User blog:BenRG/Predicting Episode 13

Predicting Episode 13 is not going to be easy, but there are clues to be had. Even though there really was no clue from the end of Episode 12 as to where tonight's episode is going to go, I argue that there might be a pattern to learn from the character interaction arc between Ruby and Weiss.

The Ruby/Weiss Relationship Arc
When we look at the run between Episodes 2 and 10, we can see a certain progression of the relationship between Ruby and Weiss. It goes something like this: The thing to remember is that by the end of The Badge and The Burden, Part 2, the situation between Ruby and Weiss is not resolved. They are shown as working towards resolving it and making an effort to address the other's reasonable complaints. However, it isn't fixed yet.
 * The Shining Beacon - Ruby and Weiss meet for the first time and get off on the wrong foot... disastrously;
 * The First Step - Ruby and Weiss are thrown together in the Initiation and their relationship ony gets worse;
 * The Emerald Forest - Ruby and Weiss are only bit players here but their relationship continues to decay towards outright mutual hatred;
 * Players and Pieces - Ruby and Weiss come to a detente of sorts, admitting to each other their motives and learning to work together effectively;
 * The Badge and Burden - Ruby and Weiss are both forced to confront their own mistakes and mis-steps and are both shown as making progress to resolve their issues.

It is my argument that we may be able to fit Jaune's self-discovery arc into the same general stereotype.

The Jaune Arc Self-Discovery Arc
As with Ruby and Weiss, Jaune has been on a journey to confront his misdemeanours and mistakes. The pattern is repeated but somewhat stretched out as the primary focus of episodes 2 to 8 is Ruby and Weiss. It's my view that we are at approximately the same place that Ruby and Weiss were at the end of The First Step, in terms of Jaune's arc (no pun intended). If I'm right, then we can actually make some kind of prediction about tonight's episode and even those to come.
 * The Emerald Forest - We see that Jaune lacks even the basic knowledge of the skills and tools a Hunter should have.
 * Jaundice - Jaune confesses the full scale of his inadequacy to Pyrrha and, in the process, ends up being blackmailed by Cardin ;

It is my guess that Jaune's ongoing tribulations will be a secondary element in tonight's episode (which will be continued next week). However, it will follow the Ruby/Weiss stereotype by having the situation reach its absolute nadir. Perhaps Jaune will be forced to turn his back on Velvet or even close friends who are victimised by Cardin because of his fear of exposure and this threatens to destroy his relationship with his team. It should be intersting to see what his equivalent is of Ruby's absolute blind fury that led her (in a display of Aura-enhanced power that I don't think she consciously noticed) to cut down a tree with a single blow.

I suspect that Episode 15 will be a double-length episode and it may have some of the character development elements of Players and Pieces in terms of Jaune's self-belief and behaviour. He'll be forced to take positive steps, both by confessing his actions to his friends and by accepting help from others. Of course, that will also require that he confesses to Professor Ozpin. We could see Jaune's confession to Ozpin sandwiched in at the end of episode 15 or at the beginning of episode 16 before the team moves on to the primary plot.

It is possible that the volume-ender will have elements of The Badge and the Burden, but that isn't automatically necessary. That said, it would be nice to have one scene of him practicing with the rest of Team JNPR and/or warning Cardin off from bullying other students. However, I think that the "I've Been an Ass and Now I'm Moving On" episode might fit well into Volume 2 if, as I have been predicting, it focusses almost entirely on The Vytal Festival. Maybe Pyrrha may choose to give Jaune some one-on-one tuition after all!

As For Tonight...
If I'm right, Jaune and his tribulations will be a secondary element to what happens over the next two weeks. However, if he is an element at all, it will almost certainly involve the treatment of Velvet Scarletina. If she is still being discriminated against and, indeed, actively persecuted for her race, it might provoke a response from her fellow Faunus.

Tonight and next week, we might just get our first solid evidence about the identity and background of Blake Belladonna...