The Problem with Oscar Pine | RWBY 

"He's adorable. He's precious. I love him." *Me: instantly like the video.* *Watched the rest of the video* Me: i agree.

He's never developed onscreen, thus is more of a vehicle for Ozpin and his storyline to move the plot

If Ozpin totally takes over and Oscar is 'gone' I'm going to shank someone.

Oscar literally represents the shows issue with "character segments". These arent arcs of development, they're segments that just get resolved almost as soon as they pop up.

I like Oscar, but I definitely agree with all your points. He has so much potential - his conflict with Ozpin is super interesting - but he'll need to actually unlock said potential.

Love the character, hate the writer

A good time for Oscar to develop would be if he's seperated from the team ...maybe he gets kidnapped or something by a member of Salem's crew and while the team is running a rescue mission, Oscar asks questions, tries to put the pieces together on what this all should mean for himself, etc

I really like Oscar, and i really want to see more of him in the future. His whole situation is one of the most interesting compared to the rest of the main cast. I really hope he can get more onscreen development soon. My son deserves SO much more

Tbh I feel like Oscar should be number five on important characters right after the main four

He needs development. He is always ignored and it's getting ridiculous. I've been praying that Oz is manipulating Oscar subtly or something by making him, for example, quickly reach a conclusive decision on what he needs to do at the farm and leaving quickly. But that's almost certainly wrong, and it seems like CRWBY just don't want to develop the poor farm boy Treat the poor farm boy better RT, he deserves to be more than just Ozpin's glorified mouthpiece

Do not disrespect my son or else he’ll make a casserole

Maybe if they actually develop Oscar he can join team JNR and make it team ORNJ. They can't keep teasing me with this potential team name

I want to compare him with a similar anime character, Yugi moto. Like oz and Oscar, Yami and Yugi are tied together and share a destiny. Unlike them, Yami and Yugi are both developed characters on their own and together. So it make it a little frustrating to see oz get all the development.

the moment i heard "i love my precious farm child" i liked the video and also it was a great video

MY SON I hope M&K give him more attention, he doesn’t deserve to be a bad character. He’s just trying his best.

the cutest bestest most precious non-character

So we not gonna talk about how Qrow punched Oscar in the face, sent him flying into the tree, then Oscar has a small freak out, and gets ignored for the whole rest of the shibang?

But Oscar does have an Arc, his name is Jaune! HEYOOOOOO!

I’m so not involved with the fandom I had no idea people didn’t like him-

I really hope he encounters Whitley in Volume 7. Not only are they the same age but they're very good foils for one another. Id like to see them meet and for Oscar to help teach Whitely how to be a better person, and then for them to maybe become best friends? Then I feel like Oscar would finally be attached to another character and he could actually get some good moments by talking to Whitely about why he chose to left and how he feels and stuff. I just feel like Oscar needs someone close to him to vent his frustrations to. Blake has Yang, Ruby has Weiss, and Oscar has no one......

Oscar no joke became a reason I had a very hard time liking my hero’s by the end of the last episode so far. Here we have a child being drafted into war, and told he’s got the equivalent of a fantasy version of Alzheimer’s and eventually this parasitic entity that’s latch itself to him is going to basically ‘kill’ his identity and replace it with his own. It’s never explained well how this exchange works but if our minds and identity is all we have, yah, and ancient wizard is going to grow in his mind until he’s the one wear the kids skin and the most nightmarish part of this is Oscar possibility will never be able to tell when it happens. On top of that everyone is showing little to no empathy what so ever or emotional support for this boy as it happens, and all attempts are shut down- like with How Qrow shut down Ruby. Could u imagine someone doing that to someone ? Imagine someone trying to give comfort to a child in a hospital, but their told to not bother- they need the kids organs so they are a lost cause. How fking cruel is this?! When we had the episode where he runs away I thought we were FINALLY going to have them address the GROSS mistreatment he was being subjected to all this time, see Oscar come to terms with his supposed fate, and yet-- nope, it is solved off screen and no one owns up to this BS and we move on to the next thing. I seriously was done. I will admit this got me more than it should, I’ll own that, due to having someone in my life die in this fashion and so I really got ticked they’d use such a similar analogy and not give it the proper attention it deserves. Oscars story could have be so much more, but maybe the horrors of existential death are best left up to the writers kike the ones in Nier Automata, and RWBY should stay in their own wheelhouse if they don’t know what to do with that. XD Thanks for making this video.

Poor kid needs a break He’s been separated from his home Emotionally and physically abused by friend and foe Blamed for shit that isn’t his fault Robbed of development by the writers in vol6 Got an ass beating from Neo Was shot by Ironwood Mauled by talking grim and got no help from his close by allies And is now being tortured by Salem and Hazel He been enduring all of this while thinking up a plan to create mutiny on Salem’s team while some of our main characters are having tea in a f*cking mansion.

I think you're spot on that CRWBY are still needing to work on how to write for Oscar....keeping his key character development off camera is a weakness they gotta fix.

*Volume 7 Foreshadowing: "One day Mombi* visited a Crooked Magician called Dr. Nikidik, and purchased the Powder of Life from him, which she used to bring *Jack Pumpkinhead* to life. Tip created Jack to scare her, so as punishment Mombi brewed a potion that would turn Tip into a marble statue. That night, Tip ran away and took Jack with him. When *General Jinjur's* Army of Revolt conquered the Emerald City, Jinjur *feared that the deposed Scarecrow would return with the Tin Woodman* to take back the throne of the kingdom. Jinjur asked Mombi for help and she agreed, hoping to recapture Tip, who had joined the Scarecrow."

I wonder if Oscar's real development will start with him bringing up how he really feels about his (seemingly) inevitable future. Maybe he could say that he truly does feel like he's in the backseat of his own life.

Anyone else realize ozpins background was teased the first night at beacon when blake was reading her book "a man with 2 souls" or is it just me?

As its currently stands Oscar is nothing but a glorified WiFi connection to Ozpin. I don't like him but maybe V7 can actually make it feel like he actually matters.

I love how some people say they dropped RWBY after this Volume, but still take the time to bitch about it on Twitter. If you've seen Thomas or Hammertime's recent posts, you probably know what I'm talking about.

Oscar is a precious farm child... writing his character isn't good

6:08 Qrow: don't lie to him Ruby. We're better than that *then they go on to lie to Ironwood's face and basically do what Ozpin did to them, which causes untold amounts of damage*

I think there might be an answer for crwby's problem of Oscar's character. I present, The Oscar Short! Ta Da

Qrow, Jaune and Oscar are like invading protagonists when team RWBY should be. I mean, think of a series that has main characters that can remind you of these three, i even have three separate franchises that have them as their "hero" of the story. Edit: i don't even know if i explained myself correctly

I s2g if they don't show any character development for Oscar onscreen in volume 7, I'm starting a riot

I like him. Y'know how in a lot of the lesser fairy tales, it starts with some guy out to see the world and make his fortune? That's what Ozpin reminds me of. He's the generic hero, the Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. He's an homage to every farmboy with dreams of adventure. As an homage to the generic hero, Oscar follows the Hero's journey. We see the call to adventure- the strange voice in his head. The refusal of the call- Oscar thinks he's going crazy. Meeting the mentor- Oscar gets to know Ozpin. The first threshold- asking Qrow for his cane back. Tests, allies, enemies- Oscar meets RWBY and RNJR, learns the basics of the plot, learns to fight, is tested by the revelation that Ozpin lies. His ordeal hasn't come yet.

Hmm.. what if for the character short for RWBY they make it about Oscar and they show each of the development scenes we missed from him, sorta like what we got with the Adam character short last year!

When I started RWBY, I actually didn't really like Ozpin. He was too mysterious, vague, and shady. I wasn't too interested in him or getting to know him any better. But when I was introduced to Oscar, I quickly fell in love. I was so intrigued by his potential and plot by having Oz in his head and their conflicting goals. That's why I enjoyed Upgrade, Be More Chill, Host, and Tales from the Borderlands. Having someone in your head who has a different goal that they need your body for. I love that shit. Probably my favorite type of story just because it's so entertaining and thought provoking. How the protagonist and the host treat each other, their battle for control, their end goal and how the achieve it, how the other prevents it. So I was instantly excited when I saw that Oscar would have this in a show I already enjoyed. But then he just randomly agrees to help Ozpin, and without a goodbye which I thought was weird and disconnecting. And when me and my friend where watching the episode he returned after running away, we were deeply upset that not only did we not get any dialouge and scene with him battling having someone in his head ruining new friendships, we didn't even get to see how he got his new outfit! We paused and talked about how it felt weird and was very obvious that the writting just blew Oscar off and quickly wrote important things as a simple excuse. That it was obvious it was only revelant for future plot that he had a new look, but no real reason and explanation of how or why. And that he ran away because his feelings were hurt and he was struggling with another person in his head possibly destroying any real connection to the only people he knows in a place and combat he isn't familiar with, yet we didn't see how he dealt with those feelings and how it impacted his relationships, especially Jaune's. He feels needed for the plot as he is the body Oz is hosting in, but his story, feelings, past, and role are just ignored and the opportunity to showcase his real potential is shadowed by Ozpin. It almost feels wasteful to be treating him as background until Ozpin is needed or they talk about Ozpin's plan and mistakes. He has so much potential, yet he barely has the opportunity to really show how important he is to the overall story. I love that smol freckled farm boy, and it hurts my heart to see him be disregarded.

oscar is the best little cinnamon roll ever- *if he dies i will stop watching rwby* edit: 1:29 - i watched this part over and over ahaha

I like Oscar but I really wish he got more development ON SCREEN..

I feel that a great way to develop Oscar is having him interact with Jaune. Oscar's the only person in the group who could see Jaune as the capable warrior and strategist he is now compared to the vomit boy we knew him as. They could talk about how they both left their farms to save the world and Jaune could teach him how to sword fight, just like Pyrrha taught him. Honestly, the biggest problem with Oscar is that his fate is more or less sealed, he will either die or become Ozpin, so why care about him?

I really like Oscar, he's adorable and has incredible potential with the whole Oscar/ozpin dynamic. But I agree with your points, please let him have more on screen relevance! We are given just enough, that I don't find it disappointing, but with all that potential i really hope for much more. This season was really good, it gave characters like Ruby, Ozpin and Crow the development they needed. So I hope Oscar can get the focus he deserves next season

I’ve always assumed that ozpin won’t take over when their souls merge but ozpin will disappear and Oscar will become the main dominant personality with ozpins memories and experiences

Maybe Oscar’s story irrelevance is the story actively killing Oscar. Form the beginning the story is not letting us see what Oscar chooses to do. When faced with his first challenge of getting a ticket, Oscar is robbed of finding his own solution to the problem. Oscar is going to become increasingly irrelevant to story tell he is ripped apart completely only leaving another body for Ozpin control.

You know, I think I've mentioned this before, but I get the feeling you don't like Ozpin much XD

Sign a petiton for me to get some on screen development

I hate how right you are. I really like the concept of Oscar, but you're right-- they dont give him anything as far as an actual arc.

5:51 we all seen yu gi oh, so we used to a 5000+ years old man possessing a teenager boy.

Thomas: "Oscar has no fear of one day facing off against Salem and her forces and possibly dying horrificly" Oscar in V8: "I'm scared"

Oscar didnt leave because of oz. He was tired of his aunt "What are we having?" "Doesn't matter youre eating it anyway" "I didnt agree to those conditions" "They're a part of the living under my roof conditions." (Tell me i got that right

I mean, I actually feel like Salem got the rough end of the stick for most of the backstory. The gods are the real villains of the series, TBH.

It makes me made mad that they miss out on so many opportunities to work on his character. You stated some really valid points that I would have loved to see done. And done right.

I know oscar is gonna be important i know it it just needs time

The idea of it being Oz who compelled him to leave the farm would further deepen Oz's already questionable "greater good" mentality. Though in regards to characters talking past Oscar to Oz makes sense and is part of the disturbing implications of what Oz is doing since Crow isn't sugarcoating it much that Oscar is for most extents a vessel now. It might end up a slow burn but what needs to happen is the characters maturing into a place that they can go rogue from this cycle Oz and Salem have going, Oscar has every right to be pissed and needs to put his foot down that "this" isn't right nor should Ruby and others remain in a place that they let it go "for the greater good" cause Ozpin DOES need to be stopped since we've seen the wrecks of people from the previous generation in Raven and Crow that he has left in his wake. This sort of breaking the cycle arch has been done and could be very interesting, Ruby would fit the sort of agent to pursue breaking what she sees as an unfair and unjust cycle because she would see past the morally grey to the black and white of the matter with her simple mindset and be able to say "this is wrong"...BUT she has to mature past her current even more simple superhero mindset which gives out the standard hero speeches, and the mindset that Oz has probably used most to continue his continued war with Salem since that mindset has tunnel vision of the obvious evil and doesn't realize or perhaps rationalizes the less savory aspects of the cause their fighting for. Only furthers the case against Ozpin that those that break from this mind and refuse to rationalize either go blue screen of death from the revelation and join Salem out of sheer enraged spite, or say FU to him and the world, or drink themselves into a hole to help them go along with it cause their too aware of the realities of what their doing. Sorry if that turned into a rant, I do enjoy the sort of false good vs evil cycle being exposed narrative and seeing the characters forced to not just deal with the evil but with the truth and reality of their own side. But there does need to evidently be a pay off of the status quo of the cycle either being changed or destroyed.

this child is slowly getting his life and individuality sucked out of him and merged into some old man's soul against his will. that should leave room for good character growth, clarity and development.

I agree. And Oscar is barely even in volume 7! Like, Come On Rooster Teeth! I want more moments involving Oscar as a character!

One thing you didn't mention that made me super angry from this most recent volume was that he has one moment that could have been him actually getting agency (him taking control of the crashing plane), but then they just had to come in and say "NOPE OZPIN DID IT. OSCAR JUST WATCHED." Like come on people, let him do just *one thing*

The problem with Oscar is that he's a fantastic character with a good character arc and interesting powe- hey! Why are you moving the camera away?

I feel that If they gave Oscar all the moments his character needs/needed, then he could be one of my favorite characters.

When i first saw oscar this was my reaction Me: * drinks hot chocolate * I just protect this child with my life!!!!!!

And where are his parents??? Where???? What did they think of him just up and leaving????? ??????

Just came to this video after watching volume 7. Sorry I'm a year late! I think volume 7 did give Oscar more attention, I like his scenes with General Ironwood especially but he still has similar issues. He really needs more attention and it's frustrating because I want to see more, but he's kind of just shoved off to the side.

I think it's really interesting how Ruby was the youngest member of the main cast and constantly had to learn how to be as mature as those around her and to put her life at risk just like they did. She had people to look out for her. Now that Oscar is two years younger than Ruby about (and presumably 3-4 years younger than the rest) they're really missing an opportunity to use him as a bit of a foil for Ruby in terms of how they deal with their new situations. He deserves better.

*in a country English accent* "the greater good..."

Great points. Love this video. Your efforts matter, Tom.

Check out what they really think series it makes his character so much better

Something I've been considering for a while now: What if Oscar really isn't MEANT to have some big role in defeating Salem? RWBY in general has done a lot to subvert/deconstruct a lot of classic character archetypes. What if Oscar is basically a massive subversion of the whole 'Chosen One' archetype? He's a Chosen One who didn't actually need to be chosen. The Chosen One is always the only one who can save the day, but here that isn't the case because RWBY are the main heroines who are going to save the world. What if the point of Oscar's character is that he got CHOSEN and roped into this huge battle of good vs evil nearly against his will, only to find that there are way more capable people already on the job and he's in way over his head. He doesn't have the years of training, raw skill and talent that RWBY+JNR+Q do and he doesn't have Protagonist-cheat-codes to make up the difference. Plus it turns out the guy who 'chose' him might have been in the wrong to begin with, so now he's basically stuck in this bad situation with no easy way out. The reason we don't see Oscar's development in Volume 4 might be because his real character arc is him trying to find a place and role he can help, and maybe eventually realizing he doesn't have a place in this fight. Also, Oscar is ultimately a supporting character, and developing main characters (Team RWBY) should overall take priority over developing side characters, especially in a show like this where screen-time is at a premium.

He has so potential and writers aren't using him properly. With how the writers have been doing rwby I doubt he will get development

Oscar is only Ozpin's meat suit

I love Oscar!!! He is my baby boy!!!

Oscar is too pure for this fucked world

Me throughout the entire video: EMO PHASE! EMO PHASE! EMO PHASE!

Maybe they weren’t showing any of his big scenes because they’re saving them for a character short 🤔

I keep forgetting that he’s there until he uses his words.

I agree, I do love Oscar but he mostly is in the background a majority of the time. The focus is mostly on Ozpin. Let the farm child have his moments!

There are few characters in RWBY I liked after Volume 1, even fewer I didn't straight up hate. I didn't like Ozpin because of the "Side" I was on at the time, but even with a fresh perspective, a character being "precious" isn't exactly something I can contribute to my liking or disliking of him, as it's just a matter of his personality. Oscar was never a character to me, he was a vehicle for the writers to make the Headmaster NOT be the Headmaster anymore. You can tell via the foreshadowing in Volumes 1, 2, and 3 that a lot of volumes 4 and 5 were made on the spot, and the writing changed drastically from what was the first draft. If Oscar didn't have such a massive precedent in the story, I wouldn't have a problem, but right now he's the PRIMARY Hero, not protagonist, hero. He is Ozpin, he is Salem's eternal enemy. Ruby and or Jaune may be the Protagonists, but their stories have had more time to develop, whereas Oscar thus far hasn't existed outside of "I am Ozpin, but not Ozpin" as if there's supposed to be a well-fleshed out conflict between that. Ozpin is one of my current favorite characters in fiction simply for HOW LUDICROUSLY HORRIBLE HIS FUCK UPS HAVE BEEN. And yet, the inception of it all wasn't even his fault. I liken him to Jellal from Fairy Tail(who is conversely one of my least favorite characters in fiction), a guy who makes mistakes and has a multitude of things he's guilty for, but at the same time he takes his guilt to an unnecessary extreme, making him a highly self-deprecating character who the writer(s) never allow a moment of happiness to. Where Jellal didn't make mistakes, Ozpin very much did, but the guilt both feel over things that often weren't directly their fault is colossal compared to the guilt they ought to feel over the things they DID fuck up. The one thing they could do to literally fix Oscar's problems is to give him agency. SEPARATE HIM FROM THE MAIN CAST. Have him attempt to fix Ozpin's fuckups slowly over time, and maybe come to realize just how difficult things are.

You can grab all the time the producction gives to all those Bumblebee moments and use thdm insted on my boy having some develoment on screen

You know what will help Oscars development!! Ironwood shooting him in the fricking chest! And sending him down to his death without a second thought. Makes sense

Oh God it just clicked! Ok so I was rewatching vol3 and at the end Salem is monologuing (to ozpin) and mentions his smaller more simple soul ( like the song) this foreshadows imo that oscar(ozpin's smaller soul) is key to Salem's defeat. Victory is in a simple soul!

writing-wise, Ozpin should have possessed Jaune. It adds weight to Jaune's character, works to make oz shitty, and lends credence to Jaune's leadership abilities.

The offscreen arcs stuff made me more invested into oscar

So... I haven't watched much from you yet but I already love you (platonically of course). You remind me a lot of one of my favorite other RU-vidrs, Trickywi. She's hilarious and weird. I love her constant banter, it feels so real and like she's talking to you like you're a friend. I get the exact same feeling from you. I have now subscribed and will be an active subscriber.

Oscar: how to mishandle a character over 3 seasons 101

Oscar character short that'd be interesting if done right though...Also I wish it was Ozpin taking control but maybe pretending to be Oscar and see how the group reacts by dropping little hints of to see if they had calmed down a bit...

Glad I'm not the first person to realize that Oscar is basically the Disney Princess of RWBY. But with a creepy old man in his head.

I love Oscar but yes, your points are very valid

I think the problem is that, no matter what RT does, we're beyond the threshold of first impressions. RT has had 3 Volume to develop him and they barely did anything. They looked like they might go somewhere in V6 only to backtrack to him being stale. Whatever subplot RT had planned for Oscar is not going to get the reaction they think it's going to get. I think the best thing for RT to do, at this point, is have Ozpin become the more prevalent one of the two. Perhaps, in V7, they can have a moment where Oscar is completely useless and can't do anything to help the team forcing him to make a deal with Ozpin. They can easily have it to where Oscar comes out every once in a while when Ozpin needs to rest but Ozpin is around most of the time and, of course, the deal can be that Oscar is willing to let Ozpin use his body until Salem is defeated which he will want Ozpin to be gone. Even adding the threat that Oscar will force control back and kill himself if he finds Ozpin doing anything shady or even gets the faint hint that Ozpin will not fulfill his end of the bargain. This could force Ozpin to stop being shady and start being more open possibly leading to some development for Ozpin. Oscar will get to show he truly isn't just a fleshbag for Ozpin and is willing to end his own life if Ozpin tries anything and Ozpin is force into a situation where he can't easily lie or keep secrets. The only thing I would have to say is possibly give a nerf to Ozpin since Oscar shouldn't be in such a state where Ozpin can do everything he did during the Battle of Haven. Again this is just a broad suggestion but I really do feel like Oscar is at the Cinder stage where, no matter what they do, they won't be able to make Oscar a good character due to all the mishaps of the past 3 volumes.

I know this is a video more focused on Oscar (by the way good video), I should probably address a sort of issue I have with Ozpin that hasn't been talked about. Ozpin/Ozma has what I like to call the "Rose Quartz" problem. In that despite the story/arc being about taking someone off a pedestal, the story (and even the writers) don't seem willing to do that. And while they have tried to fix that problem in Volume 6 with his backstory with Salem, it still feels like he was brought in for the ride than being an active part in the story. Luckily everyone does get pissed off at Ozpin and is actually framed to be justified (which is honestly a relief to see an outburst feel right and not framed by the story to be wrong).

Ha! Who needs *onscreen development* when you have missing scene fics??!??!?

I thought part of Oscar’s character was that he didn’t have any real choice in the matter. “I never asked for this.” etc. His struggle, in my eyes at least, is in trying to maintain and hold onto his free will, he doesn’t trust oz, I wouldn’t blame him for completely hating Oz for all the shadiness and deception and complete lack of informed choice with any other real option. It’s taking the previous theme of choice and flipping it, with Oscar just caught up in some grand destiny that he has to follow.

Unicorn of War turned into Diamanda Hagan for a moment at the start XD Hail Hagan!

small correction on your last sentence: Ruby did get focus in the second half of V3, which V4 never followed properly up on, unfortunately

I would like to say that Oz has no control over who he merges with. The God of Light chose the parameters of Oz’s reincarnation, the only real criteria is that he merged with a ‘like minded soul’. I’m only really mentioning this as you’ve mentioned that it’s creepy that Oz merged with 14 year old Oscar in several videos, but he literally had no choice over who he merged with. Oz certainly has his flaws that he deserves to be confronted over, such as keeping the whole story from those who are risking their lives. But holding him accountable for a reincarnation process he has no control over isn’t fair in my opinion.

Is my theory that all this Oscar develoment off screen will be used for a Spin off series about Oscar But hey, It's just a theory A dumb and hollow film theory

Here is what I am hoping for Oscar in the future. I am hoping that Oscar will become more reckless and desperate to beat Salem for good. Maybe he will also make the same mistakes Ozpin made and hide stuff from the group. Maybe he will lose trust in them when Yang tells everyone that she knew Raven was the spring maiden the whole time. After all why should he trust them if they can't trust each other?

Oscar is probably my favorite character, but I wish he was more than a cute little boy and a vessel for the spooky backstory.

Will you be doing this for the other characters, like a "What to do next" video?

*THE CASSEROLE!*

I had kind of assumed that Ozpin was exerting some kind of control over him even when he's not literally in control of the body. I expected that at some point it would be revealed that he never did make the choice to leave his farm but in fact that was ozpin kind of forcing his hand and that maybe it was never even oscar talking to them, but idk if that could work after season 6.

Yes, this is an extremely OLD video BUT, I wanna say that I feel there's a prime opportunity to use the current missteps to the story's advantage. Showing his sudden shifts as a factor of the merge and thus something Oscar himself didn't get to choose to change about himself could emphasize the inherent disturbing nature of this reincarnation cycle. He was begging Ozpin to get out of his head, it tracks that one of the few things that could convince him is Ozpin's (and, in turn all of the "Ozs") own force of will.

Remember when people were hellbent on theorizing that Oscar was the Spring Maiden even though he's a boy?

Give my boy some love!