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A Breakdown of Episode 8

So we finally made it! The mid-season episode of RWBY, honestly I didn’t think I’d be able to make it. Blogging on an actual schedule (even if it is just once a week) has been a trying experience, even this week’s write up took longer than usual due to the content and my life activities (thus why it’s a “late” RWBY Tuesday). It just makes me have a whole new appreciation for those that create such videos in any entertainment format. I can’t imagine all one would have to do just to make shows like these, let alone a show like RWBY. And that’s saying something when it comes to this season’s mid-season episode. We’ve been told that the beginning, mid-season and finale episodes would be longer and indeed that is the case so far. When I heard this episode was premiered at PAX Prime it actually made me wish for the first time that I could go to a PAX event. And given the response to this episode (RWBY made #4 on crunchyroll’s website as well as the series now being fan dubbed in Chinese) it sounds like this episode stands out. So let’s not waste any time and get into the extra-long episode of RWBY Episode 8, Players and Pieces.

The episode starts off where we see Ruby and Weiss arguing about how Weiss is having a bad feeling about what they are doing at the moment. Ruby suggests they just jump whereupon Weiss asks if she’s insane in suggesting it. Weiss then finds herself alone as Ruby does jump without her. We then cut back to last episode where we left off with Blake pointing in the air to a falling Ruby screaming “heads up”.  Ruby ends up colliding with Jaune, who was also flying thru the air last episode, and they both end up in a tree. Blake begins to ask Yang of what they just saw when she is interrupted by Nora and Lie riding in on one of the creatures that Yang fought earlier in the forest. Upon the creature being “broken” Lie asks Nora to “never to do that again.” But instead of Nora listening, she’s already claimed one of the relics proclaiming herself “queen of the castle”. Blake again begins to ask Yang of what they just saw when she is interrupted again when Pyrrah comes along with the giant scorpion hot on her heels. Ruby upon seeing this, jumps down from the tree to join her sister Yang just as Nora gets in the way. Blake again begins to ask Yang on what they just saw yet again when Yang finally loses it and yells to everyone if they can just stay still for 2 seconds before something else insane happens. Once those 2 seconds passes Ruby taps her sister and points up.

It’s at that point where we learn that Ruby and Weiss had been riding on a giant bird monster, thus explaining the beginning of this episode along with why Ruby was falling form the sky. Weiss still is hanging onto the claw of the giant bird but eventually let’s go and starts to fall. Jaune seeing this, leaps to Weiss’s aid only to realize that gravity still works causing both of them to fall to the ground with Jaune breaking Weiss’s fall with his body. After Pyrrah unceremonious joins the group Yang comments that now they can all die together. Ruby has different ideas and decides to attack the giant scorpion by herself. Upon learning she might’ve bit off more than she could handle she retreats as both the scorpion and giant bird close in. Yang runs in to help her sister but is held off when the giant bird attacks with flying feathers that traps Ruby and keeps Yang at bay. Just before the giant scorpion could strike at Ruby, Weiss comes in with the save by freezing the scorpion’s stinger mere inches from Ruby. Weiss takes that moment to tell off Ruby one last time about her yet at the same time buries the hatchet between them, realizing that if either one of them is to get out of this alive they have to work together. Yang is happy to see that her sister is okay but the respite is only brief as the giant bird is circling back.

Weiss tells the group that there is no point in fighting these creatures with Ruby agreeing given that their only mission was to claim an artifact and make it back to the cliff. The others agree and after Ruby and Jaune claim their relics, they all start to head back to the cliff. Yang takes a moment to be proud of her now “take charge” sister before she and Blake join the groups retreat. Unfortunately both the giant creatures show no interest in retreating, forcing both Team RWBY and Team “Phantasy Star” to face off against each respective creature in their own “unique” ways.

After a “brief” fight both teams are able to make it back to the cliff.

The next scene has us back in the school’s meeting room where Ozpin introduces the new individual teams by the specific color and type of chess piece they happen to claim on their test. Juane, Pyrrah, Nora and Lie end up together as Team JuNiPeR, with Juane Arc as team leader to Pyrrah’s delight. Ozpin congratulates Juane as Pyrrah gives him a playful punch to the arm which causes Jaune to fall over as he’s still dumbstruck in being team leader. Finally Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang are grouped into the official Team “RWBY” with Yang congratulating Ruby upon her being chosen as team leader. Ozpin mentions that this is going to turn out to be an “interesting year.”

The episode ends with a cut scene back to Torchwick in a warehouse accepting a shipment of dust crystals. He mentions that he’s going to need “more men” as the camera slowly zooms in on a map of the city of Vale, indicating he has some big plan ahead.  Roll credits with Torchwich backdrop

High Points

 

Monty Oum at his best

Now this is what people were expecting! Monty Oum has shown he is able to create unique combat scenarios and this episode shows that in all of its glory. I wasn’t sure how he’d be able to show off everyone’s different combat forms but he did it. Not only did he pull it off with individual characters but also with smaller and larger groups put together. Seeing one-on-one, two-on-one and four-on-one enemy encounters was an excellent change of pace when compared to the brief skirmishes that individual characters have faced thus far in the series.

 

Great environmental incidents

Another element of Monty Oum’s style is what he works with when it comes to the environments that the main characters find themselves in. If you happen to notice his past works in “Dead Fantasy” and “Red vs Blue”, you can clearly see some of the inspirations he’s taken from his past works to help form the combat scenario we see in this episode. How the monsters take out pieces of the local structures help Team RWBY and Team JNPR (I’m calling them Team Phantasy Star regardless) show off their skills in wall scaling, enemy isolating and using the terrain to their advantage when facing off with the two monsters. Ruby’s plan to take out the giant bird and Jaune’s impromptu plan to take out the giant scorpion were the highlights to their team’s combat styles and coordination. If defeating those monsters in style didn’t get them a letter grade, they at least got it for extra credit.

 

Jaune’s growing role as leader

I didn’t see this one coming but Jaune could be coming into his own when it comes to being a team leader. Despite his last episodes snafu, along with his “gravity works” moment this episode, he’s slowly upgrading himself from being an occasional fall guy to a possible contender for reluctant leader. When the chips were down he was able to hold his own against the beasty his team fought, working in tandem with Pyrrah on their frontal assault. He was also able to spot openings and direct orders to Pyrrah and Nora to help take out their foe after Lie’s assist without a second thought. Goodwitch still might have her doubts about Jaune but I wasn’t surprised when Ozpin gave him leadership of Team “Phantasy Star”.

 

Excellent runtime length

This has been a constant complaint from most viewers of RWBY. So far they like the show but they hate the runtime between episodes. They say it’s too short unlike the rest of Rooster Teeth’s works. This episode, though not meant to address those complaints, had a decent runtime on par with what seems to be the sweet spot for viewers. It was already announced that first episode, mid-season and final episode would be this long so it’s good to see that Rooster Teeth is keeping to their word. Not that there was any doubt but even with that knowledge most didn’t like the shortness of most episodes. Hopefully this’ll help quell matters till episode 16. Who knows though, if RWBY takes off we could see episodes be this long in future seasons.

 

Ruby and Weiss finally settle things (sort of).

We’ve been seeing them bump heads since they first met and I was afraid they still might argue amongst themselves even when danger was nipping at their heels. It didn’t look promising the last two episodes when they couldn’t even decide on which direction they had to go to find the temple. I guess it had to take a life or death situation like Ruby’s fight with a deathstalker for both of them to realize that petty differences are nothing when it comes to fighting the monsters of Grim. I would’ve been real annoying if they still argued as they fought against monsters at the same time, like a couple of bitter old women. Instead we get a rocky truce and some partner uncertainty when they initiate Ruby’s final phase of her plan to take out their giant monster. Give me a “Of course YOU’D come up with this idea” chat with Ruby’s uncertain look if Weiss can make the shot moment any day.

 

Great background music

I usually don’t mention much about the music but this time around I have to speak up about it. I’m personally not much of a music expert and when it comes to past Rooster Teeth background music, used with Red vs Blue, it’s been kind of hit or miss with me. But the music for both instrumental and vocal during the episode where excellent, the instrumental fit well with the incidents happening on screen. It helped give the scenes more gravity toward the situation Team RWBY and Team “Phantasy Star” faced. I didn’t notice any reusing or remixing of previous songs/tunes from last episodes like with episode one so it was a welcomed treat to hear a completely different song during the stand-off between Team RWBY and their flying beasty.

 

Nora is a bad-ass

I wasn’t too impressed with her back two episodes back but she makes up for it this episode by not only showing she can stand on her own in fighting but we also get to see what kind of weapon she uses. I have to admit that a grenade launcher/impact hammer combo wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I saw her ditzy character. She might not have helped Lie out when he faced off with two giant snakes but she knows how to work that impact hammer like an anime girl with a paper fan, a paper fan that she can uses as a balance beam.

Low Points

 

Start scene inconsistency

It’s good that we now know why Ruby was falling from the sky with the last episode cliffhanger. But it still doesn’t answer the question how exactly Ruby and Weiss found themselves hitching a ride on a giant winged bird! Just suddenly in this episode their on a bird, that’s it. No lead up, no explanation, no nothing. Yes it was nice that they slowly did the creature reveal, and seeing Weiss hold on for dear life, but it still doesn’t help explain where they found the bird and how they got on it in the first place. Was it from two episodes back when we saw a lone black feather fall from a tree that Ruby cut down in frustration toward Weiss? I’m hoping this was just a “Sponsor extra” like what Rooster Teeth has done before with certain episodes of Red vs. Blue, with the illusion of Donut’s Death and Carolina’s surprise return from the dead fates being revealed in “Sponsor’s only” episodes.

WTF Jaune?

 I’d have that face too if he was touching my upper thigh! This one might be more of a personal grip for me but despite Jaune’s end character development in this episode, I have to call into question his choice in trying to save Weiss instead of trying to save Pyrrah. Not only was it his fault that the giant death stalker was chasing after Pyrrah but she is also his partner! The least he could do was try to rush to her aid when she called out his name. He even heard it but was too busy trying to get right side up. And what does he do when he gets back on his feet; he doesn’t run to Pyrrah but lunges into the air to catch Weiss to score some points with her instead. He even tries a silly one liner to boot! C’mon Rooster Teeth! I’m sure it was done for a comedic lead up but bad form on Jaune’s character. Speaking of bad form

 

Looney Tunes or anime slapstick?

Okay I’ve come to terms that RWBY is going to stick with the anime clichés it’s based from. I even enjoyed some of the “Looney tunes” moments that have been used sporadically. But when you go full on Looney tunes territory I’m not sure how to take it. It was cute to see Weiss get blackened for a moment in episode 2 from a fire dust explosion caused by Ruby, but this “gravity works” scene was just a complete rip off. All that was missing was either Weiss or Jaune holding up a sign like Wlie E. Coyote that says “Help” or “Yipe”. Seeing one cliché is bad enough but two of them? At least do what was done back in episode 2 and just slowly work it in. Even if the payoff did give people some laughs it was less RWBY original than usual.

As you can tell this episode had more high points than low points going for it this time.  It made the most of this mid-season episode. Some major action happened, the length was more agreeable and events rolled along to assist in character development along with the general basis of the main story. Indeed it does feel like that the players and pieces are being put into place for this grand chess game that we’ll be calling a plot. But even with this done it still leaves me with some questions.

Question, question, question

 

Is Nora “special”? I know she’s the ditzy anime girl stereotype when we first met her a few episodes back. But in this episode she doesn’t seem to be quite all there. Sure she’s a laser focus when it comes to fighting but everything else she seems to be off. She’s not exactly Red vs Blue’s Michael J. Caboose “divorced from reality” persona but she’s not exactly full on ditzy anime chick persona either. Nor was just all over the spectrum this episode and I’m not sure how to peg her.

What exactly is the relationship with Yang and Ruby? I haven’t asked this yet for I’d hoped the show would touch up on this. But I have to ask, how exactly are they sisters? They don’t share the same name and they don’t exactly look like sisters. What is Ruby and Yang’s backstory when it comes to relation? Are they really step sisters? One of them adopted?  Is Ruby being watched over by Yang’s family or are they really family biologically or nuclear?

What’s the deal with the moon? Another question I haven’t asked yet for I thought they’d answer that eventually. So far that has not been the case and I keep seeing that “shattered moon” in the sky over the course of the series. What happened to the moon? Did it explode due to colonization like in the movie “The Time Machine”. Did a Vash the Stampede-like character accidentally shoot it apart with his giant arm cannon? Did an asteroid hit it or was it the end result of the last Great War against the creatures of Grimm? What gives?

Overall this was a better episode than expected. It wasn’t the best for it did have its moments that kept it from achieving greatness. For me it felt like I was watching an extended, more heartfelt version of the “color” trailer videos than it being stand-alone episode. That’s not exactly a bad thing but it shows that RWBY has more to go if it wants to really stand on its own as a unique series. If you haven’t seen the latest episode showing the aftermath of this episodes events why not check out episode 9. Like before if you need to catch up you can always check out Rooster Teeth’s website or Crunchyroll for a complete episode listing. Till next time I’ll be waiting to see who cracks the first “school girl’ joke.

Any thoughts about this episode? Agree? Disagree? Undecided? Let me know in the comments!

Ta-ta

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