Sometimes I remember that Cinder Fall is a traumatized woman. And no, I don't just mean traumatized by her childhood where she was neglected, enslaved, abused and tortured, although that stuff ought to be considered when talking about her anyway.
I'm referring to the trauma she endured at the Fall of Beacon - mostly, the psychological trauma.
The physical trauma is easy: she lost an eye and an arm, as well as her ability to speak for months (or the entirety of Volume 4). But what intrigues me more is how damaged her mindset became following what happened that night atop Beacon Tower.
Cinder did everything right. She became the Fall Maiden. She destroyed Beacon Tower. She even killed Ozpin, and while that may have been something she wasn't expected to do, Salem sure doesn't mind that much. And of course, Cinder ushered in chaos not just for Vale but for all of Remnant with her orchestrated attack. She was at the height of her power so to speak the night that Beacon and Vale were overrun by the Grimm and the Atlas military rendered impotent thanks to the virus planted in the computers. Even with the slight bumps along the way - what with the kids interfering with a Dust heist or disrupting Roman's efforts or causing the Grimm invasion of Vale to happen sooner than planned - Cinder still managed to pull off a spectacular feat, keeping multiple actors in line for the big finale. And it worked. She won.
Until the moment she got burned by Ruby in a freak accident.
Aside from the grudge against Ruby, what do you think that did to Cinder's mentality?
I know that the Beacon arc is one that sets up the cast with various cliches and expectations only to subvert or deconstruct them, and Cinder is no different. However, I will argue that Cinder was at her best at Beacon until canon proves me wrong - because at Beacon, Cinder was indeed triumphant, more so than she was in Atlas. Why? Because Cinder was PATIENT. Cinder had a plan and she stuck to it. Whatever Salem told her to do, she clearly did it right and did it well. Sure, Cinder craved the power of the Maiden, but she didn't let that get in the way of the grand plan, a stark contrast to her later actions at Haven and Atlas. Which is why I cannot stress enough that Cinder is traumatized by that night at Beacon Tower - she came away from it convinced that being patient is stupid and if she wants something, Maiden powers or otherwise, she needs to press hard and press fast. She refuses to starve, so she hates waiting now.
I think that some fans will claim that post v3 Cinder is "the true Cinder," and to some degree, that is true. We are seeing other sides to her, but I maintain that her more aggressive tendencies stem from this belief that playing the waiting game like she did at Beacon will not work. Why repeat that mistake considering what she lost personally? It's a shame because again, Cinder was at her best at Beacon: that patience and ability to coordinate others to do her bidding made her triumphant to a degree she hasn't repeated since. Will she learn to rely on others again? Will she try to be more patient and restrained?
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