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-When Ironwood is talking to Yang about what happened with Mercury, he says that sometimes you see things, even long after the battle has passed. And he looks at and kind of painfully shrugs his right arm. (I think that’s the metal one?) And idk, it was just very humanizing.

-On that note, he has this odd sort of look when he explains that the last thoughts of the slain are often with their attacker. I mean, obviously he has had a wicked traumatic past. But DANG, son. Do you think maybe he was technically dead for a while?

-When you know to look for it, Qrow’s semblance really does mess everything up around him. Also notice how he stops short of Oz’s desk when talking to him, like he knows the exact radius of his bad luck effect. A few bad luck things I saw happen around him: After he’s leaving the bar in 3.3 (I think it was), the bartender knocks off a clean glass and breaks it. Then when playing videogames with the girls, both of them lose really suddenly despite seeming to do well. It’s only after Ironwood gets close to Qrow when they’re arguing in Oz’s office that the malicious program infects his scroll. Those are just the ones off the top of my head. But yeah, it’s kind of everywhere and that really surprised me.

-Back in episode 2 (maybe 3) of Vol 1, Yang and Ruby mention after Ozpin’s speech that he seemed like he ‘wasn’t even there.’ Then a few times Glynda tries talking to him and he just seems really spaced out. I’m wondering if he’s telepathically communicating with Salem? They are holding a conversation in the intro to the very first episode. (She also talks at him during the outro of volume 3.) Or maybe he’s talking to whoever’s in his head, like Oscar talks to Oz? Idk. But I have a feeling it’s significant.

-Pyrrha’s recitation/speech to Jaune when unlocking his Aura seems really important to me. It’s talking about dying and immortality and souls being combined. I really think a piece of her aura is bound to him. Also Tyrian’s moment of “Actually, you do interest me” makes me wonder. Because Pyrrha also mentioned he had ‘a lot’ of aura/energy. So I’m thinking Vol. 5 is gonna drop some Arc lore on us, or see Jaune get his semblance, or both.

-Idk how I missed it, but the reason we don’t see Yang with both her gauntlets is that the one was on her dismembered arm, and I don’t think anyone was around to grab it up for her, or they might have been able to re-attach her arm, too. She’s only got the one now. D:

-Amber, the previous Fall Maiden, seemed really, really young. Like as young as or younger than Pyrrha. So maybe Salem and them had tried stealing the power before now, but failed and the previous maiden was killed? And maybe that’s why it took so long to track Amber down? Salem had tasked Tyrian with finding the Spring maiden, so maybe she had done the same with Fall and that’s how she died and the power passed to some rando (Amber)? Idk, I’m also dealing with some pretty bad neck pain and I’m not making a ton of sense, so this is just really wild speculation at this point.

-During a lot of RNJR’s trek through different ruined towns, a flock of crows/ravens/black birds is seen flying overhead. I wonder if the whole bandit tribe Raven is leading can turn into birds?? Because clearly something else is going on. Semblance-wise, we know Qrow. So how on earth does he turn into a bird?? We also know Raven can do it. And I’m of the deeply-held opinion that her semblance is good luck (which would explain how Qrow could have functioned on a team, if she was there cancelling out his bad luck-giving to everyone else, and which would have further ruined the team dynamic when she left). So what’s with these dang red-eyed birdpeople? I think it’s clearly a tribe thing, unless they’re withholding vital lore from us.

-Tyrian was obviously about to poison Ruby when Qrow showed up, so unless he can control the amount of poison he gave, had an antidote, or a quick-travel way back to Salem (highly unlikely since he was tracking them by foot), I don’t think Qrow was ever in mortal danger. Cuz there’s no way he would have killed her when Salem told him to bring her in alive. (Also see my whole thesis on the matter here. I stand by every point even now having seen the whole of vol 4, and watching it again the second time.)

-I was having a hard time reconciling Qrow’s legend-telling about how Grimm and Humans came to be with everything heard in Vol 1, but I think I can explain some of it by Salem’s influence over the Grimm, and some as a difference in ‘point of view.’ It’s not an uncommon trope for the villain and the hero to have differing takes on the same origin story, and I firmly believe Oz and Salem are tied up in that origin story, so I think the similarities and differences are kind of normal. Plus, as all that’s said that differs is that in Salem’s version, man was born from Dust, it’s pretty easy to reconcile if you just use the ‘different points of view’ schema. Now, Salem in the WoR episode “Grimm” states that Grimm are observed to exclusively attack humans and their creations, which is at odds with their place in Qrow’s legend about the Two Brothers. But I put this down to Salem. I bet you she took over control of them, somehow. She clearly rules them currently, but maybe that wasn’t always the case, and it’s only under her influence that they exclusively attack humans. Also, in episode 1, she states (as narrator) that the darkness--creatures of Grimm--set their sights on mankind and its creations. So I think that fits pretty well with the legend as told by Qrow, as it implies that the Grimm were already there. Another point to the Grimm being either taken over or controlled by Salem, Qrow says he’s “been out there and seen the things she’s made and they are fear.” And also she essentially talks to the Seer Grimm. So clearly Salem has some major control over them. But yeah.

-They’ve really been setting up the whole foray into legends since episode one, as it’s one of the first things mentioned by Salem as the narrator--that the world is built on many legends.

-Speaking of setting stuff up since day one, if you look you can actually see the circular portion of Jaune’s Pumpkin Pete logo on his hoodie beneath his armor, ever since episode 2 or 3 or whatever. Like, it literally has been there the WHOLE TIME.

-Just a neat note: I was really proud with the after-credit scene where Oscar met Qrow in the bar, how you could see that Qrow had lost weight. Like, he was a lot skinnier there than he had been. I love that attention to detail! (Also, Oscar is also very thin. His little suspenders tuck in right below his ribs. Someone get that little bean a big sandwich please!)

First, I LOVE THE LORE we’re getting about the maidens and the relics. I was wondering how the two factored together, and why Salem’s crew are after both. Now we know! I also think this ties it closer to the Genesis myth presented by Qrow--the two brothers. I’m thinking the ‘wizard’ who gave the original maidens their power was the brother of light. I also think this has something to do with Oz and Salem. Maybe they’re incarnations of the brothers? Idk. But something’s going on, and things are coming together lore-wise, and I cannot get enough!

I’m SO ready for Oscar to learn how to fight, and for Qrow to finally let us all in on what’s going on with the whole Oz thing. Clearly he knew. So he’s got to tell Oscar and the other kids, and by extension us.

A thought my husband had: Maybe the Spring maiden was Lionheart’s daughter? The way he was acting so genuinely happy and eager, it seems like he has a very personal interest. Now, it could just be the fact that Watts is threatening him and he finally had info to pass along so yay I get to keep my head, but it could also be that he a) has a personal interest in the maiden, and/or b) blames himself for her running off, which I bet was a thing.

How precious was Oscar???!!! That’s not any analysis, I just love him so much.

I don’t know if Yang was actually going after Raven. All she said was she was looking for someone, and then demonstrated that she new Raven Branwen was out here somewhere nearby. We know she knows where her mom is, but maybe she’s planning on making sure her sister is safe first? Idk. Even if she’s going after Raven, she’s gonna end up meeting up with RNJR at the bandit camp, at the very least. They’re gonna end up there and you know it.

Blake is my wild card this season. She’s doing her own thing, and obviously it’s gonna end up taking her to Haven, but I don’t see how she’s going to meet up with RNJR. With Weiss, I can see it a little easier. She’s gonna be there in Mistral and going to try and find Winter, and since it’s evident Winter is running recon on Haven, that’s probably going to hook her up with the Lionheart storyline.

Speaking of, is Leo a double agent or a triple? I doubt the triple, cuz he’s the cowardly lion, but I just can’t stand to see RNJR get another blow to their trust. D:

The Big One, that I’ve been thinking for a while: I bet you anything Salem’s plan for Cinder is to have her absorb the powers of all four maidens. We see her in the intro facing off against a young, kind of rough looking girl, who I can only assume is the Spring Maiden. It just makes sense to me that they’d be trying to get all the powers in one, especially now knowing what we do about the relics and the maidens being connected. Why try to keep 4 mega-powerful girls in line when you can just worry about one? I’ve thought that was their plan ever since learning about the maidens, and I think so even more now that I’ve seen the intro with Cinder and the supposed Spring Maiden. Also, they were looking for Spring in vol 4. Obviously they wanted all the maidens, we can guess that. BUT then why send Tyrian to look for her (the original plan) when they had previously sent Cinder to steal Fall’s power? I’m guessing Tyrian was supposed to bring Spring back to Cinder. But we know from the trailer that Cinder is leaving HQ, so I bet she’s going to the bandit camp to devour Spring. (At least that’s her plan, I’m sensing a big showdown with RNJR and Cinder, Cinder/Salem’s Crew and Spring, Raven and Qrow, and Raven and Yang. BIG brawl in the works, mark my words.)

Also, just a thought. I see a lot of people who are very disappointed with RWBY atm. About how it’s getting too complex, there’s too many characters, it’s straying too much from the original formula, etc. I can respect those opinions, but I don’t share them. I legitimately love this story, and the way it’s evolving into something huge and complex. I love the rotating cast centering around the main kids. I love the way it’s growing and changing. It feels much more like a novel series (which I’ve always felt) than a show or anime. It also feels more real to me this way. These kids, Ruby in particular, got thrown into something way bigger than them. They all come from varied backgrounds and have full, whole stories of how they got to where they are, and it’s not just something they leave behind them. It’s still with them. So they’re dealing with their pasts and how it shapes their futures, while also finding out that the world is scary and complex and there’s so many players and pieces and pawns, and it was nothing like they thought. They thought it was like a formulaic fairy tale, and they were the heroes, the story follows them and they win and everything’s good. Now they’re finding out that fairy tales aren’t like that, or at least their world is not like those fairy tales and there’s so much more to take into account. Real life is not stream-lined or minimalist or simple or expected or normal, and neither is this story or their part in it, and I LOVE THAT. I get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s fine. I just want y’all to know that this is absolutely my jam, and I really appreciate how it’s progressing. I’m beyond excited for this volume, and I’m so happy to be ‘back to the fairy tale.’

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