Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-43917568-20191103144559/@comment-43757330-20191103154804

I have three problems with this theory. First, is that it hinges on Ozpin being an idiot and wording his question to Jinn in the worst way possible, which is an idea that I've always been extremely averse to. I mean, Ozpin is not stupid. He's incredibly old, lived through multiple eras, and accumulated a vast array of wisdom. And you're telling me that he couldn't see how badly worded that question was, when 12-year-olds on reddit have pointed it out? Come on now.

It's more likely the writers simply worded the question badly. Now, that, I can believe.

Secondly, killing Salem would amount to a subversion of the Gods' will. They want Salem to walk the face of Remnant for all time until she learns her lesson. And if there's one thing we've learned about the Brother Gods, it's that when they want something, they get it. No exceptions. They are total fascists and it's their way or the highway. Even if they were able to kill Salem (somehow), what makes you think the Brother Gods wouldn't just appear and resurrect her immediately? That's kinda been their MO.

And lastly, Ruby using her silver eyes to kill Salem would be too easy, too anticlimactic, and too obvious. Building Salem up as a Thanos-echelon baddie, only to have her easily KO'd by Ruby would be a letdown. And it would be unimaginative on the part of the writers. It's just too easy.

Personally, I believe that this ends in a twofold manner. Ruby uses her silver eyes to wash away Salem's grimm corruption, and Osma/Oscar tries to reason with her. But Salem remains defiant, and lashes out at somebody (maybe Oscar or Jaune, depending on who Ruby is most intimate with at that time), killing them. After witnessing what she's done, and seeing Ruby crying over that character's body, Salem realizes that she's become the villain and see's the parallel between Ruby and herself (mourning the loss of a loved one), which causes her to finally relent.

Or, at least, that's how I'd write it.