Index | Character Short 1 | Character Short 2 | Character Short 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Known by its Song
"The truth is that 'truth' is hard to come by."
Written by Miles Luna & Kerry Shawcross
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
"I'm giving you a choice. Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or... you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others."
— Raven Branwen
Qrow seeks out Huntsmen and Huntresses to aide in the fight against Salem, while Yang and Weiss prod answers out of Raven.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Animal Espionage: Raven took advantage of her ability to shift into raven form to spy on Yang. It's unclear how long this has been going on, but long enough that Yang recognizes her raven form, having seen it at the end of Volume Three.
- Becoming the Mask: Qrow and Raven were sent to infiltrate the Huntsmen Academy and learn how to kill Huntsmen, the biggest threat to their tribe besides the Grimm. They gained so much faith and trust in Ozpin that they turned their backs on their past and became Huntsmen for real. However, Raven's trust in Ozpin was shattered after she started learning Ozpin's secrets. She severed her ties and returned to her people to become what she had originally intended to be; she doesn't understand why Qrow doesn't agree with her and continues to be a Huntsman.
- Big Damn Reunion: At the end of the episode, Yang and Weiss arrive at the house in which Team RNJR are staying. Ruby drops her tea tray and bursts into tears. Yang hugs and professes her love for Ruby while Weiss quietly wipes a tear in the background. Ruby pulls out of the hug just long enough to tell Weiss to join in, and the three hug while everyone else looks on with a smile.
- Call-Back: Upon seeing Raven's bird-form, Yang recognizes it as the raven she saw earlier. In both the Yellow Trailer and "End of the Beginning", a black bird is present during certain scenes with Yang.
- Dramatic Drop: Ruby walks into the living room carrying a tea tray, only to drop it on the floor the moment she sees Yang and Weiss. It's the first time she's seen them since the end of Volume 3, and she wasn't expecting to see them at all.
- Due to the Dead: When Qrow realizes the Huntsmen he was looking for are dead, he returns to the bar and pays off Shiro's (rather sizable) debt, simply because he didn't want a debt on Shiro's name. The bartender quickly realizes the implications, and accepts it.
- Implied Death Threat: Raven warns Yang that if she takes Qrow's side, she won't be as kind to her when they next meet. Yang solemnly replies she wasn't that kind now.
- Internal Reveal: Raven tells Yang and Weiss that magic exists, that the Grimm have a master called Salem who is an enemy of humanity, and that she and Qrow can turn into birds. The viewers have known all of these things for a while.
- Meaningful Echo: Yang's first words to Ruby upon them reuniting are "I love you", the same thing Ruby said to her just before leaving home in the Volume 3 finale "End of the Beginning". Though Yang was traumatised to say it back to her at the time, she says it in this episode.
- Missing Mom: Unable to locate any of the Huntsmen on his list, a frustrated Qrow eventually trudges up to a house and asks the man who answers where "Heather" is, but he receives no response. Later, a young girl appears at the door and asks the man, her father, if this stranger knows where her mother is, indicating Heather is missing and her family have no idea what's happened to her. A shocked Qrow apologises and leaves.
- Mood Whiplash: The scene with Qrow trying to find Huntsmen is at first comedic with him failing to find a single one. And then he meets a Huntress' family. Her husband is unresponsive to Qrow's questions about her whereabouts and then her daughter shows up asking her dad if Qrow knows where her mother is, at which point it's revealed that it's not just Qrow's bad luck at play, something very wrong is going on.
- The Reveal: As bandits are vulnerable to Huntsmen, Raven and Qrow went to Beacon specifically to learn how to kill them. While there, Ozpin kept an eye on their team and gave them certain privileges. He is also the one who gave them the ability to turn into birds.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Ozpin gave Raven and Qrow the ability to turn into corvids. As Raven demonstrates to Yang and Weiss, she can transform between human and bird whenever she feels like it.
Yang: I love you.
Ruby: I love you too.
Ruby: I love you too.
