Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-34633327-20180105193053/@comment-4134422-20180107014328

KingFubuki92 wrote: As much as I find Raven a hypocrite in most aspects, 'this was not a case of hypocrisy. She says she thinks Ozpin is a fool for fighting an unwinnable war', but this wasn't her fighting in an unwinnable war, this was her fighting a single battle to let her dumb tribe survive. She wants the relic in the hopes she can use it to hold back Salem from destroying her (Which is dumb in itself, but thats another topic), she isn't trying to fight this unwinnable war.

Also, she didn't sacrifice Vernal. Vernal wasn't a sacrifice, she was a body double. And unlike most Body Doubles, which are expendable, Raven seems to actually care for Vernal. Notice as soon as Cinder made that quip to Raven, Raven tried to stop Cinder, and she sounded anguished. Problem is, Cinder froze her. Then look at how Raven is after she breaks free. She is the angriest we have seen her. And her eyes. Maiden eyes only go on when they are using their powers, or when they are pissed beyond belief. Like when Amber was fighting Emerald and Mercury, or after Jaune managed to chip Cinder's mask. She cared for Vernal. As SYUTK put it, she cared for Vernal as if Vernal was her own daughter.

As much as I hate Raven's hypocrisy, I feel bad for her if Vernal really is dead. And I say is dead because Vernal was stabbed, not killed. She has a much larger chance of dying than Weiss did, but for now, she is dying, not dead. Back on Raven though, I've been looking at Tumblr (I know, poor decision but I was looking for fanart) and a lot of people think Raven is gonna die and give the Spring Maiden power to either Yang or even less likely, Ruby. I doubt either is gonna be the case though. I think Raven is gonna survive this, and have to make a decision. Either join the good guys permanently, or kill herself and give the powers to a more willing ally, and the latter is very unlikely. Cause right now, she has no more options of Neutrality. The heroes are severly underpowered. The tribe is all but gone. She has no other choice. She must return to her real family. (And before any of you say the Tribe is her real family, let me ask you this then. Where the hell are they now? Why aren't they at Haven helping out? They may be called family, but they aren't real family)

No, the real hypocrite in all of this is Cinder. Cinder has prattled on and on about the Maiden Power's belonging to her, that she is taking what is hers. Problem is, this power hungry bitch has stolen all of the power she has. None of it is her own, its Salem's power if anything. Even the Fall Maiden power she stole is thanks to Salem's Grimm Glove. Cinder, none of her power is actually hers. She may want power, to be strong, to be feared. Well, she isn't any of that, and never was. Her strength was Salem's Grimm, Watts Virus, Emerald and Mercury's skill, Roman's connections, Adam's forces. None of them fear her, they fear Salem, and her power has never been her own. What I tried to say is that while we're fully aware that Raven wants to stay as far as possible from this unwinnable war, the war itself will get to her no matter what she might try to pull, especially now that we know she's a Maiden herself. It's like a crab confronting a big tidal wave: The crab might bury itself but the wave will still wash it off shore.

Now, I put in question Raven actually caring about Vernal since, as we've seen with Yang ("I might not be as kind the next time we meet") and Qrow ("And which 'we' are you reffering to?"), she seems to treat others as individuals instead of actual family. And even if she did indeed care, she still let Vernal take the fall in her stead, fully knowing both were gonna be discarded. Is Raven just putting on a front to keep everyone away from her as safety precaution, while really caring for others? Only time will tell.

I'm just gonna hold my breath on the hypothetical case of Raven dying and passing the power to Yang or even Ruby because, as I just pointed out, we don't know what's going on inside Raven's mind. There's been a lot of speculation on Raven being the Spring Maiden being part of the reasons she left both Tai and Yang behind, as in keeping them away from being targeted if Raven's powers were to be found out.

But yeah, I completely agree with you on Cinder. She's nothing but a power-hungry child that only knows how to make obsidian and sound menacing, who stole powers which were never meant to be hers.