Index | Character Short 1 | Character Short 2 | Character Short 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Unforeseen Complications
"With each day that this man remains unpunished, it becomes increasingly difficult to condemn those that look down upon us."
Written by Miles Luna & Kerry Shawcross
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
"It won't be easy for the people to hear, but the truth often isn't. I know they'll do the right thing."
— Ghira Belladonna
Ghira makes a speech to the people of Menagerie. While Weiss is dealing with bandits, RNJR get the chance to meet Oscar and figure out their next move.
Tropes in this episode include:
- All for Nothing: Weiss spent the whole previous season struggling against her own father to get back in control of her own life. In the end she finally managed to escape her home, leaving her oppressive father behind and making a beeline towards Mistral where her big sister Winter was, before Ironwood would close Atlas's borders. She and her pilot were then nearly killed on route to Mistral when a swarm of lancer grimm attacked them, but after a long aerial battle Weiss defeated the queen lancer with her summoned knight, only for the ship to crash anyway with her being captured by a bandit tribe. When she tries to threaten her captors by telling them Winter would come rescue her, the bandits start laughing and inform her that Ironwood had already called all operatives (including Winter) back home to Atlas when he gave the order to close their borders in the first place, thus making the whole reason for her journey there (reaching Winter) all for naught and meaning she's alone again.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Ghira hopes to use Blake's personal experience of the White Fang assault on Beacon to sway the people of Menagerie to help protect Haven. However, Ilia interrupts before Blake can talk, ranting that Adam's vision is the right path to follow and that the Belladonnas are traitors who side with humans. An angry Sun jumps at her, telling her to shut up, but she flees his presence.
- Call-Back:
- In Volume 1, Ozpin tells Ruby that he's made more mistakes than any man, woman or child on earth. He mentions that conversation direction when he tells Team RNJR that what he said was no exaggeration, and then proceeds to explain what that comment meant: he's been walking the earth for thousands of years as a divine punishment for failing to stop Salem. Every action she takes against humanity is something he blames himself for.
- When Ilia publicly rants about how the Belladonna family are traitors for wanting to help humans, she states that her parents died in a dust mine collapse. During the Volume 5 prequel short featuring Blake, Ilia tells Blake her back story and how she came to join the White Fang, revealing that she came from a family of miners and that there once was a terrible accident there that killed many Faunus.
- Category Traitor: Ilia publicly declares the Belladonna family traitors and "the worst kind of Faunus" for even suggesting that they work with humans.
- Crippling Overspecialization: When Ozpin informs Team RNJR that he needs to bring them up to fighting fitness, Ruby objects by pointing out they can already fight. Ozpin's response is to call her out on her over-reliance on Crescent Rose which renders her incapable of fighting without it.
- My Instincts Are Showing: When Ghira is nervously pacing before giving his speech, Kali and Blake both try to comfort him by rubbing their heads against him in a manner reminiscent of the way cats rub their heads when showing affection. All of them are cat Faunus.
- Not Hyperbole: In Volume 1, Ozpin tells Ruby he has 'made more mistakes than any man, woman or child alive'. He now explains to Team RNJR that this is not an exaggeration. He's been cursed to walk the earth for thousands of years as a divine punishment for failing to stop Salem. Everything terrible that happens in Salem's name, such as the invasion of Vale and the fall of Beacon, he completely blames himself for.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: Ghira tells the people of Menagerie that Adam is planning to kill High Leader Sienna Khan and then destroy Haven Academy. When he tries to explain that the Faunus must stand with the humans to protect Haven, Ilia reveals her presence in the middle of the crowd. She accuses the Belladonnas of being traitors and 'the worst kind of Faunus' because of the crimes that humanity has committed against the Faunus and which the White Fang is fighting to correct.
- Voices Are Mental: When Oscar hands over the "controls" to Ozpin, his voice changes to Ozpin's. When it ends, it switches back to Oscar's.
- Weapon Twirling: When Team RNJR wonder who can train them if Qrow is off recruiting huntsmen for their cause, Ozpin engages in a dramatic display of skill by somersaulting onto a soft chair from a standing start and with perfect balance. For the rest of their conversation, Ozpin casually twirls his cane at an extremely fast speed with just his fingertips. He does it to remind them that they shouldn't be deceived by the fact they're confronting the physical form of a fourteen year old boy; they are in fact talking to the man who was, until recently, the headmaster of their combat school.
"No one is coming to rescue you."
