Basic Trope: A character is chewed out by a superior, but at the end they reveal that they did some good.
- Straight: "Bob, you destroyed the public library and let three drug-smugglers go free, but thanks to you, the mayor's daughter is safe, so I guess I can't fire you."
- Exaggerated:
- "Bob, you obliterated three cities and allowed seven of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted to escape, but the mayor's daughter is most likely alive, so here's your reward."
- "Bob, you just destroyed half of the universe and released a prison of crazy serial killers, but the mayor's dog is safe, so I can't fire you."
- "Bob, you committed arson on the White House, you murdered the mayor, but since you saved the mayor's wife from drowning, you're promoted to CEO!"
- "Bob, you have reduced the entirety of the multiverse excluding this one room to cinders, putting all living beings through excruciating pain in doing so, but my trading cards are all undamaged so congrats on your promotion!"
- Downplayed:
- The mistakes Bob made actually were trivial compared to what good he did, but his superior still wants to warn him about those mistakes.
- Bob's recklessness up to and including blowing up the library gets him fired. Saving the mayor's daughter only means nobody will press criminal charges or sue.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
- Justified:
- The purpose of the mission was to save the mayor's daughter, so Bob technically did what he was required to do.
- "You risked many lives just to save one. I guess you showed us what it truly means to be an officer."
- The mayor's daughter is the key witness against the drug-smugglers, so there was no point in catching them but losing her as they would have had to be let go anyway. The library's destruction was not his idea.
- "I mean, in a place like this, you could've done even worse."
- Inverted: "Bob, I'm glad you avoided collateral damage and caught the bad guys, but the mayor's daughter died in the chaos, so I'm going to need you to turn in your badge."
- Subverted: "...Hang on, this report also says you wiped out a train station. Sorry, but that's just too much property damage for me to allow. Hand in your badge."
- Double Subverted: "Wait! You missed the nearby pet shop, thus sparing the lives of all the cute animals inside. You're getting promoted!"
- Parodied:
- "Bob, you leveled the city, killed thousands of people, endangered many others, destroyed seven national landmarks, broke the President's arm, and got me a doughnut. I think someone's up for a promotion!"
- "Bob, although you drove all cute animals into near-extinction and made babies cry, you managed to bring back cute animals and make the best toys for babies. That means big rewards for you."
- Zig-Zagged: Arson, Murder, Livesaving, Murder, Lifesaving, Murder, Jaywalking, Arson, Murder, Arson, Lifesaving... and the list continues on.
- Averted:
- No collateral damage was caused.
- Or the mission went perfectly.
- Enforced: The executives want to keep this Cash-Cow Franchise going, so they prevent the creators from firing the hero.
- Lampshaded:
- "Phew! For a second there, I really thought you were going to fire me!"
- Bob's rival, Carl, who would have Bob's promotion otherwise, looks on the conversation:Carl: That Bob sure is gonna get it.
The Chief: ...But you saved the President's daughter, so I'm going to promote you.
Carl: WHAT?!
- Invoked: Bob is about to be fired, but brings up the point that he saved the mayor's daughter. The chief concedes Bob's argument and allows him to keep his job.
- Exploited: Bob knows that, as long as he does some good, he won't get in trouble, so he does whatever he feels like.
- Defied: The superior's superior intervenes: "Listen, I don't give a damn that he saved the mayor's daughter! He destroyed a building and he didn't catch his man! He's fired!"
- Discussed: "What do you think I'm going to do, promoting you because you did one good thing among the other evil things like in these comedy movies?"
- Conversed: "Oh dear, are they going to jail Bob?" "As if you don't know, if The Hero saves the princess, no one cares how many villages were burnt in the process."
- Deconstructed: See Defied.
- Reconstructed: Bob's superior replies "Believe me, sir, I've had all sorts of opportunities to fire him for years, but what usually works is that when we give him one more chance to catch the guy, he'll actually pull it off."
- Played for Laughs: Bob's superior lets him keep his job, not in spite of the collateral damage, but because the building Bob destroyed belonged to his superior's ex.
- Played for Drama: Bob is afraid and depressed as he walks into the office, knowing that a large amount of building damage he caused could be grounds for firing him. The boss chews him out loudly in front of everyone... and then launches into a speech about how what he did outweighs all the damage he caused, and he's not fired. Aside from his usual competence, the boss wants him to know that this job isn't always easy, and he'll just have to live with his mistakes.
Alright, troper, you ruined an examples page and allowed misspelling on a Useful Notes page. But the Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving page is still intact, so I guess you're alright.
