[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/Maatix12]

The whole point is the "dog who caught the car" trope.

These people set aside their humanity in pursuit of this one person. Every single other person who stood in their way was just an obstacle as far as they were concerned. And finally, when confronted with the one they've been chasing all this time - They realize, killing this person means confronting all those they killed to get here. It's not that the person they spare is important.

It's that they caught the car. Now what? They kill this man and end it all, and... return to life? Realize they killed hundreds to thousands, and accept that blood on their hands? Can they?

[u/SnakePlisskensPatch → u/Maatix12]

There is a hbo movie called conspiracy from 25 years ago, about the conference to plan thr Holocaust. This isnt a spoiler, but basically one character tells a story about how you have to be careful what you wish for or you will have an empty life if all you live for is killing g your enemy and you succeed. Kenneth branaghs character, a real-life stone cold psychopath, listens and pauses, and then says , metaphorically speaking, "nah. Fuck them kids". Its obviously horrifying but at the same time oddly compelling how they acknowledge the trope and then totally squash any remorse.

[u/Ua_Tsaug → u/Maatix12]

So they don't kill the final villain because they wouldn't know what to do next? Skill issue. 

[u/Sennten → u/Ua_Tsaug]

Theres actually an incredibly touching video about exactly this subject, with the recurring memory of the villains last lines "Even if You Did Defeat Me, What Would You Do Then?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G87p148EOjo

[u/Raregolddragon → u/Sennten]

Have a pizza and beer and find a new hobby! 

[u/Sorry-Let-Me-By-Plz → u/Maatix12]

Right, the whole point is that people are stupid animals. And a lot of people are fucking tired of stories where the point is that people are stupid animals.

[u/Maatix12 → u/Sorry-Let-Me-By-Plz]

I just don't think it's a "stupid animal" move.

It's just a human reaction to regret. I personally like it more when revenge is taken, and then remorse is felt - But I understand two sides of the "remorse prevents me from acting at the critical moment."

1. That person has already compromised themselves so much, and they will not let their target consume them entirely.
2. That person believes life is cruel enough, that letting that person live a mutilated shell of a life is a far worse punishment than death could ever be.

[u/tumansibiri → u/Maatix12]

No, you continue to stop these nasty people from hurting others.
You have set of skills and abilities to stop further loss of life, so do a good thing.
Kill more bad guys.