Basic Trope: Two characters put aside their differences in abusing another who tries to mediate between the two.
- Straight: Bob tries to stop Katie and Gary from arguing, but the two reconciled by abusing Bob.
- Exaggerated: Bob tries to stop Katie and Gary from nearly killing each other, but this causes them to reconcile and make Bob's life a living hell.
- Downplayed: Bob tries to end Katie and Gary's bickering, only for them to tell him to stay out of their business.
- Justified:
- Katie and Gary feel that Bob is a nuisance who always get involved with their issues.
- Katie and Gary are equally Jerkasses who particularly don't like Nice Guys like Bob.
- Katie and Gary are too caught up in their anger toward the each other to listen to Bob.
- Katie and Gary are both hell-bent on seeing their conflict as an With Us or Against Us situation, and are angry at Bob for not only refusing to pick a side, but even implying that a compromise could be worked out.
- Inverted:
- Bob stirs up conflict between Katie and Gary, only to receive loving hugs from the two.
- Bob threatens to kill Katie and Gary if they don't stop bickering. Overall, this gains better results than just negotiating.
- Subverted: It were to look like Bob were to get abused by Katie and Gary, but they relent and thanked him for bringing them together.
- Double Subverted: Just right before they throttle him just to make sure he doesn't get involved in their arguments ever again.
- Parodied: Katie is the main heroine while Gary is the main villain. Bob, the neutral guy, seeks to have them make a truce. Katie and Gary treat this as though it was the worst thing to ever happen. They both forged a temporary alliance to destroy the "bigger threat" in Bob.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Bob manages to bring Katie and Gary in common ground without getting himself beaten for it.
- Enforced: "I'm tired of mediators always making peace. I'm gonna show everyone there are consequences in getting involved in conflict."
- Lampshaded: "So after I tried to bring you guys together, I get this?!"
- Invoked: Katie and Gary knew Bob would always get in between their arguments, so they come up with a plan to get rid of him.
- Exploited: Bob can easily take the worst Katie and Gary can do to him. He deliberately directs their anger towards him so that they won't hurt themselves before they cool down.
- Defied:
- Katie and Gary find it ridiculous in lashing out on Bob for getting them to stop arguing, so they decide to get along and take heed to Bob's advice.
- Bob decides not to butt in their arguments believing that this trope will be in effect.
- Katie and Gary put aside their differences and turn on Bob — and Bob responds with a show of force that makes them both back down and behave themselves.
- Discussed: "Note to self: Never get involve in arguments."
- Conversed: "So the writers are teaching us that being the peacemaker will backfire?"
- Deconstructed:
- After being abused by Katie and Gary for getting in between their argument, Bob decides that he had enough and abandons them.
- Alternatively, Bob decides enough is enough, and kills both Katie and Gary. Bonus points if they were in the middle of another argument.
- In light of their new-found friendship, Katie and Gary decide to mistreat not only Bob, but also everyone else around them.
Back to Mediation Backfire
