RWBY: On The Good Ship RoseGarden

“Let joy be unconfined. Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons and necking in the parlor.” — Groucho Marx, “A Night At The Opera” (Footage courtesy of Rooster Teeth Productions)

RWBY, as a web series, has been enormously popular. It has an equally strong fandom, and now that Voltron: Legendary Defender has wrapped up, it has become the new target for shippers. Of course, there’s already been a couple among the main cast who are confirmed in all but name.

With that in mind, there is a ship worth discussing now that the first half of Volume 6 is in the books. However, it involves a character who is both a latecomer and whose participation reveals some serious changes in the plot. Thus, it’ll be necessary to put up a *SPOILER ALERT* for everyone who hasn’t seen all of the episodes already. With that in mind, I’ve put up some YouTube recommendations for those who’d rather not be spoiled right now or would like to learn about data privacy policies instead.

There, will that work? Okay, good.

Ever since Oscar Pine arrived in Volume 4, the shippers looking for an out from the shipping fights started focusing on a potential relationship between him and our heroine Ruby Rose. On the surface level, a relationship between the two seemed generally plausible. They are both the youngest members of the main group. They have generally compatible personalities. They have a reason to share the same screen, as the late Ozpin transferred his soul into Oscar’s body. And while their first encounter was decidedly booze-filtered, their initial one-on-one moment warmed them up to the shippers.

But he’s about sharing brain space with the soul of the Great and Powerful Oz. Of course, that little detail has not gone unnoticed. As Afterbuzz TV’s Megan Salinas put it rather bluntly, “Oscar on his own and Ruby, they’re very cute. I feel like there’s only a slight age difference there… it’s the fact that there’s this millennia-old man in Oscar’s brain!” But then again, there seems to be a general consensus that most of the RoseGarden shippers are operating when the show’s endgame, whereupon Oz’s soul will fade away into the ether.

Which then brings to the major focus episodes of Volume 6, “The Lost Fable” and “Lost”, which are each more interesting than their titles. In “The Lost Fable”, Oz’s past and the origins of the main villain Salem are revealed against his will. Specifically, how he was once a dashing warrior who had rescued her from imprisonment, how they fell in love, and how he died shortly afterward from the sniffles. Then how Salem got obsessed with bringing him back to life, how the Brother Gods were Greek in nature, and how a nice love story went decidedly Lovecraftian.

“Now I am dead, now I am fled. My soul is in the sky.” — William Shakespeare, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” (Footage courtesy of Rooster Teeth Productions)

From seeing Oz’s relationship with Salem played out, Oscar, Ruby and the others received practically a dozen cautionary tales at once. Unfortunately, Oscar received the knowledge that Oz had secluded himself within his mind, along with a punch in the face. Though Ruby tried to reassure him, it would be the beginning of a rough patch for Oscar’s time on the show — and the fans knew it.

Because Ozpin couldn’t mentally speak for himself, and his soul inhabited Oscar’s body, the latter became a lightning rod for everyone else’s rage. And who could blame them? After all, Ozpin has had a long reputation for withholding important information from everyone else. They had devoted their lives to his fight, losing limbs and loved ones in the process. And now they’re being told he can’t defeat her? No wonder they’re frustrated, and they take it out on him.

So when fans went into the most recent episode, there was an air of expecting the worst. Oscar had run away from the group, likely because of the aforementioned pummeling. The rest of the group has a general air of tension, because of his disappearance and their troubles in trying to enter Atlas. In doing so, the other three in Oscar’ “team” (a confirmed couple and one half of a tragic love story) reaffirm their commitments to the cause of protecting their world.

“Frightened? Child, you’re talking to a man who’s laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe…I was petrified.” — “The Wizard of Oz” (Footage courtesy of Rooster Teeth Productions)

And ultimately, Oscar just had to step out of the house, not run away. Admittedly, it was to buy combat gear and groceries (That’s got to be a RWBY OST tribute band name), but the intention is stronger than the actions. He is ready to pull his weight, to prove his worth in the struggles to come. Ruby also asserts herself as the moral leader of the quest, even calling out her own uncle out on his pessimism.

That’s essentially why people pair Ruby and Oscar together. There’s also a humorous edge to it, as many of the older fans tend to treat them as if they were their own children/younger siblings. Rooster Teeth may have never promised their fans a rose garden in RWBY. But by God, a good chunk of the FNDM is trying to make one grow and bloom.