Forgiven, but Not Forgotten

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."

— John F. Kennedy

Concerning forgiving one another, it can be difficult sometimes. Some of your good-hearted people such as the Nice Guy, All-Loving Hero, or the Wide-Eyed Idealist would be willing to allow bygones be bygones, but for the Anti-Hero, Knight Templar, or the Jerkass, not so much. Then, there are some people who actually can (or will) forgive and can still give others the cold shoulder, which is this trope.

In short, this is more of a bitter cousin of Easily Forgiven. Instead of following the adage "forgive and forget", these type of characters choose the "forgive" part only. No matter how forgiving the character is, they still feel genuinely hurt by the transgressor's actions or words, which explains the cruel attitude. Perhaps the character is still distrustful towards them and believes that the transgressor may do the same thing all over again; then again, this reason may be justified. Perhaps the person either has a bit of a short temper, takes the smallest things too seriously (such as having their foot being unintentionally stepped on), or may be something personal, making it impossible to forgive the other completely. Concerning this trope, merely because people forgive doesn't necessarily mean they will move on.

Usually, other variants would show that one character will come to sincerely say they're sorry to the other and they will still call them out of their wrongs with responses such as "you've hurt my feelings" or "you oughta be sorry". They may hear that they are trying to change their ways but is still not good enough to make them completely happy again. These kind of forgiveness are given by wary characters, and if they forgive the offender, may give out warnings of threats or other ultimatums to them should the action be repeated. As far as forgiving others and not forgetting their act goes, this is usually seen as a character still finding it difficult to truly move on, a character having bad trust issues, or merely a character being an insufferable jerk.

It's worth noting that this trope isn't always found on the cynical side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. To detail this trope positively, forgiving others doesn't mean tolerating what the other has done. One, it can be a process to heal all negative emotions that the victimizer has caused and that the victimizer will take responsibility for never repeating their mistakes. Even so, just because the person has forgiven the other doesn't mean they have to be friends with them; they would still be satisfied to see them receive their Laser-Guided Karma for good measure.

The Atoner may not care if the forgiver is still not going easy on them, since the only thing that means to them is that they are pardoned for their wrongs. If they do care for the forgiver's approval again, though, then they will work hard to make that person happy with them again, or at least improve themselves morally. If the forgiver does indeed become happy, it can become heartwarming. If not, then this can become a rather complex story, and it may lead to the implication that the character has never really forgiven them at all.

Definitely Truth in Television, but examples are unnecessary.

Compare Flippant Forgiveness (the sarcastic variant), My Fist Forgives You, and Restrained Revenge (both tropes are about being even with the wrongdoer while forgiving him, usually physically). Contrast Rejected Apology, Reformed, but Rejected, and Heel–Face Door-Slam, which demonstrate that the character is not forgiven at all, no matter how sincere he is in his apology and turning his life around.

noreallife

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• In Aruosumente, Moeran hates Oracles because Oracle Kian, Legna's father, was somehow involved in the death of Moeran's precious teacher, and while Legna was sheltered from any consequences, Moeran was instead threatened with permanent imprisonment. Eventually, Moeran realizes that Legna has no idea what happened and seems ready to forgive him, though he's by far not ready to forget. Forgiving and forgetting Legna's ignorance is another matter.
• In Banished from the Hero's Party, Theodora Dephilo a former friend and comrade turns against the group because she wishes to force Ruti to resume her role as The Hero when she tries to run away from her duties. Even though she knows what it would do to her, she still decides to press on. This leads to her fighting her former comrades. Unlike with Ares, the party chooses to spare her after defeating her, because they acknowledge that she had some noble intentions, and that her criticism of their actions are justified, as they were prioritizing their own happiness over the lives of thousands of innocent people. That said, the group makes it clear that while they don't hate her and have forgiven her, they likely will never be able to see her as a friend ever again.
• In A Certain Magical Index, most people who know of Accelerator's past, and especially his involvement in the Level 6 Shift project, acknowledge that he's trying to be a better person, but certainly are not about to let him forget what he's done. Accelerator doesn't expect them to; indeed, he can't forgive himself. The only person who seems to have wholeheartedly forgiven him is Last Order.
• Daily Lives of High School Boys: Karasawa only needs to take off his cap to make clear to Habara that he still hasn't forgotten it was her who put a scar in his forehead in elementary school.
• Dragon Ball Super: The current Grand Elder Namekian, Moori, says as much to Vegeta when he and Goku come to New Namek's defense in the Moro Arc; Namekians aren't the type to hold grudges, but they also have long memories, and they haven't forgotten the things Vegeta did to them in the Namek Saga. It's part of why Vegeta is so determined to protect them from Moro.
• In Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Scar was given this sort of advice from his master in regards to avoid dwelling himself in revenge too often or he will turn into a beast:
  "Enduring and forgiving are two different things. You must not forget the unjustness of society. As a human being, you must hold the event in contempt. Yet, you must endure. You must put an end to the chain of hatred!"
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Diamond is Unbreakable: Though Rohan forms a "manageable" relationship with the group after antagonizing them in his first appearance, Koichi still tends to feel unnerved around him from time to time.
  • Stone Ocean: While Gwess mellows out after Jolyne defeated her, Jolyne still ignores her when she tries to offer up more advice around the prison.
• In Kotoura-san, Hiyori was uneasily forgiven for bullying Haruka and nearly getting Manabe killed and as a side effect broke Haruka in the process, although this is because Haruka can read her mind and see that she's genuinely sorry for what she's done. Also, Manabe knows Hiyori was the one responsible for the attack and was actually shocked and suspicious when she starts hanging out with them. Haruka's grandfather also implied quite clearly he knew what Hiyori had done and, while not mistreating her, did make it clear she wasn't off the hook with him. (He made a "Haruka-land" theme park for his granddaughter, with her and her friends as mascot characters. Hiyori's was locked in a burning cage.)
• In Naruto, this is Naruto's attitude towards Nagato after all the harm that he's caused. After hearing of all the hardship Nagato went through which led him to being the person he was, Naruto realizes that even if he can't stop himself from hating him for what he's done, he will still forgive him, as not doing so would only perpetuate the cycle of hatred and revenge that was plaguing the world of shinobi.

Comic Books

• In Crisis on Infinite Earths, Lady Quark does forgive Pariah for the destruction of her universe, which he never meant to do, but says that she will never forget. But it turns out Pariah wasn't responsible at all.
• The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire: Asami Sato has this attitude towards Kuvira at the end of the Ruins of the Empire. During the crisis. where Kuvira is brought in to help stop a former commander named Guan from restarting the Earth empire using the elections being held to decide who will be the new leader of the Earth Kingdom, Asami made it clear to Kuvira that she is furious at her for killing her father and does not trust her. Later when negotiations with Guan go badly because Kuvira lost her temper and tried to attack Guan, Asami knocks her out. At the end of the story, Kuvira helps defeat Guan, takes responsibility for her actions, apologizes, and pleads guilty in court; the other characters forgive Kuvira and make it so that instead of being in prison, Kuvira would live on probation in Zaofu where she will be rehabilitated. Asami does not oppose everyone’s decision to forgive and rehabilitate Kuvira; however, she makes it straightforward to Kuvira that it will take years, even decades, for her to forgive Kuvira, and while not stated it’s implied that the two of them will never be friends, showing that while Asami is not opposed to giving Kuvira a chance at redemption and her friends forgiving her, she will never truly forgive Kuvira for the death of her father.
• In Just a Pilgrim, by Garth Ennis, the titular character thinks about all the terrible crimes he had committed and decided that while God was going to forgive his crimes, He wasn't going to forget them. He decided that he wasn't going to let himself forget about them either, branding his face with a red-hot crucifix as a constant reminder.
• Ultimate X Men: Wolverine initially joined the X-Men as The Mole, to kill Xavier for Magneto, and then had a Heel–Face Turn. He was largely forgiven for it, but Jean kept distrusting him for it, mainly because he seduced her during the attempt.
• Wonder Woman (1987): While Diana forgives Hercules and Ares she never forgets what they've done and what they are, a concept Ares understands and appreciates in his own dark way and which Herc does not understand and resents. This is probably key to why Diana and Ares get along better than Diana and Herc even though Ares is unapologetically unheroic while Herc tries his best to act as a hero.

Comic Strips

• At the end of one 1980 story arc, Garfield seems willing to forgive Jon for trying to have him declawed, but gives him a very unsubtle reminder not to try it again.

Fan Works

Crossovers

• Because I'm Not Popular I'll Try To Out With A hero: While Peter is willing to forgive Eddie Brock for being a False Friend, and even give them a chance to rebuild their relationship into something real, the fact that they'd tricked him into thinking they were friends before naturally ensures that Peter is leery about trusting them too much and repeating the whole process all over again. When there's a symbotic onslaught, Peter even considers them to be his first suspect.
• Child of the Storm has Harry, eventually, forgive his grandfather for not rescuing him from the Dursleys due to understandable concerns (including not wanting to draw attention to Harry in the first place). However, as he notes in the sequel, this is not the same as forgetting.
• In Loud 10, Lisa attempts to extract the Omnitrix from Lincoln in order to claim it for her own and study it, and accidentally mutates her other siblings into aliens in the process. When everyone returns to normal, Lincoln informs Lisa that while he does somewhat forgive her, it will take awhile before he can start trusting her again.
  • Lincoln gives the same sentiments to Lynn in the next chapter after she tries to pull a similar stunt due to being envious of Lincoln being a hero.
• The Newest Challenger has the time that Sasuke punched a Chidori through Naruto's chest. Naruto brings the incident up while introducing Sasuke to his friends; while Naruto shrugs it off, his friends are understandably horrified, with one attempting to attack the past perpetrator on the spot.
• Raise Your Voice Against Liars defies this; Marinette makes clear that she will never forgive Lila for trying to ruin her life with with her bullying and Malicious Slander.

ChalkZone

• Crossing Lines, Small Crimes: Penny may have been faking her betrayal when she became the Chalk Queen, but the incident still hit Rudy hard, causing him to have nightmares about how easily Snap could have died. As a result, he finds himself struggling to trust her.

Codename: Kids Next Door

• Cold Reception: While Nigel and Chad are eventually able to come to a mutual understanding with each other, it's clear to both that they'll never be able to recapture the easy camaderie they'd shared before everything that tore them apart.

Danganronpa

• Blackened Skies: During the first Trial, Kaede keeps critical information from her classmates. Some of this is to protect others from falling under suspicion, while other details she hides in hopes of luring the culprit into a trap. In the aftermath, some of her classmates reject her apology, calling her out for how her actions greatly complicated matters and nearly caused a mistrial. Others, like Sakura, make clear that while they understand why she did what she did, it's also made it much harder for them to trust her.
• I'd Trade My Life For Yours: Averted with Kokichi, who refuses to do either in regards to Kaede's attempt to murder the mastermind. He repeatedly makes clear that he's only willing to work with them for his own ends.
• In Where Talent Goes to Die, Miura feels this way about the various killers, or at least the ones who were trying to graduate. She sympathizes with them to various extents, and doesn't believe they deserve to die, but does not forget that they killed at least one person and were willing to sacrifice the others in order to graduate.

Danny Phantom

• Danny Phantom: Stranded: Star greatly resents her mother Stella for leaving her father for the womanizing Jean Luc, saddling her with a nasty stepsister in Collette. She finally reaches her breaking point in "Lost", calling Stella out for abandoning her family and failing as a parent. Stella orders her to apologize, only for Star to admit she hates her. While she later recalls how she used to be a good mother, and agrees to give her another change, she makes clear that she can't forget the way she abandoned her, and admits to Sam in "Stuck" that even though Stella is trying to change her ways, it will likely take a long time before she's able to fully forgive her.

DC Super Hero Girls

• Superlife: Season 1: Jordan James' Berserk Button is any and all forms of bullying, and not even his friends/teammates are exempt from his anger, laying into the ones that he caught watching one of Leslie's embarrassing videos and asking if they'd still watch it if he was the one in the video, getting beyond pissed several moments later when he realizes that they're deciding! After what he experienced throughout the chapter, Jordan can't find it in himself to immediately forgive the Superhero Girls (barring Diana, who took no part in their behavior), something they reluctantly understand.

Disney Animated Canon

• Inverted with Habia from The Lion King Adventures. He is forgiven for murdering Tama, but he himself never forgets it. Word of God states that he did eventually get over it as he grew up.

Fairy Tail

• Lampshaded, but at the same time subverted, in The Light that Banishes the Shadow. When a former mage of Fairy Tail points out that Yukino's excommunication from Sabertooth following her defeat in the Grand Magic Games arena brings to mind Laxus' failed takeover attempt seven years prior, Lucy defends Laxus by pointing out that half of her guildmates witnessed his role in aiding Fairy Tail in the Tenrou Island crisis, and that for the rest, the passage of time erased their resultant grudges. Lucy ends her speech by saying of Laxus' big screw-up, "although none of us have forgotten, we all have forgiven."

Fate Series

• Passing Days shows both the main protagonist Vy and her summoned Servants holding their fair share of grudges with other parties considering their actions in the original Fate/Grand Order, even if they've become allies. Circe is currently on bad terms with Vy due to her Identity Impersonator act in replacing Medea in Salem, and Kama, while given sympathy for their Freudian Excuse in the Ooku event, is still treated with suspicion by many of Vy's Grailed Big Seven when it comes to their interactions with Vy herself.

How to Train Your Dragon

• In Hiccup the Useless, after the truth behind Stoick's Fake Ultimate Hero Red Herring plot was explained to Hiccup after he tried to kill himself, Hiccup decides to stay on Berk and continue as normal for the sake of his people, though it is very clear that things aren't the same. He keeps to himself and decides that he and Astrid need to "take a break", having a very brief thing with Heather as she visits because she was uninvolved in their plot. Conversely, the Hooligans over-compensate in their attempts to make him feel wanted.
• Hitchups: While the Vikings of Miklagard regret how they treated Hiccup after Framherja appears, with the Empress giving him and Toothless her protection, Hiccup remains surly and guarded around them, willing to tolerate their presence only because he doesn't have much choice.

In Nomine

• The Oops Cycle: The redeemed Princes are accepted into Heaven, but their former actions mean that many of their new peers still carry deep grudges and suspicion against them. In particular, Jordi, Archangel of Animals, refuses to forgive Haagenti for what he did as the Prince of Gluttony. For his part, Haagenti is understanding, going as far as to ban his servitors from hunting as "your boss has overdrawn that particular account, big time."

Kung Fu Panda

• It is stated in the epilogue of The Vow that Lady Lianne trusts her husband Lord Shen and has moved past his transgressions. However, she has to remember that she has imprisoned him and has to make sure that he doesn't threaten China a second time now that he's believed to be dead.

The Legend of Zelda

• Again (Breath of the Wild) features a Downplayed example: Link makes clear that he doesn't forgive Hylia for having trapped him in a Groundhog Peggy Sue loop without his consent. However, he understands their reasons for doing so, stating that he would have made the same choice had he been given the option to do so, even comforting them over their guilt.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

• In I'm still alive, Jen Carter understands that Bucky can't be held responsible for Howard's assassination, but she can't look at him without thinking about it, which creates conflict with several people. He was her best friend, after all.

Marvel Universe

• In A Prize for Three Empires, Carol Danvers tries to forgive Rogue for stealing both her powers and memories and attempting to kill her but "she was never, a zillion times over, going to forget the terrible thing Rogue had done to her".

Miraculous Ladybug

• Burning Bridges, Building Confidence: When Nino realizes how much Lila has manipulated him and the rest of their class, he immediately approaches Marinette, Cole and their Girl Posse to apologize. While Marinette is the most willing of the lot to accept his sincerity, she also makes clear that they need to see him making real effort to change before they can start forgiving what he did, and that it's going to take time to build up any trust.
• CONSEQUENCES: Discussed in EXPOSED; Lila assumes that Marinette is the type to 'forgive and forget', bragging about how she never lets go of any slight against her. Marinette responds that "I forgive, yes, but I don't forget. Especially not your selfish attempt to expose Ladybug."
• Happens twice over in Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Spite Playlist:
  • Having Become Her Own Antithesis due to Lila's False Friendship, Alya is naturally horrified upon realizing how far she went and what it cost her. While she eventually tells Lila that she forgives her, she does so well aware that her former friend doesn't really care about her, and she doesn't want to rekindle their relationship. She's only forgiving her so that she can move on with her life.
  • Similarly, Adrien bluntly informs his father that while he's forgiven him for his Parental Neglect and abuse, that doesn't mean he wants Gabriel to have any part in his life moving forward. Especially since he's going to have children of his own soon, and doesn't want to risk Gabriel hurting them the way he did his son.
• In A Small but Stubborn Fire, although it seems that Tom isn't holding a grudge against Cat Noir over the Weredad incident, he hasn't forgotten about it and is still a little sore over him rejecting Marinette.
• With Time explores this with Chloé and the rest of Marinette's classmates (save for Adrien). Marinette is willing to forgive Chloé for all the years she spent bullying her... but that's mainly because she's put a lot of effort into becoming a Reformed Bully, and supported Marinette during her Darkest Hour. By contrast, her Fair-Weather Friends fell for Lila's claims that she'd been cyberbullying her all summer and attacked her en masse, traumatizing Marinette so severely that simply glimpsing Alya and Lila in passing drove her into a panic attack. When she's finally able to face her former classmates again, Marinette makes clear that she's forgiven them only in the sense that she doesn't want revenge, but also wants nothing more to do with them. She certainly doesn't consider them to be friends anymore, and has no intention of trying to repair any of those broken relationships.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

• Auntie Tia's Matchmaking Service: Celestia's attitude towards Cozy Glow, as she still has lingering trauma from when Cozy gleefully sucked the magic out of her with Grogar's Bell. While Celestia accepts that Cozy's reformed and is still willing to help her find someone. She does not like her and barely tolerates being in the same room with her. (Not helped by Cozy's attitude.) This creates some issues when trying to find a match for her, as deep down, Celestia still thinks of Cozy as the same evil child who only cares for power and dominating others. Though they eventually move past this in chapter 24. Pony society at large is said to have a similar view of her. At one point, she even bemoans that she can't use her looks to charm most ponies, like she used her cuteness and false sweetness in the past, not because she isn't considered attractive, but because everypony knows her as an infamous former villain. And it's mentioned that ponies in "polite society" often make it a point to remind her they know who she is and what she's done, even if they don't directly say anything about it.
• In Her Inner Demons, Sci-Twi is no longer mad at the Shadowbolts for bullying her, and accepts their apology. But she makes it clear she doesn't want to be at Crystal Prep anymore, and she wants some time to herself before she can accept them back into her life again.

Naruto

• Catch Your Breath: Minato finds themselves on the receiving end of this following their mishandling of matters leading up to the Memory Arc. In particular, Kakashi's former regard for them was instantly shattered, and it takes a long time to rebuild their relationship.
• What You Knead plays with this after Sasuke recklessly endangers Sakura's life during the bell test. While Sakura quickly forgives him for this — or thinks that she has — Inner Sakura is another matter entirely.

OMORI

• Friends by Your Side, Within and Without.: After learning the Awful Truth, Hero takes a long time to forgive Basil for the part they played in what happened four years ago. It takes him even longer to forgive Sunny, and it's clear that he will never forget any of this.

Persona

• The Body Reflects the Heart, the Shadow Reflects the Soul: When Futaba offers to hunt down Ren's biological father and punish him, his mother turns her down, stating that she's moved on. However, she also reassures Futaba that if he comes back to bother them, she'll happily give them his name.

Pokémon

• Borne of Caution: Corvi abandoned Lee at his most vulnerable moment. While Lee Easily Forgives them, Grovyle takes this approach, informing Corvi that while they're willing to extend them the benefit of the doubt, it had better not ever happen again. Ninetails, meanwhile, Inverts this, outright refusing to forgive while still willing to put the matter behind them.
• In Jessica, this is discussed and ultimately defied. After seeing how he accidentally kills Jessica, Cameron vows to be extra careful with Pokémon games in the future, because he doesn't think Jessica will give him another chance if he harms her or any other Pokémon again.

Rosario + Vampire

• Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness Act I: In Chapters 10-13, Apoch and Astreal brainwash Dark and Rason in an attempt to get them to fight and kill their Bad Boss Ghaldin; unfortunately, their ineptitude with mind control spells allows Ghaldin to take control of all four of them when he catches up to them, with Ghaldin electing to test Dark and Rason's power by siccing them on the gang. After the situation is resolved by Inner Moka killing Ghaldin, Dark and Rason decide to forgive the two, but Dark warns Apoch that he will personally kill her if she ever tries anything like that again.

The Smurfs

• In the song "Of All The People" from the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf novel, the singer says in the final verse that someday he'll forgive the person who has subjected him to a past he never wanted to live, but he will never let go of what it did to him. The singer in this case is Empath, and the person that he will forgive but never forget what he did to him is Papa Smurf, his biological father.

A Song of Ice and Fire

• After winning the civil war of My Father's Son, Rhaegar makes this his primary policy on how to deal with the lords loyal to Aerys. Sure, some like Robert were hell bent on killing him in various ways, but technically they were carrying out loyalty to their king. And beyond that, his only interest was punishing lords and leaders who carried out atrocities like The Sack of Harrenhal or The poisoning of Jon Arryn. For a majority of the "fighting" lords, he gave them a general amnesty so long as they swore new loyalty to him.
• This is pretty much the reaction to Jorah Mormont's return to Westeros in Robb Returns, despite his exile. In the face of the threat of the Others, Robert is willing to write him a pardon and Eddard and his family are willing to set his crimes aside, but it's very clear those scars will not be fading anytime soon. It's also made clear that he is still disinherited for his crimes.

Star Wars

• Child, No One is Ever Told What Would Have Happened uses this as the main reason Anakin leaves the Jedi after he and Obi-Wan Kenobi establish that Anakin spent the first few years of his time as an apprentice believing that the Jedi as a whole still considered him a slave. Obi-Wan is swift to affirm that he never thought that way, and the Council are equally quick to express their regret for the communications errors that led to that assumption, but Anakin and the Council each acknowledge that this experience has tainted Anakin's experience of the Jedi far too much for him to continue in the Order. Despite this, once circumstances result in Anakin being placed in charge of a flight wing of clones during the War, he meets with the Council on friendly terms and they are willing to listen to his viewpoint, with Mace Windu later observing that their experience with Anakin caused the Jedi to re-evaluate many of their teaching methods and examine how they are perceived by the general public to avoid repeating their errors with him.

Touhou Project

• At the end of In The Brilliant Light Of Day, Reimu is willing to spare Shinmyoumaru's life, same as she usually does once incidents are resolved. However, she also makes clear that she will never forget or truly forgive how she sided with Seija and attempted to turn Marisa into a youkai. She isn't too thrilled with Marisa for making a Face–Heel Turn, either.

Transformers

• In Indefinite Objects, Maggie forgave Glenn for ratting her out in the FBI cell, but she is understandably wary about telling Glenn another secret she's uncovered. Glen himself wonders if Maggie smuggled Pentagon materials in her purse.

Worm

• Here Comes The New Boss:
  • Before inheriting the Butcher mantle, Bearskin was a typical racist, homophobic Empire cape. The Chorus broke him of those beliefs; however, they have never let him forget, and will quickly lash out if he shows any signs of backsliding into his old, toxic mentality.
    Bearskin: How many times do I have to apologise before you stop bringing that up?
    Muramasa: A few thousand more, I'd say.
  • This is outright Defied with Madison. Taylor makes very clear that she will never forgive her for making her time at Winslow an absolute living hell.
• In Queen of the Swarm, Taylor thinks she could forgive her former best friend for betraying her and bullying her since Emma's sincerely sorry, but she cannot forget what happened.
  I doubted she could ever be my best friend again: no amount of mental gymnastics could remove the fact that it'd been her face sneering at me, taunting and abusing me. I might not be able to forget, but I could forgive, and so long as Emma could settle for being a basic friend (and control any other urges: I caught her eyeing me several times) I saw no reason why this arrangement couldn't work.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

• From the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series:
  Seto Kaiba: I can't believe the five of you tried to take over my company.
  Mokuba: And don't forget how they kidnapped me!
  Seto Kaiba: Yeah... that too.
  Gansley: Mr. Kaiba, please let us explain. We were just pretending to work for Pegasus!
  Seto Kaiba: I instantly forgive you. But I'm still pretty sore about that whole trying to kill me thing.

Films — Live-Action

• In 1927's Napoléon, Napoléon Bonaparte tells an angry mob to release Saliceti and di Borgo — who have repeatedly conspired to have him killed, mind you — saying that forgiving them is easy, but forgetting is impossible.
• Not Okay: At the end, Rowan tells Danni that this is the best outcome she can hope for, and even then, it will still take a long time (if she even does forgive her).
• Underground ends with Marko awkwardly seeking to reconcile with Blacky. Taking a shot of vodka, Blacky states brusquely that he has forgiven but not forgotten. Marko doesn't seem to process the measured nature of Blacky's position as he dances away with joy. After a moment, Blacky shakes his head and smiles. It helps that they're all in heaven at this point.
• Warrior:
  • There is this conversation between Paddy and Brendan Conlon. The former was an alcoholic abusive father who favored the latter's brother, Tommy:
    Brendan: You never had any interest in underdogs. But I was your son.
    Paddy: You are my son, Brendan.
    Brendan: Am I?
    Paddy: Yeah, you are. I'm just asking you if can find... find a little bit of space in your heart to forgive me a little bit.
    Brendan: Yeah? All right, I forgive you.
    Paddy: Okay.
    Brendan: But I do not trust you.
  • Brendan and Tommy, however, have reconciled at the end of their fight.
• Steven tries to avert this in the film The Wisdom Of Crocodiles:
  Anna Labels: It's been a difficult day. I'm sorry. Problems at work. There's no excuse for taking it out on you. Is it alright for Saturday with Martin and Karen?
  Steven Grlscz: Sorry? Oh yes.
  Anna Labels: Good.
  Steven Grlscz: Actually can we not do this? I can't do it this quickly. Accept apologies when I'm still angry. You can't say something like that and then say sorry. Do you see?

Literature

• The story of "The Man and the Serpent" from Aesop's Fables starts with a serpent biting a farmer's son to death, which angered the farmer, who cuts off the serpent's tail with an axe. The serpent seeks revenge against him, stinging all of the cattle on his farm, causing a huge loss. The farmer then seeks reconciliation with the serpent, but the serpent relents, saying that the farmer will never forget the death of his son and he won't forget the loss of his tail. The story ends with the statement "Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten."
• Husband Material: Downplayed. When Luc meets Miles, the man who ruined his life, again, he accepts to attend his wedding with a young youtuber, as an olive branch. While attending the wedding, he makes a few amends with some people he used to hang out with before their break up also tore apart their shared friend group and gets to see a bit of Miles's side of the story (he did feel guilty about his actions and all of their closest friends sided with Luc, cutting him out of their lives). When he parts with Miles, he seems to have buried the hatchet, but very clearly states that they're not, nor will ever be, friends, and he will always be the man that ruined him for years.
• In the Discworld short story "The Sea and Little Fishes", Granny Weatherwax punctuates the day's Paranoia Gambit by finishing off with a nice grandmotherly speech about forgiving trespass (in the context of having been slapped by one of the other witches who had turned hysterical by her uncharacteristic niceness, and who had insulted her earlier by asking her not to come in the first place) before returning to her regular self, effortlessly winning the Witch Trial with a magnificent (and destructive) display of fire magic applied just to light the ceremonial bonfire, and adding "...I never said nothin' about forgettin'".
• After the Yule Ball disaster in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Parvati's been a bit frosty toward Harry for several months. Harry makes note of it at the beginning of Book 5... in the end, though, Parvati becomes one of Dumbledore's Army's most loyal members.
• In Land of the Rising Yen George Mikes says that the correct thing to do is to forgive but not forget, and what the Allies had done following World War II was forgotten but not forgiven.
• Tris in Divergent takes a while to forgive Christina and Will for not protecting her when Peter, Drew and Al kidnapped her, molested her, and tried to throw her down a chasm. By the time she does, she realizes that she can't trust anyone in the Divergent army except for Four.
• In The Echo Vitka does forgive the narrator for failing to stand up to bullies, but she doesn't trust him anymore and thus their deep relationship is gone.
• In Sirena Selena drag queen Martha Divine invests a lot of money and time in developing Sirena Selena's talent as a performing artist. They fly to the Dominican Republic in search of business opportunities through Sirena Selena's Beautiful Singing Voice. After Sirena disappears without a trace (she is seducing a businessman whom she sees as a meal ticket), Martha is furious at first but comes to an understanding that Sirena will do whatever it takes to survive. She still feels entitled to smack Sirena in the face if they ever meet again.
• In A Song of Ice and Fire Stannis Baratheon quotes the trope title verbatim in regards to his stormlands bannermen, who initially declared for Renly (his little brother who was after Stannis both as their legal lord and in line to the throne) only to turn around and come back to him once Renly died. He compares them to Robb Stark and Joffrey Baratheon's men, who at least stand loyally by who they believe is their rightful king.
• In The Supervillainy Saga Diabloman is The Atoner for having killed multiple superheroes and worked for an Eldritch Abomination, an Omnicidal Maniac, as well as one Apocalypse Cult. Despite being willing to work with him to stop The End of the World as We Know It, almost all superheroes hate his guts and work with him only begrudgingly. Even people who love his partner (and protagonist), Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless, have difficulty being in Diabloman's presence.
• Lucky from Survivor Dogs had been betrayed by his sister Bella because she did not speak up for him when he was banished from the pack. When he comes back, he ignores her trying to talk to him before finally forgiving her...but he never truly forgives her for what she did.

Live-Action TV

• Backstage: Helsweel announces the candidates to join the primas, Sasha among them.
  Sasha: Wait, I thought I was ineligible.
  Helsweel: The leotard incident has been forgiven. [Beat] But never forgotten.
• In The Big Bang Theory's final season, Leonard realizes that while his abusive mother probably doesn't actually deserve forgiveness, holding a grudge against her isn't good for his own personal well-being. So, despite fully acknowledging how awful his mother is and how she most likely will never change, Leonard decides to forgive her anyway so he can let go of the pain she had caused him and move on with his life.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This is Angel's status with the Scoobies outside of Buffy in the third season, after he lost his soul and reverted back to his evil persona Angelus in Season 2. While he saves Willow from a rogue Watcher, proving he is one of the white hats once more and Angelus is gone and they begin working with him again, they never fully have the same level of trust they did with him before. After all, if he lost his soul once, there's always the chance it could happen again.
• From the Burn Notice episode "The Hunter", Sam and Madeline had a conversation about Sam blowing up her living room in "Lesser Evil":
  Sam: Maddy, I thought we've forgotten about that.
  Madeline: Forgiveness is a process...
• From The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "The Script Formerly Known As...", Philip was rather reluctant when Vivian told him to accept both Will and Hilary's apology for bringing a dismissed juror of Philip's trial to Hilary's talk show.
• Good Luck Charlie: Teddy dumped Spencer for cheating on her and didn't forgive him for a while. However, when they started working together in a theme park, Teddy's feelings for Spencer return when they kissed as she was torn. Also, hearing that Spencer regretted his actions and wanted another chance, Teddy forgives him and everyone around her decides to also give him another chance. Despite it, Ivy and Amy hadn't forgotten about Spencer cheating on Teddy as they did a fake breakup in order for their school to see that the latter is not a jinx.
• Horatio Hornblower: Discussed by Dr Clive and Lt Hornblower after Captain Sawyer has Midshipman Wellard caned. Dr Clive prescribes laudanum on everything and implies it will make Wellard forget, both the pain and the injustice. Hornblower thinks Wellard won't really forgive the Captain, considering he was beaten only because of Sawyer's growing paranoia.
  Dr Clive: Nasty business, that, nasty business. But then again, boys have been beaten since history began. It would be a bad thing for the world if ever boys should cease to be beaten.
  Lt Hornblower: That may well be your medical opinion, Dr. Clive but I can see no useful purpose served by thrashing a young boy within an inch of his life.
  Dr Clive: Come, come, Mr. Hornblower. A little tincture of laudanum for the pain and all will soon be forgotten.
  Lt Hornblower: Forgotten, maybe, Dr. Clive but forgiven?
  Dr Clive: Careful, Mr. Hornblower. I've had the good fortune to serve the captain for over 15 years, and he has inspired nothing but loyalty in the men under his command.
• ICarly: The episode "iStillPsycho" shows Nora, who was released from prison, coming to apologize to Carly and the gang for what happened in "iPyscho". Even though they rebuked her for her psychotic behavior, they immediately become on good terms with Nora. For now...
• Lab Rats:
  • Chase did some mistakes but his family forgave him but his siblings haven't forgotten as they bring it up to him at least once, he caused a particle collared to collapse as it almost killed him along with his siblings if Leo hadn't saved them, went on a mission alone and told Sebastian about Krane then started a rebellion.
  • Bree destroyed her bionic chip in order to have a normal life but regretted it when she found out that her brothers were almost killed on a mission because she wasn't there. Although she apologized and they forgave her, Bree's actions were brought up once during a sibling argument by Chase.
• In the Grand Finale of M*A*S*H, Margaret reopens old wounds about Charles supposedly touching his nose while in surgery; even before Margaret finishes her sentence, Charles states, "Oh, no you don't! We settled that a long time ago!"
• Despite her reputation for being Easily Forgiven, Regina Mills from Once Upon a Time is actually this. It takes a whole season and a half since her shaky Heel–Face Turn in Season 2, and two consecutive bigger evils, for the heroes to go from Teeth-Clenched Teamwork to truly trusting her, and even then they're still (justifiably) on the watch for her possible relapse into evil way into Season 5.
  • The same goes for her sister, Zelena. Granted, she remains a bit of a wild card for much longer, but she isn't truly accepted into the Charming clan until the back end of Season 6.
• The Sandman (2022): Calliope's attitude towards Richard Madoc after she's freed is a variation on this. When Morpheus asks how she could forgive him after what he has done to her, Calliope states she won't forgive what he did but she will forgive the man himself, for her own sake if nothing else. As a result, Morpheus agrees to Calliope's request to release Madoc from the curse he put him under.
• Schitt's Creek: In early seasons, Alexis turned down two marriage proposals from Ted and inadvertently cheated on him with Mutt, shattering Ted's heart. He forgives her, and Alexis eventually falls in love with him. After a long road they reunite, but their relationship is informed by her feeling as though she must prove herself to him and his friends.
• Shake it Up: Rocky gets upset when "CeCe" would drag her into situations and get her into trouble, eating a giant meatball the size of the car even though the latter is a vegetarian, and sneaking off to a party where she had to be a waitress. However, "CeCe" went too far during the events of Shake It Up, Up & Away as Rocky got tricked and wound up dancing on a wing of an airplane. Although she forgave her, Rocky hadn't forgotten as she brought them up to "CeCe" in Shrink it Up. However, after hearing "CeCe" reasons, Rocky fully forgives her for the events of Meatball it Up and Party it Up but still hasn't let go of the events of Shake It Up, Up & Away as she brought up to her again in Shake It Up: Made in Japan along with mentioning it in a flashback in Remember Me. Also, after the events of Shrink it Up, Rocky tries to be more understanding and forgiving of "CeCe" but still shows to haven't forgotten, doing an application for a fine arts academy without her knowledge, getting into a game show where they do disgusting things if the contestant gets a question wrong, sneaking into a movie lot and signing up for a boot camp instead of a dance boot camp, as she brought some those events up in order to help her in Remember Me when she got amnesia. However, after "CeCe" failed to remember her, Rocky breaks down as she not only realized that she has to let go of "CeCe"'s actions but also fully forgives her for the events of Shake It Up, Up & Away, which got her to get her memory back.
• John Watson in Sherlock communicates this to his wife, Mary, after it's revealed in the worst possible way that she used to in fact be a professional assassin, since she shot Sherlock, and had lied to Watson about her entire past through all their relationship, but he has nevertheless decided to forgive her. It's understandable since Sherlock is John's best friend.
  Watson: [during a tearful hug with Mary] All this does not mean that I'm not still basically pissed off with you. I am very pissed off, and it will come out now and then.
• Ruth Wardell in Season 2 of Snowpiercer gets away with her actions in Season 1 because the current circumstances make her a necessary Token Evil Teammate. It takes most of the season, though, for Layton and the rest of his inner circle to trust her and let her in on their plans, and that only happens once she starts pulling a genuine Heel–Face Turn.
• Discussed and played with a little in the pilot of Stargate SG-1. Jack O'Neil(l)'s son Charlie died after accidentally shooting himself with Jack's sidearm before the movie, and Jack has this to say about it:
  Jack: I think, in her heart, [my ex-wife] forgave me for what happened to our kid. She just...couldn't forget.
  Daniel: And what about you?
  Jack: I'm the opposite. I'll never forgive myself. But sometimes I can forget. Sometimes.
• In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Once More Unto the Breach General Martok ends up in this state of mind at the end. Throughout the episode he has been treating Dahar Master Kor (who is desperately seeking a role in the war rather than dying naturally, despite having PTSD flashbacks and aging) badly because he could not forgive Kor for rejecting his application to become an officer out of class snobbery (Which, in Klingon society, bars you from ever becoming one, unless you get a field commission). When Kor sacrifices himself in the place of Worf to save the entire crew of Martok's ship, including Martok himself, he forgives Kor and offers a toast in his memory. However, he doesn't join in with the singing afterwards, showing that his emotional wounds are still too raw for him.
• In Season 5 of Supernatural Dean forgives Sam for his role in starting the Apocalypse and, after a few episodes apart, is willing to work with him again. But it takes him most of the season to fully regain his trust in him.
• In the That '70s Show second season episode, "Halloween", Eric learned that his best friend Hyde tried to kiss Donna in the first season episode, "Ski Trip". In "Eric's Stash", a few episodes later, though inflamed by Laurie, it's revealed that Eric still resents Hyde for it to the point he blames Hyde for stealing some money from him. It was Eric's father, Red, who took the money to buy a new hot water heater.
• The Walking Dead (2010): In the episode "The Grove", after Carol confesses to Tyreese for killing Karen and David and offers her gun to him, Tyreese forgives her but tells her he will never forget what she did.

Manhwa

• Inverted in Yureka, where Muria refuses to forgive the main trio for their past misdeed towards her, despite none of them remembering what, exactly, this actual misdeed is.

Music

• Aretha Franklin's 1995 hit, "Willing To Forgive". Almost invokes the trope word for word in the chorus (with potential "What's good for the goose" thrown in).
  Well, I'm willing to forgive you but I can't forget
  'Cause you really, really, really, really hurt me this time
  And I guess I can go on although I must admit
  I've been busy, busy, busy, busy thinking that I'm gonna mess around some time
• Papa Roach's "Blood" pretty much deals with this trope. This line in particular:
  I will forgive, but I won't forget
  And I hope you know you've lost my respect
• The Corrs' "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" is about a woman grieving over the loss of her lover who committed suicide. She's forgiven him for leaving her behind but is still emotional over this.
• Inverted in Bring Me the Horizon's "True Friends", which is about the protagonist venting about an ex-friend who betrayed him.
  I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you. 'Cos I'll forget but I'll never forgive you.
  Don't you know, don't you know? True friends stab you in the front.
• Willie Nelson had the number one hit "Forgiving You Was Easy" (the next line is "But forgetting seems to take the longest time).

Myths & Religion

• The Bible: Exodus 34:7 gives the implication that God is good, kind, compassionate, and merciful, yet this doesn't mean that He will let the guilty go unpunished for their sins.
  • In 2 Samuel, Shimei, a relative of King Saul, curses King David. After Absalom was killed by Joab, Shimei asks David to spare his life, to which David agrees. In 1 Kings, as David lies dying on his deathbed, he declares that Solomon will succeed him as king of Israel, and charges Solomon to not hold Shimei guiltless but to properly deal with his enemies. After Solomon is crowned king, he has Shimei restricted to Jerusalem, not to cross the Brook Kidron under penalty of death. When Shimei heads to Gath to recover his slaves, Solomon has Shimei executed.
  • Culture-wise, the Edomites are a case of this, since their ancestor Esau was depicted as forgiving his brother Jacob of cheating him out of his inheritance in the Book of Genesis, but later in the Book of Obadiah they have gotten to the point of aligning with Israel's enemies to cut them down at the time when the Babylonians were invading the land of Judah.

Professional Wrestling

• A trademark of Dutch Mantel's booking, particularly in regard to the ever-popular Heel–Face Turn. The Colon's and the Gonzales families may work together to protect CSP/WWC from the usurpers like El Maestro, La Revolucion, or invaders from independent coalitions(New Wrestling Stars and New Empire), IWA PR or Mexico (AAA, Konnan and Alberto El Patron in particular), but the Colon family will never forget that Ray Gonzales decided to make the feud with family patriarch Carlos personal by dragging his children into the business and the Gonzales family will never forget Carlito taking things beyond WWC's business when he trashed the Raytings Mini Mart. Similarly, IWA PR's roster rallied to help Savio Vega when Jeff Jarrett sought to take the company with the backing of NWA-TNA, they ultimately joined him in his invasions of WWC, but never forgot the abuses they suffered under his "My way or highway" policies.
• The Undertaker said this to the Ministry of Darkness from their failed attempts of trying to kidnap Stephanie McMahon after they defeated The Brood at WWF Backlash 1999. Later that night, the Ministry tried to capture Stephanie, only for her limo to drive away. When Stephanie asked the driver to stop, it was revealed that the Undertaker was driving the limo.
• A couple of years prior, when Paul Bearer was begging the Undertaker to forgive him for his betrayal, Taker had stated that betrayal is something he would never forget, but he contemplated forgiving Bearer. It was all a ruse, and Undertaker knocked Bearer on his ass and was about to perform a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on him until Mankind saved Bearer by throwing a fireball to the Undertaker's face.

Podcasts

• The Neighborhood Listen: In one episode, the guest takes a disliking to Burnt, and his co-host Joan tries to smooth things over by admitting that she had to get to know him before she liked him. Burnt reacts with wounded surprise to the news that Joan initially disliked him. When Joan tries to apologize, Burnt assures her that he's not mad but will never forget what she said.

Tabletop Games

• An aversion in Deathwatch: as your armor's history, you can get the option "To Forget is to Forgive. Never Forget." It grants an automatic Hatred against whichever enemy killed your armor's past owner. This being Warhammer 40,000, however, you're probably not doing it right until you have Hatred for everyone.
• Inverted by the dwarfs in Warhammer Fantasy, whose language lacks a word for "forgiveness". To a dwarf, a matter can be settled, at which point it is promptly forgotten, but an unpaid debt or a wrong will gnaw on a dwarf his entire life. Indeed, dead dwarfs pass down any of their debts or wrongs they haven't repaid to their family or their community, with most major dwarf settlements having a communal "Book of Grudges" where every unsettled matter is remembered forever, waiting for the community's chance to pay it back in a suitably disproportionate manner.

Video Games

• At the start of Assassins Creed IV, Edward usurps the life and identity of a treacherous former Assassin named Duncan Walpole. By completing Walpole's assignment he compromises the Brotherhood, violating a major tenet of the Creed. He then kills several Assassins in his brief time among the Templars. The Caribbean Brotherhood partially forgives Edward and only spare his life because Mary Read vouches for him. They appreciate his skill in battle, his possession of the Eagle Sens, and his nature as a Wild Card but do not recruit him due to the above incidents. It is only years later and much Trauma Conga Line before Edward becomes Older and Wiser and finds his place among the Brotherhood.
• During the Golden Ending route of Aviary Attorney Jayjay can grudgingly forgive Inspector Volerti for nearly getting an innocent man killed in order to see if Jayjay is an infamous Serial Killer, but it's clear that his opinion of the Inspector has changed. In the other routes, where there's no 'nearly', he's less sanguine.
• In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Makoto forgives the first victim, Sayaka Maizono, an acquaintance from middle school that he had a crush on, for trying to kill someone and frame him for the crime. At the end of the trial, Makoto repeats a joke that Sayaka had told him, and in the second game, he uses Sayaka's Dying Clue of 11037 as a password, saying it came from someone who saved him. However, that doesn't mean he's forgotten what happened, as toward the end of the first game, he's baffled why Sayaka would willingly agree to stay in Hope's Peak Academy despite being desperate enough to escape to try to "graduate."
• Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Darkness: Katarina is confronted by Cecille, who is clearly still hurt by her betrayal at the end of the prologue in their support conversations. Katarina accepts it, and vows to work hard to earn back her trust and friendship.
• God of War
  • For the Greek saga: In God of War, Kratos is told that his Accidental Murder of his wife and child will be forgiven if he slays Ares, who is busy laying waste to Athens. He takes this to mean he will be able to forget and lose the Past Experience Nightmares he has had every night since. Unfortunately for him, Athena takes away this impression. As she herself says, they promised only to forgive him, as not even the gods could forget what he had done. And unfortunately for them, this led to Kratos's increasing mistrust and misgivings of the Gods, which ended up in the wholesale destruction of Olympus. This whole example acts as a Deconstruction.
  • For the Norse saga: In God of War Ragnarök, Freya desires revenge after Kratos and Atreus killed her son Baldur, and repeatedly tries to kill the pair throughout the first act of the game. When she's forced to join Kratos and Atreus to stop Odin and when she and Kratos are alone together, Kratos opens up to Freya about his own family — his brother Deimos, his wife Lysandra, and his daughter Calliope — making her realize that they both share the pain of Outliving One's Offspring. She doesn't forgive Kratos until she meets the Norms where Freya is hit with Brutal Honesty that Baldur's demise was her fault, since she made him Feel No Pain and refuse to tell him how to undo it, which drove Baldur insane. Even after breaking her curse so that she can freely travel between realms again, Freya admits that there's a part of her that will always be angry at Kratos for what happened, even if she admits that what happened to Baldur was ultimately her fault.
• In the post-game of Hades, Zagreus tells Persephone he doesn't hate Hades and never did, but his resentment of him may never be totally gone even after their relationship has been patched up. For his part, Hades is fully aware that Zagreus may never forgive him for everything that happened and accepts the blame, admitting that he deserves it for being a bad parent.
• The Sangheili/Elites in Halo after they have their Heel–Face Turn and team up with humanity to stop the Covenant. It's made crystal clear that even though everyone is (mostly) willing to move past the near-annihilation of the human species that the Sangheili committed against them since there are more pressing matters at the time, humanity at large has not forgiven or forgotten what the Sangheili did. The relationship between them continues to be rocky at best well into the future.
• In Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, Aloth forgives one of his Abusive Parents; either his negligent, absentee mother or his domineering, violent father. Which one depends on choices made in the first game. In the case of his father, forgiven in Aloth's more morally ambiguous path, Aloth forgives him because he comes to see him as "a weak man" who tried to be a father but simply wasn't cut out for authority.
• Red Dead Redemption II: John Marston had left the gang for a year and is welcomed with open arms from most of the gang. Arthur Morgan, on the other hand, is less than forgiving, disgusted that John had left the entire gang as well as Jack (whom at first John doesn't believe is his son). Eventually, Arthur starts warming up to John again after the latter is determined to get Jack back from Angelo Bronte.
• In Umineko: When They Cry, Yasu/Beatrice forgives Natsuhi for throwing him/her off the cliff, saying s/he has tormented her long enough. S/he will never forget that Natsuhi is responsible for his/her miserable life, but as long as she regrets what she did to him/her, s/he won't hold any grudge against her.

Web Comics

• Zigzagged in El Goonish Shive: After Justin receives an apology from Diane for calling him a "defective male", she appears to be Easily Forgiven by him with him claiming to not remember the incident but accepting the apology. The subsequent conversation with Nanase, however, makes it clear that he does remember; he just gave her credit for maturing ... credit that would be revoked if she ever regressed.

Web Original

• Froge from Froghand praises Good Old Games for not having any DRM, and thus making it easy to fileshare its games, yet brings up his (alleged) rejection of his (allegedly) popular game.
  Good Old Games rejected my Good New Game for unspecified reasons despite universal praise from everybody who played it, as opposed to those two dozen or so people who I sent copies to and didn't, those bastards. But I will admit that hosting files which make it super easy to spread is, on the whole, the thing the gaming industry needs most right now.
• Shadow of the Templar has Simon beating the shit out of Jeremy and then having a highly dub-con sex with him. Also, the team never passes on an opportunity to remind everyone of Simon throwing a mug at Johnny and giving him a concussion.
• This Is War brings you David and Robyn, who seem to have reached this after a string of encounters involving a shooting, a violent angel, and finally fighting together against a warehouse full of vampires.

Western Animation

• Amphibia: Anne got angry with Hop Pop for lying to her about the Calamity Box as he buried it instead of sending it to a contact of his. However, after hearing his reasons and seeing that he's really sorry for lying to her, Anne forgives Hop Pop. Although she is not angry with Hop Pop anymore, Anne is having a hard time letting go because his actions really caused a strain in their relationship with one another. Anne wants to let go about what happened with the Calamity Box as she tells Hop Pop that she doesn't know what he needs to do in order to set things right between them but he encourages her to take all the time she needed, which she appreciated.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Katara seems to have this sort of attitude toward Zuko after she and the rest of Team Avatar accepted him into the team after grudgingly acknowledging his Heel–Face Turn. She only accepted Zuko on the basis that Aang needed a firebending teacher and that they did not have a choice. She also, aware of Zuko's time in the Face–Heel Revolving Door up to that point, warns them that if he makes another Face–Heel Turn, she'll kill him on the spot. She does fully forgive him at the end of the series, though.
• The Baby Looney Tunes episode "In Bugs We Trust" focuses on this. When Bugs was entrusted to get a net for their volleyball game, they were disappointed when he decides to get a bunch of useless junk for himself instead. Their response when Bugs asks them for forgiveness?
  All but Bugs: We forgive you.
  Bugs: Really?
  Lola: We forgive you, OK, Bugs? We just can't trust you anymore. Because of you, we can never play volleyball ever again.
• Bojack Horseman: In Season 3, Todd ends up walking out of Bojack's life after he has sex with Emily, even dropping the f-word to punctuate his anger. Come Season 4, however, and Todd tells Bojack that while he's not mad, he's not ready for them to become friends again.
• After the infamous love triangle in Daria, it takes Jane almost the entire summer, but she does learn to forgive Daria for kissing Tom behind her back, and even encourages her to give him another chance. ^note  The two split up after a fight She does, however, tease Daria about it through the remainder of the series.
• The animated adaptation of Franklin: In the episode "Franklin Forgives", Franklin was advised by Bear to forgive and forget in regards to forgiving Harriet for knocking over Goldie's, Franklin's goldfish's, bowl. Franklin's response was that he doesn't want to forget Goldie. This later gets discussed with Franklin and his father.
• The debut episode of The Hair Bear Bunch involved the bears making keeper Peevly think he had a disease that affects zookeepers and he had to take a six-month vacation. This leads to misadventures and a chase with Botch and fill-in keeper Grunch, but after all is settled, Peevly is welcomed back by his animal charges.
  Hair: So you're not sore at us for pulling that phony doctor bit, Mr. Peevly?
  Peevly: [chuckles] A Peevly always forgives... [angrily] but he never forgets!!
• Justice League:
  • Hawkgirl, definitely. In fact, some members of the League do not forgive her after it is revealed she was The Mole, at least for a while, and even after she saves the day after her recuperation with Dr. Fate, she is heckled by an angry mob. Even much later, she still has hundreds of detractors among the public, as seen by the hate websites aimed at her, although her teammates all do eventually. Superman was the most willing to give her a second chance (especially since a similar thing had happened to him) while it took Wonder Woman the longest — and while Wonder Woman does reach a détente, she and Hawkgirl never fully became friends again. In fact, it was very hard for Hawkgirl to forgive herself for what she did too, going on a self-imposed exile to punish herself at first, and even discarding the identity of Hawkgirl, and considering it a sham.
  • Same thing goes with Superman after the events of "Legacy". The world does trust him again after about a few years since Darkseid brainwashed him, and while they do accept that Superman was brainwashed, this event was never forgotten, as Lois pointed out in "Question Authority". Superman's speech about the aforementioned Hawkgirl regarding forgiveness and second chances speaks volumes about what he himself went through.
• Kaeloo:
  • In the episode "Let's Play Golf", Mr. Cat and Stumpy claim to have forgiven Kaeloo for cheating at a game of golf, but in Episode 57 they refer to the events of that episode when trying to provide evidence that she is a cheater.
  • Said word-for-word by Kaeloo in Episode 105 after Quack Quack turns Planet Smileyland into a yogurt-themed planet, but after seeing everyone upset reverts it to normal.
• In The Lion Guard, young cub Kion forgives the phantom of Scar, who murdered his grandfather. Not because what Scar did was okay, or even because Scar apologized (he didn't), but because it's not Kion's place to judge him. That right belongs to the lions who lived alongside Scar and suffered because of him- a right they promptly exercise.
• Discord from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is redeemed during the third season, but the Mane Six still haven't forgotten about when he caused them to go Brainwashed and Crazy and making the World Gone Mad. Everyone other than Fluttershy being anxious around the character leads to the character betraying them all to Tirek at the end of the following season, believing that none of them saw him as a friend anyway.
  • In that same regard, Trixie ends up being forgiven by Twilight, who ends up not trusting her when her apprentice Starlight Glimmer makes friends with her during the sixth season.
  • This is a constant presence in the Equestria Girls franchise:
    • In Rainbow Rocks, the Humane Six constantly bring up former bully Sunser Shimmer's evil deeds from the first film in the form of Innocently Insensitive comments, which clearly annoys Sunset.
    • In Friendship Games, Rarity once again subtly brings up again Sunset's evil past, although as a joke and with Sunset taking it better. Also, even though the whole school has forgiven her at this point, a poster of her demon form is shown during Rainbow Dash's motivational speech when she points out they defeated evil magic beings twice (the other ones being the Dazzlings).
    • Human Twilight's rampage as Midnight Sparkle is constantly brought up in Legend of Everfree, although in a much better light than Sunset's past. In fact, aside from a brief Innocently Insensitive comment from Rarity, the only reason her rampage is ever brought up is that Twilight hasn't forgiven herself.
    • Played for Laughs in the Magical Movie Night segment "Mirror Magic", where Sunset, Twilight, and Starlight Glimmer calmly bring up their evil actions when comforting a redeemed Juniper Montage.
    • Forgotten Friendship has this as Wallflower Blush's reason for removing the school's positive memories of Sunset Shimmer. They believe her Heel–Face Turn to be a front, and even if it isn't, that all the heroic deeds Sunset has done in the past year don't erase the times prior she spent being a terrible person.
• The Owl House: The Season 1 finale has Luz reluctantly ally with Lilith to save Eda after it's revealed she's the one who cursed her 30 years ago. And while saving her makes Lilith a part of the Owl House, as does sharing Eda's curse, Eda and Luz make it very clear the only reason they are taking her in is that Lilith gave up literally everything. By Season 2, Eda seems much more at ease around Lilith, but still reminds her of the curse in a teasing manner from time to time.
• Rick and Morty: In "The Whirly-Dirly Conspiracy", after everything that led to the divorce and secret assassination attempt, Rick and Jerry amicably agree to cover for each other, and Jerry, despite Rick's offer, chooses not to go into the house and absorb pity from his family, something that visibly impresses Rick. Nevertheless, he acts fast before Jerry can change his mind.
• The Simpsons:
  • In "$pringfield":
    Homer: You know, Marge, for the first time in our marriage, I can finally look down my nose at you. You have a gambling problem!
    Marge: Hmmm, that's true. Will you forgive me?
    Homer: Oh, sure! Remember when I got caught stealing all those watches from Sears?
    Marge: Hmmm.
    Homer: Well, that's nothing, because you have a gambling problem! And remember when I let that escaped lunatic in the house 'cause he was dressed like Santa Claus?
    Marge: Hmmm.
    Homer: Well you have a gambling problem!
    Marge: Homer, when you forgive someone, you can't throw it back at them like that!
    Homer: Aw, what a gyp.
    [they kiss]
    Homer: Remember when I—
    Marge: Homer!
    Homer: Oh yeah, I forgot already.
  • "The Way We Weren't" involves a flashback to Homer and Marge meeting as kids, and Marge livid with Homer when realizing he is actually a boy who stood her up for a date. When he reveals the insane chain of events that had actually stopped Homer arriving in time, Marge calms, but is still sore about her experience, despite Homer constantly hounding her about whether she's let it go afterwards.
• Skull Island (2023): In the first season's final episode, Dog and Annie steal the Island Girl's necklace from Kong and lure him out to the beach where the Kraken is dwelling, forcing Kong into a fight to the death that he'd been avoiding all season. Although Kong saves Dog and gets him and Annie to safety after realizing how much they care for each-other, he still glares sternly at the pair immediately afterwards, making it clear that he hasn't forgotten what they did. To her credit, Annie gets the message and starts uttering an apology, when the Kraken suddenly reappears.

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