#at this rate i fully am expecting the headmaster of Shade academy to be some sort of animated scarecrow with the IQ of a rock

[sarahshoots1st]

The most tragically ironic thing about Ironwood's fall is that Salem likely had very little to do with it, at least originally.

His panic-induced breakdown is triggered by Cinder leaving the Black Queen on his desk - but Cinder was still a rogue agent at this point. She hadn't rejoined with Salem's forces after her near-death at the hands of Raven in V5. Her plan was to throw Ironwood into a panic, because she knew he would immediately respond by sending Winter to guard the Winter Maiden - and in so doing, leader Cinder right to her.

Cinder is acting completely on her own here - nothing she does is at Salem's orders. The only reason Salem is able to jump into this scene is because Watts' bag - which Ironwood recovered after he defeated the rogue scientist - had a Seer in it, so he could stay in contact with Salem while he was in Atlas. When the Seer bursts open and Salem appears, she is quick to push on Ironwood's fears - but we're never given a reason to believe she specifically planned for this interaction to happen. She's extremely good at improvising on the spot, but that's because she's had thousands of years to learn how to play off of people's fears. The alternative is to believe that she intended for Watts to be captured just so she could get a Seer in his office, which just seems too convoluted to be true. Especially considering that Cinder's actions proved how easy it would have been to sneak the handbag into the office without having to lose one of her top agents in the process.

In his state of panic, Ironwood ultimately out-thinks himself. He assumes his enemies are more coordinated and prepared than they actually are. He convinces himself that by protecting Mantle, he was playing right into Salem's hands - opening himself up to sleeper agents, tiring his forces thin trying to defend the citizens of Mantle, etc. But Salem never had any plans to capitalize on this. Her only plan was to send Watts and Tyrian to cause panic and fear in preparation for her arrival. If Ironwood had been more sound of mind at this point, he would have realized that going through with the evacuation made the most sense tactically. Concentrating his population in one area would have meant less ground for his forces to defend during the impending Siege of Atlas.

There were no sleeper agents hiding in the populace of Mantel - but it didn't matter. Ironwood saw threats everywhere he looked, and he let his fears blind him from reality. He tried out-think Salem, plan for every possible scheme she might devise, and in so doing did her work for her. She didn't have to concoct elaborate plans - all she had to do was apply some pressure, and let humanity destroy itself. Just like she always has.

In the end, the Tin Man was unable to find a heart - just like the Cowardly Lion was unable to find his courage.