Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20140926004722/@comment-10390252-20140926083904

Okay, so Episode 8 is up! What have we learnt?

1) I'm still not sure about Ironwood's alignment. He definitely seems to be a disciple of Ozpin who is falling from 'the faith'. He wants to take action now rather than be sure as to what is happening;

2) The way Ruby looked at Zwei was... odd. There's something here that we don't know about and I think it might be a 'Wham' reveal in due time. However, it's no secret to her and I wonder if it's going to explain her love of Beowolf imagery; I just hope she isn't stupid enough to take her pet into an active combat zone;

3) Blake is cat enough not to like dogs, even ones that very clearly want to be her friend (and am I the only one who didn't mind the visual joke of her hiding from Zwei?)... and... you can send dogs by mail?!?

4) The concentrations of Creatures of Grimm are getting greater, great enough that even routine missions are getting tough;

5) It's confirmed: Oobleck is a Huntsman. I suppose we're going to find out just what his weapon is and just how he fights! Just how safe will the girls be having to follow the lead of Captain Caboose?

6) Remnant is in a peaceful post-war era after a war that appears to have been a war on art and individuality; an allusion to Earth communism or fascism with their strong ideology of collectivism and subsuming the self to the state? That said, it is an intriguing bit of world-building. I also wonder if the Black King's objective may be to reverse the outcome of the war, possibly by engineering a wide-scale disaster so that, as V would put it, people would welcome chains of slavery in exchange for feeling safe again;

7) Finally, it's getting clearer that Ozpin knows or at least suspects just about everything that the girls have tried to keep secret about their activities. He is also willing to bend the rules to facilitate what they are doing. I'm getting a stronger and stronger "Dumbledore's Plan" vibe from his actions. My only concern is what he might be willing for them to suffer in the name of the Greater Good.

Oh, just a PS: Zwei is a fully-grown corgi, not a puppy. I mean, Weiss won't care about that but the animal lover in me just wants to make that clear.