Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-34633327-20180105193053/@comment-34633327-20180106211403

You know, in retrospect, Vernal not being the Spring Maiden was heavily obvious. Look at the three times she was mentioned being it or the powers were shown.

Lighting the Fire: We see a Lightning Bolt hit the ground, but we don't see Vernal cause it, just hear her yell "ENOUGH!". What point would there have been in not seeing Vernal do it?

A Perfect Storm: Raven's little quip about Cinder hand picking a suitable Surname for her powers. Vernal keeping her eyes closed when the storm occured, since Maiden eyes glow when they use even a fraction of their powers. And Raven wearing her mask while talking to them for no discernible reason, considering she always took her mask off when talking with anyone else.

The More the Merrier: Specifically telling Vernal not to use the powers on Weiss, claiming Weiss isn't worth it, when pragmatically, Vernal just blasting Weiss away so she could be free to enact their betrayal would be the better move.

I remember both Chishio and SYUTK both pointed out the hypocrisy in Raven calling Cinder out on naming choices considering Vernal means "Spring", but I still think that was subtle foreshadowing at the fact Vernal was a Red Herring.