Breach
4 Huntresses vs. untold numbers of Grimm. The four will put those stacked odds to the test.
"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed."
— Weiss Schnee
Grimm are attacking Vale, and it's up to Team RWBY and friends to defeat them.
This episode contains examples of:
- Call-Back:
- Jaune faces off against an enormous Ursa, much like he did near the end of last season.
- Glynda again uses her magic to effortlessly repair the breach and make it look like nothing happened, just as she did in the first episode of volume 2.
- Gunship Rescue: There are so many Grimm on the streets and only a limited number of Huntsmen and students dealing with them. However, the Atlesian Army sends in its fleet, shooting Grimm from above and dropping multiple units of Mecha-Mooks to reinforce the Huntsmen numbers on the ground.
- Gut Feeling: Jaune answers Ruby's distress call but only hears loud interference before the call abruptly ends. He spends the rest of the morning concerned about RWBY's well-being and as soon as he hears the sirens and notices smoke coming from the city, Jaune orders his team to follow him into the city even though they're clearly in disagreement. Turns out RWBY was in fact there and in need of support to fend off a massive horde of Grimm.
- Interface Spoiler: Voice acting credits for the end of the volume roll in appearance order. If a new character is introduced in The Stinger, it's therefore spoiled by being the last name in the credits list before The Stinger is shown. Unlike the Volume 1 stinger, where Roman already knew who Cinder even though the audience didn't, Raven's first speaking role occurs in the Volume 2 stinger, meaning that the audience finds out her identity before Yang does.
- Mythology Gag: Jaune's ringtone is Russel's "That's a big Ursa" rap.
- Offhand Backhand: While everyone else actively fights the invading Grimm, and angry Glynda stalks through the streets to the invasion's entry point. She doesn't fight the Grimm she passes, she simply flicks her riding crop as if swatting a fly, and her telekinesis destroys them without her even glancing their way.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Literally. Sun and Neptune's arrival has the coolness taken out of it when a series of massive Cool Airships come flying overhead, casting a huge actual shadow over them, and let out their Mecha-Mooks to help deal with the encroaching Grimm.
- Play-Along Prisoner: Torchwick is finally arrested at the end of this episode, but his nonchalance implies that this was the plan all along or at least a favorable outcome to the bad guys.
- The Stinger: The end-credits scene consists of Yang confronting the masked woman who rescued her from Neo; the masked woman reveals her face, with red eyes and similar appearance to Yang, and tells her they need to talk. Yang's eyes turning red emphasises the similarity between them.
- Took a Level in Badass: This time, Jaune defeats his Ursa in a few seconds without any help from Pyrrha. His training might be paying off.
- The Unreveal: Velvet wants to use the contents of her box, but Coco stops her from doing this, with a huge lampshade.Coco: You've spent all semester building that up! Don't waste it here.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Done by the villains. Emerald's comment that the breach is "Too soon" implies that Torchwork was supposed to crack open Vale's defenses later. But, rather than use the chaos for some nefarious goal, Cinder's team play the good guys and help defend the city. It's therefore Emerald and Mercury who turn Torchwick over to the cops. While the day is saved, tomorrow is now in question; Torchwick is now the Play-Along Prisoner, relations between Ironwood and Ozpin are soured, and Adam is going to get more White Fang for the end game.
♫ You can't have my life
I'm not your sacrifice
You can try, but I'm free
And you won't conquer me. ♫
I'm not your sacrifice
You can try, but I'm free
And you won't conquer me. ♫
