![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/rwby-salem.jpg?resize=960%2C541\")
Last season, Ruby and her friends discovered the truth about what they were fighting: how and why Salem was created, who was responsible for it, and, most damning of all, that there is no way to actually kill her. But what seemed to truly dismay our heroes was the fact that their mentor had known all this from the beginning and refused to tell them. More than that, it took them literally asking a genie for it to all be revealed to them. A sizable chunk of the rest of the season dealt with them coming to terms with their hopeless fight and choosing to soldier on regardless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Season seven finds teams RWBY and JNR now feeling the responsibility of keeping this secret–especially when the one person they should be able to tell appears to have become a power-mad dictator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Back in season 3, Ironwood seemed to be a straightforward, no-nonsense general–and one of Ozpin\u2019s most loyal allies. He believed in the cause, he believed in his men, and he believed in his nation\u2019s ability to protect the world. However, the Fall of Beacon has all but shattered that trust–especially given the fact that his own robotic troops were hijacked and used to commit that tragedy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To keep on fighting and attempt to protect his country–and the world at large–Ironwood has replaced trust with control. He has closed the borders to keep any possible enemies out. He has instituted martial law to keep those within subdued. He is keeping his plans so close to the chest that even the government he serves has no idea what he\u2019s up to.<\/span><\/p>\n Ironically, he is doing all this to share the truth with the world–that the grimm aren\u2019t mindless beasts and that Salem is behind most of the evil in the world. The problem is that he seeks to control how this information is shared–to not give out any information until he has already succeeded in his plan. This means his entire plan lives or dies on Amity Tower being launched into orbit before his kingdom rebels. If it succeeds, then communications across the world will be re-established and people will be armed with the general idea of what is going on. But if not, his kingdom will collapse and be easy pickings for Salem and her cronies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that it already is. None of his measures do anything to deter Salem\u2019s agents. They are able to enter Atlas, go where they want freely, cause mass riots, and even control his security system while they\u2019re at it. Against all this, Ironwood\u2019s only way forward is to stay the course. He is unwilling (and\/or unable) to adapt to the changing situation. The die has already been cast and he\u2019s certain he will succeed–as long as everyone stops trying to get in his way.<\/span><\/p>\n Ironwood in season seven is the epitome of \u201cDon\u2019t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.\u201d In his quest for the perfect resolution, he time and again passes on gaining allies and hedging his bets. And when it all falls apart at the end, the only remaining option he sees is to abandon the poorest in his kingdom and retreat to the sky beyond the reach of the Grimm.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, this decision comes partly from the fact that Ruby and crew don\u2019t tell him the vital piece of information–that Salem is immortal–until it’s already far too late to keep his trust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Herein lies the interesting thing about <\/span>RWBY<\/span><\/i>\u2019s exploration of secrets in season 7: it gives you no easy answers. Ruby and her friends don\u2019t tell Ironwood the truth because they feel he is on the edge of losing it–and he might very well be. Ironwood doesn\u2019t tell the people the truth because he fears they will panic and inadvertently call the grimm–which could very well happen. Likewise, he doesn\u2019t tell anyone but his most trusted subordinates the Amity Tower plan because he fears spies learning about it–which they likely would have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n No one here is wrong to fear the consequences that sharing the truth will have. But here\u2019s the thing: when it comes down to it, instead of trusting in others, both Ruby\u2019s team and Ironwood give into fear like Ozpin had and hide the truth until it’s too late to stop what\u2019s coming. The heartbreaking thing is that being 100% truthful may not have made things any better–not with Salem\u2019s agents around to capitalize on it.<\/span><\/p>\n This season of <\/span>RWBY<\/span><\/i> does a great job of showing that, sometimes, there are no right answers. You just have to do the best you can–and sometimes, that\u2019s just not enough.<\/span><\/p>\n RWBY<\/span><\/i> season 7 can be seen on <\/span>Rooster Teeth<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his\u00a0Patreon<\/a>\u00a0donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick anything up to an including a 13ish episode series to be reviewed\u2013which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) So thanks again!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/rwby-ironwood.jpg?resize=960%2C540\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/rwby-plan.jpg?resize=960%2C541\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/rwby-rebecca.jpg?resize=960%2C539\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biggestinjapan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/rwby-fight.jpg?resize=960%2C541\")
\n