Quotes / Unintentionally Sympathetic

"Considering all that has happened, and all we know about Martha, and all that we know everyone else doesn't know, I can't read this in anything but this desperate, near-sobbing voice as she tries to tell herself this isn't happening, silently willing Grant to remember the time they spent together as children, wondering what on Earth she'd done to deserve such hatred and ire, looking to Elise as she realizes that this girl has told Grant that she was responsible for a princess-by-marriage's kidnap and a guard's injury and that she ought to be banished just because she doesn't like Martha, and it finally registering that Elise not only said that, but also wanted to stand there and watch her be humiliated and punished.
I'm not cheering as I read this. I'm wanting to give Martha a hug!"

— Midoriri, commenting on The Fox Princess

"Possibly the saddest villain death ever. Who cries for Hector Hammond? He didn't ask for this, wasn't driven by greed or power, and now he dies without redemption. Sh*t, even Darth Vader got redemption."

— CinemaSins on Green Lantern (2011)

"Y'know, upon watching this movie again, I couldn't help but notice... General Hein is kind of right. He wants to get rid of the phantoms, just like Aki, and he wants to help mankind. Yeah, he's a dick about it, but just think: would you rather go with the unproven spirit energy wave theory from Sid, or... a giant goddamn laser gun that's proven to kill phantoms? They want the same thing here, but have different ways about it. All they really need is the Mass Effect Paragon and Renegade button prompts on them."

— ProJared on the main villain from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Ironically, Spirits Within would later contribute to the inspiration behind the original Mass Effect itself)

"Normally here at Terrible Writing Advice I advocate all villains be one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with zero backstory, motive or explanation as to why they commit their loathsome acts. For Grimdark, we will need to deviate from this a bit. Our villains should have a nuanced and believable backstory with characterization that really allows the audience to connect and understand them in a fundamental way. The writer should then be shocked and frustrated at the audience's connection with the villain, so to compensate, the writer should make the villain commit atrocities so horrible that even an episode of Terrible Writing Advice can't make funny."

— Terrible Writing Advice, "Grimdark"

"I always think to myself wow Aaron is like such an asshole, but then I remember that Neil just showed up and immediately proceeded to blow up the team's lives like he was shaking a cardboard box full of feral cats and then threw it at the mafia."

— Tumblr user medusainmind

"It's funny as an adult when I re-watch the Ghostbusters movie and I am somewhat sympathetic to Peck. Yes, he does eventually draw absurd conclusions about the Ghostbusters and shuts down the Containment Unit letting out all the ghosts, but his original reason for showing up was valid.
The EPA had every right to ask the Ghostbusters what they were doing and assess any environmental concerns they might have. It was Peter who unnecessarily told him off and as a result brought the wrath of the EPA down upon them."

— Jeremy Perron on Ghostbusters (1984)

"The fact that Cars 2 expects me not to sympathize with the villains is actually incredible. I felt horrible all through the last act because I knew exactly the kind of ending was waiting for me. They have genuine grievances with society that affect even them, the uber-wealthy, so what about cars like Otis? The vast majority of dysfunctional cars who aren't part of a secret crime family of disabled people, looking to take over the world? They all suffer with those same problems at the end of the film. Nothing has gotten better. In fact, things have probably gotten worse for them now that Axelrod and his collaborators have been exposed. The bad guys in this movie are a Bond-style syndicate of embittered disabled villains lashing out at the society that hurt them. As is the case with almost every villain who falls into this trope, the movie feels justified in ignoring all of their legitimate grievances because they're the villains. We're justified in returning to the status quo because everyone who complained about it was evil.

— Oakwyrm, "Ableism in Cars 2"

Terra: You were right, Aqua—and so was the Master. I did need to be watched.
Charriii5: Well, no, not really. If they had just trusted you, you wouldn't have flipped shit and Eraqus would probably still be alive. Terra had technically done nothing wrong, other than take Aurora's light, which he didn't even have the power to do in the first place, let Jumba out, who was clearly coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs and overall trust Xehanort. But even so, when you think about it, Terra didn't really have a reason to distrust Xehanort. Hell, Eraqus trusted Xehanort, even after he scarred Eraqus' face. Couple that with him talking about the balance between light and dark and how Eraqus didn't trust him BECAUSE he had darkness. Don't get me wrong; Terra fucked up. Royally. But it's not entirely his fault. When you don't trust someone, they're more than likely not going to place their trust in you, either.

— "Everything Wrong With Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep in Half an Hour"

Another place episode tried to critique Mr. Spock is a decision to try and be as gentle with the natives as he most possibly could. It should be pointed out that the crew [of the] shuttlecraft Galileo crashed into their home and the strange creatures popped out of it. Why shouldn't they be scared? Why shouldn't they try to defend themselves?
Because Mr. Spock chose to try to scare them it is implied that he made the wrong decision because they didn't scare away so easily. There is no guarantee that had Mr. Spock responded more violently then they would have stayed away. Who knows, they may have come back with even greater numbers and more quickly if Mr. Spock [had] chosen to draw blood.
That point is never brought up, [it] is simply implied that Mr. Spock for not listening to his crew caused people to die. That is a load of crap.

— Jeremy Perron on the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Galileo Seven"

Screenwriter Guy: So now we can go focus on Pam and Jeff some more.
Producer Guy: Right, I hope things work out for them.
Screenwriter Guy: They're gonna get SO injured, my guy!
Producer Guy: Oh, no.
Screenwriter Guy: So then they get an offer on the house, but these people want to sign before the new year, so they need to find this doll or they have to take the offer.
Producer Guy: 'Cause of the financial troubles, yeah, man, this poor family.
Screenwriter Guy: They're gonna endure a lot of physical pain later!
Producer Guy: I don't want that to happen.

—Home Sweet Home Alone Pitch Meeting

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