Tropescilloscope: I Did What I Had to Do
An after-the-fact justification for morally questionable but necessary actions. (read more at tvtropes.org)
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Captain Ersatz
Would Hit a Girl
Creator Cameo
Becoming the Mask
Brick Joke
The Hero
Villainous Breakdown
Groin Attack
Despair Event Horizon
The Bully
Big Applesauce
Red Right Hand
Chekhov's Skill
Plucky Comic Relief
Bond Villain Stupidity
Not What It Looks Like
Jerkass
Determinator
aka: The Determinator
The Mole
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
Gender Flip
Bowdlerise
All Just a Dream
Shell-Shocked Veteran
Villain Ball
Serious Business
Gory Discretion Shot
Foregone Conclusion
Evil vs. Evil
Betty and Veronica
Woman Scorned
Protagonist Title
Needs Wiki Magic Love
The Mafia
Noodle Incident
Bottomless Magazines
Police are Useless
Brainless Beauty
Easily Forgiven
Light Is Not Good
Disney Villain Death
Shut Up, Hannibal!
Adaptational Badass
Villain Protagonist
Unusually Uninteresting Sight
Unreliable Narrator
Idiot Ball
Have a Gay Old Time
Last-Name Basis
Whole Plot Reference
Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Major Injury Underreaction
Pimped-Out Dress
This Is Gonna Suck
Shown Their Work
The Chick
My Beloved Smother
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!
MacGuffin
Adorkable
French Films
Knife Nut
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead
FaceHeel Turn
Crucified Hero Shot
Naïve Newcomer
Action Survivor
Guile Hero
Vampire Fiction
Offscreen Moment of Awesome
I'm a Humanitarian
Ship Tease
Exactly What It Says on the Tin
O.O.C. Is Serious Business
Villain Opening Scene
Spanner in the Works
Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?
Instant Death Bullet
Suddenly SHOUTING!
Only in It for the Money
Leitmotif
Shoot the Shaggy Dog
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!
Let's Get Dangerous!
Casting Gag
Zombie Stories
Defrosting Ice Queen
Ascended Extra
Killed Mid-Sentence
Maybe Ever After
Badass in a Nice Suit
Fish out of Water
Back from the Dead
Advertised Extra
Brutal Honesty
Double-Meaning Title
The Sociopath
The Bad Guy Wins
Slasher Smile
Ambiguous Ending
Adaptation Distillation
Disguised in Drag
Small Name, Big Ego
Karmic Death
Soundtrack Dissonance
Scenery Porn
Film Noir Index
Intrepid Reporter
Darkest Hour
Ambiguous Disorder
Anachronism Stew
Kick the Dog
From Nobody to Nightmare
Line-of-Sight Name
The Hero Dies
The End... Or Is It?
Mundane Made Awesome
Pre-Mortem One-Liner
Manipulative Bastard
Dark Reprise
Shower Scene
Stepford Smiler
Silence Is Golden
Amoral Attorney
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Almost Kiss
Adaptation Dye-Job
Blood Knight
Hidden Depths
Artistic License Geography
Red Herring
True Companions
Outrun the Fireball
La Résistance
Artistic License Physics
Star-Crossed Lovers
Stylistic Suck
Mama Bear
Time Skip
Badass Grandpa
Heroic BSoD
Fate Worse than Death
Oh, Crap!
Big Bad Duumvirate
Disappeared Dad
Redshirt Army
Bloody Hilarious
Dropped a Bridge on Him
Irony
The Cavalry
Stuff Blowing Up
Cain and Abel
Parental Abandonment
Offscreen Teleportation
Wounded Gazelle Gambit
Didn't Think This Through
BrotherSister Incest
A Minor Kidroduction
Large Ham
Stock Footage
Tap on the Head
Hair-Trigger Temper
Badass Normal
Fantasy Films
Facial Horror
Storming the Castle
Unresolved Sexual Tension
The Big Guy
Stalker with a Crush
Overly Long Gag
Rousing Speech
Training Montage
Depraved Bisexual
Made of Explodium
Amusing Injuries
Science Fiction Films
Match Cut
Kubrick Stare
Air-Vent Passageway
Adaptation Name Change
Jitter Cam
Black Comedy
What the Hell, Hero?
Bloodier and Gorier
Tempting Fate
Loads and Loads of Characters
Romantic False Lead
Bolivian Army Ending
Arc Words
Wrong Genre Savvy
Ambiguously Gay
Pay Evil unto Evil
Captain Obvious
Flashback
Adult Fear
Credits Gag
For the Evulz
Manly Tears
Action Prologue
Hoist by His Own Petard
Central Theme
Spiritual Successor
Punny Name
Mr. Fanservice
I Need a Freaking Drink
Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday
Double Entendre
Dutch Angle
Adapted Out
Freudian Excuse
All There in the Script
Comically Missing the Point
Those Wacky Nazis
Bad Boss
Take a Third Option
Stealth Hi/Bye
Mistaken for Gay
Skewed Priorities
Bring My Brown Pants
The Chessmaster
A Father to His Men
Historical-Domain Character
The Power of Love
Ghost Fiction
Mercy Kill
"Where Are They Now?" Epilogue
Foreshadowing
Enemy Mine
The Film of the Book
One Steve Limit
Kill It with Fire
Closed Circle
Action Genre
Berserk Button
Alas, Poor Villain
Works Set in World War II
Hell Is That Noise
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
Token Minority
Drill Sergeant Nasty
Put on a Bus
Random Events Plot
Break the Haughty
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
It's All About Me
Slashed Throat
Extremely Short Timespan
Determinator
Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique
Only a Flesh Wound
British Films
Product Placement
Does Not Like Shoes
Ax-Crazy
Hollywood Darkness
Evil-Detecting Dog
Spared by the Adaptation
Conspicuous CG
Not So Stoic
Curb-Stomp Battle
Sexy Discretion Shot
Cool Old Lady
Properly Paranoid
Beauty Is Never Tarnished
Body Horror
Ms. Fanservice
Black Best Friend
The Ace
Never Found the Body
Fun with Acronyms
BFG
Parental Neglect
Big Damn Heroes
The Faceless
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?
Jerkass Has a Point
No Name Given
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
Overprotective Dad
Sadistic Choice
Immune to Bullets
Evil Laugh
It Will Never Catch On
Abhorrent Admirer
Real Life Writes the Plot
Blackmail
Ripped from the Headlines
Once More, with Clarity!
Documentary
Scare Chord
Antagonist Title
Hate Sink
Be Careful What You Wish For
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
Neck Snap
Bi the Way
Malevolent Masked Men
Adaptation Expansion
Cat Scare
Based on a True Story
Room Full of Crazy
Shout-Out
Interrupted Suicide
Villain with Good Publicity
Romantic Comedy
Annoying Younger Sibling
Improbable Weapon User
Sequel Escalation
Big-Bad Ensemble
Corpsing
Reality Is Unrealistic
Moment Killer
Heroic Sacrifice
No Celebrities Were Harmed
Left the Background Music On
Monumental Damage
Sealed Evil in a Can
Older Than They Look
Evil Is Hammy
One-Word Title
20 Minutes into the Future
Guns Akimbo
Playing Gertrude
Rewatch Bonus
Fake Shemp
Freeze-Frame Bonus
Married to the Job
Rich Bitch
Informed Ability
Bar Brawl
Man on Fire
You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!
The Atoner
Silent Movie
Drives Like Crazy
Gainax Ending
Pragmatic Villainy
Dark and Troubled Past
Never My Fault
Fanservice Extra
Madness Mantra
The Dog Bites Back
Kick the Son of a Bitch
Film Series
Cool Shades
Rule of Funny
Those Two Bad Guys
Cool Old Guy
Sole Survivor
Death of a Child
Nothing Is Scarier
Even Evil Has Loved Ones
All Men Are Perverts
Beard of Evil
Belligerent Sexual Tension
Every Car Is a Pinto
Disproportionate Retribution
No Antagonist
From Bad to Worse
Dramedy
Those Two Guys
Unwitting Instigator of Doom
Trailers Always Spoil
For Want of a Nail
It Can Think
The Un-Reveal
Exact Words
Expy
Anguished Declaration of Love
Loophole Abuse
Distracted by the Sexy
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner
Ominous Latin Chanting
Novelization
A.I. Is a Crapshoot
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
Historical In-Joke
Crazy Jealous Guy
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
Dirty Coward
Really Gets Around
Same Language Dub
Author Appeal
Retirony
Drugs Are Bad
Yandere
Rated M for Manly
Hypocrite
Soft Glass
The Stoner
Television Movie Index
Nice Hat
Eureka Moment
Shirtless Scene
Off-into-the-Distance Ending
Early-Bird Cameo
Deal with the Devil
The '60s
Redemption Equals Death
NO INDOOR VOICE
Cool Car
She's Got Legs
Psycho for Hire
Taking You with Me
Only Known by Their Nickname
Make It Look Like an Accident
Poor Communication Kills
Abusive Parents
Mugging the Monster
The Lancer
Deadpan Snarker
Reality Ensues
Diabolus ex Machina
Only Sane Man
Rule of Symbolism
Get Out!
Our Vampires Are Different
Awesome, but Impractical
Dramatic Gun Cock
Together in Death
Fatal Flaw
Death by Adaptation
Stealth Pun
Deconstruction
Bound and Gagged
Deliberately Monochrome
Gorn
Worthy Opponent
Eiffel Tower Effect
In Name Only
Gone Horribly Right
Failed a Spot Check
timeperiod
Visual Pun
Smoking Is Cool
How We Got Here
And I Must Scream
Slasher Movie
Affectionate Parody
Evil Plan
Take That!
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome
Revenge
Department of Redundancy Department
Fire-Forged Friends
Getting Crap Past the Radar
Military and Warfare Films
Pretty Little Headshots
Composite Character
The Vamp
Posthumous Character
Apocalypse How
Scenery Gorn
Eye Scream
The Place
You Killed My Father
Race Lift
All Girls Want Bad Boys
Non-Indicative Name
Downer Ending
Broken Aesop
Developing Doomed Characters
Darker and Edgier
Camp Gay
Black and Gray Morality
Death by Sex
Precision F-Strike
Due to the Dead
Henpecked Husband
Fan Disservice
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
Better to Die than Be Killed
Pretty in Mink
Obviously Evil
Insane Troll Logic
Setting Update
Bond One-Liner
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
Even Evil Has Standards
Cassandra Truth
Blatant Lies
Title Drop
Papa Wolf
Lock and Load Montage
Adaptational Villainy
Mighty Whitey
One-Man Army
And the Adventure Continues
Twist Ending
Bavarian Fire Drill
Taking the Bullet
Laughing Mad
Recycled IN SPACE!
Hero of Another Story
Agony of the Feet
Retcon
Meet Cute
Punch-Clock Villain
Reasonable Authority Figure
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!
Spiteful Spit
Earn Your Happy Ending
Anti-Hero
Up to Eleven
Not Even Bothering with the Accent
As the Good Book Says...
Sacrificial Lion
Heroes Want Redheads
Five-Man Band
Video Credits
The '80s
Gilligan Cut
Toilet Humour
aka: Toilet Humor
Empathic Environment
Rule of Three
Music Stories
Honor Before Reason
Intergenerational Friendship
Martial Arts Movie
Four-Temperament Ensemble
An Arm and a Leg
Beware the Nice Ones
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
Mystery and Detective Films
Index of Film Westerns
Dull Surprise
Motor Mouth
Humans Are Bastards
The Dreaded
And Starring
Obstructive Bureaucrat
Costume Porn
Dogged Nice Guy
Adaptational Heroism
Mr. Exposition
The Great Depression
Creepy Child
The Cameo
Serial Killer
Not So Different
Bald of Evil
Suspiciously Similar Substitute
The Musical
Red Shirt
Destination Defenestration
Armor-Piercing Question
Frame-Up
Tranquil Fury
Animal Motifs
The Load
Bullying a Dragon
Final Girl
Contrived Coincidence
Black Dude Dies First
Well-Intentioned Extremist
Neck Lift
Chiaroscuro
The Oner
Everyone Has Standards
Death Glare
Artistic License Gun Safety
Running Gag
Girl-on-Girl Is Hot
Chewing the Scenery
She Cleans Up Nicely
Australian Movies
After the End
Epic Fail
Show Within a Show
An Axe to Grind
Riddle for the Ages
Love Triangle
Bilingual Bonus
Broken Bird
Men Are the Expendable Gender
Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer
Handicapped Badass
Celebrity Paradox
The Alleged Car
Expository Hairstyle Change
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
Deus ex Machina
Meaningful Echo
As Long as It Sounds Foreign
Undying Loyalty
No Ending
Truth in Television
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas
Sanity Slippage
German Films
Not Using the "Z" Word
Faking the Dead
Catapult Nightmare
Re-Cut
Auto Erotica
Lampshade Hanging
Authority Equals Asskicking
Unspoken Plan Guarantee
Dies Wide Open
Coming-of-Age Story
Big Fancy House
Karma Houdini
Alliterative Name
Dissonant Serenity
Adaptational Attractiveness
Famous Last Words
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil
Grey and Gray Morality
Eldritch Abomination
Your Cheating Heart
Knight Templar
Camera Abuse
Red Eyes, Take Warning
He Who Fights Monsters
Broken Pedestal
Race Against the Clock
Names to Run Away from Really Fast
Roaring Rampage of Revenge
"Shaggy Dog" Story
Dark Action Girl
Kill 'em All
Cat Fight
Asshole Victim
Did Not Get the Girl
The Alcoholic
Never Trust a Trailer
aka: Trailers Always Lie
Film Noir
Jerk Jock
I Have Your Wife
Big Bad
Manchild
Made of Iron
Ironic Echo
Creative Closing Credits
Kids Are Cruel
folderlabel
Took a Level in Jerkass
Evil Sounds Deep
Anachronic Order
Eyepatch of Power
The Starscream
Cold-Blooded Torture
Does This Remind You of Anything?
Call-Forward
Calling the Old Man Out
Meaningful Name
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
The Lost Lenore
Award-Bait Song
Big Brother Instinct
Beta Couple
Decoy Protagonist
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Card-Carrying Villain
Bait-and-Switch
Genre Savvy
Drowning My Sorrows
Green-Eyed Monster
Rule of Cool
Canon Foreigner
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good
Love at First Sight
Bloodless Carnage
Curse Cut Short
Self-Deprecation
Improbable Infant Survival
aka: Infant Immortality
Bittersweet Ending
Mooks
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
"Well Done, Son!" Guy
Horror Films
Aluminum Christmas Trees
Pragmatic Adaptation
"The Reason You Suck" Speech
Foil
Affably Evil
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!
Bunny-Ears Lawyer
Not So Above It All
Red Oni, Blue Oni
Bland-Name Product
Evil Brit
Sir Swears-a-Lot
Refuge in Audacity
Bare Your Midriff
Wham Line
Demonic Possession
Villain Song
The Un-Favourite
aka: The Un Favorite
Would Hurt a Child
Epic Movie
Combat Pragmatist
What You Are in the Dark
Boom, Headshot!
'80s Hair
Hong Kong Films
Psychopathic Manchild
Covers Always Lie
Hope Spot
HeelFace Turn
Parental Incest
Took a Level in Badass
Evil Is Petty
Spell My Name with an "S"
Rasputinian Death
I Just Shot Marvin in the Face
Historical Villain Upgrade
Deliberate Values Dissonance
Ungrateful Bastard
Horror Comedy
Your Head A-Splode
Flipping the Bird
Fainting
Dying Moment of Awesome
Canadian Movies
Vomit Indiscretion Shot
Early Installment Weirdness
Pet the Dog
Important Haircut
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
Femme Fatale
Pun
aka: Incredibly Lame Pun
Arch-Enemy
Dumb Blonde
My God, What Have I Done?
Vitriolic Best Buds
Here We Go Again!
Attempted Rape
Paper-Thin Disguise
Cloudcuckoolander
Accidental Misnaming
Hypocritical Humor
Gold Digger
Grievous Bottley Harm
More Dakka
Batman Gambit
Slap-Slap-Kiss
He Knows Too Much
Scary Black Man
Meaningful Background Event
Fingore
Only One Name
Nice Guy
Country Matters
Sinister Minister
The Voiceless
Italian Films
Mood Whiplash
N-Word Privileges
Plot Hole
Retired Badass
Reality Has No Subtitles
Domestic Abuse
Damsel in Distress
Implacable Man
Cluster F-Bomb
The Ghost
Vomit Discretion Shot
Heel Realization
Parental Substitute
Evil Counterpart
Greater-Scope Villain
The Stinger
Sequel Hook
Defiant to the End
Say My Name
Chekhov's Gun
Rape as Drama
War Is Hell
There Is No Kill Like Overkill
Extreme Doormat
The '90s
Faux Affably Evil
The Smurfette Principle
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
Cool Guns
Accidental Murder
Actually Pretty Funny
Market-Based Title
The '50s
Catch-Phrase
Improbable Aiming Skills
Not Quite Dead
The Remake
Totally Radical
In the Back
I Did What I Had to Do
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!
Sassy Black Woman
Leave the Camera Running
Mad Scientist
Laser-Guided Karma
Artistic License Law
Aside Glance
Lighter and Softer
Disney Death
Anyone Can Die
Hollywood Law
Car Fu
Throwing Your Sword Always Works
Arranged Marriage
Badass Bookworm
Babies Ever After
Dirty Cop
All for Nothing
Wham Shot
Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other
Funny Foreigner
Suspiciously Specific Denial
Demoted to Extra
Half the Man He Used to Be
The Stoic
Dark Is Not Evil
Dramatic Irony
All There in the Manual
MayDecember Romance
The Ditz
Chekhov's Gunman
Action Girl
Reckless Gun Usage
Straight Gay
Fantastic Racism
Genre Throwback
Eagleland
Character Development
Framing Device
Alpha Bitch
Superhero
Daddy's Girl
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
Wicked Cultured
Dirty Old Man
Badass Boast
Gratuitous English
Thriller
Big Eater
Heterosexual Life-Partners
Artistic License Biology
Cruel and Unusual Death
Missing Mom
Logo Joke
Dwindling Party
Leaning on the Fourth Wall
Screw This, I'm Outta Here!
Break the Cutie
Dual Wielding
Public Domain Feature Films
As You Know
Corrupt Corporate Executive
Fourth Date Marriage
Big "NO!"
Russian Films
Cowboy Cop
Male Frontal Nudity
Recap /
RiffTrax
aka: Riff Trax Movies
Author Avatar
Mexican Standoff
What Happened to the Mouse?
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
Vacation Films
Badass Longcoat
Imagine Spot
Happily Married
Artistic License History
Roger Ebert: Great Movies List
Death Seeker
Sci-Fi Horror
Off with His Head!
Improvised Weapon
Our Zombies Are Different
Sports Stories
Too Dumb to Live
A God Am I
Crazy-Prepared
Narrator
No OSHA Compliance
Shipper on Deck
Driven to Suicide
Continuity Nod
Naked People Are Funny
Psychological Thriller
Hero Antagonist
A Date with Rosie Palms
Politically Incorrect Villain
Peek-a-Boo Corpse
Friend to All Children
Mythology Gag
The Dragon
Biopic
It's Personal
Smug Snake
Book-Ends
Obfuscating Stupidity
Chase Scene
"Awesome McCool" Name
Bury Your Gays
In Medias Res
Real Life
Funny Background Event
Victoria's Secret Compartment
The '70s
Jump Scare
Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
Animal Title Index
The Smart Guy
Morality Pet
Call-Back
Tagline
Never Trust a Trailer
Actor Allusion
Ass Shove
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience
aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience
B-Movie
Daylight Horror
Adults Are Useless
Danny Peary Cult Movies List
Insult Backfire
Insistent Terminology
Face Death with Dignity
The Casanova
Pyrrhic Victory
Genre Shift
Mind Screw
Woman in White
Good Is Not Nice
Artistic License Military
Anti-Villain
Toplessness from the Back
Translation Convention
Children Are Innocent
An Aesop
Historical Hero Upgrade
Humiliation Conga
Age Lift
Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene
Blood from the Mouth
Fanservice
Japanese Films
The Reveal
Bad "Bad Acting"
Hooker with a Heart of Gold
Fiery Redhead
Dressing as the Enemy
My Greatest Failure
The Quiet One
Word of God
Animated Credits Opening
Crapsack World
Homage
Death by Irony
Christmas Movies Index
Black Comedy Rape
Fat Bastard
Butt-Monkey
Fatal Family Photo
The Brute
Super Strength
No-Sell
You Have Failed Me
Establishing Character Moment
World of Ham
Wretched Hive
Police Brutality
Male Gaze
The X of Y
As Himself
Unusual Euphemism