Fault
"Seriously, is your goal just to push everyone away?"
Written by Eddy Rivas
Directed by Connor Pickens
Directed by Connor Pickens
Yang: For what it’s worth, I’m sorry he said that to you. I know you’ve had to work hard to get here, Jaune.
Jaune: We’re all under a lot of stress right now.
Jaune: We’re all under a lot of stress right now.
As Yang and her team struggle with Oscar's abduction, Team RWB seeks shelter in the Schnee Manor to help an injured Nora. Meanwhile, Oscar is brought to Salem.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Even deep in a depressive episode, Qrow can't help but smile at Robyn's joke about how Ironwood should get them better cellblock entertainment.
- And This Is for...: Hazel's hatred of Ozpin means he doesn't care about Oscar in his determination to inflict pain on Oz. He knocks Oscar to the ground stating that's for Haven and then promises him that the rest of the beating will be for his sister.
- Agony Beam: When Oscar tries to lie to her about the Lamp being out of questions, Salem uses a beam of magic to torture him. At the end of it, Oscar's convulsing, his chest is burnt where it hit him, and his face is swollen up.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Yang tries making Ren tell her what's wrong, but he insists they should focus on finding shelter. After Yang refuses to take no for answer, he lets his emotions come out and says they weren't ready to be Huntsmen. At the end of it, Yang can only accuse him of trying to push everyone away, and later dismissively remarks he's going to "brood" himself to death.
- Blessed with Suck: As Qrow laments that for a brief period of time, he felt like he could be around other people without worrying his Semblance would cause havoc, Robyn admits she can relate to that: with her power, people are often worried that she will expose their lies and secrets. They therefore keep their distance.
- Blade Brake: When he and Yang are knocked off their hoverbike and go over a cliff, Jaune briefly attempts to stop their fall by grabbing Yang and stabbing his sword into the ground. Unfortunately there isn't enough ground to properly arrest their fall and so they topple over anyways, though Ren does manage to use the grappling hooks on Stormflower to make Crocea Mors an anchor, allowing him to rescue the duo.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Oscar first speaks to Salem in an impression of the way his voice sounds when Ozpin is controlling him, to deceive her into thinking she's speaking to Ozpin. She is not fooled, so he drops the act.
- Call-Back:
- Salem mocks Cinder for thinking and wanting without deserving it, reflecting how Cinder once told Emerald and Mercury in "Best Day Ever" not to think, but to obey. Salem also says that she hates repeating herself, a line Cinder used on Emerald in "Beginning of the End". Both make clear a lot of Cinder's attitude in the first three volumes was her imitating Salem.
- Hazel's first punch towards Oscar is for what happened at Haven, and his subsequent punches are for his sister. Both reference "Vault of the Spring Maiden", where Hazel first learns Oscar is Ozpin's host, and reveals he blames Ozpin for his twin Gretchen's death, expressing fury when Oscar dared suggest she made the choice herself.
- Yang, Jaune and Ren's auras depleting while out in the tundra goes back to the previous volume, when Weiss stated that without central heating, aura is required to ward off the inhospitable cold in this part of the world.
- While ranting about how they're not ready to be Huntsmen, Ren reminds Jaune he got into Beacon fraudulently, a fact that hasn't been mentioned once since Jaune confessed it to Pyrrha back in Volume 1.
- After Yang apologises to Jaune on Ren's behalf for bringing up the above, Jaune says they're under a lot of stress and he used to push people away. He's referring to when he initially refused Pyrrha's offer to train him in "Jaunedice", and told her to leave him alone.
- Jaune's advice to Ren about not trying to look strong everytime also refers to Pyrrha making Jaune notice he didn't need to look tough always and he can become a good huntsman, even if didn't enter Beacon formally.
- Can't Take Criticism: Robyn delivers a dead-on-the-mark "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Harriet, which angers her enough to march into her cell for a fight.
- The Cavalry: The Hound manages to summon a horde of Centinel and Teryx Grimm to slow Yang's team down when they get close to rescuing Oscar.
- Chase Scene: Yang, Jaune and Ren give chase to The Hound while it flies with Oscar by the icy tundra.
- Cliffhanger: The ending shows Ren brooding outside the outpost that he, Yang and Jaune chanced upon, while enormous cracks tear open across the icy valley said outpost overlooks.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Salem tortures Oscar for how to activate the Lamp—first by zapping him with an Agony Beam, then by bringing in Hazel to inflict a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Commonality Connection: Robyn and Qrow bond over their Semblances giving them problems in getting close to others, Qrow because his makes him The Jinx and Robyn because being a Living Lie Detector makes people distant because they worry you'll go looking for their secrets.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Fault" refers to both Ren's statement that people are going to die because of them, Robyn and Qrow talking about who is at fault for Clover's death, and the cracking of ground at the end of the episode.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Ren blows up at everyone because he believes they're not ready to be Huntsmen and they only seem to make the situation worse because they are all young with problems stemming from where they came from. Looking at all the adult characters who come from the prestigious Atlas says their problems are simply universal.
- In "Refuge", Jacques was convinced Whitley would have already arranged for his release from prison. In this episode, Whitley is in no rush to do anything about him and probably doesn't know how to get into contact with Jacques's legal department. And given that most of the manor staff has quit, it's possible this also includes his legal team.
- For perhaps the first time, Oscar meets someone who immediately recognizes and acknowledges that he and Ozpin are (at least at the moment) two separate people. That person is Salem, and his first impulse when confronted with her is to pretend that, at the moment, he is Ozpin.
- Draw Aggro: While it doesn't end in violence thanks to Marrow's intervention, Harriet starts getting testy over Qrow still having Clover's pin and threatens to take it away, accusing him of murdering Clover. Robyn then challenges and insults her, drawing her attention away from him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Salem briefly examines a dark cloud she's made in the shapes of her four daughters, confirming that even millennia later, she still misses them deeply.
- Go to Your Room!: Ruby's team and May arrive at the Schnee manor so they can lie low and help Nora recover from overcharging her Semblance. After Whitley asks what they expect him to do about the situation, Weiss invokes the trope verbatim and he complies.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: While telling Yang about how they weren't ready to be Huntsmen and are out of their depths, a furious Ren calls himself "an orphan from the middle of nowhere" as his reasoning for why he in particular isn't. Whereas his other two arguments make some level of sense, Ruby being Just a Kid and Jaune being less experienced due to faking his transcripts, he acts like the mere fact he's an orphan from Kuroyuri disqualifies all he's accomplished. This is justified in that Ren is largely venting during this argument and letting out his pent up frustrations, best evident by the look of shame on his face after he yelled at Jaune about the transcripts, then proceeded to further close in on himself after Yang accused him of pushing everyone away. Meaning his comment about himself is tied into his self-loathing, suggesting Ren suffers from Imposter Syndrome.
- Hurricane of Excuses: When Cinder is sneaking out, she makes one of these to Neo to justify defying Salem: that they'll be back before anyone notices they're away, that they just need to check on Amity, that Salem is underestimating the children, etc.
- It's All My Fault:
- Qrow is still feeling incredibly guilty for Clover's death even though he acknowledges that he didn't directly kill him.
- Ren believes by keeping the Winter Maiden away from the Relic of Creation, the heroes are trapping Atlas for Salem and people will die because of them.
- It's Personal: Hazel already hates Ozpin for what happened to his sister, but when he first punches Oscar, he says it's for what happened at Haven. He then notes everything after though is for Gretchen.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: After being summoned to Oscar's cell, Hazel punches the farmboy to the floor. Hazel states the punch was for thwarting Salem's plans for Haven Academy, and that what follows will be for his sister. He punctuates this declaration by kicking the downed Oscar to the side, before walking over to continue beating him up.
- Literal Cliffhanger: Yang and Jaune are run off the mountain by Grimm. Ren only barely manages to catch them and cloak them in time.
- Meta Guy: Losing his temper under Yang's chides, Ren voices criticisms which the viewers have been leveling at the show's cast over the course of the earlier volumes: calling out himself, Yang and their teams on their questionable conduct as huntsmen and huntresses since arriving in Atlas, he says RWBY and JNR aren't nearly experienced or mature enough to deal with the responsibilities they're carrying on their shoulders despite the victories they scored by luck or circumstance, he says the situation in Atlas-Mantle has spiraled so horribly under their conduct that it couldn't have been worse if they'd done nothing, and he calls out the others on how they don't even have the self-reflection or humility to admit their failings.
- Morton's Fork:
- Ren is presented with one while they're chasing the Hound. Either he lets the Hound take Oscar back to Salem so he can save Jaune and Yang before they fall off a cliff, or he lets Jaune and Yang die and keeps hanging off the Hound hoping to save Oscar. He ultimately chooses the former, but the situation overall leaves him in a bad mood as they walk to find shelter, and leading to Yang thinking he had an issue saving them over helping Oscar.
- Ren brings this up during his rant. They try to launch Amity? They barely have any resources or allies to work with. They go along with Ironwood's plan? Mantle is guaranteed to die and Salem won't just let the city escape. People die either way and Ren feels it's on them.
- Oh, My Gods!: Qrow refers to a deal with the devil as "a deal with the darkness", as the God of Darkness is the closest thing Remnant's mainstream cultures have to a Satanic Archetype.
- Pronoun Trouble: Yang asks Jaune if "she" will think less of her for not helping with Amity. Jaune assumes she's talking about Ruby, but Yang's Sure, Let's Go with That reaction implies she was actually talking about Blake.
- Rage Breaking Point: After numerous episodes showing him swallowing down his inner demons, Ren finally snaps at Yang and Jaune when they're stuck in the tundra.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- More of a "The Reason We All Suck" Speech, but this accounts for Ren's rant at Yang and Jaune.
- When Harriet denies Robyn's offer to use her Semblance on Qrow to prove he didn't kill Clover, Robyn fires back with one of these that visibly touches a nerve.Harriet: If I open this cell, it won't be to shake hands.
Robyn: Yeah, because you don't care about the truth. You just want someone to be mad at. Easier than taking an honest look at what side you're on.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Salem elaborates that not only is the Hound an experiment, but also her new pet, with it following alongside her after she leaves Oscar to Hazel, and snarling at Cinder when she continues to question Salem. She even pets it when showing it off to Cinder and Neo, and speaks to it affectionately while simultaneously speaking condescendingly to Cinder.
- Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: A zig-zagged example. When Ren rants about how they weren't ready, Yang repeatedly tries accusing him of being needlessly pessimistic, then accusing him of saying they shouldn't do anything or just let Ironwood win, capping it off by accusing him of pushing everyone away after he snaps at Jaune. However, none of Ren's arguments are presented as wrong, just that he's in too much of a negative headspace and letting his issues with bottling up his emotions overwhelm him.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: After Yang goads him into saying what's on his mind, Ren tells the heroes they aren't ready to be Huntsmen. Yang tries arguing they managed to get the Lamp to Atlas, have the Maiden via Penny, and can't let Ironwood abandon Mantle for his plan, but Ren says they ultimately lost the Lamp and Oscar to Salem, by keeping Penny from Ironwood they're trapping Atlas for Salem, and their decisions have amounted to nothing or backfired, meaning people will die because of them. He admits they're still kids. While the conversation is tabled when Jaune says they should keep looking for shelter, all Yang can do afterwards is accuse Ren of trying to push everyone away.
- Skewed Priorities: The military has declared martial law, there's a clearly injured person in front of him and there's an armada of Grimm bearing down on the city, but Whitley's main concern is the Schnee family's reputation when Weiss and company bring a critically injured Nora to the mansion to rest and regroup. Blake and Weiss call him out on it.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Emerald manages to sneak up on Cinder and Neo on the landing pad without them noticing until she speaks, possibly due to her Semblance.
- That's an Order!: When Cinder starts to argue with her about the Maiden powers, the Hound snaps at her and Salem tells her in full Tranquil Fury mode that she will remain on board the whale ship.
- Terms of Endangerment: Salem refers to Ozpin as "my Ozma". Of course, affection is the furthest thing from her mind.
- That Came Out Wrong: As he was rattling off ways they weren't qualified to make major decisions, the way Ren snaps that Jaune "cheated his way into Beacon" comes off as far harsher than he intended. Ren seems to be shocked at his own anger, and is quiet for the rest of the episode.
- Tranquil Fury: Cinder continues pestering Salem about going after the Winter Maiden's powers, but the Hound angrily snarls at her and Salem chillingly warns Cinder that her patience with her is thinning, and she will remain on the whale ship until instructed to do otherwise.
- You Are Not Alone: While they're holed up at the outpost, Jaune tells this to Ren, saying that he understands what it's like to feel like a failure, and Ren doesn't need to force himself to be strong or to push others away.
"Things always seem to get worse before they get better."
