History Main / LoveRedeems

* Jack/Subject Zero in ''MassEffect''. Golly, {{Bioware}} loves this one.

* Tragically averted in ''BreathOfFireIV''. [[spoiler:The BigBad, Fou-lu, is beginning to nurse a soft spot for the girl that took care of him when he's injured. The girl, Mami, tried holding off soldiers from the Empire that are hunting Fou-lu just so he can escape, and gets captured herself. She's later used as a SacrificialLamb for the {{Nightmare Fuel}}ed Carronade, aimed at Fou-lu himself. Even before the cannon was fired at him, Fou-lu feels compelled to KillEmAll more than ever...]]

* In the ''HarryPotter'' series, it's revealed in ''Deathly Hallows'' that [[spoiler:Snape did his HeelFaceTurn out of love for Lily. Although he never stopped being a JerkAss.]]

Now has a [[PlayingWith/LoveRedeems Playing With page]]

* In the original, silent ''TheThiefOfBagdad'', the thief magically gets into the palace and falls in love with the princess, leaving without taking more than a token. Then he disguises himself as a prince and tries to win her, and gives that up because it's lying. He is in despair until receiving the advice to become a prince to win her. He then sets out to win her properly.

* In ''{{Yo-Jin-Bo}}'', Ittosai is slowly redeemed by your love for him if you choose his path.

* One of the most prominent themes in TheBible, with the Great Commandment in the New Testament being as love for God and love for your neighbor meaning ultimate redemption.

* Subverted for JimmyJacobs, leading to The Age of the Fall storyline in RingOfHonor. Jimmy fell madly in love with his manager, Lacey; after she eventually came around and told him that she loved him too, he crossed the DespairEventHorizon when he realized that her love didn't redeem him, or make him feel any less hollow, or magically turn him into a better person. Quite dark and heavy stuff, if you think about it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' ' David Xanatos started his lengthy path to redemption (or at least relative neutrality) after admitting his love for Fox.

* A running theme of ''ApollosSong''. The futuristic arc has the queen of the artificial humans become [[DefrostingTheIceQueen kinder and more gentle]] after she falls in love with Shogo. Similarly, the storyline where Shogo and Hiromi are stranded together on an island, their blossoming love causes them to be much less selfish. The main storyline, meanwhile, deals entirely with Shogo's psychotic behavior being healed through learning to accept love, which turns out to happen when [[spoiler:the Hiromi of that period is actually a student of Shogo's psychiatrist, sent to keep an eye on Shogo and teach him love after he escapes the institute he was kept at.]]

* A running theme of ''{{Apollo's Song}}''. The futuristic arc has the queen of the artificial humans become [[DefrostingTheIceQueen kinder and more gentle]] after she falls in love with Shogo. Similarly, the storyline where Shogo and Hiromi are stranded together on an island, their blossoming love causes them to be much less selfish. The main storyline, meanwhile, deals entirely with Shogo's psychotic behavior being healed through learning to accept love, which turns out to happen when [[spoiler:the Hiromi of that period is actually a student of Shogo's psychiatrist, sent to keep an eye on Shogo and teach him love after he escapes the institute he was kept at.]]
* Subverted at several points in ''AnatoliaStory'', when the protagonists discover the parts love played in the bitterness and corruption of the two villains, Nakia and [[spoiler:Nefertiti]]. Even though both were shown as being the victims of bad circumstances (forced into arranged marriages for the good of their home countries) and were shown at their nicest in flashbacks with their lovers, it's made clear that they've grown to too far gone to even consider redemption. [[spoiler:This is shown through how Nakia is willing to sacrifice Urhi, should it protect herself, and how Nefertit [[TheDarkSideMakesYouForget completely forgot the significance of a momento she gave]] [[BrotherSisterIncest her brother]].]]

* In addition to BecomingTheMask, in ''Disney/TheLionKing II,'' Kovu is redeemed by his love for Kiara.

* Beast from Disney's ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' is cursed to look horrible by an enchantress. He doesn't get the respect of Belle until he starts acting kinder to her and the others, and ultimately their love is what breaks the curse on him.

* In ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', BrokenBird Megara worked for the villain for two-thirds of the movie and only changed her ways out of love for Hercules, [[spoiler: eventually even [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing her life for him]] (don't worry, she comes BackFromTheDead).]]
** Interestingly, the movie has that this was subverted in her backstory - she sold herself to Hades and her former lover promptly ran off with another girl.

[[folder:Film]]

* The villain in ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsMovieIIANewGeneration'' is turned from being an entity of pure evil into a human after he realized what he felt for a human girl.

* In ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'', Flynn's attraction to Rapunzel leads him to abandon his {{Greed}}, try to make things right with his old partners he betrayed, and face imprisonment and execution because of his desperate fears of what Gothel is doing to Rapunzel. [[spoiler:And finally to die rather than let Gothel get Rapunzel's [[ThePromise promise]] to stay prisoner if she can save him.]]

* The title character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' made a HeelFaceTurn after falling in love with his former rival's love interest, Roxanne. It was because he made the turn that she fell for him.

* Ken in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' pulls a HeelFaceTurn after falling in love with {{Barbie}}

* In the JamesBond movie ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', the giant mook Jaws is redeemed after falling in love with tiny Dolly.

* Inverted and then played straight in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. [[spoiler:Heavens feel route, Sakura goes from the slightly ditzy, easily embarrassed girl with an obvious crush on Shirou that gets shoved out of the first two routes early into an all powerful monster that unknowingly devours humans and Servants. She is, in fact, possessed by the Devil (essentially). As a result of Shirou returning her feelings for her, she eventually kills her (adoptive) brother (who is attempting to rape her) in order to protect her relationship with him, and then consciously accepts her dark side.]] Played straight in that she gets better because Shirou and even Tohsaka don't abandon her.

* Vegeta sacrificed himself in ''Manga/DragonBallZ'' in order to save his loved ones in a RedemptionEqualsDeath way. Goku later used his feelings for Bulma as a way to get him to use the fusion earring.

* PlayedWith on an ongoing basis in the DresdenFiles - love can save a White Court Vampire before their first feeding, but once their demon has asserted itself, love is merely dangerous. Harry tries to invoke this for [[spoiler: Molly Carpenter]], his apprentice. He tries to avert the romantic aspect of that as much as possible (for obvious, squicky reasons), but seems to have failed as of Ghost Stories.

* In ''PrincessTutu'', DarkMagicalGirl Rue eventually turns against the BigBad Raven because of her love for Mytho. Then again, [[LoveMakesYouEvil that was the reason for her evil actions]] in the first place...

* Similar to the ''PrincessTutu'' example, the final episode of ''{{Pretear}}'' has [[spoiler:Sasame [[HeroicSacrifice throwing himself in the way of an attack meant for Takako/Fenrir]].]] This selfless act saves them both from the dark power they'd been possessed with--but considering [[LoveMakesYouEvil they both ended up that way because of their unrequited love in the first place...]]