Best Day Ever

"Best Day Ever" is the seventeenth episode of RWBY, and the first episode of Volume 2. It was first shown during the first day of the fourth RTX on July 4th, 2014, and it premiered online on July 24th, 2014.

Summary
The episode starts off in Vale, where the owner of From Dust Till Dawn is seen reopening his store after the repairs are finished, following the events of the recent robbery in "Ruby Rose". While lowering himself down the ladder he used to put up the opening sign, he falls and is helped up by Emerald Sustrai. She shows him an address, inquiring as to where it is, stating that she's "not really from around here".

After getting the directions, she heads off only to be stopped by Mercury Black, who accuses her of being lost. Emerald tells him that she will pay him to shut him up using money from a stolen wallet, but he refuses so he can keep teasing her. Angry at his remarks, she tosses out the wallet she stole, but keeps the money while Mercury follows behind her.

The duo then moves towards their destination, while Mercury complains on how Vale is dull, but Emerald states she likes it. After a bit of teasing, Mercury states that Emerald is no fun due to her hints of anger. They soon arrive at Tukson's Book Trade, where they meet the owner, Tukson, after they ring the bell. Emerald asks him if he has certain books while Mercury continues to open and loudly close books behind her before asking if he has any comics. When Emerald asks for a book called Third Crusade and Tukson says he doesn't have it, their tone completely shifts from one of curiosity, to something more tense.

Emerald explains that she knows he is planning on leaving while Mercury begins to dim the windows of the store. She explains that his brothers in the White Fang wouldn't be happy to hear about his leaving and neither are they. When she gets him to admit that he knows who they are and why they are there, he tries to fight back by extending his claws and leaping at them from his desk. However Emerald dodges his attack and Mercury lands a kick while Tukson is helpless in mid-air. The scene then cuts to Mercury and Emerald leaving the store, with Mercury taking a comic because he likes the pictures.

Meanwhile, at Beacon, Ruby Rose meets with her team in the dining hall and drops a large book full of ideas about how they can have the best day ever before the second term starts. Meanwhile, Nora Valkyrie keeps flinging food at Yang Xiao Long, who happily eats it. As Ruby continues her speech, Yang and Nora's food fight becomes more intense until Weiss Schnee ends up getting hit in the face with a pie.

Outside the hall, Sun Wukong is talking to Neptune Vasilias about keeping his cool for when he meets his new friends. He also lets slip that Blake Belladonna is a Faunus and forces Neptune to keep it a secret, stating that it's not a "tell Scarlet when Sun's back is turned secret". However, when they enter the dining hall, all the other students run outside out of fear of being involved in a massive food fight. Sun looks around with a grin on his face, while Neptune's is one similar to shock. After the fight is over Sun shows great enjoyment at seeing the event, but Neptune is covered in grape soda and appears very unhappy. Glynda Goodwitch then bursts through the doors and uses her crop to return everything back to normal, with Yang falling back into the room soon after. Glynda is obviously frustrated at them, but Ozpin allows them to get away with it because he wants them to still enjoy their youth while it lasts.

That night, Emerald and Mercury return to Roman Torchwick's hideout at an abandoned warehouse after their mission in Vale. They are welcomed back by Roman, who teasingly hugs them and calls them kids, but uses this as an opportunity to take a slip of paper from Emerald's pocket. Having seen what was on the paper, Roman questions why they had the address to Tukson's bookstore. They explain they were taking care of Roman's problems, but he claims he had it under control, much to Mercury's disbelief. Right as Roman begins to threaten them, he is stopped by Cinder Fall, who descends from a lift. Roman stutters in response, and Cinder criticizes Roman, Mercury, and Emerald; Roman for not taking care of Tukson sooner and the other two for disobeying her order to keep their hands clean while in Vale. Emerald apologizes and says it won't happen again.

Cinder returns her attention to Roman, who in turn, explains that his hands have been full with stealing Dust. Mercury points out how Roman is just like a common thief, but Roman counters with the fact that he has the entire town scared, and that he would be able to do better if he knew what Cinder's plans were. However Cinder refuses to tell Roman of her future plans, only mentioning that they're finished stealing Dust and are moving to the second phase of her plan. She tells Roman to have the White Fang move the Dust to another location before leaving with Emerald and Mercury. As Roman goes to light his cigar, he finds that Emerald has stolen it.

Trivia

 * When Weiss had a pie thrown at her face, the scene switches to Team JNPR with Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune covering their eyes, mouth, and ear respectively. This symbolizes the speak no evil, hear no evil, and see no evil pictorial maxim, although Jaune only covered one ear rather than both.
 * Right before the food fight, Ruby points at Team JNPR the same way Phoenix Wright does from the Ace Attorney series whenever he performs an objection.




 * During the food fight scene, several of the vending machines used in the barricade, as well as many of the cans flung about, have "People Like Grapes" printed on their front. This is a reference to a famous quote by Gavin Free, which is also used on a popular Rooster Teeth shirt.
 * Other food products include "Dr. Piper" (likely a reference to Dr. Pepper, as well as a likely reference to Peter Piper), "Ol' King Cold" (a reference to Old King Cole), and a milk carton called "Udder Satisfaction".
 * This episode contains many references to Rooster Teeth's other popular show, Red vs. Blue.
 * When Emerald and Mercury return to the White Fang hideout, Emerald refers to Tukson as a rat. Mercury corrects her and calls him a cat, causing Emerald to question if he was like a puma. This is a reference to the second episode of Red vs. Blue, when the Reds obtain a Warthog and Grif says it looks like a puma.
 * When Mercury and Emerald walk into Tukson's Book Trade, Tukson can be heard humming Red vs. Blue's theme, Blood Gulch Blues.
 * Yang's flying through the roof and falling down when the action is done is a reference to the Red vs. Blue episode "My House, From Here". Caboose steps on a landmine, causing him to fly high and doesn't reappear until later.
 * Roman's description of himself as a professional echoes a similar statement made by Locus, who is also voiced by Gray G. Haddock.
 * Ruby, when explaining her plans to have the best day ever, references famous statements made by figures in American history.
 * Her speech, "Four score and seven minutes ago", starts similarly to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, "Four score and seven years ago..".
 * This line also references the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, as in the movie, Abraham Lincoln says "four score and seven minutes ago" towards the end of the film.
 * When Weiss accuses Ruby of stealing her binder, Ruby says that she is not a crook; a statement made by Richard Nixon.
 * She also referenced Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
 * Nora saying "Off with their heads" is a reference to the Queen from Alice in Wonderland.
 * Nora's boo at Yang's pun is a reference to how people respond to the puns made by Barbara Dunkelman, often getting groans and boos from others.
 * When Ren strikes the tables after getting tripped up by Weiss' ketchup puddle, a bowling pin sound can be heard when he makes impact. This noise is also hidden in the episode "Black and White" when Penny Polendina knocks down a group of White Fang members. It is a running gag done by one of the sound editors.
 * Originally, the RWBY crew considered including a shot after Mercury and Emerald leave Tukson's store, wherein the audience is given a view of Tukson's blood spattered on a wall inside the store.