Tropescilloscope: Freudian Excuse

A traumatic incident (whether some abuse by a deranged parental figure or something else) that makes a villain or any character the way they are. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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