Review: RWBY Vol.4 – Chapter 4 “Family”

 

Just in case you thought that YOUR family reunions were weird…

So I’m sure everyone has been waiting on the edge of their seat for the past two weeks, just as I have. It’s hard having everyone split up because it gives them limited screen time. But, we take what we get and wait patiently for next week. So let’s get down to brass tax.

Let’s start by asking the question that’s on everyone’s mind: Who the fuck is Oscar? We know nothing about him except for the fact that he’s the farm boy that randomly appeared in episode 1. And apparently, Ozpin is talking to him through a mirror. (I motherfucking CALLED IT!) I knew he wasn’t dead the whole time. So what role will Oscar play in the near future? Who knows. Maybe RNJR will run into him later. Maybe Oscar will set out on his own with little compact mirror Ozpin chirping away the whole time. I dunno.

I had a feeling he was somewhat important to the plot, RT wouldn’t just shove a random five minute scene of a kid doing farm stuff in episode 1 for nothing, I’m just as curious as everyone else where this goes in later episodes…

As for the Xiao Longs, they still haven’t had contact with Ruby since she left. But the good news is that Oobleck and Port have managed to survive the fall of Beacon and briefly mention that Qrow was tricked into wearing a skirt once as a child. Can we all just agree now that there should be a whole season dedicated to the origins of team STRQ? I would love to see Qrow in a skirt. 😛

Anyway, Yang and Taiyang have a very tense argument in front of the Professors about how she isn’t ready for the troubles of the real world. And when Taiyang makes a cruel crack about Yang’s lost arm, well, I’m not going to lie, I kept it paused for like ten minutes just so I could freak out. But the Xiao Longs have a weird sense of humor, as they both start to laugh.

Yang admits to being afraid that she won’t be able to go back to her old self and her prosthesis will act as a crutch in pretending it never happened, which is why she won’t put it on. But, Taiyang and the others give her a talk about how she’s afraid now that that she will soon move past this, which finally gives her the courage to put the prosthesis on in the morning.

On the other side of the globe, RNJR is still making their way to the next town with Qrow following close behind and killing the Grimm. Apparently, he wasn’t being as stealthy as he hoped, since his long-lost twin sister Raven had no problems finding him. The siblings have a good old-fashioned, passive aggressive heart to heart, where Qrow calls her out for being a shitty neglectful mother to Yang all those years.

Raven counters with accusations that he abandoned his real family and says she’s now the leader of and has a strict reputation to uphold despite Qrow pointing out that the very people she calls “Family” are “thieves and killers”. It’s also implied that the Branwen’s grew up outside of the kingdoms which is most likely why Qrow didn’t know the difference between a kilt and a skirt. And it’s unclear what exactly the “Relic” is. Is she referring to the Maidens, or something older? But whatever it is, Salem is looking for it. It’s also unclear who the next Spring Maiden is.

I just assumed it was Ruby, what with her glowing eyes, but Qrow said something about Silver Eyed warriors, however, that’s all we have to go with at the moment. So Raven casts another portal and leaves Qrow with more questions than answers which is to say… That’s so Raven!

What does this all mean you ask? I don’t know. There’s a farm boy, a plucky group of teenagers posing as Huntsmen, a warrior with her proverbial wing clipped, and a set of twins with family issues.They might as well rename this episode “Family Therapy”. Also, there was no Salem this week and I can only hope that Blake, Sun, and Weiss are fairing better than the others.

Overview:

I liked the episode but most fans in the forums have argued that Yang’s recovery happened a bit too fast. While the way they approached her recovery was unique, it lacked some emotional undertones that would have let the audience connect with her more. I’d rather have her go through a Gurren Lagann episodes 8-11 arc the way Simon did that lasted most of the season. It doesn’t have to be super dark & bleak but a fun way of showing that, hey, failure is part of human experience and no matter how hard we try to improve ourselves a lot of the time we don’t always succeed.

While Ruby & Weiss were not the full focus once again, I was pleased with the much needed “breathing room” that tried to slowly make sense of what’s going on.

Episode 5, try to top this one!