kinda baffling to me that three years out people are still calling volume 9 a 'filler season', like just make it clear you don't pay any attention to the plot at all
character development isn't filler
lore drops aren't filler
paying off build-ups on character arcs isn't filler
having a season that's lighter on the main narrative to focus on the fallout of an intense arc, and ultimately reiterate and reconstruct the core themes of the show isn't filler
none of it's filler by definition because RWBY isn't an adaptation of anything - filler is specifically added material to pad for time so an adaptation doesn't catch up too quickly
it speaks to an incuriousness and dismissal towards the setting and the characters to dismiss everything volume 9 was doing as filler. this is a character driven show
