I call it Stuffed In The Fridge because it aligns exactly with the conditions for the trope as it is used: a character is killed for shock value, and that's exactly what happened to Pyrrha. All of the defenses claimed by both writers and fans have been effectively disproven, so there's nothing left for function other than shock value. It was also a completely ineffective use of the "Traumatic Superpower Awakening" death trope, since the writers did nothing to establish a relationship between Ruby and Pyrrha beyond what Ruby would consider a normal connection, either shown or told. And with a trope like Traumatic Superpower Awakening, you do have to show it in some fashion. Hell, Dragonball Z got that one functionally right, and used the most effective catalyst for Goku's ascension to Super Saiyan. Where was any of that groundwork laid out in RWBY to justify Pyrrha being an effective catalyst for the Silver Eyes? Nowhere.



This has nothing to do with how I wanted it to go down, no matter how much you howl and scream at me. It has everything to do with what I know about writing mechanics, and these, in this moment, were shoddy at best, with no foundation to support what they showed, nor to support any purely subjective themes they might have been going for. It's the equivalent of turning in an academic test without showing your work. In addition, just because the other parts of the fandom "found meaning" in it, doesn't mean that the writing was of high quality. That's textbook "appeal to the majority" logical fallacy right there. And the best part of the moments leading up to Pyrrha's death? It's not about her AT ALL, which is where the inexcusable part of her death comes in. As a billed Main-tier character, she is essentially entitled to an exit that is after her ability to drive the narrative has been completely exhausted, and Pyrrha killing Penny started several character arcs for her, GIVING her more ability to drive said narrative. In addition, because we do not see how Cinder beats Ozpin (which is still weird because what little we DO see heavily implies that he's WINNING), the fight against Pyrrha is where we get to see what Cinder can do now, with the full Maiden powers. Finally, both Cinder's previous characterization as well as the fight against Raven show that she is holding back HEAVILY. Cinder could have ended that at anytime. In short: what RT presented you with was a very convincing illusion, but what it really was was, like the Red Trailer was for Ruby, a weapons/powers test to show off what Cinder is now capable of. Pyrrha was nothing more than the punching bag. And in one last piece of narrative indignation, the idea that Ruby's Eyes are fueled by the emotions coming from the desire to protect erase any significance of it being Pyrrha up on the tower at all. You can now replace her with any other character, and the entire sequence plays out the same way. Pyrrha being the victim has no significance whatsoever. She did not die as a hero. She died as a throwaway, meant to evoke emotion from you and the rest of the fanbase. What I know of writing mechanics tells me that they did not EARN that emotional output.



Finally, I'm labeling those who fawn all over the properties and personnel of Rooster Teeth and all that they do, giving slavish praise to them regardless of the quality of the material they put out RT worshipers. That's coming from three years of observation of several RWBY groups, including the main topic pages of RWBY. They're full of echo chambers.