Basic Trope: A character that acts as the others' moral compass.
- Straight: After being gone for a while, Carol finds her friends Alice, Bob, and Diane discussing how they're going to cheat at the upcoming test. Carol tells them that she thinks cheating is wrong and tries to persuade them not to do it.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice, Bob, and Diane plan to kill Emily. Carol tries to tell them that it's Disproportionate Retribution.
- Carol demands that Alice, Bob, and Diane be examples of Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
- Downplayed: Carol is mischievous, but her standards are slightly higher than the standards of her friends.
- Justified:
- Carol doesn't want her friends to get in trouble.
- Carol doesn't want her friends to commit evil acts.
- Carol has powers that came from a God of Good, but she loses them if she allows her friends to commit evil acts.
- Inverted:
- Subverted: Carol tries to persuade them not to cheat. She explains that she does it because she fears that they'll get caught if they cheat.
- Double Subverted: Carol's true motive was the fact that she thinks cheating is wrong, but she knew saying "I think cheating is wrong" wouldn't help.
- Parodied:Carol: I think this is wrong.
Alice: Why should we care?
Carol: Uhhh... I don't know. (Beat) You're right. Let's do the test the easy way!- See Hypocritical Humour.
- "Alice, put the ax down! You can't just solve all your problems by killing people!"
- Carol puts a shock collar on Alice and gives her a shock if she kills, steals, or litters.
- Zig Zagged: Carol sometimes calls them out for being mischievous, but not always, and sometimes, she's the one suggesting the mischief.
- Averted: Carol just goes along with whatever her friends decide to do.
- Enforced: The story is going to end with Alice, Bob and Diane learning An Aesop. The producers want to make it more Anvilicious by having the characters being told what's right, but willingly ignoring it.
- Lampshaded: "That Carol. Always trying to correct our behaviour."
- Invoked: Carol's parents encourage her to stand up for what she believes is right, regardless of what her friends do.
- Exploited: Carol's teachers know that she tries to discourage behaviour, so they try telling her to encourage others to follow the school's rules and regulations.
- Defied:
- "Shut up, Carol. If you don't like what we do, you can always leave us behind."
- "I should probably stop you from doing this, but... meh."
- Discussed: "Do you think Carol will complain if she finds out about this?"
- Conversed: "Having Carol in one's group must be like having an external consciousness that never shuts up."
- Deconstructed:
- Alice, Bob, and Diane think Carol is boring and annoying, so they stop being together with her.
- After trying to convince Alice, Bob, and Diane to be better people over and over to no avail, Carol realizes they're Beyond Redemption and refuses to speak with them anymore.
- Carol is self-righteous and has a sense of moral superiority over others, leading to Alice and Bob leaving her after being tired of her holier-than-thou attitude.
- Because Humans Are Flawed, Carol holds herself to unrealistic standards of virtuousness. Alice and Bob believe she's not living her life to the fullest because she's too strict with her values.
- Reconstructed: Carol finds new friends that respect her morals. In turn, she respects them.
- Played For Laughs: Carol repeatedly predicts the consequences of her friends' actions. Even though she's always spot on, Alice, Bob, and Diane never believe her.
- Played For Drama:
- Alice, Bob, and Diane repeatedly, with Carol trying to discourage them, but ultimately standing powerless as they commit various crimes. When their actions have severe consequences, Carol feels guilty because she didn't manage to stop them.
- Although Alice did enjoy and appreciate being the moral center of her friends, she soon becomes overwhelmed with stress because she was thrust into a position that she was ultimately too young and inexperienced to have. She has problems of her own and doesn't have time to deal with them because she's too busy helping everyone else.
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