Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-4141313-20181229081856/@comment-37471367-20181230023738

Alright so run down.

Mercury practicing, which seems pretty normal for him actually (V2 for example). And in doing so he not only discloses his messed up past with a father that is giving Jacques a run for his money, but also rightly calling Em on her idol worship.

The fact that Marcus Black can deprive one of a Semblance is probably what made him such an effective assassin to begin with. As much as he was a monster to Merc, he had a point about people using a Semblance as a crutch instead of an asset.

Think about the consequences of losing a Semblance. Pre V3 Yang’s power and viability would drop considerably. Weiss and Blake’s entire fighting style would be crippled. The people least affected would be more the likes of Ren and Pyrrha. It gives Marcus a huge advantage. Mercury has never had that leg up the entire time, which is quite impressive.

And it’s about time that someone called Em out for what I see as stupidity and short sightedness. Cinder only wanted her for her Semblance. She was little more than a pawn, and Cinder had hinted as much to her face in the V3 C7 audio. Still, the only thing that would make Emerald fully aware of that reality is Cinder making that painfully clear via words or actions.

So Sanctum is in Argus. I have no doubt that Jaune’s fellow mourner was Pyrrha’s mother. Everyone else has already gone down this road in what happens. Also, said person must be related to Barbara Gordon, because I have no other way to explain how she pulled a Batman vanish.

So Oscar was just looking for clothes and making food for everyone. Well at least that misunderstanding helped the group address some major issues.

Truth be told, as risky as it is, hijacking a military plane to reach Atlas is probably the best option. It’s fast, it bypasses Ms. Nationalist Umbridge, and I’m pretty sure Ironwood would be forgiving once he finds it’s them. I will credit Jaune for being straight with them about the risk, and he’s the one who strategically gifted.

Ruby has finally had it with Qrow’s pessimism. She pretty much tells Qrow to either pull himself together or continue to wallow in self pity. Since Episode 4, I came to the conclusion that someone had to assume command, to take charge now that Oz is both out of play and quite frankly no longer worthy of leadership. That fell temporarily to Maria and now to Ruby, who seems to be going for a joint leadership between her and Jaune.