Line #14 PlayingWith/ProtagonistCenteredMorality


1	'''Basic Trope''': Characters are judged as good or evil based solely on their actions towards the protagonists or if they are the protagonists, rather than their actions as a whole.
2	* '''Straight''': [[TheHero Hawkeye's]] best friend is [[TheLancer Leo]], a bandit who's implied to have done some pretty questionable things in his past and isn't afraid to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate to get what he wants -- but they're [=BFFs=], so that's okay. [[TheRival Redd]], meanwhile, is a charming, compassionate young guardsman working to protect their community... Unfortunately, he's also caught [[SatelliteLoveInterest Suzy]]'s interest, so Hawkeye, and the readers, hate his guts.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Leo is an [[AxCrazy insane]], murderous bastard who regularly makes a game of seeing how long he can keep his victims alive... but they're not anyone Hawkeye knows, so he's cool with it. Redd is Leo's polar opposite, an upstanding fellow in all regards -- but since Suzy has a bit of a crush on him, ''[[DieForOurShip he must die]]''.
4	* '''Downplayed''': Leo has LooseLips and often plays mean-spirited practical jokes on Hawkeye, while Redd often as not goes out of his way to cross Hawkeye's path in advance of him, just to neutralize traps that are in his way. Hawkeye laughs Leo's actions off and berates Redd for interfering with his travel plans.
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** Hawkeye is an UnreliableNarrator telling the story from his own [[MoralMyopia warped perspective]].
7	** Hawkeye is an AntiHero or VillainProtagonist and the story is simply told from his point of view.
8	** Redd [[BitchInSheepsClothing is actually a huge]] {{Jerkass}} when in private and Leo has an HiddenHeartOfGold as well as a perfectly valid reason for why he is like he is, but the audience doesn't know that yet until TheReveal. Hawkeye's ProtagonistCenteredMorality is therefore meant as {{Foreshadowing}} to the [[BeneathTheMask true selves]] of both characters.
9	* '''Inverted''':
10	** Hawkeye holds his friends to a stricter moral standard than anyone else (apart from himself).
11	** DracoInLeatherPants
12	* '''Subverted''':
13	** Hawkeye recognizes that, despite his personal feelings towards both men, Leo ''is'' kind of a {{Jerkass}} while Redd ''is'' a pretty decent guy.
14	** Leo turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, and Redd was a BitchInSheepsClothing. Hawkeye was just a really good judge of character.
15	* '''Double Subverted''': Despite being aware of Leo's flaws and Redd's virtues, Hawkeye still thinks of his friend as a "great guy" and Redd as a "total asswipe".
16	* '''Parodied''': Hawkeye defends Leo's actions as not so bad to Suzy, while trying to paint Redd as a RomanticFalseLead. Meanwhile, Leo engages in an increasingly ridiculous killing spree in the background while Redd runs around trying to save the {{Innocent Bystander}}s. When Suzy points this out, Hawkeye [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking lamely points out he at least didn't set the dog on fire.]] So of course Leo thanks him for the suggestion.
17	* '''Zig Zagged''':
18	** Hawkeye really is self-centered in who he likes, but it's because he doesn't really know what Leo and Redd do, except he does and doesn't care.
19	** All major characters, both the good and the evil, can get away with practically anything, while minor characters cannot.
20	* '''Averted''': Hawkeye knows Leo is not nice and Redd is, but pragmatically chooses Leo over Redd because Leo isn't unwittingly working for the BigBad.
21	* '''Enforced''': The work is a KafkaKomedy; HumansAreBastards, and nobody is expected to choose strangers over friends.
22	* '''Lampshaded''': Suzy points out that WithFriendsLikeThese, Hawkeye is just asking for trouble.
23	* '''Invoked''': Redd tries to replace Leo as Hawkeye's best friend by painting their relationships as this trope, and trying to frame Leo with misdeeds.
24	* '''Exploited''': Leo has no problem with performing nefarious acts in front of Hawkeye, knowing his best friend won't do anything about it.
25	* '''Defied''':
26	** Hawkeye makes sure he has [[TheSpock detached]] and [[TheMcCoy compassionate]] observers around to make sure his judgement isn't being affected from realizing what his friends and enemies do.
27	** Clay, Redd's personal squire, chews Hawkeye out for this, while angrily drawing his [[{{BFS}} two handed sword]] to show he ain't screwing around.
28	--> '''Clay''': "HOLY SHITE! HOLY FOOKING SHITE, HAWKEYE! Do ya not fookin' know how much of a shortsigh'ed, myopic FOCK yer actin' right now!? Ya treat me boss Redd like he's the bloody devil an' yet one'a yer closest companions is this absolute fookin' MENACE TAE SAECIETY that calls himself Leo! Yer either goin' tae dump Leo an' treat Redd with respect, or I'll behead ya right fookin' here, right fookin' now! Choice is yers, dickhead!"
29	* '''Discussed''':
30	** "He may be a SociopathicHero, but dammit, he's ''our'' TokenEvilTeammate!"
31	** "He may be all heroic and super and such, which I respect, but that doesn't mean I have to ''like'' him."
32	** Redd, Hawkeye, and Leo partake in the following.
33	-->'''Redd''': Still hanging around that bandit, I see?
34	-->'''Hawkeye''': Yeah, so what? Leo's a good guy, I don't see why you have a problem with him.
35	-->'''Leo''': Look, I'm just trying to make a living in these trying times. I'm not sure why you care so much about ''how'' I make my money.
36	-->'''Redd''': [[ArmorPiercingQuestion How many like Leo have you killed, Hawkeye?]] Bandits who cut down the lives of others and cheated them out of their livelihoods. Bandits that you cut down without a second thought.
37	-->'''Hawkeye''': I don't know. What, do you expect me to keep track of everyone I kill like some sort of psychopath.
38	-->'''Leo''': Lay off him, you puritan! Those other bandits had it coming! They're willing to raid villages while killing and raping everyone they see and you're saying that I'm no different to them. What bullshit!
39	-->'''Redd''': Honestly, Hawkeye? You tolerate everything Leo does because he's on your side. Because you don't want to think about the horrible things he's done and because you wouldn't be hanging around him if [[CommonalityConnection you didn't share something in common with him.]] Perhaps you're a horrible person yourself and you simply don't want to admit it, do you?
40	-->'''Hawkeye''': [[RageBreakingPoint You son of a bitch!]] You think you can come in here, and all high and mighty towards us! You royal guards are nothing more than privileged scum who think themselves superior to us while doing everything they can to [[TallPoppySyndrome cut the rest of us down to size!]] Let's kill this motherfucker!
41	-->'''Leo''': Agreed.
42	---> ''(The trio, along with Clay, Redd's personal squire, do battle)''
43	* '''Conversed''': "I wonder why they write heroes who are so blinded by personal sentiment they ignore flaws in friends and virtues in rivals? It's not exactly endearing, really."
44	* '''Implied''': The narrative focuses on Hawkeye's view of Leo and Redd, but background hints suggest no one else really shares Hawkeye's opinions. Other characters tend to be cold to Leo, welcoming to Redd, and confused or skeptical when Hawkeye talks about either.
45	* '''Deconstructed''':
46	** Leo decides to do Hawkeye a favor and MurderTheHypotenuse, attacking Redd. Redd successfully fights back and winds up slaying him; since Leo was such a horrible person, Redd is hailed as a hero while Hawkeye develops an even deeper grudge against him. Suzy grows tired of Hawkeye's MoralMyopia and leaves him; [[NeverMyFault Hawkeye also blames this on Redd]].
47	** Alternately, Leo successfully kills Redd -- and since Redd was so well-liked and he already had a record, he becomes a public enemy and the subject of an angry manhunt. Hawkeye attempts to protect him, but Suzy [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]] and "betrays" them, leading to Leo's arrest and execution.
48	** Hawkeye is friends with Leo and sees him as a good person, because Hawkeye is a horrible person himself. After all, he wouldn't be hanging around with Leo if they didn't share some things in common, such as their willingness to kill people who wrong them and deny them the things they feel they deserve.
49	* '''Reconstructed''':
50	** Redd killing his best friend ''does'' give Hawkeye a perfectly valid reason to despise him. The fact that he killed Leo is also used as {{Foreshadowing}} that Redd has a dark side of his own.
51	** Additionally, Leo ''was'' trying to help in a very warped way, showing that he indeed has a ''brighter'' side of his own.
52	* '''Played for Laughs:''' Hawkeye realizes he should reevaluate his friend policy as he and Leo run from two federal agencies, the army, a coke dealer, and three assassin's guilds.
53	* '''Played for Drama:''' Hawkeye's insistence on this leads him to alienate Suzy and destroy his public image as Leo's misdeeds grow in magnitude. Leo kills Suzy for leaving Hawkeye for Redd, forcing the rivals to team up to take him down. Redd does a FaceHeelTurn over the tragedy, vowing to destroy the society that allows the wicked to prosper at the righteous' expense.
54	* '''Plotted a Good Waste:''' Telling the story from Hawkeye's point of view, the author intentionally used this to illustrate that Hawkeye's FatalFlaw is his MoralMyopia; as the series progresses, the disconnect deliberately grows worse and worse and it becomes clear that Hawkeye is unknowingly setting himself up for a ''major'' fall.
55	----
56	Get back to ProtagonistCenteredMorality, because I am the main protagonist and whatever I do is all moral, and if you don't, you're an irredeemable CompleteMonster!
57	----
58	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
59	%%

Context PlayingWith / ProtagonistCenteredMorality