User blog:AK151/The End of the Beginning: Rundown, Analysis, and Speculation

Welp, I've been away for a long time (not that I actually did much while I was here). However, I really wanted to do a write-up for this, the finale of RWBY's third volume (I guess this could be considered the ending of the introduction to the series). So, without further ado, let's begin.

The Intro: Ozpin vs. Cinder

Prior to this episode, chapter 10 had my favorite opening scene: the soft, *ahem*, grim music, coupled with the muted destruction and Ruby's horrified expression as everything crumbles was brilliantly done. However, the short seconds we get of Ozpin and Cinder fighting easily trump that.

The best part about this fight is there's no introduction and no build-up. We enter in the middle (or perhaps the end?) of a furious battle between gods. We know that the Maidens wield extraordinary power, but we also figured that Ozpin had something up his sleeve. And that is made very clear during their momentary clashes. For the first time we feel like spectators witnessing something beyond us. The fight with Amber hinted at that, with the peons fighting someone with godlike power, but this is something else. We don't see a snippet of Ozpin first showing off his power and Cinder looking all surprised at his abilities. We just see them going at each other with everything they've got, not holding back in the slightest. And that's e xactly what I'd expect from this fight. The way each hit landed with the music was fantastically done, and the whole scene was, in a word, brilliant.



And it's all we see of that fight. That's probably the best part: they didn't drag it out, show us too much, and make it a big part of the episode. It is, but it's beyond anything our current characters are capable of even comprehending. It's for this reason that I believe that Ozpin is still alive and kicking. We'll see him fight again, and when we do, we'll have much more insight into his abilities, but that won't be for a long while. But let's move on.

Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha

I really liked the whole evacuation scene. Ruby shows up and she's horrified, once again, at the state of things, what with Blake skewered and Yang... disarmed (I am so sorry). Sun's understandably frantic, trying to get everyone to leave; Ren and Nora are wounded, Yang's in no shape to fight, and the girl he likes is stabbed through the gut. No wonder he's taking control and is so adamant about their retreat. But Ruby and Weiss aren't having it, not as long as Jaune and Pyrrha are unaccounted for. They're huntresses. It's their job to help people, no matter the cost. That's the decision they made when they joined Beacon academy. Sun calls them reckless idiots, but we can't really expect anything else.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha have just escaped the tower. In chapter 11, I expected Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood to throw down with the dragon, but as I thought about it, that grew less and less feasible. Jaune tries to get ahold of Glynda while trying to get an explanation out of Pyrrha, but there's simply no time as Cinder rockets up to the top of the tower, apparently having beaten Ozpin. Jaune's shocked, but Pyrrha knows what she has to do. Without a moment's hesitation she tells Jaune to leave and get help, and he naturally objects. So she kisses him. It was at this point I started tearing up, not only because we get to see the culmination of a relationship that's been in the making since the beginning of the show, but also because we get to see the end of a relationship that's been in the making since the beginning of the show. At that moment, I was about ninety-percent sure that Jaune would never see Pyrrha again. She tosses him in a locker (good callback to volume 1) and shoots him away, steeling herself and entering the tower, boosting herself up to confront Cinder once and for all and face her destiny.

Shoutout to Miles Luna for his voice acting during the call with Weiss afterwards. He really does have that perfect mix of panic, heartbreak, frustration, helplessness, and desperation. Well done, Miles. Well done.

Cinder and the Dragon

This'll be a short little bit about the... exchange between Cinder and the massive Grimm dragon that really hasn't done (and won't do) jack-all aside from spawn baby Grimm. It's interesting, because we all thought that the Grimm were just a distraction for Cinder to get Amber's power, but it turns out that the Grimm are also an integral part of the plan. Cinder proclaims that the tower is the dragon's new home in a comforting voice, as if she were a mother to a child, and proceeds to ignite a flame in her palm. She was about to do something. I have no idea what it was, but before she has a chance to do it, she's interrupted.

PvC

Geez, this fight might actually be my favorite of the volume (and maybe of the season). It's not just the crisp animation, because the battle between Neo and Yang in No Brakes and the fight between Mercury and Yang in Fall had those things as well. Everything's been building up to this point, and this is the culmination. But that's not it either. What makes this battle so great for me is the fact that we finally get to see Pyrrha fight seriously. If you think about it, this is the first time she does so. Against the Deathstalker in Players and Pieces she did well, but she wasn't pushed to her limits and the stakes were far lower. Against CRDL and Mercury in Extracurricular it's just a training match, and during the tournament, like she said, she's fighting with rules and guidelines, and not going up against murderers. But now she is. From the moment Pyrrha recalls Akouo and hoists Milo we know she's not holding back. That look of determined desperation on her face as she faces down someone she's certain she has no chance against says pretty much everything, and kudos to the animators for that.

And to her credit, Pyrrha puts up a hell of a fight. I'm willing to bet that if she had gotten Amber's powers, she could've been a proper challenge for Cinder, because as it is, she holds her ground really well. We finally see why she's hyped up as the best fighter Beacon has to offer, because she lands some really good hits on what amounts to basically a god. And we know she doesn't care about herself anymore. She's had plenty of opportunities to back down and escape, but she just keeps on fighting. Sure, Cinder's probably either holding back and messing around, exhausted from fighting Ozpin, or both, but at this point it doesn't matter. Pyrrha has the sheer skill to keep up with Cinder, even for a brief time; Cinder may have the raw power, but it may be that in terms of combat capability, Pyrrha can match her. After Cinder shattered Akouo part of me thought the fight was over. But Pyrrha kept going, using everything she had. That's why I loved this fight: we've seen our characters go all-out before, but this is something different, because Pyrrha's not fighting for survival; she's given that up, and so have we. We know she's probably going to die, as plot armor's rarer and weaker than we first thought. Pyrrha'ss just trying to do as much damage as she can, and she's shattering all of our expectations to do so. She believes in destiny, and hers is to protect the world. And that's what she does, right up until the end.

Even with just Milo she gets some good hits on Cinder, using the debris of Ozpin's office to knock her around. However, as with all good things, it must end. Cinder blasts back Pyrrha's attack and finally depletes her aura, and that's when things get tense: she's vulnerable now. We cut to Ruby and Weiss fighting Grimm, and we get another callback as Weiss creates a line of glyphs up the tower for Ruby to scale. Our hero wastes no time and rushes up, but not quickly enough. Cinder fires an arrow and Pyrrha launches her shield. For a moment it looks like the arrow'll get deflected, but it comes apart and reforms after passing Milo, striking Pyrrha in her Achilles tendon, naturally. She's done. Cinder taunts her with some holier-than-thou stuff and Pyrrha asks if she believes in destiny. Why? I'm not sure. I thought she was going to do something, but she doesn't. Maybe she was going to say something else, but Cinder's reply, that she does, was a curveball for her. In any case, I get Lord of the Rings flashbacks as Cinder draws an arrow back at point-blank range. At this point, one of two things will happen: either Pyrrha will die, or Ruby will come in and save her just in time. When the scene cuts to Ruby getting to the top of the tower, music silent, I knew which one was going to happen.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Cinder lets loose her arrow, hitting Pyrrha dead-center. For a moment the scene just lingers on Pyrrha's pained, almost shocked, expression as she raggedly struggling for breath. It really is a terrible sight. First Penny dies, and now Pyrrha. Cinder walks up and from the looks of things disintegrates our redheaded hero, leaving nothing but her headdress. Some people are saying she's still alive and teleported elsewhere. I'm disinclined to believe that. Not for any particular reason, mind you. I just think she's dead. Miles and Kerry, I feel, are done pulling punches. Maybe she's still alive, but I would not hold my breath. People thought Roman was still alive when that Griffon swallowed him whole, but I'm pretty much certain he's dead as well at this point. So, with that, Pyrrha Nikos scatters to the wind after a shockingly tremendous display of skill and a last stand for the ages. But now it's fifteen-year-old Ruby against Cinder Fall and a massive Grimm dragon.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Ruby Ex Machina

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I've gotta hand it to poor, poor Ruby. She's been through a lot of hell this volume. Sure, everyone has, but let's think about this. Her sister gets ostracized for attacking someone in cold blood, even though she would never do such a thing. Then one of her closest friends gets completely eviscerated. She still holds it together, going lone-wolf and taking on Neo and Torchwick. She gets completely wrecked during that fight, and Torchwick beats her quite brutally. She still walks away from it victorious through a bit of luck, determined to see this through. Then she sees two of her friends wounded, her teammate with a stab wound through the gut, and her sister unconscious, her arm cut off. She's shaken, but she's still going to find Jaune and Pyrrha. She fights hard with Weiss to get to Beacon, and without a moment's hesitation charges up the tower to probably face death itself. When she gets to the top, she watches another friend, someone she's grown close to, get shot in the chest with an arrow and die. And she finally snaps.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I've read some complaints that this was a bit too much of an Ex Machina moment, and pretty much an ass-pull because the writers wrote themselves into a corner. That's one perspective, I suppose. I don't really see it that way. I wasn't too surprised when it happened, but here's the thing: what Ruby did provided a temporary solution, and nothing more. It didn't really solve anything. It just gave everyone the chance to escape. I think they were able to make it quite clear that whatever power Ruby has she doesn't know how to tap into. She doesn't even remember using it. It'll come into play later and it'll be an interesting plot point to pursue, but Ruby's got a long way to go before she becomes truly overpowered. And, as I said before, the problems are still there. The Grimm dragon hasn't been destroyed. It's just frozen. Ruby basically did nothing more than buy time. The fact that Beacon is still a hellhole is a testament to the fact that Ruby may have used this power, but she in no way saved the day. In the end, they still lost Beacon, Pyrrha died, Ozpin went missing, Yang's arm is off, the kingdoms are on the brink of war, and everything's going downhill.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">And I also really like the fact that for the first time since the series started, we see Cinder panic. Ever since her introduction she's been in complete control. When she fought Amber, despite the Maiden's formidible power and impressive display, she never looks anything but confident. She always has a plan and she's always accounted for every variable. When Qrow interrupts their attempt to steal Amber's power, it's a setback, but nothing more; she can adapt easily, shown by the elaborate plan she came up with to correct her failure. She never shows real frustration or shock or even anger. Scorn? Yes. Superiority? Absolutely. But we have never seen her in a situation where her plans have gone so awry that she can't recalculate in response to the problem. And she panics. It's sheer shock and anger, and it's beautiful, because we finally see Cinder outplayed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The Aftermath

<p style="font-weight:normal;">After Ruby does her thing, we fast forward after hearing Qrow talk with someone else about the poor state of things. Then we come to Ruby, who wakes up to see Taiyang, now with one more dimension, napping next to her. First impressions of him? Well, people have already grouped Ozpin, Ironwood, Glynda, and Qrow into the "Wizard of Oz" category, where each one represents a character from that little group. Taiyang? He seems to be the cowardly lion. He seems pretty happy and go-lucky, but that's just the surface. You can tell by the exchange he has with Ruby, and then with Qrow, that he doesn't want to keep moving forward. He wants his kids to stay at home with him where they'll be safe, because he doesn't want to lose anyone else. When Ruby asks him about what she did at the tower, he brushes the question aside because he doesn't want her thinking about how to use her newfound power to fight against their new enemies. He's also reluctant for Qrow to talk to Ruby alone because he knows that he'll set her on a path to hunt down Cinder's allies. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but that's sort of what I got out of it. He also goes into a bit of a panic when Ruby leaves (it's noteworthy that she didn't tell him her plans; he probably would've tried to stop her somehow).

<p style="font-weight:normal;">As for Ruby, I don't even know where to start with the silver eyes. When I first saw what she did, I instantly figured she had the latent powers of the Winter Maiden, passed on to her by her mother. After all, it's never really explained if Maidens are inherently aware of their power. We've also seen what they look like when they really exert themselves, and they have the same light designs stemming from their eyes that Ruby did. As for why she's the Winter Maiden? Well, she froze everything around her. But then Qrow comes in talking about the silver eyes and the story behind them. Maybe that's what Ruby's strange powers come from: a hereditary strength, something perhaps even stronger than the power the Maidens possess. I don't know. We'll doubtless get more information about that at a later point. However, the important thing that Qrow does (and also what Taiyang probably explicitly feared) is hint at Cinder's (or her allies') location in Haven, setting Ruby on her path. She's got direction and purpose now. Time to reassemble the team. Though that's going to be more difficult than expected...

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Yang Xiao-Long Branwen

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Yang's in a bit of a state (and I know her last name isn't Branwen; read on for why I made that choice). Her development's just beginning, though. When we met our loveable berserker she was really upbeat, with a flair for the dramatic and a thirst for adventure. The events of Fall really hit her pretty hard, but she didn't let that keep her down too much. But after everything that happened? Not just losing her arm, but losing Penny, Pyrrha, Ozpin, and Beacon, not to mention failing to protect one of her closest friends when she was in danger? Add to that that the previously mentioned closest friend ran off without even a hint of an explanation, and Yang's lost a lot of her faith in people. I don't know how they're going to handle Yang's character development from here, but there are two things I am very certain are going to happen.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The first alludes to the title of this section: Yang will become much more like her mother, with a more jaded and cynical view of the world. She'll probably become more hostile, and she might even become a bit of a loner. I read some speculation that they may take the opposite approach, with Yang emulating Taiyang and sort of shutting down whereas Blake becomes more like Raven, seeing as how she's gone off on her own already, but I don't think that's the case. My main reasoning here is that every time we've had a moment with Yang this volume, it's been accompanied by a melancholic reprise of I Burn, her theme. It's a pretty prevalent tune this volume, as Yang has a lot of screentime. However, there was an interesting change this episode: the motif that plays during Yang's scenes isn't a reprise of I Burn. It's the theme that plays when Raven first made her exit after saving Yang, a tune I associate strongly with her character. Because of that change, I think that Yang will change to more reflect her mother in terms of personality.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The other thing that's going to happen? At some point, Yang's going to become the Fall Maiden. The most prevalent piece of evidence is the falling autumn leaf (the same one that reminded Pyrrha about the choice she needed to make in chapter 8) in chapter 12, but that's not what first tipped me off about that future development. No, what first made me think that Yang would become the Fall Maiden was Amber's death and Yang's dismemberment. It's interesting that they made the choice to have those two events occur simultaneously. Maybe they did that because it worked really well pacing-wise, but I don't think that's just it. They show the shot of Amber dying from Cinder's arrow, and then cut to Yang landing after getting her arm sliced off. While the entireties of both scenes are symbolic those two bits were what drew my attention. It may be coincidence, but it's also an interesting connection. When you think about it, that blow that Adam deals is what destroys any innocence Yang still had. The happy, upbeat person she was essentially dies after that. That's why her theme gets replaced by Raven's. It's a mirror of Amber's own death. Because of that, I think there's a connection and Yang will somehow end up with the Fall Maiden's powers in time. First she has to get out of the rut she's in.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Blake and Weiss

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Not much to say here. Blake went off on her own to protect her teammates from Adam. She realized after Yang lost her arm that as long as she's around the team, she'll place them in constant danger as Adam hunts down her and those close to her. So she leaves, to keep them from having to face her problems. It's what she's always done, setting out on her own and running away. I don't know what they're going to do with her, but her reunion with Yang, the one most hurt by her departure, should be interesting. As for Weiss, I feel for her, because I can imagine how reluctant she was to leave. I expect she'll find a way to sneak away from her father's protection. Either that or use her position to try to get the word out regarding what happened. The former will probably be more likely, as it's not particularly convincing for an heiress to an Atlesian dynasty to try and convince the world that her country didn't declare war on Vale and attack in conjunction with the Grimm, considering the damning footage Mercury was able to gather. We'll just have to see.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Fast Forward

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The autumn leaf that falls in front of Yang gets covered in winter snow as time passes. What happened during that time? I have no idea. However, the shot at the end where Ruby visits her mother's grave with JNR actually gave me a thought: it was during this time lapse that the Red trailer takes place. Think about it. The Ruby we see in volume 1 doesn't seem nearly as skilled as the Ruby we got in the Red trailer. We don't know when they're supposed to take place. Some are more obvious in when they were set, such as Weiss' and Blake's. But Yang and Ruby have a bit of ambiguity with the timing of their trailers. It's conceivable that Ruby snuck out one day to visit Summer's grave alone and she ended up waylaid by a pack of Beowolves, which she dispatched pretty much effortlessly (it's worth noting that she could've also had some more tutoring in scythe combat from her uncle, as he probably stayed at the Xiao-Long residence, considering it's basically their safe house). Then again, that's pure speculation, and while it's not really relevant to the current conversation, it's a cool idea to toss around. Just a thought I had. I could've very well missed some sort of interview response where they confirmed that the trailers all occur prior to the series.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">But back to what we know. Ruby looks like she's sneaking out, and with her in front of the house are Jaune, Nora, and Ren. I can guess that those three are rearing for some payback of their own, considering how close they were to Pyrrha. We'll probably get some more development for Nora and Ren, and I think we'll finally get to see Jaune come into his own as a fighter. He's got a lot invested in this hunt, as he was certainly the one closest to Pyrrha prior to her death. So the four set out, two wounded teams coming together with what they've got left to set things as straight as they can. People were tossing around team names, and I think I'll settle for RJNR (or RNJR). It's close-ish to "ranger" and it makes a bit of sense regarding name placement: Ruby's not replacing Pyrrha on JNPR. Let's be honest, she's the one leading this group, and she certainly seems to be the one with the most agency. They're off to hunt down their enemies in Haven. How will they do in that regard? Well, we'll have to find out.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The Salem Witch



<p style="font-weight:normal;">Our final narration rounds off what I call the introduction to RWBY. I remember reading somewhere that a volume does not equate to a season in RWBY. With that being said, I think the conclusion of volume 3 is analogous to the conclusion of season 1 of RWBY, especially given how we started and ended with narration from Jen Taylor. This time, we learn once and for all that she is certainly the main villain, our illusive "queen", and Ozpin's foil. Is she talking directly to Ozpin in her narration? Quite possibly. He may have been spirited away to her somehow. She may also be talking to thin air, in the same way one would when they suspect that their enemies may be listening. However, the former may be more likely, as this narration of hers seems to be a continuation of the narration in our very first episode; that was a direct conversation between Salem and Ozpin. The only thing that throws me off is her saying she can't wait to watch Ozpin burn. If he's there, why not go ahead and burn him? Perhaps the two of them are essentially locked in a game of chess, so to speak, playing not directly against each other but with pawns of their own, trying to constantly outwit and outplay one-another. If that's the case, things should be incredibly interesting. I also read some speculation that Salem resembles the Winter Maiden from the World of Remnant about the Maidens. Why do I think that she is certainly not a Maiden of any sort? The Maidens have no association with the Grimm, first off, and Salem certainly does in some regard. Add to that that she's Ozpin's foil, and I think that whatever power Ozpin has surpasses that of the Maidens; I simply don't think we're dealing with anything as small as a rogue Maiden. I feel like even the Maidens alone could be considered insects compared to our big bad.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">As for her endgame, she seems to want all of the Maiden powers. Apparently she views them as her belongings, so perhaps they stemmed from her. That could imply that she's the wizard in the old stories. Either that or she has some connection with the wizard. If we're going back to the chess analogy, perhaps she wants the powers of the Maidens because when united they could finally destroy Ozpin? I don't know, but I get the feeling that all of this amounts to a one-on-one battle of wits between our Wizard of Oz and the Salem Witch. I'm probably completely wrong, but we'll see. It's always fun to speculate.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Other Stuff

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Not much else comes to mind. Qrow transforming into a crow was interesting, and could explain how he's so good at gathering intel and scouting. Also opens up the implication that Raven has the same power, and if that's the case, she may be watching Yang more closely than we thought. However, there's still a lot about Raven we don't know (for example, where her powers come from and what exactly she's capable of. Could she be the Summer or Spring Maiden?). I don't think she'll turn out to be a villain for the simple reason that Qrow and Raven still stay in contact. Sure, Raven could be playing him, but somehow I doubt that, as Qrow probably knows his sister well enough to see through deceptions like that, and he's cynical enough to not fall for the whole "she's too good to turn evil" mentality.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I'm not sure where they'll go with the dragon Grimm and the fact that Beacon's a hotbed of Grimm activity. Is Cinder frozen there as well? Quite possibly, and if that's the case, we'll either need a new villain, or we'll be following Emerald and Mercury, who'll probably be pretty aimless without Cinder to guide them. If Cinder's still out there, she's going to be dealing with a handful now that she's got Ruby and Jaune gunning for her. I expect she'll also be more than a little upset at Ruby for actually interfering to an impressive degree in her plans. At some point the group will probably come back and try to retake Beacon, but I feel like that's going to be a long way off.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">All in all, I have no idea where the plot's going to go. I have some more speculation, but this is already long enough. I'll save it for another day, as I've hopefully spewed enough stuff for people to mull over for at least a little while. If I missed anything, or if you disagree with something I've noted, feel free to discuss. Until next time, good day!