-Blake is pretty much guiding the team better than anyone else right now with her familiarity with the book and her genre savvy nature. It's cool to see since it both brings her love of literature important to the narrative and mission, and gives Blake an opportunity to take charge.
-If the hints weren't obvious in Volume 7 and 8, it's pretty obvious that Yang and Blake have a thing for each other as of this Volume.
-Weiss has been great this volume both for being open about the loss of Penny and her home (although I forget how she could've known that Atlas was destroyed since everyone was in the bridge/void dimension that the Staff of Creation guy whose name I kinda forget built), but also for her moments of comedy. She's the one who's found everything insane or ridiculous the most consistently so far and her reactions to everything have been amazing. Her characterization's at a good balance given everything that happened.
-Ruby's going through a lot... Like, 90% of her dialogue since learning about Penny's death has been in a
very reserved and either sad or bitter tone. The only times she's sounded more like her usual self is when she was trying to politely talk to the Red Prince, when he ticked her off during the sorta Chess match, and when trying to talk to (and also not lose track of) the Curious Cat. As much as they need to get home, they really all need to slow down so they can actually talk about what she's going through. Her "And stop pretending we know what we're doing..." line in particular hit me like a truck.
-Not sure what to think of Neo's Semblance yet. I have no idea how she unlocked it or if it has anything to do with the Ever After, but the fact that the Jabberwalker couldn't comprehend what it was seeing is a bad sign...
-I like the Curious Cat's personality and lines, not to mention it's design, but the fact that it keeps giving other people from Ever After a piece of it's "heart" to change their courses of action is concerning. Mostly because the Herbalist guy seemingly ****ing died seconds afterwards.
-Speaking of, I like how the Herbalist is basically a combination of the original Caterpillar and the Disney one if he were also a cryptic guide with the design of a Ben 10 alien.
-On a less story-related note, the fight at the Red Prince's chess board is a highlight of the season so far and probably my favorite fight scene from the show since RWBY vs. the Ace-Ops in V7.
