Review: RWBY Vol.7 “Worst Case Scenario”

After the gruesome aftermath of the last episode where Penny is framed for murder by Tyrian in combination with Jacques being voted into office, things seem decidedly bleak for the people of Mantle and General Ironwood who are trying their damnedest to figure out how these orchestrated & fucked up events even happened in the first place.  In an effort to prevent any more killings, Ironwood cracks down on security, announcing that there are to be no public gatherings of any kind and that everyone must obey a curfew. Obviously, not everyone is obeying these new laws. Alongside a few civilians braving the authorities, Robyn and her Happy Huntresses are out stealing the supply trucks meant for Amity and re-distributing those supplies to the people but this situation alone has pushed Ironwood into the possible option for “Martial Law”. Nora finds all of this objectionable, but they’re put in quite a stranglehold knowing that if they make this thing public, Salem’s forces will attempt to sabotage it, but if they make the existence of Salem public now instead of doing it after the project is done, it would drive humanity to the point of despair and summon more Grimm. But much to the shock of Nora even after working things out with Ren, Ren is taking Ironwood’s side on the matter…

Yang & Blake debate on whether or not they should keep secrets and straight-up tell the truth about the shit that went down last season to Ironwood in combination with talking about killing a madman such as Adam in self-defense, which Blake is understandably shaken up for playing a role in his death, but Yang gives her assurance that the two will work through it and decide not to arrest Robyn but instead try to talk things out. Of course, before they get to Robyn it leads to a decent action sequence, but in a nutshell, Robyn’s semblance basically makes her a human lie detector so her waving her hand to Clover during her first appearance wasn’t just a friendly gesture, as Robyn’s powers only work through skin to skin contact.

Ironwood & Oscar have a heart-to-heart about which explains how the city of Atlas can float with is due to the relic known as the “Staff of Creation” and it’s here when Ironwood is showing some shred of his humanity. In the hopes that Ozpin will surface from Oscar’s body, both Ironwood & Oscar talk about how horrific it was for Ironwood to watch Beacon fall. We get a wonderfully creepy flashback to Salem’s chess piece, reminding us that she’s not just dangerous, she’s malicious. And there are no better words to convey the personal Trauma that continues to haunt him as he felt completely powerless to stop those forces at the time. Oscar cautions Ironwood that saving the world isn’t worth losing himself in the process but given the big reveal about Ozpin & Salem’s past that Ironwood still has no knowledge of, that’s a real easy stance to take when you know Salem is immortal and Ironwood doesn’t. But in all fairness, Ironwood actually doesn’t have all the information necessary to make an informed decision, nor do we know if he’d make a better one with this new knowledge in mind.

Our Take

Based on observation, the central theme of this episode is about the importance of truth and how it’s essential to stop having secrets before they pile up to the point that they can mentally fuck with you. As for Jacques being voted into office, I’m even more shocked that this season/volume took this direction as it feels inspired by the 2016 election where everyone voted against a particular candidate that nobody wanted or took seriously with the assumption that anyone but him would win, and yet nobody expected the opposite result…

Visually there’s a small hint of Dr. Watts’s origin shown through a photograph in Pietro’s office, but Tyrian’s origin story is something we’re told but we don’t see it as he was a serial killer that was presumed dead from a Grimm attack. There were so many interesting conversations within this episode, with Nora confronting Ironwood, the big reveal of how Pietro built Penny, Yang & Blake talking about killing a person to which Yang offers an alternative to killing thanks to Tai’s lesson as well as trusting Robyn with the Amity plan, and Oscar offering the General some wisdom. As for the next episode, we could possibly meet Weiss’s alcoholic mother but who knows if that’s the case.

Whether nor to any of this will carry on, remains to be seen in the next episodes of Volume 7.