The Toymaker: The show is just beginning. Worldwide premiere! Donna Noble, this is for you. Let me tell you what happened. When the Doctor, he was leaving you, he met eine friend called Amy Pond. Und he loved Amy Pond. Yes, he be liking the redheads. Und they went to and fro in time und space, but... Amy Pond was touched by der Weeping Angel, und she died!
The Doctor: ... She died of old age.
The Toymaker: WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
(Brings out a puppet of Clara)
The Toymaker: Und then he was meeting Clara. Ooh! But she was killed by a bird.
The Doctor: She still survives in her last second of life.
The Toymaker: WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
(Brings out a puppet of Bill)
The Toymaker: But then the Doctor met Bill. Not Stooky Bill, but lady Bill. But she was killed by the Cybermen.
The Doctor: But her consciousness survives.
The Toymaker: OH WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
The Doctor: ... She died of old age.
The Toymaker: WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
(Brings out a puppet of Clara)
The Toymaker: Und then he was meeting Clara. Ooh! But she was killed by a bird.
The Doctor: She still survives in her last second of life.
The Toymaker: WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
(Brings out a puppet of Bill)
The Toymaker: But then the Doctor met Bill. Not Stooky Bill, but lady Bill. But she was killed by the Cybermen.
The Doctor: But her consciousness survives.
The Toymaker: OH WELL, THAT'S ALRIGHT THEN!
"Mea Maxima Culpa"
—"My greatest failure", Latin
"There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth."
"The best of all would be the strongest student, yes? Wisest? Most learned in the ways of the Force? Best of all, Dooku would be! Our greatest student! Our greatest failure."
— Yoda, Star Wars
Tony: See, that's the problem here. It's that you can't see things from my perspective. Because it's predicated on the premise that superheroes make mistakes. And you're Captain America. You don't make mistakes.
Steve: (flashing back to Bucky) I... think I make mistakes.
Steve: (flashing back to Bucky) I... think I make mistakes.
"I have failed you, Zamasu. We both did."
— Gowasu, Dragon Ball Super
"He was a good friend once. I trusted him with my life. But the Joker got to him, and I wasn't there to stop it. I lost my friend Clark, and... I've missed him ever since."
"Jackie had a good-even honest-response to publishers eager for her to write "the story of your life which has been so fascinating to so many people." "I know it has," she would say. "At least I know people say so but how can I write about it if I've forgotten it all?" But she had not forgotten that after the first bullet was fired at Dallas, Jack had said, "I've been hit." Since he wore a corset for his bad back all she needed to have done was pull him onto the car floor but she reacted too slowly in the shock of the moment... The rest seems to have been confusion."
—Gore Vidal on Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Point to Point Navigation
"I'm sorry, Moondancer. I've faced magical creatures, the end of Equestria, all sorts of things! But seeing how my actions affected you, that was one of the worst feelings I've ever had."
—Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
And now Krypton's lost forever. There was nothing I could do to save it, but it feels like I'll be trying to make up for that the rest of my life.
I failed him... in life. I won't fail him in death.
I wasn't there when Mary died. I was too scared, so I went to the pub instead. "What will be will be, Frank," she said, "and I just want you to face it with me." And I didn't. But I will now. I will face it with you now, Mary...
—Frank Appleton, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
That was my sin. And this... this... is my punishment.
—Vincent Valentine, Dirge of Cerberus
We failed Tokyo. The Council failed Tokyo. I failed. We failed the city in every part of our mission statement. To admit less is pride and folly. Fault is what we assign others. Responsibility is what we assign ourselves. I do not know if we can make amends.
—Arturo Castiglione, The Secret World
You remember that time we was up in Bosnia? We took down them Serb bad boys? All our guys were gettin' chopped up all around us and there was blood everywhere. I never though I was gonna make it out of there and I know you didn't either. Kinda feelin' like... dead too, ya know? My heads all very, very black place. Didn't believe in shit. Just goddamn Dracula black. I remember I got this bottle of this local shit they have over there. That Silvits... I think that's what it was called. And I ain't feelin' no pain now... and I come up on this, uh... I come up on this overland bridge, and I see this... I see this... I see this woman standing there, ya know? And she's, uh... I stepped out and she saw me, and she's just lookin' right... right in my eyes. And I was lookin' right in her eyes, and I knew what she was gonna do. She looked at me, and I knew she was gonna jump. You know what I did, man? I just turned around I kept walkin' until I heard that splash and she was gone. [crying] After... after taking all them lives, she was one that I could have saved, but I didn't, and uh... What I realized later on was, uh, if I'd have saved that woman, I might have... I might have saved what was left of my soul, ya know.
— Tool, The Expendables
"I couldn't protect Credo. To this day, I hate myself for not having enough strength. But this time is different. I swear! I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE!"
— Nero, Devil May Cry 5
"I visit her grave as often as I can. I leave bouquets of rosemary and rue, and I tell her that I'm sorry, and I promise her that next time I'll do better. Next time someone makes me a hero, I'll save them."
— October "Toby" Daye, October Daye : Rosemary and Rue
Wade: Y'know, when I first started sliding, all I saw was adventure. Now, all I seem to see is death.
Quinn: What does that mean?
Wade: Nothing.
Quinn: No. No, go ahead and say what you were thinking. You think this man'd still be alive if not for me.
Wade: That's not what I said.
Rembrandt: Q-Ball, c'mon—
Quinn: And the Professor. He'd be alive, too, if I hadn't invented sliding.
Rembrandt: That wasn't your fault.
Quinn: It's all my fault. The Professor, this man, Maggie's next victim—all because I lost control of something I didn't know enough about. So, please, go ahead and tell me what you were thinking, because I think about it every minute of every day.
Quinn: What does that mean?
Wade: Nothing.
Quinn: No. No, go ahead and say what you were thinking. You think this man'd still be alive if not for me.
Wade: That's not what I said.
Rembrandt: Q-Ball, c'mon—
Quinn: And the Professor. He'd be alive, too, if I hadn't invented sliding.
Rembrandt: That wasn't your fault.
Quinn: It's all my fault. The Professor, this man, Maggie's next victim—all because I lost control of something I didn't know enough about. So, please, go ahead and tell me what you were thinking, because I think about it every minute of every day.
— Sliders, "The Breeder"
Batman: Do you remember how he was when I found him?
Alfred: Of course, sir. Fearless, arrogant, brash and gifted.
Batman: Yes. Different than Dick in so many ways, but still so full of potential and power. But I knew, even from the beginning, he was dangerous. If I hadn't made him into Robin, he would have grown to do wrong. Then I got him killed. My partner. My soldier. My fault. I own that. I'll carry that like everything else. But now there's this. He's taken everything I've ever taught him and turned it on me. It's a hell of my own making, Alfred.
Alfred: Sir, this is not your doing. You loved him. He knows that. It should be enough.
Batman: It's not.
Alfred: Of course, sir. Fearless, arrogant, brash and gifted.
Batman: Yes. Different than Dick in so many ways, but still so full of potential and power. But I knew, even from the beginning, he was dangerous. If I hadn't made him into Robin, he would have grown to do wrong. Then I got him killed. My partner. My soldier. My fault. I own that. I'll carry that like everything else. But now there's this. He's taken everything I've ever taught him and turned it on me. It's a hell of my own making, Alfred.
Alfred: Sir, this is not your doing. You loved him. He knows that. It should be enough.
Batman: It's not.
Higher beings, these words are for you alone. Our pure Vessel has ascended. Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its creation. We shall enter that place no longer.
—The Pale King, Hollow Knight
Even so, he had seemed old when he bequeathed his powers in ancient times to Teth-Adam, which was a great mistake. Then, millenia later, he gave those powers to the three youths, which was anything but a mistake.
"I shot a kid. He was 13 years old. Ohhh, it was dark, I couldn't see him. He had a ray gun, looked real enough. You know, when you're a rookie, they can teach you everything about bein' a cop except how to live with a mistake. Anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to draw my gun on anybody again."
—Sergeant Al Powell, Die Hard
"My uncle. He's always been on my side. Even when things were bad, he was there for me. He taught me so much. And how do I repay him? With a knife in his back! It's my greatest regret, and I may never get to redeem myself."
— Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender
"You told me to move ahead. To look for the truth. I didn't. I stayed behind, and those I am responsible for suffered. It was up to me, but I didn't do anything. I failed Shinji. I failed Asuka. Everyone. I'm sure if you were here I would make you sick."
— Misato, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide
"But I'm not going to leave here without you knowing that I have loved you... and I will love you and I do not regret a single moment of my life that led me to you. Except when I put you on that train."
— James Bond to Madeleine Swann, No Time to Die
Homelander: What do you want? What? What do you want, forgiveness? Now? After you raised me like a fucking lab rat? No. Too little, too late.
Jonah Vogelbaum: I don't want anything from you, John. I'm just an old man thinking about his mistakes.
Homelander: I'm the world's greatest superhero.
Jonah Vogelbaum: You're my greatest failure.
Jonah Vogelbaum: I don't want anything from you, John. I'm just an old man thinking about his mistakes.
Homelander: I'm the world's greatest superhero.
Jonah Vogelbaum: You're my greatest failure.
"Sebastian Bohique was not a man to harbor regrets. He figured you took what life gave you, made your choices and lived with 'em. But this was different, see? He felt he kept those boys from going home. I didn't blame him; the Navy didn't blame him; the Army Air Corps didn't blame him; even the families didn't blame him. But he blamed himself. That's the one regret he took to his grave."
—Joe Charone, Rain of the Ghosts
"How miserable. I knew Pink couldn't handle her own colony. But, I gave in. And now, I'm to blame for her fate."
— Yellow Diamond's inner thoughts, Steven Universe, "Reunited"
"The Pikmin have all perished because of my own carelessness. I am an utter disgrace as a leader... How can I continue to collect parts without them? Still the Onions join me in low orbit, as if this Pikmin extinction had never happened. I shan't sleep tonight..."
— Captain Olimar if you lose all of your Pikmin, Pikmin (2001)
