The First Step

"The First Step" is the fourth episode of RWBY, which premiered on the Rooster Teeth website on August 8th, 2013.

Summary
Lie Ren wakes up to his long-time friend, Nora Valkyrie talking about how excited she is for the Beacon Academy Initiation. He then endures the rest of his morning ritual listening to her while brushing his teeth, eating his pancake breakfast, packing up his sleeping bag and retrieving StormFlower from his locker. In the locker room, Nora expresses hope that the two of them will be on the same team and attempts to formulate a plan to make sure that they will.

Meanwhile, Ruby Rose wonders about the pair's conversation, while Yang Xiao Long changes the subject by stressing how important it is to socialize with other people to grow up. While this reminds Ruby of her father's constant lectures, Ruby states that socializing is not as important as fighting, and that she is independent and doesn't need help growing up because she drinks milk. However, when Yang asks about the rumor of forming teams, Ruby nervously hopes to be with Yang. Unfortunately for Ruby, Yang wishes Ruby would choose another partner, in the hopes of her opening up to other people.

Jaune Arc walks past the sisters, trying to find his designated locker, while Weiss Schnee talks to Pyrrha Nikos in the hopes of forging a partnership with her. Weiss believes that with her intelligence and Pyrrha's unrivaled strength, they will be at the top of the class and the envy of the other students. Pyrrha, however, wishes for the surprise of a random partner. Soon, Jaune walks in on their conversation, hoping to form a team with Weiss. When Pyrrha states the possibility of a four member team, Jaune suddenly shifts his attention to her and introduces himself.

As he states his intention to form a partnership, Weiss barges in on the conversation stating that such a partnership is impossible as Pyrrha's celebrity status completely dwarfs him. While Jaune is dismayed, Pyrrha says that she thinks he would be a great leader. As Jaune's hopes increase, Weiss feels uncomfortable and asks for Pyrrha's help, and suddenly Pyrrha's weapon pins him to a wall. Soon after, Glynda Goodwitch announces over an intercom that all the first-year students are to report to the Beacon Cliffs for their initiation. As Ruby and Yang help him up, Jaune is dismayed that his confident act didn't work.

Later, on the cliffs, Glynda informs the students that they will be given teammates today, and Ozpin announces that these partnerships will last for the four year duration of their studies at Beacon Academy, stressing the importance of having a partner that they can work well with. He goes on to state that the partners will be decided by the first person a student makes eye contact with after they land in the Emerald Forest.

Since there will be opposition, he advises that the initiates do not hesitate to destroy everything in their path, as the possibility of dying is very real. They will also be discreetly evaluated for their performances during the initiation process, but the instructors will not intervene. The objective is to seek a relic, one per pair of partners, in a temple on the other end of the forest and guard it, along with their standings. They are then to return to the cliff that they are currently standing on with the relic.

Jaune asks Ozpin a few questions, and he soon discovers that everyone will be catapulted and that they have to figure out how to land on their own. While he asks these questions, the initiation begins, with the students being launched one by one. By the time it's Jaune's turn, he is still asking questions, and he is launched into the air screaming, while his classmates easily glide through the air.

Trivia

 * Tumblr mra1dhaVtC1sp4jezo1 1280.png Belladonna was not seen in this episode or listed in the credits. However Kerry Shawcross posted an image on Twitter saying that Blake was "in the back," with an arrow pointing to one of the silhouettes in the background.
 * Also, while Blake was not shown directly in this episode, her silhouette in the album art for her song, "From Shadows," is seen during the ending credits.
 * Jaune's locker number is 636, a reference to the address of Rooster Teeth Productions at the time.
 * Ruby's line about growing up because she drinks milk might be another reference to "Fullmetal Alchemist," due to main character Edward Elric never drinking his milk, which is the reason (according to his friends and family) that he never gets any taller.
 * Nora is seen holding a tube of Shi-nee Toothpaste. In the brand name, the "S" is red and the remaining letters are blue, similar to the real world "Crest" brand logo. A starburst or snowflake appears on the end of the tube. Crest frequently uses a starburst on their products, and a snowflake could be a possible reference to the Schnee Dust Company.
 * When Pyrrha pulls her weapon out of Jaune's hood, it can be noticed that she isn't pulling it but attracting it to her hand. This was possible a hint for Pyrrha's Semblance which was later revealed to be polarity, an ability that allows her to manipulate certain metals.
 * The sound that occurs when Pyrrha uses her Semblance can be heard as a hushed background noise as Pyrrha retrieves Milo. Like in subsequent episodes, this was likely originally planned to be a much more noticeable sound effect.
 * Yang's sunglasses are an homage to the film Top Gun.