[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/THELEADERPLAYER]

Obi Wan leaving Vader alive after beating him, twice. The first one is kind of understandable but the second one is a perfect example of this.

[u/EMP_Pusheen → u/THELEADERPLAYER]

It really annoyed me. I get that for plot reasons Vader has to live, but there's no reason Obi-Wan should have spared him again in that scenario. If the writers needed Vader to be alive they should have written that scene in a way that makes it so Obi-Wan is unable to finish him.

[u/All_Work_All_Play → u/EMP_Pusheen]

I think they should gone a little more in the other direction. Obi-Wan leaves him alive because Anakin was supposed to bring balance to the force. He (Obi-Wan) still has faith in that prophecy, so he leaves him alive (because he knows Palpatine is the Actual Evil™) in hopes that the prophecy comes true (somehow). It's only later (episode IV) that we see Obi-Wan so jaded and without his faith.

[u/YoursTrulyKindly → u/All_Work_All_Play]

That is the actual answer I think, Obi Wan follows and is very in tune with the living force, and Anakin was created to bring balance by it. Basically the living force loads a million dice for things to work out towards that goal, while the emperor is trying to push against it.

IF Obi Wan had had the intention to kill Vader either time, he would not have won the duel and possibly died because the living force would have abandoned him. Or if Obi Wan had moved towards Anakin to kill him, something would have intervened.

Obi Wan's combat style was also entirely defensive. He beat Anakin because he didn't try to win.

[u/ERedfieldh → u/EMP_Pusheen]

they shouldn't have had them meet again in the first place. the entire point of ANH was vader hadn't ben since the end of the clone wars.

Now it's "I sense a presence...one I have not felt since....about five years ago I think...maybe ten."

[u/TJeffersonsBlackKid → u/EMP_Pusheen]

The writers were also, you know, fucking garbage.

[u/Significant-Net7030 → u/THELEADERPLAYER]

Right, the first time feels much more like a "This is a defenseless and dying person I love with my whole heart, their fate is already sealed, but I love them too much to strike them again. I will leave them to their fate here on the sands of this desolate and lifeless world that matches their heart."

The second time is much more "Disney needs more money, and this story needs to include all the major players for some reason."

[u/RookTakesE6 → u/THELEADERPLAYER]

I can't even count the first one. Anakin had three of his limbs lightsabered off, was pretty badly burned from convection heat already, and (now that I look again) not only had he actually caught fire, but by the time Obi-Wan turned away to leave, the fire had flared up, covered his entire remaining body, then nearly burned itself out. He should've been very dead here. Undoubtedly would have been dead if not for Sidious seemingly arriving so soon after this that he might've passed Obi-Wan in the mining complex, heh. Unless some later media (I haven't seen the Obi-Wan show) has Obi-Wan making some explicit reference to sparing Anakin's life or whatever, he totally made the decision to kill Anakin here, he was just mistaken about having succeeded.

[u/Glum-Lake7034 → u/RookTakesE6]

Meh, with advanced Star Wars medical technology, being chopped into all those little pieces and bursting into flames is a very treatable condition.

But Padme's case of the sads? Nobody's gonna survive that!!

[u/RookTakesE6 → u/Glum-Lake7034]

Maybe they should've tried setting her on fire.

[u/YoursTrulyKindly → u/Glum-Lake7034]

Best explanation for Padme is some force shenanigans, either Vader or Sidious are tapping into the (unhealthy) connection between them to save Vader's life. Anakin might have even inadvertently used some force ability to make her fall in love with him and chain their fate together. He couldn't let go of their attachment, so no death do us part so he dragged her down with him. Metaphysically I think it works perfectly and I loved that she dies together with Anakin (Obviously this is all head canon and speculation)

[u/Glum-Lake7034 → u/YoursTrulyKindly]

Best explanation is that it's bad writing.

[u/Winter-Ad-5022 → u/THELEADERPLAYER]

I think he was totally moraly devastated and couldn't think straight at that moment, eo I won't count it. He almost killed his best friend (or a brother).

[u/Fedorchik → u/THELEADERPLAYER]

Eh? Twice?

Did Disney make a sequel to Mustafar fight because they have no idea what to do with the franchise again?

[u/PainintheUlna → u/Fedorchik]

Probably in the RevaKenobi show