Times where an antagonist rejects an offered opportunity to redeem themselves in Western Animation.
- Amphibia: In season 2, Sasha Waybright makes an effort to be a better friend to Anne. In "True Colors", she reveals she only pretended to accept that Anne Grew a Spine to manipulate her into helping Sasha and Grime conquer Newtopia for Toad Tower, all so Sasha could retake control of the situation and their friendship.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender:
- In the Book 2 finale, Prince Zuko seems like he is going to finally defect from the Fire Nation and join Team Avatar. He comes very close, even allowing Katara to attempt to heal his scar, but his sister Azula convinces him to join her in conquering Ba Sing Se. This choice plagues Zuko's conscience for the next half a season, until he finally defects and joins Aang midway through Book 3.
- In the Book 3 finale, Avatar Aang gives Fire Lord Ozai one last chance to stand down and end the Hundred Year War in peace. Ozai rejects Aang's offer, stating he has all the power in the world with Sozin's Comet and tries to kill Aang on the spot. After the battle ends with him losing his fire bending and thrown in prison for his war crimes, Ozai is again given an another offer of redemption from the now-Fire Lord Zuko, simply by giving him the whereabout information of his Missing Mom. While the show doesn't give Ozai's answer, Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise reveals that he refused to give that information to Zuko and instead tried to corrupt his son into a tyrant with poisonous political advice.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In "Scorn of the Star Sapphire!", Wonder Woman tells Baroness Paula Von Gunther that her warlike ways will bring her nothing but pain and sorrow, and asks if they can start over as friends and sisters. The Baroness says her speech made her sick and punches her in the face.
- Batman Beyond:
- In "The Last Resort", Terry teams up with a delinquent named Sean to escape from a brutal correctional school. After exposing the director's abuses of power Sean still tries to kill him despite Batman's protests, ruining the second chance he'd earned.
- Terry's former friend Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, the one who got him his juvie sentence. Terry still holds a soft spot for him and tries to help him go straight after he gets out of jail, but Charlie refuses to let go of his ambition to be a 'big time' criminal, and exploits every chance Terry gives him to further that goal.
- Ben 10:
- In the original series, Ben offered his enemy Kevin 11 a chance to do good, but the latter refused the offer and attempted to take the Omnitrix. From then on, Kevin was treated as someone who's actions couldn't be redeemable; indeed, by the time of Kevin's second appearance, when Kevin mockingly asks Ben if he wants to help him, Ben refuses, telling Kevin point-blank that he's done trying to help him, because Kevin already had plenty of chances to get help and screwed them all up.
- Still, that didn't stop Ben from making the offer again in the second series. Apparently, after regaining his humanity and getting his head on straight (plus new writers behind him) Kevin became wise enough to accept the offer. It wasn't until much later, in the third series, that it was shown why Ben felt Kevin deserved another chance.
- Ben 10: Omniverse has Malware being subject to this. In "Showdown", after destroying his own homeworld, he confronts Azmuth about it, leading to this exchange (quite reminiscent of the Kung Fu Panda example above) between them:Azmuth: Sowing chaos doesn't take any special talent, Malware. If that's the best you can do, I am not impressed.
Malware: No! Nothing I do could ever impress you, could it, "father"? In your eyes, I am nothing but your failed experiment. Your... shame!
Azmuth: My only shame is that I have been unable to heal your pain. But it's not too late. Give up this vendetta of yours, and we will work together to make you whole.
Malware: (hesitates for a second, then breaks down) LIES! Even now, you conspire against me! It is too late! - In the same series, reformed villain Hex tries to get his troubled niece Charmcaster to join him in a peaceful life. But wanting revenge on her enemies and being high as a kite on magic power, she refuses. In the end, Gwen and Hex capture and essentially force rehab on her.
- The Dragon Prince: In Book 4, Viren contemplates letting go of his ambitions — which got him killed — and simply spending the time he has left with his daughter. Claudia slaps him and snaps that she didn't spend two years doing unspeakable things to resurrect him only to have him give up, and Viren relapses into his old power-hungry self when he reclaims his staff. However, Season 5 subverts this, as after using Dark Magic for the first time since he was resurrected, Viren undergoes a Vision Quest in which he realizes the wrongs he had committed and that he risks dragging Claudia down his footsteps if he proceeds any further in his journey. Instead, he ultimately decides to let the resurrection spell expire naturally rather than let himself be fully revived while he and Claudia are following Aaravos.
- Happens a lot in Gargoyles with Demona, largely because she's the queen of the Ignored Epiphany- she's several times offered a chance to change her ways, but ultimately never repents for more than about a minute. Goliath still seems to wish she'd find redemption, but no longer considers it a realistic possibility.
- Hazbin Hotel: Cherri Bomb provides a rare positive example: when Angel Dust invites her to stay at the Hotel, Cherri politely declines, telling him that she's happy it's working out for him, but also that she prefers living her usual hedonistic life and assuring him that she'll be fine.
- In an episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002), He-Man offers a second chance to Evil-Lyn after rescuing her from a Fate Worse than Death at Skeletor's hands (long story) telling her that he was sent by someone who thinks she deserved one. (He-Man doesn't know that it was her father, but she clearly does.) Evil-Lynn does seem to consider it for a few brief minutes, but then quickly decides against it, knocking him down and saying, "Think I'll pass." Ironically, He-Man did tell himself "I'll probably regret this later", before he rescued her.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- During the episode "Viva Las Pegasus" Applejack and Fluttershy are forced to pull an Enemy Mine with recurring villains Flim and Flam in order to bring down Gladmane. After all is said and done, Fluttershy hopes that the con ponies will feel good about using their skills to help others and change their ways — but the brothers quickly state that was a one-time thing only and go back to their normal behavior.
- In "To Where and Back Again Part 2", as shown in the page image, Starlight Glimmer encourages Queen Chrysalis to become a positive leader to the newly-reformed changelings. Chrysalis seems tempted, then slaps Starlight's hoof away and vows revenge on her.
- In "School Raze Part 2", when Cozy Glow is defeated, she refuses to repent or apologize for her crimes, so she is sentenced to Tartarus.
- In "Frenemies", Grogar's Legion of Doom, consisting of Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow, slowly begin to realize that Good Feels Good when they complete their mission and discover they enjoyed working together. Before things go too far though, they realize what is happening and all refuse to become friends. Chrysalis in particular says that the Magic of Friendship is a disease, agreeing only to work together until they can find a way to get rid of Grogar and then they can all go back to trying to destroy each other.
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Adora gives Catra chance after chance to leave the Horde, but Catra refuses to join the Rebellion because that would mean returning to Adora's shadow. After Catra nearly destroys the world out of spite, Adora concludes that she's been wasting her efforts.It's ultimately subverted when Catra decided to redeem herself and become a better person by saving Glimmer and joining the Rebellion.
- In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "F.U.N", SpongeBob tries to make friends with Plankton in the hopes that having a friend will make him stop being evil. Plankton plays along, in the hopes that it will get him to the Krabby Patty secret formula, but he appears to be reformed by The Power of Friendship. Then SpongeBob catches him with a Krabby Patty, and this tearsome confession follows:Plankton: All right, it's true! I tricked you to get to the Krabby Patty, but then you showed me friendship; and now I realize... that's all I ever really wanted.
SpongeBob: Really?
Plankton: (grabs Krabby Patty) No, not really! Being evil is too much fun! - In the Steven Universe episode, "Earthlings", Jasper's gem becomes corrupted and Steven attempts to heal her. However, Jasper shoves him away and rejects his help out of her hatred for Rose Quartz and a desire to not be seen as weak.
- In Steven Universe: Future, Steven offers Bluebird Azurite, the fusion of Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby, one last chance to change. They turn it down flat and Steven has to accept that while everyone can change, not everyone wants to.
- Transformers:
- Happens near the end of the Transformers: Animated episode "Predacons Rising". When Bumblebee discovered that his former comrade Wasp has been mutated during a lab experiment while vowing revenge on Bee for (accidentally) imprisoning him for being a spy, Bumblebee feeling guilty about what he did, immediately apologizes to Wasp. Wasp's response? "Wasp... ...forgive... ...Bumblebot... ...BUT WASPINATOR NEVER FORGIVE!!!"
- In Transformers: Prime, Dreadwing grows disillusioned with the Decepticons after finding out they turned his twin brother into a zombie robot. He delivers the Forge of Solus Prime to the Autobots hoping they will do some good with it. Optimus once again offers Dreadwing a place among the Autobots. Dreadwing refuses, claiming that just because he doesn't believe in the Decepticons anymore doesn't mean he's ready to believe in the Autobots. Dreadwing then tries to kill Starscream for turning his brother into a zombie and is shot in the back by Megatron when he refuses to stand down.
- In the finale of Wander over Yonder, Wander offers Lord Dominator friendship, only for her to reject this, storming off into space.
- At the end of one episode of Xiaolin Showdown, after an Enemy Mine situation between Jack and the heroes that has resulted in a great victory against Wuya, Omi offers this chance to Jack; he considers it briefly, but then tells them it would never work out. (He does, however, offer to take them out for ice cream one day when they aren't fighting over Shen Gong Wu, saying he'll buy.)
- Though later on he does sincerely try his hand at being a monk, only backing out of truly reforming out fear that he would hurt those who now care about him.
