REVIEW: ‘RWBY: Ice Queendom,’ Episode 6 – “Do You Have a Plan?”

RWBY: Ice Queendom is an action/fantasy anime produced by Shaft. With Yang and Blake joining Ruby in Weiss’s dream, the trio struggles together to save their friend. With Weiss not showing any signs of backing down, will they devise a way to defeat the Nightmare before time runs out in RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 6?

The trickiest thing about reviewing episodic content is the eternal struggle to balance how an episode fits in with a larger narrative against how it plays out on its own. When does serving the larger narrative excuse elements or pacing struggles that may hurt the individual episode but ultimately strengthen the story? It’s a tricky balancing act that RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 6 has forced me to tackle once again.

This week’s story does not bring a resolution to Team RWBY’s struggle against the Nightmare possessing Weiss. While progress is made and the final confrontation feels imminent, this story arc has officially overstayed its welcome at this point. Despite the episode’s pacing struggle within its own story, it does feel like the narrative is setting up a sizeable payoff that will hopefully make the slightly elongated arc worth it in the long haul.

While pacing has been this series’ biggest struggle for me over the last couple of episodes, I wonder if there is a bigger problem here. As I watch this story unfold I can’t help but feel like this arc would carry more weight if I had prior experience with the RWBY franchise. Like I need that prior knowledge, and prior attachment to Weiss, to appreciate this story and why it is being given so much focus so early on.

These issues aside, RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 6 still delivers on its big moments. From the larger-scale battles to the reflections the group has on what their struggle thus far has taught them, all the individual pieces come across well through the series’ solid presentation. I just wish bringing them all together didn’t have to take so long.

Even the individual visual elements provide so much to talk about. From the eye-catching, albeit brief, combat moments that continue to display a gorgeous fluidity in their graceful maneuvers, to the unique surroundings the show has populated Weiss’s dream with, the look of the show never fails to deliver something worth seeing.

So, how do I ultimately feel about RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 6? Even after having mulled it over while writing this piece I’m not sure of how it lands. With so many elements that come across well, it feels like it should be an entry I mostly do nothing but praise. And yet, there is something within the larger structure and pacing of this entry, coupled with the nagging feeling the show expects me to be more connected to Weiss than I am, that keeps all of these separate pieces from ever managing to come together in a way that allows them to be more than the separate elements that they feel like.

RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 6 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.