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I revisited this brilliant Jaune analysis here and something occurred to me...
In the last part of the post linked above, there is a nod to Pyrrha's legacy through Jaune:
It would give additional meaning to Pyrrha's story by making her instrumental in saving the world, not because of her prowess as a fighter, but through her relationship with Jaune. In the end, her major contribution would be thanks to that young love which was cut short by her premature death and that nobody of the People in ChargeTM considered as important.
And thanks to this post, I have now realized that v9 may have given us a small clue that this could well be the intended course for Jaune's arc and Pyrrha's legacy.
Think of it this way: RWBY has emphasized ever since the very beginning of the show that "there will be no victory in strength." Time and time again, we see how raw strength, while useful in some fights, is not enough to secure lasting victory nor is it enough to save the world from the division stoked partly by Salem and partly by humanity's natural inclination toward fear and distrust. The heroes of the story do not prevail because they are the strongest in a fight, even if some like Yang are indeed quite strong. They prevail because they choose love and trust over and over and over.
Just as the Blacksmith said, true balance cannot be forced or calculated, but it comes about through love and the patience to see things through to the end. I've mentioned it before as a beautiful lesson that gets to the heart of everything in RWBY, and it once again might prove crucial regarding Jaune Arc and his role in the story.
Now what does this have to do with Pyrrha? Well, Pyrrha Nikos was the best and strongest fighter in her class, a famous athlete with a heart of gold. Everybody expected greatness from her, and as she lamented famously, those expectations left her isolated on her pedestal and unable to have true friendships. Hence why Jaune mattered so much to her. But more to the point, Pyrrha chose to believe in Jaune's ability as a fighter and a leader even when no one else did. Her friends didn't have much faith in Jaune's abilities, and the People In Charge didn't take much stock in him either. Yet as @aspoonofsugar points out in their analyses, it is because of Pyrrha's faith in Jaune's potential that he becomes an actual fighter, a good leader, and is slowly reaching self-realization as a hero even if it's not the sort of hero he wanted to be.
How poetic then that Pyrrha's lasting legacy is that she chose to love and nurture someone who seemed hopelessly out of his league, took the time to coach him and inspire him, and despite having her life cut short continues to inspire him to be a better man and keep moving forward.
Personal shipping biases aside, I think this is truly beautiful and a fitting tribute to Pyrrha Nikos. It's so easy to get lost in the potential of what could have happened if the "Invincible Girl" had lived, had she made it to Mistral and to Atlas, what could have been if the strongest fighter of her generation could have faced the villains that her friends did. And yet, in a subtle but remarkable way, her short arc fits the theme of the show: trust in love and have faith that good things will grow. All because she took a chance on Jaune, we might get a hero that may prove crucial in saving the world after all - by resolving what happened on that fateful night atop Beacon Tower and being the maiden at heart that Pyrrha tried to be.
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this is such incredible advice for creating any kind of art i have to put it over here to remind myself
i can't stay being a kid