Tropescilloscope: I Did What I Had to Do

An after-the-fact justification for morally questionable but necessary actions. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Slasher Smile As the Good Book Says... Cool Old Guy Intrepid Reporter Protagonist Title Exact Words Deconstruction Break the Cutie Bond One-Liner Love Triangle The '90s Russian Films Tap on the Head Amoral Attorney Meaningful Echo Dual Wielding Villain Ball The Load Never Trust a Trailer Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Scare Chord Revenge Trailers Always Spoil The Lancer Those Two Guys As Himself Suspiciously Specific Denial Lighter and Softer Book-Ends A Father to His Men Skewed Priorities Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Hollywood Darkness Conspicuous CG Genre Savvy Distracted by the Sexy Martial Arts Movie Not So Stoic Film Series Beware the Nice Ones Body Horror Badass in a Nice Suit Award-Bait Song Fake Shemp Made of Explodium Disguised in Drag Foreshadowing Death by Irony Bar Brawl Worthy Opponent Dwindling Party Due to the Dead Storming the Castle Big-Bad Ensemble Ax-Crazy Insult Backfire Darkest Hour Light Is Not Good Adults Are Useless Woman in White Big Applesauce Totally Radical Military and Warfare Films Match Cut The Sociopath Dramedy He Who Fights Monsters No Ending Beard of Evil Market-Based Title Corpsing Card-Carrying Villain Show Within a Show Mistaken for Gay Eiffel Tower Effect Wounded Gazelle Gambit Defrosting Ice Queen Large Ham Not So Different Action Survivor Lock and Load Montage Eyepatch of Power Unresolved Sexual Tension Faking the Dead In the Back The Alleged Car Comically Missing the Point Cat Fight Badass Normal Token Minority Call-Back "The Reason You Suck" Speech Heterosexual Life-Partners Time Skip Catch-Phrase Tagline Parental Abandonment Manipulative Bastard Leitmotif Hope Spot Early-Bird Cameo Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane The End... Or Is It? Blackmail The Ditz Your Head A-Splode Armor-Piercing Question Hoist by His Own Petard Flashback All for Nothing Married to the Job The Alcoholic Shown Their Work Heroic Sacrifice Pragmatic Villainy Killed Mid-Sentence Get Out! Villain with Good Publicity Canadian Movies Noodle Incident Every Car Is a Pinto Implacable Man Artistic License – Military Precision F-Strike Final Girl Took a Level in Badass Parental Neglect Villain Song Call-Forward Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Insane Troll Logic Evil Is Hammy Captain Ersatz Offscreen Moment of Awesome Ripped from the Headlines Black Comedy Black and Gray Morality Chekhov's Gunman Cool Guns Pay Evil unto Evil Disproportionate Retribution Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Fate Worse than Death Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Anti-Villain Asshole Victim Dies Wide Open Not What It Looks Like Bunny-Ears Lawyer Authority Equals Asskicking Bad "Bad Acting" Genre Throwback Affectionate Parody Creator Cameo Redshirt Army The Remake Double Entendre Pretty in Mink The Chessmaster Dissonant Serenity Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Have a Gay Old Time Jerk Jock It Will Never Catch On Extreme Doormat Almost Kiss Karmic Death Politically Incorrect Villain Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Bare Your Midriff Mythology Gag Ambiguous Ending Overprotective Dad The Smart Guy Neck Snap Thriller The Dog Bites Back Bavarian Fire Drill Grievous Bottley Harm Defiant to the End Stealth Hi/Bye Twist Ending Man on Fire Groin Attack Gratuitous English Actually Pretty Funny Nice Guy Gilligan Cut Badass Longcoat Silent Movie Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Slap-Slap-Kiss The Bully The Faceless Bland-Name Product Sealed Evil in a Can Funny Foreigner Not So Above It All Adaptational Heroism Line-of-Sight Name Chekhov's Gun Big Bad Daylight Horror Posthumous Character Historical Hero Upgrade Small Name, Big Ego Brutal Honesty Affably Evil Double-Meaning Title Gold Digger Camp Gay Immune to Bullets Cruel and Unusual Death Car Fu Film Noir Historical In-Joke Ass Shove Establishing Character Moment Bottomless Magazines Chiaroscuro Mr. Fanservice Betty and Veronica Not Even Bothering with the Accent Children Are Innocent Love at First Sight Evil vs. Evil Lampshade Hanging Logo Joke Costume Porn Breaking the Fourth Wall Overly Long Gag Manchild Epic Fail Death of a Child Expository Hairstyle Change Stock Footage Retcon This Is Gonna Suck Chekhov's Skill The Dreaded Smoking Is Cool Psychological Thriller Police are Useless Visual Pun Reality Ensues Rule of Symbolism Becoming the Mask Obviously Evil Dark and Troubled Past Left the Background Music On Morality Pet Kill 'em All Recycled IN SPACE! Agony of the Feet Drugs Are Bad Would Hurt a Child Earn Your Happy Ending Evil Brit Depraved Bisexual Let's Get Dangerous! For Want of a Nail Refuge in Audacity Break the Haughty Bolivian Army Ending "Shaggy Dog" Story 20 Minutes into the Future Rape as Drama Does This Remind You of Anything? Coming-of-Age Story Madness Mantra Heroic BSoD Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Meaningful Background Event Oh, Crap! All Men Are Perverts Evil Laugh Narrator Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Self-Deprecation No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Dressing as the Enemy Evil Sounds Deep Stealth Pun Mind Screw All There in the Script Pyrrhic Victory Fantasy Films Novelization Sexy Discretion Shot Mooks Hooker with a Heart of Gold Well-Intentioned Extremist Animated Credits Opening Gory Discretion Shot Action Genre Science Fiction Films Room Full of Crazy Red Eyes, Take Warning Dark Is Not Evil Bittersweet Ending The Casanova Horror Comedy Riddle for the Ages Deliberately Monochrome Adaptation Name Change Vomit Indiscretion Shot Evil Cannot Comprehend Good I'm a Humanitarian Papa Wolf Improbable Aiming Skills And Starring World of Ham Punny Name Dark Reprise Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Chewing the Scenery Ironic Echo Rewatch Bonus Christmas Movies Index Improvised Weapon Red Shirt Really Gets Around Needs Wiki Magic Love Random Events Plot Shirtless Scene Heel–Face Turn Slashed Throat Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Handicapped Badass Drowning My Sorrows The Big Guy Hollywood Law Unspoken Plan Guarantee Foregone Conclusion Artistic License – Gun Safety Artistic License – Geography Unusually Uninteresting Sight From Nobody to Nightmare The Place Dutch Angle Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Our Zombies Are Different As Long as It Sounds Foreign timeperiod Creative Closing Credits Leaning on the Fourth Wall Dirty Old Man Leave the Camera Running Gorn Meet Cute Intergenerational Friendship B-Movie Heel Realization Bloodier and Gorier Department of Redundancy Department Redemption Equals Death Psycho for Hire Freudian Excuse Bait-and-Switch The Power of Love Ghost Fiction Sinister Minister Up to Eleven Dramatic Gun Cock '80s Hair Black Best Friend Half the Man He Used to Be Take a Third Option Adaptation Dye-Job Parental Substitute MacGuffin Same Language Dub Drill Sergeant Nasty Fire-Forged Friends Mercy Kill Mighty Whitey Hypocritical Humor More Dakka Evil-Detecting Dog Badass Bookworm Retirony Only in It for the Money I Have Your Wife Big Brother Instinct Soft Glass The Chick Even Evil Has Standards Good Is Not Nice Auto Erotica Monumental Damage Eldritch Abomination Adaptational Attractiveness There Is No Kill Like Overkill Maybe Ever After He Knows Too Much Bowdlerise Kick the Dog Bald of Evil Getting Crap Past the Radar Death by Adaptation Bloody Hilarious Ungrateful Bastard Babies Ever After Make It Look Like an Accident Cat Scare A Date with Rosie Palms Spared by the Adaptation Author Avatar Cluster F-Bomb Only One Name Eureka Moment Be Careful What You Wish For Put on a Bus Made of Iron La Résistance Jump Scare Fourth Date Marriage Once More, with Clarity! Cassandra Truth The Film of the Book Italian Films Alliterative Name Dirty Coward Bond Villain Stupidity Australian Movies Poor Communication Kills Scenery Gorn Public Domain Feature Films You Have Failed Me After the End Antagonist Title Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Camera Abuse A God Am I Hero of Another Story Jerkass The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Annoying Younger Sibling O.O.C. Is Serious Business Face–Heel Turn Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil You Killed My Father Vomit Discretion Shot Badass Boast Fainting Determinator aka: The Determinator Here We Go Again! Pretty Little Headshots Psychopathic Manchild Big "NO!" Age Lift The Quiet One No Name Given An Axe to Grind Abhorrent Admirer Superhero Say My Name The Un-Reveal Fiery Redhead Mugging the Monster Domestic Abuse Suspiciously Similar Substitute Bi the Way Shell-Shocked Veteran Anyone Can Die Advertised Extra Taking the Bullet The X of Y Bad Boss Punch-Clock Villain No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Does Not Like Shoes Four-Temperament Ensemble Anti-Hero Crucified Hero Shot Sadistic Choice Cloudcuckoolander Humiliation Conga Fanservice Extra Shipper on Deck Romantic Comedy Fan Disservice Instant Death Bullet I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Offscreen Teleportation Peek-a-Boo Corpse Covers Always Lie Wham Line Apocalypse How The Dragon Throwing Your Sword Always Works War Is Hell Imagine Spot Slasher Movie Index of Film Westerns No Antagonist The Smurfette Principle Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Henpecked Husband Alpha Bitch Only a Flesh Wound Toplessness from the Back Evil Counterpart Star-Crossed Lovers Bilingual Bonus Fatal Family Photo Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Major Injury Underreaction Tempting Fate Wicked Cultured Reasonable Authority Figure German Films Dogged Nice Guy Dark Action Girl Driven to Suicide The '80s It Can Think Vampire Fiction Death Seeker Easily Forgiven No-Sell Flipping the Bird N-Word Privileges Red Oni, Blue Oni Film Noir Index Badass Grandpa Back from the Dead Real Life Big Eater Did Not Get the Girl Artistic License – Biology Catapult Nightmare British Films The Mafia Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Bury Your Gays Not Quite Dead Broken Pedestal Enemy Mine Dramatic Irony Five-Man Band Never My Fault Super Strength Happily Married Heroes Want Redheads Rule of Funny Last-Name Basis Cain and Abel Guile Hero Red Right Hand Berserk Button An Aesop Adult Fear Despair Event Horizon The Cameo Fat Bastard Death by Sex Male Frontal Nudity Vitriolic Best Buds Frame-Up Stalker with a Crush Too Dumb to Live Spiritual Successor Stepford Smiler Wretched Hive Mad Scientist Serial Killer Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Action Prologue Butt-Monkey Artistic License – Physics Hong Kong Films Kill It with Fire Eye Scream Homage Soundtrack Dissonance Daddy's Girl Meaningful Name Spell My Name with an "S" Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Together in Death Unreliable Narrator Victoria's Secret Compartment Crazy Jealous Guy Title Drop Unusual Euphemism Mr. Exposition Properly Paranoid Anachronic Order Central Theme The Great Depression Black Dude Dies First Arc Words Downer Ending Damsel in Distress Sir Swears-a-Lot Shut Up, Hannibal! "Awesome McCool" Name Plucky Comic Relief Gainax Ending The '60s Country Matters Femme Fatale Playing Gertrude Aside Glance Fantastic Racism In Name Only Crazy-Prepared Adaptational Badass Historical-Domain Character Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Roaring Rampage of Revenge Broken Aesop All Just a Dream Red Herring Better to Die than Be Killed Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Deal with the Devil Loads and Loads of Characters Cool Car No Celebrities Were Harmed Loophole Abuse Bound and Gagged No OSHA Compliance Police Brutality Cold-Blooded Torture Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Would Hit a Girl Ship Tease Captain Obvious Genre Shift From Bad to Worse Batman Gambit Obstructive Bureaucrat Shout-Out Music Stories It's All About Me Training Montage Romantic False Lead Outrun the Fireball Sci-Fi Horror Brother–Sister Incest A.I. Is a Crapshoot Off-into-the-Distance Ending An Arm and a Leg Race Lift Composite Character Beta Couple Hate Sink The Bad Guy Wins Retired Badass Curse Cut Short Faux Affably Evil Epic Movie True Companions Big Fancy House Corrupt Corporate Executive Those Wacky Nazis I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Spiteful Spit Serious Business Knife Nut Very Loosely Based on a True Story Off with His Head! And the Adventure Continues Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Character Development Horror Films Belligerent Sexual Tension Villainous Breakdown Bring My Brown Pants Laughing Mad Plot Hole Spanner in the Works Sanity Slippage Naïve Newcomer Gone Horribly Right Death Glare The Stinger Celebrity Paradox Sassy Black Woman Foil One Steve Limit The Brute Irony How We Got Here May–December Romance Hell Is That Noise Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Dumb Blonde Obfuscating Stupidity Expy Scenery Porn Beauty Is Never Tarnished Exactly What It Says on the Tin Fish out of Water The Musical Manly Tears Darker and Edgier Real Life Writes the Plot Alas, Poor Villain Amusing Injuries Pet the Dog You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Abusive Parents Blood from the Mouth Casting Gag Rousing Speech The '70s Take That! Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Demoted to Extra Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Big Damn Heroes Kids Are Cruel Improbable Weapon User The Ghost Early Installment Weirdness Fun with Acronyms Disney Death Documentary Developing Doomed Characters Jerk with a Heart of Gold All There in the Manual Ambiguously Gay Failed a Spot Check Non-Indicative Name BFG Stylistic Suck Blatant Lies Evil Is Petty Rated M for Manly Artistic License – History The Oner Empathic Environment Even Evil Has Loved Ones Translation Convention Everyone Has Standards "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Bullying a Dragon Ambiguous Disorder Parental Incest Greater-Scope Villain Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Contrived Coincidence Men Are the Expendable Gender Humans Are Bastards Deliberate Values Dissonance My Beloved Smother Suddenly SHOUTING! What the Hell, Hero? Knight Templar Not Using the "Z" Word Stuff Blowing Up Kick the Son of a Bitch Our Vampires Are Different Decoy Protagonist Facial Horror The Vamp The Atoner Author Appeal Brick Joke In Medias Res One-Word Title Sacrificial Lion Insistent Terminology Pimped-Out Dress Disappeared Dad The Ace Motor Mouth Dropped a Bridge on Him It's Personal I Need a Freaking Drink Green-Eyed Monster Arch-Enemy Hair-Trigger Temper Names to Run Away from Really Fast Nice Hat Animal Title Index Naked People Are Funny Hero Antagonist Japanese Films Attempted Rape Taking You with Me Woman Scorned Grey and Gray Morality Arranged Marriage Yandere Informed Ability Villain Protagonist Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Interrupted Suicide The Mole Mystery and Detective Films folderlabel The Starscream Accidental Murder Scary Black Man Television Movie Index Neck Lift Freeze-Frame Bonus Jerkass Has a Point Adaptational Villainy Honor Before Reason Dirty Cop Laser-Guided Karma Straight Gay One-Man Army Only Sane Man Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Determinator Zombie Stories Mundane Made Awesome Vacation Films Action Girl Crapsack World Bloodless Carnage Mood Whiplash Manic Pixie Dream Girl Hidden Depths Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold I Did What I Had to Do Villain Opening Scene What Happened to the Mouse? What You Are in the Dark Boom, Headshot! My Greatest Failure Disney Villain Death Your Cheating Heart Fingore Famous Last Words Mexican Standoff Smug Snake Reality Is Unrealistic The Hero Dies Friend to All Children Demonic Possession Whole Plot Reference Sports Stories You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Historical Villain Upgrade Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Shower Scene Fanservice The Reveal Creepy Child Cool Shades Idiot Ball Reality Has No Subtitles Black Comedy Rape Took a Level in Jerkass Gender Flip Wham Shot Word of God The Lost Lenore Missing Mom Diabolus ex Machina Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Guns Akimbo Pre-Mortem One-Liner Rule of Cool Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Rich Bitch Unwitting Instigator of Doom Anachronism Stew Ominous Latin Chanting Extremely Short Timespan The '50s Artistic License – Law "Well Done, Son!" Guy Sequel Hook Mama Bear Video Credits The Cavalry Silence Is Golden Credits Gag Older Than They Look Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Rule of Three Shoot the Shaggy Dog Awesome, but Impractical Curb-Stomp Battle And I Must Scream Moment Killer Anguished Declaration of Love For the Evulz Karma Houdini Never Found the Body Broken Bird Aluminum Christmas Trees Important Haircut Wrong Genre Savvy Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Actor Allusion Nothing Is Scarier Calling the Old Man Out Based on a True Story Closed Circle Biopic The Hero Destination Defenestration Didn't Think This Through Paper-Thin Disguise Rasputinian Death Drives Like Crazy Hypocrite Running Gag Animal Motifs Ms. Fanservice Adorkable Evil Plan Only Known by Their Nickname Kubrick Stare Dull Surprise Sequel Escalation Malevolent Masked Men Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Fatal Flaw Jitter Cam Big Bad Duumvirate Combat Pragmatist Adapted Out All Girls Want Bad Boys Race Against the Clock NO INDOOR VOICE Male Gaze Setting Update Eagleland Cool Old Lady Danny Peary Cult Movies List Adaptation Distillation Those Two Bad Guys Product Placement She Cleans Up Nicely Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Works Set in World War II Continuity Nod My God, What Have I Done? Framing Device Dying Moment of Awesome Deus ex Machina A Minor Kidroduction Reckless Gun Usage Pragmatic Adaptation Tranquil Fury Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Truth in Television Funny Background Event The Stoner Brainless Beauty Deadpan Snarker Sole Survivor The Voiceless Accidental Misnaming As You Know Air-Vent Passageway French Films Blood Knight The Stoic Adaptation Expansion Chase Scene Re-Cut She's Got Legs Cowboy Cop Canon Foreigner Undying Loyalty Ascended Extra Face Death with Dignity