History Recap / RWBYV1E8PlayersAndPieces

* DropTheHammer: Nora's weapon is revealed: Magnhild, a combination grenade launcher and war hammer.

* RewatchBonus: Nora's Semblance was hinted here from the pink electric discharge from the back of the Ursa she was riding before it collapse.

* CirclingBirdies: Ruby gets these after being slammed into a tree, though hers are actually Beowolves and not birds

* AnimationBump: Team RWBY and Team JNPR's fights against the Giant Nevermore and the Deathstalker have significant better animation quality, with everyone's movement being far smoother.
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Ruby does a solo, non-vocal version of this trope [[LeeroyJenkins the first time she sees]] the Deathstalker. During her retreat, her cloak gets pinned by the Nevermore's FeatherFlechettes.
* BigDamnHeroes: Weiss stops the Deathstalker from killing Ruby.

** Ruby charges at the Deathstalker, which is impervious to her attacks. If it hadn't been for Weiss's intervention, she probably would've been killed.

* EyeScream: Pyrrha throws her javelin into one of the Deathstalker's eyes to stun it.

* KingMook: The Nevermore, specifically. Also doubles as GiantMook, it's scientific name is literally ''Giant Nevermore''.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Weiss and Ruby point out that, since they're already right in front of the relics, all they actually ''need'' to do to fulfill their mission is grab one and get back to the cliffs -- fighting the Nevermore and Deathstalker would be a waste of time. Though they end up getting chased and fighting the Grimm anyway, the sentiment still stands.

** Jaune quickly identifies that the Deathstalker's stinger is a weakness due to it being loose. He instructs Pyrrha to sever it from the Deathstalker's tail, and then has Nora smash the stinger into the Grimm's skull.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "Red Like Roses Part 2" -- Volume 1's theme song -- plays during the final part of the fight. It starts out with just the instrumentals during the Deathstalker fight, while the lyrics kick in as the future Team RWBY finishes off the Giant Nevermore.

** With the help of Weiss' magic, Ruby runs up a cliff face after hooking the Nevermore's neck in her scythe blade, dragging it up the wall and finally decapitating it.

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "Red Like Roses" -- Volume 1's theme song -- plays during the final part of the fight. It starts out with just the instrumentals during the Deathstalker fight, while the lyrics kick in as the future Team RWBY finishes off the Giant Nevermore.

!Players And Pieces
[[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nevermore_rwby.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:329: ''[[Creator/{{EdgarAllanPoe}} "Quoth the raven..."]]'']]

-->"We're gonna need more men."

----

* FeedItaBomb: Yang jumps into the Nevermore’s mouth, wedges herself in its beak, and begins force-feeding the concussive blasts from her gauntlets down its throat.

* WarmUpBoss: The two giant Grimms don't go down easy, but this is the first victory by the protagonists as teams.

** Jaune quickly identifies that the Deathstalker's stinger is a weakness due to it being loose. He instructs Pyrrha to severe it from the Deathstalker's tail, and then has Nora smash the stinger into the Grimm's skull.

!!This episode contains examples of:

'''Volume 1, Episode 08:'''
!Players And Pieces

[[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nevermore_rwby.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:329: ''[[Creator/{{EdgarAllanPoe}} "Quoth the raven..."]]'']]

The episode opens to Ruby and Weiss, clinging to the feathers of a giant Nevermore and lamenting what a terrible idea this was. Ruby suggests they let go, Weiss suggests they don't, but finds Ruby already had and so she does the same. Ruby and Jaune collide in midair and land in a tree.

Yang and Blake are watching this debacle transpire from the ground, when an Ursa bursts into the clearing and promptly collapses dead with Nora riding on its back. Ren soon catches up, looking exhausted. Nora sees the chess set and delightfully grabs a white rook before Ren calls her back to his side. At this point, Pyrrha bursts into the clearing next, the Deathstalker hot on her heels. As Weiss is falling to earth, Jaune jumps out and catches her midfall... and then realises how silly that was. Jaune falls to the floor in a heap, and Weiss daintily lands on top of him, unharmed.

With the students gathered at the temple and the two monstrous Grimm ready to strike, Ruby rushes ahead to face the Deathstalker alone. Crescent Rose, a weapon that exacted a toll on the Grimm encountered before, bounces off the Deathstalker's chitin with little effect. She attempts to flee, and Yang attempts to reach her sister, but both are stopped by the Grimm. Yang helplessly reaches and cries out for her sister, fearing for her, when a light blue blur speeds ahead and stops the Deathstalker dead. Weiss turns to Ruby and admonishes her for being dim and childish... but admits she has been difficult so far as well. She promises to be "nicer" as long as Ruby stops being such a showoff. Yang finally reaches Ruby and takes her in a hug, which may have been a bit too hard given Ruby's pained gasp.

Realising that the battle is hopeless, the large group run for the exit point rather than face the large Grimm, but the Nevermore and Deathstalker give chase and they are forced to split up in the ruins, fighting a frantic retreat. As the group are crossing a bridge, the Nevermore crashes into the bridge and smashes it, isolating Ren, Pyrrha and Blake with the chittering Deathstalker. A hasty attempt by Nora to reach the group allows her to deliver a thunder blow to the abomination's head, but it also knocks Blake over the side. Thinking fast, Blake uses Gambol Shroud to latch on and swing around, delivering a series of slashes to the Nevermore as it passes her before landing safely with Ruby, Weiss and Yang.

Here we come to the final showdown: RWBY vs. the Nevermore, and JNPR vs. the Deathstalker. RWBY unleash their firepower to bring the Nevermore crashing down through their position on the high temple, and they jump up the rubble to safety. Seeing Blake rope up with the Gambol Shroud, Ruby suggests an idea. JNPR charge up the collapsing bridge towards the Deathstalker, dodging and deflecting the abomination's clumsy pincer attacks. Ren mounts the tail and unleashes a withering hail of bullets into the base of the stinger at point-blank range before the creature flings him into a pillar and knocks him out. A thrown spear catches the Deathstalker in the eye, and noting the dangling stinger, Jaune prompts Pyrrha to sever it with her thrown shield, bringing it down onto the Deathstalker's head. With a mighty blow, Nora smashes the stinger down through the Deathstalker's head like a nail, wrecking the bridge and sending the Grimm's lifeless body down with it.

Back to RWBY, Yang is holding her own against the giant Nevermore but not dealing any major damage. So she jumps into the giant flyer's mouth, stood in the creature's maw, her left arm restraining the upper jaw and the right pumping Ember Celica's burning shot down its throat, giving its innards a singe and sending it crashing into the cliff face as Yang lands safely. The Nevermore's defiant screech and take off is interrupted by Weiss darting past Yang to freeze the tail to the cold stone beneath. As this happens, Blake tosses Gambol Shroud to Yang, who secures it to the opposite pillar. Ruby jumps into the middle of the ribbon and Weiss uses a gravity glyph to pull her back, forming a deadly giant slingshot with Ruby herself as the ammunition. With a last comment, Ruby launches at the Nevermore's head and loops Crescent Rose around its neck, crashing it back into the cliff. A pathway of Weiss' glyphs lights up the face and Ruby drags the beast up the path, culminating with a stylish decapitation when she reaches the top. As the lifeless and headless body of the Nevermore falls back to earth with a loud crash, the rest of the students watch on, in as much wonder [[Awesome/{{RWBY}} as the audience, no doubt]].

Back at Beacon, the successful teams are formed by Ozpin. The first team consists of Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark, forming Team CRDL, pronounced "Cardinal", led by Cardin. The next team is Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren, forming Team JNPR, pronounced "Juniper", with Jaune serving as its leader. Finally, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang form Team RWBY, pronounced "Ruby", with Ruby leading the team. Afterwards, Ozpin notes that it seems this will be an interesting year.

The hunt for the relics brings the future Teams RWBY and JNPR together as they confront a Giant Nevermore and a giant Deathstalker.

Once Ruby almost gets herself killed trying to take on the Deathstalker by herself, the gang agree to grab the relics and run instead of fighting the two Grimm. Unable to escape the Grimm, the eight students are forced to fight for their lives.

** Jaune dives off of the tree to catch a falling Weiss, [[GravityIsAHarshMistress then he looks down and sees how high up they are]] and RealityEnsues.

* CirclingBirdies: Ruby gets these after being slammed into a tree, though hers are actually wolves and not birds

** Ruby charges at the Deathstalker, which is impervious to her attacks. If it hadn't been for Weiss' intervention, she probably would've been killed.

* OffWithHisHead: Ruby kills the Giant Nevermore via decapitation after dragging it up a cliff face.

* AnimationBump: Team RWBY and Team JNPR's fights against the Giant Nevermore and the Deathstalker have significant better animation quality.

** Also, Ruby charges at the Deathstalker, which is impervious to her attacks. If it hadn't been for Weiss' intervention, she probably would've been killed.

* TheStrategist: Jaune quickly identifies that the Deathstalker's stinger is a weakness due to it being loose. He instructs Pyrrha to severe it from the Deathstalker's tail, and then has Nora smash the stinger into the Grimm's skull.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "Red Like Roses" -- Volume 1's theme song -- plays during the final part of the fight as the future Team RWBY finishes off the Giant Nevermore.

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!! This episode contains examples of:

* FastballSpecial: Used twice:

* OffWithHisHead: Ruby kills the Giant Nevermore this way.

--> Yang: I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUN! GRY!

* WarmUpBoss: The two giant Grimms don't go down easy, but this is the first victory by the protagonists as teams.

We open a little bit in the past on Ruby and Weiss riding a Nevermore, [[NoodleIncident for unknown reasons]], but probably to better find the temple and its relics. Weiss complains that this was a bad idea so Ruby suggests they jump off, Weiss doesn't find that to be a better idea but as she tells Ruby this ruby has already jumped.

We then cut to the scene of Ruby falling from the last episode, luckily before she can go splat, Jaune, having been launched by the Giant scorpion, called a Deathstalker, intercepts her mid-air and the two zoom off into a tree. Before Blake and Yang can even register this, Nora shows up riding an Ursa with Ren chasing after. As Blake points out the weirdness of that, Pyrrha shows up with an angry deathstriker in tow. Yang, probably because she didn't get to have a cool or unusual entrance, gets fed up and demands that everyone needs to calm down for two seconds. Exactly two seconds later, Ruby calls her attention to Weiss, currently barely hanging on to the giant bird from earlier.

As the Ren, Blake, and Ruby discuss Weiss chances, Weiss falls. Luckily Jaune is able to save her. As team RWBY and team JNPR gather, Yang announces that with an angry Deathstalker and a giant angry bird they can now all die together. Ruby doesn't agree and decides to take the Deathstalker head on. It casually bats her away and as Ruby retreats, the Nevermore launches a spiked feathered attack which pins Ruby after a feather hits her hood. Just as it looks like the end for our impulsive heroine, Weiss saves the day by freezing the Deathstalkers tail. The two have a [[SincerityMode small talk and Weiss kinda apologizes]].

Finally having a quiet moment Ruby and Jaune can grab their relics. Relics in hand the Teams decide to get while the getting is good. But Giant bird and Deathstalker chase them. After what is probably one of the greatest fights to that point in the series, both are defeated and we cut to the team naming ceremony, that shows the formation of Teams CRDL, JNPR, and RWBY. Cardin, Jaune, and Ruby are named team captains.