Have a question about how the TVTropes wiki works? No one knows this community better than the people in it, so ask away! Ask the Tropers is the page you come to when you have a question burning in your brain and the support pages didn't help.
It's not for everything, though. For a list of all the resources for your questions, click here. You can also go to this Directory thread
for ongoing cleanup projects.
I've never liked applying Downer Ending to installments of a series that isn't actually over (I'm assuming from context this isn't the last season), because that's really more like a cliffhanger. But this sounds more like a case of "Ray of Hope" Ending either way.
Yes, it's not the end of the show, and it's not even the end of the arc really.
Volumes 7-9 are the Atlas Arc, and have been written to flow as such. The volume that's just finished is Volume 8. We're not sure when Volume 9 will be aired yet (it's still in production), but the writers said that they regard Volumes 8 and 9 as being treated as a single season to help the story flow together.
(Source
— a YouTube link to their panel at the RTX 2020 Con; timestamp: 21:30).
On a personal level, I'm with you (I'm not a fan of using these kinds of Ending Tropes for installments); on this occasion, in particular, you may have a point about it just being cliffhanger, given the way the writers have approached the structure of the season.
Edited by Wyldchyld If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.Definitely "Ray of Hope" Ending - without that final shot of Crescent Rose, we'd assume that RWBY, Jaune, and Neo are dead, but with that shot we can be confident that they're at least alive somewhere and have a chance to get back. Without it, it'd be a Downer Ending, but as it is, go with ray of hope.
Okay, so far I've had two responses here and three responses on the discussion page (including my own). That gives me a total of 4 votes for "Ray of Hope" Ending and 1 for Downer Ending.
Do you think I should ask on Is This An Example? or will this be enough? It doesn't feel like enough.
Edited by Wyldchyld If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

There was a bit of to-and-fro on the Recap.RWBYV 8 E 14 The Final Word about whether the volume's end was "Ray of Hope" Ending or Downer Ending, so I put it on the discussion page.
Although I've flagged it with the RWBY fandom, there haven't been many responses to help reach a consensus.
Is it possible for some tropers to pop along and help decide which of the two tropes should apply?
Direct link to discussion
.