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