#clover and winter parallels whaaaaat

[bmblboop]

The big thing that people tend to miss about the Ace Ops is that they are, in practice, just as Cinder said; puppets. They’re James’s status symbols, a team of charming badasses to inspire potential recruits and living weapons to strike out at dissidents. The tragedy of Clover’s death was that he didn’t even die his own man. His personal pride and morals never mattered to him, only his orders.

I may have to rewatch, but I don't recall Cinder referring to the Ace Ops as puppets - only Penny.

But I strongly agree that they are touted as the best of the best - the special operatives that work directly under the General must be one of the most coveted positions in the army. Given how much they take RWBYJNR under their wing in Volume 7, I wouldn't be surprised if they inspired other Atlas students into joining the military with their charm and skills. As for living weapons, basically confirmed within the first two episodes. "Ironwood's Personal Attack Dogs" according to Mantle-Resident and Robyn-sympathizer Forest, and by Pietro's line "What are the ACE-OPs even doing down here in Mantle? ", implying they don't usually frequent the lower city. (Ace Ops appearance in v7c1 even more sus bc they didn't even aid the grimm attack, just waiting until their targets - the kids defending the citizens bc Ironwood won't fix their wall - let their guard down.)

Clover's death is controversial for many things, and sometimes I feel as though walking-on-eggshells with this topic, but here goes:

Clover chose to follow Ironwoods orders to the letter. In doing so, he neglected to recapture Tyrian once he got loose and began causing trouble for him and Qrow. Because the Orders From The General come before everything else - morals, personal feelings, some would argue loGic - Clover chose to continue pursuing Qrow and was overpowered.

"I trust James with my life. I wanted to trust you." He says, shortly before being backstabbed by the prisoner he ignored in favor of capturing a new one.

Clover died because he was blindly following orders, but I would argue he died his own man - he didn't defend Ironwood or his orders with his final breath. Instead he wished Qrow luck in making sure James took the fall. (Or just wished him luck in general, since Qrow didn't end up playing a huge role fighting Ironwood directly, regardless it's a sweet sentiment). He still had morals and beliefs, but they would never overpower his loyalty - much to his tragic end. Winter was in a very similar spot in Volume 7 - "We must acknowledge our personal feelings" but not follow them if they contradict the General’s orders. Instead, rationalize that James knows best and believe he is right.

Fortunately for Winter and the rest of Clover's team, they came to see that Ironwood was no longer clear-headed enough to be trusted, and so, started to defy him.

#clover and winter parallels whaaaaat? #rwby v7 spoilers #ironwood critical #ace-ops #clover ebi #rwby v8 #my posts #ask bmblboop #my meta