Karma Houdini/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

** Principal Reynolds in Lost episode, "Dr. Linus" lets his school fall into disrepair, carries on an inappropriate relationship with the school nurse, and threatens to ruin Alex's future. He's not punished for any of this.

*** {{spoiler|None of that really happened as it was all a dreamworld constructed by Ben Linus and the rest of the characters, a cosmic "waiting room" of sorts where they waited for the last of their friends to die before they all moved on to whatever comes next.}}

* ''[[One Life to Live]]'' has Todd, whose rap sheet includes three separate rapes, multiple kidnappings, a bombing he tried to pin on someone else, setting another bomb ''at a police station'', and baby theft. No, he's not in jail. And he's just got his kids back...

** And then there's Cole, who had just barely turned 18 and was still in [[High School]] when he got high and caused a car crash that left ''the son of the police chief and the DA'' paraplegic ([[Soap Opera Disease|only for a few months, as it turned out]]) and got a slap-on-the-wrist rehab deal. This kid has a bright future ahead of him!

* ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' had an episode starring Joan Jett as an immortal named Felicia Martin on the run from a brutal hunter named Devereaux...it later turns out she's a remorseless murderer who, centuries earlier, killed Devereaux's wife and baby son. How does this end? She beheads the guy trying to avenge his family, reveals that to get someone's trust and murder their loved ones to throw them off their game is her MO and fights hero Duncan MacLeod. He wins...and spares her life at his idiot sidekick's request. She lives and we never hear from her again, despite immortals portrayed far more sympathetically losing their heads when they murder just one person as opposed to the hundreds Felicia has presumably slaughtered.

** Other example: the immortal Kenneth, who appears 9 years old. His MO is getting people to take him in and beheading them when their guard is down. If anyone gets in his way, he murders them, human or no. After betraying just about everyone and attempting to kill the heroes...he gets threatened by his teacher/foster mother and waltzes out of town, no punishment. Granted, losing her hurts him, but still.

* On ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', Hilary Briss escapes to the Caribbean with no punishment whatever for [[Take Our Word for It|whatever it was he was doing]], although {{spoiler|the [[Big Damn Movie]] of vague canonicity eventually averts this with [[Redemption Equals Death]])}}. Similarly, we have {{spoiler|Papa Lazarou}}, who never pays in the slightest for any of the [[Nightmare Fuel|horrifying]] stuff {{spoiler|he}} did.

* Alpha from ''[[Dollhouse]]''. He murdered a ton of people, rendered Ballard brain-dead and in the end Echo just lets him walk out? She should have just killed him then and there. That's the last we ever see of him. (Granted they may have been planning to resolve the Alpha plotline at a later time but couldn't because the show got canceled).

* 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]].

** 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.