Refuge
"Are you sure it's safe out there?"
Written by Miles Luna
Directed by Paula Decanini
Directed by Paula Decanini
"Citizens of Mantle. General Ironwood has abandoned you. But we have not. If you can hear this, gather any food and supplies you need to stay warm, then head to the Mantle crater."
— Joanna Greenleaf
Yang, Jaune, Ren and Oscar aid the Happy Huntresses in evacuating the Mantle citizens, only for them to face an unexpected enemy in the process.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Adaptive Ability: The new Grimm is able to shapeshift and edit its body to more effectively deal with the situation at hand, gaining more upper body strength to hold up Oscar as a meatshield, giving itself vocal cords to respond to Ren, and creating wings to fly.
- Bait-and-Switch: The prison scene opens onto Qrow staring at Clover's bloodied pin while Robyn says "This is your fault. You realize that, don't you?" Seconds later, a zoom-out reveals that Robyn's talking with Jacques.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Robyn is already frustrated and at her wit's end being stuck in prison with Qrow and an unrepentant Jacques and Watts. After Jacques says his legal team is arranging for his release, Robyn screams "Shut up!" while punching the cell wall between them in her fury.
- Brutal Honesty: Joanna hijacks a reporter's microphone to tell the people of Mantle that Ironwood has abandoned them, the Grimm are making their way back into the city, and they must evacuate to the crater as soon as possible. She doesn't mince her words and doesn't hide the fact she clearly thinks that if anyone ignores her advice, they'll die.
- Cliffhanger: Towards the end of this episode, Yang's team is defeated by The Hound, an abnormal Grimm that possesses abilities they never thought possible for Grimm, such as human reasoning and the ability to speak. In the final scene, the Hound's wingbeats can be heard as it carries off Oscar while Yang, Jaune and Ren desperately give chase from below.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Hound is like no Grimm that's been seen before. It ambushes the team from above, and takes seconds to destroy Oscar's Aura before the team can even comprehend what's happening. When they do attack, the Hound uses Oscar's body as a meat-shield, leaving them powerless to act. When Ren's blades do sink into its chest, it merely throws him and his weapons aside like they're nothing. Unable to stop the Hound from taking Oscar, they're left completely shaken by the experience.
- Disaster Scavengers: The Happy Huntresses aren't just evacuating people to the crater, they're trying to create lodgings for everyone, too. They also loot the SDC refineries for Dust. Joanna reasons that with the military withdrawing from Mantle, and everyone focussed on the Grimm army, everyone won't care about some Mantle citizens looting for survival.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The single word spoken by the Hound is delivered in a haunting, gutteral bass voice, courtesy of Jason Liebrecht.
- Fantastic Ghetto: Mantle may live in Atlas's shadow and struggle to survive, but even it has a region that lives in its shadow. The slums are located in the crater on the slopes and cliffs below Mantle's city walls. Thus, they have to look up to both Mantle and Atlas. Their existence is tough, they have almost nothing, and they're all Faunus. However, when Mantle needs evacuating, the citizens of the slums agree to share their home with the refugees, even though a number of them are humans who are racist towards the Faunus.
- Foreboding Fleeing Flock: Three Sabyrs charge Yang's team, only to abruptly stop when they hear the Hound's growl and flee in the opposite direction. The heroes are alarmed by the unnatural behaviour because they've never seen Grimm run away from anything before. However, the Hound ambushes them before they can think about it any further.
- Graffiti of the Resistance: In the crater, all the symbols of Atlas have a Happy Huntress emblem spray painted over the top. While they are not in open rebellion against Atlas, it serves to show that Mantle has severed itself from them in light of their abandonment.
- Hard Light: Atlas relies very heavily on Hard Light Dust for shield technology. The prison cells are formed from Hard Light shields and Jaune employs portable shields against the Grimm to set-up ambush points for Ren to attack.
- Human Shield: When the Hound ambushes Yang's team, it aims straight for Ren and Oscar, separating them and flinging Oscar around so violently that his Aura breaks in seconds and he's rendered unconscious. Upon achieving that, the Grimm gently and calmly manoeuvres Oscar's limp body in front of whatever attack is coming its way, as if using a talisman to ward off danger. Yang, Jaune and Ren are powerless against this tactic and quickly realise that the Grimm's intelligence is unusually high. Even when it transforms to leave, it crouches directly over Oscar's body so that anyone trying to attack it while it's changing will risk harming Oscar.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Fiona learns that Yang's team already cleared Sector 7, she openly admits that she was worried how they'd fare without the rest of their group. Yang's expression hardens while Ren walks off in a huff.
- It Can Think: The Hound ambushes Ren and Oscar when Yang's team is spread out. It separates Oscar from Ren and throws Oscar around so violently that his Aura shatters in seconds. As soon as that happens, the Grimm changes its behaviour, treating Oscar's body more gently and calmly holding it in front of any incoming attacks like a shield, knowing that the heroes won't hurt Oscar's now defenceless body. When Ren demands it give Oscar back, the Grimm replies "No" and then leaves. Yang, Jaune and Ren are left stunned and shaken by both the intelligence of the Grimm and the fact that it can talk.
- Jump Scare: Although the Hound is seen at several points in the episode stalking Yang's group in the background, the moment it attacks is still played for shock. While Yang's team try to understand why charging Sabyrs suddenly turned tail and fled, there's an abrupt crash of something landing heavily on Ren's hoverbike, flinging Ren and Oscar in opposite directions. Even though the attack was clearly coming, the suddenness of the strike from the rooftop is still effective.
- Karma Houdini: A discussed example. Despite being arrested for committing treason against Atlas in the previous volume, Jacques points out to his cellmates that he'll probably get off scot-free, since he's confident that Whitley and his legal team will arrange for his release.
- Loss of Identity:
- Penny isn't sure as to who she is supposed to be now that she is the Winter Maiden. She was the Protector of Mantle, but now she's more than that and she doesn't know what it means or what to do about it. She wishes she hadn't been given the power.
- While Ozpin was gone, Oscar finally figured out who he is and start becoming the person he always wanted to be. Now that Ozpin has returned, that's no longer possible. Ozpin points out that even when he was absent, it didn't stop the inevitable merging of their souls which is why his memories and abilities were bleeding through even then. Oscar states he doesn't want this to happen. Ozpin sorrowfully agrees.
- Meaningful Background Event: The Hound is seen throughout the episode, building up to its ambush attack towards the end of the episode. When Yang's group first ride their hoverbikes, the Hound is standing on a gangway above them, watching them. When Oscar and Ozpin talk about their souls merging, the Hound is sat on a roof, watching them escort the humans to safety. When Yang baits the Teryx into an ambush, the Hound can be seen swiftly running across a gangway to keep up with them. It's just after defeating the Teryx that the Hound finally attacks.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: When the Hound strikes, it lands almost on top of Oscar and separates him from Ren by sending both of them flying. It mercilessly grabs him, shakes him, throws him across the street, lands heavily on him and repeats. At one point, the overwhelmed Oscar tries kicking out in a panic, but the Hound doesn't pay any attention. Within seconds, Oscar's Aura is broken and he's unconscious. That appears to have been the Hound's goal because, as soon as Oscar's Aura breaks, the Hound completely changes its behaviour and handles the boy's limp body almost gently.
- Outside-Context Problem: Every Grimm encountered so far has been relatively animalistic and of limited intelligence, with even the smartest ones only being intelligent enough to wait to attack a target. The Hound is a Grimm that not only transforms, but is intelligent enough to use a Human Shield, and it can talk, which no previous Grimm in the entire setting so far has demonstrated. The implications of such an opponent are so profound that it stuns Yang, Ren, and Jaune, because they have never encountered a Grimm like this before.
- Racist Grandma: Yang's group evacuates the Mantle citizens to the crater, but a local grandmother is dismayed at the idea of going there because Faunus, whom she disdainfully calls "animals", are living there and because she believes that Ironwood's soldiers will take them to Atlas. Yang points out that the Faunus are selflessly helping others, including her.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Yang's group and the Happy Huntresses evacuate the Mantle citizens to the slums. However, a Racist Grandma is outraged that the Atlesian rescue the city was originally promised by Ironwood will no longer come and refuses to go to the slums, since that's where the Faunus reside. Yang bluntly points out that Ironwood has abandoned her, whereas the Faunus have generously offered to help out, regardless of whether she deserves it.
- Revenge: After watching Watts get beaten unconscious and dragged out of his cell, Robyn briefly laments that she's unable to do anything. Qrow, however, tells her that he plans to exact revenge on Ironwood, the person responsible for their predicament.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: A discussed example; When Watts comments that everyone in the prison block is all in it together, Jacques points out that he's certain that his son is contacting their crack legal team so they can arrange for his release.
- Shapeshifting: The Hound is a strange, misshapen beast that almost looks semi-solid at times rather than solid. It can transform its body and limbs at will. It appears to have a dog-form, where it moves on all fours, and a bipedal werewolf form, where it can use its front limbs as hands. It can also produce wings from its shoulder blades when it needs to fly. Its method of shapeshifting appears to cause it great pain and involves bones and muscles visibly moving underneath its oily skin. The semi-solid state seems to help as it moves and oozes into the new form before solidifying as if to lock itself into shape. The transformation is also accompanied by the sound of joints poping, bones cracking, flesh tearing and moving, as well as causing the Hound to contort, bend and bulge while screaming or roaring in apparent pain.
- Technology Porn: The introduction of the Rhino hoverbike, specifically Yang's, is given some lovely closeups of the foot controls and center cluster during its first scene.
- Transformation Horror: The Hound's shapeshifting abilities are shown in minute detail. Its body shapes, contorts, bulges and crunches as it shifts while it roars or screams as if in agony. It's not just shapeshifting, it's actively breaking its own body and flesh while bones and muscle visibly move around underneath the oily skin.
- Tube Travel: In order to infiltrate the Atlas Military compound, Weiss leads May and the rest of Ruby's team to a Dust shipping plant owned by the SDC. Inside, large pneumatic tubes connect to various strategic locations within Atlas to drop off Dust that's been refined on the surface. Although not used for transport, these tubes are big enough to send Weiss up to the compound accidentally when she gets too close and Nora hits the send button.
- We Interrupt This Program: An Atlesian field reporter is broadcasting live from Mantle's streets in the aftermath of the military halting the evacuation. However, Joanna grabs the microphone, denounces Ironwood for dooming Mantle and tells any Mantle citizens who are watching to evacuate to the crater.
- You Can Talk?: The Grimm are not capable of talking. They don't think like humans — some can barely think at all — and even the humanoid ones only make animalistic or monstrous cries and noises. When the Hound actually speaks, Jaune manages "Did it just—?" but they can all barely believe what just happened.
- You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: When Fiona tries to send Yang's team to help Huntsmen elsewhere in the city, the Hound ambushes them and kidnaps Oscar. When Fiona asks them why're not going to be able to help after all, Yang doesn't know how to explain the existence of a Grimm that is capable of human intelligence, battle tactics, speech and shapeshifting, so she simply says that Fiona wouldn't believe it if told about it.
"Kids. What's your status?"
