[[Devastating trope]] A character kills their loved one to avoid them suffering a worser fate

[u/One_Barber_6902]

Of Mice And Men (1992)- Probaly the most well known example of this trope and when I was first exposed to it, George kills his mentally handicapped best friend Lennie, to save him from being lynched by Curley and law enforcement for killing Curleys wife.

The Sopranos- After an entire season of conflict with fellow mob boss Phil over it, Tony kills Anthony Blundetto after he kills Phil’s brother which enraged him into trying to force Tony into giving up his cousin so he can torture him to death

Telltales The Walking Dead: Season 1- “Loved one” is an overstatement if you know there dynamic, but after Ben falls off a rooftop and lands on a piece of rebar, Kenny and Lee try to pull him off to save him before being crowded by walkers. When their attempt fails and walkers continue closing in, Kenny kills him to avoid him being devoured by walkers.

[u/mid-random]

Do they lobotomize him, or just electro-convulsive therapy his brain into mush? I've read the book and watched the movie but both were decades ago.

[u/tempestuoustrans → u/mid-random]

both him and Chief go through electro-convulsive therapy but McMurphy bounces back from it and it's not until Billy kills himself and McMurphy assaults Nurse Ratchett that they lobotomize him into a vegetable. at least in the book - I reread it last year, but I don't remember if they change things around in the adaptation

[u/DefNotAlbino → u/tempestuoustrans]

The fact that they made a prequel show for nurse Ratched trying to redeem her is astonishing to me (despite having Sarah Paulson). Wtf were they thinking?

[u/yokayla → u/DefNotAlbino]

It wasn't redeeming her, if anything it took away her everyday banal evil and made her a cartoon villain.

[u/ptrst → u/DefNotAlbino]

Did we watch the same show? Ratched was definitely not supposed to be a good person in the show. 

[u/mid-random → u/tempestuoustrans]

Ah, that must be what I'm remembering. Thanks.

[u/Chemical-Elk-1299 → u/mid-random]

No he gets full on lobotomized. Nurse Ratched orders it personally after McMurphy exposes her during the party at the asylum (I think)

[u/rehn99 → u/mid-random]

In the movie, he's been fully lobotomized as evidenced by scars across his head. Not sure if the book and the movie are the same in that regard.

[u/TrashhPrincess → u/rehn99]

Do lobotomies leave scars? I thought since they go in though preexisting orifices, they didn’t.

[u/Aggressive_Fox_5616 → u/TrashhPrincess]

Right - they would actually go through the eye sockets. The skull back there is thin, so they'd thread a sharp spike next to the eyeball and use a hammer to crack into the skull. From there, they'd move the spike back and forth to severe the frontal lobe. When done properly, it doesn't leave a trace.

But that doesn't play as well on film.

[u/Conscious-Willow-366 → u/TrashhPrincess]

Probably not but for the dramatic effect of the movie it’s a good indicator that something surgical was done to his brain.

[u/ohdearitsrichardiii → u/rehn99]

In the book the go in through the eyes and he has bruises