RWBY Volume 9 has finally concluded a magical and odd season that left us with questions. If you have questions too, here's an explanation of RWBY Volume 9's ending.
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So, What Is the Ever After?
Other than a fairytale realm beyond Remnant, Ever After turns out to be the birthplace of the gods who turned Salem immortal and abandoned Remnant.
When their experiments with creation became too much for Ever After, they moved on to Remnant and what came before it.
As for Ever After's Great Tree, its possible connection with Yggdrasil is more or less confirmed.
It is a place of renewal, from which people can end up in different times, locations, and, in RWBY's case, even identities.
How Did Ruby Return?
After a trip into the Great Tree, Ruby returned as herself, realizing that she was enough.
Ruby's declining mental health was a concern throughout Volume 9, culminating in her decision to drink tea with residue from the Great Tree.
This led to Ruby's transportation inside the tree.
Once there, she was presented with the option of becoming anyone she wanted and leaving Ruby Rose behind.
Ruby was tempted because her grief, her failures as a leader, and others' reliance on her were causing her despair.
After a lot of struggling, Ruby decided to return to the world as herself, with the woman residing in the tree pointing out that this girl is enough.
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What Was Summer Rose's Plan?
The finale of RWBY Volume 9 reveals that Summer Rose's last mission was a special one but not for the reasons we thought.
Before leaving, Summer lied to her husband, Taiyang, saying that she was going away on Ozpin's orders.
However, it turns out that she lied to her family as she was secretly working with Yang's estranged mother, Raven.
But perhaps she wasn't entirely honest when she presented herself as cold and uncaring.
At present, we don't know what their mission and goal was. However, this development adds layers to both characters.
It was thought that Raven abandoned her team and family with no intention of coming back.
So, why did she help Summer? Did she do it just for the sake of her former teammate, or was she working against Salem despite letting everyone think she'd defected?
And why did Summer have to lie, to Tai, who also worked with Ozpin? Perhaps she was on a mission that even they would deem too dangerous.
Hopefully, RWBY Volume 10 will have some answers for us.
Will Neo Return?
Neo went into the Great Tree, where she'll likely assume a new identity.
After thinking she'd defeated Ruby, Neo was quickly overwhelmed and disappointed, realizing she had nothing left to live for.
For entire seasons, revenge for her former partner Roman had been Neo's only goal.
With her new upgraded powers causing her to hallucinate her ghosts -- Roman included -- Neo was in a bad state.
The tree was established as a place of renewal, so fans hope that Neo will get her priorities sorted and return in some form.
Currently, it's unknown if and how she will return, but we're excited to find out.
Where Did Team RWBY End Up?
Or, more correctly, when? As the woman residing in the tree told Team RWBY, the question isn't where, but when they will end up.
Team RWBY and Jaune return to Remnant, to a desert-like setting that looks like Vacuo.
But will they return to the time just after the disastrous final battle?
The woman said that they will end up "when they are needed the most." This suggests that they might have landed at a different point in time.
Our first theory was that perhaps they could end up at a time before Salem became immortal so that they can kill her.
Of course, this is highly unlikely because Remnant was only created after Salem's actions led the gods to destroy the previous world.
Could the team arrive before the disastrous outcome of Volume 8's battle?
If this were the case, perhaps Penny could be saved. That being said, we aren't entirely satisfied with that option either.
Penny already returned once. The second time she died, she willingly sacrificed herself to pass on her powers to Winter, instead of having them stolen by Cinder.
Devastating as her death was, simple time travel to reverse it would make her sacrifice cheap.
Moreover, correcting past mistakes would be a bit too easy and undo major character development.
Because of that, we think it's more likely that Ruby and her friends will end up at a point in time that will completely surprise us.
Let's hope that Ren and Nora won't be old when Team JNPR reunites!
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