RWBY Volume 8 Episode 14 Reaction

[@andrewthompson9619]

Only the big door to Vaccuo is a one-way; "a one-way ticket to Vaccuo." The smaller doors from Mantle are two-way, so Neo could pass through without issue. In an earlier episode, Jaune had stepped through one both ways while leading civilians.

[@wootcat]

Yep! The team was using the other doors both ways. They had to travel through the doors to explain to all the Mantle residents that the doors were safe and for evacuation.

[@ZonaiHero-ul5nm]

Although I gotta say Ambrosius making all the doors except that big one two way was such a troll move. You would think that all the doors would be one way but he goes out of his way to make all the other doors two way to lower the guard of team RWBY and crew only to mess with them at the last possible moment. Utterly diabolical.

[@321Mrremco]

@@ZonaiHero-ul5nm yeah but thats exactly what ozpin ment with you have to be exact in your wording. even Ambrosius said it was annoyingly well explained (cuz he kinda likes throwing things under the bus) like if you asked a genie the ability to fly he'd make you captain of an airplane instead of giving you wings etc.

[@ZonaiHero-ul5nm]

@ I know that, I am just saying. I can totally see him laughing his ass if inside the staff.

[@wootcat]

@@ZonaiHero-ul5nm I respectfully disagree. He was asked to make doors. You could argue that by default, any door is two-way. That is how Ambrosius would be expected to make them. The inadvertent screw up on Weiss's part was saying "one-way ticket to Vacuo".

[@PheonixFire]

I love that Salem doesn't acknowledge Ironwood whatsoever at the end. In the end he was never a threat to her.

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Ironwood was so focused on Salem that he never caught onto the true person he was playing against ever since she put her black glass chess piece on his desk, and it only dawned on him at the last second when she declared “checkmate”. And Cinder did not acknowledge him as a threat either.

[@daysand123]

​@@TheGreater-ScopeVillainand that was when she was still too petty to think about long game Cinder. By the end she really used what she already caused and made a big chess move out of what everyone else did.

[@finaldarkfire]

Honestly, I was expecting/hoping for Salem to straight up THANK Ironwood for his service. When you get down to it, Ironwood was truly Salem's greatest asset this arc XD

[@redwolvlives]

6:00 "one way ticket" is specifically in reference to the exit door, the doors entering the area people can go in and out of. We saw someone do it in the prior episode.

[@TearsOfLa]

Now, 5 volumes later, we get the second of the "JNPR inspirations coming true" moments. The first was Pyrrha and her Achilles shot, now we have Juanes sword failing him. In the legend, Joan of Arc had a holy sword that was said to never dull or break unless it had shed the blood of the innocent, which supposedly held true. That is, until she was being harrassed by a bigger and struck them with the flat of the sword, scratching the begger. In her next battle, the sword shattered and she was captured, leading to her execution. Juanes sword is an heirloom, helped by at least 4 generations of heroes and still holds up, until the moment he kills Penny, an innocent, where it shatters immediately, leading to his fate here.

[@lemonkatze7461]

this honestly makes me feel like a tiny bit better about jaune being the one who kills penny but only a lil

[@jonasjung9871]

Penny: A girl so nice, they killed her twice.

[@theuone8828]

"It'll be just like Beacon Again!"

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😢

[@dunerat42]

Three times, actually.

[@fight4pavlova563]

When Penny gave Winter the maiden power she told her "I won't be gone, I'll be part of you" - that is exactly what Winter told Penny - "She's a part of you" - at the end of V7 when Freia (the previous winter maiden died) which just adds another stab wound to Penny's death but also it was a very beautiful detail. RWBY does this often, having some characters say something and then have other characters repeat it in a different situation. Also Qrow's voiceless "Ruby! Yang!" at the end is just devastating.

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Imagine what it would be like if/when Cinder obtains the powers of all four Maidens. All those souls (including Amber, Pyrrha, Fria, Penny, Winter, and Raven) would be trapped in the burning depths of Cinder’s soul, having to watch helplessly as she lays waste to their loved ones and the world around them. Perhaps that’s part of the only way they’ll be able to beat the Dark Maiden in the end, both from the efforts of everyone fighting Cinder on the outside, and the efforts of everyone trapped inside of her.

[@cunningsmile4166]

Salem knows Cinder is lying but she doesn't care as she has two relics now.

[@Hy3jii]

She has two, soon to be three relics, the greatest military power in Remnant has been destroyed, and she believes most of her enemies are dead. She has no reason to be angry at Cinder.

[@oruwigar3143]

You think the grimm arm cinder has allows her to know if shes lying or not

[@wavemoon]

​@@oruwigar3143 I think Salem is just a people person. She knows what makes them tick and can manipulate them easily so she probably knows the type of person that Cinder is and I think she sees the writing on the wall for a betrayel. But as long as Cinder is useful it really doesn't matter.

[@oruwigar3143]

@ ugh i get that and i hate how cinder can get away with it. But i really think the ability to sense lies or at least intentions through the grimm arm is also a good idea or plot device to have you know. Even if cinder is useful she cant hide anything especially if it leads to betrayal. Shes in and cant get out

[@cunningsmile4166]

It's called The Final Word because "Checkmate" is the true final title. The opening hinted at this with the chess board.

[@sqxbarto9229]

And the credit song's last word is "Alive" ;)

[@jonathanrobinson198]

Moral of the story, don’t let your villains get their act together when you don’t have yours.

[@juddstonkeanaainajr.]

I have a feeling that Salem knows that Cinder is lying. But the end goal was a fallen kingdom so she lets it go.

[@jeffreysmith236]

The end goal was the relics, nothing else REALLY matters.

[@Elzzaw]

@@jeffreysmith236 Yep, the relics are _all_ she needs, everything else is just a means to get them.

[@sqxbarto9229]

@@Elzzaw To be fair, she also needs humanity divided, so when she summons the Gods, they deem humanity irredeemable and destroy Remnant, Salem included.

[@Elzzaw]

@@sqxbarto9229 Oh that's already well and truly been done lol. The bridge between faunus and humans have only just started to be built.

[@RussTheMaster]

This is one of the darkest finale in RWBY. You are both lucky that you didn’t have to wait for 2 years for Volume 9. You are going to love the next Volume.

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

The next volume does have a bit of controversy around it. Some parts are good, but overall I didnt quite like it as much as some seem to have.

[@Magdavian]

yeah,.. 2 years in which Rooster Teeth fell apart. No season 10.

[@RussTheMaster]

@ no season 10 yet. VIZ media might green light it

[@theycallmebad]

@@Magdavian Viz didn't buy the rights just to not give us v10. We just haven't heard anything yet because they are waiting until they are ready. Eddy and Kerry confirmed they were already writing for v10 before RT was shut down and they were talking with potential partners during the time. V10 is coming and we'll hear about it when they are ready. Simple as that.

[@theycallmebad]

@@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist "Controversy"? Really? First I hear of it. Rewatched it good enough times and didn't see or hear anything about this.

[@spahgames]

The realization that Nora thinks she couldn't hold up her end of the bargain and the portal disappearing without all of team RWBY and Juane coming through meaning Nora, Ren, Oscar and Winter think they all died. Winter will have to tell them that only Penny's body was actually dead, whereas the rest fell

[@MadHatter_920]

I'm sure a hundred people have said it already, but just in case, Neo was able to come back through the portal, because it wasn't the portal to Vacuo. You might recall that Juane, Nora, and the others would going in and out portals to tell people it was ok to walk through them. Only the big portal at the end was one-way. All of the other ones you could freely pass through both ways.

[@roxlyde8163]

One thing I really like about this volume is a Villain Redemption arc, which I feel like you don't see very often - Like not a villain becoming a hero, but correcting their character faults to become an even more effective villain XD

[@1vis]

Emerald did get a redemption "arc" tho but yeah, Cinder getting character development to make her a better vilain was really appreciated. Some people just think that because someone has a sad backstory, he is to blame and feel sorry for him when the actual reason is just to know how this person became the way she is today.

[@eliudesantos3237]

YES! FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT! Volume 3 Cinder is back and, oh boy! This is not good for the heroes.

[@tobiasolivia131]

Ah yes, the episode that broke my heart. Weiss being left alone by her team (unintentionally, of course) after the conversation Ruby and her had in the train station “We won’t leave your side for a second. I promise.” Winter finally reaching out to her sister a few episodes ago only to lose her now that she has GOD LIKE powers. Winter’s “You chose nothing. This was a gift.” always makes me cry.

[@KdeeBUBBLES444]

Ouch. Weiss being alone and having to use Blake's gun always hurt me but i never thought of THAT aspect of it...

[@KdeeBUBBLES444]

Jaune having to mercy k1ll Penny wasn't on ANYONE'S bingo card when this season aired. Now him and Pyrrha have BOTH k1lled Penny

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😭

[@another_julia]

#JustCoupleThings 😭

[@santoselizalde4403]

And thats is how atlas pass to be knowing as atlantis.

[@butterflywarrioredits]

So imagine being traumatized after this episode, and then waiting TWO YEARS to see their fate!

[@draygontaygen677]

It was not pretty for many fans.

[@TheMhalpern]

Fun fact this chapter has 2 titles technically, the official Title is "the final word" which is in part a reference to the 1 word titles of the rest of volume, but the real title is the final word heard in the episode "checkmate"

[@owendavidgonzalezvazquez3578]

and all it took for Atlas to shut up was the following: 1 neglect towards mantle 2 Jaques's greed 3 the paranoia of ironwood 4 a chess piece

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Cinder: *_“And that’s checkmate.”_* Ironic, really, that Atlas was undone by a vengeful young woman who had been severely wronged by Atlas throughout her childhood. Like the phoenix, Cinder Fall rose from the ashes, and into her fire Atlas did fall.

[@jcSoul-qv7uh]

And that’s how Atlas becomes Atlantis haha

[@draygontaygen677]

Perfectly said.

[@NighttimeGlobe1887]

Salem doesn't care about her lackey's personal feelings as long as she gets what she wanted in the end Cinder having hate for Ruby is a her problem no one else's. Salem basically used Hazel's hatred and used Arthur's ego and just kept adding fuel to there flames.

[@gygabytezgamin456]

Seeing winter in a bloodrage while possessing the power of a maiden is terrifying to imagine

[@Andrew1990M]

“You chose nothing. This was a gift.” Only trivia that I haven’t seen mentioned is Qrow having that bit of good luck with the bomb. This suggest that his semblance isn’t Misfortune, but neutral Fortune, and the reason it’s usually bad things that happen to him and his loved ones is just his own negative outlook. Oh and yes, Cinder replaced the doors with fire, presumably fire you can’t extinguish. When she met with Ambrosius, fire would probably have been the only thing she could teach him to make on the spot. And to justify Winter leaving Jaune: her priority switched to protecting Vacuo and she was not aware the walkways were vanishing.

[@BuzryHaproMandalorianHunter]

I think that she wanted it so that no one but she and Salem couldn’t leave Atlas.

[@nathanielreik6617]

An interesting thing to note is that every episode this volume had one word titles except this one called "The Final Word" a nice little touch.

[@KurvaNedaSeSemNicDat]

and the final word of the episode is Cinder telling Ironwood "Checkmate" :)

[@Animaniac0451]

All of this volumes chapters have 1 word titles except this one. This one is named "The Last Word". The last spoken word in this episode is Cinder's "Checkmate", the actual title of this episode.

[@bloodwolfgaming9269]

The members of the Aceops: Clover - Powers of good luck, based off The Lucky Fisherman. Marrow - Canine faunas with the ability to command everyone in a single direction to freeze in place. Harriet - Super speed based off the Hare from Tortise and the Hare. Elm - Muscular and strong. Can root herself in place like a tree provided she has stable footing. Vine - Can stretch his arms and legs like vines. I'm pretty sure it's been said but the reason why Neo was able to come back was because when Ruby and friends made the paths of safety, their wording was "a one way ticket to Vaccuo." Once you passed through the exit portal into Vaccuo, you could not return. But all the other portals were essentially two-way doors between Mantel and the Bridgeway to Vaccuo.

[@terrythewol7970]

Jaune is absolutely one of my fave characters this season. He has been through the wringer all season long, but what you had mentioned is so true, he has been the glue for basically everyone this season. I feel so badly that this man has been traumatised by the maiden powers multiple times.

[@YumaNanami]

Silver Eyes can only work on Grimm, against anyone else nothing would happen. Interesting point that Qrow's semblance isn't just Bad Luck it's now defined as 'Fortune' It reacts to his mood. Since he always claims he's Bad luck that's all his Semblance is giving off, were as Clover was a Happy guy and was giving off Good Luck. So when he was hopeful that the bomb would stop and looking at Clover's pendant. The bomb slid into the corner and not out of the ship.

[@danwilson7035]

Yep. Qrow is a cynist. He always expects the worst, so the worst happens.

[@RoseScar]

Yeah the show didn't necessarily explain it but it's just the big Portol door at the center that is a one way ticket, all the other doors were the portals opened for the refugees to come in, only the big portal door is the one to vacuo and has the one way ticket restriction

[@theinspiredgamer1949]

So, that's Volume 8. Just to touch on a few points: Neo didn't go through the gate to Vacuo. She went back through one of the Atlas/Mantle gates (only the big one led to Vacuo, the "one-way ticket"). Penny's death just destroyed me. After several seasons of people making choices for her, for better or worse, her first real choice... is to die. Yeah, Cinder is completely gone now. And her end goal, at the end of everything, is simply MORE. Nothing will ever be enough for her. It's only fitting that Ironwood dies with Atlas. The tin man has officially lost everything. I cannot wait to see you guys react to Volume 9. And then you'll be officially all caught up on RWBY. It almost doesn't feel real.

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Cinder wants it all. She wants *_everything._* And even if Cinder manages to succeed in her goal of conquering the world and possessing everything in it, well… there are always *_MORE_* worlds for her conquer afterwards.

[@profesorpomelo3626]

There's something poetic about Ironwood's final moments and how far he fell from the respected leader he was. He burned bridges with all of his allies and sacrificed the people he swore to protect, until he had nothing left. He fell right into the manipulations of his enemies, who barely acknowledge his presence, and died unmourned and alone beneath the rubble of the kingdom he tried to save. In the end, his role was so unconsequential than *not even his death was worth showing.*

[@ultrainstinctsonbrandon]

8:28 You and me both, Bethany. Me: (Yelling in Rage) CINDER!!!!

[@billa3785]

I hope you both listened to the ending song. Puts a heart wrenching final nail in the coffin.

[@WhitepawWolfGaming]

I know it's such a little thing but in a weird way I actually like that Winter didn't pay Jaune enough attention. She's been neglecting her own emotions for a long time and the dam has finally broken. She lost her home, her mentor/father figure, her friend, and she thinks she just lost her sister like 20 seconds ago. Her mind is full of grief and rage. She's not a "machine" anymore, and even if it was mostly for plot convenience it was a nice to show she's not the perfect soldier anymore.

[@Cuddlebear6285]

That... honestly makes way too much sense

[@RussTheMaster]

One thing about Sinder explaining the situation to Salem, she said Ruby was dead, and that Ruby used the lamp. Both of them were lies. Salem hates being lied to. When Salem finds out the truth, I believe she’s going to try and kill Sinder

[@jamesalexander5559]

I think Salem knew but didn't care since Cinder prioritized getting the relics which were always the real goal. Salem only needed the maiden powers to open the relic vaults so she doesn't care about Raven and Winter having the maiden powers instead of Cinder since she has both relics associated with them.

[@RussTheMaster]

I’m talking about Ruby not the maiden’s power. Sinder telling Salem Ruby is dead when Sinder didn’t know for sure, if Salem were to find out the truth that Ruby is alive. Ruby is one of the biggest threats to Salem. Again Salem HATES being lied to

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Perhaps by that point, it won’t even matter if Salem is upset. Cinder may be too far along with her own plans for Salem to do anything about it before it’s too late.

[@RussTheMaster]

@ maybe, I theorized that Sinder finds out that Ruby lives and tries to hide it from Salem or runs away from Salem to fend for herself.

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

@ Maybe, though I highly doubt that Cinder will break away from Salem until she’s gotten everything she needs from Salem. They’re both using each other and still need each other. The question is whose usefulness will run out first, and who will be the first to strike when it does? And from a plot perspective, it doesn’t really make sense for them to have a whole arc of Cinder starting out as Salem’s favourite, then falling out of favour with her and then regaining her favour again only to then later fall out of favour again. Cinder holds all the advantages plotwise, and she’s likely only going to go up from here until she gets all the power she desires and potentially becomes the final antagonist of the series.

[@daysand123]

The penny and winter scene is one of those scenes that just hits no matter what your thoughts on the series as a whole are. It really fully humanizes winter in that moment who has never shown much emotion beforehand as she does in that moment and after and you feel her emotion in how they display it after the fact. Also Ironwood realizing how bad he fucked up and not even trying to shoot in the futility of what he realized in that moment is a fitting end to a guy that really was a hero at one point but went so far for what he thought was right it made him a monster. Watts being given everything he wanted but ending him in the control he always wanted and was now trapped in on fire is fitting but also horrific. He got everything he wanted in the end and burned in hell for it literally.

[@wearda]

I think the best character this season was Lie Ren.

[@liss_Th]

Imagine killing your friend in cold blood. John must be broken inside for that

[@bloodwolfgaming9269]

It wasn't really killing her "in cold blood". Penny was already dying. She wanted Jaune to mercy kill her so Penny could make sure the maiden powers went to Winter instead of Cinder possibly getting them had a Cinder gotten the final blow on her.

[@Animechargeblog]

Remember Pennys world at the beggining of Volume 7 "it's gonna be like Beacon again", and well, it was. A kingdom fallen, the headmaster dead, Penny dying in both scenarios, Jaune going through some trauma, and the bad guys winning.

[@grantharriman284]

Winter has a LOT of emotions to work through and those Grimm are convenient reactive targets for her to let those emotions out on.

[@jessc.994]

Jaune’s cry of despair is so heartbreaking. I both love and hate this episode so much. All of our characters need some serious therapy.

[@KurvaNedaSeSemNicDat]

and the detail that his sword broke off the exact part covered in the blood of an innocent ..... that is so poetic given also his inspiration.

[@naeshaunedwards7731]

Yeah I was already over Cinder the moment she killed Pyrrha because that was my favorite character in this series, but her killing Penny and putting Jaune through guilt all over again makes me wish the worst for Cinder. She is beyond redemption.

[@SaintBigfoot]

Oh, something you may have missed in regards to Penny, when her robotic self looked at her there was a moment where she changes in its vision, and *all she is is aura* So Penny’s existence post Ambrosias is a bit confusing

[@quicksilver36]

And thus did Atlas become Atlantis.

[@tragicedge7805]

To clarify the Neo coming back, the one way ticket applied to where they were going, so long as they were in the Nexus (place where you can fall) you could still go back to atlas, but once you went to the desert, you were stuck there. Neo got kicked through one back to Atlas.

[@stancinatti8198]

Winter at this point should be the most OP maiden with her military training and semblance she is unstoppable

[@Magdavian]

actually it is only the Exit that is a one way ticket

[@nathanielreik6617]

8:30 I thought it was possible they had killed off Yang until that moment.

[@Nightmarekurumi666]

Neo was kicked through a portal to atlas like when jaune walked through to tell people to follow him, not the one way portal at other side

[@undeathghost5627]

The reason Neo can come back is because that wasn't the gate to Vacuo. It's a "One-way trip to Vacuo". Of note, Neo isn't the only one who "Came back" through a portal. Jaune and Nora do it repeatedly (mostly off screen but we see each of them do it once on screen) because they enter from their own portal, then exit to inform the citizens that it is safe to go through the gates, then go back in and repeat. Once anyone goes through the gate to *Vacuo* they're stuck in *Vacuo.* which is why Winter, Nora, Oscar, and Ren can't go back to help. RIP 2.0 and this time for good to the purest character in this show, Penny. At least she brought Winter fully through her journey to a be better person before she went. Truly awful that Jaune had to be the one though. Looking forward to the soundtrack reaction. Some of my absolute favorites from the series are from this volume. I'm most excited for you guys to see the entire OP's song because when you read the lyrics you're going to realize that you should have seen this all coming from the start.

[@BGTitanAvatar]

Penny’s death is hard. Like, every time I watch it and the aftermath I cry. And that’s before we even get into the incredible voice acting from Taylor McNee (Penny) and Elizabeth Maxwell (Winter). Like you said though, Miles' scream when Jaune stabs Penny was also just gut wrenching. Speaking of Elizabeth though, she really went all out this episode. “You are going to pay for everything you’ve done!” The way that sentence is practically growled out is just *chef’s kiss* While I wasn’t necessarily attached to Vine, the fact that the Ace Ops finally admitted that they think of each other as more than just colleagues, only for them to lose another member…. It does sting a little. Harriet is now going to be carrying that guilt around for the rest of her life, that her actions led to Vine’s death. She and Qrow can probably bond over that kind of guilt. Like I've mentioned before, I think more time with the Ace Ops pre betrayal would have helped but again I'm also not blaming the show for not having enough time. How fitting an end for Ironwood. All this time he considered himself the Hero of this story, that Salem was after him personally, that he was the only one worthy of saving Atlas. Not even the people just… Atlas (“this kingdom, it’s technology”). And what happens? When Salem finally is in front of him, she doesn’t even spare him a glance. She walks right by him without a word because he was never more than a pawn in this game. Her target was never him. And when Cinder says “checkmate” (The Final Word btw) he realizes the one that had been messing with him, leaving Chess Pieces was one of Salem’s underlings. He realizes that the symbol that’s been haunting him wasn’t even from Salem herself. He was never any more than a bit player. And now he gets to go down with the city (not even the people) he spent all this time trying to protect. Like a captain and their ship. Poetry. Cinematic poetry. The fact that Weiss used Gambol’s (the name of Blake’s weapon) gun/sword to shoot and dual-wield at Cinder always gets me for some reason. Also, the fact that for a while there, Weiss thought she’d literally lost her first real family. That Blake, Ruby, and Yang were all just gone. Owwwww. Man, I just really loved this volume. From the story to the animation, to the music, to the lighting, to the voice acting. I love seeing how far CRWBY has come with this show and how much effort they put into it. All the improvements they’ve made over the years, it’s just incredible. And they had two years to work on V9 so I can’t wait for you to see everything they pulled off there.

[@Selisu1]

I've always appreciated that Jaune's sword broke. It had been used to shed innocent blood, and it's power to protect was gone. Not a judgment of any actions, just a note that the consequence felt real.

[@RussTheMaster]

The reason Neo came back through the portal is because she was hit into one of the entrance gates, there was only one exit gate the big one that all the Atlas citizens were going through.

[@TMAC_burninator]

Only the gate to Vacuo is one-way. We already saw others go back through the entrance portals, specifically to tell people it was safe to come through for the evacuation. This also adds to the surprise of the people already in Vacuo that they couldn't go back. Neo was knocked into one of the entrance portals, so all she had to do was walk back into one. I don't think Winter realized just how quickly the construct was falling apart before she got to the portal. Weiss holding Blake's weapon and shaking gets me. She thinks her friends are dead and she's still fighting, even after her aura breaks. Here's a dark thought: would Penny's body be on that beach somewhere? A lot of people critical of RWBY, in my opinion, are just upset the show doesn't go in the direction they wanted or expected. I like volume 9, but they did have budget constraints that forced them to shorten it. After volume 9, I hope you guys watch the animatic that was released after it.

[@j.w.sraptorsquad982]

to be even fairer to Winter, the construct didn't start collapsing until both her and Jaune were already booking it to the portal, so it literally crept up on both of them before either noticed

[@BuzryHaproMandalorianHunter]

I believe (even tho I’ve been told that it’s not) that the end credits song is about not just Penny but Winter too if you think about it.

[@gohanmoreno7]

We were four seasons asking ''Why Cinder got so pathetic?! We need the badass Cinder that use her smart brain to get all the power and play the heroes as she likes like she was in Season 1-2-3'' but, were we forgetting how season 3 ended?! wtf, why would we wish to that to comeback?! Watts speech got Cinder's mind right to the correct spot, and oh God she did it again, Cinder is a really treat to deal with, truly a fearsome and horribly villiain when put herself into it... and now she is back. Ps: The laberynth that the heroes created was destroyed because everything that Ambrosious create is destroyed if you make Ambrosioous build another thing, that's why Jaune fell; now, what did Cinder created then? ''I merely added more flames to the destruction of Atlas'' she created a fire where Watts to be trapped in, killing him as a bonus, and still got Salem's good look as mission complete.

[@jakest123]

I'm glad you have no sympathy for Cinder. Her backstory serves as explanation but not an excuse, and she crossed the line of "pain caused" vs "pain suffered" a loooong time ago. She's victimized Ruby and Jaune personally so much that she deserves nothing more than the treatment Blake and Yang gave Adam, and her maiden powers are so dangerous that she can't exactly *be* left alive with them. Ironwood's death is symbolic at least - he's in the vault at the bottom of Atlas as it crashes to the ground, crushed under the weight of his own plan, not even a second thought to Salem when he thought he was the Hero.

[@KurvaNedaSeSemNicDat]

my headcanon is that salem knows that cinder is lying but she doesnt care if she has to wait another 100 years for another question she has that kind of time and patience

[@JJR93]

Plato in the Critias: "....But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. "

[@JJR93]

So more Greek story inspiration for this Atlas arc.....the Ace Ops being inspired by Aesop's Fables, after all.

[@roflnagi15]

what really killed me was the credits, cuz the song made me it sink in real hard that penny is gone now. the sweet inocent and pure girl, who only got to be a real girl for what feels like a few moments, just gone. all this just fuled my hate for cinder more i guess

[@raydavis8530]

The reason you got neo back is that portal went to Atlas and not to vacuo the genie set it to one-way ticket when you get vacuco but not Atlas

[@naoschan2299]

I know you two watch those some time ago, but you can still go back and watch every start of all the chapter in this volume, to realize that every one of them start with a black screen + sound. x'D

[@madhavmandava]

Bomb activation was not all Harriet's fault....maybe Watts and grief.....she better learn from this that losing a loved 1 does not justify reckless hate and orders

[@mrman05211983]

This chapter destroys me. Penny is my favorite character in this show but I understand why it happened for writing. But also for Cinder, the way I go with it is I do not forgive what she has done, but seeing her past, I do forgive and have feelings for her child self. No one should have to go through that as a child.

[@Flufux]

Next volume is probably my favourite of the entire show.

[@gazelle_7238]

Really loved penny, the episode hurt and then i listened to the end song, didnt know what it would be about but once i heard more, wham! "YOU are going to PAY, for EVERYTHING you've done!!" Props to the va saying that line perfectly. I look forward to the v8 soundtrack reaction for "Friend"!

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

This really was Cinder's Volume. She got the very first word of the Volume ("There.") and the final word of the Volume ("Checkmate."), and her backstory combined with Watts unwittingly shaking Cinder out of her recklessness since her injury in Volume 3 has enabled Cinder to grow and better herself as a villain, enabling her to concoct a plan that allowed her to win it all. Once more, she manipulated and outsmarted pretty much everyone, just like she did in the first 3 Volumes, only this time that list includes Salem. It all started when she placed the Black Queen piece on Ironwood's desk in the last Volume in order to set him off, and at the moment she announced checkmate here at the end, Ironwood finally gave up, knowing that Cinder had beaten him -- until that moment, Ironwood didn't even know that Cinder was really the one he was fighting against in this game. Now having eliminated many of her enemies as well as her rivals, and restored her status as Salem's favourite, Cinder is in a better position than ever before to obtain the power that she desires.

[@alefb4015]

I loved watching once again your reaction. I won’t deny that once again I cried having to witness Penny die again, now that she was human and that she’s permanently dead, but seeing Winter kicking Cinder’s butt was so satisfying (also I don’t care about Cinder. She’s an egotistical entiltled witch that she has to die. She has to pay for everything she’s done and I don’t care who kills her; either Jaune or Salem or Ruby but she has to die. She has to get some comeuppance for all the bad stuff she’s done) Anyway, I’ll be waiting for your reaction on Volume 8 soundtrack and Volume 9!

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Having someone in your final thoughts isn't the only way for Maiden powers to be transferred. In an effort to bypass the rules, Cinder Fall obtained a "Shadow Hand" (aka. a Grimm arm) from Salem, which grants Cinder the power to siphon and absorb magic, meaning that Cinder doesn't even need to kill her targets to acquire their powers. That is the reason why Cinder opted to replace the arm that was destroyed by Ruby's Silver Eyes in Volume 3 with a Grimm arm (which *_cannot_* be protected by Aura and is vulnerable to Silver-Eyed powers), instead of getting a mechanical arm (which *_can_* channel Aura and is unaffected by Silver-Eyed powers) -- the Shadow Hand, despite its weaknesses, allows her to steal the powers of others and thus can help her obtain the Maiden powers and potentially even Salem's magic also, whereas a robotic prosthetic or any other appendage cannot. Cinder has used her Shadow Hand on Raven Branwen when they fought in Volume 5, and again on Penny in each of the two fights that they had in Volume 8, though she hasn't yet been able to complete the process because so far she has been interrupted each time.

[@billa3785]

I agree on most but Salem. Yes Salem was taken off the board before the final battle, but she will always return and have real magic that although Cinder has maiden power won't trump Salem's magic power. Salem was removed from the board by Ozpin/Ma.

[@lorenzoteague8445]

Exactly......... This is why now Cinder is the best threat to Salem, besides Ruby of course. It's not known how strong or dangerous Cinder is really now with some of the Winter & Summer maiden power in her!! Thus, Salem has to keep her even closer...... And be very mindful of what Cinder is doing from here onward. In her existence, Salem definitely has experienced many levels of betrayal. She's not going to make any moves easy for Cinder!! It will be interesting to see how this plays out In a personal note, tho...... I want Cinder DESTROYED!!! Sorry, but this Cinderella has done FAR TOO MUCH DAMAGE to live at the end of this story. PERIOD!!!

[@MelvinDragonVT]

You are on to, personally, my favorite Volume. Just so much growth for Ruby, she goes from plucky leader to a full fledged huntress. It’s a journey of self discovery to make Ruby ready for that final fight against Cinder and eventually Salem

[@SoulWhiteAngel]

You might know by now but keep in mind those words from the black part of the opening.

[@AltimaMantoid]

"And that's ... checkmate."

[@liss_Th]

All of us after watching the episode 21:20

[@heroicbob]

Sparked by your comments towards the end about Qrow's reaction to Atlas falling on mantle, I just realised something. Not only does Qrow have no knowledge of what's happened to Ruby (and team), he also never knew about the plan to head to Vacuo. So at some point we're going to get a plotline where Qrow, Robyn and the remaining members of the Ace-Ops have to learn to get along and come up with their own plan to stop/escape Salem. Qrow and Harriet forced into close proximity over an extended period. Queue drama 😂

[@RG-gd3zu]

Salem doesn't need the maiden of winter because Team RWBY literally gave her the staff and the lamp. Apocalypse is loaded at 50%. In what sense is Cinder a failure if she is considered to have won?

[@TheGreater-ScopeVillain]

Salem doesn’t mind if they lose the Winter Maiden, because the Relic she was key to is already out of the Vault. She does not consider Cinder a failure because Cinder brought her both that Relic and another Relic that was stolen right from under Salem’s nose. Though Cinder has no intention of letting Salem claim all the Relics - she has her own plans for them and for the Maidens.

[@jeffreysmith236]

​@@TheGreater-ScopeVillainCinder probably has no idea what Salem intends to do with the relics, all Cinder wants is POWER.

[@morlock2012]

Cinder was just grovelling, so she could hide the fact she STILL tried to kill Ruby despite Salem telling her to focus on the relic. Her 'admitting' failure reinforces the lies about who used the last question, and how Ruby ended up dead.

[@jecrex8349]

And so, The kingdom of Atlas became Atlantis

[@WingManFang1]

Before the Denial set in many of us freaked out about the ending here….it only gets darker before the Dawn here. 🫡 I hope you’re ready for Volume 9 it’s a roller coaster… 🎢

[@beyo5]

Atlas becomes Atlantis.

[@phntmthf5505]

Now y’all get to watch Volume 9 (honestly my personal favorite volume), which we had to wait *multiple* years to get instead of the normal time between seasons

[@arcadius2569]

My favourite character I think is Oscar and Ozpin. Love their interactions and hate what Oscar goes through. Also love how when we see them, often times we see Salem.

[@valathor95]

Got some bad news today, time to forget about my troubles with a fun uplifting episode of RWBY! Oh, wait…

[@El_Kurk0]

inb4 Ironwood and hackerman team up to get back to Cinder on Vol 10

[@nathanielreik6617]

38:03 Happy to see my favorite character finally make it into a top 5. Sad for why he made it but good to see him get it. And I think the major turning points for him early in the volumes before Pyrrha's death would be Volume 1x13 and 14 when he stood up against Cardin and then finally asked Pyrrha to help him get better, and then Volume 2x7 when he gave up on Weiss and encouraged Neptune and then wore a dress and had the awesome dance with Pyrrha and the team.

[@pixy-onewing]

Remember how Ironwood gets referred to as the "tinman"... Well, "Atlas" + "Tin" = Atlantis It was foreshadowed all along.

[@Magdavian]

He is referred to as tin man because,.. Glenda Good Witch, the Wizard OZpin, and LionHeart were the other 3 members of his huntsman team. all taken from the wizard of oz story, not because of atlantis.

[@chrisk3127]

@@Magdavian is that confirmed? Lionheart seemed older than Glenda and Ironwood, hard to tell how old Oz was but seemed even older, and would assume headmasters graduated from those schools

[@Magdavian]

@@chrisk3127 i can not confirm dince i do not work there, but follow the lore, each team also has a theme, the witches name in wizard of oz is glenda goodwitch, the only one unaccounted for is dorothy,..but an argument can be made that dorothy was never in the story because she was the dreamer,.. just like season 9 is alice in wonderland,..

[@chrisk3127]

@Magdavian but they said Ironwood wasn't in Oz's inner circle until after Glenda was. It doesn't really make sense that they were on a team

[@pixy-onewing]

@@Magdavian Yea, I was only referring to the letters in the words. Atlas sunk with the tin man in it, becoming like our Atlantis.

[@legendofwrath5207]

Neo is my personal fav, her and the Velveteen rabbit. Neo was knocked into an entrance and not THE exit.

[@shadowangel3995]

It’s still so hard to watch this but I like the hidden message of this time Penny made the choice on her own. I also like her discussion with Winter; telling Winter that the Maiden Powers were Winter’s all along and Penny was just keeping them for Winter. Also Guys, not sure if KZbin would let you do a full watch through but I highly recommend the RWBY/ Justice League crossover movies. It was a collaboration between DC and RT thanks to both companies being under Warner Brothers for a time. The movies are also cannon to the overall story. I will say that Marrow and Winter learning to think for themselves while still following orders is a major thing. That’s a hard line to walk, especially when you are in a career that teaches you to follow orders no matter what. The thing is though, in America that’s how it’s supposed to work; unfortunately that’s not what is taught/encouraged. Which makes the times a person does go against orders all the more significant.

[@corybalitewicz1941]

“Stretch” is Vine lol

[@cakekiller1051]

I can't believe in two volumes we lost four major characters get killed off with three of them not getting proper story endings. 😞

[@jasonl8681]

RT loved to traumatise Jaune, he couldn't save Pyrrha from Cinder, he had to be the one with Penny to keep the maiden power from Cinder, and if he isn't the one to end Cinder I'll be very upsetti. Weiss only specifically said the Vacuo exit would be One Way, the smaller gates were never specified so are two ways, allowing Neo to return. And yes, Cinder was so petty all she asked Ambrosius to do was trap Watts with fire. (Unintentionally funny joke by Bethany saying Jaune was "Miles" behind Winter.) At least y'all don't have two years to wait before Volume 9.

[@kiritoliger468]

Now if you notice now Atlas the most advanced kingdom in the world has now become the sucken city of Atlantis swallowed by waves forever

[@mir_uribe975]

The reason Neo was able to come back was that you couldn't go back through the portal to Vacuo, and the others that led to the city weren't a problem. I have a theory that if Penny hadn't believed Ruby died, maybe she would have passed on the maiden powers to her instead of Winter. As for Winter getting the powers, she was definitely a good choice without a doubt since Penny didn't have as much experience in combat as Winter does When I saw the scene where Penny was about to die, I literally said "no, they can't do this to us again" and I cried now imagine how Ruby will feel when she finds out PS: You know, I once heard a theory that in the end the main four would get the powers of the maidens, but it's very sad if you think about it from Weiss's side, because her sister would have to die unless she passed it on to her while she was alive (but we never saw something like that in the series)

[@Haaz66]

Losing Penny twice... and losing her only some moments after she finally turned into a real person... is just too much. I think this is a pain I haven't seen anywhere else. And that I don't wish to suffer again ever. Pennyyyy💔💔😥😥

[@SaintBigfoot]

“You should never have been born.” That line is so… weighted, and yet… doesn’t feel like it makes sense coming from Cinder. It hints at a connection that we don’t fully understand. A jealousy of a kind. You nominally only hear that line from folks that are of rival families or rivals within families so I’ve been wondering if Cinder and Ruby have a connection that they never got around to revealing…

[@agentmaryland1239]

While Penny's ultimate sacrifice always jerks a few tears from me, I didn't like that they basically kept pulling a 'Life! Death! Life! Death!' with her.

[@arcadius2569]

And so, we lose. We saved some people. It has to be enough, otherwise it would all have been for nothing. Scary RWBY times :(

[@dunerat42]

Great reaction, looking forwards to the next one! Penny's fate was sealed back in volume 3. Granted, they had to kill her three times to get people to stop saying she was gonna come back, but you know... "just like Beacon again" indeed.... To be fair, Salem and Cinder never really saw Ironwood as a threat to begin with, but you're right, their ignoring him at the end has to be the end of his psyche. And then he drowns, which is normally considered a fairly peaceful death, but Ironwood's physically peaceful death is marred by his brain self-destructing over his loss and then getting fuzzier and fuzzier, knowing he had something he needed to do and struggling to remember what it was.... And i know you've read it a zillion times by now and probably feel a little silly about it, but Neo wasn't pushed through the door to Vacuo, but one of the doors back to Atlas/Mantle. i for one can't wait for Neo's return. Because i really do think she's gonna turn, eventually, once she finally gets over things.... Probably in the next episode, you know? That whole, trapped and having to work together thing, you know? =D

[@Laura-vn5zi]

I loved this journey through volume 8 with you there were many emotions 🥺 - By the way, Neo was able to pass the portal since these were not to Vacuo but to Mantle or Atlas, the people who were in Vacuo could not return. Jaune and Nora went back and forth through the portals evacuating people, for example, since they were going to Atlas or Mantle, not Vacuo. - Impossible not to cry with Penny's sacrifice and the handing over of power to Winter, her "salutations" broke me haha ;-; - It's very difficult to choose a top of the season's standout characters since many of them had really great and touching moments. - It would be great if you reacted "RWBY Fairy Tales" are 6 short videos like "World of Remnant" that are on RT's KZbin channel that help you learn how this world was made and more. I'm excited about your reaction to the soundtrack, I'm already preparing the tissues for a certain song 🤧

[@rachelmae8794]

1. I don’t think we’ve lost Penny forever. 2. I think the more common thought is that Salem didn’t believe cinder but the entire point of this volume for her was learning a lesson. She played watts she played neo. The flashback wasn’t necessarily for us to sympathize with cinder it was to set up the comparison between Salem and the stepmother. It clicked in cinder’s head this volume that Salem isn’t so different from the stepmother but this time she has Salem’s lessons (the hearts of men are easily swayed) she’s using what Salem wants to get what she wants now and that’s going to come back around to bite both her and Salem. Salem will realize that Cinder lied eventually bc there’s loose ends Cinder doesn’t know about yet and Salem cannot win if her own forces are divided like that’s the show divided we fail and Salem pushed and pushed and pushed Cinder until Cinder’s trust that Salem will be her path to getting power broke

[@lhhOriginalGrey]

Loosing Penny again was heartbreak but the next volume is going to be such a geat time!!!