Now, here's the thing: I've been complaining about how the antagonists aren't truly threatening, but in my opinion, this didn't undermine Semirhage at all in the same way that repeatedly showing the strongest Forsaken to be no match for a shepherd does - what it does, IMHO, is show that one of the antagonists can dish it out but can't take it. During that scene, I got the feeling that Semirhage truly could have carried out her threats because she's essentially a bully, but rather than dismiss her strength, skills and Talents, what Cadsuane did was break her down psychologically, which allows Semirhage to remain a threat while putting her maturity at question.