Burning the Candle

"Burning the Candle" is the twenty-second episode of RWBY, which premiered on the Rooster Teeth website on September 4th, 2014.

Summary
Ruby Rose sits forlornly at a table before her thoughts are interrupted by Weiss Schnee. Weiss presents Ruby with two seemingly identical table cloth options to choose from for the Beacon Dance. Ruby is indifferent, much to her partner's dismay, being preoccupied with her worries over Blake Belladonna, who has not been sleeping lately due to her obsession with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. However, Yang Xiao Long optimistically reassures Ruby and Weiss that Blake will definitely be going to the dance, which takes place on the following day.

Blake, still in her sleep-deprived state, is seen sitting in the library, working at a holographic display. However, a red laser pointer catches her attention, much to her irritation. She gets up and follows the laser pointer to its source - Yang, who quickly grabs her and tells her that they need to talk. Concurrently, Lie Ren is seen contentedly exiting the shower clad only in his towel, before being yanked away by Jaune Arc, who claims that they too, need to talk.

Back at the JNPR dormrooms, Jaune speaks with Ren, someone he considers one of his best friends and "the brother he never had", about his trouble with girls, and asks for advice in getting Weiss to return his affections. Pyrrha Nikos enters the room and tells Jaune to drop the gimmicks, pickup-lines and his whole act, and simply be straight with Weiss. Jaune, buoyed by this advice, thanks Ren and Pyrrha and rushes off to talk with Weiss.

Nora Valkyrie, who had overheard the conversation, tells a downcast Pyrrha to "practice what you preach." That night, Jaune goes to ask Weiss to the dance, but he is crestfallen when he sees Weiss already asking Neptune Vasilias to accompany her. He leaves, defeated.

Meanwhile, Yang and Blake talk alone in an empty classroom. Blake is still unwilling to stop her efforts in finding and stopping Torchwick and the White Fang, despite the protestations of her teammates. Yang tells her that she doesn't need to stop, merely slow down, and not let her obsession take over her life. Yang then speaks about her youth.

Yang and Ruby grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale, while their father was a teacher at Signal Academy and their mother, a Huntress, would take on missions. One day, though, Summer didn't return from a mission, leaving Yang, Ruby and their father utterly heartbroken. However, Yang then reveals that Ruby and Yang's father had in fact lost another lover once before: Yang's actual biological mother, who had left shortly after her birth under mysterious circumstances. Yang became obsessed with finding her mother, to the extent that it took over her life entirely. One day, as a child, intent to follow a possible lead, Yang journeyed out with Ruby to a remote area, where they are unexpectedly attacked by Grimm. Exhausted from the journey, Yang was powerless to fight back, and both sisters would have died if not for the timely intervention of their uncle Qrow Branwen, who killed the beasts and saved the pair.

Yang confides that she still continues her search, but does not recklessly let her obsession drive her life, and urges Blake to do the same and calm down for just one night. Blake still resists, causing Yang to become angered. Yang claims that in her current state, Blake wouldn't be able to fight her, let alone Torchwick. Yang hugs Blake and asks her to slow down, not just for herself, but for the people she cares about. Yang then promises her a dance. Blake softens and agrees to slow down, following up on her partner's proposition.

On the day of the dance, Yang, Weiss and Ruby are overjoyed to see that Blake has decided to attend. Blake and Yang share a dance before she hands her over to her date, Sun Wukong. Satisfied that their mission has been accomplished, Yang and Weiss dash off to "have fun", leaving Ruby alone until Ozpin approaches her. Ruby declares that she doesn't like dancing, but Ozpin notes the similarities between dancing and fighting, before concluding that events like this help to keep the bonds between friends strong.

Just then, the last few visitors arrive - Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black.

Trivia

 * This episode was the first episode announced that Monty himself did not animate.
 * The shampoo that Ren holds, Samurai Shampoo, is a reference to the anime Samurai Champloo.
 * During the dance, there are a pair of DJs who appear to be modeled after French electronic music duo Daft Punk.
 * When Mercury and Emerald arrive in their formal attire, their outfits' colors resemble the colors of the Red vs. Blue antagonists Locus and Felix.
 * Blake's feline side is further explored with the laser trick (as she is part cat, she is intrigued by the laser).
 * The song that plays over the ending credits is called "Dream Come True".
 * Younger Yang's pigtails in the flashback sequence are a reference to her voice actor, Barbara Dunkelman, who also had pigtails when she was younger.
 * The song Nora is listening to on her headphones is the track "Gold" from Volume 1.
 * The text on the chalkboard at 6:10 (enlarged) is an extract from a poem about Huginn and Muninn, two ravens from Norse mythology. The text supposedly reads:
 * Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth.
 * I fear for Hugin, that he not come back, yet more anxious am I for Munin.