Review: RWBY Vol.7 “The Greatest Kingdom”

Long after the intensity of last season and finally making it to their desired destination at Weiss’s homeland, there’s a genuine sense of unease as we see a series of things within the Mantle branch of Atlas that doesn’t add up, but a lot of it says so much with so little. In some ways it kinda reminds me of Minority Report with its uncomfortable lack of privacy and frequent use of robotic drones that crawl around the town casually scanning people, in combination with the blatant racism against the Faunus that I predicted we’d expect from the people within the Atlas kingdom, there are also massive screens and propaganda footage everywhere which gives off some dystopian 1984 vibes cementing the uncomfortable atmosphere even further.

Upon landing, Maria Caravela (A supporting character since vol.6) takes them to a close friend of her’s who is an inventor named Dr. Pietro, who has played an indirect role in somewhat improving their lives. The doctor also mentions that after the traumatizing events of Vol.3’s “Fall of Beacon” disaster, the public has nothing but absolute distrust, disgust and belittlement towards the Atlas kingdom and believe that a possible traitor amongst them hacked into their computer systems causing the Atlas Robots to kill innocent civilians, but before Pietro can further divulge into how he knows any of them, a fight breaks out involving a pack of Grimm Lion creatures attacking the city.

As usual the fight scenes are everything you’d expect of Team Rwby along with Jaune, Nora, Ren, and most notably Oscar who is shown to slowly comprehend the powers and combat skills he’s accessing, even if Ozpin within him is purposely lying dormant in his mind after the shit that went down during the lost fable episode. However, just when things seem decidedly bleak against these Grimm Monsters, a familiar face proceeds to wipe the floor with the Grimm monsters Iron Man-style. The twist itself of whom this person is tied with Pietro. Let’s just say, it should be a shock to longtime fans and a very emotional reveal. Sadly, before they can get more answers to their questions from Pietro in regards to the current state of the Atlas kingdom, an elite team of Atlas troops within Mantle called the “Ace-Ops” who are ordered to arrest their asses, and the episode ends on an uncertain note.

It also sets up a new Intro that gives some subtle hints of what to possibly expect for the rest of this volume and from the looks of things, it could be a doozy…

Our Take.

While the “familiar face” was a welcoming and refreshing change, at the same time it will also divide some fans as the return of this particular individual could destroy whatever emotional impact their last appearance in Vol.3 arguably had, but the introduction of Pietro leaves me wanting to see more of him and his purpose in the plot. Even tho Mantel looks like an industrial shit-hole town that would potentially kill your lungs if you lived there, you gotta admit the shots of the scenery are well detailed with the building exteriors and the mood it conveys. Judging from the random footage of General Ironwood, given that Ironwood has robotic limbs & enhancements, It makes you wonder if he’s ever conflicted about giving up a certain level of his humanity for the sake of survival, or if someone else is pulling the strings to cause such paranoia and unrest in his troubled soul to make everyone on this floating kingdom live in their proverbial bubble away from everyone else.

Random news footage even speaks about an outer wall being damaged and a missing journalist found dead. This means there’s a potential opening for Grimm and someone is probably trying to hide some shady shit, but of course, that remains to be seen. So, aside from the obvious problems with freedom of speech/security, political problems, economic problems and, again, security problems. Also maybe it’s just me being uninformed in general, but what the fuck is the Outer Wall? Do they need local hunters there? Is this how the Grimm keeps entering the city? Can Dr. Watts & Tyrion from Salem’s evil council be related to this? It just raises too many questions.

Overall, RWBY once again, shows that it knows how to come out the gate swinging. The producers have set up a lot of interesting things in this first episode, and I can not wait to see how it all plays out.