The sixth instalment of Rooster Teeth’s RWBY returns to internet screens for the public, and the second episode, ‘Uncovered’, starts/ends well enough and begins to answer some questions about the universe’s lore. However, it is a bit slow in pacing and feels a bit like a filler episode, not giving much time to developing characters and advances the plot slowly.
Obviously, spoilers ahead for RWBY.
‘Uncovered’ jumps between the perspective as a couple of characters but begins with one of the villains. It starts off underwater, where it turns out that Cinder Fall survived her battle with Raven Branwen from the previous season and has taken to hiding in plain sight while still searching for team RWBY. Cinder has remained a persistent threat throughout the show, that is until fans assume that she was killed off in the volume 5 finale. She has remained a very real threat and has a particular interest in Ruby Rose, who defeated her at the end of Volume 3. We see that her maiden powers seem to be getting weaker while her Grimm powers are getting stronger: she struggles to create a flame in her human hand, but she is able to punch her way out of the cave with her possessed arm.
Going to team RWBY, ‘Uncovered’ starts off with a bit of a time skip, jumping to the past where RWBY have just been reunited and are making plans to continue their journey. As they plan to head to Atlas, they talk more about the relic they are protecting. Ozpin explains that the relic of knowledge has the power to answer three questions every one hundred years, but all the questions for the current era have been answered. We are then brought back to where we left off last episode, at the train’s crash site.
Among the debris, as Yang gets her beloved bike from the snow, the team talk about their current situation and frustration towards Ozpin’s half truths and lies. He simply says that he should trust them, but panics when he doesn’t find the relic at his side and in Ruby’s hands. Oscar repossesses their body, telling the team that Ozpin is afraid they’ll use the relic to discover what he is hiding and reveals how to activate it. Using this information, Ruby releases Jinn from the relic. This finally gives an idea of how fans can expect each of the relics to work, as they all presumably have a spirit like Jinn attached to them. However, given its limitations and the timescale of the show, you can only wonder how Salem will plan to use this relic in particular for her plans, if she ever gets a hold of it.
Returning to Cinder’s perspective, she goes to a lil’ miss Malachite, the head of a criminal organization, to pay for information about where team RWBY are. Miss Malachite tells her she’ll have her information in a week. However, she reveals to the audience that they already know where the team are after someone previously came in and asked about them – presumably Hazel Rainart – and that she is only withholding the information to see who is after Cinder.
Fans may recognize the name Malachite, as in the Yellow trailer before the first season’s release, Yang ended up fighting a pair of villainesses called the Malachite twins. Does that mean fans can expect a return from these characters? More importantly, how is Ms Malachite going to fit into the grand scheme of things? Will she join Salem’s ranks or will Cinder kill her off when she gets what she’s after? One of the interesting things to note is if you look at the wanted poster Cinder passes with the assailants from the Battle of Haven, Cinder still has her original design. This indicates there are no public images of her after the Battle of Beacon at the end of volume 3.
‘Uncovered’ finishes from the perspective of team RWBY, where they discover that Ozpin’s claim about all three questions being used up was a lie, and that only one has been used. Jinn also recognizes Ozpin, perhaps hinting that he was the one to ask the first question. Ruby asks the spirit what Ozpin is hiding, causing him to lunge at her. However, they are transported to a white space, separated from each other. It is then the characters are shown an image from the past, introducing the story about a lonely girl called Salem. This may be the most shocking to fans as, while we know from previous seasons that Ozpin and Salem seem to be interlinked somehow, we discover that Salem was previously human before becoming the master of the Grimm. Does that mean that Ozpin is directly responsible for creating the Grimm by corrupting Salem, or does Salem unite the Grimm against the man who will become her enemy?
While it looks like we finally are getting an answer to what the deal is with Salem and Ozpin, there isn’t much in the way of plot going forward and outside of their relationships with each other, the character’s development doesn’t receive too much attention either. While this is still a minor issue, it’s something that needs to be addressed from the creators. Hopefully after we get Jinn’s answer, we can move back towards the story.
‘Uncovered’ has some shortcomings, but not enough to put people off Volume 6. It grabs the audience’s interest with a returning villain that simply refuses to die and finally seems to start offering us answers about one of the underlying conflicts of the show. While some of the episode could have been trimmed down, it still offers enough intrigue to continue following the volume.
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