Hey, everyone.
This past week RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 5, "Necessary Sacrifice", was released to the masses which means we get to talk about it, unfortunately, there's not much to talk about. Before we begin however, I wanted to inform you all that I will be putting RWBY Speculation on the back burner for the time being as I focus on a new RWBY fan project. I hope to have the first part done by either tomorrow or Friday, and hopefully I can get all the way through it before the end of the Christmas season (January 6th.)
Critique
Scene 1: Signatures
What I Liked: There are very few things I liked about this scene, even if there was nothing to it to begin with. I did like Blake's explanation of the people of Menagerie and how they moved to the island because they were tired of fighting. I mostly liked it because it's world building. But what I really enjoyed was hearing Blake's perspective on how she believes the people around her embody the essences of certain words, although I never would have put Weiss under defiance. She might be defiant, but it isn't her cornerstone trait. And it is nice to see that Blake learned from her experiences with Sun that sometimes her friends are just going to care about her no matter what she does. It's just unfortunate that she's going to use the same tactic on Ilia.
What Could've Been Better: Like I said, not much happens in this scene or in this episode in general. It was pretty boring overall. But I what I really didn't like was Blake's exposition to Sun that if Adam succeeds in destroying Haven that it would be worse for the Faunus in general because it was unnecessary, and it was unnecessary for two reasons: 1. Sun already knew that, and 2. Blake is preaching to the choir. And the audience already figured that as well. Nothing about Blake's speech helped to move the story along.
Questions/Insights: So, this scene invoked two questions out of me, one silly and the other not really important. 1. How was that one Faunus swimming in the ocean with a hat on? She didn't have it tied to her head.
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| There's nothing tying that to her head! The first wave she comes against will wash it off. |
2. Why did Sun say the words "work with"? Maybe he didn't know how to phrase Blake and Adam's relationship, but to me it sounded like he was fishing for information almost as if he suspects that their relationship wasn't completely professional.
Scene 2: Rose Garden
What I Liked: This scene I didn't particularly like either, but there are things I did appreciate such as the fact that Ruby understands why and how Pyrrha and Penny died. She understands that Pyrrha died a battle she couldn't win, and perhaps a part of her wishes Pyrrha hadn't fought and maybe she's a little angry at Pyrrha for making that mistake. I like that Ruby is able to see these things because it shows growth and maturity in her character, that she isn't just a kid. I also enjoyed Ozpin's remark about Ruby's "spark." He was probably referring to her silver eyes, but the fact that he mentioned it in dialogue shows that Ruby's "spark" is going to be very important later on.
What Could've Been Better: Alright, so what could've been better? Well, for one thing they keep telling us how good Oscar is getting without showing it, and to be honest, I don't believe Oscar is that good. Another thing was I thought Oscar was too aggressive with Ruby. I don't understand why he snapped at her. Okay, so he's scared to the point of breaking down, but why is he taking it out on Ruby and why is he getting in her face about it? Are fourteen year olds just like that? Finally, I'm pretty sure I don't like Ruby and Oscar's last exchange before she heads up the stairs. For one thing, it seems out of order. She should've said that Oscar is stronger than he knows before making the Nora joke, and because the joke and comment are out of order, it seems forced.
Questions/Insights: Firstly, a few weeks?! For those of you who weren't paying attention, Oscar mentions having the cane for a "few weeks" which means he's been training for a few weeks, but to be honest, I don't believe a few weeks have passed between this episode and the first one. Maybe they should have said a few days or only a week. That I would've believed. But my real question is this: do silver eyes give people a spark, or is it that people with a spark have silver eyes? The difference being that one way, people are predisposed genetically to have sparks if they receive the DNA for silver eyes, and the other way, their personal spark merits them the silver eyes. Personally I prefer the latter because then Ruby's spark is inherent to her character rather than she just won the genetic lottery.
Scene 3: Conspiracy
What I Liked: This is the most interesting scene in the entire episode because it shed some light on Corsac and Fennec as characters, mostly that Fennec has misgivings about following Adam and Corsac is willing to do his dirty work but only insofar as Adam does what it is best for the Faunus. This means they aren't really loyal to Adam or the Fang, but rather that they are opportunists looking for the strongest leader which could be Blake some day. Think about it.
What Could've Been Better: Despite this being the best scene in the whole episode, there are still problems with it. The worst negative is the fact that Corsac and Fennec are going along with Adam's plan to have Blake's parents killed. Why is this so bad beyond the fact that it puts Blake's parents in danger? Because Ghira has already spoken out against the Fang. Regardless of how he and Kali meet their ends, if they die at any point after that press conference while the Fang are still a force to be reckoned with, it's pretty obvious who the guilty party is and people are going to start asking questions, or they're going to turn against the Fang if they haven't already. Killing the Belladonnas is the worst idea Adam could have. He should leave them alive and should abort the destruction of Haven because that way Ghira loses his credibility with the Faunus on the Menagerie and he just looks crazy. Any attempt against him will be suspicious as hell. And the other thing I didn't like was that Ghira's messenger was killed, but that's mostly just because it meant he's dead, although we never did find out who he was, which kind of feels like a cheap cop out on the part of CRWBY because this way they don't have to create a name or character design. Cheapskates.
Questions/Insights: So, this scene evokes the most pertinent story questions per this episode such as are Corsac and Fennec really loyal to the Fang? But I would really appreciate it if someone could explain to me why they act like the bloody Los Illuminados from Resident Evil 4. Why do they act like a creepy cult, and whose picture are they venerating and why? The other question I'm forced to ask is whether or not Ilia is going to take the fall for the Belladonnas death? It does sound like she'll be the means by which they'll abduct Blake, but I would honestly expect characters like Corsac and Fennec to blame the deaths of the Belladonnas on her and then denounce her as a rogue murderer. That seems more their style, especially because I don't think Ilia can take Blake and Sun. I think they're setting her up.
Next, we're forced to ask why Adam believes the Belladonnas have caused him so much grief? What did they do that was so bad, or is he just overreacting like a spoiled child with too much power? I suspect the latter. But what really gets me is that he needs to honor his promise; a promise to whom and what was it? And lastly, I'm forced to ask if Blake's parents are going to be her Pyrrha. Some of you may remember me writing an article about how I believe Sun wouldn't be the sacrifice that made Blake develop as a character just like how Pyrrha's death was the catalyst for Jaune's development. But now it looks like Blake's parents could end up being her Pyrrha instead, but I will admit that that is the perfect set-up to actually make it Sun because nobody will be expecting the bait-and-switch.
Overall, I didn't like this episode. It was pretty mundane and boring. Every scene felt like it would've been better placed if it had been tucked onto an episode with substance rather than if they had been an episode unto themselves. As a result, this episode doesn't go anywhere. In fact, the whole episode is a "transition" or a "set-up" for other points in the story to happen. Not that I'm knocking that, but it's so obvious that that is what's going on, it's painful to watch and it makes the "mixing" of RWBY, as if it were a song or album, seem like it wasn't professionally done. As a result, the whole episode comes off as one giant "Meh... here are all the things we really need to do, but we really don't want to do them, so here they all are at once." This didn't feel like a whole episode, it felt like a mini-episode. Like I said, none of the scenes here are complete scenes and would've been better off put somewhere else. This episode was this volume's first disappointment. Let's hope it's the only.
Keep writing, my friends.
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