Line #37 WhatMeasureIsAMook/LiveActionTV


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8	* In an early episode of ''[[Series/AgentsofSHIELD Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'', Coulson and his team need to access an off-the-books S.H.I.E.L.D. facility that had the only medicine that can save the dying Skye's life. When the guards on-site refuse to let them in, Coulson, Garret and Ward break in, and when the guards fire on them, Coulson warns them that they'll defend themselves... which Ward and Garret do, killing one guard and mortally wounding the other [[note]] Garret and Ward are later revealed to be working for Hydra, but Coulson still ordered the break in and use of lethal force [[/note]] (who Coulson offers to help, but dies anyways when the facility explodes.) No one afterwards acts guilty that they killed two loyal American soldiers to save a friend. The most Coulson does is say that they were "good men" who "laid down their lives" to protect the drug. Granted, he never acknowledges that ''he'' helped take those lives. [[ForgottenPhlebotinum Nor was the possibility of using the non-lethal "Night-Night guns"]] the team regularly uses for the mission ever brought up. This is especially jarring when Coulson is horrified enough just at the suggestion of killing [[spoiler: Victoria Hand]] that it makes him realize [[spoiler: Agent Garret]] is the evil mastermind.
9	* Oliver Queen in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' always gives his high-profile targets a chance to "do the right thing" before announcing that they have "failed this city" and planting an arrow in their hearts. He extends no such niceties to their hired goons, dropping half a dozen in a typical episode (many more on occasion) with seemingly little regard for whether they live or die from their grievous arrow wounds. This becomes a plot point in the Huntress-based episodes, where he tries and fails to communicate this to Helena (and it doesn't help that Helena has a deep vendetta against the mob). He eventually admits that killing mooks wasn't much better than killing indiscriminately.
10	** Also Played With. In the earlier seasons (where Oliver was very willing to kill) he usually needed the high-profile criminals alive so they could reverse the damage they'd done. In later seasons, it appears that Oliver kills mooks left, right, and center while still adopting ThouShaltNotKill towards named characters.
11	** Averted around the time of Season 3, where this is discussed during the [[Recap/ArrowS3E8TheBraveAndTheBold Arrow half]] of the ''Series/FlashVsArrow'' crossover. Barry asks whether Oliver killed a room full of mooks, where Oliver then clarifies he used a sedative arrows, the same one he used on Barry during their [[LetsYouAndHimFight battle]] in [[Recap/TheFlash2014S1E8FlashVsArrow The Flash side]] of the crossover.
12	** Horrifically shown in Season 5 Episode 9, [[spoiler:Prometheus has recreated one of "The Hood's" kills from a flashback set early in Season 1, every single dead mook is replaced with another person, freshly killed in the same manner, the only one not dead at the new scene is the boss, who has been replaced by a very much alive [[BigBad Prometheus]]]].
13	* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'': Steed and Mrs. Peel typically kill half a dozen or more mooks and henchmen without breaking a sweat (or a nail). They're quite indiscriminate, though: the BigBad usually gets killed just as unceremoniously.
14	* Spoofed in ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': After Boyle "saves" Diaz from a man marked as a Perp (in a [[PaintballEpisode training exercise]]), the following exchange ensues:
15	-->'''Diaz:''' Hey, thanks for shooting that guy.\
16	'''Boyle:''' ''(chuckles)'' Hey, my pleasure.\
17	'''Perp:''' Your ''pleasure''? This was a human being you just killed. Bill Perp had a family!\
18	''[after a {{beat}}, both Boyle and Diaz decide to shoot the Perp again]''
19	* ''Series/BurnNotice'': AvertedTrope: In his earlier missions (before the beginning of the series), Michael played this trope straight. Realizing he was becoming less the man he wanted to be, he began to change the way he approached his missions. Though still willing and able to kill when strictly necessary, both Michael and Sam want to keep the body count as low as possible; Sam is especially adamant, particularly in the final season, wherein, by Michael's explicit admission, he serves as Michael's primary moral anchor in the face of the growing moral ambiguity which defines his current assignment. Jesse and Fiona are somewhat less insistent, but also desire to keep deaths to a minimum. Other, more minor characters, such as Michael's various CIA handlers and peers, serve as counterpoints and foils to the main characters, playing the trope more or less straight.
20	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': This show is almost bipolar with this trope (along with WhatMeasureIsANonHuman), not helped at all by the Doctor's personality varying wildly DependingOnTheWriter or [[TheNthDoctor the actor]].
21	** The most obvious example is his repeated attempts to save the Master, despite easily (if reluctantly) killing anywhere from several dozen to several ''million'' nameless enemies in numerous other episodes. Somewhat better justified in the Tenth Doctor stories, since he and the Master thought that they were literally the only surviving members of their race... Also there's a lot of FoeRomanceSubtext. They ''did'' used to be friends or more, after all, and both the Doctor and the Master appear to remember those days fondly.
22	** As part of her journey to becoming the Doctor's DistaffCounterpart, Clara Oswald in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice "The Magician's Apprentice"]] not only overlooks the fact Missy (aka the Master after a GenderBender) has just killed a number of UNIT personnel, she immediately agrees to team up with her in order to locate the Doctor.
23	** Another controversial and glaring example is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks "Resurrection of the Daleks"]], where the Fifth Doctor kills several Daleks personally throughout the story and unleashes a biological weapon on them at the end, but can't bring himself to shoot Davros when he has the chance.
24	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Pointed out when Danko is talking with Nathan about how his plans have been ruined thanks to Nathan's interference. Nathan retorts that people could have died, and Danko counters that people ''had'' died, if one considered Danko's Mooks to be people.
25	** And then Danko causes heads to bang walls everywhere when he inexplicably feeds one of his men to Sylar to allow the latter to use the man's identity as cover.
26	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Pointed out when Lily found out [[Franchise/StarWars Stormtroopers]] were not robots.
27	--> '''Lily:''' So when they blew up the Death Star, those were ''people'' on that thing?
28	* ''Series/HumanTarget'': The main character, Christopher Chance, seems to have no problem mowing down security guards in one episode where he breaks into a large corporation. Although the company was [[spoiler: selling weapons to terrorist organizations]], such dealings would probably be beyond the knowledge of normal security personnel.
29	** This actually happens throughout the series. Christopher Chance regularly mows down Mooks, and kills the Head Mook. The episodes actual BigBad however, is usually arrested.
30	* ''Series/KnightRider'': Occurred at least once where a young child was playing with a beach ball in the garden of the kidnapper, and the mook in question was entertaining her. There was no real communication -- just a few minutes of play and him passing the ball back to her, but given that this guy had been ''quite ready to seriously hurt someone'' in the other room and was portrayed as a bit of a silent badass... yeah.
31	* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' makes a big deal out of how small changes to the timeline can have big consequences to the present day and future. Except when it comes to villains and their mooks, who the team kill with impunity on a regular basis.
32	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': While being questioned by Galadriel, Adar insists that as living, thinking beings, the orcs have the same right to live and prosper as any other people. This is also notably the first time in the franchise where orcs have surrendered and been taken captive, rather than being butchered to the last.
33	* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'': {{Subverted\|Trope}} in the series 4 finale. Merlin kills the five guards but leaves Agravaine alive for some reason. And then they talk, and it quickly becomes clear (although not to [[GenreBlind Agravaine]]) that Merlin intends to kill him too, and that his survival was just a fluke. Okay, he waits until Agravaine pulls a knife to actually do it, but he also waited for the FacelessGoons to rush him.
34	* Throughout the first two seasons of ''Series/OnceUponATime'', it's made clear that killing the Queen isn't the answer, and in fact if Snow White were to kill her, she'd become just as evil. Never mind that it would be the smart thing to do, to stop Regina's RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Snow White and Charming regularly kill guards on-screen, however, and when Red Riding Hood [[spoiler:in her wolf form]] massacres several dozen soldiers, it's treated as fodder for jokes.
35	--> '''Grumpy:''' Hey, Red? [[ImAHumanitarian You've got someone in your teeth.]]
36	* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'': Lampshaded; when Tommy's furious that his enemies "crossed a line" by kidnapping his son for leverage, Alfie rightly points out that every single person that Tommy has killed was ''somebody's'' son or father.
37	--> '''Alfie:''' How many fathers, right, how many sons have you cut, killed, murdered, fucking butchered, innocent and guilty, to send straight to fucking hell ain't ya, just like me! Fucking stand there, you, judging me, stand there and talk to me about crossing some fucking line!
38	* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'':
39	** Addressed during episode 3. To him, the guy who Danny killed was just the Militia member who killed his dad. To a fellow Militia soldier, he was a friend, with a loving family, and a name: Templeton.
40	** And then completely ignored as Charlie and company slaughter entire squads of militiamen at a time.
41	** The rebel side comes in for this [[spoiler:as several people are introduced for one whole episode, and then are all slaughtered by [[TheMole Wheatley]].]]
42	* ''Series/RobinHood'': Mostly {{averted\|Trope}} in the BBC series, where Robin, tired of war, deliberately avoids killing anyone, including {{Mook}}s (and the Sheriff notices, so he doesn't take Robin's threats seriously). He breaks the rule several times, such as when he slaughters dozens of the Sheriff's men when he thinks that Marian is dead, or killing a few Arab assassins trying to kill King Richard.
43	* ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'': {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d where there is an argument between Robin and Will Scarlet after they have captured [[TheDragon Guy of Gisburne]] leading a group of homicidal Flemish mercenaries. Will Scarlet wants to kill them but Robin says that that would make them no better than Guy. Will replies 'Well what makes you think we '''are''' any better? What about all the men-at-arms we've killed?'
44	* ''Series/{{Rome}}'': Played straight, {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d, and then becomes {{justified\|Trope}}. When Pompey flees to Egypt, he is captured and executed by a soldier loyal to Caesar. Caesar, who has no qualms killing Pompey's men, is livid that a nobleman would be killed by a commoner and ultimately executes the soldier and desecrates his body.
45	** Historically this was generally what happened, although Caesar's reasons for anger were less about who killed him, but that his usual process was to spare his military rivals and thereby gain popularity for his mercy. He was not a man driven by revenge but by what would get him the most control over a situation and cause the least disruption to the safe progress of his burgeoning empire (nee republic). The execution of Pompey gained him nothing militarily or politically, and he took out his disapproval on the over-zealous Egyptian authorities afterwards.
46	** Plus, it served Caesar's interests. He wanted to overthrow Egypt's leadership. What better excuse than righteous indignation about how terribly a Roman consul was treated? His enemy Pompey is eliminated, he gets credit for having ''intended'' to pardon him, and a dangerous province's leaders are replaced with a new set loyal to Caesar. Perfect.
47	* Brilliantly averted in ''Series/SixFeetUnder''. Even though the deaths that open every episode usually happen to characters who are never seen before or after, they're all given personalities and backstories, which usually become crucial plot points in the corresponding episode.
48	* This is explored as a subplot of ''Series/SquidGame''. Though the contestants are all herded like cattle and casually gunned down by the masked guards, the guards actually aren't much better off. The Workers (circle-masked guards) are treated rather poorly, essentially living in prison cells and unable to step out of line. Even the guards are subject to rules that they must follow or be killed for. When a Supervisor (square-masked guard) takes off his mask at the demand of a contestant that took him hostage, he is casually gunned down by the Front Man for it. They are all just cogs in a machine run by those at the top.
49	* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': Caroline sees no problem in trading a hybrid's life for Elena's, even though he had broken Klaus' sire-bond and only wanted to get away from Klaus.
50	* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Part of the episodic formula is that the title character will tend to slaughter Mooks unceremoniously throughout the episode, but when he reaches the BigBad of the story he will usually spare them with the specific excuse of how important it is to let the legal system do its job and decry killing as an answer. To make matters worse, it's often heavily implied if not outright shown that the Mooks are coerced into their roles on pain of death.
51	* ''Series/TheWire'': {{Inverted\|Trope}}. Several mooks die throughout the series as the cops try to take down the gang lords. Most of them get a great deal of characterization and their deaths visibly haunt the cops throughout.
52	* ''Series/WonderWoman2011Pilot'': Critics of the failed 2011 pilot have called out the lead character for this. After beating up (and by onscreen evidence killing in a couple of cases) several SuperPoweredMooks, Wonder Woman proceeds to successfully deflect a standard human guard's bullets easily before throwing a pipe through his neck, killing him. Moments later, she encounters the BigBad (who actually takes a moment to pay tribute to the newly deceased guard) and does little more than knock her out.
53	* ''Series/TheWrongMans'': This trope is actually subverted in the climax of the second series, when one third of the BigBadEnsemble is actually [[spoiler:the brother of a nameless mook [[YouHaveFailedMe terminated]] by Paul Smoke in the previous series]], out to both tie up loose ends from the previous series and seek revenge. When he finds the person he thinks is responsible, he angrily holds them at gunpoint and asks why he did what he "did".
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Context WhatMeasureIsAMook / LiveActionTV