Let the Bully Win

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Chewbacca: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!
C-3PO: He made a fair move. Screaming about it can't help you.
Han Solo: Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.
C-3PO: But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.
Han Solo: That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that.
C-3PO: I see your point, sir. I suggest a new strategy, R2: let the Wookiee win.

—Star Wars: A New Hope

Two (or more) characters are playing a game. John Doe is clearly smarter, more skilled and just plain better at the game than the other. Richard Roe still wins. Why? Because Richard appears to not take losing well and it likely would be... detrimental to John's continued good health to win against Richard.

Often the case when a Bad Boss plays a game with his mooks - who are too terrified not to let him win, not after what happened to the last guy... other times it happens between a smart but not too strong player and a not-as-smart but definitely stronger opponent. It can also happen between any kind of boss, benevolent or not, and a Yes-Man. The yes man will always let the boss win because he wants to placate the boss' ego, even if the boss would rather win (or lose) fairly.

Related to Appeal to Force.

This is not the Disproportionate Retribution itself, or the act of Rage Quitting. Throwing the Fight is about losing because of an actual threat, whereas this is about losing because of an implied or assumed threat.

Examples of Let the Bully Win include:

Comic Books

  • The entire events of the Black Moon Chronicles are set in motion because of Lucifer playing chess (and always winning) against his minion Pazuzu (who knows exactly how much Lucifer's promise not to kill the one who bests him is worth), who keeps losing so as not to incur his master's wrath. So they decide to play the game with mortals instead.

Film - Animated

  • The croquet game in Disney's Alice in Wonderland is rigged in the Queen of Hearts' favor, with the cards playing the wickets moving so that the ball goes through every time. When one misses, he is inevitably sent away to the chopping block.

Film - Live-Action

  • The page quote (and semi-trope namer) comes from Star Wars, when R2-D2 is playing and beating Chewbacca at dejarik.
  • Double Subverted in Jet Li's War, which has an Asian mob boss practice sword sparring with one of his men. When he allows himself to be distracted, the other guy accidentally strikes him, and immediately begs forgiveness. The gangster calmly tells him not to worry, and that is was his own fault for allowing himself to be distracted... and then kills him anyway.
  • Friday: During a game of craps.

Smokey: I won; gimme my money.
Deebo: You what?
Smokey: I lost.

Literature

  • Foundation has a king offering his noblemen a bet about his hunting. No one dares to take the risk of winning.

Live-Action Television

  • On The Adventures of Pete and Pete, a school bully with a paper motif, nicknamed "Papercut", was so intimidating to the other kids that they would always pick rock whenever he challenged anybody to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
  • Averted in Star Trek: The Next Generation poker game. This trope would have been Worf's edge if he were a real Klingon.
  • In Family Matters, Carl lets his boss cheat at golf. Initially.
  • Yeralash has an episode where two boys are playing chess, and the stronger one constantly makes hidden threats. At the end, the weaker one brings an even stronger guy to sit in his place.

Video Games

  • Played with in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: His underlings blatantly let Wu Zu Mu, a powerful but blind Chinese gangster, win whenever they play anything, including moving the cup when he plays office golf or lying about their cards in Blackjack, which leads to funny moments when Carl, not caring, beats him regularly. Judging by his personality, "Woozie" a nice enough guy, especially to his men, that he probably wouldn't care if his minions beat him or not, but to his experienced mooks them it's better being safe than sorry.

Web Comics

Western Animation

  • The Simpsons: During the annual Nuclear Power Plant company picnic, everyone has to let Mr. Burns win the sack race.
    • Similarly, in a comic story in Simpsons Illustrated magazine, Homer lets Mr. Burns win at golf.
  • On the Looney Tunes short "My Little Duckaroo", Daffy Duck plays a game of poker with feared outlaw Nasty Canasta. Daffy deals Canasta one card, then keeps the rest for himself, giving him a "royal straight flush full house with four aces high." Canasta wins with the three of spades... and a revolver shoved down Daffy's gullet.
  • Rocko's Modern Life, "Teed Off": Ed Bighead is playing a game with his boss Mr. Dupette, and is instructed to let Dupette win. The groundskeepers at the golf course strictly enforce this by shooting Ed's ball down with pianos. However, they did not count on Heffer, who rigs the game back on Ed's favor.


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