Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-1599757-20151212162645/@comment-26397825-20151230043831

No, my idea is that they planned to remove RWBY from the beginning; how they went about it differed depending on who RWBY sent into the doubles and singles round.

The chips just fell in such a way that Yang is facing imprisonment. It was luck of the draw that led to this conclusion, but the plan for removing RWBY as a whole was always in the background.

Sure, she's taking down everyone who is a potential threat to her; and RWBY is on that list because they've been such a thorn in their side. Because the show (mainly) focuses on RWBY we see how they've taken steps to remove them, and the others haven't been as obvious except in plot relevant scenes. Doesn't change the fact that Cinder has made plans to remove RWBY.