Review: RWBY “Known By Its Song”

There’s a lot you don’t know.

Overview:

Qrow goes out and tries to find some other hunters to help in the quest, to no avail. Yang and Weiss hear out Raven’s side of the story, and the episode ends with a surprise reunion.

Our Take:

A lot has been revealed this episode, especially regarding Raven’s distrust. She never trusted Huntsmen to begin with, since she and Qrow signed up for their own needs, and not for some grand idea. They were to be a counter force against Huntsmen, since the existence of Huntsmen threatened their tribe, but Ozpin took an interest in their talents. As a result, they were given extra missions and more insight into the happenings of the world. He also gifted them both the power to turn into ravens, which is hinted to be some type of magic. The knowledge of how widespread Ozpin is and that Salem is that much of a threat and the Grimm’s master, managed to scare Raven. She makes it clear that she thinks Ozpin’s crusade against Salem is a fruitless one.

Raven’s response is one largely characterized by fear. She realized what the threat was, and she became afraid of what was out there, and what sort of threats exist. Her solution of running away and strengthening her tribe isn’t going to solve the threat of Salem, but it’s not an unusual response. A lot of people say they would do the heroic thing, but the reality is that most people wouldn’t. Not everyone is willing to put their life on the line, and that’s actually a pretty regular reaction to have. The ones who are willing to risk their lives are rare!

Raven’s main issue is the way she treated her family. She thinks Qrow is brainwashed by Oz, and she thinks Taiyang is weak, but she still left Yang behind. Yang’s fury towards her is perfectly justifiable, considering what she went through. As in the last review, Raven abandoned Yang while also being fully capable of finding her once again. From what we know now, there was no real reason to not go out and find Yang, if need be. Instead, Raven decided to stay isolated and kept to herself. Yang remains bitter up until they part, and she really has no need to think otherwise.

The episode also ended with a touching reunion between the two sisters— who happily included Weiss as well. More than half of the team, united!