So, this past week, chapter 7, "Rest and Resolutions", was released. It was awfully short and there were a lot of things I didn't like about it, so brace yourself. Also, I hope to have Stave II of A RWBY Christmas Carol up by Sunday, but we'll see.
Critique
Scene 1: Dinner
What I Liked: Alright, so there was only one thing I really liked about this scene and that was Ren's speech about how regret and embarrassment for past deeds shows how one has grown and is no longer the same person. It's quite uplifting to hear, especially for those of us who have major regrets.
What Could've Been Better: To be honest, I really didn't like this scene. Just about everything about it except for Ren's speech bothered me. For starters, the jokes and laughter seemed forced. I didn't think Jaune losing his map was that big of a deal, I didn't understand Weiss' embarrassment at summoning a Grimm in the middle of the party and why Nora refused to believe it, and why the hell did it take them so long to get to Yang's arm? Seriously. If the last time I saw my sister was months ago and she was missing an arm, but suddenly had one again, it'd be the first question out of my mouth.
I was also irritated about Qrow's irritation because they honestly weren't making that much noise, and anyone who's been around six teenagers knows they can get much louder than that. Besides what was Qrow doing that he needed silence for?
 |
| I also didn't care for Jaune's cool pose against the wall. Who does he think he is? Pyrrha? |
Questions/Insights: So, there were a lot of things I didn't like about this scene or that I just plainly didn't get. And it makes me wonder why this scene was composed like this. The only thing I can think of is it was meant to be a throwback or a return to the good ole days when they were still at Beacon. It was an attempt to relive happier times, not so much for the characters, but for us the audience. Unfortunately, the writing is stiff and forced, so it doesn't come off as an opportunity to reminisce but to actually cringe. Also, why the hell did Yang shoot off her arm during the arm wrestling contest? I call super bullsh*t on that moment, too. Kerry and Miles wrote that in there just so they wouldn't have to definitively say who was stronger between Yang and Nora, and that's likely because Yang is stronger despite Nora's popularity and her boast that she can bench five times her own body weight. Kerry and Miles just didn't want to open a can of worms.
Scene 2: True Story, Bro
What I Liked: So, we all knew this scene was coming, but we probably didn't think it would be as short as it was. But, we did get some major reveals in this scene such as the fact that Oz was the wizard in the legend, a prediction I made back in Volume 3 (as did many others probably), Qrow admitting that he and Raven chose the ability to turn into birds rather than having it forced on them, and the fact that the power of the wizard is finite and dwindling. Huge reveals there.
What Could've Been Better: But there were things about this scene that I really didn't like, like the fact that no one believes Oz when he comes clean about giving Qrow and Raven their abilities. They've been told before that magic exists, why wouldn't they accept the fact that people can transform into animals? It isn't that big of a stretch. I also thought it a huge strike against the Wizard for hoping the Maidens would use their powers for good rather than making sure they were the type of people who would use their powers for good, and I'm bothered about the fact that Yang accused Oz of lying to them; he actually didn't. He may have told a few half-truths, but he didn't lie to anybody. They just didn't know what was going on. I was also bothered by how short the pause was when Ozpin gave them the option to leave. That wasn't long enough, and it seemed like Weiss definitely had to process a thought or two about it. That process should've had the moment it needed to play out.
Questions/Insights: My biggest but most irrelevant question about this whole scene is why is Yang angry? Seriously. In what way has she been wronged that she is allowed to be angry? I don't get it. So the world is not as it seemed. Is that such a big deal? Plus, she's 18; it's not like she has a complete perspective of the world so it isn't ruined that much.
 |
| Aw, is somebody a lil' yangry? Seriously, look at this bitch pout. You'd think someone had told her to go sit in the corner. |
Anyway, the more important question is why is the wizard's power dwindling? Does it dwindle every time he reincarnates? Or does it dwindle every time he uses a little bit, including the Maidens themselves? If that's true, does that mean that the first Maidens were big, pimp-dick OG's with all the power coming out of their asses? That sounds great. Where's that episode of RWBY? I want to see that. But getting back to the wizard, the next important question is how much power does he have left? Is it enough to stop Salem?
And the last thing about this scene that's interesting is the idea of tomorrow. Oz says they should wait until tomorrow before discussing their options. Now, Oz gave a reason in the show about why they should wait till tomorrow, but what was the writing reason why? Is there going to be a tomorrow, or is something going to happen that interrupts that opportunity? And when is Oz going to spill the beans on silver eyes? Why hasn't Ruby asked that question yet? Seriously. That seems like it's important.
Scene 3: Let's Kick It Up!
What I Liked: So, the last scene. There was only one thing that I really liked here and that was that our favorite baddy with his tooth missing actually has a name in the show. It's Shay D. Man. You can spot it in the credits. And if you're smart, you will have noticed what Shay D. Man sounds like when read out loud. It's so stupid, it's actually a little brilliant.
 |
| Oh, Shay D. Man. You're the baddie we deserve and need right now. |
What Could've Been Better: Because this scene is so short, there isn't much to complain about, but I do have one: Emerald and Mercury didn't intimidate Shay, but the added arrival of Cinder and Watts did; why? Has he seen Cinder and Watts before? Is he not competent enough to deal with four enemies? Although, after seeing how well Yang kicked their asses by herself, Shay and his compatriots are probably about as competent as the government. So, they're likely to be slain.
Questions/Insights: This last scene provides two insights: 1. There's likely to be a lot of action next week thanks to Cinder's arrival at Raven's camp, possibly even a duel between Cinder and what's-her-face, and 2. Shay admitted to having a real bad week. Why is that important? Well, I remember complaining last week or the week before about the assertion that Oscar has had the cane for weeks. That seemed very unlikely to me due to his lack of skill. Shay admits that he's having a bad week, and I'm going to theorize that his week started when he met Yang which means it has only been a week since the start of Volume 5, which I would believe. But, there's another problem: Oscar says he's had the cane for weeks, but he didn't have the cane until he met Qrow in the bar which according to our man Shay was only a week ago. So, did Kerry and Miles f*ck up, is Shay referring to a different week, in which case, if he is, he and Yang were riding for a long time, or was Oscar's line supposed to read "days"? Someone should point this out to them. By the way, how does one create a meme?
Alright, so what did I think overall? Well, just like last week, it was disappointing. For one thing, the chapter was very short. I know there's no uniform length across all the episodes, but this one was like 13 minutes long in comparison to the others which were closer to 20. And I'm still having problems accepting Yang's current anger issues, and don't get me started on that dinner scene again. So, I mostly didn't like it. It felt like a transitional episode, like last week's. And by the way, what the hell happened to Blake? Has she been assassinated yet, or did I miss that part? That order came down from Adam like two episodes ago; how come we haven't seen anything done with it yet? True, this current chapter didn't have the right tone for such a thing, but it would've helped pad the episode's running time. But, the ending of this episode looked promising, so I hope to see a lot of action next episode along with an attempt on the Belladonnas. As for RNJR and RWBY, I don't know, maybe a pillow fight would be fun. I don't expect them to get anything really done next episode.
And that's it for this week's Critique and Review. If you liked it, let me know. If you hated it, go ahead and let me know anyway, just note, I probably won't read your entire comment.
Keep writing, my friends.
More About Bryan C. Laesch:
My Works:
Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
No comments:
Post a Comment