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26 – Volume 4, Episodes 3 and 4 | Table of Contents | 28 – Volume 4, Episodes 8, 9, and 10
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This post contains depictions of abuse. You’ve been warned.
Last time, some characters I like did and said really gross things. A dragon was involved. Yang finally put her arm on, yay! Let’s continue.
We open on a boat’s horn being sounded, and a platform lowering from said boat for disembarking. Sun and Blake do exactly that, and Sun marvels at the sight greeting him, which is more faunus in one place than he’s ever seen before.
*pained grimace*
He says as much.
B: This is the one place everyone can feel safe. No matter who, or what, they are.
*biting inside cheek very hard*
Sun also remarks on it being rather crowded, which Blake agrees to be true. Sun asks if it’s always so “cramped” and Blake says that it tends to be that way, given that people tried to take an entire species and shut them away on a small continent that’s two-thirds desert. Sun, who is from the desert nation of Vacuo, asks why they have all that space and don’t use it, since deserts can be livable. Blake then pisses me off.
B: It’s not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun. The wildlife here is more dangerous than other regions.
This is fantasy Australia, guys. And yes, real-world Australia is memetically known for its ridiculous levels of hostile and dangerous wildlife and unsuitable conditions, and it is also home to the second-largest dry desert in the world.
However, Sun comes from Vacuo, which we’ve already established to be mostly desert, and also mostly uninhabitable. Its resources and economy have been devastated, what little inhabited environments there are are war-torn, and the threat of attack by Grimm is constant. It’s true that Australia fucking sucks when it comes to how much of it wants to kill you—but you go stick someone from Australia in the middle of the Sahara Desert, and tell me which one they prefer. I think Sun should know about hostile wildlife and surviving in the desert and just generally having a hard fucking lot in life and Blake should be quiet.
Also, the racism plot is now in full swing again and we have to talk about it.
Blake just described this as the one place people can feel safe. This is where she grew up, guys. I have said repeatedly that Sun should be the center of the racism discussion, and that is only going to be a point I continue to enforce. We’ve been told that Vacuo’s hostility has fostered more peaceful relations between humans and faunus out of sheer necessity, sure. But Blake literally grew up in Faunusland, and we’re going to see this episode that she essentially lives within a very respected family in the community.
Blake has literally never been to Vacuo, so she can hardly comment on its quality of life, and which in a realistic scenario would not exactly be an oasis of race relations. She lives in Menagerie, where her people are the majority and are generally safe from outside racism, and yet she is the one who the story follows in the form of a renegade civil rights activist and bandit who broke loose from the cause and has all the drive to make things better, while Sun is the one presented as largely ignorant about faunus affairs despite growing up in a place where he is not the majority, and being an immigrant to another country known for racism, with the likely accidental but largely noticeable implication that he’s also in poverty.
RSVP: 27
Two points.
Blake and Sun continue their stroll, and Sun takes in the sights.
[01]
See that big house in the center? That’s where Blake lives.
S: This place looks great! Why would anyone wanna leave?
[lampshade.jpg]
B: That’s not the point, Sun. We asked to be equal, to be treated just like everyone else. Instead, we were given an island and told to make do.
A lot of oppressed ethnic minorities didn’t get their own islands, Blake. Also, not to distract from the conversation happening here, but I’d like to point out that none of this fantasy Australia nonsense is going to touch on the real-world indigenous population that real life Australia has, and who have many a complaint to make.
Which I suppose is marginally relevant. The closest I can consider to Blake’s complaint is that of Native Americans, who were “given” reservations on land they had lived on for thousands of years yet gradually were forced off of, and their “fair” shares gradually became smaller and smaller to the point that today, Native American people are a stunningly small portion of the population and, to the average American, something exotic and difficult to find. But to hear Blake (and World of Remnant) tell it, this island just existed with no uncontacted peoples on it and the faunus got to have it all to themselves post-Great War and were told to run things however they liked.
I really don’t care to try and use measuring sticks to see which oppressed minority has it worse (and if anyone does this in the comments, I will annihilate you), but the point is, what we’ve been shown of Blake and Sun’s lots in life so far is now contrasting really heavily with what we’re getting now, and this is not exactly the smoothest transition.
B: So we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any faunus could feel welcome. But, this island, this town, it will always be a reminder that we’re still not equal. That we’re still second-class citizens.
S: Well, hey. This guy’s feeling pre-tty at home.
It’s like Sun is making my points for me at this rate.
Sun tries to pick out which house might be Blake’s, and she comes clean: that big rich-lookin’ house in the middle is hers. Sun grabs his head, trying to come to terms with the fact that his not-yet-girlfriend has been well-off this whole time while he can barely work a suit and tie.
We cut to them walking up the front steps.
[02]
Fucking Christ, I’d like to live in a place like that.
Blake hesitates to knock, as it’s been a while since she and her parents last spoke. With Sun’s encouragement, she bangs on the door with the metal knocker, which makes way too much noise for something so innocuous.
[03]
Blake’s mom answers the door, stunned to find her daughter standing there. Blake is taken in a hug by her very happy mother, and a male voice from inside calls “Kali”. That voice belongs to Blake’s father, Ghira.
[04]
Yeah Blake’s family is fucking rich.
Kali shares a name with the Hindu goddess of destruction and most notable aspect/consort of Shiva, while Ghira is likely named for Bagheera, the panther from the Jungle Book.
And yes, guys, this is a retcon. Remember this tidbit from Volume Two?
B: I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive.
Yes, Menagerie is technically outside the kingdoms, and yes, Blake technically doesn’t mention not having any family. But the people who flippantly say that this totally isn’t a retcon are missing the bolded portion of that sentence and its rather straightforward implications. Blake was saying she grew up having to fight to survive—something she most certainly would not have had to do living in her rich-people house with her respected-community-elder parents. It’s going to be a plot point in the next volume that Menagerie is a totally peaceful place populated by people looking to be left alone, a place so devoid of ready combatants or even survivalists that those who do commit to Blake’s cause (a later plot point) have to be trained up before they’re able to fight off enemies.
I would love to tell you that the ultimate reason for this retcon was something good, but I’m pretty sure Ghira and Kali existing at all is a matter that boils down to Miles and Kerry being racist as fuck. More on that later.
We cut to the group having tea at a table on the floor, with Kali expressing sorrow for the fate of Beacon and how worried they were for Blake. Ghira denies that part, but Kali calls him on a lie. Sun then sticks his foot in his mouth.
S: You guys have got nothin’ to worry about! I’ve seen your daughter in action before, and trust me, she’s got some moves!
Insert protective dad I-don’t-like-your-boyfriend subplot that is a little too tired for me to enjoy. Kali quietly asks Blake, while Sun is scrambling to clarify to her father, why he’s here again, and Blake states he just sort of followed her home. Observing Sun’s awkward attempts to change the subject and play it cool, Kali says she likes him, embarrassing Blake.
There comes another knock at the door, and Ghira kicks himself for forgetting about some meeting. Blake asks who he was supposed to meet with today, and Kali says the White Fang, shocking Blake and Sun.
Ghira answers the door, and beyond it are two White Fang representatives who literally could not scream “evil” harder if they tried, complete with ominous soundtrack and low, silky voices. The fact that they’re dark-skinned is not lost on me.
RSVP: 28
These are furry-bait Fennec and Corsac Albain. Ghira and Kali appear not to have been caught up on the extent of the violence and terrorist tactics used by the White Fang, which Fennec and Corsac quickly assure them is the work of unfavorable media and a “splinter” faction and not representative of the whole.
To hear their take on it, Vale’s branch of the White Fang, led by Adam, are icky and evil and Sienna Khan’s branch is still good and pure. That’s not too far from the truth, but for the fact that Fennec and Corsac are very clearly not for party Khan.
S: You know, Beacon wasn’t the first time the Fang started shooting up Vale!
RSVP: 29
Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Veil: 17
That's how you chose to phrase that? Really? This...is so fucking uncomfortable. We should not have a racial minority castigating the civil rights organization for shooting up places so…this-ish-ly. Even though we aren’t going to talk about it, we all know what frame of reference this is coming from.
Seriously. Don’t talk about it. We’re not going there. Not yet.
Corsac: The White Fang’s tactics are admittedly more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie.
Oh my god, Blake is literally the daughter of the civil rights movement’s “good” side.
Which might be a point towards her racial equality ideas, except that she’s the daughter of the country’s government, too, apparently! Can you idiots try any harder to remove Blake from the societal plights she wants so badly to fix??? You turned a young bandit girl into a well-off princess!
RSVP: 30
Corsac and Fennec continue their appeal, saying they have several strategies available for apprehending these “strays”, and Ghira says he’ll get to that another day. They turn to Blake, simperingly lamenting how they understand if Blake can “no longer support [their] cause”. They try to bait her into returning with some mention of “sister Ilia” who we will be talking about quite a bit. Ghira shuts the door.
Sun tries to start conversation, and Ghira just says he doesn’t like Sun. Hardy har har.
Outside, Fennec and Corsac leave the premises in perfect sync, with more ominous dialogue about how interesting everything is.
F: So, shall we inform brother Adam?
C: We shall.
*dully* Shock-gasp-horror oh gwarsh someone catch me I feel faint.
We cut back to that inn where Qrow and Raven had their argument last episode. The waitress is scrubbing the floors, and looks up when someone approaches.
[05]
It’s Tyrian, leering at her in a distinctly but most likely accidental Wyald-ish manner, asking her help in finding someone. He cackles evilly as the episode fades to black, and this character is so overplayed I literally cannot wait to be free of him, I want him out.
Y.A.S. Queen: 8
Characters like this, if they’re going to be intimidating, need to actually do villainous things. We’re not going to get any indication that this waitress, freaked out though she may be, came to be victimized by Tyrian in any way, nor will anyone else, really. You can’t just have them cackle madly and leer at people.
We open on RNJR walking through yet more grassy woodland as stormy weather continues to loom in the distance. The team are starting to get a little tired of all the walking.
Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge: 3
I’d just like to remind everyone that airships still work. Hell, they have functioning trains in this world. The kids just apparently don’t feel like using them.
Ill Logic: 51
They come across another abandoned village, and rather sooner than expected. Charging in to find survivors as they did last time, they come across…
[06]
Some projects, literally. I don’t think this village got off the ground, y’all. Ren comments on the seemingly abandoned vibe of the place.
Ruby looks around, uncomfortable. Nora yells to the others that she’s found something, and joining her, the team finds a village sign bearing the word “Oniyuri” carved into it. Ren is familiar with that name, and realizes they’ve stumbled on what he terms as Anima’s very own Mountain Glenn.
The atmosphere takes on a very somber tone as he explains the history of the place, saying the dissatisfied Mistral residents who came out here to build the place hoped it could one day be its own kingdom, and drops this bombshell:
R: I know my parents did.
Ah, Ren backstory crumbs. When asked what happened, Ren confirms it was the Grimm as per usual, but the next thing he says is rather awkwardly voiced. It’s supposed to be “Not just any, one.” But it sounds like “Not just anyone”, which would be a non-sequitur. Ruby takes note of this, wondering if one Grimm could really stop construction of an entire village.
There’s a zoom in on a red cord tied to Ren’s waist—
[07]
—and Jaune wants to leave, saying this place gives him the creeps. As they do so, a very jarring one-woman wail sounds as we cut to a view of the shattered moon, before we cut to Weiss, who is the one doing Casey Lee Williams’ signature notes.
[08]
This works until she opens up her mouth and actually sings full lyrics in Casey’s voice, at which point it sounds weird. Her song is “This Life Is Mine”, aka “Mirror Mirror Part Fifty Billion”, a track all about Weiss’ rebellion from her father’s control.
The audience applauds her song, and she looks up at Jacques and Whitley in their own stand, the latter looking smug and the former just staring coldly, and she walks off the stage somberly.
Cue the charity ball proper. It’s exactly how you’d imagine it, lots of rich people in expensive clothing all sipping from champagne classes and admiring artwork. After a camera pan, we close in on Weiss and Jacques, with Weiss looking like she’d prefer to be in the mines her father is discussing than actually here with him as he pompously dismisses the concerns of wages paid to the faunus laborers in those mines.
Another patron of the charity ball tries to argue the concerns of economic disparity between Atlas and Mantle, a fruitless attempt that just bounces off of Jacques’ snotty rich air of knowing everything because he’s so smart. Weiss, meanwhile, turns to the charity artwork nearby, and barely takes one step before Jacques grabs her by the wrist in a very uncomfortable display and mutters a “Where are you going” to Weiss. Even the prospect of her leaving for long enough to get her own drink is apparently something he feels rather ill about.
She escapes long enough to wander over to the painting of Beacon.
[09]
Some rich kid nearby takes the opportunity to flirt, saying its beauty matches her. He introduces himself as Henry Marigold, and Weiss shakes his hand, but is clearly not in a mood to entertain. He asks if she’s thinking about buying the painting, and she says no. She reminds him the painting was made in order to raise money, and is clearly not happy when he has to ask “for what?”
H: I’ll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks. [grabbing a drink from a nearby waiter] And, the extraordinary company, of course. So, what? Is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?
You loser. You goddamn buffoon.
Weiss tells him in no uncertain terms to make himself scarce or face security. He stalks off with a huff. Left alone, Weiss’ eyes rove over the painting of Beacon, before settling on the sign posted in front of it.
SHOW THE WORLD WE CARE
All proceeds go to the Kingdom of Vale
Weiss closes her eyes, lost in thought but for a moment before nearby conversation catches her attention.
???: Does it come as any surprise what happened to Vale?
[Weiss turns around, aghast. A female guest is chattering quite loudly to her boyfriend.]
Female Guest: It was a long time coming if you ask me.
Male Guest: Honey…
Female Guest: What? You said the same thing last night. If they’re so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance.
Weiss’ anger is again sparked.
W: SHUT UP!!!
Jacques mutters Weiss’ name, but she’s clearly had enough. She yells that the woman doesn’t have a clue, that none of them do, and castigates the onlooking crowd for being so shallow and self-absorbed. Jacques strides over and grabs her arm again, trying to drag her away, but Weiss yells at him to let her go and yanks herself free, falling over—and accidentally triggers her Semblance.
Weiss’ fury takes shape, forming the Boarbatusk she slayed when she was in class in Volume One. The snowy white Grimm charges the woman who was so cruelly dismissive of Vale’s plight, who begs forgiveness, only for it to be shot down by Ironwood.
[10]
The rich lady screams for Weiss to be arrested, but Ironwood will have none of it, quite as disgusted as she is with the wealthy elite’s shameful attitudes towards the victims of terrorism.
I: She’s the only one making sense around here. Thanks for the party, Jacques.
He leaves. Weiss, still on the floor, is not only humiliated at her slip-up but catches her father’s cold glare and knows she’ll face punishment for it.
We cut to Oniyuri, which RNJR are just leaving. Ren stops them short, holding up his hand and having sensed something. His instinct is on the money, and everyone draws their weapons. Leaping over a nearby building, Tyrian arrives!
[11]
Drawing his weapons, axe blades attached to his wrists, Tyrian cackles and attacks, making a beeline straight for Ruby. He casually swats Ren away, and engages Ruby, who is able to block, but his strikes are so strong it hurts her through her aura just to do so.
[12]
He similarly brushes off Jaune and Nora when they try to intervene, and catapults himself backwards into a building for vantage. Jaune tries to call him off, saying they’re not looking for a fight. Ren demands his identity, and Tyrian falls downward, standing up straight.
T: Who I am matters not to you [pointing at Ren], or you [pointing at Nora], or…[eyeing Jaune] you do interest me.
*clawing keys out of his keyboard*
STOP. THAT.
Not Tyrian, you, Rooster Teeth! Cut that shit out, goddamn it!!! Every time I turn around it’s some unfunny joke about guys in dresses or guys being feminine and I guess now we’re just advancing onto the “deranged and violent” villain expressing predatory interest in Jaune!
You know what, fuck it. If I count up the examples of homophobia or transphobia so far, in all the volumes, what do we have? Let’s see, “is she a man” in Volume One, Jaune’s conversation with Ren in Volume Two, whatever the hell that was with Neptune and Jaune in Volume Two, Jaune in a dress in Volume Two, Jaune’s ponytail remark this volume, and the super fucking unfunny ‘Qrow in a dress’ story last post. Comes out to five points so far, plus a sixth for this latest incident.
How To Piss Off Gay People: 6
I’m afraid this is literally the least of the homophobia in this drek. But when we get there, we get there, and I’ll remark on it properly then.
Tyrian goes on that the only one who really needs to be concerned about him is Ruby. Tyrian gets into another cackling fit when she expresses confusion, realizing she doesn’t know why people would be after her, or at least hasn’t guessed. Ruby demands to know what he wants, and Tyrian calls her “my little flower” as he says he’s here to kidnap her and take her back to his bosses.
The other members of the team get between Ruby and Tyrian, who takes this as a challenge. Tyrian is behind Jaune before the latter knows what’s hit him, only saved by Ren’s intervention. But just as before, Tyrian takes on RNJR three-on-one easily. Noticing Nora nearby with a hammer, he makes a line for her next, and behind him, Ruby prepares an electric shot and fires, blasting Nora on her ass.
[13]
Tyrian can hardly believe it, giggling madly at the idea that Ruby appears to have injured her own teammate, only for Nora to get back up, a nice charge supplied to her Semblance. Everybody but Tyrian grins. She swings!
[14]
But Tyrian is unharmed, having blocked the strike with his…tail? He kicks her away and leaps back up onto a building, displaying a scorpion’s tail attached to the base of his back as everyone realizes he’s a faunus.
Ruby demands to know what this is about. The White Fang? Torchwick? Tyrian just cackles, and this time he is right to laugh at her because someone really should’ve explained all this to Ruby ages ago.
T: Plastic soldiers and pawns! My heart and body belong only to our goddess.
Ruby guesses Cinder, and Tyrian scoffs.
Your Fight Scene Sucks: 48
That point is for the fact that while the action itself isn’t bad, it keeps stopping every few seconds for dialogue. Momentary barks and quips are one thing, but whole conversations interrupting the fight sequences is not welcome.
Tyrian launches himself back down at the group, re-engaging. He unfolds the blades attached to his wrists so that they resemble proper axe blades, and begins furiously fighting with swipes, kicks, and tail strikes that everyone tries to dodge. Ruby alone is fast enough to engage, but not for more than a few seconds, and speaking of which—
Your Fight Scene Sucks: 49
That point is for the fact that Ruby can literally move faster than the eye can follow and, if her short was anything to go by, can become intangible to physical harm for however long it takes to burst into rose petals and reform. She is doing neither here, just letting Tyrian pummel her relentlessly, until a final kick to the gut knocks her aura clean out.
[15]
Meanwhile, a crow is flying at high speed towards the skirmish site.
Where the hell have you been?!
I’m serious, this time we don’t have to guess—we know you have been following RNJR closely at a distance of as little as a hundred feet at times, you’ve apparently been acting as their shadow. So what in God’s name have you been doing while Tyrian was harassing these kids???
Ill Logic: 52
I’m going to start calling Qrow “Pillow Princess”, because he’s never been on top of anything in his life, let alone a situation!
Little Yang and Ruby, then Amber, then Ruby again, and now this. Does Qrow just fall asleep whenever someone he should be looking out for is in danger?
Tyrian poises his stinger, ready to land a coup de grace. Ren and Nora stagger, trying to recover. Instead of doing literally anything at all, Jaune just closes his eyes as if to imply he doesn’t want to see what happens next.
Ill Logic: 53
Your Fight Scene Sucks: 50
Jaune: 28
Why did you even show that? Why would you cut to show us Jaune doing nothing? Can you guys just please slow down when writing this, storyboarding this, so you can ask questions like “wait, if we have this moment where Jaune gets all pained as he fears the death of another friend, won’t people ask why he’s not swinging his sword?”
Qrow blocks Tyrian’s blow, making me wonder as the camera does a triple take whether he deliberately made his entrance as dramatic as possible, because that’s what it looks like.
Tyrian giggles, Ruby smiles, and Qrow greets her. The episode ends.
Did you guys know that we’re only ten pages in? I think I’m going to try and fit a third episode in here…
We open not on the fight scene from last episode, but on Oscar, the kid who was hearing Ozpin’s voice in his head a few episodes ago. There’s some ha-ha back-and-forth with his mother, who has dinner ready, but just as Oscar is getting ready to head down for dinner, that voice in his head speaks again.
There is an odd high pitched drone throughout the following scene, to underscore its strangeness—but as for me in particular, it reminded me of the drone of Eddie Gluskin’s theme, so that made this a hundred times creepier. Don’t click that link if you don’t like nightmares.
Oz: We have to leave. Oscar… Oscar.
Os: I’ve decided you’re not real, so you might as well give up.
Ozpin is placating.
Oz: I understand how you’re feeling.
No you don’t.
Oz: I went through the same panic and confusion.
No you didn’t.
Oscar returns to a book he was reading before the interruption, closing it and putting it away on a shelf, repeating to himself that “it’s not real”. Oz’s mind voice assures him he’s sane, and tries to reassure him further, only for Oscar to yell at him to shut up.
Oz: Believe me, I wish this weren’t the case. But as I’ve told you, our auras, our souls, are combined.
Oh dear.
There’s a Sin Thine Ass Off in there somewhere, in that nothing about what either one of them wishes is going to stop Ozpin from taking the reins. But at any rate, yes, that’s what’s happening. Pyrrha gets to stay dead, and Ozpin just lives on past death, existing parasitically in some random-ass kid’s soul.
Oscar tries to shut him out, only for Ozpin to ask him if he’s ever been to Haven. Oscar hasn’t, but Ozpin asks him to describe the headmaster’s office there anyway. The music changes to a peaceful flute tune as Oscar successfully describes the Haven headmaster’s office as “autumn-colored, with a large mahogany desk”, and other perfectly accurate descriptions. He ends by mentioning a tea set that “I” gave him—Oscar is experiencing Ozpin’s own memories.
Oscar asks how he knows that, and Ozpin says that it’s because he helped build that school, and gave that tea set as a gift to the guy currently running it. So yeah, the Great King of Vale mentioned in the World of Remnant episodes was almost certainly Ozpin.
But this conversation continues to frustrate Oscar, who wants no part of any voices in his head or directives to leave his life and family to go on some mission. He falls to his knees as he laments that he didn’t agree to anything.
Oz: No, you didn’t, and neither did I, at first. But you have an opportunity.
Os: An opportunity for what?
Oz: Greatness, hopefully. Greatness in knowing that when the world needed help, you were the one to reach out your hand. It won’t come without hardship, without sacrifice. But I know you don’t want to live the rest of your life as a farmhand in Mistral.
Oscar realizes Ozpin read his thoughts, and the eerie droning noise is back. This is all massively creepy—no matter the circumstances that forced Ozpin into this body, if indeed he was forced, the fact remains there’s still a power imbalance as Ozpin can read Oscar’s mind at will but Oscar only knows what Ozpin wants him to know.
And I would be okay with this if the general tone of this scene weren’t reassuring. This is all just serving the point of getting Ozpin back into the story and into the mission. The creepiness and inherent wrongness of all this? Acknowledged, but only enough to quickly get all the creepy glossed over and out of the way.
Oz: I… Well. They’re our thoughts now.
[spongebob_fear.jpg]
Oscar finally yells at Ozpin to get out of his head, and the only answer is Oscar’s mother calling him down to supper again.
We cut to Weiss, sitting on her bed in her room as dusk falls. Her father is pacing back and forth, berating her for what happened at the charity ball. Weiss asserts that she wants to leave, as she does not want to be in the mansion anymore or in Atlas anymore. Jacques doesn’t give a damn, and says as much.
Jacques accuses her of dragging the family name down, but Weiss counters that she’s the one trying to uphold its honor, and reminds him that he married into the family name he apparently values so much.
Jacques strikes Weiss across the face for saying that.
[16]
Just like an asshole, he switches to fatherly disappointment immediately after, and tells her she’s wrong to think she can help anything by running off like Winter did. Weiss takes a moment to regain her composure, and as her father is turning away to leave, she declares that the Schnee legacy is hers to leave and she intends to do it as a Huntress. Jacques responds by confining her to the manor grounds—and by revoking her status as heiress.
J: [dripping with malicious, controlling, “this is the story and you’re sticking with it” energy] Clearly the trauma you endured at the fall of Beacon was too much for you, which is why you’ve generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings, and passed them on to your brother Whitley.
This latest low blow delivered, Jacques leaves, with Whitley on the other side of the door offering Weiss a smirk as it closes.
Stunned, but unwilling to take this lying down, Weiss storms out into the hall, heels a-click-clicking as she does, and confronts Whitley. He is as smug and coy as the last time we saw him, even as she calls him on the fact that his demeanor has been entirely too nice to fit his character these last few weeks.
W: [hanging her head] …You wanted this to happen.
Wh: [calm, but anger lining his face] …It’s foolish not to do as father asks.
It would seem being alone with his useless mother and abusive father for a year has not done Whitley any favors. Weiss says she can’t believe him, and Whitley just throws his hands up, saying the Schnee company will be in good hands, before turning and leaving.
Finally broken, Weiss returns to her room, and falls onto her bed, crying. Airships pass by outside, and she sobs into her bedsheets, but before long, Weiss gets back up.
[17]
She closes her curtains and begins moving her furniture around, clearing a space. Once that’s done, she returns to a box kept nearby, opening it to reveal Myrtenaster, and several dust cartridges. Taking the blade in hand, Weiss refuses to surrender control.
[18]
We then finally cut back to the fight happening at Oniyuri, which sees Qrow engaging Tyrian. Let’s see how that’s going.
Tyrian bows mockingly, referring to Qrow as a “true Huntsman” and the latter raises his eyebrow, looking to Ruby for explanations. She has none, simply calling Tyrian weird. Qrow orders Tyrian to leave his niece alone, but Salem’s orders aren’t optional, as Tyrian says. The name finally makes it to Ruby, who really, really should have been filled in on this months ago.
I’m serious. When we left Volume Three behind, Ruby was leaving her home some entire season removed from when Beacon had fallen, when autumn had turned to winter. How has Qrow not had time to fill her in on who Salem is yet, and why she’s got her sights set on Haven?
Ill Logic: 54
Qrow has to be the most useless motherfucker I’ve ever encountered in this show.
Tyrian cuts an end to the chatter, and prepares to spring. Qrow doesn’t finish his quip before the fight starts.
[19]
They engage in a fast series of swipes and strikes, neither landing decisive hits, and Tyrian being repelled some distance before Qrow pounces. Tyrian blocks the big sword, and Qrow presses him, but Tyrian just grins and unveils another feature of his wrist-axe-blade-things: automatic machine pistols.
He starts firing, and Qrow starts dodging.
[20]
Qrow blocks the bullets all cool-like, and Ren and Nora try to assist, only for Tyrian to easily repel them. Entering a blade lock with the weirdo, Qrow bids RNJR not to come closer. So begins one of the dumbest things about Volume Four.
“Fine!” Ruby says, and gets out her sniper scythe. She leaps atop a building, looking for a vantage point, and does a very unnecessary set of spins. Despite this, they do not use the blurry spin discs, with it looking more akin to Sun’s bo staff spins in Volume One, more motion blur than total non-rendering of the physical object.
She watches the fight, looking for an opening, but Qrow and Tyrian are moving too fast. Things turn for the worse when Tyrian gets ahold of Qrow’s sword and yanks it out of his hands.
[21]
Neither spinning disc or motion blur are even present that time. I hesitate to say I’m impressed, but it is surprising to see the animation quality actually going up in this volume. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Tyrian is ready to make the most of this opportunity, but Ruby fires, just barely missing his face. Giggling like a child, he just casually blocks Ruby’s follow-up shots—without even looking at her. Which is the kind of impressive that borders on annoying because that’s so illogical as to enter Bad “Anime Badass” Territory. But also rather arrogantly dumb on Tyrian’s part, since he’s allowing Ruby free shots to chip away at his aura.
Qrow’s very own theme song (one of the worse tracks Jeff Williams has produced, if you ask me—no enjoyable melody to it at all) starts up as he balls his hand into a fist and decks Tyrian right in his slack jaw.
[22]
Qrow follows up with some more bar brawl socks in the teeth, and Tyrian is evidently dumbstruck enough by this that he just lets Qrow walk up and retrieve his embedded sword. Yes, seriously.
You’re on thin ice, Rooster Teeth.
[23]
Sword in hand, Qrow is ready when Tyrian surges forward, twisting around his sword and activating its scythe form, using the shotgun to catapult himself upward, grabbing a loose beam on the way up to stop himself. Tyrian jumps up, straight through the beam, and two land on a rooftop to re-engage.
Tyrian continues to use his tail to his advantage, as despite falling through a loose beam into the unfinished home below, he wraps it around Qrow’s leg and drags him down, too. Ruby notices the house essentially collapsing on top of them in the wake of the fighting, and decides to take action.
[24]
I am not against Ruby’s repeated attempts to help because I am very against people just standing around doing nothing. Everyone who has not left the area should contribute in some fashion.
The lyrics to “Bad Luck Charm”, which is Qrow’s own character song, start up as Ruby runs forward, just in time to see Qrow skid his way out of the building, through a wall, and landing on his sword’s hilt, aura faltering. Tyrian’s own purple aura also falters as he moves to attack. Ruby intervenes, blocking Tyrian’s strike.
T: …Do you wish to be taken?
R: …No, but I won’t stand by and watch someone get hurt.
[25]
Neither Qrow nor Ruby, nor Tyrian, have any aura left, which can still be attributed to Ruby not bothering to use her Semblance, but I digress. Ruby and Qrow engage Tyrian at the same time, and it actually sort of works, so I guess you need to be a main main character before team fighting works.
Qrow orders Ruby to get back, but Ruby says “This is my fight, too!” in the most painfully high-pitched, childish delivery, and I still wonder why no one made Lindsay Jones re-record that line. He tries to warn her it’s not about Tyrian, but before he can finish, Ruby tries to attack again and gets both of Tyrian’s boots in the face for it. She hits a wall, and a beam from above is knocked loose and almost falls on Ruby—but Qrow saves her, causing Ruby to smile.
[26]
But this serves as enough distraction for Tyrian to dig his tail into Qrow’s side, delivering a dose of toxins. The mood swiftly changes as Ruby realizes she got Qrow injured—right before swiping her scythe down over Tyrian’s tail and chopping that shit right off.
[27]
T: [screaming in pain] YOU BITCH!
The delivery on that line was about as bad as Ruby’s just now, but I’ll let it slide on account of imagining this to be roughly equivalent to what it would sound like if she’d just kicked him in the dick. But hallelujah, we have some actual genuine cursing.
Tyrian staggers, and RNJR quickly surround him. Realizing he’s now too injured to win, Tyrian opts to flee, demoralized and muttering fearfully that Salem will forgive him.
Once he’s gone, Qrow falls to a knee, grasping his envenomed gash, or graze, as it were. There is actual blood when Qrow brings his hand away.
Every member of RNJR has questions, and the episode comes to a close as Qrow realizes he’ll have to answer them.
Q: …What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Fuck you.
The Lovegood Fallacy: 3
Counts:
- Jaune: 28
- It Was Right There: 10
- Fauxminism: 23
- Hypocrisy: 18
- Reliable Leaders: 15 + 6
- Prowling Wolf Fallacy: 6
- Prowling Wolf Fallacy: 6
- Threatening Enemies: 6
- Love to Be a Part of It Someday: 30
- Your Fight Scene Sucks: 50 + 18
- Evisceration Evasion: 18
- Evisceration Evasion: 18
- Ill Logic: 54
- Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Veil: 17 + 5
- Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge: 3
- Band-Aid Brigade: 2
- Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge: 3
- RSVP: 30
- Road to Nowhere: 8
- Y.A.S. Queen: 8
- Rooster Tease: 10
- LuLaRwe: 8
- The Lovegood Fallacy: 3
- How to Piss Off Gay People: 6
____________________
26 – Volume 4, Episodes 3 and 4 | Table of Contents | 28 – Volume 4, Episodes 8, 9, and 10
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