It’s been a long strange hiatus since Volume 8 wrapped up but at least we know one thing about team RWBY in the words of Pearl Jam: “We’re all still Alive!” So let’s dive into RWBY Volume 9 Chapter 1: “A Place of Particular Concern”.
Miscellaneous Analysis and Remarks
Two suns? Did Team RWBY just land on Tatooine?
Good to see some interactions between Weiss and Blake. It feels like a long time since we’ve seen just the two of them in a scene together. As Weiss and Blake are looking for Gambol Shroud, the two of them catch up on what happened to them after they fell. Weiss asks Blake what is this place to which Blake responds, “I don’t know, none of my guesses really make sense.” Weiss tells Blake that she’s glad that she’s okay and Blake reciprocates the same sentiment. Blake believes if she and Weiss are okay, then Ruby and Yang must be alright and somewhere in this world. Blake then asks Weiss what happened after they fell, Weiss responds that they should focus on finding Ruby and Yang first.
I love the little comedic bits that are seen as Weiss and Blake try to free Gambol Shroud from the very pesky vines. From Blake struggling to pull one of the vines and Weiss’ look of frustration after cutting away at the vines only for them to grow back in to Blake stretching as far as she can from a palm tree to grab Gambol Shroud with Weiss playing cheerleading to encourage Blake, which is really funny and cute. Wait a second, I have an incoming message from Admiral Akbar: IT’S A TRAP!! Poor Weiss and Blake have fallen into a vine trap set up by mice!!
As Ruby, Weiss, and Blake continue to look for Yang they encounter a beast known as the Jabberwalker. The beast’s name is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky” that was included in his 1871 novel Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice In Wonderland. After Little squeaks out of fear, the Jabberwalker notices them. As Weiss and Blake pull out the weapons to engage the beast, Ruby reaches for Crescent Rose, only to remember that she doesn’t have her weapon. Ruby without Crescent Rose means she’s missing a part of her since her weapon is an extension of her character and who she is. This is why she’s taking a step back as leader along with everything that she’s been through.
Blake Takes on the Leadership Role
I really like that Blake is taking a more proactive, leadership role in this volume so far when Ruby isn’t able to rise to the occasion with everything that she’s been through. She just kept pushing them forward.
Yang’s Frustration Towards Seeing Everyone Else in this New World
As Blake and Weiss begin to fight the Jabberwalker, Weiss looks up towards the sky and sees a rock hurled at the beast. Blakes eyes widen after the beast falls to the ground and sees Yang. After Weiss, Blake, and Yang force the Jabberwalker to retreat, Ruby runs over to Yang. Ruby starts to speak, Yang interrupts her and says “Dammit! You weren’t supposed to be here…” As Yang asks Ruby about Little, she is suddenly tackled to the ground by Blake, who embraces Yang in relief and Yang embraces Blake in return.
@SAlle1304 on Twitter expalins that Yang “was frustrated because from her perspective, if Ruby was down there then she failed. Her entire life her goal was to protect Ruby. She just thought she died trying to protect her (as she says later in the episode), and she was okay with that. Because it means she achieved her “purpose”. But then Ruby turns out to be down there too, so Yang failed her.”
With Team RWBY reunited, Weiss starts to tearfully explain what happened after Ruby and Blake fell, informing the others that Penny sacrificed herself. Before Weiss can finish her sentence, Ruby faints. After Ruby wakes up, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were discussing what their current situation in this world is. Blake suggests that first find Yang’s Prosthetic Arm and Crescent Rose before finding a way to return to Remnant. Weiss raises the question of it is even possible to return home, while Yang suggests that they might be dead. Blake rebuffs these concerns, as she walks through some foliage and gazes upon the land, she believes that they have wound up inside a fairy tale.
The team is in a realm that’s pulled straight from the pages of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland. The bright color palette that’s being used in this world makes me immediately think of the song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock in 1960s San Francisco. The song also draws inspiration from Alice in Wonderland.
RWBY Reliquary 