Line #13 PlayingWith/DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou


1	'''Basic Trope''': A character has angst due to alleged parental abandonment, they later discover there was a good reason for the alleged behavior, and forgive the parental figure.
2	* '''Straight''': Alice thought her father didn't love her because he disappeared when she was a child. Later, she finds out he was in prison for a minor crime, and her mother didn't want to tell her.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': After a happy early childhood, Alice was suddenly left at an orphanage for no apparent reason, and lived a life of terrible hardship and abuse. She later finds out that had her parents not left her, she'd have been murdered by the villain, and her parents were TheMenInBlack agents who died [[AmericaSavesTheDay saving the world]].
4	* '''Downplayed''': Alice's dad is away on work trips a lot. He's not gone, but he's not really there either. However, no matter how much he wants to stay home with Alice, he has to go on those trips or he loses his job.
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** Alice's parents abandoned her to protect her from their enemies.
7	** See GiveHimANormalLife.
8	* '''Inverted''':
9	** Alice's father angsts over Alice running away.
10	** Alice never doubted her father had a good reason for abandoning her, and is proud of him for doing it.
11	** Alice has angst from NOT being left behind and being caught up in the hectic, dangerous lifestyle.
12	** Alice thinks her dad had a good reason for leaving her, but it turns out his motives were purely selfish.
13	* '''Subverted''':
14	** Alice thought her father didn't love her because he disappeared when she was a child. Later, she finds out he was in prison at the time... for abusing her as a baby.
15	** On closer examination, the "good reason" Alice's father uses to excuse his abandonment of her turns out to be rather flimsy. On top of it all, [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot it becomes clear if he had just considered his options more carefully back then he would have realised that he had plenty of better alternatives to abandoning her]]. When pressed on this, Alice's father might even admit that ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime.
16	** Alice [[ObliviousAdoption never finds out that she's adopted]], or if she does, decides it doesn't matter why her biological parents abandoned her, since she's HappilyAdopted by her foster parents.
17	* '''Double Subverted''': Alice thought her father didn't love her because he disappeared when she was a child. Later, she finds out he was in prison at the time... for abusing her as a baby... but he was wrongly convicted.
18	* '''Parodied''': Alice is eight years old and angsts over parental abandonment when it's only been 3 hours and she was left with a BadlyBatteredBabysitter.
19	* '''Zig Zagged''': Alice thought her father didn't love her because he disappeared when she was a child. Later, she finds out he was in prison at the time... for abusing her as a baby... but he was wrongly convicted. However he turns out to be the BigBad, but makes a HeelFaceTurn...
20	* '''Averted''': Alice was never abandoned by her parents, and had a relatively angst - free childhood.
21	* '''Enforced''': In order to allow the SatisfiedStreetRat to end up as king, the producers decided that his parents will have to be the rightful rulers and thus must've had a good reason to abandon him since otherwise the parents would be morally questionable, which doesn't sit well for G - rated fairytales.
22	* '''Lampshaded''':
23	** "Alice, I knew your father, and I'm sure he didn't just leave you for no reason".
24	** "[[SarcasmMode Yeah, like he disappeared because he was saving the world!]]"
25	* '''Invoked''': Bob doesn't want to take care of his daughter Alice, and thus finds what other people would consider an acceptable reason for abandoning her and does it.
26	* '''Exploited''': A spy pretends to be her dead father in order to get close to her and get her to defect.
27	* '''Defied''':
28	** Alice's father refuses to abandon her even though he has a good excuse, because he believes that unnecessary angst is worse than the harsh realities of caring for a child in a bad part of town.
29	** ...or that losing his job, getting a demotion, etc. is better than not living with his children and helping to raise them.
30	** Bob's explanation for not being with his family is flat-out rejected or dismissed as a good reason.
31	* '''Discussed''': "What's with 'heroes' claiming to have good reasons to abandon to their children? It sounds like the author either has daddy issues or they're feeling guilty about abandoning their own kids".
32	* '''Conversed''': "I'll bet Alice is going to find out it wasn't her father's fault".
33	* '''Deconstructed''':
34	** The excuse for the abandonment wasn't really good enough to justify it. The parent failed to TakeAThirdOption, a fact that is repeatedly {{lampshaded}}. When child and parent attempt to reconcile, it goes awry and the relationship becomes even more dysfunctional than before.
35	** Alternately, the reason for the abandonment ''was'' good enough to justify it. Just because it was done for what really '''is''' a good reason will do nothing to make reconciliation easier, nor the relationship less dysfunctional. Just because it might well have been the best option will not prevent regrets on the parental side, nor the child from feeling that the parent ''ought'' to have [[TakeAThirdOption taken a third option]] no matter '''how''' good the evidence is that the best option was taken.
36	* '''Reconstructed''': The former child and parent realize that neither is perfect and agree to start over.
37	* '''Played For Laughs''': Alice's father never even intended to abandon her, it was largely the result of his perpetual bad luck. Alice keeps missing out on reconciling and blaming her father wrongly.
38	* '''Played For Drama''': The only thing that kept Alice's father going was the thought of seeing his little girl again, but ParentalAbandonment has led Alice to distrust others, so forgiveness won't come easy.
39	----
40	I know it has been painful for you, but you gotta understand: DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou
41	----
42	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
43	%%

Context PlayingWith / DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou