Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-410526-20160116155944/@comment-410526-20160118131131

Zolnir wrote: ... But he didn't keep his composure. Until Ozpin straighten him up by telling him to use his army, the dude was on the brink of a full on panic. You know, I know Ironwood didn't have the best mindset but this shaming is starting to get ridiculous. Ironwood was panicking/losing his cool due to the Grimm attacking and the realization that they'd all been played by Cinder. It had nothing to do with Penny (which is what Jarhead My Fur was talking about in his post; Ironwood's lack of emotional response to Penny's death). In fact, here's his face just after Penny gets violently ripped apart:



That's not the face of someone who cares that he just saw an innocent little girl violently killed. I think he's more considering his options now and how best to minimize the PR disaster this is for Atlas. To him, Penny's just a weapon and weapons are expendable. He does start panicking later, but when the Grimm appear out of nowhere.

That said, to address Jarhead's initial point, I don't think his callous attitude really says anything about Penny being able to come back to life or not really being dead. Ironwood's an army general, that means he probably isn't so affected by the deaths of people under his charge. That kind of comes with the territory of sending people to war. He has the bigger picture on his mind, probably.