Expect the shooter to go for the most Jerkass solution even when Fridge Logic indicates much less morally compromising ones are possible, because Murder Is the Best Solution. For extra anguish, it may well have been a Senseless Sacrifice because the one shot was no longer a threat. This trope is named after the climactic scene of Old Yeller, where the titular dog is literally shot to put an end to its misery.įor a diametric opposition that makes you cheer for the hero's senselessness, see Honor Before Reason. One common way to show the emotional pain this causes is by showing the shooter cradling their kill. If the author doesn't want to compromise his heroes' goodness, he'll have the Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work. Depending on the slant of the series, he will also be the one to carry about the shooting, or the characters will Take a Third Option at the last minute. The Spock is also likely to suggest Shooting the Dog and is the personification of this trope. Alternatively, a Psycho Sidekick, popular in hard-boiled crime fiction since the 1980s or so, is a character whom the author approves of whose main purpose is to Shoot the Dog whenever necessary. If one Shoots the Dog too often, one runs the risk of becoming a Knight Templar or Poisonous Friend. May demonstrate What You Are in the Dark. Otherwise, he may delegate it to the Anti-Hero or The Lancer, whose reputations won't be hurt as severely for the deed. If The Hero performs the job himself, he may even go so far as to hide it from the rest of the cast (possibly with serious repercussions later) due to the risk of compromising his moral standards, or they might say What the Hell, Hero? to which he might reply I Did What I Had to Do. When a character does an ambiguously (a)moral act because current circumstances make it the most pragmatic and logical thing to do.

Cuphead and mugman free