Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26173711-20200204212304/@comment-4134422-20200205234127

Ozpin's speech put it best: The central conflict of this volume was what people do within fear's clutches. But arguably, the most afraid person in this volume... was Ironwood himself.
 * RWBY+co repeated Ozpin's mistakes dreading what the leader with arguably the biggest amount of power in Atlas would do once Ironwood knew there's possibly no end to this war, how they found out and who kept it secret all this time.
 * The Ace-Ops and Winter following orders without ever questioning them knowing what could happen if they acted against them.
 * Qrow trying to not get close to others because of what his Semblance could do to them.
 * Robyn and the Happy Huntresses stealing supplies after what they assumed was a hit on their leader.

Thinking all the way back since he was introduced in V2, he's always been critized by many characters left and right, even conceding so towards others during V7. He managed to make things go his way... and every time, one way or another, something goes wrong. Every decision has made things go from bad to worse despite having good intentions at heart... which only makes him more frustrated over time.

That eventually got to him. He was so afraid to be told he was wrong that he's not willing to listen anymore that it's possible he'll start to shut down anyone who disagrees with him... just like he did with Oscar.

Many say Ironwood indeed trusted RWBY+co throughout this entire volume, however there was always something that felt off about it: Ironwood gave them everything they needed and was friendly towards the cast... but only when they followed his lead or did what he wanted them to do.

''"You've never trusted anyone other than yourself!" "And for good reason! (...) If Oz had listened to me from the start..." - Jacques and Ironwood in V4, E11 "Taking Control"''

Now... did Ironwood really trust them as much as everyone claims?