I often wonder why you would want to reboot a series, especially one that still has life in it. Perhaps you want to offer it to a new generation, who doesn’t have the time to see the original (kind of a weak argument). Perhaps you want to take it in another direction and free yourself from the past that YOU created (another weak argument). Perhaps you just want to make a profit from all this (another weak argument, but this one makes better sense). And so, we have “RBWY: Ice Queendom”.
If you are familiar with the original series, they have kept the key components of it, in that Ruby, by exhibiting her talent, is asked into the Beacon Academy, to learn how to be a hunter/huntress. It is there she rooms up with her half-sister Yang, the mysterious Blake and the condescending Weiss. Now, the original arc has been tampered with, so things are not as fractious as with the original, but the aspect of hunting Grimm takes a backseat to a very extended arc, which is the entire first season of this show.
It seems Weiss has been taken over by a Nightmare and she needs to be purged of it, by having her team enter her dream to free her of her devils. That’s the show, after we set the basics.
Now, they have played with the artwork, so it is more CGI, which does help with the action sequences. They can get very intricate and rapid-fire, so you need that flexibility to present it as best as you can. But you give up a lot in overall artistic endeavors, which means part of the quirky charm is suppressed. Also, the story tends to promote the notion that Weiss really is an elite and sneers at those she considers beneath her, which appears to be everyone. Then again, this might be a manifestation of how the Nightmare has consumed her emotions and is projecting this as a way to prevent the rest of the team from rescuing her.
In any case, I was disappointed, not only with the story, but the reason behind it. It would not have hurt the overall approach to have this as its own season, building off of what had gone before, rather than treating it as a bold, new direction for the show. Yet, it depends heavily on you knowing all that has gone before, especially with the oddity of their dorm room and the jury-rigged bunk beds that would never pass ANY safety inspection.
Personally, I would treat this as a curiosity piece, not really tethered to the series. Kind of like that one year in “Dallas” when Bobby Ewing was dead, but he wasn’t.
As to binging, I would do it. Not just to get it out of the way, but it does help, to a small extent, to move the series along. Now, there will be times that you do not fully understand what is going on, but I would just let those moments pass, as I feel things are done just to help get things done.
On a scale of 1 to 10:
Artwork 6 (Great backgrounds, the rest is weak)
Plot 7 (Interesting but lacks commitment)
Pacing 8 (Especially the action parts)
Effectiveness 7 (I can’t find a real reason for it)
Conclusion 7 (It reaches a coupler point, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service 0 (A similar show would be “Honey and Clover”)
Bingeability 9 (It needs it)
Overall 7 (Why retell the story?)
And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. We are a team.