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{{trope}}
{{quote|''[[Deadly Change-of-Heart]]: When the cold heart of a villain softens and he turns into a good guy, the plot will quickly require him to be killed, usually after maudlin final words.''
|'''[[Roger Ebert]]'''{{'}}s [http://academic.sun.ac.za/forlang/bergman/tech/glossary/ebert_glos.htm Movie Glossary]}}
In [[Redemption Equals Death]], a villain will make a [[Heel Face Turn]] and then is killed off. In ''this'' trope, the order is flipped: the [[Heel Face Turn]] happens ''because'' the villain knows that he is absolutely about to die. Usually, a character who undergoes '''Death Equals Redemption''' only lives long enough afterward to say something that shows he is no longer evil to the core, though some get to give a [[Final Speech]], or even undergo a full-blown [[Freudian Excuse]] flashback.
Occasionally, the character goes through a moment of clarity just prior to death, finally noticing something he has overlooked for the whole story. Occasionally the character realizes just how much being evil has lost him. And sometimes the character is trying to buy himself a way into heaven.
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Since the character dies shortly after the [[Heel Face Turn]], this change of heart is unlikely to affect the plot much. There are exceptions, of course; occasionally, the dying character's last words can inspire the hero or even give him a vital clue. Rarely (very rarely), they recover; in media where "recovery" is routine, the redemption might not stick much longer than the death.
Compare [[Alas, Poor Villain]] and [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]], in which the character is at least partially redeemed in the audience's eyes simply through the act of dying even though they stay a villain. [[Dying
{{deathtrope}}
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* In ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'' Raul and Daedalus both get their priorities straight just before dying.
* Quent in ''[[
* In ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' (the anime anyway), there's an unusual case with the demon Dabura, who is sent to heaven when he dies because the ruler of the afterlife wants to punish him and thinks he'd enjoy hell too much. Being around so much pure good actually turns him into a cuddly emotional guy that likes to pick flowers.
** Not to mention Vegeta in the Freeza Saga, after being beaten by Freeza and on the verge of death he throws his pride to the side begs Goku to stop Freeza, cries even and is given an ''[[Freudian Excuse]]'' for the way he acts. Although when he is finally resurrected his [[Heel Face Turn]] at the edge of death is more or less forgotten.
* In ''[[The Slayers]]'', Rezo the Red Priest's evil plan backfires on him and he is possessed by Shabranigdo the Dark Lord. However, in the end, Rezo's soul surpresses Shabranigdo's and gives Lina Inverse the chance to destroy him. As Rezo's soul departs to the afterlife, his voice thanks Lina.
* Lordgenome, previous [[Big Bad]], from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices his life]] in order to give the Team Dai Gurren a fighting chance, by converting the [[Wave Motion Gun|Big Bang Storm]] launched by the [[Big Bad|Anti-Spiral]] into energy, declaring in his [[Final Speech]] that helping build a future for humanity would leave him completely satisfied. Simon accepts Lordgenome's wish and uses the energy to either power up the titular mecha [[The Movie|or]] transform into Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
* Precia Testarossa in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] [[The Movie]] First''. In contrast to her tv version, who remained an [[Evil Matriarch]] when she died, this version of Precia [[Fond Memories That Could Have Been|realizes at the very end that she should have treated Fate as a second daughter instead of obsessing over the death of Alicia]].
{{quote|
* Souther/Thouzer in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' acts out as a man who defies love all the time and prefers being a [[Complete Monster]] [[Evil Overlord]] all the time, until he's beaten out by Kenshiro and realize he'll die. In his last breaths, he recalled his love with his master Ougai, revealing his human side shortly before he dies with his crumbling Holy Cross Mausoleum.
* In ''[[Tenshi
* Kanna from [[Inuyasha]]. She tells Kagome through a small shard Naraku's [[Achilles' Heel]] as a result of Naraku ordering her death.
* In [[Shadow Skill]], [[Power Born of Madness|insane]] [[Fallen Hero]] G is finally restored to sanity when he is forced to fight Gau in a lucid state. He self-destructs shortly afterwards as he was already a [[Paper Talisman]] [[Our Liches Are Different|Lich]] [[Living
* ''[[
* Kaiser Ryo of [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]] most likely fits in season 3. Having found out that he's dying, he spends most of the season looking for one last great duel. However, he also [[Pet the Dog|repeatedly saves his brother's life]], snaps Judai out of a [[Heroic BSOD]] with a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], and is generally loses most of the harsh, psychotic persona of season 2.
== Comic Books ==
* [[Doctor Strange|Baron Mordo]], when he discovers that he's dying of cancer. Then he's brought back to life as a villain by writers who [[Did Not Do the Research]].
** Similarly in ''Doctor Strange: The Oath'' the main antagonist manages to linger a few minutes after dying to give a conflicted Strange some counsel.
* The early run of [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] had a villain called the Changeling, who did this when he realized he had six months to live. His character later became the inspiration for the character of [[X-Men (
* In ''[[Thorgal]]'': Ogathai. He recognizes Thorgal as his son in a brief moment of clarity after being fatally shot.
* In [[Tintin
* In ''[[The Man With No Name (Fanfic)|The Man With No Name]]'', {{spoiler|the villain dies to save [[Doctor Who (TV)|the Doctor]] and [[Firefly|Mal's]] lives after begining to [[My God, What Have I Done?|regret what he had done]] and finding out he wouldn't have much longer to live because of his actions}}.▼
== Fan Works ==
▲* In ''[[The Man
== Film ==
* ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'': Rat
{{quote|
'''Fox:''' Would you have told me if I hadn't killed you first?
'''Rat:''' Never. }}
* In the ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
* The captain of the [[Big Bad]]'s ship in ''[[
* [[Played for Laughs]] in ''Blackbeard's Ghost''.
* The original Green Goblin in the film version of ''Spider-Man''.
* In [[The Expendables]], Gunner reveals to Barney all the information neccessary to succesfully complete their mission after the latter is forced to [[Shoot the Dog]] when the former goes rogue in a drug-induced homicidal rampage. Averted when it is revealed in the ending to be just merely a [[Disney Death]] after all.
* Happens in [[Hudson Hawk]]. After being betrayed and shot full of arrows, Kit Kat's final action is to loosen the ropes holding the [[Damsel in Distress]], allowing her to escape a few moments later.
== Literature ==
* Erayk Dynnys, former archbishop of the [[
* Edmund in ''[[King Lear]]''. An evil villain throughout, once he's fatally wounded in a duel with Edgar he repents.
* In ''[[Hamlet]]'', Laertes. Once he gets poisoned, he realises how low he had gone in his quest for vengence.
* In ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', Jacob Marley becomes [[The Atoner]] after death. His eternal punishment is to wander the earth while having it hammered into him what a [[Jerkass]] he was when he was alive. The chains he wears are symbols of the kind of life he led, every link a sin he once committed (and he knows ''exactly'' which sinful act is represented by which link), but he tells Scrooge that the ''real'' pain of his existence comes from looking at all the living people who are suffering, being overwhelmed with compassion and sympathy for them, but being completely unable to do anything about their situations. Marley's afterlife is a [[
* Either this or [[Redemption Equals Death]] in the ''[[Percy Jackson]] and the Olympians'' series: Percy spends book two on distrusting Luke and basically calling him evil. It is only when Luke is already about to die that Percy trusts him enough to give him a weapon (leaving Percy defenseless) so that Luke can kill himself and take Kronos with him. Afterwards, Percy treats him like a hero instead of a villain.
** [[Tear Jerker|"We need a shroud. A shroud for the son of Hermes."]]
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* For [[The Father Luke Wolfe Trilogy|Colonel Stone]], death equaled not only Redemption, but Confession and Implication as well.
* Craig Toomy's death in [[The Langoliers]] is what allows the heroes to escape alive.
* Can happen in the [[Discworld]] novels, although the redemption generally happens after death, when the deceased has a chat with [[Grim Reaper|Death]]. Despite Death's [[Catch Phrase]] "There's no justice. There's just me.", this redemption does tend to avoid an [[Ironic Hell]]. Contrast the fate of Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip in ''[[
* A somewhat literal case with Gowron in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'': Jealous of Martok's popularity, he decides to take control of the Klingon fleet and squander lives in order to gain himself political glory until Worf challenges him to a duel to the death. As a result, he dies an honourable warrior's death and Worf performs the Klingon death ritual for him.▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[24]]'' George Mason in Season 2. He is initially an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]], and then attempts to leave LA when he realizes how big the nuclear explosion will be. He is exposed to lethal amounts of plutonium. After learning he will die ''very soon'' but he is not contagious, he returns to work and takes control of the situation. He the ultimately flies the bomb to where it can be safely detonated, saving Jack and convincing him to not give up.▼
▲* A somewhat literal case with Gowron in ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'': Jealous of Martok's popularity, he decides to take control of the Klingon fleet and squander lives in order to gain himself political glory until Worf challenges him to a duel to the death. As a result, he dies an honourable warrior's death and Worf performs the Klingon death ritual for him.
* In the ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]'' made-for-tv movie ''Dark Horizon'', the Tenctonese Overseer Ahpossno spends the entire movie trying to bring back news to his masters of the slaves' survival on Earth. In a desperate attempt to stop him, George infects him with a lethal virus, hoping that the slavemasters will think this means all of the Tenctonese died of a plague on Earth. As Ahpossno is dying while en route to his masters, he has flashbacks of the happy times he shared with George's family. Ultimately he sides with his people and, with his dying breath, tells his fellow Overseers that all of the slaves are dead.
▲* ''24'' George Mason in Season 2. He is initially an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]], and then attempts to leave LA when he realizes how big the nuclear explosion will be. He is exposed to lethal amounts of plutonium. After learning he will die ''very soon'' but he is not contagious, he returns to work and takes control of the situation. He the ultimately flies the bomb to where it can be safely detonated, saving Jack and convincing him to not give up.
▲* In the ''[[Alien Nation (TV)|Alien Nation]]'' made-for-tv movie ''Dark Horizon'', the Tenctonese Overseer Ahpossno spends the entire movie trying to bring back news to his masters of the slaves' survival on Earth. In a desperate attempt to stop him, George infects him with a lethal virus, hoping that the slavemasters will think this means all of the Tenctonese died of a plague on Earth. As Ahpossno is dying while en route to his masters, he has flashbacks of the happy times he shared with George's family. Ultimately he sides with his people and, with his dying breath, tells his fellow Overseers that all of the slaves are dead.
* In ''Lost'', evil undead Sayid fights back against his brainwashing and sacrafices himself saving the lives of his friends.
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Warhammer
* ''[[Exalted]]'': By the time of the Usurpation, most of the Solar Exalted had gone [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|completely nanners]]. After being killed, most of them made their way down to the Underworld... where they found that [[Power of the Void|Oblivion]] was maybe two steps away from eating the whole thing. They united, drove back Oblivion, then passed through Lethe and re-entered the cycle of reincarnation after atoning for their sins of hubris. At least... ''most'' of them did...
== Video Games ==
* In the ''[[
{{quote|
** Whether or not the other lore characters/player population forgive him, however, is open to debate. Though Jaina seems to have forgiven him as well since he apparently kept enough of his humanity to hold onto a keepsake of their love, and Uther's spirit and Muradin felt regretful that they could not stop his [[Face Heel Turn]], and chose to remember what he once was.
* Queen Brahne in ''[[
** For that matter, Kuja invokes this trope in the most poignant way, since his encroaching mortality is what drives him over the edge to try and destroy EVERYTHING, until the last second when he has been defeated and it is literally the only thing that spurs him to any degree of redemption (and possibly the only thing that ''could'' do so).
* Lady Lilith in ''[[
* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (
* If you go to the trouble to redeem Aribeth in ''[[
* Neku in ''[[
* Faldio in ''[[
* Psycho Mantis in ''[[
* Bounty Hunter in ''[[Retake]]''.▼
* ''[[Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'': [[Defied Trope|Defied]] in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html this comic] by [[Knight Templar|Miko the (former) paladin]], who attempted to save her world by destroying an ancient gate. [[Alas Poor Scrappy|While she is lying on the floor]] [[Half the Man He Used To Be|in two very large pieces]], she is told by the founder of her order [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|how badly she'd messed things up]]. He sadly informs her that though she carried out her duty, she cannot be readmitted to the paladins, because she never actually admitted that her original mistake was wrong or did anything to fix it. ▼
{{quote| '''Soon Kim:''' Perhaps, if you had more time...but then again, perhaps not. Redemption is a rare and special thing, after all. It is [[Title Drop|not for everyone]]. }}▼
== Web Comics ==
▲* ''[[The Order of the Stick
▲{{quote|
== Web Original ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Death Tropes]]
[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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