Line #238 Main/MoralityChain


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3	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Take care to put your example in its proper place in accordance with Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings!
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7	%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1306880458072660100
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9	->'''The Doctor:''' I don't need anyone.\
10	'''Donna:''' Yes, you do. 'Cause sometimes...I think you need someone to stop you.
11	-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride The Runaway Bride]]"
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13	The Morality Chain is a character who is the reason another character is Good. Stereotypically a love interest, a [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas parent]], a child, or a younger sibling; as long as this person is alive, their [[LoveRedeems target of affection]] will at the very least be a NobleDemon.
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15	There is no RestrainingBolt involved; this person is the ''only'' thing preventing someone from doing worse things, perhaps to the extreme that they'd happily kill their "[[TokenEvilTeammate friends]]" and [[CainAndAbel family]]. (One wonders whether such a form of "goodness" has much value in it until one remembers that ''it keeps them from killing their [[TrueCompanions friends]] and [[ThickerThanWater family]]''.)
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17	If a Morality Chain were to {{fall\|enHero}}, [[EtTuBrute betray]], or get seriously hurt or die, there is ''[[InterruptedCooldownHug nothing]]'' to prevent a FaceHeelTurn from happening fast and hard. This is more than the RoaringRampageOfRevenge; ''[[RevengeByProxy everyone]]'' [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds has to suffer]].
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19	A similar, and often confused with, trope is the MoralityPet. The difference between the two is subtle: A morality pet is a character who redeems a villain. The villain's affection for the pet starts them down the path of good, and even should the pet get hurt the villain will most likely behave as a hero (or anti-hero) in seeking their revenge or protecting the pet. By contrast, the morality chain keeps an otherwise anti-heroic character (such as a SociopathicHero) from going full villain. The loss of the chain would spell doom for any involved party, and likely anyone nearby as well. In a nutshell: A morality pet turns a bad guy good; a morality chain ''stops'' a good guy from turning bad. That said, the two tropes can certainly overlap: if the character redeems a villain and then also helps keep them from slipping back to evil, they are both a Morality Pet and a Morality Chain.
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21	Or to put it another way: The MoralityPet ''causes'' a HeelFaceTurn; the Morality Chain ''prevents'' a FaceHeelTurn. In this sense, the two are actually OppositeTropes despite their close similarities.
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23	Sometimes this is {{Inverted\|Trope}}. The death of the Morality Chain can motivate the target of affection to become more determined to be good [[MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave to honor their memory]]. Usually in these cases the cause of death is either natural, or because of a villain (especially if it's a buddy of theirs that the Morality Chain had disapproved of). Now, if the cause of death is ''their loved one,'' either through an accident or because they [[KickTheMoralityPet Kicked the Morality Pet]], then they may either [[HeroicBSOD go comatose]] or [[MurderMakesYouCrazy crazy]].
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25	If the villain doesn't have a Morality Chain, you may have to HitThemInThePocketbook.
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27	See also: MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave, MoralityPet, CynicismCatalyst, MoralityChip, LivingEmotionalCrutch, ReformationAcknowledgement and DrivenToVillainy. Contrast: TheKidWithTheLeash and TheFarmerAndTheViper.
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29	Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease
30	----
31	!!Examples
32	[[index]]
33	* MoralityChain/AnimeAndManga
34	* MoralityChain/ComicBooks
35	* MoralityChain/FanWorks
36	* [[MoralityChain/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
37	* MoralityChain/{{Literature}}
38	* MoralityChain/LiveActionTV
39	* MoralityChain/VideoGames
40	* MoralityChain/{{Webcomics}}
41	* MoralityChain/WesternAnimation
42	[[/index]]
43
44	[[foldercontrol]]
45	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
46	* ''{{WesternAnimation/The Hunchback Of Notre Dame\|Disney}}'': The Archdeacon serves as the morality chain to [[KnightTemplar Judge Claude Frollo]], limiting his cruel persecution of the Romani people for much of the movie. It is thanks to the Archdeacon's watchful eye that Frollo spared and raised Quasimodo for 20 years after killing his mother, and it is the Archdeacon who keeps Esmeralda safe from Frollo's lustful advances. Once Frollo gives into his lust during his confession, he ignores the Archdeacon completely, culminating him pushing the elder man to the floor as he goes to finish off Quasimodo and Esmeralda for good.
47	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', Bad Cop has a morality chain in the form of... [[LiteralSplitPersonality himself]]. While not the dominant personality, Good Cop is strong enough to rein in Bad Cop's sadism [[spoiler:and prevents him from using the Kragle on his parents. When Lord Business rubs out Good Cop's face with nail polish remover, Bad Cop goes through with freezing his parents]].
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Manhwa]]
51	* ''Manhwa/TheBreaker'': Shi Woon Lee and Shiho are this to Chun Woo. Shiho isn't as much of one as Shi Woon but her apparent death provokes quite a [[UnstoppableRage reaction]] in Chun Woo.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Podcasts]]
55	* In ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'', Basira Hussain serves as this for Daisy Tonner. They're close friends who formerly worked together as [[TheMenInBlack Sectioned cops]], and Basira is the only reason Daisy hasn't [[spoiler:fully given in to [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity the Hunt]] and started killing ordinary humans as well as monsters]]. Daisy decides not to kill Jon only because Basira shows up at the last second and intervenes, and when Daisy loses her connection to Basira (for example, during the Unknowing), she [[spoiler:embraces the Hunt and [[EvilMakesYouMonstrous turns fully monstrous]]]].
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
59	* Mark Briscoe serves as such for his older brother Jay, preventing him from getting in (too) much trouble with Wrestling/{{R\|ingOfHonor}}OH censors, from bringing avoidable legal trouble to the company and from causing too much damage on the farm. Mark has plenty of his own vices, such as trespassing, envy and irresponsible handling of farmyard equipment/firearms that Jay is almost completely unable to do anything about.
60	* Wrestling/BlackRose helped cement La Amazona's HeelFaceTurn in IWA Puerto Rico, as she shifted from harassing whoever she could to trying to protect Rose from La Morena, Killer Kat and Sweet Nancy. Black Rose eventually turned heel on Amazona over the women's title belt, but wound up being the [[ALighterShadeOfBlack face by default]] as Amazona not only reverted to her old ways but set out to be [[EvilerThanThou worse]] than Black Rose to people who had done nothing to her like Genesis.
61	* Fabi Apache was able to successfully keep her sister Mari on the {{tecnic\|o}}a path in Wrestling/{{AAA}} during the 2010s, though this was preceded by a feud between the two in the 2000s and Mari is liable to fall back into her bad habits when Fabi isn't around.
62	* After his departure from WWE, Wrestling/JonMoxley (as Dean Ambrose) has been strongly implied to be this to his former teammates in Wrestling/TheShield, Wrestling/SethRollins and Wrestling/RomanReigns. Barely two years after he was gone, both men went on to make [[FaceHeelTurn heel turns]] that saw both of them suffer serious SanitySlippage: Rollins developed a messiah complex and became a PracticallyJoker PsychopathicManChild, while Reigns became a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[TheDon mob boss]] who gaslighted his cousins Wrestling/TheUsos into becoming his lackeys. What makes it ironic is that during their time in the Shield, Rollins and Reigns were the ones keeping Ambrose from flying off the handle all the time.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Myth and Religion]]
66	* In [[Literature/BooksOfKings 1st Kings]] and 2nd Chronicles of Literature/TheBible, Jehoiada the priest served as King Joash/Jehoash's MoralityChain as long as he was alive, as the king did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, including having the Temple repaired. However, after Jehoiada died, 2nd Chronicles records that Jehoash forsook the Lord, and served the groves and idols, even going as far as having Zechariah the son of Jehoiada murdered for speaking the Lord's words against the king. In the end, his own servants conspired against him and killed him, and he was not buried alongside the kings of Judah.
67	* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Patroclus, to Achilles. Achilles was said to be arrogant and callous to everyone except him, and was generally so tender and affectionate with Patroclus and ''only'' him that to this day there are people who debate over whether or not they were actually lovers. Then Patroclus dies during the Trojan War, and Achilles, not caring that it will likely kill him, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge starts mowing down Trojans en masse]] and then spends ''[[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill twelve days straight]]'' desecrating the corpse of Patroclus's killer.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Roleplaying Games]]
71	* In ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', Elizabeth Priestly is this to her twin brother Lenny. When she's not around him, he acts even ''more'' of a complete bastard to get her back/find her.
72	** [[spoiler:And now that she's permanently out of the picture, we can probably expect even nastier things to happen to anybody Lenny meets...[[CycleOfRevenge especially Gabe McCallum]].]]
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
76	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'', Baarrtk Krror is only prevented from giving in entirely to hate by his dear friend, Malik Savant.
77	* The ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' supplement ''Danse Macabre'' introduces the concept of "anchors" as a replacement for the [[KarmaMeter Humanity]] system. The way it works, essentially, is that you have a set of {{Morality Chain}}s that prevent you from degenerating and giving into [[EnemyWithin The Beast]]. You lose an anchor when they become too exposed to the rest of vampiric society or you damage the relationship too thoroughly. Did we mention that the anchor system is meant to be used in conjunction with the [[EvilFeelsGood Atrocity system]] and your anchors are the easiest way to safely vent Atrocity dice?
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
81	* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Illya is evidently this to Berserker. Note, he's still a massive lump of destructive impulse given terrifying form, he's just better tempered when she's around... unless [[{{Yandere}} she]] orders him to kill someone. [[OhCrap Then he gets WORSE]].
82	** There's also implications that Enkidu was this to [[ItsAllAboutMe Gilgamesh]], who was TheGoodKing while they were friends, but reverted back to being the arrogant jackass he was before he met him.
83	** Shirou is Rin's morality chain. Despite not meeting him directly, Rin developed a [[WorthyOpponent grudging admiration]] towards the boy she saw couldn't do a high jump despite his efforts, developing a softer side to her personality. After the two meet she starts getting more curious about him and the two even fall in love in the UBW route. Because she felt defeated by his hard-working personality, being [[TheAce the complete opposite of her,]] Rin became somewhat nicer to others. So Shirou is basically the only reason why Rin isn't a complete bitch to others, or even a full-blown villain.
84	* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' has [[spoiler:Hideyoshi Ushiromiya]] fulfilling this role for [[spoiler:his wife Eva]]. Whenever he kicks the bucket (which happens in ''every'' arc), she ''snaps''.
85	** Also, [[spoiler:Sakutaro is this for Maria. When Rosa rips him apart during a fight, Maria's diary entries [[CuteAndPsycho start to become darker]], [[CallingTheOldManOut and]] [[SelfMadeOrphan later...]]]]
86	* ''VisualNovel/YourTurnToDie'': [[spoiler:Kanna Kizuchi]] eventually ends serving this role to [[spoiler:Sou Hiyori]], particularly during Chapter 2. [[spoiler:If you as Sara deliberately cause her death in the end, Sou is ''so utterly enraged'' that he retaliates with an [[AIIsACrapshoot malicious AI]] tailor-made to induce TraumaInducedAmnesia. If, on the other hand, he dies instead because of your vote, he's content enough to [[VillainsDyingGrace provide a caring AI as a "final present" before he succumbs to his wounds]]]].
87	** Chapter 3-1B reveals that this is why [[spoiler:Joe Tazuna was chosen for the death game and not Ryoko -- without him to keep Sara in check, she would begin manipulating the others in order to win.]]
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Web Original]]
91	* Dr. Horrible of ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking two motivations]]: to TakeOverTheWorld and to [[ShrinkingViolet get up the courage]] to talk to Penny, the girl at the laundromat. When the JerkAss DesignatedHero, Captain Hammer, [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally kills her]] with Dr. Horrible's DeathRay]], Horrible's closing song makes it clear that he's lost the only thing he really cared about and now there's nothing keeping him from turning truly evil.
92	* ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'s'' 2005 Christmas Special implies that [[NiceGuy Edd]] is the only thing keeping [[TokenEvilTeammate Tord]] from snapping and trying to take over the world. [[spoiler:In the SeriesFauxnale, it's revealed that Tord being away from Edd for a considerable length of time caused exactly that to happen]].
93	* In ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'', [[BigBadWannabe Giovanni]] ironically serves as this to ''Molly''. Creator Brenden Blaber [[https://twitter.com/BrendanBlaber/status/1218599298222514177 has remarked]] that Molly, despite coming across as [[ExtremeDoormat an endless fountain of kindness and patience]], is fairly close to snapping under the strain she's constantly being put under by [[AllTakeAndNoGive her father and sister]], and it if wasn't for Giovanni being present to offer her a safe outlet for all her deep-seated anger and a font of encouragement for her to stand up for herself, she would have been a few years away from ''violently'' acting on these feelings.
94	* The Ethics Committee works as this for the entire Website/SCPFoundation. In-Universe, most people at the Foundation consider them comically useless at this, considering all the morally questionably stuff the Foundation gets up to, but several tales and [=SCPs=] depict them as highly competent and powerful, sometimes even matching or surpassing the O5 Council in power.
95	* Sylvester, narrator of ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', plays with this due to his status as a BlankSlate; he allows his friends to define the limits of his morality. When paired with the [[TokenGoodTeammate Token Good Teammates]] Jamie or Lillian, Sy becomes practically heroic, but when he's partnered with the amoral Mary or the bloodthirsty Helen he will display an almost sadistic focus on causing the enemy the maximum possible harm as they act as TheCorrupter to him.
96	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MoralityChain