History Recap / RWBYV8E14TheFinalWord

* IShallTauntYou: After causing Ruby and Blake to fall into the abyss, Cinder mocks Weiss by saying how fitting it is for a Schnee to be the last one stand as all her friends have died.

* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: As a result of the chaotic final battle, the surviving heroes are separated into three main groups as a set up for the ninth colume. Team RWBY and Jaune are stranded with Neo; Oscar, Nora, Ren, and Emerald are in Vacuo with Winter and the Atlesian refugees; and Qrow is in Solitas, witnessing the destruction of Atlas and Mantle along with Robyn, Marrow, Elm and Harriet.

* AllForNothing: The heroes have all been trying to rescue Penny from Watts's deadly virus, which resulted in them coming up with the risky plan to obtain the Staff of Creation and design a request that will save her life and allow her to continue living should the Staff be used for something else. Just minutes later, their efforts go up in smoke after Cinder's attack on the evacuation leaves Penny mortally wounded. Penny asks Jaune to finish her off because it's now the only way to stop Cinder from receiving the Maiden power.

* DieOrFly: When he's trying to keep the bomb from falling, Qrow slips and the bomb starts sliding out of the plane. With nothing left to lose, he pulls out Clover's pin and concentrates. The bomb catches on the door and stabilizes, making it the first time that his Semblance has brought good luck instead of bad.

* HeelRealization: After learning that Elm and Vine want to stop her from blowing up Mantle ''because'' she's their friend, Harriet finally realises how wrong her actions were in her determination to mimic Clover's UndyingLoyalty to Ironwood. Seconds later, she breaks down when Vine rescues them from the bomb at the cost of his own life, confirming that she does really care about her companions.

* IllKillYou: Before she is forced to retreat, Winter says she will make Cinder pay for everything she's done. Given her tone, it's pretty clear that Winter wants her dead, especially after Cinder sent Weiss falling into the abyss.
* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: As a result of the chaotic final battle, the surviving heroes are separated into three main groups as a set up for Volume 9. Team RWBY and Jaune are stranded with Neo; Oscar, Nora, Ren, and Emerald are in Vacuo with Winter and the Atlesian refugees; and Qrow is still in Solitas, witnessing the destruction of Atlas and Mantle along with Robyn, Marrow, Elm and Harriet.

* NeverFoundTheBody: At the beginning of the episode, Salem is shown as black liquid force, gradually reforming. There is no sign of Hazel's body anywhere in the vicinity.
* NotWorthKilling: While Salem and Cinder reunite in the Vault's chamber, Ironwood is still lying on the ground where Winter left him. As they catch up, neither pays any attention to Ironwood until he lifts his gun to try and kill them. Cinder glances his way, says "And that's checkmate", and leaves. Ironwood just drops his gun and head in defeat.

* OhCrap: Ironwood is perplexed as Winter activates the Maiden powers after gaining them and he promptly shoots at her to no avail.

** After Weiss is blown over the edge, Winter can only yell "Weiss!" as she unsuccessfully tries to catch her.
** While Qrow watches Atlas crash into Mantle, he calls desperately into his receiver - though the dialogue is dramatically silent, his lips form Ruby and Yang's names.

* SpoilerOpening: At the beginning of the episode, there is a ContentWarning dealing with themes of death. Thus, it's clear that characters will be dying in the episode.

* UngratefulBastard: Towards the end of his battle with Winter, Ironwood believes everyone's ungrateful for his sacrifices to rescue them from Salem. Even after Winter says he's forced everyone else to sacrifice instead of him, he doubles-down and sees it as proof he's being denied his deserved gratitude.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: Ruby rather spitefully tells Neo whatever her reasons are for her actions that Ruby hopes it was worth it. Though this seems to be to goad Neo into attacking her, as she is wide open, so Ruby can use her Semblance to get behind Neo.
* WatchingTroyBurn: Robyn, Qrow and the remaining Ace-Ops watch from their airship as Atlas finally crashes into Mantle, triggering a deluge from nearby lakes to flood and drown the remains. Even though Robyn made it clear that saving a kingdom is about the people, not the infrastructure, the group is devastated as they watch it happen.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: After getting both of the Relics, taking revenge against Team RWBY, and leaving Penny for dead, Cinder kicks Neo into the VoidBetweenTheWorlds and uses the Staff to murder Watts before retaking her place at Salem's side, leaving Ironwood to perish with his kingdom.

* UngratefulBastard: Towards the end of his battle with Winter, Ironwood says everyone's ungrateful for his efforts and sacrifices to rescue them from Salem. Even after Winter tells Ironwood he's being delusional, and he forced everyone else to sacrifice on his behalf, he doubles-down and instead sees it as proof he's being denied his deserved gratitude.

* KilledOffScreen: James Ironwood ends up being left to die on the crashing city of Atlas by Cinder and Salem at the end of the episode. While he was killed by the crash, his death itself is never actually seen.

* MeaningfulEcho: After Fria transferred the Maiden power to Penny towards the end of Volume 7, Winter stated that Fria wasn't truly gone because she was now a part of Penny. Once Penny transfers the power to Winter in this episode, she states that she's not truly gone because she's now a part of Winter.

* UngratefulBastard: Ironwood says everyone's ungrateful for his efforts and sacrifices to save their lives from Salem. Even as Winter says he's being delusional, and he forced everyone else to sacrifice on his behalf, he doubles-down and sees it as proof he's being denied the gratitude he deserves.

* UngratefulBastard: Ironwood claims that everyone's ungrateful for his efforts and sacrifices to save their lives from Salem. Even when Winter points out that he's being delusional, and that he forced everyone else to sacrifice on his behalf, he doubles-down and sees it as proof that he's being denied the gratitude he deserves.

* UngratefulBastard: Ironwood thinks he has sacrificed everything to save Remnant; even when Winter tries to point out he's really sacrificed everyone else, it doesn't get through to him. He only sees it as proof that his efforts are unappreciated.

* SummonToHand: One of the first things Winter does with her newfound powers of the Winter Maiden is magically lift them into her hand after her battle with Ironwood left her defenceless.

* ApocalypseHow: After enduring Grimm and an assault by Salem for two volumes, the [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 Kingdom of Atlas-Mantle]] is destroyed when the floating city of Atlas crashes into the ground-based city of Mantle; they are then flooded by a nearby inland sea and sink beneath the surface. The population is evacuated just in time to the desert kingdom of Vacuo creating a massive refugee crisis.

* ApocalypseHow: ApocalypseHow/Class0. After enduring Grimm and an assault by Salem for two volumes, Atlas City and Mantle are both destroyed by the former landmass crashing into and flooding the latter, leaving thousands of surviving former-citizens displaced in Vacuo, and marking the destruction of one of the four main kingdoms of Remnant.

* ApocalypseHow: ApocalypseHow/Class0. After enduring Grimm and an assault by Salem for two volumes, Atlas City and Mantle are both destroyed by the former kingdom crashing into and flooding the latter, leaving thousands of surviving former-citizens displaced in Vacuo, and marking the destruction of one of the four main kingdoms of Remnant.