Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-27234079-20191221163921/@comment-14909251-20191230071424

ChishioKunrin wrote: I don't think Willow was telling Weiss that she should've stayed at home with Whitley, but rather saying "Well, duh, you left him alone with us, so he's mad at you." Rather than have Weiss stay there with Whitley, she may have preferred for Weiss to get Whitley out of there. How? I don't know. But depending on just how much of the Shirow Miwa manga is canon, the big reason Weiss started pulling away from Jacques was because Winter snapped her out of "playing house" and going along with Jacques, so maybe Willow wishes Weiss could have done the same for Whitley. There are obvious differences and generally Willow isn't being fair. She is projecting her own inability to watch out for her children. I think she is also conflicted about them all leaving. The broader point is that she is rather muddled on what she wants and is contradicting herself. Part of that may be confusion due to drinking or general mental issues or it could just be that she still yearns for some ideal she knows can never be realized. Anyone who reacts to Willow's comments by attacking Weiss for not doing more for Whitley is an asshole who doesn't really get the dynamic.

I would like to see Weiss reach out and try to get Whitley to come to his senses, so the two of them can start building a better sibling relationship and so Whitley can break free of Jacques.

Now it is actually somewhat plausible. Winter was able to be a good influence on Weiss because she was separated and independent. Even if Weiss wanted to do something for Whitley, she wasn't in a position to do anything and it isn't something you just do on a whim or in any short period of time. Again, in these kinds of situations everyone is a potential snitch and Whitley made himself into the one everyone would expect to snitch.

And yeah, storming into the dining room to expose Jacques right away is not a good idea. I've actually kind of imagined a scene of Weiss walking back through the halls, telling her teammates via communicator that she has found evidence that Jacques is definitely working with someone suspicious. Yang suggests going into the dining room and showing the councilmen as soon as Weiss meets back up with them, Blake says that's probably not a good idea because they wouldn't be fully prepared for the possible scenarios that would follow, and Weiss agrees with Blake. Then, Weiss encounters or finds Whitley and tries to talk to him. That is assuming they don't do what they have done in previous episodes and just skip past all the immediate reactions. I would like to think they would not do that here as these are actual major plot points rather than just showing reactions and fights.