"Do the right thing; karma will get you laid!"
A common practice in Self-Insert Fic, the female will "redeem" a Draco in Leather Pants, and IKEA Erotica ensues.
Redemption Sex can be written well - provided the relationship constructed is realistic. For example, the canon anti-hero/villain is in love with this other person. And love of course changes him (he's a nicer, more emotional person), but doesn't change his view of the world that much - ie, he still likes this canon person, dislikes the other, and punches people in the face but has a fondness for the one he had sex with.
For the reverse (Sex Equals Redemption), see Sex–Face Turn. Happens because All Girls Want Bad Boys. Naturally, things could be worse...
See also Sexual Karma.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- Captain Atom and Plastique consummated their affair only after she had repented of her crimes (also right before the final battle with the Faceless One). They got engaged after the final battle.
- Used in Ultimate X Men as Wolverine's reason for permanently joining the X-Men, as opposed to killing Xavier and leaving like he was supposed to. Unlike most examples, however, Jean didn't know that Wolverine needed to be redeemed, and after finding out, promptly dumped him, disgusted that that was his original reason for joining them.
Fan Fiction
- Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer often needs to become good in order to get to a sexual relationship with Buffy. In the actual show, not so much. In fact, she only slept with him after he discovered he could kill her and they beat the hell out of each other.
- Azula in How I Became Yours ends up with Sokka after losing her memory.
- An inverted example comes from iFight Crime With Victorious
during Robbie's Moral Event Horizon when he discovers he can use his power not only to change the world but also benefit himself, starting with possessing Cat and having sex with her, which is one of the major reasons the Big Damn Heroes try to rewrite the timeline and avoid.
- Numerous fics have Kim Possible filling this role for her nemesis Shego.
Film
- Anastasia ends with Rasputin's defected sidekick, a bat, randomly meeting a pink girl bat who had in no way been set up before that moment. The Nostalgia Chick's review provides the current page quote.
- Pick a Bond film, any Bond film. Special mention goes to Goldfinger, in which this doubles as Rape Portrayed as Redemption... in the novel, of a lesbian! However, in the novel she approaches him. Apparently, all women are hetero for James Bond.
- A G-Rated example occurs in The Rise of Skywalker, with Rey kissing Ben Solo after he has a Heel–Face Turn (they previously had Foe Romance Subtext). They don't get chance to do anything else because Ben immediately dies, he having given Rey his own life force to revive her.
Literature
- In Richard Laymon's Night Show, Linda invokes this by having sex with Joel, the only one of her three targets who genuinely regrets playing that horrifying, traumatic prank on her years ago. She still kills him afterward, but at least she was kinder to him than to the other two...
- Double Subverted in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, in which Mara executes a Heel–Face Turn and then marries Luke... after ten years of occasional Belligerent Sexual Tension. Many fans like to think there was at least some Sex–Face Turn in the Thrawn trilogy.
Live Action TV
- Averted with Buffy who has lots of passionate Destructo-Nookie with soulless Spike in Season 6, but in the following season when Spike gets his soul they spend a few chaste nights together.
- Subverted in Season 2 of Dexter. Lila, his new NA sponsor, "redeems" Dexter and they proceed to have crazy people sex. But Dexter later realizes that Lila is a manipulative Yandere, and that he likes killing people too much to stop.
- Heroes has this during Sylar's Heel Face Turn phase with Elle. Ironically Elle was the person to turn him evil in the first place.
- It doesn't last, and Sylar's first act upon returning to evil is to kill Elle.
Video Games
- Zevran in Dragon Age: Origins, should you choose to romance him.
- Heavily implied if you're playing Light Side Female in the first Knights of the Old Republic. You even get a choice as to heterosexual or Gay Option. Unlike your male counterpart and Bastila, neither romantic interest will follow you to the Dark Side.
