Quotes / Sympathy for the Hero

Film — Live-Action

"You... you just couldn't let me go, could you? ... You truly are incorruptible, aren't you?"

— The Joker admits that his Humans Are Bastards philosophy is wrong about Batman, The Dark Knight

"I was guilty as sin, but Valentine couldn't prove it. And he was the rarest breed of law enforcement officer: the type who knew I was breaking the law, but wouldn't break it himself to bust me."

— Yuri Orlov, Lord of War

"Hurts, doesn't it? Being lied to. Being told you're one thing... and then learning it's all a fiction."

— Loki, Thor: Ragnarok^note After finding out that his brother wasn't the first child and that his father was once a conqueror. He's not patronizing or mocking Thor like the Smug Snake he is, he's genuinely sympathizing with him.

Literature

"Some men get the world. Others get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona. You're in with the former, but God, I don't envy the blood on your conscience."

— Lynn Bracken to Ed Exley, L.A. Confidential

Live-Action TV

"It must be strange for you, coming into this room. I was standing right here when it happened... he was very brave, your brother. Your father too. They didn't deserve to die like that. Nobody deserves to die like that. And later, when I watched the Mad King die, I remembered him laughing while your father burned. It felt like justice."

— Jaime "The Kingslayer" Lannister to his Arch-Enemy Lord Eddard Stark, Game of Thrones

"Poor Ned Stark. Brave man, terrible judgement."

— Jaime Lannister, again, when Ned Stark bites off more than he can chew trying to do the right thing, Game of Thrones

Video Games

"May you find the peace in death that you did not find in life."

— Bane, Batman: Arkham Origins

"Cry for the Draculesti. Unwilling to diversify their blood and unable to diversify their minds, they are destined to die.
What will happen when the creatures they hunt are dead?
As individuals, they are skilled trackers and hunters. Do not hesitate to learn anything they wish to impart. But as a collective they are outmoded and negligible - enfeebled by their singular purpose and their singular past. Blood, lineage, tradition - all worthless compared to adaptability. Without variance, there can be no life.
Everyone has a purpose. Theirs is to make us weep."

— Bong Cha, The Secret World

"Such a beautiful friendship. A family born of love and not genetics. Everything I want... I wish I'd never seen this. It was so much easier accepting the future when they were simply enemies."

— Sage, Sonic Frontiers

Western Animation

The Monarch: [finally inside Dr. Venture's laboratory] Oh my god, look at this place. It's like a museum of failure.
Dr. Girlfriend: It's almost depressing.
The Monarch: Here I am, in the belly of the beast, and I don't even care. [gesturing to a random gadget] I don't even feel like taking a whiz on this. I used to DREAM of taking a whiz on this!
Dr. Girlfriend: So I guess... we're not gonna...
The Monarch: What can I do to this guy that life hasn't already? I almost feel sorry for him.

— The Venture Brothers

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