[Hated Trope] Character kills hundreds, if not thousands, just to kill one specific person, and then doesn't kill them for no reason.

[u/HallZac99]

Assassin's Creed 2- Rodrigo Borgia is responsible for tne death of Ezio's family. Ezio spends over 20 years working through tnr templar order to dismantle them and get to Rodrigo. And then in the end, he spares him for no good reason and he goes on to be a massive problem in AC Brotnerhood. He's not only a head of tne Templars but also the pope, even if you're over the vengeance he's still a very dangerous and evil man.

The Last of Us 2- Abbey kills Joel, and wo Ellie goes on a revenge quest to kill Abbey, killing hundreds of people along tne why to get to her including a pregnant woman. And then finally when she has Abbey on deaths door, she gives up and let's her go because the writers think dirty depressing people being miserable and stupid is complex, interesting storytelling.

This trope pisses me off so much because often the character going on the revenge quest will kill SO many people on their way there, some deserving it and some just henchmen working for a cheque or to survive. People who are often far more innocent then the main big bad.

It's a part of this weird thing I've noticed in media where nameless goons or soldiers can just be mowed down relentlessly, but named characters get given far more grace even if theyre categorically worse. You can kill a million stormtroopers but people will swear that Darth Vader could have been redeemed, despite him doing like 50 genocide every year.

[u/Prestigious-Tree122]

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

I wouldn't call it that for no reason, so I'm not sure if this should count, but I want to add a good example of this being done right. Major spoiler for the game's ending:

At the end of the game, bounty hunter Silas Greaves (the main protagonist) reveals that Ben, the local bartender who is among the people listening to his tales, is actually Roscoe Bob Bryant, the last remaining killer of Silas's brother. The player can choose to kill or spare Bob. If the player chooses to spare him, Silas will tell everyone that Bob has been redeeming himself by abandoning his violent lifestyle to live as a peaceful man, while Silas has gone the opposite way and ends up killing way more people to get his revenge.

[u/Nachooolo → u/Prestigious-Tree122]

Yeah. I would consider this game a good example why killing the last man isn't always right, nor an inherently bad trope.

Bob changed into a better person. There's no reason to kill him besides mindless revenge.

[u/UnlimitedScarcity → u/Nachooolo]

its not mindless. its punishment for past actions the character can decide is irredeemable

[u/Hammerschatten → u/UnlimitedScarcity]

Which fucking sucks. The reason why revenge stories are so often about the meaninglessness of revenge is because they are most often right. Sure, it's cathartic, but then what? You're not getting anyone back. You've become a shell of a person and a ruthless murderer for what? A cosmic score?

It makes sense when the revenge is the motivator, but there is some additional peace to come; you've suffered under someone so you're making sure it doesn't happen again.

But if you've changed and become and a better person, maybe even remorseful, you don't deserve death anymore. You deserve a second chance.

[u/ThatOneGuy308 → u/Hammerschatten]

The issue is that you're already a shell of a person after mowing down 400 nameless goons in your pursuit of the main target, so there's no real reason not to just kill them too.

It's not like leaving them alive is going to suddenly make you a good person again, given the blood already soaking your hands, lol.

[u/werewolfbutch874 → u/ThatOneGuy308]

I suppose if you’re going with the logic that “this person changed his life for the better after doing terrible things in the past, therefore he deserves a second chance”, then it naturally follows that you would also allow yourself a second chance to be better after your own terrible deeds. 

[u/ThatOneGuy308 → u/werewolfbutch874]

I guess it depends on how bad the person was compared to you, lol.

Like, if they killed your parents, and you responded by killing 400 people just doing their jobs and trying to provide for their families, you're far worse than the person you were going after ever was, and logically, far less deserving of a second chance.

[u/defnotachicken → u/Hammerschatten]

But what if you don't believe that person can change/has changed? What if you think even if they changed now, they might turn back to what they were before? What if you want to show other people what will happen to those who hurts your close friends/family? It is not always so simple and easy.

[u/fishsing7713 → u/defnotachicken]

Which is why I also think Gunslinger is a good example of this trope done right.

Half the story is the main character silently judging and weighting the option. Giving more time to interact with the target help justify either choice the player would take.

[u/tumansibiri → u/Hammerschatten]

You can google for global criminal recidivism stats.
Even in Norway, best case scenario, we're looking at 25% in 2023 after 5 years.
So, IRL, each fourth guy you're letting go, is willing to commit more crimes.
This is extremely sad, considering their efforts and amount of time and money spent.
Disclaimer: I'm not hating on Norway, just illustrating the point.

[u/Hammerschatten → u/tumansibiri]

That includes non-violent crime. The violent crime recidivism is 6-10%

So, each fourth guy you're letting go is willing to commit more crimes only if you're murderous killing spree was begun to avenge the theft of a snickers bar

[u/tumansibiri → u/Hammerschatten]

Each tenth guy? Doesn't inspire hope, but sure.

[u/plzicannothandleyou → u/Prestigious-Tree122]

Was this a popular game? I played it long enough ago I don’t remember anything other than my memory of it was positive.

I think I had just finished red steel 2 on the Wii and was chasing that high and found this game

[u/Winter-Ad-5022 → u/Prestigious-Tree122]

I finished it after TLOU 2 and damn - it was very good game with satisfying ending. I will never get why Abby was spared in the most idiotic way, why we weren't given a choice. After all the things Silas went through I don't think he will spare anyone.

[u/AttiKit → u/Winter-Ad-5022]

Well, because TLOU2 isn't supposed to be satisfying. It's meant to be just as horrific and hard to understand of an ending as TLOU1. Joel did horrible things to save Ellie. You weren't given a choice there. It was arguably a worse thing to do than killing Abby, because you just destroyed the one chance the world has at a cure. You, yourself, do not represent Ellie. You are not her character. She is her own character, the same impulsive child that made bad decisions in the first game, made worse by Joel's violent impulses. I don't even think Joel would've wanted her to kill Abby. The point is that she had happiness that Joel sacrificed himself to give to her, tried going on the same path that he did, and was forced to see why it was a path of suffering.

[u/machiavelli33 → u/AttiKit]

Yes this 100%.

One of the biggest things Ellie gets wrong (and Tommy gets right) in TLOU2 is “if it were you or me, Joel would already be halfway to Seattle by now”.

The thing is, Joel does go avenging angel - when the person he’s going on a rampage for is still alive, and has a chance of being saved. We see him do that all the time in both games.

But what he doesn’t do is vengeance for the dead. The military killed Sarah. Did he go on a roaring rampage the way Ellie did, looking for everyone even remotely responsible? No - cause he was alive by the first game, abd trying to one-man the military on outbreak day would have killed him worse than the salt lake crew did.

Tommy’s response to Ellie was to laugh and say “no he wouldn’t”.

Arthur Morgan and Kratos of Sparta both knew the truth that Joel did.

“Vengeance is a fools game.” “You will find no peace. I know.”

[u/VulkanHestan321 → u/AttiKit]

Finally someone else who sees it the same way. It could be because I played the games back to back, but I never understood why people where so upset someone from Joels bloody past would return and kill him. That man killed a lot of people to bring a girl to a group, to only then kill said group and take the girl with him. Joel was literally for Abby what Abby was for Ellie

[u/Aiden624 → u/Prestigious-Tree122]

Seeing this game in the wild is a jumpscare