User blog:Hidden Scorpius XI/My impressions on "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back" (V4-E9)

Well, my good mood streak is over now. Got rushed up this morning, had to do a lot of annoying s**t this morning, and my headphones snapped in half.

Let's get this over with.

(As a random, drunk parenthesis: Did you remember Birdie? What if it was Qrow? OAO. XD) Well, this was a nice episode. Infuriating in some parts (on purpose most of the times, so Kudos), and the quiet scenes are well done. I feel like Merry has really improved in making slow, quiet scenes work out alright. However, we've yet to see if they can make those scenes add up in the end, which is the main issue that they have.
 * We open with our favorite Blondie sparring with Taiyang. Brawler Tai confirmed.
 * HOLY SHIT! Zwei has Scleras... and stubby legs with no fingers... The Uncanniness is confuzled
 * Thanks to exposition, we know that they've been doing that for a whole week. The balance thing would make sense, sorta.
 * Yang didn't have any issues adapting to her new arm... That's kinda Mary Sue-ish, isn't it?
 * Whoah! Dirty Move. Referee!
 * Okay, Zwei looks extremely weird now.
 * "Let me list down all this performance flaws that I also had at some point."
 * ... Yeouch! It's gotta hurt that Yang was just called a crybaby.
 * Okay, this exposition works, because Yang clearly needs the reality-check. That is actually a commendable use of the trope. Congrats Merry.
 * Asking for Yang to be smarter in a fight. Yeah, good luck with that.
 * Oooh, quiet drama moment.
 * Nope. I have nothing snarky to say. This is a very well done scene, adressing the virtues and flaws of Raven, as well as regarding the ways to approach problems. I have no critique that I could put in this blog.
 * Can I say that the arm looks kinda creepy?
 * Yang wins. Big surprise.
 * Back with Weiss! She's managing Deliberate Sum~ OH F**K YOU SHOEHORN!
 * F**k you so much.
 * Shoehorn's Aura is not unlocked. Meaning he can be made quick work of.
 * My god, the hate-sink is strong with Shoehorn.
 * Weiss, don't you see? He's gonna tell on you! He doesn't need a door to the nose!
 * ... Forget it, you told on yourself with that broken window.
 * Forget it, she's ready to put her plan in action... whatever it is.
 * Back with Blake! She's in hot pursue of the spy.
 * So, ever since last week, People were claiming that she's either "Ilia" and a Chameleon-Type Faunus. Knowing the show's streak with guesses regarding character identities... I swear, I can't be the only one who hates that of the show.
 * "Why are you watching me?" ... Seriously? You mistrust the Fang, yet you feel compelled to ask that question?
 * ... Dammit, internet ruined me.
 * Okay, I need to break down this scene, because the sequence of actions bothers me:
 * Sun's clones stradle the Spy (don't think too much about it).
 * Blake stops and stares.
 * Sun prompts her to just grab the scroll.
 * Via Sun wears off.
 * The Spy stands up.
 * She takes aim.
 * Sun Warns her.
 * Blake Stops.
 * IDK why, but I think that scene was overloaded with redundancy.
 * Oh look! She's Ilia AND a Chameleon-Type Faunus! F**K YOU, MERRY!
 * Back with RNJR! (YES! First chapter that shows all four members of Team RWBY!)
 * Qrow's not dead yet. Not that that's a good thing.
 * Oh, so they lost the map? Big surprise. (Seriously, don't they have pockets to put the map away?)
 * C**p, the trail is not an easy one.
 * Ruby, the sign is scratched off (rather than just ripped down, for some reason). Do you really think that the village is still there?
 * Oh, Ren is acting serious. WAY too serious. That is bad.
 * Okay, movies are a thing in Remnant, right? Nora is suggesting the team to split up (with her pairing up with Ren). That inmediately raises a warning flag (two, by some accounts). Granted, she might have not seen many movies, so Genre Blindness is justified... Okay, that is clever. Still bad, though.
 * ... Okay, this moment. Nora suggest a sensitive, well though-throught idea, and Ren smiles in response. This speaks volumes of their relationships.
 * Bro-hugs are best hugs (and damn, Jaune is tall!)
 * Jaune has become a huge pessimist, hasn't he?
 * Oh damn. Wherever Jaune and Ruby are headed, whatever it is that leaves that large symbol on the ground (even though it only leaves one mark, making it very hard to believe those are footprints) is also there...
 * Here's to those few characters that still lack a last name. Ilia Amitola isn't one of them.