The Parfait Predicament
"You may chose any one of these you like, and set your burden down."
Written by Kiersi Burkhart
Directed by Paula Decanini
Directed by Paula Decanini
"Guess I better go with the Cat so they don't distracted by a shiny door knob and never come back."
— Yang Xiao Long
Team RWBY arrives at a carnival as Ruby confronts further truths and a mysterious warrior.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Big Damn Heroes: The Jabberwalker is between Team RWBY and the parfait, and backs them into a corner with no way out. Seconds later, the Rusted Knight charges in and rams the Jabberwalker with his steed, rescuing the team.
- Blade Reflection: In the Blacksmith's forge, Ruby sees visions in the blades of the weapons she looks at; she sees Penny in Penny's blade, Alyx in a dagger implied to have belonged to Alyx, and in a gun-axe hanging on the wall, Ruby sees a reflection of her mother. This heavily implies that it either is, or mimics, Summer's weapon.
- Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Explaining what happened to the Herbalist, the Cat reveals that when the denizens of Ever After grow too weary or misguided in fulfilling their roles, they are absorbed into the land itself and rebirthed anew to try and fulfill them again with fresh perspective unburdened by the details of their former selves. This rebirth is called ascension, and through it none of them ever truly die. Ruby, in the midst of an existential crisis brought on by her recent failures and mounting pressures trying to be like the idyllic heroes she's read about, mysteriously finds herself in a forge where a Blacksmith offers her to choose another path for herself. To drive the subtext home, the Herbalist, who clarified this crisis, is a humanoid caterpillar while the blacksmith is seen hammering away at a red hot butterfly wing.
- Call-Back: Back in "Remembrance", Jaune tells Ruby he's a "warrior's wolf-tail kind of guy". In this episode, the Rusted Knight removes his helmet to reveal himself as an older Jaune, who wears a warrior's wolf-tail-style ponytail.
- Cessation of Existence: According to the Curious Cat, being eaten by the Jabberwalker prevents denizens of the Ever After from being reborn; the monster's attack is treated with appropriate dread by everyone in the market.
- Cooking Mechanics: When all the ingredients for a Growgurt Parfait are combined in a single jar, they form a perfect dessert in a parfait glass with a cherry on top, despite neither of those existing before, and even have small patterns in the cream that would be impossible with any real food.
- Death Is Cheap: A discussed example. The Ever After's denizens don't die, but experience a process called ascension: they are recalled by the Ever After to undergo a process of fixing or changing, whereupon they're sent back to Ever After to find their purpose anew. Unable to remember their previous incarnations, the denizens may have new personalities, identities or purposes. Though the Curious Cat dismisses this process in a carefree way, Team RWBY are extremely uncomfortable by the Death of Personality and Loss of Identity this involves. The Cat later confirms the Jabberwalker's considered The Dreaded because, through eating a denizen of the Ever After, they destroy that denizen's ability to ascend by inflicting upon them a true death.
- Dramatic Unmask: The Rusted Knight's mentioned a few times in previous episodes as a hero who helped Alyx return to Remnant. Weiss describes the Rusted Knight as handsome, and Blake is thrilled to see him in action and have the opportunity to meet him. Until, that is, the Rusted Knight removes his helmet and turns around to face them. Not only is Team RWBY stunned to discover it's Jaune, whose fall they knew nothing about, but Jaune's a middle-aged man with greying hair and age-lines, which is a reveal for the team as well as the viewers.
- Fade to White: While in the Blacksmith's forge, Ruby sees her mother in the the rifle-axe's reflection. Summer's silver eyes flare, whiting out the scene, and Ruby returns to the market with the shop gone.
- Horse of a Different Color: The Rusted Knight's steed is a giant jackalope with golden antlers.
- Intangible Price: With time running out and her desperately needing the parfait, Ruby offers her emblem to the Teapot Lady, saying it carries "a mother's promise".
- Lily-Pad Platform: The market lies at the centre of a large lake. To reach it, shoppers and vendors cross on massive lily pads that travel back and forth seemingly of their own volition.
- Mind-Control Eyes: The Hawker is trailing blue streams from his eyes after the Curious Cat "gives him something new to do", and he recklessly charges the Jabberwalker over and over.
- Mind Screw: 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 briefly talking to the Blacksmith, Ruby discovers 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.
- Musical Spoiler: Team RWBY's Rusted Knight-assisted flight from the Jabberwalkers in the market was accompanied a reprise of the Volume 1 soundtrack Forever Fall, Part 1
,note setting up the end-of-episode reveal that the Rusted Knight is Jaune. - Oh, Crap!: Team RWBY, thrice; first when the Jabberwalker attacks, then when the defeated Jabberwalker shatters like one of Neo's illusions, and finally, when many Jabberwalkers arrive and attack.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The Curious Cat tends to be cryptic and evasive even when freaked out. However, when the Jabberwalker attacks, they are so terrified to the point where they drop their enigmatic attitude and swiftly answer Team RWBY's questions. The Cat makes it clear Weiss, Blake and Yang need to quickly regain their true sizes for everyone's sake.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Jaune is revealed to have aged a couple decades through unknown means.
- Resurrective Immortality: According to the Cat, when an Ever After denizen 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. The Red King was absorbed in this way and returned as the Red Prince, whose purpose is to win the game no matter what, which is why he's a cheater. The Jabberwalker is so terrifying to its denizens because it's the only source of permanent death that exists for them.
- Shout-Out: During the group's walk through the market, there's a rooster shown with teeth in its mouth. This is a reference to Rooster Teeth, the company that created the series.
- Sound-Only Death: The Hawker's last seen being pulled to the ground by the Jabberwalkers, after which it cuts back to Ruby, who can hear the screams and tearing that leave no doubt to his fate.
- Suddenly Voiced: While the Jabberwalker was already known to talk, the one that Team RWBY defeat was actually a clone made by the mute Neopolitan, whose illusions have never made sounds before.
- Squee: Blake is initially ecstatic to see the Rusted Knight in action, and even more so to actually meet him. Her glee turns to shock when the Knight unmasks himself as Jaune.
- Time-Passage Beard: It hasn't been revealed how long Jaune has been in the Ever After, but he's visibly aged, his hair's long, and he wears a full, thick beard.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: With greying hair and age-lines under his eyes, Jaune looks like he's in his late-40s. Combined with his comment Team RWBY has "finally made it", he appears to have been in the Ever After for a much longer period of time than them even though he was the last one of them to fall.
- Tragic Keepsake: Ruby once again finds one of Penny's swords in the blacksmith's shop. She also claims the emblem on her belt "carries a mother's promise", which implies it's a reminder of Summer.
- Vocal Evolution: Jaune's voice is notably deeper and smoother due to his age, to the point where Team RWBY didn't recognize him speaking.
- We Named the Monkey "Jack": It's revealed that Jaune named his rabbit "Juniper" after his old team.
- Wrecked Weapon: Crocea Mors is still broken at the tip, with Jaune's armor old and rusted.
"Ruby... I don't think we're supposed to be here."
— Little
