I feel like of late I've been encountering a particular kind of "Good is Stupid" that could use a trope of its own, or perhaps suggests the broadening of a different trope. "Put Down Your Gun and Step Away" is similar, but a bit too specific and limited.
The situation is basically thus: the hero(es) are in a position where a hostage is threatened or a similar situation is looming (the terrorist will release a bioweapon unless their demands are met, the MacGuffin will be destroyed, etc.) Typically, the threat is ALL the bad guys have going for them; once the issue is resolved, one way or another, they will be powerless. Other than that, the situation is largely in the good guys' favor, the power dynamic favoring them.
So the good guys negotiate away all their advantages, often while simultaneously FAILING to insure the safety of whatever is threatened or even allowing the bad guys to threaten a much broader target. They take the bad guy at their word. They let the mass-murderer go free to kill again, rather than sacrifice one person to capture or kill them. Instead of one hostage, the bad guys now have the entire team prisoner. To save the life of the private, they give away the general.
I've seen incidents like this in books like the "Miss Peregrine" trilogy, action-heavy shows like "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Blacklist", countless movies- if nothing else, I'd half like to come up with a trope just to see some inversions. It's infuriating to watch writers make heroes behave like fools in the name of overtly showing they're the good guys, even if only in the most short-sighted way imaginable (which might suggest some cross-over with "Honor Before Reason", as well, come to think of it.)
I feel like of late I've been encountering a particular kind of "Good is Stupid" that could use a trope of its own, or perhaps suggests the broadening of a different trope. "Put Down Your Gun and Step Away" is similar, but a bit too specific and limited.
The situation is basically thus: the hero(es) are in a position where a hostage is threatened or a similar situation is looming (the terrorist will release a bioweapon unless their demands are met, the MacGuffin will be destroyed, etc.) Typically, the threat is ALL the bad guys have going for them; once the issue is resolved, one way or another, they will be powerless. Other than that, the situation is largely in the good guys' favor, the power dynamic favoring them.
So the good guys negotiate away all their advantages, often while simultaneously FAILING to insure the safety of whatever is threatened or even allowing the bad guys to threaten a much broader target. They take the bad guy at their word. They let the mass-murderer go free to kill again, rather than sacrifice one person to capture or kill them. Instead of one hostage, the bad guys now have the entire team prisoner. To save the life of the private, they give away the general.
I've seen incidents like this in books like the "Miss Peregrine" trilogy, action-heavy shows like "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Blacklist", countless movies- if nothing else, I'd half like to come up with a trope just to see some inversions. It's infuriating to watch writers make heroes behave like fools in the name of overtly showing they're the good guys, even if only in the most short-sighted way imaginable (which might suggest some cross-over with "Honor Before Reason", as well, come to think of it.)