1 | '''Basic Trope''': Ruling by fear works less well than ruling with love. |
2 | * '''Straight''': [[BigBad Emperor Evulz]] rules with an iron fist. He's surprised when Charlie, one of his high-ranking officers, {{Heel Face Turn}}s to Bob's side. |
3 | * '''Exaggerated''': |
4 | ** Evulz throws Charlie in jail for leaving a speck of dirt on his weapons; Charlie escapes and joins Bob, who was waiting outside. |
5 | ** Evulz, the resident EldritchAbomination, tries to lord over the humans [[HumansAreInsects as if they're defenseless insects]], humanity [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu proves him wrong]]. |
6 | * '''Downplayed''': |
7 | ** Emperor Evulz is slightly surprised when Charlie defects, but not very. |
8 | ** Emperor Evulz rules through fear. His minions are reluctant to fight for him, but they don't heel-face turn. |
9 | * '''Justified''': |
10 | ** Charlie realizes that even if he manages to survive under Evulz's rule, he'd still rather be happy on Bob's side. |
11 | ** Charlie hates being controlled this way. |
12 | ** Ruling by fear is prone to backfiring in the worst ways. If the leader ever gets in a vulnerable position, the people will inevitably [[TheDogBitesBack turn against him]] at the soonest possible opportunity. |
13 | * '''Inverted''': |
14 | ** Evulz is actually the better ruler and his people are happier, even if they are afraid of [[MakeAnExampleOfThem what will happen if they ever step out of line]]. |
15 | ** Evulz believes that Machiavelli was right. |
16 | ** Evulz is [[TheDreaded extremely efficient at maintaining fear among the ranks]] of his crew, who are a bundle of [[WeAreStrugglingTogether the most inefficient, backstabbing]] jerks who have ever been labeled a "RagtagBunchOfMisfits". If he was not there to crack a whip, nothing would ever be done. |
17 | * '''Subverted''': |
18 | ** Bob's forces look like they'll win the war when they're overwhelmed at the last moment by [[WeHaveReserves Evulz's reinforcements]]. |
19 | ** It seems Charlie will heel-face turn to Bob's side, but he is too afraid of Evulz. |
20 | ** Machiavelli's ghost appears and points out that Evulz is actually proving him ''right'' - his tyrannical rule is inspiring more hatred than fear, which Machiavelli advised rulers to avoid at all costs. |
21 | * '''Double Subverted''': |
22 | ** Evulz's reinforcements appear at the crest of the hill... only for Charlie to give the signal and [[CavalryBetrayal charge Evulz's own troops.]] |
23 | ** Fearing Evulz's oppression and not wishing to be captured, Bob's forces fight even harder at the sight of Evulz's reinforcements and manage to win the day. |
24 | * '''Parodied''': |
25 | ** Evulz yells at Charlie. As he leaves the throne room, he's stopped by a rebel recruiter who promises that Bob won't threaten his friends and family like Alice. And he'll give him cookies. |
26 | ** Evulz's method of instilling terror into his underlings' hearts consist of [[PokeThePoodle wearing a spooky mask and jumping out behind them]]. Most of them don't last a week under command and he always wonders why they leave so soon. |
27 | * '''Zig-Zagged''': At first, Evulz appears to be a loving ruler, but it soon turns out that he actually rules through fear. It's then revealed that [[WellIntentionedExtremist he's doing this for the good of the people]]. It's later found out that many people have figured it out and love him anyway. |
28 | * '''Averted''': |
29 | ** It's unknown what kind of leaders Evulz and Bob are, as [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything neither one of them is shown actually leading]]. |
30 | ** Evulz and Bob are leaders of groups where the people have no choice but to follow them. |
31 | ** Both Evulz and Bob are tyrants or well-loved, and neither is more nor less fair than the other. |
32 | ** Evulz is [[TheDreaded too good at spreading fear]] for defiance to grow amongst his subjects. If Bob is not afraid, it's because he's literally an OutsideContextProblem, and even then he may end up having to fight alone. |
33 | * '''Enforced''': Evulz is such an incredibly powerful and terrifying villain that the only realistic way for him to be defeated is internal subversion from a subordinate who's not afraid of him. |
34 | * '''Lampshaded''': "Don't you know that you can't rule through fear? It ''never'' works out in the end." |
35 | * '''Invoked''': Bob, an aspiring democratic leader, decides to find out what the people want to give them something to fight for rather than just to fight against. |
36 | * '''Exploited''': Bob convinces Charlie to join his side because Evulz was so mean to Charlie. |
37 | * '''Defied''': |
38 | ** Evulz knows what would happen if he causes his people to fear him, so she makes sure to treat them fairly. |
39 | ** Evulz, if he decides to rule by fear, makes extremely damned sure that it's a kind of fear that shall never be defied. He also puts in place steps to make sure that hatred does not festers anywhere, to foster the appearance of a "tough but fair" regime. |
40 | * '''Discussed''': ??? |
41 | * '''Conversed''': "Well, Evulz might have the upper hand now, but did you see what he did to poor Charlie? He'll lose in the end." |
42 | * '''Played for Laughs''': Evulz gives out {{Cool and Unusual Punishment}}s to his people and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard one of them leads to his downfall]]. |
43 | * '''Played for Drama''': Evulz loses the war and [[HeelRealization realizes]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters how far he fell due to his ruthlessness]]. |
44 | * '''Played For Horror''': The things Evulz does to enforce fear amongst his subjects work incredibly well, not to mention makes the audience faint. |
45 | * '''Implied''': Evulz's leaership style is not given very much attention, but there is many a MookFaceTurn among his subordinates. |
46 | ---- |
47 | Back to MachiavelliWasWrong |
48 | ---- |
49 | %%Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion: |
50 | %% |
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