RWBY Vol 8 Chapter 1 Discussion
RWBY Vol 8 Chapter 1 Synopsis
More than ever before, the allied forces standing against Salem need to be united. But after Ironwood refused to continue evacuating Mantle, our heroes need to choose a new path forward — if only they could agree on one.
RWBY Vol 8 Chapter 1 Discussion
RWBY is back and pulling no punches. After that insane cliffhanger of Salem (Jen Taylor) riding in on a giant flying Grimm Whale…thing back in February we pick up almost right where we left off. Our good guys quickly reassemble and we find out it’s not a giant Grimm Whale it’s some kind of… Grimm airship?
Joining Clare and Sophie for our Chapter discussions for Volume 8 is a new face. Nathaniel is a recent convert to RWBY and agreed to chip in with a fresh voice.
So that was…an INTENSE season premiere. Are you guys glad RWBY is back?
S – Absolutely but can we go back to when things were happy like before the end of season 2? Rooster Teeth are well known for screwing with people’s emotions and I have a strong feeling that is gonna be the case this season.
N – It’s been what seems ages so I’m really happy it’s back but this season really isn’t going to hold any punches and this episode showed just that by reminding you about the threat towards atlas over and over again.
C – Well I was before I watched, now I’m a little bit nervous and wanting to go back to, like, Volume 1 or 2 when things were less EVERYTHING than they are now.
Given that this first chapter is called Divide, the thing they fought so hard against in Volume 7, what did you think about the decision they made to save Mantle AND warn Remnant?
N – With what everyone’s been through in the past I have no doubt that they will pull it off but I think the stress that this will put on the relationships of various team members will be a big part of this season.
S – I really think they can do both, but they have to unite or they will be too distracted to actually do it.
C – I think Jaune (Miles Luna) and Oscar (Aaron Dismuke) were right, it’s possible to do both as long as they don’t flipping fight about it! I’m a little worried about the way the teams split, but hopefully that won’t cause lasting issues.
There’s a pretty major bad guy reunion aboard Salem’s floating Grimm fortress, who were you most pleased to see?
N – I have to agree with Clare on this one, I was really happy to see Neopolitan as I loved the larger role she played last season and I’m interested in seeing how she’ll handle working with Salem and if she will.
C – Neo. It’s always gonna be my girl Neo. Although it was nice to see Merc (Yuri Lowenthal) and Emerald (Katie Newville) back too.
S – To be honest I was too distracted with the new outfits…. I’m loving Salem’s new dress and Emerald’s new ensemble. Something did occur to me though while watching this scene, why did Tyrian (Josh Grelle) get a mechanical tail and not a Grimm one? I should have probably noticed that last season.
C – I think I thought about Tyrian’s tail last season and figured it must have had something to do with Watts rather than Salem.
S – True I think we may have even had a discussion about it too.
After the wait and the anticipation who were you most excited to see in this first episode?
C – I was hoping to see Qrow (Jason Liebrecht), alas that didn’t happen. I did squeal pretty loud when I saw Marrow for the first time, but I think I was most excited to see Ruby again and see how she would lead her friends.
S – Qrow but he was nowhere to be seen! I scanned the room when Oscar was brought back to the group and I forgot what had happened to Qrow last season, still with Ironwood being completely deranged, maybe it’s a good thing Qrow was nowhere near him at that point.
N- I was excited to see everyone again but most of all for me it had to be Penny (Taylor McNee), after the absolute punch to the gut in season 3 with her death I was literally over the moon to see her return as well as her new appearance. I can’t wait to see what she does with her new Winter Maiden abilities however I can tell that this season isn’t going to be easy for her with everything that went on in volume 7.
Right, let’s talk about THAT Ironwood (Jason Rose) moment. Has the Tin Man finally lost it completely?
C – I’m saying yes. He’s been pretty much paranoid and irrational for a couple of Volumes now, and it seems like he’s gone full crazy at last.
S – I mean WTF? I was so shocked, I knew he was losing his mind but he did so spectacularly! Someone needs to stop him and I hope it’s Qrow. Also where was my Qrow?
N – I don’t think he has, the rest of the people in atlas definitely look worried and concerned but I think Ironwood knows or think he knows what needs to be done hence the fact there was no hesitation in his actions.
C – interesting opinion Nathaniel, I really hope you are right. Soph – awaiting Ironwood’s arrival as he is in custody with Robyn Hill I believe.
S – Not the point I need my Qrow fix.
N – I agree I did think it was a shame that we didn’t see Qrow but knowing he’s going to be mourning when we do it might not be easy to watch. Although if I’m being honest as much as I do love Qrow as a character I really hated the decisions he made in the last volume in his fight between himself Tyrian and Clover.
So do you have any predictions for what’s going to happen in the rest of Volume 8?
N – Without a doubt it’s going to be a packed season, we know there’s going to be a lot of stress on the teams and relationships as well as confusion and sadness throughout.
C – I think we are going to have at least one major death, possibly more this season. I don’t think Penny will die, unless they really are aiming to have Team RWBY be the Maidens. I honestly think either Ren or Nora may die this Volume and I hate myself for saying that.
Generally I think it’s going to be a LOT of emotions, more conflict between Teams and Teammates.
S – It’s gonna be bad… Someone is gonna die and I don’t put it past RT to let it be someone I love. I think I’m just expecting the worst because at least then I am prepared for it.
N – I agree with Sophie but if anything happens to Penny again I don’t think I would be able to cope.
And finally, since it’s a new Volume… What do we think of the new intro?
N – as always I was really impressed with the intro however there are definitely some parts that stood out more than others. The start has a really powerful message showing Mantle and Atlas before and after Salem’s arrival, I can only imagine that one is showing what we saw of Atlas last season and the other showing what we should expect from the episodes to come.
Another part of the intro I loved was the character shots with the various scenes playing in various sections of the character like ruby at her mother’s grave playing in her cape. The entire intro has a strong sense of foreshadowing but what possibly stood out for me the most was the emphasis on the relationship between nora and ren so it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. But the one part I wasn’t a fan of are the black/negative scenes at the end they just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest.
S – The animation was beautiful. It showed the divide between them but also that they were still working together. Qrow being put with Ace Ops and Robyn gives me a glimmer of hope they will come together to stop Ironwood or at least make him see what he is doing.
C – I’m not sure I’m a fan of this one actually. It’s a little slow and not that memorable.. I guess maybe I need to play it on loop for a bit to get used to it? I’m also really worried about some of those visuals, the ice breaking under Ruby, the Grimm hands stopping her reaching Crescent Rose…not loving that at all.
RWBY Vol 8 Chapter 1 – Divide – is available NOW on RoosterTeeth.com for FIRST Subscribers. It will be available to all on November 14th.
