RWBY v05e02: Salem’s game

(Lechería, October 25th. O’kuroku).- I have always said that every great story needs a great antagonist. That is an important fact, in my opinion, and RWBY is proving the point with Salem.

Her appearance at the end of Volume 3 was shocking and her scenes in volume 4 were among the best ones of that volume. However, we barely knew some pieces of her plan; therefore, we could not judge her as a strategist.

Well, this episode put light on that matter, and now that we have a better idea of her skills at planning, it is hard not to admire her. Salem is not just a ruthless villain, but an intelligent, patient and cunning one as well, and I like that a lot.

Definitely, the fall of Beacon was not a stroke of luck, but the result of a brilliant plan meticulously prepared. Moreover, Salem has set the pieces so Haven has the same fate. Now we have to see if Ruby and the others let that happen or not.

A good antagonist represents a proper challenge and therefore, makes the protagonists to evolve in a human and realistic way. All the chaos at the end of volume 3 made Team RWBY, and everybody around them, to take a huge step forward in the path of adulthood. Furthermore, that very same chaos, plus some events in volume 4, made Salem to learn some lessons as well.

Moreover, what I like the most is that Salem instead of disregard those lessons by believing she is unstoppable, took that knowledge seriously and did some rethinking in her plans as consequence. That is being a dragon instead of a tiger. Now we will have to wait and see if those adjustments make a difference.

By the way, people speculated a lot about Tyrian’s future after loosing his tail. A lot of them even said he would not appear in the series again. However, Watts is going to solve that problem, so we will be seeing more of our favorite and insane scorpion, or what is left of him after his chat with Salem.

Besides, Cinder is back and you can see the difference. Although Watts tried to bully her as usual, this time she fought back. However, Salem made clear that Ruby is still some kind of weakness. The battle between the two is going to be worth watching, considering all the things involved, and all the things at stake.

Another important aspect of this episode was Adam’s coup d’état against Sienna Khan. I admit that it caught me totally off guard. I always thought that the leader of the White Fang would have an important role in this volume, so watching her dying in the very second episode surprised me a lot.

In fact, I still believe she is alive, and I still think that later on she will play a crucial role in what is going to come. I am not as certain as before, though. What I am certain now is that Salem has increased her power by having the White Fang under her control. Funny thing, I do not think that Adam is going to be the key person for that, but Hazel. I am foreseeing another coup d’état in the future.

Regarding Weiss, I loved all the sequence of the aerial fight. It was very well animated and great decision of using the song that she sang at her recital as the insert song. Besides, we finally could see Weiss’ knight!! It was simply awesome. Although, I think the best part was the last scene. Raven’s appearances always exceed expectations.

Well, the pieces are being put into place, and now it is clear that Raven will be in the middle of the long waited Team RWBY reunion. Furthermore, it is pretty much clear that Qrow’s sister will indeed play a vital role in this volume.

I still think that Team RWBY is going to be reunited in this volume, although I still do not know how Blake is going to get there. What I do know is that this volume gets better by the minute, and my expectations are getting higher considering what is about to come. See you in my next review.

By Shougo Amakusa (@shougoamakusa)
If you want to watch the show you can do it in the official website.