Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-2601:603:4F00:C360:84C3:164:CC2E:30E1-20200128221549/@comment-43756665-20200208070817

ReikaTachyon wrote:

If Atlas doesn't fall and Salem doesn't score a temporary win in V8, then team RWBY is offically the most OP group of Mary Sues ever created in the history of storytelling, this show is a fanservice receptacle, and Monty's legacy is destroyed. I actually agree with this, harsh as it may be, mainly because I don't think the show can survive if Salem's first personal foray results in failure. It is essential to initially build the big bad up as an unstoppable force. If Salem walks into the fray and immediately gets her ass handed to her, especially considering that she's invincible, then it minimalizes her and robs the heroes of a worthy adversary. And since there's nobody in Remnant more powerful than Salem, this is really their only shot to set up such an adversary.

The second reason why Salem has to win, and the heroes have to lose in V8 is simply because they're due for a loss. The cornerstone of any narrative is to set up a group of protagonists and then throw stones at them. Team RWBY and friends have barely had a few pebbles tossed in their direction of late. They need to be pelted with some sizeable nuggets in the near future, or I fear they absolutely will become a group of textbook Mary Sues (if they haven't already).