There has been an awakening. No, not Star Wars, not Fire Emblem, not other things that awaken (I wanna say… sleeping dragons?). Yes, it’s the RWBY fandom, awaking to find that faeces have officially gotten real. While we’re all dying to get back into something that’s about to come back from a little hiatus (I wanna say… Galavant?). it’s time to recap the episode that sent the world of Remnant tilting off its axis, and quite possibly gave viewers a notion of a plotline that will span the entire length of this show. This week, Pyrrha gets a golden ticket to Ozpin Wonka’s Magical Exposition Chocolate Factory, and Yang sorta has what happens to her coming. Oh, and there’s rhyming afoot, so swash and buckle in, find solace in previous recaps at the Recap Masterpost if you must, but for now, attend the tale of another RWBY Recap by clicking the Keep Reading below.

How’s everyone’s holidays going? Yeah we get a new Star Wars and a new Quentin Tarantino movie, as well as Christmas food and some solid presents - the older you get, the more you really do appreciate a good pair of socks - but we also have to deal with every show we love being on hiatus, that one drunk uncle, and, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, everyone else celebrating Christmas… Mixed bag, really. Still, thanks to all who read, laughed, liked, reblogged, shared, commented, absorbed via osmosis, snorted, sauteed with a side of mushrooms, took a magic carpet ride with, or defeated seven evil exes for last week’s recap. We’re halfway out of the dark of winter, and halfway into the dark of RWBY Volume Three, so let’s get to it…

We begin roughly an elevator ride’s length of time after we left off with the last episode, and we find Pyrrha having a nice chat with her school principal. That kind of thing never happened to me when I saw the principal, it was always, “Why did you set fire to your art classroom, Matt?” and “Why did you set fire to the other art classroom, Matt?”

In people’s defence, I’m still stuck on Reese Clitoris. Ozpin butters P-Money up with some much deserved praise for generally being amazing, while the local town drunk plays bad cop.

Pyrrha, being Pyrrha, is quick to say that it was thanks to her team that she got to finals of the tournament. Unfortunately, this tidbit reveals there’s no more doubles fights to see, and we’re left forever wondering who Pyrrha took with her into the doubles rounds…

Personally, I’d hope she would’ve brought Nora along. ‘Cause while Qrow says that it’s Pyrrha is the one carrying JNPR, I mean, c'mon, Nora won them that BRNZ fight! And Jaune and Ren were… there! While P-Money is left wondering why this mysterious Qrow fellow is hanging out and staring at her moodily, Ozpin decides to get down to business.

Her favourite fairy tale, he asks for. Me personally I’m a fan of the classics, like Dawn Of The Dead and the remake of Dawn Of The Dead, while Pyrrha lists off, The Tale Of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, and The Girl In The Tower. When I first watched the episode, this moment reminded me of Emerald interrogating Tukson about his books. I half-expected Qrow to rocketboot Pyrrha’s face in by the end of this scene, honestly.

All seriousness, RWBY as a show has been deep fried in fairy tale allusions from the start, and certainly has a thing for incorporating them into the world in its own way. I dig it, especially since it now becomes a very relevant. Ozpin asks for The Story Of The Seasons, and Pyrrha delivers…

The story goes as follows: four travelling sisters - always with the goddamn sisters - come across an old hermit, and after their wolf fails to huff and puff down his home, the sisters each try a different way to bring him out. The white sister urges him to use the solitude to reflect, the green sister brings him gifts and bounty, the orange one convinces him to finally come on out, and the purple one invents Remnant’s Thanksgiving then and there - without even killing any natives, wow! - and has the man be thankful. For their effort, the old man gives out magical gifts! And that’s how Christmas was also invented.

#RememberTheRhymingRecap. Okay I know I used “way” rhymes twice, but in my defence, I studied in monologues, not poetry.

So yeah, the four have the magical mantles of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall bestowed upon them. It’s all very Dresden Files. Also, gee, I wonder how coincidental it is that we’ve got characters named Summer and Winter and a Fall, huh! Oh, and Pyrrha’s mother used to tell her that story. Awww.

Now comes the twist. We got away with one arts-y flashback this season being a throwaway, but not this one. This fairy tale has been around since Ozpin was a boy - and oh look, the show makes a joke about how old he is GEE I WONDER (The idea that Ozpin himself is the old man somehow is probably a valid thing to theorise, though I’m personally rooting for the old man being the old man who runs the Dust store/Simple Wok stands) - but, dun dun dun, it’s all true. Right down to the Neo part!

Yep. Bonafide magic exists in Remnant. What a way to end the year.

Right about now we’re all remembering that one time Monty Oum very clearly stated that Dust is not magic. At the time I figured it was just 'cause the word “magic” had this wondrous feeling of unlimited power, while Dust was a resource that had limitations and whatnot, so it wasn’t magic. Welp! Turns out it’s cause there’s actual magic hanging out. All this time. Right under our noses. The sisters were a decoy! Magicpocalypse is happening!

On the livestream two weeks back, Miles and Kerry confirmed that this whole magic thing and the maidens stuff has been in the plan from the start, and it’s interesting to think about that and then look back at previous episodes. We’ve all had more than a few “Oh so does this mean THIS?” kinda moments since this reveal, and I’ll dig deep into them as we go on. But for now it’s crazy how much potential there is for the future now. One fairy tale comes true, so what’s next? Who knows!

For now, Pyrrha, freaking out just a lil’ bit, knows that they’re not joking, that Magic: The Gathering is real, and then, well, only thing left to wonder is why they’re telling her.

Whomp, there it is, straight from Hagrozpin’s mouth hole. Pyrrha is next in line to become the Fall Maiden, and this is a sekrit job interview. Also, hey, remember when I was talking about previous episodes and stuff hinting at these kinds of reveals? I can’t help but remember that in the Volume Two Opening, Pyrrha was all maple leaf-y. Very specific, huh. Very Canadian. Also very Fall-y. Neat.

I certainly don’t blame them for picking Pyrrha for the job. She’s basically a Disney Princess already, the coolest since Isabella, so giving her some magic feels right. It’s kind of a shame that they pitch it to her a little too forcefully, like those Jehovah’s Witnesses whose eyes are screaming at us to free them from their pain, once the rest of the party arrives.

Ironwood and Glynda, adjusting their clothes 'cause they were definitely making the hell out in the elevator, set Pyrrha off into really super wondering just what the heckity heck is going on.

It’s all very serious and all, but goddamn man, the way the “adults” look as they do their protectors of the world spiel may be one of the creepiest things ever. Like, full on serial killer-y. Glynda even pulls out a “We’re still the same people you know” kinda line, which I swear I saw in a movie once right before the person pulled out a gasoline can and burned someone alive and laughed about it. Yeesh guys, take it down from eleven.

Join or Qrow’ll have to kill you! Yay! That creepy feeling is only increased thanks to the following elevator ride down a mysterious vault.

Through this whole scene, Pyrrha’s body language just screams, “I’m still a teenager, what am I doing here, this is freaking me out,” to a point we’ve never seen before, especially from her. She’s surrounded by authority figures - and some drunk guy - yet looks at them as if they’re strangers, which, to be fair, they might as well be at this point. She looks trapped and defenceless and vulnerable and it’s icky to see characters we know and vaguely respect giving off the vibe that causes that. Ugh, poor P-Moneys.

Overseer Ozpin leads the party into his vault, which is big and full of secrets, as well as the only place in the world he deems safe enough to hold his Amiibo collection. Glynda, in a move that makes me appreciate her more than I ever have, sees Pyrrha’s discomfort and lags behind to soothe the girl and give some exposition.

The maidens have been around thousands of years - trust me ladies, you don’t look a day over nine hundred - and their powers cycled through countless numbers of hosts after the current one dies. Never “retires to a beach somewhere”, just dies. Yay…

The system is all very [insert whatever story it reminds you of here, though my love affair with Final Fantasy 8 compels me to think of the whole Sorceresses system. Ooh! And it’s like Slayers from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.], really. I can dig it. But how does the power choose?

Qrow says there’s a bunch of convoluted rules no one really gets - so it’s like offside rules in Soccer? - but they’ve got it down to a science now. Specifically, the powers can only be passed onto young women. Lucky we’ve got a whole show of those, huh! Also, quick shoutout to Glynda’s use of the word “intimate” to describe the power transferrals, and Pyrrha echoing it with mild concern. That just seems begging for some kind of fanfic involving the alternate ways to transfer Maiden powers. Probably in a way that wouldn’t look out of place in Fate/Stay Night…

What she actually means is that whoever is in the Maiden’s last thoughts shall get the power. Which, uh, sounds super specific. But screw it, magic yay!

If the last thoughts are of a guy or a woman that’s too old or cake or whatever, the power goes to someone random. Less super specific there. I can just imagine Ozpin’s group discussing the death of a maiden like, “Wait what, it didn’t go to her beloved sister like we told her to do if she was dying? Oh for christ’s sake she was thinking about sandwiches, wasn’t she? Ugh, this is so going to be my whole weekend.” And, like, considering we’re not told where the other three Maidens are right now, I’d bet Ozpin’s posse are probably still looking for at least one or two of them… Again, story potential!

Pyrrha, regaining a little bit more moxie, asks why they’re telling her this now of all times. To TL;DR: War. War never changes.

Actually it’s kind of funny that Ironwood says it’s not a war between nations they’re worried about. Like, yeah, the attacking White Fang wouldn’t exactly be a nation, and the Grimm destroying a Kingdom or two would suck, but saying that kind of stuff is just asking for a world war, Ironwood, buddy. Bro. Buddy. Don’t jinx it. You’re somehow still hanging out with people you sorta a little betrayed a bit, don’t ruin that! I believe in you, Jimmy.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha has to be a Level 5 Maiden Candidate to unlock more details and backstory about the coming war, or she should’ve walked slower, because they’ve arrived at their destination. The prize in the vault, something to put Sierra Madre’s to shame.

Amber, Pyrrha, Pyrrha, Amber. Amber here was mentioned a few episodes back, I’d wager, mentioned as “Autumn” - which could be her last name. Either that or it was less awkward in that dialogue to say Autumn instead of “Fall” without mentioning the “Maiden” part at the end. 'Cause clearly they didn’t want to mention Maidens by name until now, just going with “Guardian” and all, so. - and being in some condition that Cinder is responsible for. Check out those burn marks on her face. Looks like Cinder finally got to burn someone! I’m kinda proud.

For the first time ever, a part of a Maiden’s power was stolen by her attacker. Thanks to some tech from Ironwood - he’s like that kid you only hang out with because he has the coolest toys - Amber’s still alive and stable, but yeah, sorta lying down on the job while the rest of her power goes on a killing spree as it carpools inside Cinder.

Problem is, if they let Amber die and her powers transfer, there’s either the chance that the person in her last thoughts was her attacker - common thing, apparently. Very Highlander, this time. - or that her fractured power will seek out its other half. So either way, Cinder wins if they pull the plug on Amber.

I should get around to saying that this “person in last thoughts gets the power” thing definitely makes you wonder about Summer Rose. Name aside, Summer being a Maiden kinda flows with the story in my head - so could Raven, 'cause it’s a hell of a reason for her to run away from her child, and could help explain her teleportation portals and apparent dream-walking ability if that’s a thing, as well as why Neo freaked the hell out when she saw her - if only for the idea of Summer dying and her last thoughts being of her daughter Ruby. It’s possible Ozpin and crew would discount the idea of Ruby being a Maiden 'cause she was a kid at the time, but then all these years later figure it out. I mean, if you want to tie in a significant comment by Ozpin all the way back in the first episode about Ruby having silver eyes… This is the way it’d be done. Would certainly help Ruby’s main character status some if she was a magical girl to boot, but let’s be real: even if she’s not one already, she will one day.

Hell, I’ve seen folk pretty convinced that all of Team RWBY will be the Four Maidens (Ruby = Spring, Yang = Summer, Blake = Fall, Weiss = Winter I think is the current general consensus). That idea also flows with the story pretty well too, and while it probably smacks of contrived anime protagonist syndrome to some people, I can feel it working if you keep this question in mind: Why do Huntsmen teams have four members? The Order that came together to protect the Maidens all work at Huntsmen academies in the present, so maybe they even started them to create the perfect Maiden candidates and had other Huntsmen to protect them? The show is called RWBY, and Team RWBY are very pointedly four girls, so is this story about the first Huntress team that also become Maidens? The first united Maiden team in thousands of years? We’ve got world-ending threats on the horizon, big ol’ Grimm and Dust shortages and world wars, so what if the story of the show RWBY is four magical girls saving the world?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s probably a better narrative if the Maidens are spread out, and only one or two in Team RWBY get the gig, so it’s a more complex story (especially if one of the Maidens is the Big Bad aka what Cinder’s being set up to be). And yeah. I’d certainly prefer it this way than all of RWBY being the Maidens, but at the same time, the idea of these four girls saving the world with the power of magic and friendship and probably yuri funtimes definitely has the feel of an epic that’d put Homer’s Odyssey to shame, both in-universe and out of it… Hmm. Something to think about, huh? Back to the recap.

After coming face to face with Amber, Pyrrha presses the Order to explain why this is all a secret. Clearly, she has no appreciation for secret societies needing to keep their reputations by keeping their secrets!

Back in the day, the Maiden stuff was common knowledge; if this series was set like a hundred years earlier we’d probably get this exposition in Volume Two instead of Volume Three, basically. Again, Qrow brings up the importance of legends and fairy tales - they all come from somewhere, after all. Which, again, plays into the idea of our characters (Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Beauty And The Beast, and Goldilocks alone…) being part of something that’ll one day become a legend in of itself…

But anyway, it’s all kept a secret for pretty understandable reasons, like causing power-hungry people to do bad things, the public to panic and bring in the Grimm, et cetera.

Pyrrha knows what they’re asking of her, how could she not? That she wants to do it isn’t surprising at all, and it made me both kinda sad and proud of her at the same time. This beautiful heroic selfless cupcake wants to help humanity and protect the world, all while living a life of secrets and fearing the day her power could be stolen by bad guys… But damn, what a burden for a seventeen year old girl to consider. This teenager who never looked younger in the elevator heading down to the vault and her destiny, this celebrity who was distanced from the world because of her accomplishments, this pure heart who rescued a struggling student from a tree and bared her soul to unlock his potential less than an hour later, this goddess who cuts bloody swaths in battle and still smiles and says her thank yous outside of it… She thinks nothing of herself at this moment. She looks right into the comatose face of the one who had the job before her and she still wants to do the right thing. Which is just… Well. That’s Pyrrha Nikos for you. MVP of our hearts forever.

But there’s a catch. One that will definitely make Pyrrha think twice.

She can’t inherit the power naturally, of course, but there’s a solution. An ugly one, but one nonetheless. Ironwood knows how they can do it; he’s not just the guy who eats the raisins.

The plan is to take Amber’s soul and put it in someone else. Pyrrha, in this case. Given the big deal it was that Penny was a robot with Aura, this reveal makes you wonder about how she got that Aura, huh? It could just be an artificial Aura, sure, but it’s way more fun to believe Ironwood’s tested this soul transferral stuff to create Penny. Very Dr Frankenstein of him. Or Dexter’s Laboratory. Either or.

A red-haired girl with green eyes is involved with whacky science shenanigans, huh? Suddenly, we’re getting flashbacks to Red Vs Blue’s Project Freelancer. It’s desperate times, Ironwood says, but I suppose another way to say it would be: “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and they needed to invent a way to transfer the Maiden’s power into another person. To put it another way: “It is an undeniable fact that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable.” Which, in both cases, means merging their Auras together. Soul bond fic come to life. Hoooooo boy, that will be a thing and a half.

It’s also about now we remember another possible foreshadowing. Remember in the third episode of the first volume when Blake - remember her? Me neither! - was reading a book about a man with two souls? Umm… UMMMMM… In Blake’s book, each soul fought for control… and now Ozpin says there’s a possibility that Pyrrha will not be the same person if she takes on Amber’s soul. Can I just say I freakin’ love that idea, from a story potential standpoint? All this time we’ve been theorising horrifying things happening to Pyrrha, but this is a whole 'nother level!

See, one of my favourite things an ongoing storyline can do is find creative ways to make main characters suffer. Joss Whedon shows gave me my love for that kind of stuff, and now my mind races with the possibilities. While Pyrrha is being given time by Ozpin to think about her final decision, we know she’s going to be thinking it’s a great idea around the time the White Fang/Grimm attack and the world needs a guardian. So she merges her soul with Amber’s, and what happens to our beloved P-Money? She becomes P-Cash: looks the same, but with a much different feel.

And what does that do to the people she loves? Like a certain Jaune-shaped person named Jaune? Imagine if all the two seasons of build up for their relationship is leading to them vaguely getting together… and then she merges with Amber, and it’s gone. A kick in the balls would hurt less than seeing any of the main characters’s faces when they realise Pyrrha as they knew her is just gone, especially Jaune’s if they go full Arkos right before the merge. Like, imagine a scene of her saying goodbye to him/her friends/Zwei, but the other people don’t know what’s about to happen? Yeesh. And yeah, it would also hurt if she outright died by way of Cinder, but this idea of Pyrrha losing her sense of self yet still wearing the same face and speaking in the same voice would be a hellishly dark gutpunch that could go on hurting us for another five years! Like, wow. The possibilities here…

Oh, and one more theory thing before we move on. You know earlier when I mentioned that guys can’t become Maidens? Yesterday I posted a couple of caps with the joke of Jaune thinking himself the sole exception to that rule, and him finding a way to become a Maiden to spite his haters. But, I gotta say it may be kind of actually possible, as much as some folk would hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand Tatooine suns? The whole “JNPR are genderflipped mythology figures” thing could play into the idea that Jaune gets to go full Joan Of Arc and all, but there’s also one more factor to remember: Pyrrha used her soul to unlock Jaune’s Aura. It felt like a big deal at the time, and could’ve in fact been setting up something.

What if that link allows for some sort of power transfer between her and Jaune in the future? Like, it’s unprecedented that Amber’s power is about to be forcibly shoved into Pyrrha’s soul, so why not some bonus unprecedented-ness by that somehow creating a situation wherein Jaune catches some of it too? Or, if Pyrrha dies, her last thoughts are of Jaune, and thanks to that link and some whackiness, he gets the power she had? Just sayin’. In all probability such a thing is as possible as a zombie apocalypse, but to reiterate what those caps said: if any dude could break that girls only rule and become a Maiden? It’s Jaune Arc. Accept no substitutes.

Back to the madness now. We cut to Amity Colosseum. That place is starting to feel like a second home, we see it so much…

Cinder Fall - did she change her name after getting the Maiden power just to be funny, you think? - watches from the stands, daydreaming of potato-flavoured popcorn, and the eight tournament finalists prepare themselves.

It’s okay Yang. We the viewers learned stuff, and that’s all that matters. That’s all that matters. As well as Yang, other finalists include Mercury, Penny, Sun - Neptune was probably his doubles partner - and three new handsome faces.

And Pyrrha’s there too, looking as troubled as the board game Trouble, half-listening to Port and Oobleck explain the rules of the finals.

All of Remnant watches with bated breath as the fighters are randomised, though we all know we’re watching a show Cinder has scripted, and she too is a Whedon fan…

So sure enough, the first battle will take place between Yang and Mercury, which gets the main gang’s cheers. “Break a leg, sis!” Ruby “Maiden Of Irony” Rose calls out.

4/20 blaze it. Also, shoutout to Sage looking almost like he’s facepalming, probably at that joke, and at the world in general.

What’s there to really say about the Yang Vs Mercury fight? It’s a great fight, for one thing! We finally get the bout promised since the Volume Two Opening, for another! Animator Shane Newville confirmed that some of the animation for it comes from Monty, which is also very cool to see.

It also seems vaguely like an even one, which is common for one-on-one fights, which I end upo digging more because of it. Merc also pulls off a Super Smash Bros-esque recovery move to avoid getting knocked out of the stadium, so Merc OP pls nerf.

Nothing really to write about in the fight yet, so let’s just chill. What’s up with all of you? I’m listening to Christmas-y music as I write this, which is weird, since it’s been like five days since Christmas and I’m listening to more Christmas music than I did before or on Christmas.

Here’s a fun thing y'all should try one day: Youtube your favourite bands and the word Christmas, see if they did any seasonal songs or covers or whatever. Takes you down some strange rabbit holes that somehow ends with you listening to Cassie Ramone’s cover of the Little Saint Nick, but it’s a good rabbit hole, so can’t complain! EDIT: And I just found out LCD Soundsystem recorded one this year, their first song in the five years after they broke up, AND they’re doing a reunion tour next year? Goddamn, talk about a late Christmas present. Amazing.

Oh right, the fight. Merc uses his wind Dust shooty shooty insert witty metaphor here thing, and it looks like for half a second that Yang has gone the way of Ash Ketchum and tapped out in the Top 8 like a chump, but nope. Instead, he’s pushed Yang to her Limit Break mode.

Guess what happens next! Same thing that happened to Torchwick’s Mech, Team ABRN, Neon and Flynt, and the VCR that one night it refused to join the new century and become a DVD/Blu-Ray Player.

Yang obliterates Merc, depleting his Aura completely, and the crowd roars its approval. I’m no mind reader, but I imagine all our minds now were some variation of, “Wait? That’s it? Yang gets angry and beats someone up? Again? What’s the catch?”

Fear not, there is one! Yang gives Mercury the verbal middle finger, and Merc’s voice gets proper murder-y. Better luck next time, dun dun dun.

He comes at her, seemingly going for a cheap shot, and Yang responds the only way Yang knows how: she breaks his leg. With no Aura to protect him, Merc goes downnnnnn like Ronda Rousey.

Nora would be so proud.

But something’s wrong. Oh god, something’s wrong. The audience is gasping, Mercury is in pain, but… it’s worse than it should be. Port and Oobleck freak the hell out, which makes us freak the hell out.

And as the crowd also freaks the hell out, their distress and anger and horror and sheer shock of what they had witnessed radiates from them in waves, cascading into the night and creating a beacon of pure fear in the starry sky that Batman would be legitimately jealous of.

The Grimm sense the fear like a cheapskate senses an all you can eat buffet line, and back at the stadium, chaos is erupting. Yang is in the middle of trash talking the dude she crippled when some of Ironwood’s androids show up, guns raised in her general direction. Suddenly we’re brought back to her bluster in the face of a dozen guns owned by Junior’s goons, but this isn’t a fun moment. Not at all.

Mercury, angling to get that Oscar before Leo, plays up the hysterical shock that an apparently unprovoked attack could bring as Emmy rushes to his side…

… and Yang looks up to the instant replay and finally finds out the truth…

To the rest of the world, she attacked him out of nowhere. We know that Yang saw something different, we know that there’s either illusions involved or maybe even Cinder’s magic to make Yang think Merc was attacking (or the illusion is to the crowd that Yang attacked first. Whatever’s easier to pull off). This was all part of Cinder’s plan. The whys of it can wait. She wanted to give the world a good show, and she did. A good proper show broadcast to millions, now freaking out that they saw something like this, now drawing Grimm to them like Moth Grimms to a flame of bone-deep fear. The best part of this? It’s the set up.

See, any good magician will tell there’s three stages to a trick. There’s The Pledge, where the magician shows you something usual, something ordinary, has you understand that it is just what it is. The second stage is The Turn, the ordinary becoming extraordinary, and while a part of you wants to look for the secret behind it, you’re willing to be fooled if they can pull off the third stage: The Prestige. It’s the performance aspect, the thing that tethers the extraordinary back down to earth. Yang being put up against someone like Neon Katt, riled up by an opponents’s taunts and then exploding with anger? That’s Cinder’s Pledge, her showing the crowd that this is what Yang Xiao Long is normally capable of. The same thing happening again to beat Mercury? The Turn; this is who Yang is, through and through, isn’t that strange that she makes a habit out of being that way? The thing that tethers it back down, the horrific reality that this chick has anger issues and is capable of breaking the leg of an opponent she just beat, completely unprovoked? That’s The Prestige. The whole world sees what Yang did, but thanks to the trick, critically, they believe it too. They believe the narrative, they’ll think they should’ve seen coming, that the signs were all there, and now this poor boy got his leg broken because they didn’t see this monster coming… Thousands watching all over the world, their shock drawing in all the Grimm.

It’s perfect. Even the rest of Yang’s team are looking at her like she’s Jaune Arc and she just stole four episodes worth of screentime for herself. They can’t believe it. We can’t believe how quickly this got dark as all get out. It’s amazing!

And so the episode ends here, with dawning realisation setting in that Yang is properly screwed, that we are watching the beginnings of a back half of a season that’ll be everything that was promised, and that… Just wow, honestly.

If there ever was a place to give us a multi-week hiatus, it’s here, let’s be real. Doesn’t mean it hurt any less, huh?

Welp. Six down, six to go.

What’s next? Well, there’s a preview out for Chapter Seven which may or may not imply certain backstory things are ahead and we may not get back to Yang and Pyrrha’s little dilemmas for another week, which I don’t mind at all. I’d love to see Yang ostracised for a bit, really get into some stuff as the rest of her team tries to figure out what really happened, maybe even link back in to Raven… Who knows? I will say that I remember thinking to myself that we were blazing through the tournament quicker than expected, but it makes sense if it’s just the warm-up for this arc that’ll eventually tie into Pyrrha’s big decision, White Fang and/or Grimm showing up to Netflix and chill, and so on. Things have a possibility of getting wild in the coming weeks. I’m thinking we got our more easygoing episodes in the bank for this year, and we’ve got six more No Brakes-level chapters left. The production team have demonstrated their capability to go deep and dark with this episode, and I’m figuring they’ll commit aka no random Zwei-centric episodes in the back half, but I’ve been wrong about that kinda stuff before, so. Still, gonna be hella fun, looking forward to it.

Oh, and there was a new World Of Remnant on the CCTs that went up last week. Nothing crazy in it except for the fact that Dust cannot into space - makes a certain amount of sense, since the whole “man, born from Dust” thing kinda feels like it’s like the planet’s lifeblood and doesn’t flow outside of the planet’s atmosphere - and that if one of the four towers goes down, the entire network goes down. Gee, I wonder what would happen if you combined one tower that’s been hacked getting taken offline, Ironwood’s prize robot jewel being hacked, all of the local Dust supplies being hoarded by the White Fang, the White Fang and the Grimm attacking, as well as the giant floating coliseum hanging out over Vale… Boy, Remnant is proper boned once Cinder hits Phase Two And A Half aka Codename: Volume Three Finale.

Well, it’s been quite a ride, this episode’s recap, but I think my fingers have typed enough crazy theories for one day. That’s all from me this year, so see you on the other side, thanks for reading, and may the force be with you or whatever.

Also, I made a Galavant shoutout or six earlier 'cause this thing’s stuck in my head again. And now it’s in yours! Enjoy!