Black Mage: Hey, didn't we find out a while ago that your whole purpose for stealing stuff was to get cash for the medicine for your dad's illness which we have already cured? — 8-Bit Theater When a character is revealed to have had an actual reason for his apparently villainous actions, it frames their actions in a better light. However, sometimes, the behavior continues even when the justification no longer applies. That's this trope. For example, a villain who robs banks to pay for his sick daughter's medical treatment might be reasonable, but it becomes completely irrational when the daughter isn't even sick anymore. Sometimes justified when the character has got himself so deep into whatever he was doing that it's no longer possible for him to leave, or if he's fallen prey to The Dark Side Will Make You Forget. In some cases this trope keeps the Conflict Ball rolling—we wouldn't have much of a character, after all, if we could solve his problems by just giving him whatever reasonable thing it is he wants. Other times it's a simple character quirk, or a poorly-thought-through excuse intended to make a villain sympathetic but ultimately just inviting more Fridge Logic. In some cases, it's played for comedy, revealing that the character... kind of exaggerated how necessary their actions were. Compare Chronic Villainy. Can turn into You Keep Telling Yourself That if someone calls them out on it. Compare Cut Lex Luthor a Check, which doesn't require that the villain ever had an excuse for his unrepentant villainy. Examples:open/close all folders Anime & Manga
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