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{{trope}}
Examples of [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}]]s in [[{{SUBPAGENAME}}]] include:
* Laura Collins in ''[[Dark Shadows (TV series)|Dark Shadows]]'', a phoenix-like being who appears every hundred years and then burns herself to death, preferring to take any offspring with her. She's prevented from killing her son David, but still presumably goes on to try again every hundred years.
* Happens on at least two occasions in ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'': Both the Akritirians in "The Chute" and the unnamed alien from "Persistence of Vision" come off none the worse for their crimes.
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** The Viidians who stole Neelix's lungs. Janeway catches them, but then lets them go with a warning... ''and with the lungs''.
** Their second appearance is even worse: They abduct three crewmembers, experiment on one, use them all as slave workers and ''murder'' one of them (the [[Red Shirt|non-regular]]) and Janeway's response? Grab the ones that are left alive and make a run for it, leaving several other guest characters, including one that provided incidental help to the crew, behind as slaves.
* Several of the defendants on ''[[Law
** ''[[
*** Actually, it does happen in ''SVU''. Usually with rich folk as well. Perhaps not as common as the other ''L&O'
**** This, thankfully, doesn't apply to the episodes other villains. The dad of the first {{spoiler|real}} victim is sent to jail for witness tampering, so he's unable to enjoy the money he made off of his sons molestation, and the grandmother of the "second victim", who not only ruined the case by lying about her granddaughter's molestation, but had been keeping her sick to the point where she literally had only a month to live, is charged with fraud and attempted murder.
*** A good (and not rich) ''SVU'' example is Darius. He sets up [[The Plan]] to seek revenge on his family and ensure that he gets away with at least one murder. He still fully expects to go to jail, but he knows he won't get nearly as much time as he should. In the end he is found not guilty and walks away scot-free. That said, it was a [[
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'':
** Harmony, the soulless vampire from ''[[Angel]]'' has killed people, and even betrays Angel in the end. But since she was so predictable about it and useful in an [[Affably Evil]] way, he not only let her go but types up a written letter of recommendation. (She was his secretary.)
** A far worse example from the Buffyverse would be Drusilla. Even after killing slayer Kendra and forcibly turning Darla into a vampire again, she was never staked and is still at large as both series closed.
** Russel Winters in the ''[[Angel]]'' pilot "City Of..." openly brags about being a [[Karma Houdini]] who can, as he puts it, "do whatever I want". Then Angel asks him "Can you fly?" {{spoiler|Unlike some movie vampires, he can't, especially not in the sunlight.}}
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** The protagonists go through considerable trouble to make vampire Willow into one of these. Even after she tries to murder dozens of innocent people succeeding with few, the Scooby gang just let her leave back to her own world, even giving goodbye hugs and advice "try not to kill people". The hand of karma is swift in her case, as she gets staked seconds after her return, but not for the lack of trying.
** Wolfram and Hart is the last example of this from the spin-off series ''Angel''. Despite the horrors they commit, the Armageddon they have planned, the misery and devastation they have sowed, all of the team's efforts are only enough to inconvenience them, leading to a [[Bolivian Army Ending]]. To be clear, this refers to the Senior Partners and the organization as a whole, not individual employees. Almost every single evil employee ended up paying for their actions in one way or another.
** Minor example, one-shot villain Marcie from "Out of Sight, Out of Mind". Not only is she never punished for her twisted revenge scheme (she intended to horrifically mar Cordelia's face) she has been ''rewarded'' at the end, where she is taken to [[Academy of Evil| a government facility]] with other invisible teenagers, learning to be an assassin. "Cool!" she exclaims at the end.
* In
** Amusingly, the exit story of Major Burns in the book and movie is '''also''' an example of sorts, in the other direction. After Hawkeye, Trapper, and Duke pester him into flipping out and trying to kill them, Major Burns gets hauled away in a straitjacket. After that, Colonel Blake calls them in, tells them flat out that he knows what they did, but the only disciplinary action he's going to give them is not making Trapper chief surgeon for another week because it would look bad. Mostly because he can't afford to lose more people who actually know what they're doing, granted...
*** One of the protagonists (either Hawkeye or Duke, depending on the version of the event) asks if he can go home if he has sex with Hot Lips and punches out Trapper.
* ''[[Foyle's War]]'' is one of the ultimate sources of this trope; set during the [[Second World War]], many of the murderers and criminals Foyle exposes are also somehow essential to the British war effort, and thus manage to wriggle out of punishment entirely and literally get away with murder. In some cases, the British government actually actively helps them escape justice. {{spoiler|This actually prompts Foyle to quit at the end of the fifth season, frustrated that too many people escape justice and use the war as an excuse.}}
** Neatly played with in one episode - the murderer, a prominent American businessman, manages to escape punishment because he is an essential figure in a movement to eventually bring the United States into
*** And the last episode of the series, does indeed end with Foyle boarding a ship headed for post-war America.
** And subverted in the first episode, in which the killer expects that Foyle will let him go because his work is essential to Britain's code-breaking efforts. Foyle arrests him anyway, reasoning that this isn't Nazi Germany and he doesn't get to decide who gets away with murder because of how important/vital they are.
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** At least until {{spoiler|he's forced to kill his own brother, his friend and the only person who understands him}}. Karmas a bitch.
*** And then when {{spoiler|his wife is murdered just as he's finally getting in touch with his humanity, leaving him as a single parent.}} Dexter may have actually endured ''more'' than his share of karma.
* The TV adaptation of ''[[House of Cards (British series)|House of Cards]]'' switches out the book's ending of a [[Redemption Equals Death|redemptive suicide]] for the [[Magnificent Bastard]] Francis Urquhart, in exchange for his murdering the unlikely love interest, and going on to be Prime Minister for two more series.
** The author tried again in the sequel; in the novel ''To Play the King'', Urquhart is Prime Minister but is still ultimately defeated at the end. In the TV adaptation, Urquhart comes out unquestionably on top.
** And curiously, the positions were reversed in the final installment, ''The Final Cut''; {{spoiler|in both, Urquhart is assassinated, but}} in the TV adaptation Urquhart's fate is portrayed as being entirely out of his hands {{spoiler|and stage-managed by his wife and bodyguard}}, thus rendering Urquhart impotent and powerless against forces outside of his control. In the novel, however, Urquhart is aware of what is happening but knowingly meets his fate in order to secure his enduring legacy, thus proving his [[Magnificent Bastard]]ness without doubt by allowing him to have the last laugh against his critics and enemies {{spoiler|by ending his life on his own terms and, for all his sins, as a much-beloved and admired martyr.}}
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* ''[[Nip Tuck]]'': The Carver, a masked serial rapist who disfigures his victims after raping them, and even once kills a woman. Most of the third season revolved around catching the Carver. The Carver's last appearance was {{spoiler|lounging around on a beach with his girlfriend/sister, looking for their next victim}}.
* Megan on ''[[Drake and Josh]]''. Just one reason [[Creator's Pet|many fans hate her guts]]. Treated her brothers like crap. Managed to hide evidence when Drake and Josh almost got her. Blackmail all over the place. Tricks her parents. Her pranks (which is a 'soft' word for the stuff she inflicts on them) almost always end with her brothers in trouble. When she was exposed in one episode, nothing happened.
** Dan Schneider apparently loves this type of character. Currently, we have Sam in ''iCarly'' and Jade in ''Victorious''.
* ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'' had an episode dealing with the murder of an unpleasant TV star, where the CSIs figure out the murderer is another actress on the show. When confronted, however, the actress gives a [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] speech about the crime show genre, and points out that the CSIs don't have any real evidence, and if they're hoping for her to panic and confess based on their circumstantial evidence then they're highly mistaken. She then walks away scott free, with the closing line being Brass telling Grissom "[[Chinatown|Forget it Grissom, it's Burbank]]." The whole episode was one big in-joke about TV shows in general.
* In [[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|the re-imagined ''
** Then there is Caprica-Six herself. Baltar started out only knowing that he was guilty of letting a hot blonde spy poke around illicitly in the Defense Mainframe to give her company an edge. Six knew that her actions would lead to untold deaths. She was obviously conflicted, hence mercy-killing that baby in the marketplace, but still went through with it. Her attempt to make up for it failed spectacularly on New Caprica, leading to even more human suffering, though Cavil and Tigh shoulder a lot of the blame for that. {{spoiler|She gets to spend life on Earth as a farmer with Baltar and his dreamy hair.}}
** Cavil/One qualifies. Personally responsible for wiping out two entire Cylon lines (Daniel/Seven out of [[Cain and Abel|jealousy]] and D'Anna/Three because ''one of them'' was too close to remembering who the Final Five were and his role in why the other Skinjobs didn't remember). Instigated the Colonial Holocaust out of a twisted sense of justice for his Cylon ancestors. Not to mention the stuff he did to Ellen and Saul Tigh. His fate? {{spoiler|Goes the gun-in-mouth route when an attempt at a truce goes pear-shaped, with only Ellen explicitly knowing the full story. And she never tells anyone else, on screen.}}
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* A subversion worth mentioning occurs in ''[[My Name Is Earl]]''. While making up for a bathroom robbery, Earl has to work at a fast food restaurant where the boss is a distinct [[Karma Houdini]]. He has a successful life, a beautiful devoted wife, a beautiful devoted mistress, many awards, and is successfully embezzling a fortune out of the store, whose employees he routinely tortures for petty mistakes. Earl is horrified that karma has not punished him yet, but is sure it will eventually. When it becomes apparent that karma is not going to punish him and he continues to push Earl's buttons, Earl snaps and punches him in the face, knocking him out. Karma swoops in and while he's in the hospital both women visit him at the same time and find out about each other. The wife destroys all his trophies and awards and in the process finds out about his embezzling and reports it, sending him to jail, and allowing the man Earl was trying to help in the first place, become the new manager and everybody is happy. Debatably, Karma was trying to teach Earl that he can't just rely on karma to fix everything all the time, but the only lesson Earl learned was that karma could use his fist as a weapon.
** What's the difference?
* Benjamin Linus on ''[[Lost]]''. His body count from "The Man Behind the Curtain"
** Beatings in ''[[Lost]]'' are the equivalent of a slap of the wrist, considering that many of the characters have died horrible, horrible deaths, some of which include being buried alive, blown up while holding sticks of dynamite, shot down with flaming arrows, presumably eaten by a mysterious smoky monster, being blown up in a massive tanker explosion, getting accidentally shot while being pretty, and getting blown up. For some reason, explosions tend to happen a lot on that island.
*** I think it's a mistake to discount the sheer amount and viciousness of the beatings Benjamin Linus received. One might argue that this is a perfect example of karmic retribution - the bad guy never escapes un-blooded by his victims. And from Season 4 onwards, he's faced much worse than beatings as a result of his villainy. {{spoiler|His acknowledgment of these misfortunes as the just consequence of his evil deeds is part of his final [[Heel Face Turn]] and ultimate redemption.}} Notably, in The End, he is the one character who waits outside the church {{spoiler|because he knows he has not yet earned his happy ending.}}
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* The [[Big Bad]] for the last quarter of season four of ''[[Chuck]]'', {{spoiler|Vivian Volkoff}}, is this. {{spoiler|She's told she can meet with her father if she helps with a mission, but in the end Beckman doesn't hold up her end of the bargain. Most people would be pissed. Most people would also agree that taking over her [[Evil, Inc.|father's company]], hiring someone to blow up Castle, manipulating the team into retrieving a deadly weapon for her and then leaving them to die is a slight overreaction. After being told Chuck's parents were responsible for her father becoming Volkoff, she tries to kill Sarah to hurt Chuck. She hands over the cure in the end, but only after Chuck gives her a blank identity so that she can start a new life, meaning she not only suffers no retribution from Team Bartowski, but is guaranteed not to have to deal with any consequences from anyone else, either.}}
* Happens to several major villains from ''[[The Shadow Line]]''. {{spoiler|Gatehouse, Patterson, Jay Wratten, Ratallack and Lia Honey}} not only all remain at large at the end of the series, they're all in better positions than when they started and {{spoiler|are ready to start over with a new incarnation of Counterpoint}}.
* While they're not villains at all (or even intentionally antagonistic), the kids from ''[[Outnumbered]]'' will generally get away with causing general mischief and chaos every episode. One of the bigger offenders is when Karen almost ruins a wedding.
* ''[[Leverage]]'': [[Smug Snake|Sterling.]] [[Word of God|Never.]] [[Karma Houdini|Loses.]]
* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'':
** Vulcan ambassador T'Pel {{spoiler|who was really a Romulan spy called Sub-Commander Selok}} in "Data's Day".
* [[Lex Luthor]] in ''[[Smallville]]''. It looked like Karma had finally caught up with him in Season 8, when [[Green Arrow]] blew him up, but as of the [[Grand Finale]], he's been resurrected, regained all his old holdings, and is set to become [[President Evil]] at some point in the future.
* The dating service female head, after being arrested in ''[[The Mentalist]]'', hints at the possibility that she'll be pardoned of murdering her husband in cold blood because her accomplice (who decided to testify against her after she made the mistake of admitting that she never cared for him) is unstable and thus not a verifiable source to her guilt.
* Drew Torres in the series "[[Degrassi]]" has a long list of offenses (blackmail and hate crime in his first appearance, cheating and several classic [[Jerkass]] moments) but rarely suffers any real consequence for that behavior. In fact, it's often the other characters around him that bear the brunt of the fallout from his misdeeds, including former teammates Riley and Zane, former girlfriends Alli and Bianca and even his own step-brother Adam. Drew has yet to apologize or try to make up for any of his crimes. The character Owen Milligan also qualifies by going from "evil" bully to romantic lead between seasons without explanation or punishment. Degrassi has a long history of complicated characters who often behave badly but in most cases it is part of their storyline and evolution of their character. However in these cases it appears to have no motivation save simple [[Fan Service]].
* In the episode of ''[[A.N.T. Farm]]'' entitled " you're the one that I wANT." Lexi says to Fletcher that if she sabotages the play, everyone will suspect her, so she talks Fletcher into doing her dirty work. During the play, its Lexi who sabotages the play while operating the spotlight, in plain sight to everyone. Not only does she get away with it, no one seems to care who the culprit is.
** She even says "this is worst news ever" with a smile on her face. Yet no one catches on.
** However, she does mention getting rid of Chyna would be blamed on her, but getting rid of Jared would be blamed on Fletcher, even if she does it. But no blame is placed on Fletcher either. So they both are in this case.
* Mayor Worth from ''[[Black Scorpion]]'' is [[Sleazy Politician|political example]]. Despite being the cause of most of the city's problems and the [[Create Your Own Villain|reason]] for most of its super villains, he remains free ''and'' the mayor. It's even lampshaded.
{{quote|'''Darcy: '''"Doesn't matter what happens, he ''always'' survives."}}
* Averted on ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' 99% of the time; the main unsub of the episode has gotten away with it a grand total of ''once''. Occasionally played straight with minor characters only tangentially related to the crime, however, a good example being the [[General Ripper]] responsible for the unsub's [[Start of Darkness]] in "Dorado Falls."
* The Argentine show ''[[Los Exitosos Pells]]'' had a magnanimous writer: [[Happy Ending]] for all. For all the good guys, of course, but also for all the bad guys. The evil assistant who wanted to rule the TV channel got a TV channel for her own, the journalist who wanted to replace the news presenter of the channel is in charge of the new channel news program... and even the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] that was jailed. Last episode, the bad guy has been revealed as such, captured and held behind bars... [[The End - or Is It?|the end?]] No! He was freed some months afterwards because of a legal
* [[Complete Monster|Adelai "I Torture People to Death For Laughs" Niska]] in ''[[Firefly]]'' manages to escape from ''Serenity's'' vengeful crew in "War Stories", a fact they lampshade with Inara telling Mal, "I just wish you'd killed that old bastard." Of course, it's entirely possible that [[Joss Whedon]] intended for Niska to get his comeuppance later, but the show was [[Screwed by the Network|Raped to Death By the Network]] before that could happen.
* In
* This trope is most definitely in play when it comes to the wife, Debra, on ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]''. While it's true that her mother-in-law Marie was smug towards her, there really was no justification for her to treat her husband Ray the way she did, subjecting him to physical and verbal abuse on many occasions in the mid-to-later seasons of the show. On one occasion, she's annoyed at him and shoves him at full force into a bunch of bookshelves, so hard that the books actually fall off the shelves. On another occasion, she's irritated at him for making a joke about her food, so [[Disproportionate Retribution|she pours piping hot marinara sauce--right off the stove, mind you--onto Ray's crotch.]] But perhaps the worse was the episode where we learn that Debra actually encourages Ray's own kids to make fun of him behind his back and see him as less of an authority figure. Throughout all this, ''Ray'' always ends up being the one to be humiliated in every episode, and keeps coming back to Debra, who maintains a rather smug attitude, bragging about her supposed superiority to Ray on many occasions. [[
* Several visitors to ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' who know all about the Castaways do nothing to help them get rescued, including the Mosquitoes, Wrong-Way Feldman and Harold Hecuba. Hecuba even steals their idea for a musical Hamlet. None of these people suffer the slightest retribution for their callous treatment of the seven castaways.
* Regina from ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon A Time]]'' definitely fits the trope. Doesn't matter what Emma or anyone else does, she comes out on top. Recent revelations suggest she was preemptively hit by [[Laser-Guided Karma]], but at this point her karmic ledger is definitely in the red.
* Brittany on ''[[Glee]]''. She cheats on Artie with Santana for months in season 2, yet Artie is the one portrayed as a villain after confronting her and calling her 'stupid'. In season 3, she releases flashy campaign posters for Kurt's school president race against his wishes, and then runs herself (and wins!) after he balks. This could be because she's Too Dumb To Live, though.
* Though she commits not one [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|arson, murder, or jaywalking]], ''[[ER]]''{{'}}s Jen Greene, the controlling harpy of a wife of protagonist Dr. Mark Greene, certainly qualifies. From close to the beginning she makes it clear that it's her way or the highway in the Greene household, threatening to leave Mark and take their daughter when he stands up to her for a little of what ''he'' wants. ''Then'' it comes out she's boinking her filthy rich law partner, following which ''she'' sues ''Mark'' for divorce, marries said filthy rich law partner, and proceeds to live a more comfortable life than Mark could in his wildest dreams. And as the final twist of the knife, {{spoiler|it's heavily implied that after Mark's death she gets custody of the aforementioned daughter, whom she had neglected so badly said daughter turned to drugs}}.
* Quark from ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''; he's as greedy and underhanded as the typical Ferengi and more successful than most. Despite Odo's best efforts, he never seems to get any lasting comeuppance for all the shady dealings and con jobs he's done, often being forgiven because he sides with Starfleet against much worse threats. This is emphasized in ''[[Star Trek: Picard]]'' where it is revealed he has expanded Quark's Bar into a ''franchise'' and ''[[Star Trek: Lower Decks]]'' shows he has founded a restaurant chain called Quark's Express (and 26 other franchises) that are just as popular.
* In ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', Lokar was an ally of Rita's who appeared in two episodes (both of which were two-parters) and was the actual [[Big Bad]] of the comic book adaptation story ''[[Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon]]''. As yet, he remains the only villain from the Zordon Era still at large. Although, seeing as his ''[[Super Sentai]]'' counterpart was supposed to be [[The Devil]] himself, the fact that the Rangers [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|managed to drive him away]] (twice) is an impressive feat.
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