Review: RwBy “End of the Beginning”

Overview:

Can we talk about Jaune and Ruby though?

can we talk about how Ruby lost her mother, watched he father spiral into depression after her mother’s death watched two of her friends be brutally murdered, watched another man get eaten, saw her sister with her arm chopped off and become closed off and distant because of it, as well as lose two of her friends in a single day yet still goes on that mission with Jaune, Nora and Ren?

can we talk about how Jaune genuinely thought that Pyrrha believed in him, and was pretty much betrayed by her when he got thrown into the locker? the last person who believed in him basically ended up treating him like a lovable idiot all over again, but he still loved her so much because her heart was in the right place and in the end, the person he loved most in the world died. but he still goes on that mission with Ruby, Nora and Ren.

Ruby and Jaune are so much stronger than they seem at face value. Ruby and Jaune could rightfully be breaking down, or become ruthless with revenge, but they keep a kindness in their hearts that can’t be broken.

They keep moving forward.

Fan-Theories point out that Pyrrha isn’t dead but instead has been materialized by Cinder. The same glowing disintegrating animation is used whenever Cinder materializes her weapon. I also think Ozpin may be in the same boat as Pyrrha.

This is a theory now, I don’t necessarily think that is actually what happened, but IF Pyrrha is alive I think this is how.

So I’ve made note of some of the parallels between Yang and Jaune before (the two of them get juxtaposed surprisingly often), including some pre-finale theories, but the finale really hammered home how similar their current crises are.

In both cases, their great failures were that they weren’t strong enough to protect their loved ones: Blake and Pyrrha in particular, but the rest of their respective teams as well (Ruby and Weiss made it out fine, but only with two separate strokes of luck, and Yang wasn’t there to fight with them; Ren and Nora got battered and bruised when Jaune and his decidedly durable shield went to try to help Pyrrha). They’re both guardians, protectors, tanks: the people that take the hit to keep others healthy and safe. And as far as they were concerned, they just weren’t able to do their job during this crisis. They failed, and the people they cared about paid the price.

On top of that, they each had one aspect of their failures hammer on their individual issues especially hard. For Yang, it was the aftermath: she wasn’t able to protect Ruby, Weiss, or Blake, and as a result (as far as she believes), they all left her behind as they went their separate ways. Abandonment has always been her sore point, and now, as far as she’s concerned, she brought it upon herself.

As for Jaune, he was taken out of the battle, prevented from even having the chance to try to fight, by the one person who had actually believed in him. When the chips were down, even after all of their training, Pyrrha didn’t think he was strong enough, and she removed him from the fight against his will, making him wait where it was safe as she went to face her death. (The fact that she was totally right that he wouldn’t measure up to Cinder is beside the point: this is as much about Yang and Jaune’s mindsets as it is about the crises themselves.) To paraphrase him from Jaunedice slightly, he was stuck in a locker while his friend fought for her life. As far as he had come, when it really mattered, he was still useless, still that lovable but ineffectual idiot. No bloody wonder he was so angry when he made that call.

And why did Pyrrha just disappear into this glow of light? Did Cinder absorb her? Or were they just deciding they were done stabbing the Arkos shipping a-holes in the heart and we didn’t need her death to be gory? Dammit Pyrrha, just dammit. Why? Why did you have to do it? Team JNPR…no longer complete.(Just like how Marvel Ruined Fantastic Four in the comics by putting each character in different Teams.)

There is definitely a strong possibility that she will return, for several reasons. The death scene in its entirety really resembles the supposed death scene of Agent Carolina, also voiced by Jen Brown, near the end of RvB 10. Or, at the very least, it does to me. (I would like to point out that in both instances the enemy pulled the helmet/head piece off of Jen Brown’s character before “finishing them off”). Also, there are several small details which don’t really make sense to me. Cinder, at point blank range, decides to deal a potentially non-lethal blow to Pyrrha by shooting her in the chest. Why not simply shoot her in the head? Cause you know, Cinder sure as hell doesnt give a shit about people being able to have an open coffin.

I’m really concerned about how they are going to handle the death of Pyrrha. The way they ended the episode made it seem like her death was only going to push everyone onward and make them work harder, which I definately want to see, but I really hope they don’t just sweep everyone’s despair and sadness under the rug.

I want to see how each member of JNPR handled the loss of Pyrrha. I want to see how it changed them. I want to see the impact of seeing Pyrrha’s death first hand on Ruby. I don’t want them to just move on saying they’ll work hard for Pyrrha and that be the end of it.

Something to think about going into this finale and the next season.

This episode, and the whole volume, was pretty damn dark & ambitious but I have to absolutely commend the team for keeping an amazing focus on tone even if it was bad in places. Beacon is basically fucked, the CCT is down, Pyrrha is (presumed) dead, Penny is probably dead, Vale is fucked up, Blake and Weiss are gone, Ozpin is missing. But in the end, it **STILL. FEELS. HOPEFUL.** We get a glimpse at the New Villain right at the end, but we see Ruby going to Haven with the others. Ruby **never lost hope**, not once. The moments of light and dark play off each other. The dark moments hurt because we love these characters, but we still feel hope because they do. This is clearly NOT the kind of show that, when it decided to become much more dark, went dark just for the sake of shock value. A darker show is **never, EVER** automatically a better show, (*cough* Arrow *cough*) if characters die or bad things happen to them just for the sake of an audience reaction. But RWBY did not do this at all. In it’s absolute darkest moment, when Pyrrha dies, we literally have Ruby **bursting with light** to freeze the enemies. Every moment of darkness felt earned, but it still ended on a note of hope. And by extension, the audience loves it for that.

And so the group splits up, each taking a path of their own. Yang remains at home to recuperate. When/how long will it take her to return to action? Weiss is brought home by her father. Will she learn more about the dark secrets behind her family’s fortune? Blake mysteriously disappears. Could she be investigating the White Fang & what exactly her friend/friend has been doing during their time apart? Ruby heads off with Jaune’s group, both to fill in Pyrrha’s slot while they fill in for her team. What awaits them in Haven? I know I’m not the only one excited for the next season!

Looking passed the “Pyrrha being a Maiden” sub-plot that was wasteful in terms of acting and animations, the series even managed to emotionally scar fans in a “Legato Bluesummers” Kinda way too.

Despite much of the Drama and what happened to Yang, Rooster Teeth Seemingly has a sadistic sense of humor. (Official Valentines Day Card from them.)

I would’ve given this a higher rating if not for that sobering soul-crushing realization that some of the loose plot-threads that were previously established or touched upon once aren’t ever brought up again! For instance, Phyrra was built up to possibly have Maiden powers only to die? Pointless! Weiss’s Journey to break free from her father? Pointless! Blake disappearing without explanation and Yang wanting to know more about her long lost mother? Tossed aside so she can get her arm cut off and be a PTSD-addled EmoTard and Force unwarranted Drama for Internet shippers to bitch about!

Compared to the last two episodes this felt underwhelming at the end. It’s probably just me, because I hate time skips like that. (Naruto and Dragonball were often guilty of this.) I would have preferred to actually SEE Weiss get forced back home and Blake run away and the aftermath of how Yang felt about it rather than being told it. Show, don’t tell. That always makes me want to rip my hair out. Of course, it could be retconned flashback fodder for next season. Dammit, how will I make it all year?

The whole of Team RWBY needs to reunite. And they will. Because the show isn’t called Remnant, it’s not called Ruby. It’s Motherfucking RWBY! I estimate that part of Volume 4 will be the struggles of getting them back together, and I think that’ll involve a lot of character growth and development for all of them. I’m excited for it. But one of the things I absolutely need is for Yang and Blake to discuss this, for Blake to realize that she’s safe with Yang and her team but not in a romantic sense like how every Unproductive, SJW, Shipper-Douche on Tumblr, FB, Twitter and Reddit wants them to be. (This isn’t “Korrasami” you Obnoxious Dolts!)

That’s all for now. I’m sure we’ll have more to speculate on over the hiatus. Like I said up top, this is dark but RWBY is still a show that has a lot of hope in it. Bad things happened in this episode but since the Grimm Dragon is frozen and Cinder is missing, we end this volume with the heroes being able to at least push back.

Finally, we all love you too RT. We can’t wait to see what Monty posthumously has in store for us. <3