Review: RWBY “True Colors”

Take a stand.

Overview:

Qrow gets a call from Lionheart, and he and Oz discuss whether humanity can survive Salem. In the meantime, the Belladonnas fight their attackers off.

Our Take:

The Belladonna family manages to escape harm, with no deaths and only minor injuries on their side. Black and Ilya fight it out, with Ilya exclaiming that while she doesn’t necessarily agree with violence, she doesn’t know what else to do. Blake reminds her that the easiest way isn’t necessarily the right way, and Ilya has to decide on what she thinks is right. When Blake calls her out and Ghira arrives to save her life, Illya’s convictions are shaken. Eventually, she makes the choice to help Blake.

Illya’s tale is much more sympathetic compared to the heroic Blake’s or the extremist Adam’s– because she’s deeply conflicted. Even after seeing the logic of both sides, she doesn’t know what to do. There isn’t a right or wrong answer when it comes to how an oppressed people get their rights back. She’s not sure what she believes in, only that she wants a proper end result. This time, when it comes to people she cares about getting hurt, she can’t turn a blind eye and convince herself it’s for the greater good. There truly are no easy answers, but at least she made her own decision.

The faunus show a large range of how to counter oppression: some choose violence, some choose peaceful negotiation, some want to be left out of the debate entirely. As Blake tells the growing crowd, the humans aren’t the only one fighting against their peace, but it’s also their fellow faunus. Adam is the extremist one, who sees violence as the only way that the Faunus can gain equality. The Belladonnas, by contrast, are the ones who see peace as the only way towards equality. The majority of the population just wants to be left alone. However, with a threat looming on the horizon, it’s clear that there isn’t any chance to not pick a side. You’re either for or against Adam, and Salem tends to show no mercy. Adam sees the end as justifying the means, even if his fellow faunus get hurt in the meantime. On that, the majority of the population tends to disagree, since the last thing they want is for their homes to get caught up in another battle again. This time, rallied by Blake, they decide to take matters into their own hands. Either they can allow someone else to create their public image for the rest of the world, or they can determine their image for themselves.