Redemption Equals Death: Difference between revisions

[[File:Anakinredeemed_5054Anakinredeemed 5054.jpg|link=Return of the Jedi|rightframe|"[[Go Out Withwith a Smile|Tell your sister...you were right.]]"]]

{{quote|''Hey Giles, here's a nifty idea. Why don't I alleviate my guilt by going out and getting myself really, really killed?''|'''Xander''', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}

Contrast [[Death Seeker]], for whom the death ''is'' the redemption. Similarly, contrast [[Villain's Dying Grace]] for when a dying villain chooses to do a final good act, [[Death Equals Redemption]] when the realization he is dying triggers the change of heart, [[Redemption Quest]] and [[Alas, Poor Villain]] when the character's death (speech) provides a reason for the fans to feel sorry for them. [[Opposite Tropes|Opposite]] of [[Redemption Earns Life]]. See also [[HeelDeadly Face Door SlamChange-of-Heart]], when the poor guy doesn't even get to redeem himself before dying. Nearly every non-protagonist [[The Atoner|Atoner]] will end with this one. These characters always manage to win [[More Hero Than Thou]] argument. Contrast [[Treachery Cover -Up]]; while characters may cover up this character's wrong-doing, it will be because he redeemed himself. Sometimes makes you think [[Being Good Sucks]].

* {{spoiler|Both Mdlock and Ralph}} in ''[[Soukou no Strain]]''. {{spoiler|Ralph sets Medlock's [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard|own Tumor robots]] to tear her apart once she defects to the Union. Ralph's has more in common with a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], although he is killed by Sara for his crime instead of jumping in to save her or anything. As The Gloire is about to blow up, he looks at his musical pendant and tells Sara to take care of the Emilys.}}

* In ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (Manga)|Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', it happens to {{spoiler|just about every first season villain. Gakuto (Gaito, if you're watching the anime) is doomed to be crushed by or sealed inside [[No Ontological Inertia|his own castle]], and the Dark Lovers stay by his side; Sara, seeing the damage she's done, goes voluntarily with him.}} (Strangely enough, the actual dying only happens in the anime, which is generally the more child-friendly version.) {{spoiler|Then there are Mimi and Sheshe, who were actually redeemed in the anime -- in the manga, it's debatable. They get offed by Michel.}}

* Many times in ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]] Z'', but most would fall under [[Heroic Sacrifice]], with the notable exception of Piccolo's death at the turning point of the climactic battle of the Saiyan Saga. This is a case of [[Redemption Equals Death]] as he had been training his ex-archenemy's son for the previous year, and showed more kindness to him than anyone before.

** Partly averted in the case of {{spoiler|Vegeta's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] when fighting against Buu after he betrayed his [[True Companions]] to become a Majin and beat Goku.}} This might redeem him in the eyes of most of the human characters, but {{spoiler|King Yemma sees things differently and [[HeelDeadly Face Door SlamChange-of-Heart|sends him to Hell for his previous crimes]]. Needless to say, Vegeta isn't happy with this and makes it difficult for the afterworld attendants to catch him.}}

* ''[[Darker Than Black (Anime)|Darker Thanthan Black]]'' is full of this trope, both on a 'redemption for evil' and 'trying to redeem themselves of their part of a conspiracy' level. {{spoiler|Havoc}} is a prime example of the former (dying after recovering her Contractor powers, yet managing to retain her humanity and thus not use them), while {{spoiler|November 11}} is a prime example of the latter (and he takes his "conspiring to kill him" superior with him).

* ''[[Monster (Mangamanga)|Monster]]'' seems to take great delight in showing how many of the show's villains and side characters are only flawed human beings with their own drives, problems and emotions and not soulless monsters... {{spoiler|Most of them, in showing their human sides or by righting their previous flaws and sins, are killed by Johan shortly after.}} Even nearly dying doesn't redeem the titular Monster, however.

* Variation: In ''[[Code Geass (Anime)|Code Geass]]'', Suzaku ''[[Death Seeker|thinks]]'' that [[Redemption Equals Death]]; having never been punished for the {{spoiler|murder of his father at the age of 10}}, he throws himself into battles with the hope of being killed and redeeming himself, which has the side effect of making him look like a brave, heroic [[Knight in Shining Armor]]. {{spoiler|The loving irony of this is that Lelouch eventually puts a "Live" Geass on Suzaku, so as to save himself when Suzaku tries to throw away both their lives under orders. This makes it impossible for Suzaku to willingly sacrifice himself for any reason, as he is now supernaturally hardwired to survive at any cost despite his emotional torture. It gets even worse for him when he learns about the command.}}

** Played straight, however, with {{spoiler|Rolo, who died saving Lelouch's life. Also overlaps with [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]] because some ''really'' bad screw ups made him one of the most hated characters in the series, but lots of people cried for him after his [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. The sad music and speech really helped.}}

* {{spoiler|Lust}} from the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (Animeanime)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' anime dies shortly after defecting to the heroes' side.

* At the end of ''[[Trigun (Manga)|Trigun]]'' , {{spoiler|Wolfwood's death in both the manga and anime}} qualifies too. Confetti and churches, [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]

* In the ''[[Narutaru (Manga)|Narutaru]]'' manga and anime, {{spoiler|Shiina's mother Misono became an absolute cold bitch after her eldest daughter Mishou died, apparently by suicide}}, blaming it on the main character in despair. In the manga...{{spoiler|after many years, Misono starts to regret what she has done and how badly she treated Shiina. This reaches its peak in Volume 11, where after the death of Shiina's father Shunji and with some help of Shiina's friend Akira, mother and daughter are reunited and patch things up. But few after her redemption, Misono ends up shot to death in front of Shiina.}}

* Any single villain in ''[[Fist of the North Star (Manga)|Fist of the North Star]]'' that feels ANY amount of sorrow for their heartless deeds after Kenshiro beats some sense into them WILL die. The most certain of them would be {{spoiler|Raoh, Kaioh and Raiga and Fuuga, though it takes a few episodes for this to kick into effect for the latter two.}}

* In ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Manga)|Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'', [[Fan Nickname|Cloney]] recovers his soul and emotions during the final battle just in time to take a fatal blow for the original.

* In ''[[Naruto (Manga)|Naruto]]'', {{spoiler|Zabuza}} fits this. {{spoiler|Chiyo}} also consider her [[Heroic Sacrifice]] as a form of redemption, as it was for {{spoiler|Gaara, who she sealed the One-Tails into, which is why he was killed by Akatsuki.}}

* In the Virtual World arc of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', {{spoiler|Noah bites it after he is about to escape the Virtual World, leaving the characters inside to die, but instead decides to return and rescue them, at the cost of his own life.}}

* Gin of ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'', formerly a ruthless killer in the service of Don Krieg, decides to spare Sanji and ask Krieg to leave the Baratie. Krieg responds by ordering Krieg to throw away his gas mask and attacking with poison gas. When Luffy throws him and Sanji gas masks, forgetting to get one for himself, Gin throws him his, and is seemingly fatally poisoned as a result. He isn't shown dying, though, although he is speculated to only have hours to live.

* Subverted somewhat in ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]'' 354 when {{spoiler|Ulquiorra finally learns what the heart is ''as'' he is literally disintegrating.}}

** Lampshaded and mixed with [[Dying Asas Yourself]] in 387 where {{spoiler|Tousen finally see's that his path was wrong and that he has those who care for him the same way he cared for his friend only to explode into a mass of blood seconds later.}}

* Mostly averted in ''[[Fairy Tail (Manga)|Fairy Tail]]'', except for {{spoiler|Gerard}}, who supposedly gives his life to keep Erza from giving up hers to save her friends, and she mourns for him. Later, when it turns out he didn't die (how this is possible [[Handwaved|isn't even questioned]]). He tries to pull this a ''second time'' and is told he has no right to end his life. Still, at least he tried.

* ''[[Twentieth Century Boys (Manga)|Twentieth20th Century Boys]]'' has a number of examples, but some of the most notable are {{spoiler|Yamane, Masao and Sadakiyo.}} A major theme in the final arc of the series is that of the people who help put [[Complete Monster|Friend]] in power and, by extension, put the world in the [[Crapsack World|sorry state its in]], realising the error of their ways and seeking redemption. This leads to a number of deaths and [[Heroic Sacrifices]] on their part, leading to this trope.

* In ''[[Prétear (Manga)|Prétear]]'', {{spoiler|Sasame defects from the Leafe Knights to be by [[Dark Magical Girl|Takako]]'s side because he fell in love with her--even though he knew she didn't love him in return.}} On her side, {{spoiler|he attempts to kill his former teammates and turns Mawata into the Puppet of Darkness by breaking her heart}}, but {{spoiler|when Takako has a [[Villainous Breakdown]] and is nearly attacked by the dark tree she summoned, Sasame [[Heroic Sacrifice|throws himself in front of an attack]] meant for her. The dark energy possessing the two disintegrates, and (after admitting "[[Lampshading|Not even my death will redeem me]]", he dies in the redeemed Takako's arms [[Go Out Withwith a Smile|with a smile]]. His soul is even seen flying away into a bright white nothingness by his former teammates.}} However, this is one example where the redeemed ''DOES'' come back to life-- {{spoiler|Himeno revives him (and others) through her powers during the final battle with the Great Tree. }}

* {{spoiler|Shion}} at the very end of Meakashi-hen in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Nini]]'', as she finally becomes sane and apologizes to everyone she's killed as she falls to her death, promising she won't do it again the next time.

* This is what happens to Kenshin in ''[[Rurouni Kenshin (Manga)|Rurouni Kenshin]]: Seisohen'' OVA. That this represents the ideological antithesis of the manga's conclusion is the specific reason why creator [[Nobuhiro Watsuki]] disowned it.

* In ''[[Toward the Terra (Manga)|Toward the Terra]],'' Keith Anyan ultimately redeems himself by turning against Grand Mother and freeing humanity from the SD System. He's rewarded for his efforts with a sword through the gut.

* In ''[[Tenshi Ni Narumon (Anime)|Tenshi Nini Narumon]]'' this may apply {{spoiler|to Mikael after Noelle eventually turns into an angel and saves Yuusuke, which in turn allows him to save her family. After that he, Noelle and Silky start to merge into one angel being (meaning they start dying) so he indeed does something redeemable after becoming the series' [[Big Bad]]}}.

* In ''Yoiroiden Samurai Troopers'' AKA ''The [[Ronin Warriors (Anime)|Ronin Warriors]]'' this is the fate of {{spoiler|Dark Warlord Shuten Doji (Anubis)}} after his [[Heel Face Turn]] when he saves {{spoiler|who is the last of the Ancients clan Lady Kayura}}.

* Subverted in ''[[Inazuma Eleven (Video Game)|Inazuma Eleven]]'' with {{spoiler|Seijirou Kira}}. After he [[My God, What Have I Done?|comes to realize what he's been doing has been a terrible mistake]], minutes later the {{spoiler|Aliea Academy}} building starts to collapse. As everyone else flees, he decides to [[Going Down Withwith the Ship|let the building crush him to death]] as his way of atoning for his crimes and kneels in the middle of the collapsing building. But in the end, Hiroto and Endou turn back and talk him out of it, and he (and everyone else) escapes unscathed.

* {{spoiler|Viro}} in ''[[Elemental Gelade (Manga)|Elemental Gelade]]'', who fails spectacularly in her job as a spy/assassin.

* A rather sad one in ''[[Ginga Densetsu Weed (Anime)|Ginga Densetsu Weed]]''. Teru's father, an [[Abusive Parents|abusive father]], was given the choice to either save his son from Hougen's hired assassins (Thunder and Lector) or to run away. After choosing whether or not to kill Kyoshiro, who attacked him and cut off his ear earlier, he {{spoiler|chose to rescue his son. But then he ends up getting killed while fighting}}. His good-bye to his son was heart-wrenching.

* Another sad one in ''[[Aquarion Evol (Anime)|Aquarion Evol]]''. Just after completing his ''[[Heel Face Turn]]'' and saving his new friends from defeat, {{spoiler|Jin is killed by Mykage}}.

== ComicbooksComic Books ==

* In the "Born Again" arc in ''[[Daredevil]]'', the corrupt cop, after a [[No -Holds -Barred Beatdown]], still tries to confess to framing Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and is murdered by one of the Kingpin's minions.

== [[FanficFan Works]] ==

* Subverted in ''[[Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy (Fanfic)|Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy]]''. When {{spoiler|Leather Ashes}} pulls off a [[Heel Face Turn]], {{spoiler|Cure Rosa dies, having jumped in the path of the blast meant for her former foe.}}

* Parodied in ''[[XSGCOM (Fanfic)|XSGCOM]]''. When {{spoiler|Jonas Quinn}} dies and is brought back to life, O'Neill fires off a quip about this.

* The [[Fanfic|fan]][[Web Comic|comic]] ''[[Roommates 2007 (Webcomic)|Roommates]]'' gave us this lampshade-tastic [http://asherhyder.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=168#/d12p906 conversation] about the trope itself. [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Jamie]] knows what he is talking about "been there and done that"... and this is a comic where [[Nobody Can Die]].

* {{spoiler|Barley's}} final act in ''[[The Tainted Grimoire (Fanfic)|The Tainted Grimoire]]'' was to try and save {{spoiler|Cid}}. Ewen had him killed for that.

* Played 100% straight in ''[[Blood Diamond]]''.{{context}}

* Darth Vader (pictured above) could likely be the [[Trope Codifier]]. At the climax of ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'':, Thethe Emperor is electrocuting Luke with force lightning. Choosing his son over all power, Darth Vader lifts the Emperor away from Luke, hurls him down the Death Star reactor shaft, and as he does so is himself shocked, shorting out his life support system. After one last talk with his son, he dies peacefully. On the bright note Anakin became [[Ascend to Aa Higher Plane of Existence|one with the force]], along side Yoda, and Obi-wan.

* Horribly apparent in the run-of-the-mill [[Harrison Ford]] action/suspense movie ''[[Firewall]]''. Within a certain character's first few lines, it becomes obvious what his eventual fate will be.

* Grandmother Ruth in ''[[DantesDante's Peak]]'', who has been hostile to Rachel since [[Backstory|before the movie]] swears, [[Famous Last Words|"this mountain would never hurt us"]] just before the lava destroys her house. When the boat they escape across the lake in begins sinking because the lake has turned to acid, she jumps out and pulls the boat safely to shore at the cost of acid burns [[Nightmare Fuel|from her mid-chest down.]] Naturally, this is too much for an old lady; she has just long enough to reconcile with Rachel before she dies of the burns.

* {{spoiler|Nathan/Repo Man}} in ''[[Repo! theThe Genetic Opera]]''. His scene with [[Ill Girl|Shilo]] as he lays dying also pulls double duty as the movie's biggest [[Tear Jerker]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]].

* Cade in ''[[Sky Blue (Film)|Sky Blue]]'' decides to help Shua and Jay at the very very very end of the movie, after Jay is shot by Locke. He dies.

* In ''[[Tron Legacy (Film)|Tron: Legacy]]'', {{spoiler|Rinzler, who is the brainwashed Tron}} switches sides and kamikazes CLU, destroying both of their light-jets. However, when he tries to pull out a second light-jet, CLU attacks him and steals it, leaving him to fall to his presumed death in the Sea of Simulation. {{spoiler|Then the [[Dying Asas Yourself|lights on his costume come back on, and they've changed back from red to blue.]]}}

* Doctor Octavius gets this in [[Spider -Man (Filmfilm)|Spider-Man 2]] when he drags his out-of-control fusion experiment underwater, stopping it but killing himself in the process.

{{quote| [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|"I WILL NOT DIE A MONSTER!"]]}}

** Let's not forget Wormtail, as his death was case of LITERAL [[Redemption Equals Death]] (actually, Doubt Equals Death) and [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]] AT THE SAME TIME. {{spoiler|When he refrains from killing Harry, his silver hand promptly chokes him to death.}}

* Nevva Winter (Gee, sound familiar?) from the ''[[Pendragon]]'' series was a Traveler gone wrong; she turns into an emotionless [[Manipulative Bitch]]. However, thanks to her mother, Bobby, and his friend, she turns into a good guy-- justguy—just to be killed by the person she'd turned "evil" (depends on your view of her) for, Saint Dane.

* Dates back to Victorian times: If a woman had sex outside of marriage or in adultery, the only accepted redemption for her was death. The very rare plays that dared to challenge this sexual [[Double Standard]], such as W. S. Gilbert's ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060901090614/http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/other_gilbert/html/charity.html Charity]'', were declared immoral.

*** And once more--themore—the strange thing about ''[[The Scarlet Letter]]'' is that the whole novel up to the point of Dimmesdale's death reads as a subversion of this trope. But this is the Victorian era, so of course, someone must die for the adultery.

** Victorians also averted this trope by shipping "fallen women" overseas. [[Charles Dickens (Creator)|Charles Dickens]] does this in ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' (Emily and Martha head off to Australia, along with several other characters). Though he played it straight with Nancy in [[Oliver Twist]]...

* Boromir of [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'': Though never a villain, he ''did'' screw up enormously, briefly became [[The Atoner]], and then got mercilessly slaughtered.

* General Lord Militant Noches Sturm in [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[Gaunts Ghosts|Gaunt's Ghosts]] series. Eventually.

* In Gav Thorpe's [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] Last Chancer novel ''Annihilation Squad'', at the very end, Kage {{spoiler|is freed from a daemon's control, manages, with great effort, to remember what had happened while he was controlled, and realizes the value of sacrifice. He immediately drags the man they had come to assassinate over the cliff.}}

* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] ''[[Blood Angels (Literature)|Deus Encarmine]]'', when taxed with the Word Bearers still in their midst, and they can't tell the Blood Angels where they are, the people of the planet voluntarily, even ecstatically, submit to death as punishment.

* In Peter David's [[Star Trek: New Frontier]] novel ''Treason'', {{spoiler|Dr. Selar}} dies in an explosion that saves other characters' lives--makinglives—making up for the rest of the novel, in which {{spoiler|she goes temporarily insane, contemplates murdering one of her patients, continues destroying her relationship with Burgoyne 172, kidnaps a former crewmate's newborn son, and various other things of like ilk.}}

* In the [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]] novel ''Cat among the Pigeons'' {{spoiler|one of the murderers}} redeems herself by {{spoiler|taking a bullet to stop her best friend being killed and thus atoning for her own murder.}}

* In ''Annals of the [[Black Company]]'', may or may not be averted by {{spoiler|The Lady}}. Knowing what the outcome will be, she chooses to accept the loss of her powers rather than allow an even bigger evil than herself to be unleashed on the world. On the other hand, {{spoiler|her powers had allowed her to maintain her [[Immortality Begins At Twenty|youth and beauty]] indefinitely; it is strongly hinted that without them she ''will'' die eventually. So this could be seen as a very delayed form of [[Redemption Equals Death]].}}

** {{spoiler|Ethan Nakamura}} is [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard|killed]] after realizing that {{spoiler|Kronos only wants to destroy everything, not make things more equal for minor gods/goddesses like Ethan's mother.}}

{{quote| " tell {{spoiler|Char}} I didn't disappoint. Made...children...proud"}}

* In ''[[The Guardians]]'', death is the only way to release {{spoiler|Lilith}} from their [[Deal Withwith the Devil]]. Unfortunately, it doesn't take.

* In one instance in a ''hadith'',<ref> A saying or event ascribed to Muhammad, and used to better interpret the Quran</ref>, there was a woman who came to him, saying she had become pregnant from [[Your Cheating Heart|adultery]], and that she wished to be purified. He told her to come back after she had the baby, which she did, again requesting purification. He told her to come back after she had weaned her baby. She did, even feeding her toddler a piece of bread to prove that the child had, in fact, been weaned. He then condemned her to be stoned to death, the ordinary punishment for adultery.

* In the [[Star Trek]] novel [[Star Trek: aA Time Toto...|''A Time to Heal'']], Erokene Yaelon is a military leader on planet Tezwa, and a supporter of power-mad prime minister Kinchawn - at least at first. After Kinchawn's [[Drunk Withwith Power]] outrages lead to a brutal Klingon counterstrike that kills Yaelon's family (among many others), he loses faith in his leader. Eventually, he earns a degree of redemption for his earlier support by helping Commander Riker escape captivity, at the cost of his own life.

* ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'': In the episode "Evolution of the Daleks", {{spoiler|Dalek Sec fuses with the human building contractor Mr Diagoras, instilling him with a human sense of creativity and a rudimentary morality. The three other Daleks in the episode then turn upon him, and exterminate him when he shields the Doctor. This is also a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] because he jumped in front of the beam headed for the Doctor.}}

** This was a favourite trope of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' in the old days. A guest character would do something terrible, then redeem themselves by sacrificing their life. Examples include Sara Kingdom (executed her brother under orders, then gives her life to save the galaxy from the Daleks' Master Plan) and Galloway in "Death to the Daleks" who blows himself up along with their spacecraft.

** [[Deconstructed]] with one of Xena's [[Disposable Love Interest|Disposable Love Interests]]s. After a lifetime of crime, Marcus protects an innocent young girl at the cost of his own life - only to end up punished for all his misdeeds by being sent to Tartarus. Later he reappears to Xena as a ghost and is temporarily given his mortality back again to help stop a serial killer. Though he is given an opportunity to cheat death for a second time, he choses to go ahead and die - but this time, Xena has bargained for a place for him in the Elysian Fields.

** Jonathan is a much straighter example. Pretty much everything he has done in the series, all of his acts of near-villainy, have been in response to being bullied and picked on in high school. Then in Season 7 he returns to Sunnydale with a genuine desire to prevent the town and its' inhabitants from being destroyed in the Apocalypse and makes a stirring speech about how he's worked through the pain and now only has fond memories of high school and a desire to do good left...and then [[HeelDeadly Face Door SlamChange-of-Heart|Andrew stabs him to death at the behest of the First Evil.]]

{{quote| '''Andrew''': You do realize that none of the people who picked on you in high school are worried about you now, right? Not one of them is sitting there thinking, "Oh yeah, Jonathan, I wonder what he's up to these days?" They do not. Care. About you!<br />

* ''[[Twenty Four|24]]''; Terrorist mastermind Hamri al-Assad decides to forsake terrorism and work with the US government to capture his former lieutenant. Six hours later, he's killed in an assassination attempt on the president.

* Rio and Mele in ''[[Super Sentai|Juuken Sentai Gekiranger]]'', after finally turning to the side of good, meet their deaths in a battle against the season's [[Big Bad]]. Mele is ''crunched'' between his teeth with a horrifying sound, which provides Rio with enough [[Heroic Resolve]] to make a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] for her. They get to have one last scene as a [[Spirit Advisor|Spirit Advisors]]s, though.

* Pops up all over the place in ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]''. Crais and Talyn are perhaps the most notable example.

* Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in ''[[Star Trek: theThe Original Series]]'', "Where No Man Has Gone Before". She spends the whole episode campaigning for Gary Mitchell, despite his [[A God Am I|god complex]], and later turns out to have his powers as well. At the end, she turns on Mitchell and dies.

* Damar in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. He leads the Cardassians in a war against the Federation alongside the Dominion and, perhaps more pertinently, murders Tora Ziyal. Eventually though, he realises the Cardassians' warlike ways are leading them to ruin so allies himself with the Federation and resolves to build a new, better Cardassia {{spoiler|only to die in the assault on Dominion Headquarters}}.

* In ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' Lon Suder, a convicted murderer who was driven to insane violence by his out-of-control temper, is the only crew member left onboard the ship when aliens take over. In a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|stunning display of badassery,]] he storms Engineering and kills all 11 intruders before he sabatoges the ship, allowing it to be retaken. {{spoiler|However, he is shot in the back during his attack, and dies immediately after completing the sabotage.}}

* Of all the characters in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' to be redeemed in death, psychic cop Matt Parkman's deadbeat dad Maury is weirdly given this type of death in Season 3.

** In the volume 4 finale, {{spoiler|Nathan Petrelli tries to atone for his spearheading of the Government's plan to capture all evolved humans by [[What an Idiot!|taking on Sylar alone]]. Sylar [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|finishes him off with a finger flick]]. Then Peter (unaware of his brother's death) [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|manages to completely and utterly pwn Sylar]], and Noah Bennet, Angela Petrelli and Matt Parkman decide to [[Replacement Goldfish|brainwash him into believing he's Nathan.]] [[Idiot Plot|The Volume 5 preview shows that it did NOT end as well as they thought.]] }}

** His [[Alternate Universe]] counterpart gets a villainous inversion version of sorts, when he [[Deal Withwith the Devil|gives up his body and soul to]] [[Darkseid]] in order to bring Lex back to life - the only person he actually cared about. Of course, he wasn't truly redeemed by that one act, and bringing [[Lex Luthor|Lex]] back could be considered a ''bad'' thing...

* Gerak in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to help Earth heal the Ori plague -- despiteplague—despite having been made a full Prior earlier in the episode.

* {{spoiler|Shane Pierce}} in ''[[HarpersHarper's Island]]''.

* In ''[[Being Human (TVUK)|Being Human]]'' Lauren {{spoiler|pulls a [[Big Damn Heroes]], stakes Seth, allowing our cornered heroes to escape, then has Mitchell stake her because she can't take the stress between her conscience and her hunger.}}

* Guy of Gisbourne in the 2000s ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' series. After falling out of favour and being made an outlaw himself, he agrees to help Robin protect their mutual half-brother and shows surprisingly loyalty to the gang despite killing their family and friends in the past. {{spoiler|Not long after, he dies fighting alongside Robin. Not that it did much good, since Robin is fatally wounded in the same battle and as an indirect result of Guy's actions to boot. Some redemption, huh?}}

* In a ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' episode, Lightman manages to convince an American spy in the Middle East who has switched sides to cover their escape from the advancing terrorist forces. He does this until the bunker blows.

* In ''[[Community]]'' episode [[Community (TV)/Recap/S1 /E23 Modern Warfare|Modern Warfare]] Britta makes up for her attempt to double-cross Jeff by sacrificing herself to defeat Chang.

* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''. Depending on which version of the story you believe {{spoiler|the Chaos gods possessing Horus abandon him as soon as the tables turn during his final battle with the Emperor. Realising what he has done, Horus begs the Emperor to forgive him for his betrayal. The Emperor does so, then kills Horus to prevent him from being possessed again.}}

** Quite commonly accepted in-universe. The Ecclesiarchy alone gives us Arco-Flagellants ("repentant" heretics implanted with cyber weaponry and pumped full of combat drugs), Penitent Engines (not quite [[Humongous Mecha]] piloted by arch-heretics tied to the front of the thing), Sisters Repentia ([[Amazon Brigade|Sisters Of Battle]] with a death-wish because of some personal failure armed with an [[Chainsaw Good|Eviscerator]]) and with the RPG the newly-created Sisters Oblatia (Sisters Of Battle with a death-wish because of ''someone else's'' personal failure -- accordingfailure—according to their creed, they can redeem another person, group or even planet if their death is heroic enough. Taking the vow associated with this is considered a high honour that is not granted lightly...)

* If you get the [[IveI've Come Too Far...]] response from {{spoiler|Aribeth}} in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'', this trope results.

* Happens in ''[[Tales of Destiny (Video Game)|Tales of Destiny]]'', at least the remake version. After he betrayed the party, and they kicked his ass, Leon Magnus goes to help them escape the soon-to-be-flooded battlefield, while staying behind and letting himself drown, instantly clearing him of any sins he's done in the past. This never happened in the original version, though. He was a sadistic [[Jerkass]] there.

** Adjunta Pall is an interesting variation on the trope. He's a (very, ''very'') long dead Dark Lord of the Sith, actually said to be the ''first'' human Dark Lord. He lived and died long before the lightsaber was invented. You can talk to his spirit, and find that he has regrets after all this time. You can then attack him or try and coax him to redemption. He disappears after being fought; fail at your Persuade roll and he tells you that it's too late, tells you, "Be at peace", and also vanishes. Succeed in your Persuade roll, and his last lines are a [[Knights of the Old Republic (Videovideo Gamegame)/Heartwarming|Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming]]. But it ''does'' seem like this is the one route in which he finally [[Ascends to A Higher Plane of Existence|leaves this world]].

{{quote| "If... if I could return. Oh, my Master... it has been... so long... and I regret so much..."}}

* Apparently Nod's Redeemer in [[Command and& Conquer|Kane's wrath]] is this, based on how it shouts "Redemption is Your's!" when issued an attack order

* A major part of the plot in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]''. The reason the protagonist is immortal is that {{spoiler|he felt he needed immortality to have enough time to redeem himself of his evil deeds far prior to the game. Turns out that immortality comes with amnesia. By the end of the game, he finally undoes his immortality and dies, never having had the chance to redeem himself. He ends up either going to hell, or erasing himself from existence.}}

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'': {{spoiler|Axel}} falls victim to this trope, deliberately sacrificing his own life to help out Sora to make up for his earlier actions. Whether or not it was [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|actually necessary for him to do so]] is a hotbutton topic among the fans.

* Elpizo, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Mega Man Zero]] 2'' spent half of the game {{spoiler|trying to unleash [[The Messiah]] Dark Elf, which has the power to [[EndoftheThe End of the World Asas We Know It|destroy the world]]}}. Zero defeats him, naturally, and Elpizo was regretful for his actions. The Dark Elf, however, {{spoiler|[[Fate Worse Than Death|turns him into a cyber-elf]], actually saving his life}}.

* Happens to {{spoiler|Ghaleon}} in ''[[Lunar: Eternal Blue]]''. However, this trope is completely averted in the case of {{spoiler|the other four heroes.}}

* A semi-example in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Brawl''. Master Hand has just been freed from {{spoiler|Tabuu's}} control, and he attempts to fight him, only to be beaten and presumably killed. (Although, he's died several times when a player beats Classic.)

* The Masked Man aka {{spoiler|Claus}} at the end of ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]''. It's implied that The Masked Man killed himself after finally remembering who he was before. However, the ending is [[Gainax Ending|ambiguous]] and there are a couple different ways to interpret the text in the final battle.

* {{spoiler|Byrne}} in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]'' eventually succumbs to this after his [[Heel Face Turn]], {{spoiler|using the last of his power to keep Malladus away from Zelda's body and let Zelda get her physical form back in the final battle.}}

* {{spoiler|Grom Hellscream}} in ''[[War CraftWarcraft]] III''.

* Though he decided to redeem himself before Leon ever met him, Luis Sera in ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'' still suffers [[Impaled Withwith Extreme Prejudice|a gruesome death]] at the hands of his former boss, creepy cult leader Saddler.

* Subverted in ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]'' {{spoiler|Kratos ultimately wants to drive Lloyd to kill him in a duel, but Lloyd refuses and flat out chews him out for believing that killing himself would make up for the things he did.}}

* Also subverted in ''[[Tales of Vesperia (Video Game)|Tales of Vesperia]]'' with {{spoiler|Raven}}, who manages to survive his [[Heel Face Turn]]. [[Death Seeker|Though not for lack of trying]].

* In [[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]] King [[A Father to His Men|Volechek]] unknowingly triggers the [[Wham! Episode|Grave Eclipse]] in the [[What Have I Done|center of his city.]] The party next sees him when he [[Heroic Sacrifice|gives his life]] to end the Eclipse.

* Depending on the party makeup at the time, ''[[Final Fantasy IV: theThe After Years]]'' can wind up with {{spoiler|Golbez dying at the hands of Cecil's dark side}}.

* In ''[[Shadowgirls]]'', {{spoiler|Robert Olmstead and several other Deep Ones turn on Mother Hydra when she goes all-out [[Omnicidal Maniac]] and sends her own people to senseless death as [[Cannon Fodder]]. Robert chooses to be sacrificed, while his allies die in battle}}.

* The theme of the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' story "That Which Redeems" is that seeking redemption is [[Death Seeker|a death wish]]. {{spoiler|Mosp falls victim but Torg eventually decides that "redemption is overrated."}}

* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' plays with this here and there, but thoroughly averted with {{spoiler|Miko Miyazaki}}, though. Burlew even says in the graphic novel that {{spoiler|Miko}}'s death was meant to show that not everyone gets a chance to redeem themselves after fucking up royally in the real world, and we should all be mindful of our actions.

*** Whether intentional or not, {{spoiler|Miko}} does redeem {{spoiler|her}} character to some extent. {{spoiler|She does, after all, finally accept a compromise (seeing Windstriker again, even if she couldn't become a paladin again). Also, Miko was widely hated by the fanbase but still gets redeemed enough in the fans eyes to get a tear jerker ending.}}

* Dex Garritt from ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' seems to have gotten a ''retroactive'' version of this. When we first met him, Dex was the only decent guy in a team of [[Jerk Jock]] slaughterball players, and subsequent adventures have shown him to be an all-around nice and upstanding guy. Then, in the most recent story arc, we learn that in his younger days, {{spoiler|Dex was an alcoholic and a druggie, and once beat his wife (although he did state that he regretted it, which was a major reason he became a decent, upstanding person to begin with)}}. Almost ''immediately'' afterward, Dex {{spoiler|gets his intestines ripped out by The Infernomancer, and since he's [[Blessed Withwith Suck|resistant to all forms of magic]], there's no way to save his life with magical healing}}. Karma's a ''bitch''. {{spoiler|Turns out he's [[Normally I Would Be Dead Now|not quite ready to give up yet though,]] as his ex-wife is still not ready to forgive him. Dex basically invokes the reverse of this trope: If there's not going to be any Redemption, he refuses the Death. One could argue that he had already redeemed himself by starting a fistfight with an [[Eldritch Abomination]] to give the civilians, his wife among them, a chance to escape.}}

* {{spoiler|Nega-Ki}} in ''[[General Protection Fault]]'' attempts to surprise Nega-Nick when he is about to use Nick's [[MU Te X]]MUTeX device to escape. She is mortally wounded when Nega-Nick shoots her with a laser welder, but her actions give Nick an opportunity to try to get the welder away from his counterpart, before {{spoiler|Nega-Nick tries to teleport away, but Nick was [[Crazy Prepared]] and the lack of a critical part causes him to be warped to an unknown location, and possiblyapparently disintegrated}} - until it was shown he was rescued.

** Similarly, {{spoiler|Chuck}}, who {{spoiler|testified against and got his best friend Fooker convicted of murder, and was responsible for hitting Ki's father with a car}} while under Trudy's control, finally rebels after Ki gets him to come to his senses. He saves Fooker, but Trudy activates a device that causes him pain, turns it to its maximum setting and causes his death.

* {{spoiler|Link}} in the final episode of ''[[There Will Be Brawl]]''. It could actually count as a [[Double Subversion]], since he had an apparent [[HeelDeadly Face Door SlamChange-of-Heart]] {{spoiler|in the previous episode, thanks to Zelda's (quite literal) backstabbing.}} However, he gets better just long enough to {{spoiler|face down Ganondorf one final time as a true hero.}}

* {{spoiler|Inverted in}} [[Dr. HorriblesHorrible's Sing -Along Blog]], when {{spoiler|Penny's death causes Dr Horrible's final damnation.}}

* In ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]'', Terra, [[The Mole]] for [[Big Bad]] Slade during season two, ended up turning on him in the season finale. In the ensuing battle between her and Slade, Terra triggered a volcanic eruption, and ended up having to sacrifice herself to save the city and her friends. She exhausted all of her powers and was [[Taken for Granite|turned into a statue]]. However, in the series finale "Things Change", Beast Boy encounters a schoolgirl who looks mysteriously like Terra, and after noticing that [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|her stone statue is gone]], begs the girl to return to the team. Despite repeated insistence that she doesn't know him, the girl finallly tells him that [[I Just Want to Be Normal|"Things were never the way you remember...'']], ending the series on a [[Bittersweet Ending|sweetly sad note.]]

*** Years later, a new, heroic Terra appears in [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|the comics]], with the body of the old Terra disappearing, and eventually it's strongly hinted that she's actually the original with amnesia. A central aspect of this character is that she's aware of the possibility and terrified that it could be true. Then she [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|dies]] [[Dying to Be Replaced|pointlessly]] in a later storyline [[Legacy Character|to make way for yet another Terra]].

* Dinobot of ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'' was a Predacon who defected to the Maximals in the first season. In the second season, he betrayed the Maximals and gave Megatron the golden discs. Though Dinobot would return to the Maximals after realizing Megatron's evil, the Maximals had little reason to trust him from that point on. Redemption finally came in the episode Code of Hero where Dinobot battled against all the Predacons to save the early protohumans and won, but at the cost of his own life.

{{quote| Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, [[Be All My Sins Remembered|the ill deeds along with the good]], and let me be judged accordingly. [[Shout -Out to/To Shakespeare|The rest... is silence]].}}

* ''[[Titan AEA.E.]]'' has a classic example. In this case, the improbability of {{spoiler|Corso's}} sudden betrayal and total personality change, sudden redemption, and even suddener death really draws attention to this trope.

* In ''[[Iron Man: Armored Adventures]]'', {{spoiler|The Living Laser, who spent most of the series searching for his purpose in life, ends up sacrificing himself to help stop M.O.D.O.C. and save Iron Man's life after Tony Stark had shown him kindness when no one else in his life had.}}

** In one episode of ''[[Batman: theThe Animated Series]]'', Mr Freeze is coaxed into helping an aging industrialist named Grant Walker into achieving immortality (by giving Walker the same icy biology that he has) and to use his freezing weaponry to initiate a new ice age, from which a new utopia will emerge led by Walker, all in exchange for the chance to cure his cryogenically frozen wife. After Batman arrives and convinces Freeze that destroying the world just for her would be wrong (and that she would think so as well) he helps destroy Walker's island, with himself still on it.

* {{spoiler|Nebula}} in the season 4 finale of ''[[Winx Club]]'' {{spoiler|tries [[Driven to Suicide|to die]] [[Taking You Withwith Me|with the Fairy Hunters]] after having joined with the titular team in fighting them}}. Just thank {{spoiler|Bloom}} for averting this.

* German Admiral [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris:Wilhelm Canaris|Wilhelm Canaris]].

* [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Frank:Hans Frank|Possibly this man, Hans Frank]]

* Ariel Sharon mightlooked to be a real life subversion. After decades of warmongering and militant nationalism he finally began to work toward peace and pulled out of Gaza. Only to be hit by a stroke right afterwards. A subversion in that he didn't exactly die, just forced into a coma. and wasAnd nowthen completelyplayed incapacitatedstraight forafter lifeall, dying after eight years in a coma.

* Depending on how you view him, imperial commander [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_Mori_%28commander%29:Takeshi Mori (commander)|Takeshi Mori]]'s refusal to side with the conspirators of the Kyujo incident, may count as redemption. His seal was still used to authorize the coup, which was prevented regardless of his standpoint, but he did die for refusing to support a conspiracy that could've resulted in millions of meaningless deaths.

[[Category:Redemption Equals Death{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:TropeRedemption Tropes]]