Blame Game - Television Tropes & Idioms

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Blame Game

Easy: This is how it's done.

This is when something has Gone Horribly Wrong and it's time to determine who is at fault, but the consequences for this blame can wreck careers and reputations, or even get people killed. Either that or just stubborn pride.

So when someone is blamed, that person tries to pass off the blame to another plausible person, and that person either tries to put the blame back on the first person or pass it to someone else. Essentially the blame is now like a game of "hot potato", hence we call it the Blame Game.

This can happen in comedy as well as drama. In Real Life, a staple of politics, right after any tragedy.

Remember, this isn't just trying to pass off blame once. There has to be at least one return volley.

Examples:

Four generals at the end of a film version of The Charge of the Light Brigade all try to avoid blame for the order for the charge.
In a recent episode of The Tudors, Cromwell and another lord try to pass off blame for Henry's displeasure with Anne of Cleves.
Duck Tales
Huey: "Who's idea was it to [forget the details]?"
Dewey and Louie: "It was your idea."
Huey: "Who's idea was it to *listen* to my idea?"
- Then they all run.
The second act of Into The Woods has the song "Your Fault."
In a corporate environment, this is called "blamestorming". A recent Direct TV commercial even uses that phrase.
Debriefings in Paranoia, unless you ~~take precautions~~ ~~make sure no-one contradicts you~~ kill everyone else and perjure yourself on a Biblical scale, without needing to worry about their testimony.