Out in the Open
"Instead, we must unite, and fight back, together. Every single one of us!"
Written by Kerry Shawcross & Kiersi Burkhart
Directed by Dustin Matthews & Connor Pickens
Directed by Dustin Matthews & Connor Pickens
Yang: Those shelters are gonna fill up soon.
Elm: They're all we've got. We just have to hold off the Grimm.
Elm: They're all we've got. We just have to hold off the Grimm.
The heroes fight to save Mantle while Ironwood and Robyn enact plans to bring Tyrian and Watts out into the open.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Arrow Catch: When Tyrian chases Robyn, she turns to fire her crossbow at him. One bolt flies straight at his face, but he halts it in mid-air by catching it between two fingers.
- Batman Gambit: During the broadcast shown all across Mantle, General Ironwood and Robyn Hill respectively state that the Amity Colosseum's CCT is ready for launch and all forces defending it are being diverted to assist in Mantle, while Robyn herself will help with the evacuation at Sector 17. Tyrian decides, on Watts's suggestion, to use that opportunity to kill Robyn to sow more chaos in Mantle, while Watts heads for Amity Colosseum to sabotage it. This is exactly what our heroes were counting on they would do with the information they were given. Tyrian is caught unprepared facing not only Robyn, but also Qrow and Clover, while General Ironwood himself traps Watts inside Amity to deal with him personally.
- BFG: Timber, Elm Ederne's rocket hammer, can reconfigure into a rocket launcher capable of killing Megoliaths in a single hit.
- Chekhov's Skill: Early in the volume, Jaune's first mission as a licensed Huntsman is the boring job of escorting young children to school so that their parents feel the children are safe; in the process, he learns how to get the children to travel swiftly and safely in single-file across road crossings. In this episode, Vine manages to pin the attacking Grimm on either side of a street. Jaune immediately orders the frightened people to form an orderly line with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front and asks two of the kids he's worked with to show them how it's done. This enables Jaune to augment Ren's Semblance down the entire line of people, masking them from the Grimm and successfully evacuating every single one. When Vine asks Jaune where he learned to do this, Jaune tells him it was during the pre-school missions.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- Cinder came to Atlas due to her knowledge that Salem's next target after Haven would be Vacuo. She is thrown for a loop upon discovering that Tyrian and Watts are in Atlas instead and is frustrated that the schedule change affects her own plans.
- When Ironwood broadcasts the news about Amity Colosseum's new role as a CCT and that it's now ready for launch, Watts is at a complete loss as to how Ironwood was able to hide that information from him.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Out in the Open" could refer to the Ironwood's decision to tell the population that Salem exists and is the cause of the attacks on Beacon, Haven and Mantle. It could also refer to the fact that Watts are Tyrian are finally forced out of the shadows and lured into traps that bring them into a face-to-face confrontation with the heroes.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Ironwood and Robyn address the kingdom, they do so with Robyn's Semblance active to demonstrate that they aren't lying. When Ironwood reveals Amity tower is completed and Robyn reveals where her exact location and role in Mantle will be, the camera only shows their heads, keeping the Semblance off-camera. This sets up the reveal at the end of the episode that these two pieces of information are ruses to lure both Tyrian and Watts into traps: Robyn is the bait to trap Tyrian, and the still incomplete Amity Tower is the lure to trap Watts.
- Giant Mook: After Elm takes down two Megoliaths by herself, a much larger and older one shows up and shakes off everything they throw at it. In the end, they have to use one of its own tusks to bring it down.
- Hope Spot: Watts asks Tyrian to create even more chaos for the frightened population of Mantle than an ongoing Grimm attack can cause, to draw attention from his investigation of Amity Tower. Tyrian decides that the best way to do this is to assassinate the Mantle hero, Robyn, while she's in the middle of leading evacuation efforts. Unfortunately for him, Robyn is actually bait designed to lure Tyrian into a trap where he finds himself confronting Robyn, Qrow and Clover.
- Internal Reveal: Salem's leadership of the villainous forces is confirmed at the end of Volume 3 and revealed to the teenaged heroes across Volumes 4 and 5. This episode revolves around Ironwood and Robyn giving a joint speech to the entire kingdom revealing Salem's existence and that she's not only responsible for the attack on Mantle, but that she was behind the attacks on Beacon and Haven, too.
- It's Personal:
- Watts and Ironwood have personal history and both want revenge on the other. While Ironwood is willing to leave Tyrian to three of his best Huntsmen, he takes responsibility for dealing with Watts himself. He lures Watts to Amity Tower and locks them into the arena together for a showdown.
- All three of the Huntsmen sent to take down Tyrian have scores to settle with him. Robyn wants to take him on alone to avenge her slaughtered supporters and wounded friend; Clover makes it clear he holds a grudge over Tyrian's crimes against Atlas; Tyrian almost killed Qrow in Volume 4 while trying to kidnap Qrow's niece and Qrow discovered in Volume 5 that Tyrian and Hazel had murdered all of Mistral's Huntsmen, including several he counted as friends. When the other two state their personal interest in defeating Tyrian, Qrow tells them both to get in line. Faced by three highly motivated Huntsmen, Tyrian's smugness evaporates.
- Lampshade Hanging: Watts acknowledges how cliche the line "I won't be going down without a fight" is even as he uses it when cornered by Ironwood.
- Last Villain Stand: Even after being blindsided, Watts remains composed and makes a back-up plan, sending Tyrian to kill Robyn and heading to the now deserted Amity Colosseum to take it over. When he's Out-Gambitted by Ironwood and trapped inside the arena with him, he decides to go out swinging, activating the biomes and pulling out a revolver and shield.
- Lured into a Trap: Ironwood and Robyn use a broadcast revealing the existence of Salem to announce the existence and completion of Amity Tower and that Robyn will personally lead the evacuation mission in Sector 17 of Mantle. Tyrian attempts to attack Robyn only to discover she's bait to lure him into ally where she, Qrow and Clover can confront him together; Watts travels to Amity Tower, where he finds it in an incomplete state and is trapped in the arena where Ironwood is waiting to confront him.
- Male Gaze: While Cinder is talking to Neo, she pauses in front of the camera to look over her scroll. The camera's angle faces upwards at the underside of the scroll, focusing almost entirely on Cinder's thighs.
- Musical Nod: When Ruby concentrates to try use her Silver Eyes the music plays a few notes from Indomitable. Appropriately it's pretty hard to hear over the cacophony of the battle and stops when Ruby gives up.
- Precision F-Strike: Ironwood calls Watts a "pain in the ass" just before the two face off to fight.
- Rebuilt Pedestal: Penny was the Protector of Mantle until Watts and Tyrian framed her for murder. This turned most of the kingdom against Penny, with many people calling for her deactivation. After Robyn confirms to Mantle's populace that Ironwood is telling the truth about who the real villains are, Penny returns to protecting Mantle. When she takes down a Megoliath to save citizens who are trying to be evacuated, the people cheer her and once again refer to her as the "Protector of Mantle".
- Rousing Speech: After exposing Salem to Atlas and Mantle, Ironwood uses the opportunity to encourage citizens to unite in hope and harmony against hatred and division. The people respond to this, which halts the Grimm invasion and enables the military and Huntsmen to evacuate Mantle's population.
- Three-Point Landing: When Watts is trapped in the arena of Amity Colosseum, Ironwood reveals his presence in the commentator's box. He leaps out of the box to land on the arena floor with his feet and one hand planted on the ground.
- To Unmasque the World: While Robyn uses her Semblance and her words to show that Ironwood is being truthful, Ironwood tells the people of Mantle and Atlas that there is a force known as Salem who has been trying to sow hatred and division by destroying Beacon, and attacking both Haven and Mantle. Ironwood then calls on the people to resist by coming together in unity and hope.
- Villainous Breakdown: Tyrian has a minor, short-lived one after Ironwood and Robyn reveal to the population that Salem exists and that Watts and Tyrian are in the kingdom carrying out her plans to divide and conquer the kingdom. Tyrian angrily punches the wall, snarling about how the people should be destroyed by the Grimm attack, not united by it. When Watts creates a back-up plan, Tyrian calms down slightly but remains on edge and angry when he confronts Robyn. Upon discovering that Robyn has baited him into a trap where Qrow and Clover are waiting, Tyrian drops any pretence of control.
"At the risk of sounding cliche, James... I won't be going down without a fight."
