RWBY Volume 6 Episode 8 - Dead End: Review

Back at the base, Yang shakes the gate and tells the guards “Come on, you didn’t hear us out!” The guards tell her that their order are clear, the Mistral-Atlas border is closed. These two guards feel like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, they even complete each other's’ sentences and mimic each other. Qrow tells the guards that they are just trying to get Weiss home safely. The guards tell Weiss to approach the gate. She then turns to Blake who shrugs her shoulders. Weiss walks towards the gate; the guards briefly stare at her and tell the group that they may speak with the commanding officer. Please let it be Winter Schnee!! The guards the turn around and march off in unison chanting “Atlas.” Blake remarks “They were kind of...” Ruby finishes Blake’s remark “Super weird? Huh, yeah.” 

Maria then says that she may know this commanding officer. If this is the case, then it’s not Winter… Ruby then says “That’s good, isn’t it? If she’s your friend then maybe she will be more willing to help us?” Maria responds that she wouldn’t call them friends. Weiss says “Acquaintances?” Maria replies “Not quite” Blake says “Colleagues?” Maria tells Blake she’s getting warmer. Finally, Yang guesses enemies and Maria says “That’s the one.” Maria explains that she comes to the base once every ten years to get her eyes checked up in Atlas. She then starts complaining about the security and being placed on the additional screening list for life. Qrow asks if she’s kidding. Maria replies “Now now, let’s not give up hope yet. Maybe she’s dead.” The gates then open and the commanding officer is introduced, Caroline Cordoven.






After Maria and Caroline exchange insults, Caroline remarks “I’ve seen you’ve chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time.” Maria replies “ Oh Cordo. You know they say time changes people, but I see you’ve still got that stick right up-” Ruby quickly interrupts Maria before the insult can be complete. Ruby introduces herself and asks if she will hear her out. Cordovin tells Ruby that she has already heard what Jaune, Ren, and Nora said. She then notices Jaune, Ren, and Nora standing further back and starts freaking out and yelling at them about being told to leave. Nora responds “And I told you we wouldn’t rest until you let us through!”

Caroline then goes on to talk down to Team RWBY in a somewhat condescending tone in the form of a very nationalist monologue about Atlas “You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly with smaller words: This base, that relay tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas. And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task.” I think someone here is an egomaniac, like a certain current U.S. President (I think I just became a bit queasy…).






Maria replies “Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as possible.” This angers Caroline, who responds “You’re just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!” Ruby tells Caroline that they know Atlas had nothing to do with the fall of Beacon and that Team RWBY was there. Weiss tells Caroline “No one’s happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried. It’s why we need to talk to-”, Caroline interrupts Weiss and tells her (in an overreacting way) that General Ironwood is not a coward and that Atlas is strong. She then goes on to say “If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail! 

Caroline Cordovan comes off to me as someone with a very right-wing leaning and nationalist political worldview, like (ugh..) Donald Trump. She is someone who could go on for hours bragging about how great her kingdom is. The fact that she says “If all the kingdoms plan on making us their enemy” is scarily similar to the calls for an “America First” ideology from Donald Trump and other members of the Alt-Right movement in the United States. Trump and his nationalist contemporaries want to “Make America Great Again” by isolating our nation from the rest of the world and destroy our alliances with our allies like Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

After Caroline finishes her nationalist outburst, she goes to say that if Weiss has come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, the Atlas military will escort her home. She then insults her friends stating that the Kingdom will not be responsible for her “friends” of questionable character. Basically, Caroline made a very racist comment towards Blake, because she is a Faunus. Weiss asks “What’s that supposed mean?” Caroline says that they are done here and the gate slams shut on them.










Nora attempts to insult Caroline by saying that her base looks like a big dumb boot. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are in shock. Ruby tells Weiss that they wouldn’t leave her side and that they will find a way to Atlas. Ruby asks Qrow where they are going now and Nora asks what the plan is. Qrow tells them that the plan just got shut in their face three times over and that he’s off to spend some time with his best friend, Al Cohol. Ruby tells Qrow that they really should try to come up with something together. Nora says that if Qrow is going to be a jerk then they will just come up with something without him since they have Ozpin with them. Weiss turns her head towards Blake and Yang as Oscar looks towards the ground. Boy are Jaune, Ren, and Nora in for the shock of their lives.

Back at Saphron’s home, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang tell Jaune, Ren, and Nora what has transpired with Ozpin since they last saw each other. Upon learning this information, Jaune punches the wall in anger. He says “Everything we did was for nothing!” Blake tells him that’s not true. Nora responds “Really? Cuz it sure does sound like it.” Blake attempts to respond to Nora but is interuppted by Ren, who asks Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang how they are supposed to defeat Salem if she can’t be killed. Oscar looks towards Ruby, but she has no answer. Oscar tells everyone that they know none of this is great and they are not the bad guys. Jaune isn’t taking this new information too well, most likely because this means that Pyrrha died for nothing.









Jaune asks Oscar if he is sure about that. Oscar doesn’t know what Jaune is asking about. Jaune then asks him if Ozpin is in his head and if he already knew about Salem and Pyrrha. Weiss attempts to tell Jaune that Oscar knew nothing about them. Jaune then says “How much longer can we even trust him?” He then grabs Oscar by his collar and slams him against the wall. Yang tries to calm Jaune down and get him to stop harassing Oscar. Jaune then says “How do we even know it’s really him?” He asks this question since it’s difficult to tell if Oscar or Ozpin is present. Then he poses the question of if they have been talking with Ozpin the whole time. Ruby, finally gets Jaune to calm down and snap out of it. Jaune then heads upstairs to his room and closes the door. Yang asks Nora if Jaune is going to be alright. Nora tells Yang that she isn’t sure and she then heads upstairs. Ren tells Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang that it would be best if he, Jaune, and Nora had some time to themselves and then heads upstairs. Blake then says “Maybe we could all use some space.”

Ruby then heads outback to the garden as she tries calling Qrow to find out where he is. There’s no answer and she throws her scroll in frustration. Maria, who is sitting off to the right, says to Ruby “You know, I came out here to avoid the yelling.” Ruby apologizes and tells Maria that the other went to get food for dinner. Maria asks her why not go with them. Ruby replies “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don’t even have a plan? Qrow’s out drinking, Ozpin hasn’t come back and even if he did, I don’t know if I could trust him. And there’s always Jinn, but we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I’m letting everyone down.” Maria tells Ruby that she doesn’t give herself enough credit. Ruby thanks Maria, but Maria tells her she wasn’t complimenting her. Ruby is shocked as a surprised look appears on her face through some cartoonish antics. Maria tells her that if she has to explain it to her, it would just defeat the purpose. She tells Ruby that if she’s tired of not knowing anything, they should talk about Ruby’s eyes. 






Ruby stands up with great anticipation and tells Maria that she would be honored. Maria immediately tells Ruby to sit back down. Maria tells Ruby to start with what she already knows. Ruby tells her “ Uh… silver-eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something. And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone.” Maria shakes her head in disbelief. Ruby tells her “Look, if I already knew everything I wouldn’t be asking for help.” Maria tells Ruby “It’s not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn’t have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I’ve seen.” Ruby asks Maria if her father was a Huntsman. Maria tells her “It wasn’t really an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old soldier, and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day.” Ruby tells Maria that she must have been proud. Maria says that her father would have scolded her for showing off. Maria’s father wasn’t able to find much information about the abilities of silver eyes. He only found some legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. The fact that her father found very little information made him cautious. He thought how could such powerful bloodlines be so rare; unless something was actively seeking to destroy them. Ruby realizes that the force that wants to destroy those with silver eyes is Salem. Maria tells Ruby that she tried to keep her powers a secret. Which Ruby already knows that it wasn’t enough. Maria says “I owe my life to my training, and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools.”







Ruby asks Maria what her Semblance is;Maria tells her that it’s call “Preflexes.” This allows Maria to sense everything better than most and react to attacks nearly before they happen. After Maria tells Ruby about how she combined her training, Semblance, and ability from her silver eyes to become the Grimm Reaper, Ruby asks her “So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?” Maria smacks Ruby on her head with her walking stick and says “First, you stop thinking like that!” Maria wants Ruby to think of all the times she triggered her powers and what those moments had in common. Ruby tells her that she was scared and stressed. As she says this, the leitmotif from “Red Like Roses” can be heard. She asks Maria if it is emotional, like unlocking a Semblance. Maria tells her that it is emotional, but more focused than that. She asks Ruby what did she want. Ruby says that she wanted to protect her friends. Maria says “Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother.”






Ruby asks Maria how she knows this. Maria tells her “I always knew how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm. Then, Jinn showed us her vision. Were you paying attention?” Ruby thinks back to Jinn’s vision where the God of Light vaporized the Grimm and blinded the God of Darkness. She realizes that the God of Light’s eyes caused the Grimm to be vaporized and this is where the power of her silver eyes comes from. Ruby stands up and asks Maria where they can start. Maria tells her that the light will only work in the presence of Grimm. This means the only practice Ruby can get is during combat. As she says this, the leitmotif from “This Will Be the Day” can be heard. She tells Ruby that what she can do is focus on creating a state of mind that she can tap into when she needs it. Maria also tells Ruby to not think about her light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant.

Ruby tells Maria “But that can’t be right. You said the light only reacts to Grimm, but… I used it during our battle at Haven. It reacted to Cinder.” Maria is puzzled, she tells Ruby “Perhaps there was something that you just weren’t seeing?” This whole sequence with Maria and Ruby is very reminiscent of the sequence from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke is trained by Yoda on Dagobah. Maria is definitely taking up the role of Master Yoda as Ruby’s mentor. As Maria finishes her thought, Yang calls out for Ruby. Ruby heads back inside with Yang, Blake, and Weiss. Jaune, Ren, and Nora join them. Jaune asks what’s going on. Blake tells everyone that Oscar is missing. Oh dear, I hope he wasn’t kidnapped or didn’t just decide to give up. Where are you Oscar?!?!