Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-34633327-20171208180706/@comment-92.112.3.98-20171212074605

2001:8A0:D21E:3301:AD2E:C96E:E038:1323 wrote:

Also, RT may have a problem with Show vs Tell, but honestly, I think the bigger problem is even as far as talking goes, they're not telling much that we didn't already know. "Just because you're talking doesn't mean you're communicating".

I don't know all criticisms done to the show and I have seen some that I definitely don't agree with, but recognizing which ones will be appropriate (and when) for your story is also part of a writer's job. For example, someone here mentioned Pyrrha's family and I think they have no place in the story unless they actually play a role in it - we don't need to see how they are handling her death - we don't know them, therefore that would mean nothing to us. To me, including them is an awful advice, but let's imagine many agree with that person and the writers read that point. Now they can think how they would react themselves if they were shown characters they've never met grieving. Considering they probably watched animes, series, movies or read books before, I'd guess they don't even have to imagine, they can recall what that experience was like and decide if it would be a good idea to include that in their story or not. My two cents here: revealing someone's backstory/rising some traumatic experience should not be done just through talking. It worked with Blake and Yang in V2 because, you know, it was some kind of sharing experience: "I know what you feel - once I came through it too". V4 was supposed to be the volume dedicated to RWBY girls overcoming the events of Fall of Beacon. They are completely different personalities and they have different traumatic experience. They should not react the same way. But they all did - Yang was telling that she's not OK to Tai, Blake, about her self-isolation - to Sun, Weiss - to her father and some random people from that party. Rwby, in V5 - to Oscar. I really think it's a bad thing. RT tend to tell such things directly - they don't let the audience judge and make conclusions themselves.

My personal opinion is that such things should be shown - through caharcters' reaction, through their interaction with different characters. And it was not done properly.

Let's take Yang. She tends to deny the problems. Why not to make her smth like: "I don't need some stupid metal hand to feel better, I'm fine! I'm totally fine!" - with the nightmaires she has every night it could look edgy and make a better impact on the audience. She may also reject Tai's help: "WTF are you even doing here - go after Ruby! I'm fine - I have always been fine! When mom left, when Summer died you didn't give a fuck - what changed now?"

Blake was called "paranoid" once, at the beginning of V4 - but the way it was shown was rather stupid (she grabs her weapon with no reason). And the most problematic thing is that we don't see anything that is connected with her running away at the end of V3. Show that she doesn't sleep (reference to V2) not to see nightmares about Adam killing Yang. Show her walking on deck in the evening - with no much people nearby. Let the captain snuck up behind her, scare her with sudden talking, ending with: "Really, dear, you'd better make a walk in the daylight - the sea looks better in it's highlighting". Then show Sun in that robe. Then show Blake taking captains advise and walking on deck in the daylight - probably the first time during her trip - and, damn, let her catch Sun. Then they may be interrupted by Sea Dragon and fight him. In the end make Blake push Sun away a little, telling him to leave her alone and come back to Mistral. Make them argue: " - I'm not going to leave you this way - you're not OK! - You'd better be. I don't need a company. - Well, I'm already on the ship, so I can't leave. - We'll come to Menagerie soon. You can take another ship there. - Menagerie! Always wanted to visit it!" - it's far better that slapping him. And in this way Sun's injury and Blake's final dialogue about "this is why I left them all behind" could look so much better.

I can make the same with Weiss and Ruby. The thing is... I don't know. It looks loke RT are too afraid to show their main cast in a negative way. And it's not right. Show your characters reacting - not making some stupid monologues "I suffer so much, poor little me". I really feel it could be better. Anger for Yang, salf-hatred for Blake, choice for Weiss and Rwby, moving forward for those who passed. I really wanted to empathise with characters in V4-5 - but I barely could.