RWBY has come a long way since 2013 when its episodes were short and its budget was small. Now at the end of its ninth volume, RWBY has moved well away from its fun storylines and wholesome activities. It has since explored numerous dark plots that have introduced and exposed new threats, while pushing existing characters to new limits.
Fairy tales have always inspired RWBY's characters and concepts, but the show's darkest storylines have dismissed any notion of a happy ending. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang have endured so much already, but fans know to expect further grief and pain for RWBY's main characters.
Spoilers ahead for RWBY Volume 9.
10 The Fall Of Beacon
The Fall of Beacon was a major turning point for RWBY. The show had established the Grimm and Torchwick as threats in the first two volumes, but Volume 3 escalated the stakes with Cinder causing chaos and panic. Cinder manipulated the Vytal Festival so that Pyrrha would face the secret android Penny, which resulted in the latter being torn apart by Pyrrha's Semblance.
Everyone at Amity Colosseum and those watching the live broadcast saw Pyrrha destroy a girl, and this fear attracted hordes of Grimm. The Battle of Beacon threw the students in at the deep end as they fought for their lives. Everything and everyone changed after these chaotic episodes, as Cinder killed Pyrrha and Yang lost an arm.
9 Humanity Versus The Faunus
RWBY is by no means the first show to feature tensions between humans and animalistic races, but in Remnant, the discrimination gets out of hand. Bullying at Beacon Academy escalated to discrimination within Atlas high society and the Faunus uprising as RWBY's themes went down a darker path.
As the Faunus of the group, Blake learned to embrace her Faunus identity and live with humans, but not everyone was able to do that. Adam Taurus killed and manipulated his way to lead the White Fang in the assault on Beacon and tried to blow up Haven Academy.
8 The Blake, Adam, And Yang Triangle
Blake was once a member of the White Fang and Adam Taurus' partner. However, she feared what Adam had become, as he sought bloody revenge over justice and equality. When Blake left to attend Beacon Academy, Adam grew obsessed with finding Blake and punishing her for leaving him.
Adam allied with Cinder and the Grimm, and he came to face-to-face with Blake at the Battle of Beacon. There, he tormented Blake and even mutilated Yang in front of her. Adam's pursuit of Blake was toxic and despicable. Even after Blake had fended him off at Haven Academy, Adam kept tracking her until she and Yang eventually put him down.
7 Salem's Origin Story
Volume 6 explored RWBY's lore and developed characters. Ruby's group pushed toward Atlas to deliver the lamp they fought so hard to obtain, but on the way, they meet Jinn and the group's trust starts to deteriorate. Against Ozpin's wishes, Ruby asked Jinn to tell them about Salem's origins, and she obliged.
Salem had once tried to deceive the Gods into reviving her deceased lover, Ozma, who cursed her with immortality to teach her a lesson. Salem grew to embrace the darkness and hatred, knowing that obtaining four Relics would give her a chance to see the Gods once again. Salem's selfishness has destroyed countless lives, as Ozma tried to fight against her and unite humanity through numerous reincarnations. It makes for one seriously dark cycle.
6 The Apathy At Brunswick Farms
The Volume 6 reveal of Salem's apparent indestructibility really stopped RWBY's titular team in their tracks. Everyone other than Ruby was ready to give up as they stopped for a rest at Brunswick Farms. Everyone grew tired and Qrow resorted to heavy drinking.
However, Maria discovered and revealed that a horrifying kind of Grimm lived under the village who amplified the exhaustion and negativity. The Apathy could drain a person's will, which is what wiped out the previous inhabitants of Brunswick Farms. In one of the darkest scenes, resident ice queen Weiss saw dead bodies in the beds, and the Apathy themselves were even more terrifying.
5 Haven Academy's Lack Of Huntsmen
Arriving in Mistral at the end of Volume 4 was a blessing for Qrow, Ruby, and her crew, as it gave them time to rest and plan their next move. They reunited with Weiss and Yang and met Oscar. However, when they finally made it to Haven Academy, Qrow quickly discovered that something was wrong.
Haven's Headmaster Lionheart lived up to his inspiration from the Cowardly Lion and joined Salem's forces, giving up the locations of all Huntsmen in the kingdom. Salem then had her lackeys kill them all, leaving families without mothers and fathers, and Haven Academy without protection. Salem later killed Lionheart when he tried to flee her wrath, so Haven didn't have a Huntsman presence thanks to his betrayal.
4 Ironwood's Paranoia
General Ironwood once allied with Ozpin and Qrow, bringing his army to Beacon and the Vytal Festival for protection. He fought valiantly at the Battle of Beacon, but the catastrophic aftermath led him to retreat his forces and defend his own kingdom.
Ironwood's paranoia became common knowledge, but when he finally reunited with team RWBY in Volume 7, he seemed calm and grateful for the extra support. However, when he learned that Ruby kept secrets from him, he flipped and quickly became an outright antagonist until his later demise. Ironwood was so focused on getting Atlas away from Salem that he neglected Mantle and even threatened to bomb it if Penny didn't comply with his demands.
3 Penny's Hard Luck
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Not many characters get die twice, but Penny certainly did. Volume 1 introduced Penny as an android who posed as a normal girl. Her wholesomeness and enthusiasm were delightful, but these traits made her apparent death at the end of Volume 3 all the more devastating.
Volume 7 revealed that Penny was alive, as her father fixed her up after the Battle of Beacon. Penny went from being the Protector of Mantle to becoming public enemy number one and later becoming the Winter Maiden. Penny finally became a real girl to get rid of a virus that Watts planted in her, only for Jaune to kill her soon after. Penny's second death was absolute and left serious marks on Ruby, Winter, and Jaune.
2 Ruby's Breaking Point
RBWY's Ruby Rose was always the beacon of hope and the one everyone looked to for inspiration, so it was only a matter of time before such pressure would prove too heavy for her young shoulders. The cracks began to show through Volume 8, but Ruby completely snapped in Volume 9.
The Ever After gave Ruby time to reflect on her failings back in Remnant, but unlike her teammates, she was unable to accept herself. Neo made Ruby's crisis even worse, as she tortured the poor girl with illusions of Ruby's fallen friends, like Penny, Ozpin, and Pyrrha. Ruby's "I don't want to be me anymore" was heartbreaking as she offered herself to the tree for ascension.
1 The Fate Of Silver-Eyed Warriors
Ruby discovered her Silver Eyes at the end of Volume 3 and later learned more about the Silver-Eyes Warriors and how to control the power. However, the more Ruby learned, the quicker she understood that they originated from the God of Light and that Salem was hunting them down.
RWBY's reveal that Salem's Hound Grimm was actually a Silver-Eyed Faunus re-ignited Ruby's worst fears: that her mother may have met that same fate. The idea of Salem experimenting on these powerful warriors for her own benefit is one of the darkest concepts to come from RWBY.