Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-3146930-20140620224808/@comment-28792888-20140620232748

If I had to guess, I'd say that Weiss not knowing about Semblance was more for exposition's sake than anything.

As for the Nevermore and Death Stalker, it was in part Weiss's skill. Ruby was the one who A) Came up with the plan and B) Actually killed the Nevermore, while Blake's weapon acted as the slingshot and Yang was the one to fry its insides and knock it back for Weiss to freeze it. I would wager that Weiss couldn't have pulled it off without her team there to help her, just like Pyrrha. Also, although I'm not sure about how big they are compared to one another, you have to consider that size wasn't really the deciding factor here. The Death Stalker wasn't affected at all when it was shot by Crescent Rose, nor was it phazed by pretty much any other attack up until Ren and Pyrrha weakened and then cut off its stinger. It was pretty much covered in armor, whereas the Nevermore just had a mask. In any case, as it was Jaune who told Pyrrha to cut off the stinger and Nora who "nail[ed] it!" with the Death Stalker, and Ruby who came up with the plan and beheaded the Nevermore, I don't think it's quite an accurate representation of either girl's strength or intelligence.

As for the Boarbatusk, I could be wrong, but I came to the assumption that Weiss already knew to attack the Boarbatusk's belly, considering how irritated she seemed by Ruby's advice. Although I know it had a lot to do with pride and previously-gained annoyance, it also seemed like a pretty obvious thing, and I got the feeling that Weiss was irked because Ruby was giving her such "obvious" advice. Plus, considering the fact that she had some difficulty beating it, was disarmed momentarily, and was visibly winded at the end, I think it points more towards her being smarter than she is strong.

Lastly, about the speed thing, who wouldn't be surprised? I don't think anyone would automatically assume that it was her semblance; in fact, I think it would be pretty dumb to just assume that it was her semblance, considering the fact that people have been shown already who are just plain-up fast. Weiss's surprise was probably more because she didn't think of it being a semblance right off the bat, but was still shocked that Ruby could run that fast. Or maybe she just didn't know about semblances, as seen later on. I don't know.

In the classroom scene, Weiss immediately knew about the battle at Fort Castle, and there's nothing to point away from the fact that she wouldn't have answered if she had been called on again.

Again, this is all just my take on it, but I would definitely put Weiss as the smart one.