Basic Trope: Villains never take the most direct approach to dealing with enemies.
- Straight: Lady Rubliss refuses to simply shoot or stab Jordan Takahashi, even when he's clearly beaten.
- Exaggerated: Even when at an inch of his life, Rubliss refuses to outright kill Jordan to the point where she does kill mooks who attempt to kill him, as she obsesses over making his death a masterpiece.
- Downplayed:
- Rubliss does make smart decisions in trying to kill Jordan, but just never outright shoots him.
- Rubliss passes up several straightforward opportunities but passes up numerous opportunities that would have too much risk for being witnessed or traced to murder.
- Justified:
- Rubliss is an Anti-Villain who sees Jordan as an equal, and does not resort to underhanded means in killing him.
- Jordan is a Badass Normal and Crazy-Prepared, Rubliss knows simply shooting him isn't enough.
- Rubliss is testing Jordan's abilities every fight they have, so she doesn't kill him until he is strong enough to be more of a threat.
- Jordan has plot armor.
- There are rules of engagement in place for this kind of thing. Rubiliss really can't "just shoot" Jordan because doing so would have people burning her entire enterprise to the ground and using her as kindle in revenge, and she is rather frankly tired of explaining this to the Stupid Crooks she has as henchmen that think that they are being "clever" and are "doing her a favor" every time they open fire.
- Rubliss needs to make sure that she kills Jordan in such a way that it cannot be traced back to her.
- It would be incredibly boring and Anti-Climatic to just shoot him.
- Jordan has information that Rubliss needs. If she kills him, she loses that intel.
- Rubliss would rather convert Jordan to her side.
- Rubliss finds Jordan as a worthy and amusing Arch-Enemy. Another reason why she doesn't do it beacuse: "Where's the Fun in That?" she says.
- Don't Create a Martyr
- Lady Rubliss was once at Jordan's mercy and he spared her. Her honor demands she return the favor.
- Jordan has magic that will bring him Back from the Dead, and Lady Rubliss has to kill him in a specific and complex way to make it stick.
- Jordan is immune to bullets and everytime he is stabbed, the wound just heals in one minute and Jordan does not die.
- Inverted:
- Rubliss will straight up shoot Jordan whenever she gets the chance.
- Jordan will never make a direct attempt at killing Rubliss.
- Rubiliss makes clear to her henchmen how she wants to play her game by shooting them.
- Subverted: Rubliss ambushes Jordan during the night, very clearly trying to kill him.
- Double Subverted: ... Before he dies, she gets bored and decides to stop.
- Parodied: Rubiliss is so stupid that her Hyper-Competent Sidekick doesn't just yells at her to just shoot, she makes an absurdly long Busby Berkeley Number composed almost entirely of variations of "Shoot Jordan! Kill Jordan! Get it over with!" and an explanation of how it's a better and more practical solution and, heck, even a Hands-On Approach with a gun and a realistic target... and Rubiliss still doesn't gets it.
- Zig-Zagged: Sometimes Rubliss is not outright trying to kill him, other times she wants nothing more than him dying. To the point where Jordan is lowkey afraid of her as he doesn't know which mood she's in.
- Averted: Rubliss will make reasonable attempts at killing Jordan, but back up when necessary.
- Enforced: Rubliss and Jordan's actors have a lengthy contract with the studio, but are written as bitter rivals. So their every encounter in the franchise is non-lethal until one of their contracts expire.
- Lampshaded: "Why doesn't she just shoot him? Seriously!"
- Invoked: "We want the protagonist and antagonist to interact more, so why not?"
- Exploited: Jordan purposely lets himself get captured, and goes on to kill Rubliss at her most vulnerable since he knows she won't outright kill him.
- Defied:
- Rubliss conditions herself to be more merciless and forget any emotional attachment she has for Jordan.
- Rubiliss makes a point of shooting any henchman that tries to convince her to just shoot or is stupid enough to try to "do her a favor". She will kill Jordan with a bullet to the head right here and right now or she will kill Jordan after a very long (and hopefully sexy) game of cat and mouse and spectacular explosions and crap, but it's her choice and her choice alone, dammit!
- Discussed: "You understand, of course, that if Rubiliss actually shot Jordan, it would result in a very short and completely non-profitable film, right?"
- Conversed: "Everytime it's just "Oh, I won't kill you... yet". Like just shoot him!"
- Implied: Jordan and Rubliss fight off screen, and he explains to his team how he got his ass kicked, one of them asks why he's eve still alive and he merely repeats the question.
- Deconstructed: Rubliss's killing of Jordan makes him a martyr to whatever forces he was serving to renew their attacks with a vigour.
- By Killing Jordan so quickly and abruptly, Rubliss has a difficult time emotionally processing the defeat of her enemy. Her shock at the realization that Jordan is gone in the blink of an eye leaves her vulnerable.
- Reconstructed: Rubliss just shoots them too. And if that only makes things much worse for her, then at least she gets the satisfaction of going out guns blazing (maybe literally).
- Played for Laughs: Rubliss's refusal to kill Jordan is regularly made fun of and mocked by any other villains Rubliss may come across.
- Played for Drama: Jordan, who is Happily Married with multiple children doesn't know that his wife is actually Rubliss's only child, while Rubliss is fully aware of this but also loves her daughter and grandchildren more than anything else in the world. She is in a constant internal conflict, as she wants Jordan to stop foiling her plans and knows she could simply capture and execute Jordan, but doing so would traumatize her family, rob her daughter of her One True Love, and leave her grandchildren without a father - not to mention the potential ramifications of her family finding out she was behind his death. This reluctancy to kill Jordan has also caused division amongst her henchmen, who believe she is not fit to lead them due to her hesitancy to kill her Arch-Enemy.
- Played for Horror: Rubliss won't kill Jordan... but she will make him suffer. Every time he's captured Jordan just wonders why she can't just kill him.
How long are you going to take to go back to Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?? It's right there!
