Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-14061097-20160420195004/@comment-14061097-20160429035628

'''Found this on a reddit thread; definetly a good read on some rules of effective ressurection. It uses Pyrrha for an example but they pretty much apply for any character on the show.'''

"These are, what I believe to be, the necessary ingredients for a properly done resurrection, one that doesn't diminish the importance of death. Firstly, however, I don't believe the method of resurrection to be as important as some may think. The method is something the writer needs to decide, it must fit with what has already been established but every story will have its own method. The fact that V3 introduced magic makes the method even less important.

The primary objective is for death to still have meaning therefore the resurrection needs to be an event that can't be repeated because it requires something unique that cannot be reproduced. This something doesn't need to be tangible, it might be a set of circumstances that are extremely unlikely to occur. This prevents the "let's resurrect everyone" problem.

However in order for the original death to be meaningful there needs to be some sort of sacrifice, either permanent or temporary.

There must also be a significant amount of time that passed between the original death and the resurrection (as in at least 1 Volume if not more).

The secondary objective is to avoid the question that appears whenever a general form of resurrection exists: "Why is character X so special?"

There must be no ambiguity in the tie between the resurrection and the character.

However if the writers feel brave they can choose to tackle this question head on. In that case they can't be afraid of giving a wrong answer because this question doesn't have a good answer. It is impossible to stay rational in the face of being able to bring back loved ones.

For these examples I'll use Pyrrha because her resurrection is by far the most discussed. If anyone is willing to implement these ideas into their own stories they are welcome to do so. I claim no ownership over these ideas.

Example 1a: Jaune has great power and can bring Pyrrha back however it will consume all of his power (except his aura) and thus he will forever lose his semblance.

In this example Jaune's power is what makes the resurrection possible, something that cannot be repeated and also serves as a sacrifice. Given how important the character's semblance is in combat I feel it's a fitting sacrifice.

The reason why he can bring Pyrrha back specifically can be explained by their auras being bound because of what she did in Emerald Forest (which is by no means a new idea). Jaune's "power" is something that the writer needs to decide. This idea is mostly based on the theory that Jaune is somehow connected to the Hermit from the story of the four maidens.

Example 1b: Same as before but Jaune has a choice of who to bring back. For the sake of argument let's limit the options to Pyrrha and Summer. This could be a major conflict between Jaune and Ruby. Ruby can either beg him to bring Summer back while Jaune selfishly chooses Pyrrha or she can let him decide.

Example 2: Pyrrha is brought back by the Salem's faction and is corrupted/brainwashed/grimmified to attack human settlements and cause fear and panic.

This one's a special case because it's done by antagonists who are expected to have aces up their sleeves. It is up to the writer if this process is reversible or not. If it is it serves as a good opportunity for Jaune to save her. If it isn't then the resulting story will obviously be a tragedy, which isn't bad thing in itself. Credit for this one goes to /u/RenoWolf200 and /u/danielr1341 who proposed this idea in /r/RWBY/comments/4f2xm8/should_rwby_have_a_bad_ending

Example 3: Pyrrha's brought back but she has amnesia or she remembers everything except Jaune.

Implications of this would be obvious. It would be tragic as this Pyrrha is not the same as the one he knew but it also carries with it a lot of possibilities."