Instead this episode provided us with a bit of insight into the history of their world and a major (but not entirely surprising) revelation about one of our protagonists.
Jeaune has been something of an enigma. He's physically brave, but seems utterly out of his depth, both in combat skill and knowledge. He doesn't seem stupid (he can think on his feet ) but he is bonecrushingly ignorant. While his need to have even the most basic aspects of how magic and such works explained to him in small words has certainly helped to bring the audience up to speed on the show's fantasy physics, it rather beggared belief that this fellow actually got into an elite university that specializes in the very things he is most ignorant of.
Well...all that is explained by the fact that he got in via forged transcripts. It seems that (for whatever reason) he never made it into any of the fighting schools from which beacon selects its recruits.
It gets worse...
We find this out because he confess it to Pyrrha as she is explaining that she's got confidence in him because "anyone who made it into Beacon is worthy by definition".
This means that not only has he lied on his application (no doubt grounds for dismissal), he's also made Pyrrha party to his lie. Pyrrha has been assisting him with a saint-like helpfulness that frankly approaches co-dependancy...and now, well, given that she seems inclined to keep his secret (she offers to help him get up to speed) It follows that he's set her (and potentially his entire team) up for disgrace too.
But wait...there's more!
By the end of the episode, he's also being blackmailed.
I don't see how he gets to stay in the opening credits at this point.
"Yeah, I may have chosen...poorly. "
All in all there was much better writing and character development than the rather perfunctory resolution to the Weiss/Ruby issue in episode 10.
Of course since the episode was 7 minutes long, you probably spent more time reading the post than it would have taken to watch the show so I have serious doubts regards the utility of the review.
1
I suspect that
the leader of the school knows about his forged transripts, and let him Jeaune enroll because he sees his potential.
Posted by: Siergen at Sat Oct 5 15:49:49 2013 (c2+vA)
2
I think that's very possible. Of course at some point he's got to have the neuron fire that he can't do this on his own....and none of the other peole did either.
they, after all, had teachers.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Oct 5 16:00:48 2013 (F7DdT)
3
How do you
manage to admit you don't know how to fight monsters at all, yet insist you'll learn it yourself, when the entire point of going to a monster hunter training school is to learn?
Posted by: RickC at Sun Oct 6 16:12:36 2013 (swpgw)
4
Sleep deprivation...
He's cramming and sparing and doing additional training on his own (probably a good deal of which is at night in order to maintain his secret). He''s scared to ask questions, because, while there are no stupid questions, there are revelatory ones that give away the level of ones ignorance.
He's pushing himself to his limit as we saw in the sparing match with Cardin.
At this point he's exausted mentally and physically, is suffering from sleep deprivation and not thinking clearly. The only thing he can focus on is the depths of the hole he's in and the only thing keeping him from actually jumping off the building is his pig-headed determination. On top of this the two moments of competence he displayed in episode 8 resulted in his being a squad leader so he's got an additional level of stress.
He's in the third week of boot camp but ALL ALONE.
Now, as I said, the neuron really needs to fire...he needs some training he needs to accept any bit of help he can get and not blow up at the cute, competent, redheaded hoplite who inexplicably wants to help him....when the gods smile on your idiot self in such a profound way as that, don't screw it up.
He's very close to being a complete write-off as a character, but given that extracting himself from this predicament should require a good bit of actual character development I'm cautiously hopeful.
Posted by: Brickmuppet at Sun Oct 6 18:27:52 2013 (F7DdT)
Jeaune has been something of an enigma. He's physically brave, but seems utterly out of his depth, both in combat skill and knowledge. He doesn't seem stupid (he can think on his feet ) but he is bonecrushingly ignorant. While his need to have even the most basic aspects of how magic and such works explained to him in small words has certainly helped to bring the audience up to speed on the show's fantasy physics, it rather beggared belief that this fellow actually got into an elite university that specializes in the very things he is most ignorant of. 
