History Recap / BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE14HeartOfIce

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Ferris claims [=GothCorp=] is "the people company", and that if Freeze has a problem with them, he'd be willing to talk about it. During his meeting with Bruce, he reveals his true greedy colors and calls "the people company" good PR, but he reveals this to Bruce while still acting friendly and cordial towards him, possibly thinking Bruce is a fellow CorruptCorporateExecutive, oblivious to the fact Bruce is a HonestCorporateExecutive who is actually [[StealthInsult subtly disgusted with Boyle's true colors, to the point he declares "I feel ill"]] (both figuratively and literally, as Bruce was suffering from a cold following his initial encounter with Mr. Freeze) before politely excusing himself due to his cold.
* BittersweetEnding: Batman prevents Freeze from killing Boyle but ensures that Boyle is nevertheless exposed and likely sent to prison, but Nora's (presumed to be) dead, and Victor is still frozen, believing himself to have failed his wife. The final shot is of him in his special cell in Arkham, grieving for Nora and asking for her forgiveness, while a sympathetic Batman watches from afar.

* ChronicEvidenceRetentionSyndrome: For no discernable reason, Boyle's kept the security tape explaining not only Fries' "accident" but also his entire backstory. Needless to say, this immediately makes sure Batman's gunning for ''him'' as well as Freeze.

* EscapeArtist: Freeze trapped Batman by freezing him to the ceiling, locking his hands together with ice cuffs, and taking his utility belt with him when he and his mooks went to get revenge. Batman escapes in ten seconds.

* HarmlessFreezing: Averted by Mr. Freeze's guns. The henchman who is hit needs a hot chemical bath to return him to normal. Even Batman has to cope with the aftereffects. After he escapes from being frozen to the ceiling, he's seen coughing (his cold likely made worse by getting hit with the ray a second time) and rubbing his leg.

-->'''Batman''': That suit you wear... a result of the coolant?
-->'''Mr. Freeze:''' [[BaddieFlattery Very good. A detective to the last]]. Tonight, I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life. '''Our''' lives.
-->'''Batman:''' Even if you have to kill everyone in the building to do it?
-->'''Mr. Freeze:''' (''[[{{Revenge}} nods in the affirmative]]'') Think of it, Batman. To never again walk on a summer's day with a hot wind in your face, and a warm hand to hold. Oh, yes... '''I'd kill for ''that'''''.

* SympatheticVillainDespicableVillain: Of the two main villains, Mr. Freeze is a ruthless but poignant TragicVillain, who was trying to save his terminally-ill wife by putting her in cryogenic stasis while he worked on curing her, and a lab accident caused when he was defending his frozen wife from being effectively sentenced to death anyway rendered him unable to survive outside of sub-zero temperatures. The perpetrator who caused Freeze's accident and who Freeze is now motivated to take revenge on is Ferris Boyle, a sociopathic CorruptCorporateExecutive who callously ordered that Freeze's wife be taken off life support in front of Freeze while the latter was pleading, who attacked Freeze ''as the latter was standing down'' at the onset of the accident, and who left both Freeze and his wife to die. Tellingly, Batman sympathizes with Freeze even if he firmly opposes the latter's willingness to endanger innocent people, but Batman leaves Boyle to writhe in agony in a half-frozen state (a fate that Batman wouldn't even leave Freeze's own unfortunate mook to earlier) while spitting at Boyle in disgust, "Goodnight, [='=]''humanitarian''[='=]."

* JerkassHasAPoint: Sure, Ferris Boyle is a bastard through and through, but Victor Fries was using his equipment without permission, and things only got out of control when Victor pulled a gun on Boyle. In Victor's defense though, he was trying to save his wife, and Victor ''lowered'' the gun first at Boyle's pleading and looked like he might have surrendered willingly before Boyle kicked him into the chemicals that caused the accident.

** Ferris Boyle, who cheerfully accepts humanitarian awards in public while calling his employees "wage slaves" to fellow one-percenter Bruce Wayne, and who thinks MurderIsTheBestSolution because ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney
* BaddieFlattery: Before his MotiveRant, Mr. Freeze sincerely complements Batman for deducing from the security footage that being shoved into the coolant by Boyle radically altered his genetic makeup, to the point that he can no longer survive outside of sub-zero temperatures.

'''Mr. Freeze:''' Yes. It would move me to tears… if I still had tears to shed.

** {{Zig-Zagged|Trope}} with Ferris Boyle. Batman ''does'' save him from getting murdered, but gives the taped evidence of what Boyle did to Victor and Nora to Summer Gleeson and does not even offer to unfreeze Boyle.

[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Heart_of_Ice_5632.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:346:''"Rest well, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that {{revenge}} is a dish… {{best served cold}}."'']]

* BittersweetEnding: Yeah, Boyle is exposed and likely sent to prison, but Nora's (presumed to be) dead, Victor's still frozen and believes he failed his wife.
-->'''Mr. Freeze:''' I failed you. I wish there was another way I could say it. I cannot… I can only beg your forgiveness, and pray you hear me somehow... someplace… someplace where a warm hand waits for mine.

** ZigZagged with Ferris Boyle. Batman ''does'' save him from getting murdered, but gives the taped evidence of what Boyle did to Victor and Nora to Summer Gleeson and does not even offer to unfreeze Boyle.

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* {{Bookends}}: The episode begins and ends with Mr. Freeze gazing at his snowglobe with a skater inside.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Played with. After learning of his backstory, Batman somberly tells Mr. Freeze "I saw what happened to your wife. I'm sorry". Now Batman showing empathy isn't anything uncommon (he ''is'' a [[DarkIsNotEvil hero]] after all). What is serious is that he actually says the two words "I'm sorry", something he seldom ever says in the series. This indicates how exceptionally tragic Mr. Freeze's past is.