#rwby v07e05

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RWBY V07E05 - Sparks

Wow, this could be about anything and everything.I saw a thumbnail with Robyn in it so I know she appears, so that's something. I think Sonic Harriet throws sparks when she's powering up, Yang's semblance has sparks too. It could also be about the "spark the fires of revolution" or "the spark that can ignite hope." Considering the current political climate I'm guessing it'll probably be closer to the former than the latter.

Let's do this!

What a blessed way to start the day and the episode. Penny is living her dream considering staying close to her friends was the only reason we heard about why she wanted to stay at Beacon.

This is so wholesome that every day I fear more and more for everyone's lives.

The one thing I don't like about the Maya style is the way they enlarge the eyes anime-style for cuteness points. I'm sure it _could_ work but it just looks weird and somewhat out of place to me. I remember Yang and Weiss cooing over Saphron's child looking more disturbing than cute.

This is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Yeah, yeah, fights, explosions, grimm, * yawn *, whatever.

Finally, here's the huntsman I want to see. There's no way this "simple" mission doesn't end up with him somehow becoming a hero.

Or perhaps he is already a hero.

A highly wanted hero.

This is amazing. And tragic. He has everything he ever wanted when he had just entered Beacon, and now they are all probably at the bottom of his priority list.

I'm not sure how to interpret this. Winter gets distracted and Weiss feels like she's not doing enough to impress her sister? It kinda fits with their little moment in the OP, but I hope Weiss grows past that this season. It's not exactly a healthy dynamic.

Ooh, one more OP scene.

I feel like my mind is blowing. He does have a ton of aura, what if he could harness it for more than just healing? Is his semblance just "healing" or is it actually aura manipulation (since he's actually just jumpstarting the other person's aura generation)? I already want to see where they go with this. Something like Vine and his arms? Or something more like a larger shield around him?

Note from the future: I had a complete brain fart when I wrote that and forgot that his semblance is “aura amplification” but most of what I wrote still applies. I’m really curious about what can he do with a _lot_ of aura.

I think this tiny line is just enough to make me more interested in Ren than I have been since Volume 4.

There was a hint with him blowing off Nora because he wanted to focus on the mission. Was it just that or does he want to become a better/stronger huntsman for something different than the obvious (which would be to protect people from having the same fate as his parents) to the point of considering everything else as secondary? I remember Nora was speculated to be from Mantle... How does it all fit?

My heart.

And Ruby is the other one who's living her dream, she _always_ wanted to be a Huntress. No doubts, no late night conversations about her future next to a fire, no soul-searching questioning. And it probably helps that while while this montage is happening, she doesn't have to question her decisions or think too deeply about the future.

Aw. I like the progress from getting his mug stolen to giving Marrow one.

oh no

no

no

She's _really_ good at poking insecurities, huh?

I'm speechless. Nora is riding her weapon like a witch.

Here's another example of what I was talking about. In any previous season Ren would have shook his head, smiling at the lovable scamp that is Nora. Now he almost looks sick of her attitude?

Woo! They are talking!

Now talk about death.

Sorry, _this_ is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS, WRITERS. WHO HURT YOU.

thinking emoji

Nevermind everything I have said about Ironwood. He's evil and deserves everything bad that's probably going to happen to him.

The biggest mood. In real life _and_ for, well, everyone in the show, but especially Ruby.

I'm not sure if it's her sleepy face or something else but Ruby looks really grown up here.

From one ship to the other.

Poor Clover, wasting his efforts complimenting the guy when Qrow has a thousand-feet high shield made of self-hatred.

oh?

oh my god, he's perfect

AAAAAAA FINALLY, ROBYN!

So that grafitti _was_ important.

I was thinking the same thing. Wouldn't she, being a candidate to being elected, need to keep her nose clean?

There goes the possibility of one of the Ace Ops being a traitor for Robyn's group.

Did she fail a dice roll on her semblance check?

Hmm. Only Qrow has used that word so far in the show, once of Ruby and once for Oscar. Probably a coincidence but still.

By showing us how willing Robyn was to attack a military convoy, she either thinks she's going to lose the election (maybe because she thinks it's rigged) or thinks it won't matter for some reason. Why would she risk the possibility of fixing things from the top otherwise?

There are no traitors (yet) in the Ace Ops because she'd know why Amity is so important.

Did she call off the attack because Penny is a powerhouse or because she only thought she could win by ambushing them + a number advantage? Maybe it was all a bluff to get more information.

For having such a short intro scene, Robyn is _really_ interesting.

And she seems to have fewer scruples than Ironwood, making her and the whole conflict even more interesting.

Where's Ruby and Nora with the popcorn!?

Okay, nevermind, I misunderstood Weiss's deal earlier. Go Weiss!

Aw, she likes that Weiss is finally standing up to her a little.

But is that what Weiss really wants? Now that I think about it, we haven't heard anything about that since... I don't know, V2? Beacon changed a lot of things and getting disowned changed even more.

Her main goal was to get her family back, both RBY and Winter, but now with that done, what does she want? Does she still want to clean her family name?

Wow, this is an even more interesting conflict between them.

...yeaaaaaaaah, sure How many episodes before that's proven wrong? Unless Ironwood is really being setup as the total Anti-Ozpin and he really did tell everything to Winter? Naaaah. Since she knows about the relics and the maiden, maybe it'll have something to do with Amity Arena? Orbital weapons, anyone? No?

All the technology in the world and they haven't invented chairs.

She's either been all over the world or she's painting what she's never been able to see. Both are tragic, considering her current state.

Wow. I guess that's one way to make sure the power goes to Winter but wow, that's awful.

...you know what happened to the last person who said that?

On the other hand, maybe the fact that Winter choose of her own volition to become the winter maiden, with all the time in the world, without Ozpin breathing down her neck, is going to make all the difference.

They _really_ nail his awful, awful character.

He's strong-arming the population into voting for him. But doesn't he have Watts fixing the elections for him? Or is it _because_ of Watts that he's doing this? Nothing says riots and unhappiness like having a ton of people suddenly become unemployed.

yyyup.

The montage was okay (with some cute and interesting character moments in between all the fighting) and FNKI's cameo was fun, but everything after that was _gold_.

Poor Ruby, she pairs with Penny, Yang and Weiss this episode but no Blake. Those lines they spoke to each other in the past couple of episodes were too much.

I'm really curious about what's going with Ren. They have been showing him just enough that it has to be more than a coincidence. It really feels like he suddenly gained a focus towards being a huntsman that he didn't have before and that, so far, came from nowhere. But why? Is it Nora related? Is it even going to be explained this season? He's just background enough that the writers could be setting up for next season. The big Yang/Blake drama arc is over so they are introducing Ren's? Uhm.

Jaune being thirsted over is amazing and he deserves it. I want to see what he's going to do with his aura, especially now that Tyrian is back, he expressed a direct interest in him so maybe a fight is coming (since he already had his chance with Cinder for the time being)

Ruby living her dream life is so cute that I'm just waiting to see how it all crashes and burns. Penny's words about having to choose between what she wants and what she needs to do were very on the nose about Ruby's situation. Well, everyone's situation since Winter apparently had to deal with that and _chose_ to make both the same. Have we had anyone who chose the opposite? I guess Raven, making her a pretty good contrast to Winter.

Weiss's future is still in the air but I hope she doesn't abandon reclaiming her family name. Unless Whitley actually ends up becoming a sane human being and Weiss ends up entrusting everything to him to continue being a Huntress?

Clover is being pushed pretty hard as an all-around perfect good guy. So he's either going to die, he's a traitor or had an awful _awful_ past. Because nothing good lasts in Remnant. He did seem genuine when he wished Robyn luck though (even if it's probably kind of his thing).

Robyn was on screen for maybe four minutes and it was enough to make me very intrigued about where this season is going. The way they are setting up the conflict as [grey vs grey] vs black, with multiple interconnected plot threads, is pretty ambitious so I hope they manage to stick the landing.

There's the election, Robyn apparently not caring about the election, Jacques definitely not caring about the election, the villains' plot that requires general discontent, Ruby's secrets, Ironwood's plan, Ironwood's secret secrets, Winter possibly becoming the Winter maiden or dying or both. And then you have the smaller things that may or may not happen, like Ren's thing, Clover's being too good for this earth, _Penny_ being too good for this earth, the way it feels like it's going to be Beacon V2. Neo and Cinder are still missing but we know are on her way.

In comparison V6 was a walk in the park, with a pretty clear goal all the way through. So, yeah, I'm a bit worried about where this is all going. It has a _ton_ of potential though so I can't wait for the next episode. Until next time!

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Penny is known as the hero of Mantel. Fighting with her would be bad optics.

On that note I wish the show had shown a bit more of Penny as “the hero/protector of mantle,” interacting with the people she’s protecting. Robyn says it sarcastically enough that it wouldn’t surprise me if Ironwood gave her that title instead of something that was born from the people of Mantle and no one takes it seriously. One more symbol of the oppression they suffer.

Of course, “A Night Off” changes things.