight scenes, it's amazing! Ghira and Kali survived thank god, they were practically wrapped in their own death flags, so I'm thankful they lived. Kali was a badass, I loved her defending her house (and smacking Yuma in the face with a tea tray). Ghira fighting to save his family was amazing, and the stab he took to the back made me think he was gone, but he wasn't. Ilia's finally switched sides, but she's still going to need at least a small redemption arc.


All in all this episode (mainly the fight scenes) had me on the edge of my seat, this season just keeps getting better and better.
 
I saw the episode a few days ago, but forgot to give my thoughts...

Ozpin and Qrow have a talk, didn't pay much attention to that and didn't think much of it, it was just another "Oh, Salem's power is growing, we seriously do gotta stop her" kinda thing. Skip.

Raven and Lionheart's conversation was more interesting, and both of them shared their similar motive for working with Salem, they wanted to survive. Lionheart wanted his own protection, and Raven wanted the protection of her tribe. They're both terrified of her, but anyone who saw the episode before knows Raven has a different plan than what Salem is going for.

Then we got to the interesting part, the fight at Blake's house, and wow it could not have gone any better. Yay, CRWBY actually animated fight scenes, it's amazing! Ghira and Kali survived thank god, they were practically wrapped in their own death flags, so I'm thankful they lived. Kali was a badass, I loved her defending her house (and smacking Yuma in the face with a tea tray). Ghira fighting to save his family was amazing, and the stab he took to the back made me think he was gone, but he wasn't. Ilia's finally switched sides, but she's still going to need at least a small redemption arc.


All in all this episode (mainly the fight scenes) had me on the edge of my seat, this season just keeps getting better and better.

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Death flags? @Lord o da rings
 
Okay, for my actual thoughts on V5C10...

Honestly I feel the same way Lorde did at the start of this one. "Ozpin and Qrow are talking. Skip it."

I love being able to see more of Raven, especially her interaction with Lionheart in this episode, and we get a reason for why Lionheart works for Salem. Though it was pretty much what I expected. The whole "Out of fear, no one can stop her so you have to work for her"
I actually just think I love all these scenes with Raven in them. A little sad that Vernal isn't important in this episode, though.

But that's not the highlight of this episode.
These animated fight scenes, especially the big one with Sun, Ghira, Corsac, Fennec, and Ilia. Though I do have to say, the fight scene between Blake and Ilia was great. I love seeing any and all of Blake's fight scenes in Volumes 4 and 5 because of her use of her semblance. Shoutout to that really cool nod to the dust cartridges for her weapon, a really nice nod to how Weiss gave Dust cartridges to Blake to use with her weapon. That really made me smile.
Even though I do have to say my favourite fight scene is the one just between Blake and Ilia before the others enter, especially Blake pinning Ilia down and telling her she's making the wrong decisions, really every fight scene in this episode is great.

Okay, I'm going to gush for a bit, but through all this fighting we get these highlights of just what makes these characters so great. Blake states that she runs away too much against Ilia, and cries, begging for Sun and Ilia to stop fighting, even given the current circumstances. I'm not really the fondest of Sun but he has these great moments across the past two episodes that made me like him more.
But really, no question, the best case of this is Ilia. I love Ilia.
I'm so happy she gets this redemption and she's turned away from the White Fang because she's just been this good character doing bad things. I want to see more of Blake and Ilia, and honestly, I kinda want to see more of Ilia crying. I think a redemption arc for Ilia isn't really necessary, and shouldn't be that long, but it would really be nice to have.

So at this point, Blake is kinda done in Menagerie. I'm still mad about how the only reason she has to go to Mistral is because "Oh no Adam will kill people" and she seems to have no concern for her entire team for two volumes while the others have all this concern for her. This whole story arc with the White Fang sure isn't over yet, but I feel like "the good part" is over, now that things have more or less closed with Ilia.
(Also I'm incredibly happy that Ilia hasn't stayed being a villain for another Volume or two, because really, she's already stayed a villain for too long.)

Keeping my theories for the future the same for now.

Time for shipping!
Bumbleby doesn't change at all. Everything I said last time stands.
Changing Colors is fantastic. I love it a lot right now and between Ilia being confirmed to at the very least have interest in Blake, I think it totally works out.
Black Sun actually kind of takes a hit from these few past episodes. The emphasis is more between Bumbleby and Changing Colors.

I'm kinda planning to do a full look at shipping at the end of the volume so these are more just notes right now.

Until next episode!
 
I'm super excited for gay chameleon to be a gay mess with meeting every member of Team RWBY. Maybe not in canon but fan art will go nuts for it.
 
Ship ratings will be in another spoiler for today. There's a lot to talk about in this episode.

YES. This was the finale I was after. Maybe it still excludes Blake, but oh my god. This is what I was after. Is it really a finale? I mean, it's Episode 12 but it feels like they could do more to end the volume. Maybe it's just the way V4C12 was, but I feel like V5 needs a C13.
So to probably no one's surprise, Jaune's got way more evidence towards a defensive semblance (healing as seen in V5C12, and protection as seen in V1 when he fights Cardin.) and also to (hopefully) no one's surprise, Weiss isn't dead! We still get to keep our little snowflake! Ohhh, I love Weiss so much.

So I'd like to quickly point out at this time that Hazel isn't really worthless as a villain anymore? But honestly, he doesn't really feel like too much of a villain, or at least one of Salem's allies. He's got a good motive for being against Ozpin, but really a lot of it kind of seems like blind rage. I like the idea being brought up that not everyone could be skilled enough to be a huntress and there's a very real possibility that someone can be killed on a mission. We haven't seen any real reference to that since we last saw discussion about Summer Rose in canon, which was back near the start of V3 with Ruby talking to her tombstone. This actually makes me like Hazel a lot more, seeing him now have this backstory of why he's furiously shouting O Z P I N ! ! ! in the sneek peak for the episode.
I'm beginning to like Oscar a bit more. I wouldn't really say I like him currently, even still, but the conversation him and Ozpin have about how he should be able to fight for himself stands out. He's not really a huntsman, he doesn't have experience. It's a dumb move for him to say that, obviously, going up against someone like Hazel, but it's an interesting thing for Oscar that makes him kind of stand out more.

Maybe this isn't really too big of a thing, but we see a lot of showcases of really how strong these characters have bonded with each other. Jaune cries over the possibility of losing Weiss. Jaune is relying on Ren, asking if she's going to be okay. Ruby actually shines very brightly with something like this, especially pointing out her scene of making sure Jaune doesn't stop healing, Weiss is protected, and Ozpin and Yang are given backup in combat. Honestly, the line "Make it happen, RNJR." made me smile because it just shows Ruby's leadership and the bonds these characters have. Yang's line of "Thanks, sis" when Ruby comes to her side only points it out further. I really love it.

I love Raven.
I feel like I saw Cinder's deception from a mile away to kill Vernal and steal the Spring Maiden's power for herself, but what I thought would happen is Vernal dying and transferring her power to Raven, where Raven and Cinder enter a showdown.
What I didn't see coming was Raven being the Maiden all along. I was confused when Raven started breaking through the ice thinking "Oh god, that shouldn't even be possible, they're just going to let her do that with no good reason just to save Vernal", but under the rules of her being the Maiden, I think it works.
"If Raven can use magic, does this mean her ability to shift into a bird is linked to her being the Maiden, making Qrow an equivalent to a Maiden, something similar, or some kind of magic user like Ozpin?"
I don't think so.
Really, I either just see Vernal dying here with Cinder escaping with an injury from Raven and having Raven join the rest of the team as a target to Salem, or Vernal staying a live and pretty much the same thing happening, except Vernal will just be useless outside of V5. Who can tell, and really, does it matter?

Time for shipping!Bumbleby doesn't change at all. Everything I said last time stands.White Rose grows a bit. We get to see Ruby have a strong care for Weiss again. Whether it's applicable for shipping or not, it's cute.
White Knight has been huge over these past couple episodes. We see how much Jaune really cares for Weiss and whether it's just painful thought of losing someone or losing Weiss specifically, we don't know, since it's hard to tell from how things were with Pyrrha. Jaune continues to just be awkward with shipping.
Rose Garden [Ruby x Oscar] is in the same situation as White Rose. We see Oscar have a strong care for Ruby, though it's not really that big, and I don't really think it works too well in a shipping sense. It's there if you're into it, though.
Spring Bird grows a bit in my opinion. It may just be me, but I think the care and thought Raven and Vernal put into predicting Cinder's deception towards them just makes the ship better, even if it's just by a bit.

I hate to say it, but really, at this point Ladybug is at the lowest it's ever been. Even with how awful ships between RW_Y and Blake have been, Monochrome and Bumbleby have been at least seen as possible. Ladybug has been getting so little over the past two volumes that it may as well not exist.
I'm actually kind of doubting Lancaster [Ruby x Jaune] too, at this point. Both of them just seem to have better choices (Weiss for both of them, Oscar for Ruby, maybe someone else with Jaune as well) to the point where the ship doesn't really work.

I don't think any new ships come out of this episode. Nothing too exciting.
 
Oh, but Violet, that wasn't the finale. We still have two more to look forward to...

So Weiss is fine. That's the big thing we all thought was coming from this episode. Weiss is clearly gonna live, and Jaune's healed her. I liked the "Blake used a decoy Weiss" theory better but as long as she lives I'm not complaining.

So uhm, I remember seeing Hazel get really angry at Ozpin in the trailer for this episode. Now we know why, and it's got to be his motivation for joining Salem, to kill Ozpin. His sister joined Beacon and died during a training mission, which Hazel holds Ozpin accountable for. I can understand Hazel's pain, and I think it's why he chose to join Salem. I don't think he's really a bad dude, since if we remember the Sienna coup d'etat, he didn't believe anyone needed to die if it wasn't necessary. I think his pain and hatred of Ozpin are understandable, but as said, he needs to realize this is the choice she made by enrolling at Beacon, that she'd put the lives of others before her own.

Yang getting destroyed and toyed with by Emerald and Mercury wasn't interesting until Ruby came in and stopped it. Yang thanked her, but then came one of the best quotes of the season, "no, I'm angry". I've never seen Ruby act so blatantly furious. Personally I ship White Rose (Ruby x Weiss), so I'm living for actions that show how much Ruby cares for her.

Now for this crazy scene. Cinder, Vernal, and Raven enter the Haven Vault. Cinder tells Vernal that she must touch the door herself to open the vault. Vernal goes to do it, but she's hesitant to for reasons that'll be cleared in a minute. Cinder starts to talk about how she's heard of Raven being strong, cunning, clever, etc. then says she's wrong, freezes her, and tries to suck the powers from Vernal. After she probably kills her, she finds nothing. She's left confused and stumbling. Then Raven breaks out of the ice, and says "you're not going to find it. Because Vernal isn't the Spring Maiden. I am." and tells Cinder she fell for the prank of the goddamn century. We've seen a lot of Raven this volume, and before this she was for the most part a large mystery.

Now this, this was amazing. So much has happened. Weiss is fine (better be), Hazel's tragic backstory has been revealed, Ruby + Yang vs. Emerald + Mercury probably next episode, and Cinder killed Vernal. Cinder's killed and wounded too many people, it's getting to the point where I feel personally victimized by her, maybe because she's basically part Grimm at this point with that arm? But every episode leaves me wanting more, I'm so excited for these last couple episodes!
 
Oh my god, so much just happened.

Ruby's holding off Emerald and Mercury, but the scene with her telling Mercury to shut up was great for so many reasons (was getting sick of his smug). Weiss is back in the battle, summoning the Queen Lancer she killed earlier in the volume to probably kill Hazel with. Blake returned, finally, and basically put an end to Adam Taurus. Ilia de-activated the bombs he put in place, which to me proves she wasn't faking turning to regain Blake's trust. She saw RW_Y, but the first person she noted was Yang bees. Yang's about to go fight her mother. Oh my god, this is the finale I never knew I needed. I'm just way too excited for all of this...

The Cinder vs. Raven fight was amazing. I finally see why we've had such a drought in fights, the budget's been going into these (especially this one). It was so well detailed that I wish it went longer than it did. But it resulted in Cinder's loss (and possible death) because Vernal hadn't yet died. She fired a shot at Cinder which distracted her, allowing Raven to attack her and send her freezing body to a fall. Possibly Cinder's dead, and no matter how much I want her to die, I don't think she is. She's the only remaining villain who's been here since the beginning, and we still need to have another Ruby vs. Cinder battle. No offense Birb Mom, your fight with her was cool but a Ruby vs. Cinder fight is undoubtedly the way Cinder should die.

Best episode since Volume 3 honestly. The newer fight scenes in this sharper animation are just amazing. Super hyped for the finale!
 
BEES! YES! THE BEES REUNION! I'VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG!

*ahem*
Almost everyone was fantastic in this episode.
Ruby's dialogue once again points at just her actual anger we see towards Emerald and Mercury. It's an emotion that we rarely ever see from Ruby, and it just shows how serious the situation is for her.
Weiss having that sarcastic stab at Jaune when being healed and just having her summon that Queen Lancer shows how much she's grown in just a single volume and finally piercing that needle through Hazel was just awesome. I say this a lot, but I love Weiss. So much.
Blake finally makes her return, and simultaneously, this scene shatters all of the negative thoughts I had about Bumbleby for the entire volume. She confronts Adam, yes, but she finds her team, and all she says to them is a single "...Yang?" and that silent nod her and Ruby exchange just shows how awesome the team is, even when split apart for almost two entire volumes. Blake is back!
Yang gets some awesome time to shine in that one scene of her passing Emerald and being grabbed by Mercury. We know her to be aggressive and through Taiyang's words to "think that the only way to fix a problem is through it" to use her physical power in every scenario, but she stops to realize that she should slow down to see that option of leaving and ejecting her arm without a fight. She heads to the vault where she's absent for the Raven vs Cinder fight but shows up at the very end to end the episode on a cliffhanger after the vault has been opened.
We know Jaune to be supportive. His semblance of aura transfer to heal large wounds and use as protection hints very back to the beginning, hinting at Pyrrha's words of saying he has a lot of aura. He trusts Pyrrha's word and knows how to support his team in the best way, and maybe just by bringing that up again we can see that Jaune is starting to cope with and move past Pyrrha's death, even after his outburst at Cinder.
Nora is the protective mom friend. Just... no other words need to be said. We get to see her (personally what I think is) awesome semblance to show that even with Hazel's semblance of pain nullification, she can swing him through a god damn wall with no effort.
We don't see much out of Ren, Qrow, Oscar, Emerald, Mercury, Lionheart, or (honestly, in my opinion,) Adam. You could argue against my opinion for Adam, but honestly he's just the same "KILL ALL HUMANS" as he was before.

The fight between Raven and Cinder was the real attraction and I'm glad we finally got to see that, as well as what's finally behind the vault. I love the whole theme of Ice vs Fire between the two and that small touch of Raven insulting Cinder's intelligence after Cinder did Raven's last episode was really nice. Eventually Cinder fell (hehe) but does anyone actually believe she's dead? I agree with Lorde. The best way to kill off Cinder is a Ruby vs Cinder fight.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back into my fangirl cavern and scream about this episode, and about Bumbleby!

Bumbleby needs to set sail. Now. Oh my god. I take back everything I said about the ship throughout this entire volume. Blake's return and all we hear from her is Yang's name. I'm honestly screaming internally just at seeing this pairing fight all the doubts I had with it throughout the entire volume. I love it. We have so much potential to open the doors for several scenes throughout the next episode or even volume of just interactions between the two. We need the resolution of Blake leaving Yang. Of Yang crying into Weiss's arms about Blake. We need those angsty scenes of pain and love that ONLY Bumbleby can give us, with a beautiful canon ship on the other side. Bumbleby has so much going for it that I'm incredibly excited to see what can be done with it. No ship has been like this previously if you ask me. This one can build on these beautiful moments of past angst and pain we've seen both characters have through the past two volumes. This is so much, and I need it. I need bees.
White Knight is surprisingly viable for me right now. Honestly, I'm more towards White Rose as I just love the pairing so much, but you can't argue that Jaune and Weiss work for each other.
Spring Bird doesn't really grow, but it has this cute little moment at the end of the episode with Raven closing Vernal's eyes for good and allowing her a peaceful rest that just makes me happy. The ship has crashed because of Vernal's death, but it ends on a happy note that honestly I'm not too sad about. It was a cute moment.
Renora, while canon (depending on who you ask) does get the nice moment of Nora getting a lot angrier at Hazel hurting Ren, and her giving Hazel the revenge she feels he deserves. It's a cute little thing that I feel adds onto the ship and how ignored it's seemed to be this volume.

As a contrast from last episode (or the rest of the volume) we see these ships fall down.
Freezerburn, and Monochrome: These are both for the same reason. The large involvement with Bumbleby we're hinted at receiving in the future puts a huge shot towards these. Weiss is honestly just seen by me as a better fit for White Rose or, maybe just for right now, White Knight. But I feel any ships right now with Blake or Yang just fall.
Changing Colors and Black Sun: One ship I'm starting to like, one I've been known for strongly disliking. Like I said for the previous section, Blake's interaction opening up that whole possibility for more bees just hurts these two ships a lot. Am I mad? Not really.
Lancaster: Jaune and Ruby really don't work that much anymore. Both of them have better options with Weiss, but since White Knight is growing and White Rose, while not growing, is still seeming relatively stable, it does put a couple shots in Lancaster. It's honestly close to being dead if you ask me.

Ladybug: ...
...
...Sorry, what? Ladybug exists? No, it doesn't.
 
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