Things are looking pretty Grimm at Beaconwarts. Cindermort has unleashed dark creatures on the school and is about to take over the Ministry Of Atlas’s robots, her lackey has used the Imperius Curse to make Pyrrha Potter kill the sweet innocent Penny Diggory… but it’s not all bad; pretty soon, Miltia’s going to end up as dead as Fred! Things are heating up as we draw closer and closer to the end of the volume, and this recap is no exception. This week, the Grimm suffer various setbacks in their quest for peace, Ironwood has a birthday party, and Ruby accidentally ends up on a Tinder date. For more recaps check out the RECAP MASTERPOST, but to go on a magical journey through time and space, click the KEEP READING below!

All my thanks to all those who read, laughed, liked, reblogged, shared, commented, absorbed via osmosis, snorted, sauteed with a side of mushrooms, took a magic carpet ride with, defeated seven evil exes for, suffered through Battle Before Dawn on Hector Hard Mode for, genetically spliced a fly’s DNA with tragic results into, went in on Aspen timeshare with, or sacrificed yourself so that last week’s recap could become the Recap-Who-Lived. We’re down to the final stretch, both actual episode and episode recap wise, and I can safely say I’m torn between anticipation for the season finale, and fear that it’ll be like forty minutes long and I’ll have to recap that monster. Pray for me. Hell, pray for us all.

The Battle Of Beacon begins inauspiciously. I mean, there’s fire and murder and screaming, but that’s basically Pizza Tuesdays in the office, no big.

With their tea and coffee date ruined, Blake and Weiss survey the scene in horror.

Their Switzerland status is upset by Blake’s scroll going off. Clearly, someone’s answer to the question, “Who ya gonna call?” was Blake. Turns out she’s been moonlighting as a Ghostbuster off-screen, who knew!

It’s Yang, calling is to to confirm that she’s not hallucinating all the chaos happening. After all, she’s hallucinating the corgi beside her…

And the reason she’s called Blake is soon evident: she couldn’t contact Ruby (so thanks Mercury). That, and Blake’s name came up in the caller list before Weiss, I’d wager.

Yang is assured that Ruby can take care of herself, especially on Pizza Tuesdays, and Weiss takes the moment to mourn for Penny.

Aww Weiss, you softie. Remember when she thought Penny was just a random weirdo? And now, all that ice in her heart has melted into tears… Wait, that’s not better. Anyway, one last update from Yang: the White Death Fang Eaters are at the school.

Of course, she’s cut off in dramatic fashion after reporting as such. And we never hear from her again. Hooray!

While Weiss is considering retiring to Vacuo, Blake calls in her weapon via Chekhov’s rocket locker. The White Fang are involved, and they’re her responsibility. She doesn’t run away anymore. Time to fight.

Meanwhile, back at the Coliseum Of Fun And Happy Times…

Yeah, basically that. Above the stadium, a giant Nevermore attempts to break on through to the other side and only add to the fun.

Jaune’s attempts to snap Pyrrha out of her “Mama I just killed a man” funk go unnoticed, so he’s forced to take drastic, and “good for you and your character development Jaune,” measures and be the hero.

His valiant efforts are not rewarded, and the Nevermore gets its dynamic entry.

Well hey, at least Penny’s remains are sent flying and not, y'know, crushed. Just to rub it in… to the ground. Rub the remains into the ground.

The hug attempt is misinterpreted, as most hugs given by fifty-foot tall murder birds are, and a blur of red stops the Nevermore from laying a claw on P-Money.

I loved this. So much. This is Ruby Rose’s big moment, and it’s both goddamn beautiful and so Ruby. This is a girl who will protect her a friend at all costs, even if that friend accidentally killed another friend like five minutes ago. And if she doesn’t have a weapon, she’ll pick up the second friend’s weapon and prepare to fight to the death. All the way back in the first episode, she said she wanted to become a Huntress to fight for what’s right and to protect those that cannot protect themselves. And here it is. Mark my words, that Nevermore was doomed even before meteors rained down from the sky.

Back to back awesomeness here! Y'know, when the rocket lockers were first introduced back in Jaunedice Part One, I remember writing in the recap they’d totally come into play come a big battle. Safe to say, I did not expect them to end up raining down on an gigantic Nevermore. Not gonna lie, I cheered.

Even better? Over a dozen familiar faces grabbing over a dozen familiar weapons from them.

Gatherings like these make all the big cast of characters very much worth it. It’s just satisfying, especially to see the newbies ABRN, Sage, Scarlet, Flynt and Neon there with them. There is a Brotherhood Of Huntsman. A benevolent Brotherhood of Huntsman. A noble tie that binds, all these dead Grimm’s hearts and minds. Our lifelong membership is free, but mostly because their lifespan’s ain’t that long… Hmm…

To interrupt the rollcall, the Nevermore comes alive underneath their feet. Buzzkill.

Everyone abandons ship with the slashing and hammering of weapons -



- but to defeat such a beast, you gotta make like Players And Pieces and cut off its freaking head. But instead of a slingshot’d Ruby, we’ve got the two brawniest heavy fighters raining down on it like a guillotine on one of Henry VIII’s wives.

Bye bye Nevermore. And Birdie, Miss American Pie, and Butterfree.

And especially don’t ask how Yellow Church was created in the process… It just didn’t work. Same with Blake and Reese’s lovechild from Chapter One. Paradox deleted it, like Henry Bishop…

Pyrrha is still understandably as torn as Penny is over tearing Penny apart in the first place, and Ruby swallows her grief and assures her it wasn’t her fault. Aww Ruby. And to put some cherries on top, Jaune taps in to assure just the same, proving once again that if Ruby and Jaune are teamed up against any problem, they will solve it with goddamn gusto. The conspiracy lives on.

Cardin and his team are probably off smoking a joint behind the school bleachers, don’t worry. As for Teams NDGO and BRNZ, I’d imagine the former is hoping for another Indiegogo campaign sometime soon, while the latter is busy mourning Roy Stallion after he got carried off by a Nevermore… Whoops.

D’aww, Arkos. Oh, and as if we weren’t already spoiled by all the appearances of these characters, we get a new Christmas card shot with them!

Riiiiiiiight before more Grimm show up, like that one Jewish aunt who says she won’t show up but she does anyway ‘cause it’s free food.

And, for the second time this volume, we get new Grimm! No soul-sucking bugs, however, just Griffons!

Griffon Ramsey? Unfortunately not. They look strangely like I imagine Thestrals look like, if we’re keeping the Harry Potter theme. Or Hippogriffs. Or both.

Ruby calls in her backup girlfriend - her sycthifle - while Port and Oobleck finally find their way out of the commentator’s booth.

They’re there to cover their students’s retreat - children are the future and all that - and also get them moving to more plot relevant waters. GG, guys.

In a moment that’s reminiscent of Ruby leading everyone away from the chess pieces during initiation, she shepherds them onwards, and we get yet another hint towards that whole “Velvet’s taking pictures of everyone’s weapons” thing.

With the students gone, Port and Oobleck stand back to back and prepare for one final match…

Yeah, they’ll be fine. I mean, it’s not like we’re going to last see them going into battle and then we’re going to later just see their corpses in the Great Hall 'cause they were killed offscreen. And totally not like they’re going to make their newborn son an orphan in the process!

Atlas androids and soldiers monitor the fleeing crowds - crowds of civilians and particularly unambitious students, hence them not fighting back like the main characters - as Grimm start dropping in via some White Fang ships, and Ironwood watches on…

The Grimm are led by a particularly large Alpha-looking Beowolf, who disrespects us all by ripping some more robots apart. Rude.

His eye catches Ironwood’s. My anticipation rises. Ironwood fight scene go go.



I have dreamed of this day many times. What’s his weapon, I wonder? Would he bust out his robot arm that transforms into a cannon Samus Aran, Megaman, Barret Wallace, and Zachary Spencer be jealous of?

No complaints on the gun, though! I’m kind of a revolver whore, not gonna lie. And it just seems like such a boss ass General-y weapon. No flash, yet still stylish as all heck. Look at that baby, it’s beautiful!

And it blows stuff up! Ironwood’s gloved arm plays a part in holding that Beowolf at bay in the process, which is yet another badass moment for an episode destined to be filled with them. And then he kills the thing in the coolest, casual, goddamn way!

Be still my beating heart. Hell, even all those who didn’t care for the guy before had to admit how badass that one-on-one fight was. Back off, he’s mine.

Afterwards, the multicoloured cavalry arrives from the arena, ready to receive orders from the nearest authority figure not busy being ripped to shreds by Griffons.

Not much of to recap on Ironwood’s part: city’s on fire, they’re all doomed, every General for themselves.

But it’s not all bad; at least Torchwick’s running free!

Ironwood’s mission is to reclaim the skies by taking out Torchwick, so good for him. And for effortlessly shooting a Grimm in the process. I’m swooning.

Jaune steps forward to ask what their mission is, and is given two choices.

Choice one is the paragon choice - defend the school, save the queen - and the second is the renegade - cheese it, make like Team CRDL.

With that, Ironwood is off to be the Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, leaving the group uncertain and hesitant… for five seconds. Those badasses.

I love that, overall, it’s Ruby, Jaune and Sun who feel the most in charge. Mostly because it definitely satisfies shippers of any combination of the three, like me! Combine that with some Arkos, and Ruby mourning Penny, it’s a great day to be a shipper. Except that last part. Oh no. I’m sad now.

RJNPRSSSNCFVYABRNFN’s off to grab a ship to Beacon - not gonna lie, was kinda hoping for all of them to just jump off the edge and we get that landing strategy callback seen in the Volume Two Opening - and, up in the S.S. Stevey Phineaseberg, Torchwick gets intimate with some newfangled technology.

His initial attempts dump a shipload of androids, which ain’t exactly productive, but at least he’s having fun with it! Same guy who just blew up two whole other ships, right here.

Neo saves the day, however, bringing with her a scroll loaded with all kinds of fun stuff! Like Angry Birds!

In reality, the scroll’s got Cinder’s virus on it, and its first act is to give the ship a reddish ambiance Hydra would be proud of. Oh, and then take over the entirety of the military’s androids. We were like, one episode off us being right about it happening to Penny, at least…

Glynda and Qrow are getting busy in the city when they see the androids go all Order 66 on them.

They’ll be fiiiiiine. Wonder Twins Blake and Weiss, on the other hand, just happened to have shown up back at Beacon when the androids there go haywire.

As they prepare to fight, we cut to an oblivious Ironwood, piloting his ship with Ride Of The Valkyries playing in his head…

And then the androids wake up. And turn. And raise their guns. And oh my god not Ironwood! I love that guy!

A section of his dropship gets blown out immediately, and in the ensuing descent of it we see gun flashes in the window, and I believe in my heart of hearts that’s Ironwood fighting the hell right back. And again, much like Port and Oobleck, he’ll be fine. After all, it’s not like him dying in the middle of a situation his yearning to keep the peace only exacerbated, killed by his very creations, wouldn’t be the most tragic thing ever. Not at all…

Don’t you kill him, Miles and Kerry. Please. Take the rest of Team BRNZ instead! Even Sniper Girl. No. ESPECIALLY SNIPER GIRL.

… Nah, he’ll be fiiiiiiiiine. Not that Ruby knows that, because when she sees his ship go down, her urge to be a lone wolf hero kicks in.

She jumps off the ship, moseys on back to the stadium - no sign of Port and Oobleck; they probably borrowed the Thestrals for a ride to the Ministry Of Magic - and rides a rocket locker to Torchwick’s ship.

Creative and badass. Ruby I love you. Episode MVP right here.

I also like the idea of Ruby being a lone wolf death seeker type being out in full force again. It’s something we saw glimpses of early in Volume One before some team player development kicked in, but it’s something that Monty used to say was a big part of her character, and doing it now definitely makes her feel very main character-y right in time for the finale arc, way to go.

But has she bitten off more than she can chew, 'cause she’s about to take on goddamn Neo? I have a mental image of Ruby winning with her speed semblance in some way that ends with Neo standing on thin air, Road Runner and Wil E. Coyote style… I just hope she wins, to avoid a No Brakes Part Two situation. Although, if Raven intervenes to save her life it’ll be the funniest thing ever. “Another one of Taiyang’s stupid daughters nearly getting killed by the ice cream midget, christ.”

Meanwhile, back at Beacon Academy Of Huntresscraft And Huntsmenery…

Weiss Malfoy and Blake Granger get their badass fun time by mowing down hordes of androids and White Fang. At least the White Fang aren’t being knocked off a goddamn train this time…

Atlas soldiers are having trouble with the machines’s uprising - Skynet’s pissed Penny died - especially considering they’ve got newly armoured-plated Paladins on their side. Oh, and to make it worse, more Grimm show up. Of course.

I remember saying once or twice Cinder’s big finale would involve Grimm and White Fang attacking, with a possibility of virus-controlled robots, but actually seeing it is something else entirely. The damage being done to Beacon feels hardcore endgame-y.

Blake and Weiss split up - Weiss is probably going to go mano-a-roboto with that Paladin next episode - so Blake can go have a reunion with an old friend. An old friend found killing people in the burning cafeteria… Man that second food fight battle got dark.

Adam, being chronically unable to not be vaguely creepy, greets her with a, “My darling” loaded with implication and stuff the fandom’s already latching on. Something to talk about next episode, I’d wager. For now, I’d like to report the second time I heard that line I laughed because it reminded me of Orson’s wife Monica in Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones. “Darlinnnnnnng.”

Back out on the grounds, we get the Avengers oner shot: Jaune kills an Ursa - quicker than he did during the Breach, to say the least! - Neon never misses a beat, Coco unloads on a Griffon, Arslan fights an Ursa of her own, Nora and Ren pew pew some Grimm, and, in the distance, Cinder continues her quest to steal all the nighttime rooftop scenes with her evil friends.

Now this is something interesting. I mean, probably nothing, but could be. In the face of actually seeing Phase Two in full effect, Emerald is… Sorrowful? Regretful? Gassy? Maybe it feels more real to her, seeing all the death and destruction. Maybe not. Everyone and their mother’s jumped onto this as a possible indicator for a redemption arc, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Call me an optimist.

Mercury, meanwhile, is in charge of filming the madness. Cinder’s got a live broadcast going to all over the world, and she’s doubling down by focusing on the rogue Atlesian Knights, as well.

You so crazy, Cindy Cind. Like, ten times as crazy when we find out what her finale is. For you see, the ground shakes under their feet, shakes again under Ozpin - grabbing his cane and preparing to finally fight - in his office and the students in the courtyard, and then a third under Glynda and Qrow’s - see, they were fine! - in the city proper. And much like Beetlejuice, it takes that third shake before it appears, clawing its way out of a mountain overlooking Mountain Glenn.

Holy. Crap. Dragon. Actual dragon. Holy crap dragon. We’re so screwed dragon. Look at that beast. All throughout this episode we’ve gotten something of a reminder why Grimm are something to be feared, but this? This goes beyond cherries on top, this is like an entire fruit basket on top. And the fruit basket is on fire. We’ve got regular Grimm, Alpha Grimm, Adam and the White Fang, Atlesian Knights, Paladins, Torchwick and Neo in their ship, Cinder and her crew… This is like RWBY Horde Mode, my god. And now the dragon!

As for our draconic friend, there seems to be an internet competition brewing on which nickname for this thing sticks. I’ve seen Kevin, Cadmus, Glenn… I’d personally like to super believe in Tad Cooper, but Glenn also works. After all, the mountain in The Hobbit was called Mountain Smaug, right? Right?! Other name possibilities: Bahamut, Tiamat, Puff The Magic Dragon, Winged Beast Of Ra, Grima, and I Don’t Care If The Concept Art Called It A Dragon It’s Clearly A Wyvern.

Oh, and the thing that sets that fruit basket on fire in the first place, putting us somewhere in “We’re So Screwed Part Three: La Bomba” territory? The dragon spawns more Grimm. By - basically - sweating. No goddamn wonder building a town next to his mountain was an awful idea.

Sweet dreams, he’s coming for us all.

Teams SSSN and JNPR are ready for it, however. What’s a dragon to two gods, a Monkey King, Mulan, Peter Pan, a herb, Joan Of Arc, and goddamn Achilles? Nothing, that’s what.

… Yeah they’re doomed. RIP.

SSSN tears off into the fight, and Jaune and Pyrrha share a glance that communicates such things as confidence in each other and the hope fighting a dragon gets them out of doing final exams.

But then it happens. Maybe it was going to happen already, but that dragon made it a certainty. The Great And Powerful Ozpin appears. He is not fighting, he is not observing, he is waiting, a haunting figure of impending destiny in the distance. He knows that even he can’t win this fight. Not without the power of the maiden. It’s time.

To put it as lightly as a feather, the situation’s dire. We know it’s dire. Pyrrha knows it’s dire. We know she’s got some guilt left in her for what happened to Penny, no matter what Jaune and Ruby say. So when she sees Ozpin she walks toward him, without a single word to her friends. It’s as if she’s in a trance, feeling this… pull. It’s tragic to think that, had Jaune, bless his heart, not decided to step forward and follow her, that this could be the last time her teammates see her as her. It’s time to say goodbye, but she doesn’t…

Like, wow. Throw in Cinder watching in anticipation equal and opposite to Ozpin’s, and that’s how you end an episode.

Ten down, two left. I can’t honestly tell how the next two episodes will come together - if the penultimate one will be more of a finale and the finale be a denouement, for example - but I will, simply because I haven’t made that much of an idiot out of myself lately, start making predictions. All out, balls out, this is what I’m anticipating, simply in a “tying up loose story ends for this season” way, in checklist form. We’ll look back and laugh in like, a week and a half, trust me:

— We’re going to see the following: Weiss summon that Knight from her trailer (probably to defeat the Paladin; it’ll be cool), the true extent of Velvet’s weapon revealed (it’ll be cool), and Qrow’s sword going into scythe form (it’ll be cool).

— No one’s reallllly going to die. Just don’t see it. Like, we’re not going to just kill off a random person on ABRN and hope it sticks emotionally. Port, Oobleck and Ironwood are fine. There’s a very slim chance for a villain to bite it, but it’d be like, Lieutenant Phineasberg at best. Maybe Emerald if she shows like a second more of remorse. Amber’s body, definitely, but that’s it.

— If we’re getting overseas reinforcements to save the day, they’re going to be Winter’s. She’ll pick up Ironwood, as well as Penny’s remains, on the way.

— Pyrrha has a choice ahead of her, that’s true. I’m still really pulling for her to do it and we see a consequence, maybe an arc for being the person with two souls fighting for control come next year at least, and not just Cinder showing up and taking it all first. I’ve seen speculation that Jaune might end up getting in Cinder’s way, so if there ever was a time to reveal what his semblance is as he protects Pyrrha… Just sayin’.

— Blake’s going to have some assistance in her fight against Adam. It’ll be an emotionally charged battle for sure, but it’d be very character develop-y if she doesn’t fight it alone in the end. Folk are angling for Yang to intervene, but I’d like to see Sun - and maybe with his team - show up and help out. Both options would pay off earlier set-ups, though personally, Sun would be more satisfying since it’d both give him something to do and be poignant since he’s a Faunus helping another Faunus beat a Faunus who’s slipped off the path of making Faunus’s equal.

— Yang’s going to one of two places, I’d wager: to save Ruby from Neo and Torchwick before they shut down the Cinder’s virus on the ship, or to beat the everloving hell out of Mercury and Emerald. I’m pulling for the latter, and it’d be hilarious if Emerald was unable to use her semblance on Yang because she’s busy getting her achilles tendon ripped out by Zwei. And, y'know, satisfying as heck if Mercury got some proper humbling, for sure. Well, it’d also be just as satisfying if Yang got to obliterate Neo too, so it’s a win-win, really!

— No earthly clue how Raven plays a part, if she does at all, in the finales. Twenty bucks on a vague appearance or mention in the finale, and nothing else!

— That dragon is going to become a magic-ified P-Money’s bitch. Would be hilarious if she ends up riding the damn thing. Her or Ruby, in a dynamic escape off the airship. How To Train Your Grimm Dragon, starring Ruby Rider. I’m down!

Any of that line up with any of yours? Yes, no, maybe? Going to be wild either way, right? A tiny part of me is a little antsy about there only being two episodes left, with so much possibility in them, and now I’m hoping like all hell we don’t get a cliffhanger ending. Volume Three is supposed to be this culmination of everything so far, the end of a Part One of the story, to hear the crew talk about it before it started. I think, going by the rest of the season, it’ll come together pretty damn well. And there’ll be tears. Yaaaaaay.

That’s all from me, folks! Same time next week, yeah? Hey maybe by then that Grimm Dragon will have destroyed everything and killed everyone and I’ll be recapping the new hit show GLNN. I for one welcome our new draconic overlords…

Thanks for reading!