Must Let Them Get Away: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

So, [[The Hero]] has been on his epic quest for quite a while now. Never tiring, he's been following the [[Big Bad]] valiantly, and now he's finally going to catch up to him. Ooh, there's so going to be an epic fight soon...

 

Another version of the trope is when the Hero has actually caught the Big Bad, who is due to be tried and sentenced. However, there's some kind of loophole in the system, or the Big Bad's got the best legal assistance ever seen, or the Big Bad's status is enough to get him special privileges. The Big Bad's going to walk, or at least get a lesser sentence, and the Hero can only watch.

This trope is often used to enforce a Status Quo in works, to put off the final fight, or to bring back a [[Big Bad]] later for the heroes to finally fight.

 

 

 

{{examples}}

 

== Film ==

'''RoboCop''': Patience, Lewis. We're only human. }}

* Norrington is forced to let Jack Sparrow escape with the fastest ship in the Caribbean fleet in the first ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' movie.

* Another [[Tamora Pierce]] example: Joren isn't a "big bad" per se, just a minor annoying antagonist for the most part, but in ''Squire'', Joren only gets fined for kidnapping Lalasa, Keladry's maid, due to their respective class statuses as a noble and a servant. In fact this is why he kidnapped Lalasa rather than Kel herself, which would have led to far more serious consequences.

** of course, the Chamber of the Ordeal doesn't ask for a fine...heh.

** The presence of the bear was a coincidence. What Dee did with it averts the trope entirely.

** The mob was no coincidence. Neither was the unfortunate absence of troops to control them.

* Played with in the final case of ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]]''.

* ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'': Shows up in Zaeed's loyalty mission. For a bit of background: You're helping him with an outstanding contract to liberate a refinery that's been taken over by the Blue Suns mercenary company. During the course of the mission, Zaeed reveals he has an ulterior motive for taking on the contract: he wants a chance to kill his traitorous ex-partner, Vido Santiago. Shortly afterwards, you confront Vido, and Zaeed deliberately ignites the refinery's fuel lines and sets the entire place on fire, ''with the enslaved workers still trapped inside'', at which point you're forced to choose between immediately pursuing Vido or stopping to help the workers. If you choose the latter, you save most of them, but you catch up with Vido just in time to watch his ship take off. Zaeed is '''not''' happy in that case ("You just cost me twenty years of my life!"), but it is possible for a sufficiently fast talker to give him a well deserved chewing out and secure his loyalty anyway.

** Also happens in the "Bring Down The Sky" DLC for the first game. If you want to save the hostages, you have to let the terrorist go.

 

* Happens often in ''[[Samurai Jack]]'' where Jack is almost about to defeat Aku, who then gets away.

* The Herculoids. In "The Gladiators of Kyanite", the Emperor Neron forces the Herculoids to fight in his gladiatorial games. At the end:

'''Zandor:''' It doesn't matter, Dorno. As long as he's gone, the threat of these deadly games is ended forever. }}

* Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' spinoff "Wiggum, P.I.:"

'''Wiggum:''' Ah, let him go. I have the feeling we'll meet again, each and every week. Always in more sexy and exciting ways. }}

 

[[Category:Ending Tropes]]

[[Category:Must Let Them Get Away]]