I think what’s scary about Salem is that she’s so clearly not insane. She employs insane and evil people without giving any sign of distaste, but I don’t interpret it as a sign of cruelty.

(MAJOR SPOILERS for OFF under the cut.)

As a matter of fact, from what little we’ve seen of her so far, I’d argue that it just means she’s very goal-oriented. And her goal?

Why, nothing less than the total extinction of the human species.

But not because she’s needlessly cruel. No, she condemns Ozpin for the false hope he brings. I think she sees her goal as inevitable, and right.

Which brings me to my point.

A being who seeks to bring salvation through utter annihilation. Humanoid yet monstrous, it was created for a singular purpose: to mediate the apoptosis of the world. Stoic and single-minded, it eradicates what it sees as malignant. It is here to deliver euthanasia to an impure world, and pull the plug on its failing life support.

Now who does that describe?

Yeah.

The Batter.

I suspect that Salem, like The Batter, is here to fulfill her purpose–to destroy the world. But–again–not for the sake of evil. Salem sees her destruction as a way to liberate; her condemnation of Ozpin’s false hope implies that she cares deeply about the broken condition of the world, and about its people. And, like The Batter, I find her scariest in her apparent compassion and gentleness.

I’m…scared of the dark… From now on, there will be no darkness.

Salem is Remnant’s Batter; its eugenic agent of conceptual purity. She is not cruel, but purposeful, empathetic to the suffering of the world yet dismissive of the sufferings of its people.