It's Brawl in the Family
Unsanctioned fights do not come with popcorn.
Written by Miles Luna, Monty Oum & Kerry Shawcross
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
Directed by Kerry Shawcross, Gray G. Haddock & Miles Luna
Winter: If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!
Qrow: Alright then... come take it.
Qrow: Alright then... come take it.
The arrival of Weiss's sister and Ruby's uncle cause sparks to fly, while a meeting in Ozpin's office deals with secrets that the rest of the world knows nothing about.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Armor-Piercing Question: Ozpin points out the big question on everybody's mind to Ironwood:"If this (The Atlesian Military) is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?"
- Benevolent Conspiracy: Qrow mentions that he and the heads of all four academies are part of one to protect the world from threats like Cinder's group.
- Blade Brake: Used by both Winter and Qrow.
- Call-Back:
- The "Ice Queen" nickname comes back, but it's referring to Winter (to Weiss's surprise).
- Weiss gleefully brings up the bunk beds she mentioned wanting as a child.
- This is Ruby's second iteration of "That's my uncle!" referring to Qrow.
- Qrow causes an explosion in front of the school when fighting Winter, just like Ruby did when she met Weiss.
- It's finally revealed why Cinder hacked into the communications network in "Dance Dance Infiltration". She now has control of all the tournament match-up selections, and she's also gained access to General Ironwood's Scroll. The extent of this plan has yet to be seen, but the implications are huge.
- Cool Big Sis: Weiss certainly considers Winter to be this, and while Winter is a bit cold, she inquires about how Weiss is doing. When Weiss starts talking about how she is doing in school, Winter slaps her upside the head and clarifies she is more interested in Weiss's well being than her ranking, as well as thanking Ruby for being friends with her.
- Cool Uncle: Ruby clearly sees Qrow as this, seeing how she immediately starts cheering him on after seeing him fighting Winter. And after the fight is over, they have a brief, but adorable reunion: she jumps and latches onto his arm while shouting his name and repeatedly asking if he missed her, to which he smiles and says her favorite word - nope. - and tussles her hair.
- Cranial Eruption: Weiss gets a lump on her head when Winter dope-slaps her. Ruby pushes it back down.
- Cryptic Conversation: The entire conversation between Qrow, Ironwood, Ozpin, and Glinda is full of references to context the audience doesn't yet know about. Qrow says that the infiltrator (Cinder) is the one responsible for "Autumn's condition." Who or what Autumn is and what said condition is are left unsaid. Ozpin emphasizes the importance of finding a "Guardian" and that a Guardian is a "symbol of comfort." But again, there is no elaboration on what that means. Then, of course, there's Qrow's wonderfully ominous line...Qrow: You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made and let me tell you, they are fear.
- Defensive Feint Trap: Subverted. Toward the end of the fight, Qrow folds his weapon up and packs it away, seemingly to goad Winter into attacking. It turns out that he did this to make Winter look like the aggressor in front of Ironwood, who stops her.
- Didn't Think This Through: Ironwood made a show of parking Atlesian airships around Beacon in order to give people an assurance of safety but Ozpin points out that it's more likely to make people question what could prompt him to do such a thing to begin with.
- Dope Slap: Weiss gives one to Ruby when the latter fumbles at being proper in front of Winter.
- Winter delivers a more aggressive one to Weiss when the younger answers her question wrongly.
- Establishing Character Moment: Winter's interaction with Weiss and Ruby establishes several things about her character: she is cold, but cares about her sister, she is extremely formal, has a no-nonsense attitude, and she's a proper Lady of War.
- Everyone Knew Already: Qrow insists that the major threat they're all looking for is right here at Beacon. Ironwood points out that they already know, which Qrow uses as an opportunity to snark about being Locked Out of the Loop.
- The Glomp: Ruby reunites with Uncle Qrow this way. It's very cute.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- When Winter makes her last strike, if you pause at the very end of the Arrow Cam shot, you can see a devilish expression on Qrow's face. It's more noticeable in the episode preview.
- Looking closely at the doubles brackets reveals a few things: Sun and Neptune are representing Team SSSN, Team CRDL made it past the first round, and the face of Penny's teammate.
- I Shall Taunt You: Technically Winter started the fight, but not without provocation from Qrow.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Qrow doesn't seem like much at first, but quickly reveals himself to be a dangerous fighter who is skilled, powerful, and savvy enough to make a fool of Winter, even when drunk. Mercury, who has been shown to be observant and methodical, immediately bolts when he realizes Qrow is back. When meeting in private with Ozpin and the rest of the Benevolent Conspiracy, Qrow drops the act - though he still drinks - revealing that he's been away on a lengthy reconnaissance mission, and calls Ironwood out on his methods.
- Oh, Crap!: Mercury's reaction to seeing Qrow.
- Pun-Based Title: The episode title.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Winter and Qrow quickly show that they don't like each other much, at least as far as Winter is concerned. Qrow, on the other hand, just likes pissing Winter off.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Winter, much like her younger sister, is often haughty and cold towards those around her, but she also shows that she cares more for her sister as a person than as a Schnee.
- Superpowerful Genetics: Winter also has the ability to use glyphs, and later confirms that the Schnee family's Semblance is a rare hereditary one.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Ozpin's open-mouthed shock that Qrow's still drinking, even as he's being called out as a an alcoholic.
"Let's give the crowd a good fight."
