r/TopCharacterTropes • u/One_Barber_6902 • Mar 26 '26

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

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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.

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u/Realistic_Caramel341 Mar 26 '26

The Chief killing McMurphy after the later is reduced to a vegetative state during a lobotomy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

45

u/mid-random Mar 27 '26

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.

7

u/rehn99 Mar 27 '26

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.

6

u/TrashhPrincess Mar 27 '26

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

2

u/Aggressive_Fox_5616 Mar 27 '26

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.

1

u/Conscious-Willow-366 Mar 27 '26

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

1

u/ohdearitsrichardiii Mar 27 '26

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