Uncovered
A boy who is at war with himself.
Written by Miles Luna & Kerry Shawcross
Directed by Kerry Shawcross & Connor Pickens
Directed by Kerry Shawcross & Connor Pickens
Weiss: Well you certainly didn't tell us everything about the Relic.
Ozpin: Please, now is not the time.
Yang: No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!
Ozpin: Please, now is not the time.
Yang: No, we're past that! I wanna know why you're still not telling us everything!
As Qrow, Oscar, Team RWBY and the mysterious old woman recover from the Grimm attack, an old foe returns and secrets are revealed...
Tropes in this episode include:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After the train taking them to Argus crashes, Yang struggles to pull her motorbike out of a snowdrift while complaining about the state of their situation. They have to travel by foot through heavy snow to Argus because the Relic of Knowledge that they're trying to take to General Ironwood for safe-keeping was attracting the Grimm to the train full of people that they were travelling. However, of all the problems they have, Yang focusses on Maria, the little old lady that crashed with them.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: Jinn is completely naked except for the chains and jewellery she is wearing. However, she lacks any physiological marks of a normal human body.
- Big "NO!": Normally calm and placid, even when Ozpin is angry he doesn't get too loud. However, he desperately yells "No!" when Ruby asks Jinn the fateful question.
- Blank White Void: After Jinn has been asked what Ozpin is hiding, her method of answering the question is to isolate Team RWBY and Qrow from each other. Each one finds themselves alone in a completely white void. From the void form the illusions that play out the story Jinn is about to tell.
- Call-Back:
- When the gang confronts Ozpin after learning the Relic attracts Grimm, Yang demands to know what happened to "no more lies or half-truths". This was exactly what she insisted Ozpin promise to uphold when she first joined the party after leaving Raven's bandit camp in Volume 5.
- In Volume 3, Ozpin asked Pyrrha what her favourite fairy tale was. Pyrrha listed several fairy tale titles. When she mentions the fairy tale of The Girl in the Tower, Ozpin immediately interrupts to shift the conversation to The Story of the Seasons. At the end of this episode, it is revealed that The Girl in the Tower is Salem's story and that Ozpin really doesn't want it to be discussed.
- Continuity Nod:
- Photographs used of various characters are all shown from Volumes 1-3, if they were present in those volumes. In the wanted pictures, Adam is wearing his Black Trailer clothing, while Cinder, Emerald and Mercury have their original appearances as well. The photographs Cinder shows Lil' Miss Malachite are all of Teams RWBY and JNPR, and come from the Vytal Festival camera footage of the tournament.
- After Ozpin states he hid the truth about the Relic to try and minimise anxiety and negativity in the hope of keeping things as safe as possible for everyone, Weiss impatiently states that she's getting very tired of other people choosing what is best for her. This is a reference to her Volume 4 storyline where her choices were constantly being destroyed by her father insisting that his decisions were 'for her own good'.
- Electronic Eyes: Maria is blind without the goggles that are attached to her face. They enable to her to see, but she claims the technology is malfunctioning and needs to be repaired. Every so often she taps them to try and get them to work properly in the same way a person would tap a television that has a dodgy aerial.
- Exact Words: Ozpin says the Relic can only provide answers to three questions every hundred years, and he used it before he sealed it away. When Jinn is summoned, she reveals there are two questions left.
- Fighting from the Inside: Oscar is as concerned about Ozpin's obfuscation as everyone else, but he is able to learn what Ozpin hiding before the others because of their shared existence. He manages to rebel against Ozpin's control just long enough to tell the gang that, if they want to know what Ozpin is hiding, they need to summon Jinn from the Relic of Knowledge and ask her that question.
- Hypocrite: Ozpin constantly expresses his faith in humanity, believing in their ability to overcome adversity and their willingness to stop the worst people from causing chaos. Despite this, he doesn't trust humanity enough to share his knowledge and secrets, not even with his closest allies. Ozpin insists that he should be the only person to carry the Relic, but Ruby asks him if his talk of having faith in humanity means everyone except the very team that's putting their lives on the line for him. Although he tries explaining that she's misunderstood his action, it only leads to Ruby asking the Relic of Knowledge to reveal what Ozpin is hiding.
- I Resemble That Remark!: After their train crashes, Yang complains about the situation and sums up how bad it is by concluded that they've ended up with Maria, whom she refers to as a defenseless old lady. Maria objects to being called defenseless — but then acknowledges that she's hard of hearing and blind without her artificial eyes, which don't work properly. She concludes that she can see Yang's point, after all.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Ozpin knows full well that the Relic is a female entity named Jinn. However, until that secret is revealed, he refers to the Relic as "it" to maintain the illusion that the Relic is just an object that happens to have some power.
- Meanwhile, in the Future…: Right before Cinder meets Lil. Miss Malachite, a news report of the villains present for the attack on Haven Academy is seen, stating they've been missing for about a month now. Last episode, Qrow said before sending his letter to Ironwood that only two weeks have passed since the attack. Meaning, Cinder's plot takes place, at minimum, two weeks after Team RWBY's plot. Additionally, it's revealed that a "big guy" has also been asking for RWBY a week prior to Cinder.
- Mugged for Disguise: Cinder makes it out of the Vault of the Spring Maiden, only to collapse from exhaustion. A passer-by spots her and approaches to see if Cinder needs help, but Cinder kills the woman and steals both her clothing and her money.
- Never Be Hurt Again: Yang tells Ozpin he needs to trust them and they won't turn their backs on him just because he's told them the truth. However, Ozpin angrily states Leo once said the same thing but still betrayed him. Thanks to this experience, Ozpin no longer trusts anyone with his secrets.
- Not Quite Dead: Back in Volume 5, Raven froze Cinder and threw her into a water-filled chasm. In this episode, Cinder regains consciousness and drags herself to shore but she can barely stand or summon magic due to exhaustion. She escapes from the cavern thanks to her Grimm arm's natural strength.
- Oh, Crap!: Ozpin remains in control as he tries justifying his secrecy to the girls, even when he momentarily loses his temper after being asked to be more trusting with them. However, upon suddenly realising he's no longer holding the Relic of Knowledge, he visibly panics. Ruby tries reassuring an agitated Ozpin by saying she saw it had fallen and picked it up. Once Ozpin insistently tries getting Ruby to hand over the Relic seconds later, the whole group becomes suspicious, since logically if it couldn't be used as Ozpin claimed, it shouldn't matter who's holding it.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Throughout the series, Ozpin had been a calm person who never lost his cool or raised his voice, even in tense situations. When Ruby finally asks Jinn to reveal what Ozpin is hiding, Ozpin loses all self-control for the very first time. He shouts and charges at Ruby too fast for the shocked protagonists to react. Only Jinn's intervention stops him from reaching Ruby.
- After Oscar tells them how to use the lamp, Qrow starts to speak and walk towards Team RWBY. Thinking he's going to take Ozpin's side and is trying to stop them, the team instantly show they're ready to fight over the issue, including Weiss pointing her sword directly at Qrow's chest. Qrow's clearly taken aback by this display, especially coming from a niece of his, and gets the message.
- Our Genies Are Different: When someone holds the Relic of Knowledge and speaks the name 'Jinn', blue mist spills from the Relic and manifests the form of a blue woman. She has long pointed ears and is completely naked except for golden chains and jewellery. She refers to herself as a 'being' that was created by the God of Light to impart knowledge to humanity. She can answer a total of three questions every one hundred years.
- The Power of Legacy: Ozpin's stated reason for keeping Lionheart's treason covered up; He wants Leo to be remembered for his life of service as both a Huntsman Academy Principal and as a Faunus, and not for indirectly killing Mistrals' senior Huntsmen and selling out to The White Fang and other such dirty deeds he did near the end of that life.
- The Reveal: When Ozpin asked Pyrrha in Volume 3 what her favourite fairy tale was, she listed the titles of several fairy tales. Ozpin immediately reveals The Story of the Seasons is based on truth and Volume 5 confirms that the story is about him. Volume 4 confirms that The Tale of Two Brothers is another fairy tale based in truth, regarding two divine brothers who created the Relics, the Grimm and humanity. The end of this episode reveals that another fairy tale Pyrrha listed is also true: The Girl in the Tower is Salem.
- Rule of Three: The Relic of Knowledge is designed to offer knowledge to humanity. It does so by being able to answer three questions every century.
- Self-Deprecation: Of the creative team's behalf. A flashback showing the group planning their journey to Atlas where Weiss bemoans that she has to return to the very kingdom she struggled to escape in the first place. Nora tries to cheer her up by pointing out the bright side to the journey: finally escaping the house they're staying in. It's an in-joke reference to the fandom's biggest complaint that most of Team RNJR's storyline in Volume 5 was confined to that house.
- Stunned Silence: As Ozpin tries explaining that he has reasons for keeping secrets, they argue about the cover-up of Leo's treachery; Yang insists they're in this together, so he can share the truth with them because they'll never turn their back on him. Ozpin demands to know if they really think that Leo was the first, and all the heroes can do is silently watch in shock as he reveals that Leo promised the exact same thing as Yang.
- Time Stands Still: As soon as Ruby speaks Jinn's name, the snow storm they're standing freezes and it's as if time and movement stand still. Only Ruby's group can move as Jinn slowly manifests from the Relic.
- Was It All a Lie?: When Ruby realises that Ozpin doesn't trust her, or any of them, to carry the Relic of Knowledge, she asks him if his faith in humanity meant everyone other than the very group who was risking their lives to help him get the Relic to Atlas. Ozpin tries to claim that she's misunderstood and he just feels the Relic is his burden to bear, but the girls disregard him.
- Wishing for More Wishes: Once Ozpin explains how the Relic of Knowledge works, Nora excitedly wonders if they could "ask for more questions". Ren points out "they're not wishes", as questions don't work that way.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: After all the efforts Weiss had to go through to flee Atlas, and then escape bandits, just to reach Haven, she is dismayed about having to return there and deliver the Relic to Ironwood.
"What is Ozpin hiding from us?"
