History Recap / RWBYV9E5TheParfaitPredicament

* UncertainDoom: The Curious Cat stays behind to help hold off the Jabberwalkers, but is not seen or heard dying like the Hawker. There's an additional layer of uncertainty due to the Jabberwalker being combined with Neo's illusions: while the true Jabberwalker can cause a CessationOfExistence to those it eats, it's not clear if that power extends to Neo's clones of it.

* WreckedWeapon: Crocea Mors is broken at the tip, with Jaune's armor old and rusted.

* InternalReveal: The glass illusion-shattering effect tells Team RWBY that Neo is alive and still trying to kill them in the Ever After, and that she somehow managed to tame the Jabberwalker under her control.
* MindScrew: Ruby's encounter with the Blacksmith; first, all the surrounding lights and scenery go dark, then Ruby sees Penny's reflection in her sword. After talking to the Blacksmith for a brief time, Ruby notices that she's suddenly holding a dagger that shows the reflection of a young girl Ruby doesn't know. After Ruby turns and sees either herself or her mother Summer's reflection in an axe on the Blacksmith's wall, she hears her team calling her back, and suddenly, she's back in the market, having seemingly not moved and with no sign of the Blacksmith or her stand.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The Curious Cat has a tendancy to be cryptic and evasive even when freaked out. However, when the Jaberwalker attacks, they are so terrified that they completely drop their enigmatic attitude and answer Team RWBY's questions as swiftly and simply as possible. The Cat makes it clear that Weiss, Blake and Yang need to regain their true sizes as fast as possible for everyone's sake.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: The Cat explains that when a being in the Ever After fails to fulfill their purpose, they are "called back" and made to serve their purpose properly again. This is the closest the Ever After has to death, and it's temporary. This makes the Jabberwalker even more terrifying in the eyes of the Ever Afters' denizens, as it can '''''permanently''''' kill them.

* TimePassageBeard: It hasn't been revealed how long Jaune has been in the Ever After, but he's visibly aged, his hair has grown long, and he now wears a full, thick beard.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Jaune looks at least a decade older, and remarks that Team RWBY "finally made it", implying that he has been in the Ever After for a LONG time, even though RWBY all fell into the void before he did.
* TragicKeepsake: Ruby once again finds one of Penny's swords in the blacksmith's shop. She also claims that the emblem on her belt "carries a mother's promise", implying that it's a reminder of Summer.
* WreckedWeapon: Crocea Mors is broken at the tip, with Jaune's armor old and rusted.

* NearAndDearBabyNaming: Jaune's jackalope-like steed is named Juniper, after his old team.
* NotQuiteDead: Weiss, Blake, Yang, and The Rusted Knight all band together to kill the Jabberwalker... only for it to shatter like Neo's illusions and more Jabberwalkers to appear. This invokes a retreat from the heroes.

* AmbiguousSituation:
** Although Ruby assumes that it is, it's not established whether the copy of Penny's sword in the Blacksmith's possession is the same one that the Red Prince discarded, or if it's one of Penny's other conjured weapons. Given the MindScrew nature of the entire encounter, it's not even clear if the sword (or, indeed, the Blacksmith herself) was ever truly there at all.
** The last time Little is seen is when the parfait is being created, sitting on Ruby's right shoulder. As the Jabberwalker attacks, the camera is facing Ruby's left side; Little isn't visible but squeals loudly. It's the last time they're seen or heard in the episode, meaning it's not known if Little was separated from Ruby during the attack or is just hiding out of sight in Ruby's cowl as they sometimes do when scared.

* UncertainDoom: The Curious Cat and the Hawker volunteer to hold off the horde of Jabberwalkers while the heroes flee; their fates and the outcome of the fight remain unknown at the end of the episode. Even if they were eaten, it's ambiguous if Neopolitan's Jabberwalker clones have the same CessationOfExistence ability as the original.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The Curious Cat has been a fairly calm being for the entirety of the time that the team has known him, generally not always answering their questions (or doing so in a very roundabout way), and being easily distracted. However, when the Jabberwalker makes its return, he's visibly ''freaking out'' and drops his usual behavior, outright telling them what will happen if the Jabberwalker kills any of them ([[KilledOffForReal they cannot ascend and will die for real]]) and what happens if the parfait is eaten in excess.

** Little isn't there in the last scene and Ruby is very quiet. What the exact reasons are for both go unexplored at the episodes end.

* FairytaleMotifs: Ruby sees the reflection of her mother in the blade of an axe, implying that it's her weapon, in which case Summer would be the Woodsman to Ruby's Little Red Riding Hood.

* WreckedWeapon: Crocea Mors is broken at the tip, with Jaune's armor old and rusted.
* WhamLine: "Well done, Juniper.", being a FiveSecondForeshadowing to TheReveal.
* WhamShot: The Rusted Knight removes his helmet to reveal Jaune, looking at least a few decades older than when Team RWBY saw him last.

*** When Ruby sees the Axe hanging on the walls of the Blacksmith, it isn’t clear whether she’s looking at a reflection of her future self or her mother Summer.

* MindScrew: Ruby's encounter with the Blacksmith; first, all the surrounding lights and scenery go dark, then Ruby sees Penny's reflection in her sword. After talking to the Blacksmith for a brief time, Ruby notices that she's suddenly holding a dagger that shows the reflection of a young girl Ruby doesn't know. After Ruby turns and sees her mother Summer's reflection in an axe on the Blacksmith's wall, she hears her team calling her back, and suddenly, she's back in the market, having seemingly not moved and with no sign of the Blacksmith or her stand.

[[caption-width-right:350:"You may chose any one of these you like, and set your burden down."]]

* ResurrectiveImmortality: The Cat explains that when a being in the Ever After fails to fulfill their purpose, they are "called back" and made to serve their purpose properly again. This is the closest the Ever After has to death, and it's temporary.

* AmbiguousSituation: Although Ruby assumes that it is, it's not established whether the copy of Penny's sword in the Blacksmith's possession is the same one that the Red Prince discarded, or if it's one of Penny's other conjured weapons. Given the MindScrew nature of the entire encounter, it's not even clear if the sword (or, indeed, the Blacksmith herself) was ever truly there at all.

* UncertainDoom: The Curious Cat and the Hawker volunteer to hold off the horde of Jabberwalkers while the heroes flee; their fates and the outcome of the fight remain unknown at the end of the episode.

* WhamShot: The Rusted Knight removes his helmet to reveal Jaune, looking at least a decade older than when Team RWBY saw him last.

* WhamLine: "Well done, Juniper.", being a FiveSecondForeshadowing to TheReveal.

* WreckedWeapon: Jaune's sword is broken at the tip, with his armor old and rusted.

* WreckedWeapon: Jaune's sword is broken at the tip, with his armor old and rusted.

* DramaticUnmask: After being rescued by the Rusted Knight, he pulls off his helmet, revealing himself to be Jaune, whom Team RWBY had absolutely no idea fell into the Ever After.

* InternalReveal: The glass illusion shattering effect tells Team RWBY that Neo is alive and still trying to kill them in Ever After, and that she somehow managed to tame the Javverwalker under her control.

* TimeyWimeyBall: Jaune looks at least a decade older, and remarks that team RWBY "finally made it", implying that he has been in the Ever After for a LONG time.

* WreckedWeapon: Jaune's sword is broken at the tip with his armor old and rusted.