Talk:Neopolitan/@comment-6003266-20160530083546/@comment-410526-20160530124541

You're right in saying that they shouldn't aim for audience-induced apathy. I'm not saying everything should become Grimm and dark, but realistically I think to show everyone cooperating would be unrealistic.

After seeing their friends slaughtered by the soldiers of an allegedly friendly Kingdom and then being attacked by Faunus terrorists, the natural response of the people of Vale would absolutely not to start trusting each other more. That would be a ridiculous Disney response. Just look at the paranoia that became rampant after 9/11 and after other terrorist attacks in real life, especially ones perpetrated by a racially-motivated group (which tends to cause polarization, intentionally or not). It's not pretty, and it'd be unrealistic if they showed it being pretty.

But that doesn't mean everything has to become Grimmdark with no source of hope. A protagonist could provide that hope to the people and unite them again, but in order for that to be an effective narrative the disunity has to be present first. Doesn't necessarily have to happen in Volume 4, either. They're going to have to return to Vale to retake Beacon Academy from the Grimm eventually, it could happen in tandem then.