Black and White
Mess with the cat, you get Gambol Shroud aimed towards you.
Blake: I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before.
Sun: What if they did? I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?
Sun: What if they did? I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?
While the rest of Team RWBY search for the missing Blake, Blake and Sun investigate the local White Fang activities.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Animation Bump: A noticeable one occurs as soon as the fight starts. Compare Blake's run and movement animations pre-fight and mid-fight.
- Character Witness: Ruby befriends Penny who curbstomps the White Fang troops.
- Chirping Crickets: While Blake accidentally revealed she was a Faunus, she didn't reveal what kind before she fled. When Ruby, Yang and Weiss tell Penny they're looking for Blake, they're surprised to learn Penny already knows Blake's a Faunus. Upon asking how she knows, Penny points out Blake's cat ears. As they suddenly realise how obvious Blake's attempt to hide her ears with a bow really is with hindsight, the team-mates fall into an awkward silence that is only interrupted when tumbleweed rolls by.Penny: [after a second tumbleweed blows by] It's awfully windy today!
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Penny effortlessly defeats the White Fang members.
- Curse Cut Short: When Blake catches Roman from behind and holds her blade to his throat, he's more annoyed at this than worried.Roman: What the...? Oh for f-
- Double-Meaning Title: In Team RWBY's colour scheme, Weiss represents the colour white and Blake represents the colour black. They have also have pasts that have led to them possessing very 'black and white' perspectives of what the other represents: the Schnee Dust Company has been at war with the White Fang for years. As a member of the Schnee family, Weiss has grown up watching people be murdered by the White Fang's targeted terrorism. As a former member of the White Fang, Blake has been fighting the appalling abuses of Faunus workers and their rights by the SDC for years. In this episode, their clashing experiences and view-points drives the episode.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Yang realizes that Blake has cat ears after explaining that she wears a ribbon all the time....Ruby: (To Penny) Wait, how did you know that [Blake is a Faunus]?
Penny: Uh, the cat ears?
Yang: What cat ears? She wears a... (Eyes widen) Bow.
[Beat; Tumbleweed blows by.]
Ruby: (Whispering to Yang) She does like tuna a lot. - Freudian Excuse: Blake's reasoning for the White Fang is that they are just trying to get back at those who have made them suffer.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!:
- Blake explains that she left the White Fang because she could no longer accept their violent outlook.
- Roman pulls this after seeing Penny decimate the White Fang soldiers.
- Shapes of Disappearance: When Ruby tries to politely decline Penny's offer to help find Blake, she looks to Weiss and Yang for support, only to find that they're gone, with dotted outlines of them in their respective colors blinking where they just were.
- The Stinger: Introduces the Man Behind the Man and her two shadowy associates.(Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.)Cinder: (off-screen) How very disappointing, Roman.Roman: (turning around suddenly) Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon...Cinder: (flanked by Mercury and Emerald) We were expecting... more from you.Roman: (laughing a little before getting serious) Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang.Cinder: And you will continue to do so. (summons a fireball in her hand and steps out of the darkness with her two companions) We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Roman leaves after seeing his troops being decimated.
♫ Dry your eyes now, baby
Broken wings won't hold you down
You'll take flight soon, baby
You'll be lifted up
And you'll be there. ♫
Broken wings won't hold you down
You'll take flight soon, baby
You'll be lifted up
And you'll be there. ♫
