I may vehemently disagree with Ironwood over all the shit he’s pulled this episode, but when he pulled his arm out of the ring trap? holy SHIT.
It’s chapter 11; I feel like that was really significant from a storytelling perspective. Ironwood may have done some bad shit this episode, but I think the scene in the arena may have been code for who he really is at heart, deep down, under a ton of Atlesian conditioning.
3.11 had Yang lose her arm for Blake. 7.11 had Ironwood fuck up his arm for Atlas.
It at least shows where his heart is at, and I’m honestly really enjoying, from a writing perspective, the super grey morality they’ve got going with where they’ve taken him. It’s such a bad move, extremely ‘ends justify the means’ as I’ve seen people saying, and he’s become utterly terrifying, but his motivations - saving as many people as he thinks he can, being so desperate against what he perceives as an immovable, undefeatable force, grasping at anything he can to maintain as much control as he can in this situation...it’s a huge insight into the way people trained in Atlas do and perceive things, the values they’re taught, the sheer coldness of it, but with at least a semi-right intent deep down.
It shows up in his order to Winter, too, and how she at least appears, so far to be following it. I’ve seen people discussing how Weiss seems terrified on behalf of her sister, for what becoming a Maiden means, what’s happened to all the others, but I think there’s more too it. Watching that scene, that’s not what I saw in Weiss. I saw her utter horror at what her sister has been asked to do. Her sister has been asked to murder an innocent woman to gain power.
Even if the idea behind it - giving power to someone who is in good enough health to do something with it - is a ‘good’ one strategically, the way to get there is utterly horrifying and unacceptable. This, too, echoes something that happened earlier - Raven killed the previous Spring maiden, and although she doesn’t outright say it, it was likely in part to gain the power to protect her tribe. And it parallels how they were willing to kill Amber to give Pyrrha the Fall Maiden’s powers, too. It’s this recurring, echoing thing of “What are you willing to do to get the power to protect and save people?” and it’s so, so good, writing wise.
Anyway, the parallels to 3.11, and to other parts of the series, and what they mean, were so, so strong in this episode. I’m so excited to see where they take everything. And I’m taking fucking notes because I can only aspire to this level of subtle characterization and parallels in my own writing.