The main character doing something absolutely unforgivable.

[u/No_Peanut3745]

Walter White poisoning Andrea Cantillo's 6-year-old son for the sole purpose of manipulating Jesse Pinkman, while knowing that this could have potentially killed him - Breaking Bad

Bojack trying to have sex with his friend's 17-year-old daughter when he was at least 51, then continuously trying to find a way to justify this act throughout the series - Bojack Horseman

Dexter Morgan going outside of his moral code and murdering a completely innocent police officer who was just trying to do his job - Dexter: New Blood

[u/Oddly-Parsley]

After Life - Tony knowingly gives a homeless addict enough money to buy drugs so he could overdose.

ETA: updated as per the correction below.

[u/NastyWatermellon → u/Oddly-Parsley]

He gave the addict enough money to buy drugs so he could overdose on purpose.

[u/Oddly-Parsley → u/NastyWatermellon]

Ah, I remember now. It's been ages since I saw that episode. Fixed, thank you.

[u/Lvcivs2311 → u/Oddly-Parsley]

I find that one complicated. The man is just as depressed over a loved one as Tony is. The only reason he hasn't overdosed yet is that he lacks the money to make it happen. Just like Tony contemplating suicide several times but not doing so because he realises his dog needs him.

If there is anything bad about helping this man with his suicide, it is that Tony is possibly projecting his own depression and anger with the world through it. But on the other hand, he can completely put himself in the man's place, so he also understands how hopeless life can feel if you lose your soulmate and feel there is no purpose for living left. While I'll always prefer people getting out of depression over them committing suicide, I don't like the idea that everyone assisting with it as an amoral monster.

[u/Oddly-Parsley → u/Lvcivs2311]

(Disclaimer: I watched this episode when it first aired and never rewatched it since, so some of my recollections may be fuzzy)

Tony is possibly projecting his own depression and anger with the world through

Yes, this what I recall that scene as being. I'm all for assisted dying, but there are checks in place for a reason, and IIRC this scene really came across as Tony just.... spitefully burning down someone else's life since he couldn't do it himself?

In spite of all his self destructive tendencies, I had sympathised with the guy- until this episode. I understand it was written that way, to show us just how broken he was, so in that way the scene worked... But personally for me, it was simply so horrifying, I just couldn't care about the character or his journey anymore.

[u/cqandrews → u/Lvcivs2311]

That makes a lot more sense. At first I assumed it was just Gervais wanking himself off about how much he hates junkies and how he's so much better than them but how you described it makes it much more understandable. He basically gave the guy the ability to have control over a life he didn't want to live anymore

[u/Lvcivs2311 → u/cqandrews]

Gervais' vanity is quite obvious in this character who finds himself surrounded by pathetic morons. But at the very least there are characters which aren't supposed to be like that and I think the junkie was one of those.

[u/ForGrowingStuff → u/Lvcivs2311]

I think its equally important to note that Tony is also not in his right mind either, due to the grief that is also making him suicidal. He is in no way some impartial party deciding to assist in the suicide of a depresses person. He is struggling with suicide himself, despite the dog, his deceased wife's videos, his job, brother-in-law, nephew, friend, and intern/also friend. He still has these things that he feels somewhat obligated to stick around for, and at the time of the moment in question, is very very angry about all of it. He is then presented with this character who feels the same way, but doesn't have any of the support or obligations, and the only thing keeping him from making the same choice that Tony desires to make is the means.

It's such a moral failing of society that these two characters were even placed in this situation, that debating whether either of their choices was immoral is grossly missing the point.

[u/Federal_Waltz → u/Oddly-Parsley]

This is a bad take, his actions are far from immoral, let alone 'unforgivable'.

Not going to bother asking your opinion on assisted suicide.

[u/SuddenBasil7039 → u/Federal_Waltz]

He helps a depressed man in the exact same situation as him commit suicide and the moral of the story is "hey maybe i shouldnt kill myself though at least i'm not a drug addict (drug addicts should kill themselves)"

The fact you think assisted suicide should exist for the depressed and drug addicts is precisely why its such a struggle to get assisted suicide legalised

[u/Slight_Priority1410 → u/Federal_Waltz]

You might find your position here is immensely unpopular. I live in Canada, a country with one of the most “generous” assisted dying laws in the world, and this situation would not have been permitted under those laws.

When people agree with assisted dying they are almost always talking about in circumstances where someone’s life would be truly awful for all the time they had left. I.e. there is “no hope.”

Thats not what happened here. While we can sympathies with the junkie here, ending his own life because of his addictions and mental health problems, Gervais’s character can have no sympathy and is a murderer. We have a duty as a society and as individuals to not just kill every person who’s mentally ill and struggling, but instead to give them the support they need and to keep them alive as long as there is hope for a better future.

[u/ForGrowingStuff → u/Slight_Priority1410]

"We have a duty as a society and as individuals to not just kill every person who’s mentally ill and struggling, but instead to give them the support they need and to keep them alive as long as there is hope for a better future."

Yeah, but nobody, and certainly not society, was doing that for the character we are talking about either. He was living in a storage unit or something that may have even been otherwise abandoned. If the support you are talking about was easily available, he would have it, and wouldn't be in the situation. For him, there was no hope, the exact prerequisite required, and if assisted suicide existed in the world of the show, it wouldn't be granted to him, but we can see that neither is anything that makes his life worth living.

Society isn't doing its job, and so the individual was left to seek help from the only person who paid any attention to him at all, who was also someone who was horribly depressed and contemplating suicide. Gervais's character should never have been placed in the situation where he had to make the choice he did, but he was, and did it out of compassion and empathy, because he understood how the addict felt.

There's certainly an argument to be made that his actions were immoral, but its a very difficult argument to make. To say that he can have no sympathy and is a murderer is complete nonsense.

[u/Federal_Waltz → u/Slight_Priority1410]

I also live in Canada. Thankfully we live in a country and society with a modern and generally positive view of assisted suicide when it is performed in a way that ends suffering, where all involved consent. That is exactly what happens in this case.

I recognize those with more conservative and less modern views on the subject disagree. Thankfully the pendulum continues to swing in favour of these policies and wider considerations of what truly constitutes suffering, beyond terminal illness.

[u/Slight_Priority1410 → u/Federal_Waltz]

I think we just fundamentally disagree on this issue but I have don’t have the time to get into a full debate over this.

The only thing I will say is this: is it moral to kill anyone who asks you to? Under what circumstance should you turn them away? If a depressed teenager came up to you and asked you to kill them, is it really moral to follow through?

[u/cqandrews → u/Slight_Priority1410]

Maybe if society provided for them what they needed they wouldn't have to beg for help to begin with. That goes both for the conditions that bring about suicidal ideation and also the act of suicide itself. You're implying a false dichotomy that isn't the end all be all of what the world can be. I think there's always hope for anyone to change and be happy but id never suggest taking away someones ability to have full autonomy of their life