Fatal Attraction: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Sam Spade:''' Haven't you tried to buy my loyalty with money and nothing else?<br />

'''Brigid O'Shaughnessy:''' What else is there I can buy you with?|''[[The Maltese Falcon (Film)|The Maltese Falcon]]''}}

Now and then a detective will be strongly attracted to someone connected with a crime. She (it's usually a woman) may at some point in the episode become the [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]], but if not, she's either the perp or will be suspected of being the perp. If she did it, the detective will be reluctant to believe that she's capable of such a thing until the evidence is completely damning; if she's a [[Red Herring]], the detective will confront her prematurely and lose any chance of a romance with her. Sometimes overlaps with [[Femme Fatale]], but more often she's perfectly nice and sweet until she turns around and holds the detective at gunpoint.

For the idea associated with the movie titled ''[[Fatal Attraction (Filmfilm)|Fatal Attraction]]'', see [[Woman Scorned]].

* {{spoiler|Lyle "Lockon Stratos" Dylandy and Anew Returner}} in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''.

* A [[Gray and Grey Morality|slightly weird]] [[Gender Flip]] in ''[[Darker Thanthan Black]]'': [[Hero Antagonist]] police chief Kirihara falls for [[Anti-Hero|Hei]] in his [[Nice Guy]] civilian persona, not realizing that "Li" is actually the superpowered assassin she's been chasing. However, she probably ''should'' have, seeing as she connected the two in episode 18 and got quite a few hints later during the most-of-a-day they were [[Ship Tease|hanging out together]]. {{spoiler|Since she did eventually figure it out, she probably realized it earlier but didn't want to acknowledge it.}}

** It got even "better" in ''Shikkoku no Hana'' manga. Misaki first gave Kanami's teasing a blushing "[[He Is Not My Boyfriend|panicking confirmation]]", later when she once more was a little too late to reach Hei -- thisHei—this time without [[Reckless Gun Usage|waving guns]], just ''calling'' "Li-kun!" and [[Futile Hand Reach]] -- she—she was clearly in pain.

* The ur-example is probably ''[[The Maltese Falcon (Film)|The Maltese Falcon]]'' and the ending scene where the [[Femme Fatale]] being led away in handcuffs while saying she really loves the detective is often in these examples via [[Popcultural Osmosis]].

* The (double) crux of the backstory in ''[[The Three Musketeers (1993 (Filmfilm)|The Three Musketeers 1993]]'' - Athos (Kiefer Sutherland) married the former Lady de Winter, only to turn her over to the authorities when realizing she'd been condemned for murder - then realizing she probably HAD been innocent - but was, by the time he met her again, guilty of far worse things. {{spoiler|And right after they sorted things out, she DIED. On purpose. To avoid being executed.}}

* A non-detective example, arguably, is ''[[Casino Royale (Film)|Casino Royale]]''.

* ''[[Psych (TV)|Psych]]'': If [[Fatal Attractor|Shawn shows an interest in a woman]], start tallying the evidence against her. Especially if she reciprocates. Once, he actually slept with a competing psychic before he realized that she had committed the crime they were trying to solve.

* Happens to [[Fatal Attractor|Tony]] a lot in ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]''. Once said woman turned out to be a pre-op transsexual.

* ''[[Monk (TV)|Monk]]'': In "Mr. Monk and the Other Woman", Monk has a brief romance with a woman who resembles his dead wife, but it falls apart when he accuses her of murder. {{spoiler|She didn't do it.}}

* Lady Heather's second appearance on ''[[CSI (TV)|CSI]]''. Unusual in that it doesn't become clear she's a suspect until ''after'' Grissom has apparently spent the night with her. Doesn't matter, though, as Heather's something of an absolutist and views the fact that he could suspect her at all, no matter what the justification, as a betrayal. (By the way, am I the only one who thinks "Heather" is a silly name for a dominatrix?)

* In "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes," the pilot to ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', Jessica's publisher romances her as she investigates a murder committed at his house. He did it, of course. Her disappointment and moral outrage when she confronts him are a wonder to behold.