Welcome everyone, to the penultimate episode of RWBY: Ice Queendom. This episode is the climax, the big finale, wrapping up the story and leaving us an epilogue for who knows what. Was it any good? Did I get the emotional high I wanted? Did Nagata make a return? To at least one of those, the answer is yes. Let’s dive in.
Starting off, the easy one: Nagata does indeed return. And it looks fantastic. It’s obvious that even he is struggling with the production, you need only look at his scenes to see they aren’t what they could be. But what we did get is still so far above the rest of the show, it’s enough to make you weep for what could have been. It’s like Shaft contracted him for one good scene per girl almost. With this week being Yang’s time to shine. And shine she did, as we got to see her semblance in all its glory. Watching her smash the giant robot was something I’ve been waiting for Queendom to do ever since they introduced it. You probably remember me complaining about the robot fights prior to this. Well we finally got it. And as for the rest of the show? As a RWBY fan, it works.
So the big climax. Weiss gets free, they beat the Grimm and save the day! How was it? In all honesty, I think it wasn’t bad. The lead in especially between Blake and Weiss was actually good. Not visually of course, but Blake egging Weiss on to the point where she realized what exactly she was doing and how she looked, and how it contrasted with what she was saying she wanted, was great. It directly calls out Weiss’s fear that she’s complicit in her Father’s actions. How her desire to take over the company, to live up to her family name, could lead to her being just like him. And the way Queendom did this revelation, how her feelings for Blake allowed her to see through and overcome the Nightmare, was all quite nice. If it didn’t look like shit it could have been something incredible.
As for Yang’s side of things, this was easily the highlight of the episode for me. Not just Yang getting the big action scene she deserves, but her discovering inside Big Nicholas as well. I was not expecting to meet Nicholas, like… at all. So to not only get a memory of him, but to have it locked away and protected in what was clearly the most defensible spot in the entire Nightmare, goes a long way to selling this finale. And sell it does. The softly-lit mansion, the family picture of them all together, the only caring member of her entire family dressed like fucking Santa Claus. Even his speech about how eventually leaving the castle and finding her own way would make him proud more than anything else she could do. I absolutely adore these quieter moments where Queendom lasers in on what makes Weiss, Weiss.
Speaking of Weiss, after all that happens, she finally wakes up and we get the Team RWBY team up against Nega-Blake! I actually wasn’t expecting this at all. Not her waking up, that was obvious, the Nega-Blake fight. I figured Weiss would somehow wake her up with the power of her own dream. But Blake cutting through her own trauma as Yang pulls her out is way better. Combine that with Weiss and Ruby’s hug and, while I’m more of a Lancaster guy myself, the White Rose and Bumblebee fans are eating well today. As for the fight itself, it was another animator highlight of the episode. Some cool sequences and combat moves, each of our lead girls getting a moment. Over a bit to soon for my liking, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth for any Sakuga Queendom can give us.
As for non-fight stuff, embarrassed Weiss is cute. Her complete misunderstanding of the situation was actually great. Thinking it was all Blake’s stuff, and then blaming herself for not noticing only to be told she was the one possessed. Blackmailing Jaune into not telling anyone only to wake up and have not only Team JNPR but the staff there as well. Her complete mortification here and in the after-credits scene was just great. A nice moment of levity to end the story on before we get whatever is going to happen in the epilogue.
The only downside, narratively at least, to the episode for me was Jaune and Pyrrha. Jaune still only succeeded through complete luck, bumbling his way to victory against the Knight Jacques. Meanwhile Pyrrha is standing around with the same level of importance as all of the smol Weiss’s. It’s just a really disappointing end for two characters that had the potential to be way more important. Whether it be Weiss identifying with Pyrrha’s own sense of loneliness or with Jaune being weighted down by the expectations of others. I think it’s a real missed opportunity for them and something worth exploring had Pyrrha any impactful speaking lines and Jaune a moment to interact with Nega-Weiss. It’s not a huge loss, it is Team RWBY’s show after all. But with a whole episode of content still there and the story basically over, it leaves you wondering what could have been.
So yeah, all in all this was one of the best episodes of Queendom this season. The production was actually reasonable, even if the cracks were still there, and the narrative tied up nicely. Is it enough to make up for the past 7 episodes of absolute jank? Not really, Queendom isn’t a very good show. I only enjoy it as much as I do because I’ve been a RWBY fan for the past decade. For people whom this is their first introduction to the IP? Yeah, there’s basically nothing here for you. This was no doubt made for an already existing fanbase and little else. For me that’s fine, I got what I wanted out of it. But I will not, in good conscience, be able to recommend this to others. Now to get started on that final review… It’s not going to be very nice.
