In Your Reflection

Like the the majority, I too was very disappointed with Penny dying right after becoming human because it made all of RWBY’s efforts to save her from the virus pointless (damn you “red/orange-hair curse.”). I hate it when when a show does that to a character.

And yet despite that I’m not “I’m quitting the show” angry about it because as sad as it was, Penny was allowed to choose for herself after spending the volume having decisions be made (Ruby and Pietro) or taken away from her (Watts and Ironwood).

She chose to help her friends when it would’ve been better to run to Vacuo.

She chose to die on her own terms rather than have Cinder take her powers.

She chose Winter, who was the original candidate for the Winter Maiden power, to be her successor because she wanted to and not because she “owed” her (the Ace Ops tried to guilt trip her with it).

It sucks that the risks RWBY took to save her ended up not working in the end (”They’re not called “sure things” they’re called “risks”) but at least Penny got a a fitting send off for her character arc.  She got to live, love, die, and choose like and as a human.

We spent entire VOLUMES with Penny for her to get development and affirmation that she’s real and has a heart and soul despite anything that would suggest otherwise and it was thrown away for a shock value death that most likely will serve the purpose of traumatizing a character who’s already had so much screentime and development, ESPECIALLY with regard to loss.

Her death COMPLETELY negates the message they were hinting at only episodes earlier, wherein the team wouldn’t sacrifice her because they valued her as an individual and refused to treat her as disposable like Ironwood or Atlas has, and isn’t that the message of the entire fucking volume? That it’s worth taking a risk because every life is valuable and every life has meaning?

And I don’t care if her death was something she chose to inflict upon herself or not. It doesn’t change the VERY deliberate writing decision they made to kill her like this.

Am I biased because I love Penny as a character? I’m sure I am, considering that her return was one of the reasons I caught up with the show again, but it’s not even just about that. I’m failing to see how this death is going to be meaningful in literally any capacity knowing how the writing is.

It just felt cruel, and no amount of Penny waxing poetic about taking her own life into her own hands is going to change the fact that it’s cruel, ESPECIALLY considering how they also went out of their way to write a song from Penny’s perspective for the end credits about her “heroic sacrifice.” It’s cruel, dissatisfying, and it’s moments like this that I despise the most because it feels like shock value takes priority over the show’s heart.

apparently just 20 minutes longer

We went through an entire season of penny going through immense suffering, begging ruby and co to kill her so she wouldn’t have to hand the power over to James. And then she finally has autonomy over her body. Her powers are her own. I don’t know why but I actually expected crwby to do something with this development. Penny learns all the intricacies of humanity, develops her maiden powers, and has to come to terms with her own mortality. That’s she not invincible anymore. That she can’t just throw herself into danger like she used to.

I expected winter to learn she’s allowed to think beyond what’s been decided by other people, because that’s what she’d been doing. She defected, saved marrow, and promised to beat James to high heaven. Winter has been taught since day one that’s she’s just a tool for other people. She needed to be the winter maiden, she didn’t have a choice. Her not getting the maiden powers was the right choice. There was so much we could’ve seen.

But no. Because this show writes like baby’s first fan fiction it just uses shock value and character death as a means to make the audience sad for a while. Penny being the maiden was something actually interesting that they threw away because we needed more superficial angst. Winter needed to once again be forced into a situation that she had no choice in (for the record I’m not blaming penny I’m blaming the writers).

What really and truly gets me is how much penny suffered for nothing. She was violated and subjected to immense mental anguish. She was convinced her death was the only option. In a moment of clarity she begged ruby to kill her, screamed at her to do it. I wanted to see her recover, see her learn. But in the end she dies, put down by one of her own friends. In the end, whether the show realizes it or not, her death was treated as the right thing. Because it was “penny’s choice.” Her first act of free will was asking for death. All the suffering, all that pain, for nothing.

FRIEND

Darkness like midnight Moonless there’s no light Another lonely day is ending

Searching forever Waiting but never finding The only thing i dream of

The warmth of a smile That stays for a while The face of a friend That won’t leave

I heard a song once It posed this point of view That wishes made on stars Are likely to come true

So here’s my secret At bedtime every night I searched the sky And hoped to find A star who’d send a light to me

The one thing I need Just one kind soul With a heart of gold

Then my dreams became real And I finally feel not alone

Do hugs always make you feel this warm?

My wish came true The day that you appeared And called me friend An answered prayer A chance to share the world To be a girl who fin'lly felt alive

I’m so excited We’ll do so many friendship things Paint our nails Try on clothes Talk about cute boys

Attached but not by strings

And when you’ve got problems Woah! Then I’ve got problems too You’ll never face this world alone I’ll be right here it’s you and me Protectors of each other’s what we’ll be You saw my soul Through the nuts and bolts

You’re the friend i can trust Helped me see i’m not just a machine

And is this what “all the feels” means?

I’ve been combat-ready since the day dad made me Now I’ll fight for something more This might sound wholesome but strangely I’ve got friends I’m fighting for

But I found that humanity It came with sacrifice, a pact To shield you from the wicked even if I can’t Live for real, it was worth it to know you

WOMAN (angrily) They’re marigolds!

MAN 2 God! I think she’s right! They are marigolds!

The man in the red cardigan in the clip was played by Michael Greer, who was openly gay himself - unusual for the time. He actually worked closely with the director and rewrote much of the film’s dialogue to reduce the homophobia and make it more realistic. As a result it’s quite progressive for its time, having a gay character, played by a gay man, living in a happy same-sex relationship, which is more than a lot of media offers us today.

The twist is that even after the pair is caught, they are not inducted into the military. The Army investigators assigned to watch them are themselves gay and are trying to keep straight people out of the Army.

But I am absolutely not going to get pissed off at CRWBY for delaying the next chapter. These are people who are dealing with a legitimate and serious crisis. Like holy hell, have some god damn empathy.

If you aren't one of these assholes complaining and would like to help out, a gofundme was set up to help the crew affected by everything going on in Texas right now.

https://gofund.me/3a19d720

Cute dialog from @ask-rwby-multishipper