Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

"Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back" is the forty-ninth episode of RWBY and the ninth episode of Volume 4. It premiered for Rooster Teeth sponsors on January 7th, 2017 and was released for non-FIRST registered users of the Rooster Teeth site on January 8th, 2017. It was made public on January 14th, 2017.

Summary
Taiyang Xiao Long and Yang Xiao Long spar with Zwei watching. Taiyang gets the upper hand and gives his daughter a speech about how her Semblance is basically a temper tantrum and she has been using it without taking into account how it can burn her own. He also opens up about Raven Branwen, revealing the traits he admired about her that he also sees in Yang. Taiyang mentions that her flaws were what broke up Team STRQ. The two spar again, this time Yang pulling the same balance trick on Taiyang that he had pulled on her.

Weiss Schnee works on Summoning the Giant Armor in her room but is interrupted by Whitley Schnee. He taunts her about not being able to leave while he is meeting business partners. Aggravated, she asks him if he is just jealous of hers and Winter Schnee’s abilities. Whitley denies it, claiming that valuing such things as Huntsmen skills is barbaric when you can command an army. Weiss forces him out of her room and manages to Summon the Giant Armor directly after, breaking out her window in the process. Klein Sieben comes running only to be impressed with Weiss. She asks him to do her a favor.

Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong chase the spy, who does not want them to have Sun’s Scroll. Sun uses his clones to hold Ilia down while Blake retrieves it, in the process breaking her mask. The spy is revealed to be Ilia, someone from Blake’s past. Ilia wounds Sun and informs Blake that she should never have returned. After Ilia disappears, Blake races to Sun, who is unconscious and bleeding. She covers the wound with her hand and cries out for help, telling Sun to hold on.

Ruby Rose delivers the same message to an unconscious and delirious Qrow Branwen. She and Jaune Arc are carrying him on a stretcher with Lie Ren leading the way and Nora Valkyrie guarding the rear. They come to a fork in the road and have to choose between the easier path that leads to a destroyed village, or the mountainous route that goes to Mistral. They reluctantly decide to split up to increase their chances of finding aid for Qrow. Ren and Nora take the mountain while Jaune and Ruby carry Qrow toward the reportedly destroyed town of Kuroyuri. Their footsteps imprint over the same mark discovered in Shion.

Characters
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Trivia
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Video
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