Anything Good Is Simple

Posted on 17 April 2010

How do we know our hero (or heroine) has been tricked into doing evil?  Because “the plan” is amazingly complex, involving seemingly questionable (but not outright evil) tactics, and seems to be taking the victims of the plan for a complete ride. Or, shall we say, a Flawless Victory.  How do we know a person is a villain? Because they do those kinds of plans.  How do we know a person is the hero? Because, on their own, they have straightforward, to the point plans, or at least compared to their villain (so no Mission Impossible Gotcha’s, k?).  This really annoys me, or as a cartoon would say, it Grinds My Gears.

Now, I understand that in fiction, we need to pat/kick the dog to show our moral fiber, and that we want to believe that a good heart and well-intentioned plan will, in the end, win the day.  Even in the cases of stories about rebellions, the Big Bad is typically a much meaner, more devious, and super-powerful foe who will nearly topple the whole thing single handedly (or with the proper application of military force), thus making the machinations of the heroes somewhat justified, as that was the only way to get at them.

But what about the noble weasel? I have been wracking my brain all morning, trying to think of a solid example of a person who is a manipulative bastard but uses it not for his own selfish ends, but instead to help out the good guys (or further a good goal)?  Can playing, even with difficulty, playing the villain for a fool and getting away with it be a bad thing? I am sure we would say it is in real life, so why not in fiction?  Well, I guess it is because Good Is Dumb, and Dumb is Good.  Look those up on tvtropes to get what I’m saying.