Tropescilloscope: Kick the Dog

A gratuitously cruel action serves to darken a character. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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