History Main / SparedButNotForgiven

* In ''Anime/BubukiBuranki'', Kogane lost her father to a man named Shuusaku. After years and years, Shuusaku, at her mercy, finally explains to her that [[spoiler:her father's death wasn't his doing or intention, and only occurred due to a misfire from one of the soldiers he was with]]. Her response is basically "So that means I don't have to hate you anymore? Fat chance of that!", but she decides not to kill him.
* Frieza from ''Manga/DragonBall'', on many occasions, most infamously during his and Goku's climactic fight on Namek as it's preparing to explode. [[spoiler:[[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe After Frieza gets sliced in half by his own energy disc]]]], Goku opts to leave him as payback for the millions of lives he's killed, [[spoiler:including Krillin]], but begrudgingly comes around and gives some of his energy to him after Frieza (now at his lowest) [[VillainsWantMercy pitifully begs for mercy]]. To their dismay, this comes back to bite them both:
** In Frieza's case, he immediately uses the last of his energy to kill Goku, [[spoiler:only for him to immediately turn the attack back around on him, this time truly leaving him for dead]]. [[ArtificialLimbs He later gets upgraded into]] [[{{Cyborg}} Mecha-Frieza]].
** In Goku's case, this would come many years later in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. Beerus and Whis warn him many times that being too lenient on his opponents is his biggest weakness, which Goku continuously brushes off due to his desire to fight stronger opponents. When SSGSS Vegeta battles Golden Frieza and regresses him back to his original form, Frieza is again at his lowest but refuses to lose again, [[spoiler:and instead blows up Earth, killing everyone except for a small handful of people whom Whis was protecting]]. Understanding what Beerus and Whis have been telling him, Goku finally lets go of his desire for once, and [[spoiler:after Whis rewinds time temporarily]], goes through with the deed of killing Frieza, with no mercy.
** Later in the aforementioned series, Frieza gets revived by Whis, but ''only'' as a reward from Beerus himself [[spoiler:for helping Goku and 17 in defeating Jiren and with it, winning the Tournament of Power for Universe 7]], not out of forgiveness. Frieza spitefully points this out and is willing to terrorize the Universe all over again, but not before Goku threatens him that he and his friends will stop him should he attempt to threaten Earth again.
* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', this is the ultimate fate Homura inflicts upon [[spoiler:her mother, Madame Kurenai, who selfishly abandoned her family for money during war times, betrayed Homura's ParentalSubstitute to her death when given the opportunity to return home, and became an EvilOverlord to indulge in her dreams of wealth and power. Rather than take revenge for herself or the people who suffered under her, Homura declares that she has no interest in her mother whatsoever and lets her go free, threatening her to never set foot in her life again. Kurenai is perfectly fine with the outcome and [[TemptingFate thinks she's a]] KarmaHoudini -- and then she falls prey to another man who ''is'' interested in revenge, with no one left to come to her aid...]]

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': When the title character confronts Nagato aka Pain face to face, he makes it clear he won't forgive Pain for what he's done (especially after [[spoiler:he killed Jiraiya]]), but decides he won't kill him as it would only perpetuate the CycleOfRevenge.

* Even though Megatron abandoned the Decepticon cause to become an Autobot in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersDarkCybertron'' and manages to make a good enough case to at least delay his execution, no one was prepared to forgive him for millions of years of war and genocide, [[IHatePastMe least of all himself]]. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, as when he returns to Cybertron after the Lost Light's quest to find the Knights of Cybertron ends, he is retried, found guilty, and either executed or imprisoned for life.]]

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' fanfiction, [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonTitansAndOtherCreatures Thor]] outright confirms he can't forgive San for the latter's part in [[spoiler:the death of Thor's son]], but he still tolerates San and is even willing to mentor him without seeking revenge.

* ''Fanfic/BetterToReignInHeaven'': While Veronica is currently working for the Courier in order to repay them for how they saved Christine's life, she also wanted revenge for how he'd murdered several of her friends in the Brotherhood of Steel on Mr. House's orders. She made three failed attempts before giving up. When Braun tries to convince her to help ''his'' revenge efforts, she turns him down while making clear that she still hasn't forgiven the Courier.

* ''Fanfic/DearDiary'': Opal nearly kills Morta in revenge for her [[spoiler:killing Prima]] but restrains herself, resolving to be civil to her as they are both members of the same team fighting for the same cause. When Morta risks her life using a CastFromHitPoints attack to protect the rest of the team, Opal even visits her while she is recovering and thanks her. But she makes it clear that she will never forgive her or consider Morta her friend.
* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsAFairlyOddFriendship'': While Timmy doesn't forgive the Dazzlings for what they did, he decides against [[spoiler:turning them into worms]], making them work on fixing the lawn instead.

* ''Fanfic/YouSeeThem'': While [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] is SparedByTheAdaptation, the Phantom Thieves make clear that they're only rescuing them because Ren [[ISeeDeadPeople can see ghosts]] and is moved by their mother's desperate pleas for clemency. However, they still intend to see them pay for their crimes.

* A variant in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''. Hector [[spoiler:is on the brink of the Final Death, and he needs the help of Imelda and the rest of the deceased Riveras to get back his picture from Ernesto de la Cruz]]. Imelda reminds him that he left the family, although Miguel reveals to her that Hector never came back because he died. She considers this, realizing that Hector will be gone forever without the family's help, and sighs.

* In ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', Carrie spares [[spoiler:Sue]] after learning that [[spoiler:she]] had no part in the prank, but she still doesn't forgive [[spoiler:her]], although it's admittedly only minutes before Carrie herself dies.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': The first time Harry meets the [[TheFairFolk Fae Queen]] Titania after [[spoiler:killing her daughter]], she has to make a deliberate effort not to deal him a CruelAndUnusualDeath on the spot. She tells him that she ''intellectually'' understands and accepts that his actions were necessary, but, as a being of pure passion and emotion, she can never forgive him.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', Literature/HarryPotter persuades his deceased parents' friends not to kill [[TheMole Peter Pettigrew]], who sold out said parents to [[BigBad Voldemort]]. The argument is that Harry's parents wouldn't have wanted their friends to stoop to murder just to get {{revenge}} on such a pathetic backstabber, and that turning the traitor over to the authorities so they can send him to [[HellholePrison Azkaban]] is a [[CruelMercy better punishment anyway]]. [[spoiler:This bites them in the ass after Pettigrew escapes and heads off to join Voldemort. And then it ultimately comes back to ''help'' them in ''Deathly Hallows'', where Pettigrew is unable to kill Harry later because of the life debt he now owes him for sparing his life, causing his prosthetic hand to strangle him to death.]]

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Szeth is an assassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and the destabilization of many kingdoms and triggering a massive civil war. He accepts all responsibility for the deaths he has inflicted and refuses to forgive himself because he is "Truthless" — a form of criminal who is enslaved to the service of others and forced to obey their commands. At the end of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', he learns that the crimes he was accused of are false and thus he isn't Truthless and lets himself be killed. However, he is resurrected before his death can be permanent, and continues blaming himself for the deaths he has inflicted, and when he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up to save the day]] at the end of the ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'', the characters who he had previously fought against accept his help but refuse to forgive him for his previous killings.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': {{Inverted|Trope}} by the Aiel {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, whose honor code forbids even speaking of an offense that has been duly punished. When [[spoiler:Egwene]] confesses to [[spoiler:lying about her rank]], her Aiel allies deal her a vicious beating, then resume their friendship without missing a step.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': At the end of the WhamEpisode "Redemption", Worf's family name has been restored, and he's presented with the nephew of the Duvas sisters (as the sisters themselves [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere left the planet when their plan started to fail]]). Most Klingons would choose to kill the nephew, as a means of showing their dominance over the other families. Worf, however, realizes that the boy was only a puppet for his aunts, and spares his life (although later episodes show that he definitely does ''not'' forgive the sisters for causing a Klingon civil war).

* ''VideoGame/CrossCode'': In the DLC ending, Shizuka will advocate for [[spoiler:forcing the Evotar C'tron to log out forever because of the crimes his mental template, Sidwell, committed. If the player chooses to let C'tron stay in Homestedt, Shizuka is unhappy with the decision, but doesn't press the issue any further or take action against C'tron]].
* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', Elder Maxon will, with a little bit of persuading, spare [[spoiler:Danse]], but he makes it clear that the offending character will be recorded as a traitor who was officially executed by the player character, and should his path ever again cross that of the Brotherhood there will be no mercy.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', [[TheHero Chrom]] never forgives [[spoiler:Gangrel]] for his crimes, even after he's recruited. Indeed, the only support conversations the character gets are with [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]], who has conversations with every single recruitable character in the game. [[spoiler:And unless the Avatar is female and marries him, he dies alone in the gutter not long after the events of the game.]]
* Near the end of ''VideoGame/Halo3'', after Human-Covenant war comes to an end, Admiral Hood tells the Arbiter that he cannot forgive Elites for what they did to humanity, but nonetheless thanks his former enemy for fighting alongside Master Chief and celebrates the coming of peace.

* In ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2'', some of Miles Morales' story arc evolves around him getting vengeance on [[spoiler:Martin Li, aka Mister Negative, the supervillain who murdered his father, Jefferson Davis. Just before a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to free Peter Parker of the Venom Symbiote's corruption, Miles takes an opportunity to speak with Li. Even though he's confident that Li's HeelFaceTurn is genuine and will let go of his need for vengeance on Li, Miles ultimately decides that he can ''never'' forgive Li for murdering his father in cold blood. Li appears to sadly accept this conclusion.]]
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': When Balak, a batarian terrorist responsible for killing numerous humans, meets Shepard at the Citadel, he is initially resolved to kill the commander for supposedly contributing to the destruction of Batarian Hegemony. If Shepard succeeds at reasoning with him, both of them agree to fight the Reapers together, even though either of them would like to see the other dead.

** The Phantom Thieves are able to look past their well-deserved grudge against the traitor for [[spoiler:framing them Kunikazu's murder]] in order to work together to take down the mastermind behind the conspiracy. However, they also make it clear that while they understand why the traitor did it, they do not forgive any of the traitor's actions. Of course, they definitely won't forgive the BigBad either [[EvilerThanThou for still being behind it all]] and [[spoiler:willing to have the traitor killed to save his own skin, [[ProperlyParanoid even if he was correct that he might be his son who was trying to double cross him as well for revenge]]]].

** In the pacifist ending [[spoiler:Toriel]] will come to stop you from fighting Asgore, saying even he deserves mercy but doesn't forgive him for killing 6 children and refuses to be friends.
** After [[spoiler:Asriel's]] fight, you are given the option to tell him you do not forgive him for his actions, and the game does not imply you are in the wrong if you choose to do that. Despite this, you are allowed to comfort him (or not) separately from the choice to forgive him or not, suggesting the Human Child might pity [[spoiler:Asriel]] even if they find it difficult or impossible to forgive him.

** When Ash learns that [[spoiler:Iris is the one teleporting people into Below, he attacks her in rage. Once she's down to one HP, the player has the choice to spare or kill her, though Ash and Melody don't forgive her even if the former choice is picked. This becomes more ambiguous in the ending, since he and Melody cry when Iris passes on, which implies they may have forgiven her]].
** Almost all of the important moral choices in the game require this mindset to get the True Ending, since it requires Ash to refrain from vengeance against those who wronged him, otherwise he would become just like the Crimson God.

** [[spoiler: [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderFireLordOzai Fire Lord Ozai]] and [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Princess Azula]]]] are both also spared in the end, however they are imprisoned so they shouldn't be able to do any more harm, and [[spoiler:Ozai also has his bending taken away, along with his power and crown]].

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

* In ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2'', some of Miles Morales' story arc evolves around him getting vengeance on Martin Li, aka Mister Negative, the supervillain who murdered his father, Jefferson Davis. Just before a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to free Peter Parker of the Venom Symbiote's corruption, Miles takes an opportunity to speak with Li. Even though he's confident that Li's HeelFaceTurn is genuine and will let go of his need for vengeance on Li, Miles ultimately decides that he can ''never'' forgive Li for murdering his father in cold blood. Li appears to sadly accept this conclusion.

-->-- '''Miles Morales''' to '''Martin Li/Mister Negative''', ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2''

-->-- Miles Morales to Martin Li/Mister Negative, ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2''

Different stories have different takes on {{Forgiveness}}. In some works, forgiving wrongdoers is always a good thing and tropes such as RevengeIsNotJustice, VengeanceFeelsEmpty, and HeWhoFightsMonsters are in full effect, while in others, {{revenge}} will not only be [[PayEvilUntoEvil justified]], but also [[RevengeIsSweet necessary for emotional closure]]. There is also some grey area, as evidenced by tropes such as RestrainedRevenge, ReformedButNotTamed, or ForgivenButNotForgotten.

* The character has no desire to forgive, but still stands by a moral code which prevents them from taking revenge, realizes the folly of creating a CycleOfRevenge which would be the consequence of them taking that action, and/or simply wants nothing to do with the offender anymore.

This trope can appear in the works from both ends on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, as it can be used to emphasize either the noble nature of the hero or the abhorrent nature of the villain's crimes. Such a decision will almost always be portrayed in a positive light, the only exception being the works that give forgiveness a strong moral significance. Compare CruelMercy, where someone is spared or aided because what they'll survive to suffer is far worse than any direct revenge. Contrast with MyFistForgivesYou, which is almost the opposite of this trope.

* In ''Anime/BubukiBuranki'', Kogane had lost her father to a man named Shuusaku. After years and years, Shuusaku, at her mercy, finally explains to her that [[spoiler:her father's death wasn't his doing or intention, and only occurred due to a misfire from one of the soldiers he was with]]. Her response is basically "So that means I don't have to hate you anymore? Fat chance of that!", but she decides not to kill him.
* Frieza from ''Manga/DragonBall'', on many occasions, most infamously during his and Goku's climactic fight on Namek as it's preparing to explode. [[spoiler:[[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe After Frieza gets sliced in half by his own energy disc]]]], Goku opts to leave him as payback for the millions of lives he's killed, [[spoiler:including Krillin]], but begrudgingly comes around and gives some of his energy to him after Frieza (now at his lowest) [[VillainsWantMercy pitifully begs for mercy]]. To both their dismay, this comes back to bite them both:

** Later in the aforementioned series, Frieza gets revived by Whis, but ''only'' as a reward from Beerus himself [[spoiler:for helping Goku and 17 in defeating Jiren and with it, winning the Tournament of Power for Universe 7]], not out of forgiveness. Frieza spitefully points this out, and is willing to terrorize the Universe all over again, but not before Goku threatens him that he and his friends will stop him should he attempt to threaten Earth again.

** In Day 20, this trope is implied to be why Vy wanted to summon Caster Da Vinci back to Chaldea, because Goredolf's dismissal of her death in front of Mash while the Shadow Border escaped the Bleaching of the World was just too much for her.
** Day 8 shows a clear example with Yu Mei-ren/the former Akuta Hinako after Lostbelt 3, because in spite of Vy summoning both Gao Changgong and Xiang Yu to give Hinako some friendly company, Vy still hasn't forgiven Hinako for her part in destroying the world and hurting Mash. This is returned in kind by Yu Mei-ren's canonical dislike of Vy for destroying the Chinese Lostbelt.
** Extra Day 5 shows that, in spite of Vy having sympathy towards Kama's FreudianExcuse, she still invokes FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse when it comes to Kama trying to kill her and involving Chaldea into their plans, preparing to fight Kama with Robin, Arturia, and Achilles anyway. It doesn't stop her from invoking DefeatMeansFriendship by her summoning Kama later on, though.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868983/chapters/49605089 With Time]]'', Marinette's classmates responded to Lila's claims that Marinette cyberbullied and physically attacked her by ganging up on Marinette, shouting, and acting physically threatening. The incident traumatized Marinette so much that she had to change schools, spent months struggling with serious self-esteem issues and depression, and had a panic attack when she happened to see Alya and Lila in passing months later. When Marinette finally recovers enough to face her former classmates again, she points out that she could press charges for what they did to her... but she's not going to do that, because it won't help anything. Instead, she simply informs them that after how they hurt her and broke her trust, their friendships are over and can never be rebuilt, getting closure so she can move on with her life.

* ''Literature/EgilsSaga'': Sailing from Iceland to England, Egil and his crew are shipwrecked off Northumbria and thus fall into the power of Egil's old enemy Eirik Bloodaxe, who unbeknownst to Egil now rules as King of York. As Egil has committed numerous severe offences against King Eirik, including but not limited to the killing of Eirik's son, Eirik wants to have Egil executed at once. However, his advisor Arinbjorn, who is also a friend of Egil, persuades Eirik to grant Egil a single night so Egil can compose a praise-poem in honor of Eirik. After Egil has recited the poem the next day, Eirik lets Egil go alive as his reward for the poem but makes it clear that there is no reconciliation and that if Egil should ever fall into Eirik's hands again, he will certainly die.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Olberic set out to kill Erhardt, trying to avenge his kingdom. In the end, despite besting him in combat and telling him he has no forgiveness in his heart, he chooses not to kill Erhardt. The situation seems to evolve into straight-up {{Forgiveness}} over time, however.

** In the pacifist ending [[spoiler:Toriel]] will come to stop you from fighting Asgore, saying even he deserves mercy, but doesn't forgive him for killing 6 children and refuses to be friends.

** In the episode "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernRaiders The Southern Raiders]]", after Katara finds her mother's killer (a veteran of the Fire Nation army), she goes on to turn the raindrops into icicles with a clear threat of killing him with them. After seeing him in a pathetic state (even begging her to kill his mother instead of him), she decides that he's simply NotWorthKilling. However, Katara states that she will never forgive him (but she is willing to forgive another member of the Fire Nation who had a close relationship to its army).

* In ''VideoGame/MarvelsSpiderMan2, some of Miles Morales' story arc evolves around him getting vengeance on Martin Li, aka Mister Negative, the supervillain who murdered his father, Jefferson Davis. Just before a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind to free Peter Parker of the Venom Symbiote's corruption, Miles takes an opportunity to speak with Li. Even though he's confident that Li's HeelFaceTurn is genuine and will let go of his need for vengeance on Li, Miles ultimately decides that he can ''never'' forgive Li for murdering his father in cold blood. Li appears to sadly accept this conclusion.

* The character has no desire to forgive, but still stands by a moral code which prevents him from taking revenge, realizes the folly of creating a CycleOfRevenge which would be the consequence of him taking that action, and/or simply wants nothing to do with the offender anymore.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Most versions of Peter Parker, after his Uncle Ben's murder, locate the killer. In most cases, they have the opportunity to get revenge and choose not to. This is usually the event that leads to Spider-Man's [[ThouShaltNotKill personal rule against murder or letting people die]]. Still, the death of Uncle Ben was also the end of Peter's innocence, and he clearly doesn't forgive the murderer.

* ''Fanfic/{{Spider-Ninja}}'': Shortly after mastering her new spider powers, Petra learns that the man who killed her aunt and uncle has just gotten off on parole. Blinded with rage and grief, she goes after him, seemingly set on killing him in revenge...but stops herself when she realizes that this isn't what her aunt and uncle would want. She doesn't forgive him, but she's able to finally accept what happened and move on.

** In the episode "The Southern Raiders", after Katara finds her mother's killer (a veteran of the Fire Nation army), she goes on to turn the raindrops into icicles with a clear threat of killing him with them. After seeing him in a pathetic state (even begging her to kill his mother instead of him), she decides that he's simply NotWorthKilling. However, Katara states that she will never forgive him (but she is willing to forgive another member of the Fire Nation who had a close relationship to its army).
** [[spoiler:Ozai and Azula]] are both also spared in the end, however they are imprisoned so they shouldn't be able to do any more harm, and [[spoiler:Ozai also has his bending taken away, along with his power and crown]].

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Phantom Thieves are able to look past their well-deserved grudge against the traitor for [[spoiler:framing them Kunikazu's murder]] in order to work together to take down the mastermind behind the conspiracy. However, they also make it clear that while they understand why the traitor did it, they do not forgive any of the traitor's actions. Of course, they definitely won't forgive the BigBad either [[EvilerThanThou for still being behind it all]] and [[spoiler:willing to have the traitor killed to save his own skin, [[ProperlyParanoid even if he was correct that he might be his son who was trying to double cross him as well for revenge]]]].

* Most versions of [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], after his Uncle Ben's murder, locate the killer. In most cases, they have the opportunity to get revenge and choose not to. This is usually the event that leads to Spider-Man's [[ThouShaltNotKill personal rule against murder or letting people die]]. Still, the death of Uncle Ben was also the end of Peter's innocence, and he clearly doesn't forgive the murderer.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868983/chapters/49605089 With Time]]'', Marinette's classmates responded to Lila's claims that Marinette cyberbullied and physically attacked her by ganging up on Marinette, shouting, and acting physically threatening. The incident traumatized Marinette so much that she had to change schools, spent months struggling with serious self-esteem issues and depression, and had a panic attack when she happened to see Alya and Lila in passing months later. When Marinette finally recovers enough to face her former classmates again, she points out that she could press charges for what they did to her...but she's not going to do that, because it won't help anything. Instead, she simply informs them that after how they hurt her and broke her trust, their friendships are over and can never be rebuilt, getting closure so she can move on with her life.

* A variant in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''. Hector [[spoiler: is on the brink of the Final Death, and he needs the help of Imelda and the rest of the deceased Riveras to get back his picture from Ernesto de la Cruz]]. Imelda reminds him that he left the family, although Miguel reveals to her that Hector never came back because he died. She considers this, realizing that Hector will be gone forever without the family's help, and sighs.
--> '''Mama Imelda''': I don't forgive you [...] But I will help you.

* A variation in ''Theatre/MeasureForMeasure'', the Duke spares Angelo, but it's left ambiguous whether Isabella forgives him, and it's made pretty clear he doesn't forgive ''himself''.
* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': {{Inverted|Trope}} by the Aiel {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, whose honor code forbids even speaking of an offense that has been duly punished. When [[spoiler:Egwene]] confesses to [[spoiler:lying about her rank]], her Aiel allies deal her a vicious beating, then resume their friendship without missing a step.

* Subverted with Gollum in ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Two Towers]]'': Frodo has a chance to kill him, fully aware of all of the evils he's done, and even once remarked to Gandalf that Gollum deserved death. However, upon finally seeing Gollum himself, he takes pity on him and spares his life. The subversion is that Frodo largely forgives Gollum's misdeeds to that point after his HeelFaceTurn. However, it's ''Sam'' who doesn't. Ironically, Sam's continuing suspicion and refusal to forgive is part of what plays a role in the end of Gollum's reformation by the time they reach Shelob's Lair.
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Szeth is an assassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and the destabilization of many kingdoms and triggering a massive civil war. He accepts all responsibility for the deaths he has inflicted and refuses to forgive himself because he is "Truthless" — a form of criminal who is enslaved to the service of others and forced to obey their commands. At the end of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance,'' he learns that the crimes he was accused of are false and thus he isn't Truthless and lets himself be killed. However, he is resurrected before his death can be permanent, and continues blaming himself for the deaths he has inflicted, and when he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up to save the day]] at the end of the ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'', the characters who he had previously fought against accept his help but refuse to forgive him for his previous killings.
* ''Literature/EgilsSaga'': Sailing from Iceland to England, Egil and his crew are shipwrecked off Northumbria and thus fall into the power of Egil's old enemy Eirik Bloodaxe, who unbeknownst to Egil now rules as King of York. As Egil has committed numerous severe offences against King Eirik, including but not limited to the killing of Eirik's son, Eirik wants to have Egil executed at once. However, his advisor Arinbjorn, who is also a friend of Egil, persuades Eirik to grant Egil a single night so Egil can compose a praise-poem in honor of Eirik. After Egil has recited the poem the next day, Eirik lets Egil go alive as his reward for the poem but makes it clear that there is no reconciliation and that if Egil should ever fall into Eirik's hands again, he will certainly die.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Phantom Thieves are able to look past their well-deserved grudge against the traitor for [[spoiler:framing them Kunikazu's murder]] in order to work together to take down the mastermind behind the conspiracy. However, they also make it clear that while they understand why the traitor did it, they do not forgive any of the traitor's actions. Of course, they definitely won't forgive the BigBad either [[EvilerThanThou for still being behind it all]] and [[spoiler: willing to have the traitor killed to save his own skin, [[ProperlyParanoid even if he was correct that he might be his son who was trying to double cross him as well for revenge.]]]]
* In ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'', after Kyle defeats Tavion, he intends to kill her to avenge Jane. Once she grovels for mercy and tells him Jane's alive, he flings her away and tells her to get out of his sight.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', [[TheHero Chrom]] never forgives [[spoiler:Gangrel]] for his crimes, even after he's recruited. Indeed, the only support conversations the character gets are with [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]], who has conversations with every single recruitable character in the game. [[spoiler: And unless the Avatar is female and marries him, he dies alone in the gutter not long after the events of the game.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', Elder Maxon will, with a little bit of persuading, spare [[spoiler:Danse]], but he makes it clear that the offending character will be recorded as a traitor who was officially executed by the player character, and should his path ever again cross that of the Brotherhood there will be no mercy.
* ''VideoGame/CrossCode'': In the DLC ending, Shizuka will advocate for [[spoiler:forcing the Evotar C'tron to log out forever because of the crimes his mental template, Sidwell, committed. If the player chooses to let C'tron stay in Homestedt, Shizuka is unhappy with the decision, but doesn't press the issue any further or take action against C'tron.]]

** [[spoiler:Ozai and Azula]] are both also spared in the end, however they are imprisoned so they shouldn't be able to do any more harm, and [[spoiler: Ozai also has his bending taken away, along with his power and crown]].

* Frieza from ''Manga/DragonBall'', on many occasions. Most infamously during his and Goku's climactic fight on Namek as it's preparing to explode. [[spoiler:[[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe After Frieza gets sliced in half by his own energy disc]]]], Goku opts to leave him as payback for the millions of lives he's killed, [[spoiler:including Krillin]], but begrudgingly comes around and gives some of his energy to him after Frieza (now at his lowest) [[VillainsWantMercy pitifully begs for mercy]]. To both their dismay, this comes back to bite them both:

Different stories have different takes on {{Forgiveness}}. In some works, forgiving wrongdoers is always a good thing and tropes such as RevengeIsNotJustice, VengeanceFeelsEmpty, and HeWhoFightsMonsters are in full effect, while in others, {{revenge}} will not only be [[PayEvilUntoEvil justified]], but also necessary for emotional closure. There is also some grey area, as evidenced by tropes such as RestrainedRevenge, ReformedButNotTamed, or ForgivenButNotForgotten.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': When Balak, a Batarian terrorist responsible for killing numerous humans, meets Shepard at the Citadel, he is initially resolved to kill the commander for supposedly contributing to the destruction of Batarian Hegemony. If Shepard succeeds at reasoning with him, both of them agree to fight the Reapers together, even though either of them would like to see the other dead.

Different stories have different takes on {{Forgiveness}}. In some works, forgiving wrongdoers is always a good thing and tropes such as RevengeIsNotJustice, VengeanceFeelsEmpty, and HeWhoFightsMonsters are in full effect, while in others, {{revenge}} will not only be [[PayEvilUntoEvil justified]], but also necessary for emotional closure. There is also some grey area, as evidenced by tropes such as RestrainedRevenge, ReformedButNotTamed or ForgivenButNotForgotten.

* In ''Anime/BubukiBuranki'', Kogane had lost her father to a man named Shuusaku. After years and years, Shuusaku, at her mercy, finally explains to her that [[spoiler:her father's death wasn't his doing or intention, and only occurred due to a misfire from one of the soldiers he was with.]] Her response is basically "So that means I don't have to hate you anymore? Fat chance of that!", but she decides not to kill him.

* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', this is the ultimate fate Homura inflicts upon [[spoiler:her mother, Madame Kurenai, who selfishly abandoned her family for money during war times, betrayed Homura's ParentalSubstitute to her death when given the opportunity to return home, and became an EvilOverlord to indulge in her dreams of wealth and power. Rather than take revenge for herself or the people who suffered under her, Homura declares that she has no interest in her mother whatsoever and lets her go free, threatening her to never set foot in her life again. Kurenai is perfectly fine with the outcome and [[TemptingFate thinks she's a]] KarmaHoudini--and then she falls prey to another man who ''is'' interested in revenge, with no one left to come to her aid...]]

** During the war, Scar is advised by his master not to forgive the Amestrians for their crimes, but to focus on saving people instead of pursuing revenge -- which Scar [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge promptly ignores]] after his family gets slaughtered by Kimblee. After having his wounds treated by Winry, who nonetheless won't forgive him for killing her parents, he decides to work alongside Amestrians in order to defeat Father, though he never truly lets go of his hatred.

* Even though Megatron abandoned the Decepticon cause to become an Autobot in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersDarkCybertron'' and manages to make a good enough case to at least delay his execution, no one was prepared to forgive him for millions of years of war and genocide, [[IHatePastMe least of all himself]]. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted, as when he returns to Cybertron after the Lost Light's quest to find the Knights of Cybertron ends, he is retried, found guilty, and either executed or imprisoned for life]].

* In ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', Carrie spares [[spoiler: Sue]] after learning that [[spoiler: she]] had no part in the prank, but she still doesn't forgive [[spoiler: her]], although it's admittedly only minutes before Carrie herself dies.

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Szeth is an assassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and the destabilization of many kingdoms and triggering a massive civil war. He accepts all responsibility for the deaths he has inflicted and refuses to forgive himself because he is "Truthless" - a form of criminal who is enslaved to the service of others and forced to obey their commands. At the end of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance,'' he learns that the crimes he was accused of are false and thus he isn't Truthless and lets himself be killed. However, he is resurrected before his death can be permanent, and continues blaming himself for the deaths he has inflicted, and when he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up to save the day]] at the end of the ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'', the characters who he had previously fought against accept his help but refuse to forgive him for his previous killings.

* ''LightNovel/AnotherWorldReincarnation'' Kain is [[TheUnapologetic completely unrepentant]], [[EntitledBastard entitled]], and [[TheyJustDontGetIt has great difficulty understanding]] why Ren utterly hates him for his abuse. She utterly refuses to forgive him no matter how he apologizes, but rather than give him the grief she believes he deserves because she simply finds it too troublesome, she gives him indifference. She's not going to go after him, but she's not helping him either. If he does benefit from her actions, it's entirely unintentional.

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Billy delivers McGinty over to the law instead of killing him for revenge, but he cannot find it in himself to forgive the man for what he did.

* In ''Anime/BubukiBuranki'', Kogane had lost her father to a man named Shuusaku. After years and years, Shuusaku, at her mercy, finally explains to her that [[spoiler:her father's death wasn't his doing or intention, and only occurred due to a misfire from one of the soldiers he was with.]] Her response is basically "So that means I don't have to hate you anymore? Fat chance of that!", but she decides not to kill him.
* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', this is the ultimate fate Homura inflicts upon [[spoiler:her mother, Madame Kurenai, who selfishly abandoned her family for money during war times, betrayed Homura's ParentalSubstitute to her death when given the opportunity to return home, and became an EvilOverlord to indulge in her dreams of wealth and power. Rather than take revenge for herself or the people who suffered under her, Homura declares that she has no interest in her mother whatsoever and lets her go free, threatening her to never set foot in her life again. Kurenai is perfectly fine with the outcome and [[TemptingFate thinks she's a]] KarmaHoudini--and then she falls prey to another man who ''is'' interested in revenge, with no one left to come to her aid...]]