Line #51 PlayingWith/TheUnFavourite


1	'''Basic Trope''': Parents love one child less than their sibling(s).
2	* '''Straight''': Alice and Bob treat one son, Charlie, with more favor than their other son, David.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Charlie is perpetually spoiled to the ends of the Earth by his parents, while David is constantly [[ParentalNeglect neglected]] and {{abus\|iveParents}}ed.
4	* '''Downplayed''': Alice and Bob love Charlie and David equally... it's just that, [[HumansAreFlawed being human]], they can't help but unconsciously give more praise and affection to Charlie.
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** Despite a secure and loving upbringing, David [[HatesTheirParent despises his parents]] and doesn't hesitate to let them know it. He humiliates them in public, [[ManipulativeBastard does everything he can to get them in trouble]], and has been known to physically attack them. Charlie is sweet natured and loyal, and regularly comes to his parents' rescue.
7	** David is actually a [[EnfanteTerrible demon in child's body]] and Alice and Bob know that.
8	** Charlie is a high-strung musical prodigy, while David is just kind of average and seems emotionally sturdy enough that his parents figure he'll understand the situation and turn out fine with minimal support.
9	** Charlie has a learning disability that badly needs the parents' care and support. David is by all means an average kid, and seems emotionally sturdy enough that his parents figure he'll understand the situation and turn out fine with minimal support.
10	** David is actually a ChildByRape. To clarify, this justifies why he is the unfavorite. It does not "justify" treating him as such for something he didn't do.
11	** David is a WalkingTransplant for the terminally ill Charlie.
12	** David's parents are {{narcissist}}s. Narcissistic parents often treat one child as "the golden child" and another child as TheScapegoat.
13	** "[[DelicateAndSickly My brother Charles was always a sickly child]]. Thus, our parents always lavished attention on him, while leaving me to fend for myself and do most of the chores. When I was younger, I rather resented this. However, something about him, mostly his grey skin, thin lips and bruised eyes, inspired in me the same feeling of sympathy they so obviously felt. Looking back, I feel rather sorry for him."
14	** Neither Alice nor Bob himself, like to be reminded of [[TheMistress his infidelity with Elise]] that David is evidence of.
15	* '''Inverted''':
16	** Charlie and David treat their mom Alice with more favor then their dad Bob.
17	** Charles and David show much more affection towards each other than their parents.
18	* '''Subverted''':
19	** Neither parent have a favorite. David is just a whiner.
20	** [[AbusiveParents Alice and Bob]] actually hate Charles even more than they hate David, and they manipulate David into feeling jealous so he [[BigBrotherBully bullies]] Charlie.
21	* '''Double Subverted''': ...Until little Emily is born, in which case she gets the lion's share of attention.
22	* '''Parodied''':
23	** Prior to the birth of David, his mother is seen reading a book: "Choosing a Favorite Child: Natural Selection in Action."
24	** David is a Nobel Prize-winning millionaire [[RenaissanceMan zoologist, astrophysicist, inventor, and engineer]] who also developed multiple cures for cancer. However, Alice and Bob always dismiss his numerous achievements as unworthy of attention, while constantly talking proudly about how Charlie, who is a high-school dropout working for a minimum wage at a local supermarket, recently got named Employee of the Month.
25	** It was decided by Charlie and David's ''entire extended family'' even before either was born that the former would be the favored one.
26	* '''Zig Zagged''':
27	** The parents' favorite fluctuates between/among their kids.
28	** Neither parent seems to have a favorite. It turns out that David is just a whiner....until little Emily is born, in which case she gets the lion's share of attention. Both Charlie and David [[EnemyMine gang up on Emily]]. Emily's first words turn out to be "No." and she becomes CommanderContrarian. Once Alice and Bob hear enough, they decide that Emily doesn't need all the attention and decides to give the attention to Charlie and David.
29	** [[AlwaysSecondBest Charlie]] remembers with envy how [[WellDoneSonGuy Alice and Bob lavished all their attention]] on [[TheAce David]] and [[ParentalNeglect left him almost entirely alone]]. [[NervousWreck David]], however, remembers how Alice and Bob [[EducationMama would drill him constantly on his schoolwork]] and [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff beat him if he put one toe out of line]], but let [[BrattyHalfPint Charlie]] [[KarmaHoudini get away with anything]]. They both remember right; Alice and Bob were just AbusiveParents who mistreated both Charlie and David in different ways.
30	* '''Averted''': They don't seem to have a favorite - and neither kid accuses them of playing favorites.
31	* '''Enforced''': "This family drama needs some tear jerker material. Let's make it one of those stories where the parents play favorites!"
32	* '''Lampshaded''': "How come Charlie never has to take out the trash?"
33	* '''Invoked''': "Huh, Charlie makes much better grades than David. Let's give him more attention in the hopes that it will pay off."
34	* '''Exploited''': David believes himself to be the Unfavorite. His manipulative girlfriend Eve uses this fear to make him believe that only she will love him, thus making him more pliable.
35	* '''Defied''':
36	** "We have to love our children equally, no matter what."
37	** "Mom, Dad, I swear to you it will be a cold day in hell before [[BigBrotherInstinct I]] let you bully David!"
38	* '''Discussed''': "Well, given that our parents would cheerfully have killed us both if it would save our stupid brother, I think I've turned out as well as could be expected."
39	* '''Conversed''': "Is there ''anyone'' on this show whose parents treated their kids equally?"
40	* '''Deconstructed''':
41	** Being the less preferred child takes its emotional toll on David, as he grows up unable to attach to anyone because his parents didn't love him. Meanwhile, Charlie is no better off, because the frequent attention of his parents means he's unable to grow as a person.
42	** David develops extremely low self-esteem and latches onto anyone who will show him affection... like Eve, in the Exploited entry.
43	** After David leaves the family, Charlie tries to reconnect with David when he becomes older but David wants nothing to do with him, causing Charlie to resent their parents for causing their strained relationship.
44	** David disowns his family and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leaves]], never to be seen by them again.
45	** David harbors a ton of and hatred and [[TheResenter resentment]] toward Charlie and [[CainAndAbel kills him in a fit of mad jealously]], [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone only to deeply regret it]].
46	* '''Reconstructed''':
47	** David's lack of attention ends up spurring him on to greater things - and Charlie overcomes the frequent attention.
48	** David realizes that it was their parents who chose to treat Charlie better than him and it therefore wasn't Charlie's fault, so they reconnected and accepted that their parents were narcissists/flawed humans.
49	* '''Played For Laughs''': It's a SadistShow, and every misery his parents [[ButtMonkey inflict upon]] David is so outrageous and over-the-top that it CrossesTheLineTwice. Every time his mum and dad do something nice for him, the universe freaks out at the anomaly and [[YankTheDogsChain screws him over even more badly to reassert the natural order of things]]. TheAce, Charlie, is oblivious to the misery he causes his brother.
50	* '''Played For Drama''':
51	** ParentalFavoritism and the resulting SiblingRivalry have messed the teenaged David up so badly that he ends up [[DrivenToSuicide taking his own life]]. The furious police officer who deals with the incident viciously [[CallingTheOldManOut berates]] his mother and father for their lousy parenting - but they don't care, since their favourite, Charlie, is still with them.
52	** That's assuming that he ends his own life instead of addressing the most direct cause of his sorrows by becoming a SelfMadeOrphan. He may even walk for that if he can convince the jury that his parents were {{abusive\|Parents}} or [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]]. Or that he doesn't take out the only possible innocent in the equation, [[CainAndAbel Charlie]], in which case his parents would push for the death penalty.
53	** Charlie and David are kidnapped. Their parents are given a SadisticChoice. They choose Charlie without missing a beat. Charlie is brutally murdered, because the villain figures it's more dramatic that David knows his parents don't give anything a shit about him, and Charlie is dumped in the river without even a proper funeral.
54	** Alice and Bob constantly play down Charlie's bad traits and play up his good traits, while doing the inverse with David. Eventually, the villain kidnaps Alice, Bob, and Charlie.\
55	\
56	He gives David a choice: Either the parents or the brother dies. When David chooses his brother, Alice and Bob disown and abandon David for leaving their precious to his doom, rather than thanking him for saving them.\
57	\
58	OR, for a far more cruel alternative resolution:
59	-->"[[TakingAThirdOption All three of them, and I'll give you $50]] [[SelfMadeOrphan if I can kill them myself]]".
60	** After David snaps and disowns his entire family, Charlie begins to feel that all the love his parents give him is meaningless if his brother resents him. He begins to hate his parents as much as David does for driving a wedge between them, and, due to David's assertions that they're dead to him, considers them to have "killed my brother."
61	** [[WalkingTransplant David]] begins to consider [[LittlestCancerPatient Charlie]] a "[[SocialDarwinist parasite]]," and takes no pains to hide the fact. Charlie would prefer to die than put up with his brother's contempt, not to mention the pain of his condition. Alice and Bob are oblivious to either's wishes. Eventually, David demands either Charlie or their parents pay him back in some fashion, or he's happy to let Charlie rot...
62	----
63	Go back and clean up TheUnfavourite. Then get your brother a drink. And if you piss in it again, your life won't be worth a lead penny.
64	-> '''David''': [[CallingTheOldManOut Up your ass with broken glass.]]
65	----
66	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
67	%%
68	%%* '''Implied''': ???

Context PlayingWith / TheUnFavourite