Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-34633327-20171229202410/@comment-30530552-20171231213737

Okay, so my thoughts on the episode here. (Oh shit, I forgot it's my duty to make the public thread this time...heh, what an episode to do it for.) Bear with me, so many thoughts...

We've seen the full moon before, but not at this angle. I can't help but feel the angle it was shown at, showing the broken side, was subtle foreshadowing.

It was nice to see more of the Haven grounds...and I still stick to my guns that both of those reddish towers, not just the one that they put the explosives on, are part of the CCT.

Leo being a Faunus was interesting...took me awhile to notice it, surprisingly...I'd let up on that assumption once we saw him, but I guess coats are the proper way to hide tails now, just like Tyrian. I'd almost rather they'd have kept him human just as a "not all Faunus are evil" sort of thing, because most of the really bad villains have been Faunus (Adam, Tyrian, Ilia to an extent, the Albains...etc.) But it seems he made his choice...I can't help but see a small contrast with Ilia on that...one villain turns good, another potential ally turns fully bad.

Nice to know Yang was the one who noticed Raven, and good to know they were all prepared, more or less, for a showdown.

YES! A Summer mention! I'd been subtly hoping for it, and I'll take what I can get to learn even just a tiny bit more about her. Also neat to see Raven faltered a bit hearing Ruby's speech. Raven summoning the portal to shoot Ruby with Cinder's fireball was also really cool.

Interesting that Oscar/Ozpin didn't seem worried until Hazel showed up...I wonder if there's any context behind that? It also makes me worried for Ren and Nora.

So, for matchups, we have Jaune v. Cinder (btw, kudos to Miles this episode for some awesome work as Jaune...the way he says "ALL WITH THAT DAMN SMILE ON YOUR FACE" gives me chills every time). The way Cinder dismissed him too was also really funny. And the emotional manipulation throughout their fight on Cinder's end was a treat...Jessica did great this episode.

Ruby vs. Emerald is actually a very bad matchup based on weapons and Semblance, and Ruby suffered for it. Nice to see they solidify Em's motivations even more, and Ruby trying to use her eyes, which only partially worked because Em pulled an Azula on her.

Yang vs. Merc and Ren/Nora vs. Hazel are also being teased just like in the opening (they reused the fight animations from it, which I was disappointed by), and I hope along with Qrow v. Raven we see them fight more extensively next episode. Leo vs. Oscar was also pretty cool, as was Leo's weapon...still brings up issues of Dust consistency though.

The highlight of this episode for me though was Weiss v. Vernal...Weiss was clearly outmatched but still put up a valiant effort, but was actually kinda stupid for trying to summon in the open twice after she failed to summon under cover once. Vernal is even more dangerous than I pictured...Weiss' Aura color is revealed to basically be the same as her eye color, and similarly...

OH, MY GOD, the impalement...it brings back memories. Cinder is a spiteful bitch that needs to die. I know Weiss will be fine because her wound is likely cauterizing from it being a burning weapon, but Jesus that's definitely the big thing to worry about now.

Just as a small question here, Ren, Nora, and Oscar all technically could've gone to Weiss' aid had they not gone after their respective opponents because those 2 villains seemed unwilling to fight. So, of those 3...who would you have chosen to defend Weiss while she summons or to fight alongside her? Because Weiss left herself too open and was on the defensive the whole time, and definitely needed help against a dual-wielding Maiden.