Tropescilloscope: Karma Houdini

Character gets away with foul deeds while avoiding justice. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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