User blog:BenRG/Episode 6 - Thoughts and Meditations

Well, it was quite a ride, wasn't it?

I'm not too proud to admit that essentially none of my predictions cane true. However, that didn't dull my enjoyment. This was an episode that needs thought to be understood properly. I thought that we can discuss some of these points here.

Yang and Blake
When we see Yang first, it's pretty clear that she's been wandering around for a while. However, I find it odd that she was expecting and, perhaps, hoping that Ruby would catch up with her. It seems the sisterly bond and unwillingness to team with anyone else goes both ways, which is cute when you think about it.

Of course, it turns out that someone is following her, but it isn't Ruby. I didn't make this connection on my first viewing and it took another poster to confirm my suspicions. That picture is Blake, flitting through the trees above Yang. I don't know how long she had been following her but it is clear that Pyrrha wasn't the only one to have decided on her partner in advance and had the wherewithal to make it happen.

The fight between Yang and the two Beobears went more-or-less as expected. We got the confirmation that Yang is super-sensitive about people fooling with the 'do and we were reminded that she can do with fisticuffs what others cannot do even with bullets.

Kerry was right, you know. Blake is a ninja. First there was the matter of stalking Yang from the tree canopy. Then there was her final introduction, sneaking up behind the surviving Beobear and back-stabbing it. TV Tropes were right to say that she has 'the yellow eyes of sneakiness'. Although she has the courage for a frontal battle, I wonder if approach by stealth followed by a single blow might be her preferred manner of combat.

FWIW, I suspect that Yang had used her aura powers to detect Blake in the trees. That is why she wasn't surprised by Blake's appearance and was able to deliver the calm declarating: "I could have taken him!" Blake, of course, knew that she knew and simply smirks in response.

Ruby and Weiss
The other main group fight doesn't go nearly as well and really neither can be absolved from blame.

It's pretty clear that both Ruby and Weiss are outside their comfort zone in terms of combat.

Weiss is very nervous, mentally reciting her old tutors' lessons about proper stance and timing of attacks (something that sounds suspicously like a description I once read of Zen Archery). However, did you notice something? She was surrounded by Beowolves. At first, I couldn't understand why they were just standing there except unless we invoke some kind of Mook Chivalry (where everyone stands around and attacks the hero one-at-a-time). It wasn't until later that I realised that they weren't even looking at Weiss - They were looking at Ruby, who was behind the camera from our POV, no doubt slicing-and-dicing some of their bretheren. Without this, I think they would have dog-piled Weiss (pun intended) and she would have been dead.

That said, Ruby doesn't escape from this analysis unscathed. Did she have any reason to Killjack Weiss like that? Weiss was aiming her weapon at the Beowolf and Ruby had no reason to believe it posed a danger to her partner. The other Beowolves, on Weiss's far side, were a different matter. As I feared, Ruby was grandstanding for Weiss's benefit. Instead of doing the sensible thing and zigging behind her partner to tackle the monsters threatening her flank, she attacked the one right in front of her, probably trying to impress her.

The battle thus descendes into a fiasco because Weiss doesn't have any experience outside of formal one-on-one duels and Ruby doesn't have 'live' experience with true melees and has external validation issues when it comes to her relationship with Weiss. Consequently, their incompatible battle strategies led them to constantly get under each other's feet.

That said, the girls clearly do have some team-work skills already. Weiss knows when the battle has gone bad and, despite the fact she later showed she blamed Ruby, still didn't bail on her. Ruby, similarly, wasn't about to debate Weiss's decision to withdraw, even though she clearly thought she could take the pack on her own. She knew that she had to stick to her partner.

The ending of this sequence was interesting for several reasons. Firstly, because I think Weiss unconsciously voiced one of Ruby's fundamental fears about her situation and secondly because we got a clue as to the coming Boss Fight.

The Aura
Now we come to the key part of this episode. I would argue that this was the whole purpose of this episode.

Monty gets points for how he chose to film this sequence. He could have made it just plain exposition because, I don't know about you, but I could watch Pyrrha just talk for quite a while. However, instead, he intersperces it with Ren's fight with a two-headed Basilisk. Additionally, Ren is actually demonstrating what Pyrrha is talking about at that moment. It's a nice little touch and an excellent bit of script-writing efficiency, allowing us to get twice as much in the same screen time.

What is the Aura thought? I've been enjoying myself, tweaking brittle site members with comparisons with the Force in Star Wars. However, whilst there are similarities (especially its biological origin) there are also significant differences. The most important is that the Force is described as a connection between all things in the universe, which is the source of the Jedi's telekinetic abilities. In the case of the Aura, it seems to be a completely internal power. There are precisely two events we see where the Aura affects someone other than its source and, in both cases, there had to be physical contact between the two.

It is my view at this time that the Aura is an internal energy source. You can be trained to use it to boost your own abilities and biological attributes; it can even protect yourself from some harm (although I bet there is an upper limit to the amount of energy it can block/redirect). However, it cannot affect objects at a distance without help. I would argue that's where Dust comes in. I'm pretty sure that Dust is an Aura power magnifier and range multiplier. When we see attacks at range, it is going to be something to do with Dust. The Aura is the ignition spark for the fuel that is the Dust.

Pyrrha makes an interesting comment when she says that the Grim "don't have souls", meaning that they can't use the power of the Aura themselves. I wonder if this indicates an extraterrestrial or extra-dimensional source for the Grim - they don't abide by the normal laws of biology.

What of the future? This Will Be The Day is clear that 'Victory is in a simple soul'. Some thought that was Ruby's innocence but it might be more than that. Maybe victory lies in the utilisation of the power of the aura of a pure, innocent soul. Pyrrha has already noted that Jaune's aura is remarkably powerful and I think we can all agree that, despite his stumbling attempts at being charming and seductive, he is a true innocent. Maybe it is Jaune who will be The Noble Sacrifice at the end to save the world, not Ruby.

What about Ruby? In an inversion of the normal Trope, it is possible that she may be the Paladin of the Chosen One (yes, she defends Jaune rather than the other way around). I suspect that she also has the greatest potential power. However, whilst Jaune's light may be healing in nature, Ruby's may be that of a warrior and, eventually, she may be more powerful than any Dust-augmented warrior who has gone before her.

The Jaune Paradox
The more I see of Jaune, the more I don't understand why he is at Beacon Academy, the most prestigious academy for training Huntsmen on the planet.

He has none of the knowledge and none of the instincts you would expect. It is clear that he had never heard of the Aura, despite the fact that Pyrrha indicated it was an intrinsic and fundamental aspect of how Huntsmen and Huntresses did things. He hadn't drawn his sword, despite the fact that they were in a 'hot' Red Zone and Pyrrha already had pulled out her weapon and was clearly on the look-out for bad guys. Even when they heard gunfire, Jaune didn't get ready for a fight. Those aren't the acts of someone with even the basic skills of a soldier.

I'm beginning to wonder what Jaune is doing at Beacon. Did Ozpin see that powerful Aura somehow and decide that Jaune had a role in the coming conflict with the Grim? Did ambitious members of his family put him forward for admission against his wishes or without his knoweldge? Or is he bound by the memories and reputation of his great-great grandfather who he feels bound by honour to emulate no matter how little he has the skills and instincts of a warrior himself?

Here's a wild thought: I wonder if we'll only ever see Jaune fight defensively. If my suggestion about him being the 'simple (innocent) soul' is right, he may not be even capable of using lethal force except as a last resort. That might be why his equipment seem to have a defensive bias.

I've got the feeling that the main role of Team JNPR and, to a certain extent, Team RWBY too, will be to defend Jaune. It won't be until towards the climax of the story that we'll find out precisely why this was so important.

Other Things
Three other, semi-random, thoughts jump to mind:
 * 1) Pyrrha unlocking Jaune's aura - Was I the only one to get a 'soul-bonding' vibe, not just from the process but the prayer Pyrrha utters? I'm not sure if it is romantic in intent but I think she is bonded to him for life; her life is now bound to his and her destiny to his.  Will it be her destiny to fall to protect The Chosen One?
 * 2) Ren and Nora are so cute! They have all the attributes of a brother and sister, especially that little teasing exchange at the end of their scene with Nora's little 'Boop!', the act of a little sister to a beloved older sibling. For what it's worth, I think that Nora is romantically in love with Ren; I just don't think she wants to ruin their friendship by acting on it.
 * 3) I suspect that there at least two and possibly three more episodes left of the Initiation and another for its aftermath.  That means we'll have reached the mid-point of Volume 1 with us still in the first few days at Beacon Academy.

Predictions
I'm certain that the next episode will be just a set-up, bringing all the characters closer to their destination and possibly showing us Pyrrha's and Nora's skill as a warrior (Jaune must necessarily wait for a while because I don't think he has those skills right now).

The big foreshadowing was the feather that fell into shot after Ruby cut down a tree in a fit of pique. I suspect that a giant bird-Grim (suggested name 'Roc') will be the Final Boss at the Temple and I think that it is going to want Ruby dead because of what she did to poor Birdie. I believe that Episode 8 will be a full-length one like the pilot. That's when we're going to see Team RWBY starting to come together as a fighting force capable of working together.

I'm still waiting for that long battle theme that I know Jeff Williams has waiting for us!

Conclusion
Overall, this was a good episode, one that is best enjoyed after considering it for a while. It gives me confidence in Monty's ability as a director and writer and it makes me sure that there are many unexpected twists awaiting us as we accompany our eight heroes on their four-year journey to graduation.

This is a story with the potential epic scope worthy of being followed.