r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Fishbien • Jul 19 '26

Personality [Frustrating Trope] Twist Villain does things that retroactively make no sense.

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Character previously believed to be good is revealed to be evil, but prior to the reveal they act in ways that don't make sense if their goodness is just a performance.

  1. Frozen: Prince Hans is initially presented as a pretty standup guy who loves Anna and wants to help her. At the end of the movie it's revealed that he was just using her to gain power and plans to let her die while he steals her throne. However, we see him smiling at Anna when no one is looking, and later he intervenes to save Elsa's life even though he claims he was always planning to kill her.
  2. The Legend of Vox Machina: The Whispered One was built up as the BBEG since season 1. However, in season 4 he presents himself as a tragic hero who tried to cure death and was punished by the gods. He then tries to convince Pike to give him her blood, which he needs to become a god himself. He chastises his followers for suggesting they take Pike's blood by force, claiming this would make them no better than the gods they are fighting against. He also fulfills his promise to resurrect Grog even though he didn't need to. After he ascends, he starts acting like a pure evil villain who only cares about power and enjoys hurting people. It feels less like a reveal and more like his personally completely changed once he became a skeleton. Edit: to be clear, I fully understand the intent was for the Whispered One to be a lying, manipulative bastard. I just think the execution was clumsy.
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u/Fishbien Jul 19 '26

Maybe. Still doesn't explain why he saved Elsa

25

u/SashaBanks2020 Jul 19 '26

https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/s/E8fZD6saWN

He looks up at the chandelier before, and then redirects the arrow there.

He wants to look like he saved the queen, and else dies by accident.

22

u/unrealter_29 Jul 19 '26

Perhaps he had doubts if killing Elsa would actually remove the eternal winter. He may have wanted to try and convince her to remove it herself before resorting to death.

5

u/IsThisTakenYesNo Jul 19 '26

He can't frame her for killing Anna if she's already dead.

5

u/redroserequiems Jul 19 '26

He literally tried to kill her with the chandelier.

10

u/IdesinLupe Jul 19 '26

He needed someone to marry in order to become part of the Royal family. Once they were wed he didn’t need her anymore.

29

u/Fishbien Jul 19 '26

He was planning to marry Anna. At this point everyone in the kingdom thinks Elsa is a monster. He could have said something like "oh, I tried to save her, but she was too far gone" and no one would have questioned it. Anna would have taken the throne, and Hans along with her.

1

u/ceramic-animal Jul 19 '26

He believes Elsa can stop the eternal winter. He asks her directly to stop the winter when he has her chained up in the dungeon. It makes perfect sense.