Dude, Where's My Reward?: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

We said, 'We worked harder than this!'"''|'''Modest Mouse''', "Bury Me With It"}}

* In the [[Liaden Universe]], what do you get for saving the planet? {{spoiler|KICKED OFF the planet.}} A subversion, though, in that {{spoiler|the protagonists were kinda thrilled to no longer have the responsibility. Played straight for some of the people who helped them, though.}}

* Harry at the beginning of ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix|Harry Potter]]'':

** And then later on...

** It goes back ''way'' further than that. Harry's 'reward' for stopping Voldemort the first time was to be locked in a small cupboard for ''ten whole years'', while the Death-Eaters (Voldemort's followers) were 'punished' by becoming members of A-List society with high-level government influence. Sad isn't it?

* [[Artemis Fowl]] The Opal Deception. Despite having just prevented the destruction of Haven and stopped an interspecies war, Holly is {{spoiler|banned from attending the funeral of her mentor}}, since she's technically under arrest and awaiting a court martial.

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''The End of Time'' has the Doctor point this out. In the show's 47 year history, the Doctor has saved Earth, other planets, and the universe as a whole countless times, making sacrifice after sacrifice. Every friend he ever makes will die, while he is nearly immortal. He has destroyed his race to save the rest of the universe, making him the last of his kind. He's completely alone in the universe. His reward? None.

** What makes it all the more heart-wrenching this time is that the Tenth Doctor finally loses his temper when he realizes that in spite of all the good he could continue to do, he has to sacrifice his life (read: trigger another regeneration) to save his friend, Wilf.

Tenth Doctor: Well, of course! Look at you, not even remotely important, but me? I could do so much more! SO MUCH MORE!! But this is what I get...my reward...WELL IT'S NOT FAIR!!! }}

* [[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]] has this hard, and there isn't really anything he can do about it since magic is a crime punishable by death. He has secretly saved Camelot itself from total destruction multiple times over the course of the show. He saves Arthur's life [[Once an Episode]], often several times an episode, and aside from the exceptions that can be counted on one hand, either someone else gets the credit or Arthur never realizes his life was in danger in the first place. He's even saved Uther a couple of times, even though the guy's the reason why he has to keep his magic a secret.