'''Basic Trope''': Someone takes a lesser revenge on someone else in lieu of forgiving them entirely.
* '''Straight''': Alice plans to kill Bob for killing her brother in a duel. After getting to know Bob (and realizing that it was just a terrible accident), she opts to avenge her brother by turning Bob in instead.
* '''Exaggerated''': Bob murdered Alice's entire family ForTheEvulz. Alice decides to let him go with nothing but a punch in the stomach.
* '''Downplayed''': Alice decides to give Bob a chance to survive by merely leaving him stranded in the middle of the desert where she confronted him.
* '''Justified''':
** Bob killed Alice's brother in self defense. While Alice is bitter, she knows he was in the right, and once she gets to know him as a person, rather than just the faceless killer of her brother, she can't bring herself to kill him.
** As satisfying as it would be to kill Bob, murder is still illegal. Alice turns Bob in because it's not worth it to go to prison--and that's not what Bob would have wanted.
** Anything less restrained would definitely have injured innocent bystanders, and Alice is determined to keep her revenge limited to just Bob.
* '''Inverted''':
** DisproportionateRetribution
** Alice planned to simply turn Bob in once she'd found her brother's killer...however on meeting him, he turns out to be a monster and [[ItsPersonal she decides to kill him instead]].
* '''Subverted''':
** Alice was just grateful for Bob doing something earlier; she will still kill him later, just not now.
** Whether [[ManipulativeBastard Alice realized it]] or [[InnocentlyInsensitive not]], [[CruelMercy Alice's restraint has hurt Bob at least as much as a more overt revenge attempt would have]].
** [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Bob]] confronts Alice about how he feels his honor[=/=]pride was soiled by her mercy, with Alice [[MercyKill agreeing]] [[ShootTheDog to give him a glorious death]] instead.
* '''Double Subverted''': Of course, this was actually a sign of hesitation. She's forgiven him, even though she won't admit it.
* '''Parodied''': Alice reveals that she'd sworn to track Bob down and do the worst thing she could imagine... when she was a child. Bob has to live with the fact that he's just been called "The biggest meanie ''ever''!" to his face. It pushes him into the DespairEventHorizon.
* '''Zig Zagged''': The show can't seem to make up its mind whether it's better to drop grudges and whether or not taking a token revenge is reasonable.
* '''Averted''':
** Alice just kills Bob as planned and considers everything even.
** Alice does not take revenge on Bob.
** No one does anything worthy of revenge.
* '''Enforced''': Alice is TheChosenOne and destined to become a {{Messia|nicArchetype}}h. She has to learn to TurnTheOtherCheek.
* '''Lampshaded''': "If you're forgiving me, why did you punch me in the stomach?"
* '''Invoked''': Alice's MoralityPet tells her that killing Bob is something she can never go back on, and that she should just turn him in.
* '''Exploited''': Bob allows Alice to punch him for killing her brother because he knows if he appears to be a KarmaHoudini she might do something worse.
* '''Defied''': Alice's ToxicFriendInfluence slips her a drug that'll give her a HairTriggerTemper for a while, just in case she "goes soft".
* '''Discussed''': "Look... I swore to kill you but I didn't know everything at the time... so I told everyone you groped me. [[ExactWords Killed your social life instead]]." "WHAT!"
* '''Conversed''': "She won't kill him now, they've become too close." "Bet she'll punch him in the face though."
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Bob takes advantage of Alice's 'weakness' to [[MinorInjuryOverreaction kill her for punching him]]. The CycleOfRevenge continues.
** Alice "only" kills Bob as revenge for Bob killing three of her loved ones. She thinks she is being restrained and reasonable, but Bob's family doesn't see it this way and enacts revenge on Alice's family for Bob's death. The CycleOfRevenge continues.
* '''Reconstructed''': Bob's family realize that killing Alice was DisproportionateRetribution and agree to allow a third party to take him into custody rather than wait for Alice's family's vengeance (and carrying out their counter-vengeance, etc). By avoiding escalating the grudge, Alice signaled the beginning of the end of the cycle.
* '''Played For Laughs''': Alice's revenge leaves Bob humiliated and is suitably ironic.
* '''Played For Drama''': Alice met and fell in love with Bob before finding out what he did and who he actually was and saw a spark of goodness in him. After sparing him, she's torn over whether or not Bob truly is capable of being redeemed or if she's simply allowed more innocents to die by Bob's hand.
* '''Implied''': Alice says she needs revenge on Bob, but Bob is still alive later. He seems somewhat grateful to Alice.
* '''Played For Horror''': Bob is a serial killer who killed Alice's brother and gave her a facial scar. In a dramatic confrontation [[HeWhoFightsMonsters where it looks like Alice is about to violently murder him]], [[BaitAndSwitch she simply cuts his face instead]] to give him [[IronicEcho the same scar as her]].
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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