Spoilers ahead for the original web series RWBY.
RWBY’s cast of young monster hunters has been beloved by fans ever since their debut in 2012, but looking back, Weiss' early characterization had some issues. WithRWBY: Ice Queendom, Studio Shaft’s new take on the web series, an original story might be able to rectify some of those issues.
Ice Queendom started as a retelling of Volume 1 of the original series, but after episode 3 has begun to focus solely on a new story written by Tow Ubukata (Ghost in the Shell: Arise). It revolves around Weiss being trapped by a Nightmare, a Grimm that traps people in dreams, and her teammates coming into her dream to rescue her. With the series recently getting to this new arc, fans are eager to see how the creative team at Shaft will handle these characters and this world on their own terms. So far, the plot is setting up this dream arc as a chance for Weiss to combat her demons, opening up a lot ofpossibilities for redemption by the arc’s end.
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Weiss' Bigotry
In Volume 1, the show quickly establishes the existence of the Faunus, a humanoid race of individuals with some animal characteristics. This race is discriminated against in the world of Remnant, to the point that members of the Faunus founded the White Fang to protest and demand equality. As efforts to resolve things peacefully fell short, the organization slowly embraced more violent rebellion.
Weiss is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the most powerful conglomerates in the world, and she’s witnessed first-handthe casualties of this war between humans and Faunus. It’s made her quite bigoted toward the Faunus, something she has no problem sharing casually when the news of the White Fang’s escapades spreads.
When Blake, a member of the main team, reveals themselves to be a Faunus herself, it creates discord between the group. It happens at the very end of volume 1, where Blake runs away. After searching for her, Weiss tells Blake that she’s thought about everything and has decided that she doesn’t care that Blake is Faunus.
Weiss' Imperfect Change
By the time volume 2 began, the team was working together like normal, and even as the conflict of the show continued to involve the White Fang, Weiss was acting very differently. One might suppose the writers didn’t want one of the main characters to be racist, which is of course understandable,but the way she was changed felt unnatural.
Now in conversations pertaining to the conflict, Weiss no longer shares bigoted views of Faunus but also tiptoes around her and her family’s responsibility for the hardships the Faunus deal with. It’s as if she’s gone from being a vocal bigot to a quiet one, internalizing her own biases, but not acknowledging her responsibility to do better.
None of the above would necessarily be an issue if her bigotry had been more effectively and critically attacked. As it was, the end of volume 1 wasn’t about Weiss, but Blake. Weiss simply showed up at the end, having come to a new conclusion off-screen. The other characters don’t come to Blake’s defense much or attempt to combat Weiss' views and therefore there is conflict to bring development.
How Ice Queendom Is Fixing Weiss
The first three episodes ofIQwere merely a retelling of volume 1, condensed into three episodes, but withsome improvements that strengthened the overall story. One such improvement was how Weiss was portrayed during the search for Blake. Firstly, Yang is far more angry and critical of Weiss, calling her out.
And Weiss, rather than being portrayed as headstrong and confident, has a breakdown, whining about how nothing has gone the way she thought it was. It’s more in character, it shows more development, and it’s satisfying to see her in misery because she’s racist. The arc ends much the same at first, with her squashing her beef with Blake, but then something exciting happens.
Episode 3 ends with Weiss being ensnared by a Grimm with the ability to trap people in dreams and absorb their life essence. Now the rest of team RWBY has to go into the dream to save her, but it’s not quite so simple. The dream isa reflection of how Weiss views the worldand how she’s been taught to view the world and in this dream, she is the antagonist.
All of Weiss' bigotry, her internalized nationalism, and the pressure put upon her to excel as a member of her family, are being weaponized to corrupt her and feed on her soul. This kind of conflict isn’t just awesome, it’s exactly what Weiss needs as a character to properly attack the hate that is within her, and this arc can paint her as a villain while also redeeming her.
What Might Go Wrong
Obviously, that would make the most sense, bridging the gap between volumes 1 and 2 in a way that improves a key character, but it remains to be seen how well it will be done.RWBY, as a series, has had a mixed reputationapproaching topics of racial division and many other real-world political parallels.
Ice Queendommay not be written by Rooster Teeth, but it remains to be seen how writer Tow Ubukata will approach the subject. The story will need to strike a good balance of making Weiss an effective villain while acknowledging her capacity to change, without making her too irredeemable. Blake’s portrayal will also be important in how effectively the story will play out.
Looking on the bright side, the newRWBYanime has gotten off to a good start, and seems to understand these characters very well. If the story fumbles, then hopefully the animation and art direction can deliver on the flare that this brand is known for.
