#standard disclaimer i guess- i’m not really wanting to debate w/you if you think the plot points were good; this is just my personal take..

[petracore101]

Don't you think the fallout from this finale is just like the response to vol.3? If you stayed after that why are you leaving now?

Honestly? No, I don’t really think the two responses are remotely the same. Nor were the emotional cores of the finales themselves.

(warning that this does get pretty critical, so.. yknow... dead dove, don’t eat.)

Don’t get me wrong, V3’s finale hurt. Even though a good chunk of the fandom saw the foreshadow-y writing on the wall, it still hurt. Our heroes failed, Beacon fell, Penny and Pyrrha died, and it was painful and tragic and heartbreaking. Especially coming after what was (for a lot of the fandom) a very difficult year. People took it hard, there was a lot of pain, and yeah, a fair bit of anger.

But there was nothing about the V3 finale that was unnecessary, from a writing perspective. The terrible things were the building blocks upon which the story could build- they lay the foundations for the arcs our characters needed to go through. And painful as they were, those moments were all treated with the utmost gravity and care within the narrative. Penny’s death in V3 was horrible, and that horror was reflected in the reactions of the crowd, of her friends, of Ruby. Yang’s maiming was brutal, and that brutality was reflected in the sudden style switch of the shot itself, in Blake’s desperate reaction, and in the response of her team when they reunited. Pyrrha’s death was tragic, and that tragedy was reflected in the buildup to her choice, in the efforts of her friends to save her, in the quiet sadness of her death, and in Ruby’s sorrow when she arrived too late. And in each case, we, the audience, were given time and attention within the narrative to come to terms with it. The lead up to the fall provided ample hints and foreshadowing. The groundwork was all there- we watched it unfold, saw the disaster coming before it struck. Simply rewatching the first 3 volumes makes it clear, this is where things were always headed. The tragedy was not simply that these things happened, but that they may have been prevented, if only our heroes had known some small piece of what we knew. Had seen what we had seen, as it was playing out. But they didn’t, so for them, it was all inevitable. Penny would always go cheerily into battle against an opponent who could unknowingly rip her to shreds. Yang would always launch herself at any danger to save Blake. Pyrrha would always give everything she had to protect those she loved. Even so, those moments were given such weight by the narrative. The pain of the characters and the audience was treated with care and respect, the scenes given time and a sorrowful focus as the truth of them sunk in. So while watching it play out was heartbreaking, it always made sense, always felt compelling. The characters did all they could with the knowledge they had, they just didn’t have the knowledge they needed. And even so, there was still hope. There was still light. There was still a chance for a better day.

And even while the fandom mourned, the overall response reflected those truths. We were heartbroken, but the focus was on coming to terms with the tragedy, not justifying how it was executed. But now? The conflict, the anger, the pain and frustration now? That’s not just coming from people trying to come to terms with Atlas’s fall or Penny’s death or RWBY’s plunge into the void... It’s coming from people upset with how they chose to do these things. Making Vine (who we have had maybe 1-2min worth of speaking lines from) blow himself up to save his teammates was tone deaf and lacked emotional depth, particularly after a series of events that relied on Harriet wanting to bomb a city of civilian refugees for reasons that were shakily developed at best. Turning Penny “human” just to kill her as bloodily as possible was unnecessary and cruel. And having her successfully commit suicide after a full volume of near-constant suicidal comments was just atrocious, no matter what warnings they put ahead of the ep. Having each member of RWB/Y fall (to their “deaths”, from the perspective of those still standing) after barely even landing hits on their opponents, then quickly moving on without pause was jarring and felt senseless. Lingering on Mantle and Atlas being utterly demolished but not showing any reaction from any of its former residents was callous and devoid of any emotional stakes. It leaves us with no hope, no depth, no stakes. Just shock, frustration, pain, confusion.

I liked V3 because the tragedy, the pain, it meant something. It made sense why things played out as they did, and that enhanced the tragedy of it all. But I did not like V7 or V8, because the plot points are not written to be meaningful, they are written to be painful for the sake of being painful. There’s no emotional depth to any of it, no time given to exploring the nuance of what it does to the characters involved, or narrative weight given to their response or that of the audience. The finale especially feels, to me, incredibly superficial. It is dark for the sake of darkness, like it resorts for shocking the audience as a cheap way to elicit an emotional response. And I have no interest in watching the characters I love be reduced to that kind of story. I’m not quitting the show because bad things happened. I’m out because I’m tired of incredibly serious things being treated so callously.

It’s fine if you disagree, it’s fine if you liked it, I’m not trying to ruin the show for anyone. If you continue to watch, I hope it continues to be what you’re looking for. But please do not act like those who are upset by this are simply angry it didn’t go their way. You do not have to agree with the criticisms or even understand where people are coming from. Just be kind.