Opt Out: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

This is it. The end of the line. The final confrontation with the [[Big Bad]] awaits and almost every one of the Good Guys is rarin' to go.

On the arguably more selfish end of the scale, this character could [[I Just Want to Be Normal|just want to be normal]] and use a chance to get away from the craziness once it's presented. Or realize that his goals no longer line up with those of the heroes and thus decide he has no reason to remain with them. There might also be a falling out or conflict of ideals with the rest of the group that convinces the person he's better off out of it. They could also just be a [[Dirty Coward]].

 

 

 

See also [[Shoo Out the Clowns]], which this trope may overlap with, depending on the character. Both tropes can serve to show how serious the situation has become; though a character who Opts Out is usually making the decision of their own accord.

 

{{examples}}

* Eita Tanaka of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'' eventually chooses normal life over supporting the Flame Haze after he very nearly loses the girl he loves due to the fighting. Most ultimately support his decision, though close friend Keisaku argues with him over it briefly.

* An odd example of this in the ''main character'' is Son Goku in ''[[Dragon Ball|Dragonball Z]].'' At the end of the Cell Saga, Goku intentionally gave up his fight with Cell to let Gohan take the spotlight. When, at the end of it all, Goku was dead, he just as deliberately opted to ''not'' be revived with the Dragon Balls, for fear of attracting more trouble to Earth. Other examples are Chiaozu, who Tienshinhan made opt out of the fight with the Androids, and Yajirobe, who ''tried'' to do this in the Saiyan Saga but wound up getting caught up in things anyway.

* In ''[[Gundam Seed]]'', Kuzzey and ten other crewmembers do this when the Archangel decides to defend Orb against the Atlantic Federation, and [[The Captain]] had given anyone who didn't want to fight against their former army the chance to leave. He actually tries to go back on it when he finds out that Miriallia and Sai aren't leaving, but Sai convinces him to leave since he'd not the type that's suited to battle.

* The ''[[Liar Game]]'' literally banks on this, as those in charge of the game make their profits by requiring any winners wanting to Opt Out to forfeit half of their winnings to do so.

* In the third Sound Stage of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S]]'', Subaru gets a visit from her father in the hospital, who suggests that she withdraw from the case now that {{spoiler|her sister Ginga has been kidnapped}}. Subaru, however, insists on fighting to finish what she's started, and her father respects her decision, making this an aversion.

 

* [[Howard the Duck]] refuses to have a pointless face-off with a Canadian villain, instead just walking away. This [[Heroic BSOD|doesn't end up going well for him]].

 

* ''[[Boyz N the Hood]]'' is particularly unusual in that {{spoiler|the [[Opt Out]] is the right choice. By refusing to fight the gangbangers who killed Ricky, Tre allows himself to escape from the [[Cycle of Revenge]] and start a new life. Doughboy fights them without him, and kills them all, but is murdered in turn two weeks later.}}

 

* {{spoiler|Bobby Pendragon himself}} pulls a dramatic one of these at the end of ''[[The Pendragon Adventure|The Pilgrims of Rayne]]'' by {{spoiler|blowing up his only door off the territory, cutting himself off but trapping the bad guy with him, with the full intention of staying there forever. It doesn't stick.}}

* In the last book of ''[[Animorphs]]'', before the final battle, most of the Auxiliary Animorphs ''try'' to opt out. Jake makes it clear that this isn't an option.

** Also, Cassie opts out and comes back earlier in the series.

* In [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[IT]]'', Stan Uris dramatically (and lethally) opts out of the final confrontation with the titular monster by climbing into a bathtub and slitting his own wrists.

 

* Lorne (The Host) Opted Out at the end of ''[[Angel]]'': he said he'd do the one thing ({{spoiler|kill Lindsey}}) but wouldn't come back for the big fight at the end.

** He also had several security extras opt out when ordered to join Night Watch or resign.

** Soon after the end of the Shadow War, Garibaldi quit as security chief, apparently out of disenchantment with Sheridan's leadership. {{spoiler|He was being mentally manipulated by Bester.}}

* Anya in the "Graduation Day" season 3 finale of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. The fact that she doesn't do this in fifth or seventh seasons is used to show her moral growth.

** Buffy herself tried to do this at the end of season one. She changed her mind.

* Rimmer from ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' does this all. The. Time.

* In ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'', Lacey steps away from the Rider/[[The Men in Black]] alliance at the end. Having been drawn into the [[Masquerade]] just recently, she wasn't dealing well with the weirdness; and unlike her [[Conspiracy Theorist]] friends (an [[Intrepid Reporter]] and a [[Hollywood Hacking|Hollywood Hacker]]) she didn't have a skillset that could help.

* ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'': When little Pete and his friends decide to answer the payphone that's been ringing for thirty years (and has most of the townspeople frightened), his friends start to drop out for various reasons- one says he's caught in a force field, and another says she's just too chicken.

 

* Happens in ''[[Warcraft|WarCraft III]]'' at the start of [[Wham! Episode|"The Culling"]]. Arthas issues a grave ultimatum to Uther: help him to purge Stratholme of its infected citizenry or leave the kingdom's service. Uther and his followers leave, with Uther telling Arthas that he is crossing a terrible line. Jaina also leaves Arthas' side, telling him she can't watch him do it. In the end, it's just Arthas and his men performing the grisly task of killing innocent people before Mal'Ganis can convert them into zombies.

 

* Muir in ''[[Oban Star Racers]]'', upon learning the Ultimate Prize would not fulfill the goal he entered the Great Race of Oban for, is the only racer to ''not'' show up for the final contest.

* It was also parodied in an episode of ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' where agents assigned to guarding a yard sale were given the "leave now" speech, and then the one guy that left was killed.

* Done by [[Shazam|Captain Marvel]] in ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''. When the League doesn't live up to his expectations (Marvel's so idealistic he makes [[Superman|the Blue Boy Scout]] look cynical), he [[What the Hell, Hero?|tells them how disappointed he is]] and resigns.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]