Salem knows Cinder is lying
I know I know, I said I wouldn't write theories about RWBY anymore and I probably won't after this, but I have watched this scene like 20 times now and couldn't help but feel like something bothered. I was convinced Salem knew Cinder was lying to her, so I tried to make my arguments based on logic and character knowledge.
Compare how Cinder acted to how she normally acts around Salem.
Defiant, brash, emotional, trying to blame others for her failure. Salem knows Cinder. She has been raising her, she chose her to be her vessel. Even if they don't have the connection I believe they have she is horribly attuned to Cinder's feelings, as seen when she taught her how to control her new arm and calling out her trepidation and that she was holding back etc.
This time Cinder flips the script however. She appears apologetic, trying to appease Salem by telling her she failed yet again, that she was sorry.
It's too controled, almost too innocent. Salem knows how Cinder is like when she fails and that isn't it. She knows Cinder is not being truthful. Her emotions don't match her words. And seeing as we know Salem is able to gauge some of them via the arm I'd say she can tell that with 100 percent guarantee.
Thing is, Salem doesn't care. Ruby wasn't that important to her. Nor the Winter Maiden powers. Those are Cinder's objectives. Salem wants the relics. Even if she might suspect Cinder has used the last question it is of no concern to her. Sooner or later she will find the Beacon relic.
She won't destroy this outcome by tearing Cinder down again, not when she finally shed her own identity again to fall back into what she wants her to be. Her extension.
Now some people did make the counter argument that Findet flipping the script could actually be what makes Salem fall for her lies in the first place and that she might see Cinder's different behavior as a result of her earlier punishment and uplifting of her.
While I admit that that could be the case, Salem punished Cinder in an attempt to distance herself from her past abuser, as she fell into an obvious pattern with her reaffirming: Without you I am nothing.
Something she didn't do before.
We can't forget that there is more to their relationship than we have seen so far.
With how Hazel betrayed her Salem is going to be extra on guard with her remaining followers, a fact Cinder doesn't know about yet.
There is also a thing about Salem looking into people's eyes when she wants to know the truth. Cinder did so while reaffirming that she killed Ozpin, she did so as well when Salem demanded to know if she lied to her.
This time Cinder averts her eyes pretty fast. Because she can't lie to Salem while looking into her eyes.
That coupled with her unusual behavior regarding to failure and the grimm arm would definitely tip Salem off. It's just not as big a deal to her.
And yet...something was still missing. Something obvious...and then it hit me.
Cinder told her about Ruby and her team using the lamps FINAL question. She doesn't reveal more than that. Salem could ask what it was used for to gauge what was revealed and if Cinder was privy of it, but she doesn't.
She remarks on the staff, specifically that Cinder said it was used by Ruby and co.
"You said they used the staff. I assume you rid the world of their creation. What did you create in its stead?"
Salem asked it so casually that I didn't even think about it before, but under normal circumstances Cinder would have answered differently.
She would have remarked about the portals disappearing when she used the staff herself to add more flames to Atlas, because even if Salem told her about what the staff can do...which we don't know she ever did, Cinder had the password to summon Ambrosius in the first place. And even though it wasn't touched upon that heavily theast two episodes, it is pretty much alluded to that each relic has a spirit that is summoned via their names, aka a password...or else theh would just randomly activate whenever someone holds them in their hands.
So, Cinder was able to summon Ambrosius and she also knew about the earlier creation disappearing when a new one was made.
Things she shouldn't have knowledge about...and yet she did.
She answered Salem's question and with her answer she revealed way too much...and Salem smiled contently.
