That's why it's called a Pyrrhic Victory.
Long story short, Just when it looks like Jodie and co are gonna win, the Big Bad pulls a new power out of his ass and kills everyone, Jodie included, except for the Tagalong Kid. Said Tagalong Kid then kills the Big Bad before resetting the universe, creating new versions of the main cast who get to live happily ever after while the original versions that we followed all this time remain dead while their world is completely destroyed. Notably, the ending's tone actually draws attention to this and makes it clear this is not a happy ending, but is in fact rather bleak.
I can't see Cinder's plan to bring the dragon to Beacon being helped with the Dragon being frozen in place and not able to act as a mobile spawn point. And Cinder got better? How do you figure that since she doesn't appear for the rest of the episode so there no evidence that she met up with Salem. Whatever Ruby did stopped Cinder from killing her, which seeing that Cinder killed Phyrra despite her no longer being a threat would suggest that Cinder couldn't do it. So again, Cinder got hit with a setback by the dragon being frozen in place, with Cinder's status unconfirmed.
One possibility beyond Cinder herself being petrified, which would be...unusual, is that it was like Amber, she saw Qrow coming and decided to run for it rather than waste time killing a helpless opponent. Either way, I strongly suspect we haven't seen the last of her, if only because taking out The Dragon like that is exponentially worse than taking out a literal dragon like that.
Theory time regarding Salem. Remember how I theorized that the power of the maidens was originally stolen from a deity or cosmic entity of some description? That entity is/was Salem or someone close to her, and Ozpin (the wizard) and the original maidens were the one who stole it.
edited 13th Feb '16 2:34:31 PM by CaptainCapsase
One thing the people who keep going on about Cinder being unstoppable; for the majority of her plan 99% of the cast never even realised she was trying anything, and the ones who knew something was up only knew that in the most vague terms. Getting the Fall Maiden's power involved her sneaking up and launching a sneak attack to get that bonus to damage. In both of the straight up fights we've seen she has not been dominating them; the Ozpin fight showed him holding his own then gaining the upper hand, the Phyrra fight showed that Phyrra absolutely dominates Cinder when it comes to the physical part of fighting, with Cinder needing to rely on outside help (the Dragon) and tricks (the arrow) in order to win. And then Ruby showed up and by all accounts either took Cinder out of contention or forced her to retreat. This episode removed the illusion that Cinder was untouchable.
No spoilers but: GOOD GOOGILY MOOGITY ITS ALL GONE TO SHIT!
You Can't Give It Up!! [[Phash Slash 1001@gmail.com]] http://corecrush112.tumblr.comEverything will be fine for everyone. Except for anyone who didn't survive to the end credits. They're dead.
But seriously, people need to remember that Blake, Weiss and Yang are just going to go through some actual character development to work through their issues rather than having them resolved with one slumber party conversation. They'll be back together before the end credits of Volume 4. The real question is what is going to happen to JNR.
Can someone remind me how to do spoiler text?
You Can't Give It Up!! [[Phash Slash 1001@gmail.com]] http://corecrush112.tumblr.comDamn! Jaune just can't catch a break! First he fails to protect Amber, and then, Pyrria bites the dust!
edited 13th Feb '16 3:04:58 PM by Zero10cutter
You Can't Give It Up!! [[Phash Slash 1001@gmail.com]] http://corecrush112.tumblr.comIt's funny because if Pyrrha listened to her damn leader things would've ended way different.
PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
Well shit, she should've said yes the 1st time so none of this would've happened!
@Epic Bleye: Attack On Titan runs in a weekly Shonen magazine for kids, as did Jojos Bizarre Adventure before Steel Ball Run.
Ergo, they are technically for children in Japan.
edited 13th Feb '16 3:30:34 PM by Demongodofchaos2
Watch SymphogearWell, Stone Ocean's ending was shit, so of course the fandom would revolt.
To all those saying "Cinder has totally had a setback thanks to the dragon being frozen" - that's the best you've got? A last minute deus ex machina that we don't even know the results of? There are also huge assumptions being made on how important the dragon is to Cinder's goals, and even in a dormant state it's still attracting Grimm. What Ruby did isn't a true victory, it's just a bandaid. And again, that took a last minute deus ex machina. I still don't see Cinder as a Villain Sue, but requiring a Deus ex Machina to be twarted is a hallmark of them. She's pretty close to fitting.
I like that the team has been broken up, and that it's building off the insecurites that WBY brought up in volume 2. At the time it seemed like that was going nowhere, it's good to see a return to that. Blake's is especially poignant because her insecurity about running keeps coming back at her and now it's the only way she knows to keep her friends safe.
I also like that Ruby is going off with Jaune, Ren and Nora at the end. I hope they stick together as an informal team for a good part of the next volume, if not longer. It's a good opportunity for some different dynamics, interactions and development.
One thing you should keep in mind about Ruby's powers appearing is that it didn't just help the heroes out in a pinch. It established that Ruby is as or more powerful than Cinder, which will definitely come into play when they inevitably confront each other after Ruby's started leaning to use her powers. Even if she didn't get thwarted now, making an enemy of Ruby without realizing what she could do will absolutely bite Cinder later.
Does anyone actually read these?![]()
The argument we're refuting is that Cinder's plans have been going off perfectly without a hitch. There has now been a hitch, that could snowball into complete derailment. If any more of Cinder's plans relied on the dragon being active they have been stopped in their tracks. Plus Cinder's last scene has her displeased with the latest revelation.
edited 13th Feb '16 3:43:21 PM by Shaoken
Wild speculation, got it.
Right now she could reappear and say "unexpected, but this works for us" we don't know anything about the outcome yet.
And all I'm saying is that "last minute deus ex maxhina might have been a hitch!" is a pretty poor argument. If that's the only thing to slow her down then it'a damn fine complaint to have.
