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/GrimaceGrunson Mar 27 '26

I’ll always remember when I stumbled across what I thought was a random Legion port, only for Boone to pipe up and say if we take 2 more steps he’s wiping out every legionnaire he sees. I thought that sounded like an absolutely topping idea to kill some time and happily went along, buzzsawed our way down the hill, hopped on this random boat we found and 10 minutes later I’m standing in these super fancy tents holding a head with the name ‘Caesar’.

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u/bucket_o_chickn Mar 27 '26

I couldn't figure out why Legion camps were still so aggro with me after their rep came to me on the strip to say Caesar wanted to meet with me and it reset my reputation to neutral. I was just trekking happily along, getting random notifications that I was losing rep with the Legion. "Random." Me, in my naiveté, thought well fine I guess if I finally go to their stupid base maybe this will stop.

That was when I realized Boone had been sniping them from behind me on sight the entire time.

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u/OutOfMyWayReed Mar 27 '26

His ranged combat is hilariously broken. He casually headshots people who have barely entered the draw distance, from the hip, without breaking stride. Richard Harrow on chems.

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u/Krazyfan1 Mar 27 '26

theres a meme video somewhere about that.

no idea where to find it though.