REVIEW: ‘RWBY: Ice Queendom,’ Episode 11 – “Light in Shadows”

RWBY: Ice Queendom is an action/fantasy anime produced by Shaft. With Blake now possessed by a nightmare, the team makes its final bid to end Weiss’s dream and save everyone. But many of the same old roadblocks lay before them. So how will things come out differently in RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11?

A lot was riding on how this series managed to deliver its final climactic battles. With the middle episodes of the run devolving into a bit of a slough, the final confrontation needed to justify the viewer’s time and faith that Ruby, Weiss, Blake, And Yang’s journey would reward them for their patience and trust. Unfortunately, while there is some solid stuff to enjoy in RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11, it doesn’t manage to do all it needed to.

The biggest letdowns of this episode lie not in what happens but in how things happen. With several long-standing obstacles like the giant, multi-limbed Big Nicholas still standing in their way, the show needed to deliver conclusions to these threats that are both interesting and exciting. While plenty of eye-pleasing action moments are scattered throughout the story, making it a visual delight, the hows of these obstacles’ defeats feel empty and hollow.

Rather than a meaningful strategy or clever use of teamwork being utilized to see their opponents fall, the series fells these obstacles through uninspired moments where the protagonists somehow suddenly possess the power to vanquish their foes. Unfortunately, these unearned moments grant RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11‘s biggest victories with the feeling that the baddies fell, not because the heroes truly overcame them, but because the series was simply done with them and let the heroes win. As is always the case when these sorts of victories occur, any real sense of triumph is stripped from the episode due to how unearned the victory feels.

The other facet that bears scrutiny for this episode is how it handles the growth of its characters. While Ruby, Yang, and Blake can walk away from the situation with a deeper understanding of their teammate, this episode cuts any growth it could’ve delivered for Weiss out of it. Rather than allowing Weiss to learn from this entire ordeal, the series decides to short circuit that possibility, making the scenario’s impact lessened in the end. Given how much this series went through to get to here, this episode couldn’t afford to deliver any less impact and meaning than possible.

While the narrative struggles to make good on the viewer’s time invested in the series, RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11‘s visuals deliver some wonderful moments for the audience to enjoy. Flashy combat and some well-executed cinematography come together to make the more significant fight moments of the episode pop with undeniable flash.

So, when all is said and done, RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11 finds itself stumbling as it wraps up its larger narrative. With only one episode left in the run, I can’t see how the show can salvage itself after failing to live up to its potential again.

RWBY: Ice Queendom Episode 11 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.