Tropescilloscope: Karma Houdini

Character gets away with foul deeds while avoiding justice. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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