History Recap / RWBYV7E5Sparks

* FlawExploitation: Maiden powers pass on the basis of the person who is last in the thoughts of a dying Maiden. If it's an eligible young woman, the powers pass to her; if it's someone who is ineligible, including a woman who is too old, the powers will pass to a random young woman somewhere in Remnant. Fria is a very old woman who is bedridden and dying; Ironwood exploits the situation by confining her to a military-protected environment where her only permitted visitor is Winter Schnee. Ironwood is hoping that Winter will be the person in Fria's thoughts as she dies, thereby passing the Maiden powers to a woman who is completely loyal to him, and circumventing the need to search for them.

* {{Irony}}: When Jaune first joined Beacon Academy, he was a CasanovaWannabe who introduced himself to every girl he came across in an attempt to woo them but they all rejected or ignored his advances with the exception of Pyrrha though in her case it was Jaune who didn't notice that he successfully earned her affection. In this episode, his first job as an official Huntsman involves him guarding young children as they travel to school; this earns him a great deal of attention from local girls, who giggle and swoon in his presence, and mothers who keep giving him home-cooked casseroles in gratitude for his help. Now that he has the attention, he finds it awkward and embarrassing rather than flattering.

* TheBusCameBack: Team FNKI reappears, being last seen on ''Battle of Beacon'', way back on Volume 3.

* {{Irony}}: When Jaune first joined Beacon Academy, he was a CasanovaWannabe who tried introducing himself to all girls he met; he started with Ruby, claiming ladies loved his name, though his interest more or less immediately vanished after that point, and she became more of a friend to him than anything else. He would attempt to flirt with Weiss after he mistakenly believed she was interested, though this didn't go anywhere due to her explicit disinterest, and he ultimately conceded defeat to Neptune after trying to genuinely woo her in Volume 2. The only girl who took an interest in him was Pyrrha due to his more understanding behavior around her, but he didn't fully realise it until she let him know just before her death. In this episode, his first job as an official Huntsman involves him guarding young children as they travel to school; this earns him a great deal of attention from local girls, who giggle and swoon in his presence, and mothers who keep giving him home-cooked casseroles in gratitude for his help. Now that he has the attention, he finds it awkward and embarrassing rather than flattering.

* FlawExploitation: Maiden powers pass on the basis of the person who is last in the thoughts of a dying Maiden. If it's an eligible young woman, the powers pass to her; if it's someone who is ineligible, including a woman who is too old, the powers will pass to a random young woman somewhere in Remnant. Fria is a very old woman who is bedridden and dying; Ironwood exploits the situation by confining her to a military-protected environment where her only permitted visitor is Winter Schnee. Ironwood is hoping that Winter will be the person in Fria's thoughts as she dies, thereby passing the Maiden powers to a woman who is completely loyal to him.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Robyn and her Huntresses block the road, forcing a confrontation with Clover's unit over the construction supplies that are being diverted from Mantle's perimeter defenses. As Ruby and Qrow prepare to fight them, however, Penny stands on top of the vehicle with six of her swords drawn to Robyn. Although she mocks Penny for being the Protector of Mantle, Robyn orders her people to stand down, allowing the truck to continue its journey.

* {{Irony}}: When Jaune first joined Beacon Academy, he was a CasanovaWannabe who tried introducing himself to all girls he met; he started with Ruby, claiming ladies loved his name, though his interest more or less immediately vanished after that point, and she became more of a friend to him than anything else. He would attempt to flirt with Weiss after he mistakenly believed she was interested, though this didn't go anywhere due to her explicit disinterest, and he ultimately conceded defeat to Neptune after trying to genuinely woo her in Volume 2. The only girl who took an interest in him was Pyrrha due to his more understanding behavior around her, but he didn't fully realize it until she let him know just before her death. In this episode, his first job as an official Huntsman involves him guarding young children as they travel to school; this earns him a great deal of attention from local girls, who giggle and swoon in his presence, and mothers who keep giving him home-cooked casseroles in gratitude for his help. Now that he has the attention, he finds it awkward and embarrassing rather than flattering.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: When Qrow tries to thank Clover for all the help he's been giving the kids, Clover tries to compliment him in return but Qrow tries to dismiss it. Clover tells him that he needs to stop deflecting compliments about himself and that he needs to know he's had a bigger positive effect on the kids than he realizes.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Robyn and her Huntresses block the road, forcing a confrontation with Clover's unit over the construction supplies that are being diverted from Mantle's perimeter defences. As Ruby and Qrow prepare to fight them, however, Penny stands on top of the vehicle with six of her swords drawn to Robyn. Although she mocks Penny for being the Protector of Mantle, Robyn orders her people to stand down, allowing the truck to continue its journey.

* JerkassHasAPoint: While Jacques exploits Ironwood's embargo to shift blame from himself for shutting down non-essential facilities to protect his profits, the reason his words are effective is because Mantle was already suffering from Ironwood's decisions. Ironwood is aware of the growing hatred towards him in Mantle, but feels it's an acceptable price to pay in pursuit of his goal to defeat Salem.

* MoodWhiplash: Most of the episode revolves around the heroes settling in to Atlas Academy and working as official Huntsmen, along with getting trained by the Ace Ops. Asides from a defused fight against Robyn, the mood of the episode is light, with plenty of time given to depicting the bonds between various characters... until Winter takes Weiss to see the Winter Maiden. After Winter reveals that the Winter Maiden's due to die any day - and that Ironwood has groomed Winter herself to inherit the powers - a news broadcast shows Jacques announcing that he's closed all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo, and promised the citizens to restore them should he be elected. By the end of the episode, Winter fears that their father has successfully lit the spark of revolution as Mantle citizens begin to riot.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: When Qrow tries to thank Clover for all the help he's been giving the kids, Clover tries to compliment him in return but Qrow tries to dismiss it. Clover tells him that he needs to stop deflecting compliments about himself and that he needs to know he's had a bigger positive effect on the kids than he realises.

* TheReveal: Weiss is introduced to the plight of the Winter Maiden, an elderly woman called Fria who is on her deathbed and could die at any moment. What Weiss and the audience quickly discover is that Fria is being kept in isolation with Winter Schnee as her only permitted visitor. Ironwood is attempting to control who inherits the Maiden powers by trying to force Winter to be the person Fria last thinks of when she dies.

* ShoutOut: Neon's [[https://preview.redd.it/xna8ldozi2241.png?width=826&auto=webp&s=ced00ec74ea5682742dffd8b64413969592dfedc new outfit]] bears several similarities to Jolyne Cujoh from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean.'' This was [[https://rwbyconversations.tumblr.com/post/189423352116/erin-winn-confirmed-on-twitter-that-neons-new confirmed by designer Erin Winn.]]

** Funnily enough, his behavior with Pyrrha could be considered Foreshadowing of his situation with the mothers: It's only when he's acting like his usual self without any of the bravado in his flirting attempts that he gets the interest of women.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While Jacques exploits Ironwood's embargo to shift blame from himself for firing his non-essential personnel to protect his profits, the reason his words are effective is because Mantle was already suffering from Ironwood's decisions. Ironwood is aware of the growing hatred towards him in Mantle, but feels it's an acceptable price to pay in pursuit of his goal to defeat Salem.

** Funnily enough, his behavior with Pyrrha could be considered Foreshadowing of his situation with the mothers: It's only when he's acting like his usually Adorkable self without any of the bravado in his flirting attempts that he gets the interest of women.

* {{Irony}}: When Jaune first joined Beacon Academy, he was a CasanovaWannabe who tried introducing himself to all girls he met; he started with Ruby, claiming ladies loved his name, though his interest ultimately simmered down after she became more of a friend to him than anything else. He would later start flirting with Weiss after he mistakenly believed she was interested, though this didn't go anywhere due to her explicit disinterest, and he ultimately conceded defeat to Neptune after trying to genuinely woo her. The only girl who took an interest in him was Pyrrha due to his more understanding behavior around her, but he didn't fully realize it until she let him know just before her death. In this episode, his first job as an official Huntsman involves him guarding young children as they travel to school; this earns him a great deal of attention from local girls, who giggle and swoon in his presence, and mothers who keep giving him home-cooked casseroles in gratitude for his help. Now that he has the attention, he finds it awkward and embarrassing rather than flattering.

* {{Irony}}: When Jaune first joined Beacon Academy, he was a CasanovaWannabe who tried introducing himself to all girls he met; he started with Ruby, claiming ladies loved his name, then targeted Weiss and Pyrrha for joining his team. He eventually settled on genuinely trying to win Weiss's affection before conceding defeat to Neptune. The girl who did like him was Pyrrha, but he didn't know until just before her death. In this episode, his first job as an official Huntsman involves him guarding young children as they travel to school; this earns him a great deal of attention from local girls, who giggle and swoon in his presence, and mothers who keep giving him home-cooked casseroles in gratitude for his help. Now that he has the attention, he finds it awkward and embarrassing rather than flattering.

* FlawExploitation: Maiden powers pass on the basis of the person who is last in the thoughts of a dying Maiden. If it's an eligible young woman, the powers pass to her; if it's someone who is ineligible, including a woman who is too old, the powers will pass to a random young woman somewhere in Remnant. Fria is a very old woman who is bed-ridden and dying; Ironwood exploits the situation by confining her to a military-protected environment where her only permitted visitor is Winter Schnee. Ironwood is hoping that Winter will be the person in Fria's thoughts as she dies, thereby passing the Maiden powers to a woman who is completely loyal to him.

* ShoutOut: Neon's [[https://preview.redd.it/xna8ldozi2241.png?width=826&auto=webp&s=ced00ec74ea5682742dffd8b64413969592dfedc new outfit]] bears several similarities to Jolyne Cujoh from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean.''

* SadisticChoice: At the end of the episode, Jacques shuts down all non-essential jobs in the SDC. Thus, he gives the citizens of Mantle an option to either stay unemployed or elect him into the council if they want their jobs restored.

* SadisticChoice: Jacques shuts down all non-essential jobs in the SDC thereby putting many people in Mantle out of work. He tells them to either stay unemployed or vote for the man who fired them if they want to get their jobs back.

* TakeAThirdOption: In the previous episode, Jacques was faced with a decision to either sacrifice his chance for voter support by laying off his Mantle workforce to recoup his lost profits or keep his workforce employed to ensure votes but continue suffering financially. Then Watts turns up to discuss their common problem: Ironwood. At the end of this episode, Jacques announces that he's shutting down all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo and framing Ironwood as a problem both he and Mantle workers share. Jacques promises the citizens to restore their jobs should they elect him into the council.

* BatmanGambit: After discussing with Watts, Jacques furthers his plans by shutting down all non-essential SDC facilities as a result of Ironwood's embargo, which he considers illegal. He uses the act to point out that his Robyn is incapable of restoring their jobs but, if they vote him into the Council, he can not only restore their jobs but stop the embargo. Through these efforts, Watts successfully destroys Ironwood's credibility and triggers riots and chaos in Mantle.

* BatmanGambit: After discussing with Watts, Jacques furthers his plans by shutting down all non-essential SDC facilities as a result of Ironwood's embargo, which he considers illegal. He uses the act to point out that his Robyn is incapable of restoring their jobs but, if they vote him into the Council, he can not only restore their jobs but stop the embargo. Thus, Watts achieves his greater aim of destroying Ironwood's credibility and triggering riots and chaos in Mantle.

* BatmanGambit: After discussing with Watts, Jacques furthers his plans by shutting down all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo, which he considers illegal. He uses the act to point out that his political rival, Robyn, is powerless to restore their jobs but, if they vote him into the Council, he can not only restore their jobs but stop the embargo. Thus, Watts achieves his greater aim of discrediting Ironwood and triggering riots and chaos in Mantle.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Robyn and her Huntresses block the road, forcing a confrontation with Clover's unit over the construction supplies that are being diverted from Mantle's perimeter defences. As Ruby and Qrow prepare to fight them, Penny suddenly intervenes by standing on top of the vehicle with six of her swords drawn to Robyn. Although she mocks Penny for being the Protector of Mantle, Robyn orders her people to stand down, allowing the truck to continue its journey.

* BatmanGambit: After discussing with Watts, Jacques furthers his plans by doing what he wanted to do all along: fire his employees to protect his profits from Ironwood's embargo. However, Jacques only shuts down non-essential employees while claiming that Ironwood's embargo is illegal and leaves him no choice. He uses the act to point out that his political rival, Robyn, is powerless to restore their jobs but, should they vote him into the Council, he can not only restore their jobs but stop Ironwood's illegal embargo. Through allowing Jacques to do what he wanted, Watts achieves his greater aim of discrediting General Ironwood and triggering riots and chaos in Mantle.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Robyn and her Huntresses block the road, forcing a confrontation with Clover's unit over the construction supplies that are being diverted from Mantle's perimeter defences. As Ruby and Qrow prepare to fight them, Penny suddenly intervenes by standing on top of the vehicle with six of her swords drawn to have Robyn issue a stand-down order to her people who are approaching invisibly from the rear of the truck. Although Robyn mocks Penny's title as the Protector of Mantle, she issues the stand-down order and allows the truck to continue its journey.
* HeroicFatigue: Now being fully-licensed Huntresses and Huntsmen, teams RWBY and JNR start undertaking more and more missions and are implied to be required to get up earlier than usual. All the kids start to experience notable fatigue until even the normally enthusiastic Ruby eventually begins to struggle with drowsiness during a simple (but protracted) supply run.

* MoodWhiplash: Most of the episode revolves around the heroes settling in to Atlas Academy and working as official Huntsmen, along with getting trained by the Ace Ops. Asides from a defused fight against Robyn Hill, the mood of the episode is light, with plenty of time given to depicting the bonds between various characters ... until Winter takes Weiss to see the Winter Maiden. After Winter reveals that the Winter Maiden's due to die any day - and that Ironwood has groomed Winter herself to inherit the powers - a news broadcast shows Jacques announcing that he's closed all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo, and promised the citizens to restore them should he be elected. By the end of the episode, Winter fears that their father has successfully lit the spark of revolution as Mantle citizens begin to riot.

* TakeAThirdOption: In the previous episode, Jacques was bemoaning his dilemma: he sacrifices his chance for voter support by laying off his Mantle workforce to recoup his lost profits or keep his workforce employed to ensure votes but continue suffering financially. Then Watts turns up to discuss their common problem: Ironwood. At the end of this episode, Jacques implements a third option: he fires only his non-essential staff and then makes a public announcement blaming Ironwood's "illegal" embargo for the lay offs and framing Ironwood as a problem both he and Mantle workers share. Jacques informs the townsfolk that if they want to stop Ironwood's policies and get their jobs back, they should consider voting him into the Council.

* BatmanGambit: After meeting with Watts, Jacques furthers Watts' plans by doing what he wanted to do all along: fire his employees to protect his profits from Ironwood's embargo. However, as a result of his conversation with Watts, Jacques only shuts down non-essential employees while claiming that Ironwood's embargo is illegal and leaves him no choice. He uses the act to point out that his political rival, Robyn Hill, doesn't have the power to restore their jobs but, if they vote him into the Council, he can not only restore their jobs but stop Ironwood's illegal embargo. Through giving Jacques the opportunity to do what he wanted, Watts achieves his greater aim of discrediting General Ironwood and triggering riots and chaos in Mantle.

* GunboatDiplomacy: Robyn Hill and her Huntresses block the road, forcing a confrontation with Clover's unit over the construction supplies that are being diverted from Mantle's perimeter defences. As Ruby and Qrow prepare for armed confrontation, Penny suddenly interrupts the argument to stand on top of the vehicle with six of her swords drawn to order Robyn to stand down her people who are approaching invisibly from the rear of the truck. Although Robyn mocks Penny's title as the Protector of Mantle, she stands her people down and lets the truck continue its journey.

* MoodWhiplash: Most of the episode revolves around the heroes settling in to Atlas Academy and working as official Huntsmen, along with getting trained by the Ace Ops. Asides from a defused fight against Robyn Hill, the mood of the episode is light, with plenty of time given to depicting the bonds between various characters ... until Winter takes Weiss to see the Winter Maiden. After Winter reveals that the Winter Maiden's due to die any day - and that Ironwood has groomed Winter herself to inherit the powers - a news broadcast shows Jacques announcing that he's closed all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo, and promised the citizens to restore them should he be elected. The episode ends with Winter fearing that their father has successfully lit the spark of revolution as Mantle citizens begin to riot.

* SadisticChoice: Jacques shuts down all non-essential jobs in the SDC thereby putting many people in Mantle out of work. He tells them they have a choice: stay unemployed or vote for the man who fired them if they want to get their jobs back.
* TakeAThirdOption: In the previous episode, Jacques was bemoaning his dilemma: he sacrifices his chance for voter support by laying off his Mantle workforce to recoup his lost profits or keep his workforce employed to ensure votes but continue suffering financially. Then Watts turns up to discuss their common problem: Ironwood. At the end of this episode, Jacques implements a third option: he fires only his non-essential staff and then makes a public announcement blaming Ironwood's 'illegal' embargo for the lay offs and framing Ironwood as a problem both he and Mantle workers share. He tells the people of Mantle that if they want Ironwood's damaging policies stopped and their jobs back, they need to vote for the only person capable of doing both: him.

* TheAlcoholic: As of this episode, this trope is fully averted when it comes to Qrow, due to him finally quitting his alcohol habit.
* BatmanGambit: After the Fall of Beacon, Ironwood allowed Winter to bond with Fria in the hopes that she'd become the new Winter Maiden when Fria eventually dies.
** Watts gets Jacques to blame firing his employees on the embargo Ironwood set up, thus allowing Jacques to gain popularity with the voters while simultaneously discrediting the general, and causing rioting and chaos in Mantle.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: When Robyn and her huntress followers try to hold up a transport convoy for the Amity project, Robyn points out that those supplies were getting redirected from repairing Mantle's defenses, leaving the kingdom vulnerable and it's implied that said supplies were officially marked as heading toward Mantle defense. Clover is all too aware of Mantle's situation and is sympathetic enough to wish Robyn well in the pending election, but he lacks the freedom to tell anyone outside Ironwood's inner circle about what's going on.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Robyn Hill appeared in the volume's opening titles and on election posters within Mantle before her debut in this episode.
* GunboatDiplomacy: When Ruby, Qrow and Clover gear up to fight against Robyn Hill and her women, Penny jumps from the back of the convoy and talks Robyn out of jacking the supplies - while six of her blades are fanned out behind her back.
* HeroicFatigue: Now being fully-licensed Huntresses and Huntsmen, teams RWBY and JNR start undertaking more and more missions and are implied to be required to get up earlier than usual. Weiss, Blake, and Yang start to experience notable fatigue and even the normally enthusiastic Ruby eventually begins to struggle with drowsiness during a simple (but protracted) supply run.
* {{Irony}}: One of Jaune's early traits back in Beacon was that he was a CasanovaWannabe who had little if any success with women (specifically Weiss), with only one reciprocating (Pyrrha) but the relationship being nipped in the bud due to her death. Fast forward to the present, he's now being swooned over by women in his status as an official Huntsman now that he's basically stopped caring (or at least not focusing on it anymore) about flirting.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Jacques blames his decision to fire all of his Mantle-based workers on Ironwood. While he does it to manipulate the unhappy workers to vote for him, Ironwood's embargo and the ensuing financial strain on Atlas's economy pushed Jacques to fire his Mantle-based workers in the first place.
* LuminescentBlush: Oscar blushes quite vividly when Neon calls him "cute".
* MoodWhiplash: Most of the episode revolves around the heroes settling in to Atlas Academy and working as official Huntsmen, along with getting trained by the Ace Ops. Asides from a defused fight against Robyn Hill, the mood of the episode is light, with plenty of time given to depicting the bonds between various characters ... until Winter takes Weiss to see the Winter Maiden. After Winter reveals that the Winter Maiden's due to die any day - and that Ironwood has groomed Winter herself to inherit the powers - a news broadcast shows Jacques announcing that he's closed all "non-essential" SDC facilities as a result of the embargo, and promised the citizens to restore them should he be elected. Predictably, this results in riots breaking out in Mantle at the end of the episode, as a result of Dr. Watts pulling the strings.
* MrsRobinson: A bunch of mothers of the school children Jaune was helping cross the road in Mantle make some suggestive gestures to him. One even goes up and gives him a homemade casserole which, according to Jaune, isn't the first one.
* TheReveal: Fria, the elderly Winter Maiden, is described by Winter as being due to die at any moment. After the Fall of Beacon, Ironwood has allowed only one person to visit Fria and bond with her - and that person is Winter. Therefore, a long-standing fan theory is planned to come about; Winter Schnee is set to become the next Winter Maiden.
* SadisticChoice: Jacques's revelation is essentially this -- either elect him and be stuck working with an unpopular politician but his facilities reopen or don't elect him and many people lose their jobs.
* SleepCute: Team RWBY at one point fall asleep all leaning on each other and with Blake's head in Yang's lap.
* TakeAThirdOption: Jacques, at the end of the previous episode, was faced with a dilemma: either lay off Mantle employees and recoup his monetary losses at the cost of votes for the upcoming election or don't and continue to suffer financially. By the end of this episode, Jacques has managed to get away with closing "non-essential" SDC plants without losing potential votes, by blaming it on the embargo imposed by Ironwood and promising to put an end to it if Jacques is elected as a member of the council.
* TrainingMontage: The first third of the episode shows a montage of the heroes doing various missions, along with training with the Ace Ops and against Team FNKI.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Clover gently tells Qrow that he shouldn't be deflecting compliments about himself, and that he's had more of an effect on the kids than he realizes.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: In "A New Approach", it was stated that the Winter Maiden was elderly. She turns out to be bedridden and sick, and Winter states that Fria could go any day now.

* {{Irony}}: One of Jaune's early traits back in Beacon was that he was a CasanovaWannabe who had little if any success with women (specifically Weiss), with only one reciprocating (Pyrrha) but the relationship being nipped in the bud due to her death. Fast forward to the present, he's now being swooned over by women in his status as an official Huntsman now that he's basically stopped caring (or at least not focusing on it anymore).