Of Solitude and Self
"I love you... Just the way you are."
Written by Eddy Rivas and Kiersi Burkhart
Directed by Dustin Matthews and Yssa Badiola
Directed by Dustin Matthews and Yssa Badiola
"What happens... if I choose me?"
— Ruby Rose
As her friends fight to protect her body, Ruby finally makes her decision...
Tropes in this episode include:
- Absurdly Long Wait: The Tree had been waiting for so long for Jaune to come to it, and tells him so through the Blacksmith (subtly emphasizing "long") when he and WBY finally meet her in the Void Between the Worlds. Jaune sheepishly replies he's made it at last.
- Alas, Poor Villain:
- The Blacksmith pities the Cat as the Brother Gods created them with the ability to mend every broken heart except their own. Once their suffering began, there was no way back for them.
- Team RWBY are concerned about Neo's Ascension, and Ruby gives a small eulogy even though Neo had driven her to suicide previously.
- Amnesiac Resonance: Despite undergoing Ascension and the accompanying (apparent) Loss of Identity, Somewhat retains some familiarity with Ruby from their time as Little, comparing the feeling to a happy dream they can't quite remember. As Ruby bids them farewell, Somewhat addresses her as "Huntress", an identifier that Ruby didn't use in the conversation here, but which she mentioned when she first met Little at the start of the volume. This confirms an earlier statement by the Cat, who said that memories may not carry over into the next life, but the heart will never forget.
- Assimilation Backfire: After Jaune tells WBY to burn the Tree's leaves to force the Cat to inhale the smoke, the Cat just laughs it off and inhales deeply. They say they're immune to the effects, but Jaune tells them Neo isn't. Bombarded by Neo's thoughts and feelings, the Cat's forced to abandon her body to escape it.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Neo uses her Semblance copies of the Jabberwalker to finish off the Curious Cat.
- Be Yourself: As Ruby finds out in the Tree, the key to being a great huntress isn't perfection, but rather just being the way you are.
- Bookends: Neo introduced herself to Team RWBY with a mocking curtsy in their first meeting as enemies. This time, she performs a genuine curtsy, grateful to the group for saving her from the cat, as she parts on better terms with them.
- Break Them by Talking: The Curious Cat tries breaking Ruby down once more by reminding her of her failures. This time, it doesn't work, and the Cat leaves itself wide open long enough for Neo's Jabberwalkers to finish it off.
- Broken Pedestal: By touching Summer's old weapon, Ruby sees how on the night she left, she lied to Tai about going on a mission for Ozpin when was actually meeting up with Raven for some important mission. The stunned and frustrated Ruby pushes the weapon display over, shattering its glass alongside the perfect image of her mother. However, with the Blacksmith's guidance, Ruby realizes her mother had her own flaws and worries, and no one is perfect. This realization and Summer assuring her and Yang she would always love them the way they are, help Ruby realize she doesn’t have to be a perfect huntress either.
- Call-Back:
- In the second volume, Neo gave Team RWBY a mocking curtsy during their first encounter. When saying goodbye to them in this episode, she curtsies genuinely, as thanks for freeing her from the Cat.
- After meeting Ruby for the first time, Little said she was "a lot of things". Since they've Ascended, they realize they also want to be "a lot of things", and names themself Somewhat to reflect that.
- Upon her re-awakening, Ruby walks onto the battlefield in the same manner as she did approaching Summer's grave all the way back in the RWBY "Red" Trailer, complete with stylized color emphasis on her cape to contrast her dark outfit. She even gives a similar grin from said trailer when on the attack as well.
- The Cat's death is one to the original Jabberwalker's. Neo kills them in much the same manner as she did to the Jabberwalker, ganging up on them with a squad of clones as they scream out a Rapid-Fire "No!" in the realization of just how utterly screwed they are.
- Call-Forward:
- In the flashback, Taiyang and Summer embracing each other as the latter promises to return before she departed from home is a mirror to Jaune and Ruby embracing each other when they reunited in Argus as the latter promised.
- Summer Rose and Raven Branwen's flashback has Summer walking past Raven and purposely bumping her aside — just as Yang would in "Haven's Fate."
- When the Jabberwalker proves to be too strong, the Brother Gods fight over whether or not to keep it with Light destroying it and Dark rebuilding it, the same way they will eventually fight over reviving Ozma.
- Came Back Strong: Little ascends into a much larger mouse with a cape and clothing similar to Ruby's. As they have many purposes, they choose the name Somewhat to reflect their new outlook and goals.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: After being forced out of Neo by the rush of memories and emotions, the Curious Cat continues to try killing the heroes by transforming into a large Beast Man. Unfortunately for them, losing access to Neo's Semblance gets rid of the only advantage the Cat had, and while they battle WBY and Jaune with a slight advantage, the reunited Team RWBY trounces them. Once Ruby joins the fight the Cat's barely even able to scratch any of them before the four put them down with a Combination Attack.
- Colorful Contrails: Team RWBY's finishing move on the Cat surrounds them with Weiss' glyphs and then ricochets the whole team around them, turning them into bright streaks of their signature colors.
- Combat Pragmatist: Getting overwhelmed in direct combat with the Curious Cat, empowered with Neo's Semblance, Jaune recovers from getting exposed to the smoke of the Ever Tree leaves by making peace with his lingering Guilt towards Alyx's fate, and gets the idea to use the same tactic against the Curious Cat. Whilst they gloat that they're immune to the effect, Jaune notes that Neo isn't; which evicts the cat and sets up their Curb-Stomp Battle against the reunited Team RWBY later on, unable to use Neo's semblance to distract their foes anymore.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: With Ruby back and rejuvenated, Team RWBY makes short work of the Curious Cat.
- Devoured by the Horde: When the Curious Cat tries futilely attacking Ruby again, they're grabbed by Neo's Jabberwalkers and eaten alive while Team RWBY watches in horror.
- Disappears into Light: Though Neo's Semblance has always had a shattering effect, it takes on special meaning when she creates a final illusion of Roman. She touches his face, admits he's not real, and the illusion slowly dissipates into motes of light as she finally accepts his death.
- Disappointed in You: While Summer went with Raven on her last mission, she says she wasn't pleased at all by Raven's abandonment of Taiyang and Yang, being unusually cold toward Raven and shoulder-check her despite Raven saying Summer was better suited for family life and motherhood than her.
- Divine Delegation: The Ever After was once in a state of primeval overgrowth, so the Tree created Light and Dark to tame the land. Light and Dark eventually figured out how to make their own creations to carry out these tasks for them.
- Do I Really Sound Like That?: Having gotten used to his more mature voice, Jaune reacts with slight embarrassment when he's restored to his younger self and hears what his voice sounds like.
- The Dog Bites Back: After Neo is freed from the Curious Cat and they are defeated, she sends the Jabberwalkers to kill them in revenge.
- Dramatic Irony: As she and Raven prepare to leave for their secret mission, Summer says that if all goes well, no one will ever know that it was any different from any other mission; the viewers are well aware Summer won't return.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Seconds after being affected by the smoke of the Tree's burned leaves, Jaune realises he can use them on the Cat. The Cat may be immune, but Neo isn't, ending the Cat's possession of her.
- False Dichotomy: The Blacksmith says the Brother Gods, in embodying Creation and Destruction, ultimately fell to this. She describes balance as a living ecosystem that will find equilibrium in itself, not two forces locked in constant battle, and the Brothers fighting was why the Ever After eventually sent them away to hash out their disagreements somewhere else.
- Finish Dialogue in Unison: In the flashback, Taiyang and Summer do this by quoting Ozpin.Taiyang: And when it turns out to be yet another run-of-the-mill patrol? It'll be...
Taiyang and Summer: "I always prefer discretion." - God Is Flawed: As the Blacksmith describes, the Brother Gods subscribe to a False Dichotomy-based idea of balance, wherein two opposing forces must be forever at odds. She also mentions the inherently flawed methods they used in their roles in the Ever After, including their failure to leave a way for the Curious Cat to ascend should the Cat's own heart be broken.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Though the first few moments of the Curious Cat's death at the hands of Neo's Jabberwalker clones are shown before it cuts away to Team RWBY's horrified expressions as well as Neo's expression of pure vindictive rage, the very disturbing sounds of them viciously ripping the Cat apart and eating them alive with a Sickening "Crunch!" can be heard before the illusions dissipate.
- Graceful Loser: Neo's plan to render Ruby Deader than Dead ultimately fails as Ruby emerges from the Tree with her personality intact. However, she ultimately accepts the futility of revenge, giving Ruby and her friends a graceful curtsy before giving herself over to the Tree.
- Grew Beyond Their Programming: The Brother Gods were the first creations of the Tree in the Ever After, Dark was made to clear the raw stuff that existed in the realm's primeval state so there would be space for the new creations, and Light was made to make homes and structures for the Afterans. They began as a young goat and deer, respectively, but as they grew older and more powerful, they eventually started to take the forms that Remnant would know them in, and started to make their own creations in secret, those being the Curious Cat and the Jabberwalker. After they started arguing over the fate of the latter, they were eventually sent out of the Ever After to create worlds of their own, namely Remnant.
- Happily Failed Suicide: After being Driven to Suicide in "Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble", Ruby ultimately realizes she actually wants to stop feeling like a failure as opposed to dying. The Blacksmith guides Ruby to accept herself as enough, and later disproves her feelings about making things worse by saying she has done good for the Ever After. Ruby's final words are to thank the Blacksmith for helping her.
- Heel Realization: After discovering the emptiness of her vengeance, breathing in the leaves' smoke, the heroes saving her, and then seeing Team RWBY and Jaune together all causes Neo to realise she wants to be a new, better person. She lets go of Roman, curtsies to the team, and lets the Tree ascend her.
- Helpful Hallucination: When Jaune was affected by the smoke of the Tree's leaves that burned as he fell from the previous episode, a vision of Alyx came to him. She states what was bothering him, that "Maybe [it was] time for a change. To be the kind of man [he] always wanted to be," and offers her hand. He takes it and comes out of the smoke. This helped inspire him to use the smoke on Neo; the fumes don't affect the Cat, but their effect on Neo forces the Cat out of her body.
- Hypocrite: As they prepare to embark on the as-yet unrevealed mission, Raven questions Summer about being willing to leave Yang and Ruby; Summer coldly replies that Raven is one to talk, and a visibly uncomfortable Raven can only offer half-hearted justifications that Summer is more suited to family life than she is.
- I Choose to Stay: Neo does not return to Remnant with everyone in the end, choosing instead to ascend and become someone new.
- Just Desserts: The Curious Cat is eaten by Neo's Jabberwalkers after Jaune and Team RWBY free her from their possession.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The Curious Cat's defeated by a reunited Team RWBY, but their end comes about from the actions of Neo, whom they had possessed, and Jaune, to whom the Cat had displayed personal animosity and indirectly tormented through its manipulations of Alyx. Jaune tells WBY to burn the Ever Tree's leaves around them to expose the possessed Neo to the smoke, saying Neo isn't immune to its effects; the resulting flood of memories and painful emotions connected with them evicts the Cat's form from her. The cat tries attacking Ruby once more, but Neo uses a pack of Jabberwalkers to devour the Cat, ensuring they're Killed Off for Real. Furthermore, it's revealed the Cat and the Jabberwalker were created by the Brother Gods, with the Jabberwalker being a "failed" creation, making their end at their counterpart's hands doubly fitting.
- Like Mother, Like Daughter: Ruby's vision shows both Summer and Raven displaying behavior later seen in their daughter Yang, with Summer shoulder-checking Raven in much the same way Yang will do years later in the Haven Vault.
- Locked into Strangeness: While Alyx's gift lets Jaune regain his years lost to the Ever After, he retains his white streaks of hair, showing that the things he experienced are still with him.
- Lying to Protect Your Feelings: On the night she left, Summer told Tai she was on a secret mission for Oz, with the implication being that it would probably turn out to be a regular patrol and he had nothing to worry about.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Neo making Ruby ascend in "Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble" inadvertently does the exact opposite of her intended goal; instead of rendering Ruby Deader than Dead like Neo intended, Ascension leads Ruby to the Blacksmith, who guides Ruby out of her mental breakdown and to accept herself as enough, letting her emerge as herself with her identity intact. This actually leads Neo to choose Ascension for herself after Ruby reemerges.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Summer's willingness to lie about her mission is portrayed as being unusual for her; Raven teases her about it, and Ruby is shocked to learn of her mother's lie, reactions which make it clear that, whatever Summer's last mission was, she considered it a very serious matter worth keeping secret.
- Origins Episode: The episode's latter half shows the origins of the Brother Gods. Originating from the Ever After, they are eventually sent to the Void after they outgrow their roles.
- Parental Abandonment: A discussed example; Summer leaving on her final mission means leaving her husband and daughters behind, something Raven questions her on despite, as Summer points out, not having much ground to do so. Summer's dialogue implies that she never intended for leaving her family to be permanent, though the viewers are aware it will be.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: The last thing Summer says to her sleeping daughters before she leaves them (unbeknownst to her, forever) is to tell them that she loves them just as they are, and always will. Seeing and remembering her mother's love is what allows Ruby to accept herself just as she is and choose to remain herself rather than become someone else.
- Reincarnation:
- Averted with Ruby as she, with help from Summer's last words to her, decides to just be herself.
- Little ascends, becoming a large mouse with a cape. They tell Ruby they do not have one purpose, as the Cat previously implied, but are many things, taking the name "Somewhat" to mirror this.
- Neo decides to let the Tree claim her and ascend to a new life, finally making her peace with Roman's death.
- As the Blacksmith reaches across her table to pick up the models of the Brother Gods, a model of the Jabberwalker is briefly visible among the other Ascended characters; the visual implication is that, despite bringing permanent death to others, it is capable of achieving Ascension like other Afterans, and that Neo did indeed kill it off-screen when she first arrived.
- Rearrange the Song: The volume's final shot has an orchestrated re-score of the Volume 1 opening theme "This Will Be The Day" in the background.
- Residual Self-Image: In Jaune's tree smoke-induced vision, he flickers between his current aged appearance and his youthful one.
- Reunion Vow: In the flashback, Summer promises to reunite with Taiyang after completing her mission. Unfortunately, she's unable to keep it.
- The Reveal:
- On the night of Summer's departure, she leaves her brooch with the girls, bids Tai goodbye... and then secretly meets up with Raven for a mission they've planned together.
- The two Brother Gods were actually creations of the Ever After who outgrew their roles; They became too much of a disruptive force after squabbling over the Jabberwalker they created, resulting in the Tree sending them out into the Void to make new worlds.
- At the end, Ruby's call to action to the other countries in the world wasn't for naught, as several international airships can be seen flying above Vacuo.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Jaune gets a farewell gift from the spirit of Alyx, restoring him to his young adult self, though he still sports the white streaks in his hair.
- She's Back: After two volumes of pain, loss, defeat, and angst, Ruby Rose breaks free from her tree form with a renewed sense of purpose, all to the tune of "Red Like Roses Part III".
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Team RWBY verbally shuts down the Cat's final Break Them by Talking speech shortly before leaving for Remnant.
- Small Steps Hero: Discussed; as the Blacksmith points out, Ruby's small act of kindness in helping Little paved the way for the mouse to Ascend and become the stronger, more heroic Somewhat, making it clear that, despite any doubts to the contrary, the heroes were a force for good in the Ever After.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: After an entire volume of suffering from depression and insecurity, as well as the possibility being discussed of them having to pay a price to return to Remnant, Ruby and Jaune regain their optimism and self-confidence, and Jaune regains his youth, the Curious Cat's dealt with, and they and WBY return without difficulty to Remnant. The heroes arrive in Vacuo to see Ruby's message was heard, and the kingdom has received reinforcements.
- Sympathy for the Devil: For all their reprehensible actions, the Blacksmith feels pity for the Curious Cat, as despite their role in the Ever After, the Brother Gods never designed it to heal from a broken heart itself.
- Tempting Fate: The Curious Cat laughs at Jaune's plan to attack them with smoke from the Tree's leaves, saying that they're immune to the smoke's effects. As Jaune points out, however, Neo isn't.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: When Jaune tells WBY to burn the leaves of the tree, The Curious Cat triumphantly takes a big huff of the vapor, declaring it has no effect on them. Unfortunately for them, the same can’t be said for Neo, whose memories and emotions prove to be too much for even the Cat to handle and cause them to reject Neo as a vessel.
- The Un-Reveal: The nature of Summer Rose's last mission are left unknown despite The Reveal that whatever it was, she enlisted Raven's help to see it through.
- Villainous Breakdown: The Curious Cat devolves into mad ranting after being soundly beaten down by not only Team WBY but also the restored, rejuvenated Ruby. When they're left behind, they angrily try attacking once more... only to be destroyed by the Neo-controlled Jabberwalkers.
- Visual Pun: The first hero shown fighting the Curious Cat in the episode is Blake, a cat Faunus; they're having a catfight.
- Warts and All: Ruby's vision of Summer's last mission makes her realize that Summer was not the flawless paragon she can't live up to, but a real human being who lied and sneaked and also felt the weight of the expectations upon her. This, along with Summer's last words to her being that she'll love her just the way she is, are what inspires her to accept herself.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: The lesson Ruby ultimately learns is, that Ruby Rose herself is more than enough.
"Then maybe... that girl is enough."
— The Blacksmith
