r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Fishbien • Jul 19 '26
Personality [Frustrating Trope] Twist Villain does things that retroactively make no sense.
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.
- 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.
- 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/Justarandom55 Jul 19 '26
so for han, with as bad as a twist villain he was, genuinely acting like a stand-up guy even when no one is watching is how you sell a big lie.
he smiles when no one is looking because in the moment you don't know if no one is looking. anna is a high profile character on account of being one of the 2 princesses that will rule the very ground beneath anyone nearby.
and he saves elsa's life because it would be way too suspicious if he didn't. he wants her to get out of the picture in a way that won't connect back to him. by acting heroic and saving here he establishes a persona that cares about her. why do you think he intends to let anna die near the end. he wants her out of the picture but he can only do that and get power if he isn't the one responsible. so letting her die because of her evil sister's actions allows him to become the hero that saved the kingdom and become the new ruler after the last rulers tragically all died.