History PlayingWith / InspectorLestrade

** Bob is a reasonably competent and intelligent detective; however, the crimes he faces are beyond even his abilities, while Alice is a super-genius.

* '''Exaggerated''': Police officer Bob is so incompetent that he can barely function as a police officer, and is utterly reliant on Alice's skills in order to solve even the simplest of cases.
* '''Downplayed''': Police officer Bob relies on Alice's skills in this particular case but it is [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome implied]] that he usually is quite competent.

** Bob reached his position in the police force owing to internal politics, rather than deductive skill.

* '''Subverted''': Bob appears to be an incompetent, but he actually uses ObfuscatingStupidity and is a lot savvier than he appears.
* '''Doubly Subverted''': Bob likes people to think that he uses ObfuscatingStupidity; actually, he's just that incompetent.
* '''Parodied''': Bob is utterly incapable of seeing even the simplest and most obvious of clues, even when someone is explicitly pointing them out to him.
* '''Zig Zagged''':
** Bob likes people to think he uses ObfuscatingStupidity, but he really is that stupid... except for [[GeniusDitz a few specialized areas]] in which he is a genius... but Alice is ''still'' even more knowledgeable than him in those, so it's moot.
** Alternately, Bob is perfectly capable of solving most standard crimes on his own but turns to Alice for help when he's confronted with the really weird cases.
* '''Averted''': Bob is a reasonably competent, savvy and observant police officer.

* '''Invoked''': AmateurSleuth Alice intentionally locates the dullest-witted police officer she can find in order to make her own skills more impressive in comparison.
* '''Exploited''': ???

* '''Deconstructed''': Bob's incompetence is indicative of a wide-spread paralysis, disarray and rot that exists within the police force, and is a symptom of wider issues of corruption, incompetence and even maliciousness which have resulted in several [[MiscarriageOfJustice miscarriages of justice]] and criminals being allowed to escape justice, which in turn contribute to increasing social decay. In this situation, the public must turn to unofficial investigators in order to secure justice.
** Bob's incompetence gets him fired from his job, replaced with the far more competent Claire.

** The police force has cleaned house to address the worst of such problems, but Bob is either sufficiently competent at his job to retain it or has otherwise hung on; he is among the last of a dying and unmourned breed.

* '''Played For Laughs''': Bob is the good-natured comic relief, whose bungling is a source of constant amusement to both the characters and the audience.
* '''Played For Drama''': Bob is exactly aware of how unintelligent he is and how Alice dwarfs his intelligence and skills, and resents it with a passion. As such, he obstructs Alice as much as possible out of spite, seriously damaging the progress of the case in the process.

Back to InspectorLestrade, sir, and remember: ''Your badge is not a coaster''.

%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
%%
%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???

* '''Played For Laughs''': Bob is the good-natured comic relief, who's bungling is a source of constant amusement to both the characters and the audience.

* '''Downplayed''': ???

* '''Deconstructed''': Bob's incompetence is indicative of a wide-spread paralysis, disarray and rot that exists within the police force, and is a symptom of wider issues of corruption, incompetence and even maliciousness which have resulted in several [[MiscarriageOfJustice miscarriages of justice]] and criminals being allowed to escape justice, which in turn contribute to increasing social decay. In this situation, the public must turn to unofficial investigators in order to secure justice.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** The police force has cleaned house to address the worst of such problems, but Bob is either sufficiently competent at his job to retain it or has otherwise hung on; he is among the last of a dying and unmourned breed.
** Bob is a reasonably competent and intelligent detective; however, the crimes he faces are beyond even his abilities, while Alice is a super-genius.

** Alternately, Bob is perfectly capable of solving most standard crimes on his own but turns to Alice for help when he's confronted with the really weird cases.

Back to InspectorLestrade, sir, and remember: ''your badge is not a coaster''.
----

* '''Justified''': Bob reached his position in the police force owing to internal politics, rather than deductive skill.

* '''Reconstructed''': The police force has cleaned house to address the worst of such problems, but Bob is either sufficiently competent at his job to retain it or has otherwise hung on; he is among the last of a dying and unmourned breed.

* '''Zig Zagged''': Bob likes people to think he uses ObfuscatingStupidity, but he really is that stupid... except for [[GeniusDitz a few specialized areas]] in which he is a genius... but Alice is ''still'' even more knowledgeable than him in those, so it's moot.

Back to InspectorLestrade