Line #30 Recap/SandersSidesS2E10SelfishnessvSelflessness


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/selfishness_v_selflessness.jpg]]
2	Thomas gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when he gets a callback for a movie. Unfortunately, the callback falls on the same date as his friends Lee and Mary Lee's wedding -- and Thomas already promised he would go. Thomas considers lying and saying he has a family emergency so he can go to the callback instead, which Patton and Virgil are both vehemently against. When Thomas says he didn't really mean that, Deceit decides to put that to the test by bringing everyone into a courtroom for "the trial of Thomas Sanders vs. Thomas Sanders." With Deceit as the prosecution, Patton as the defense, Roman as the judge, and Virgil as the jury, Deceit poses the question: is Thomas a bad person?
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4	'''Release date''': March 31, 2019
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6	'''WARNING''': Untagged '''spoilers''' ahead. Read at your own risk.
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9	!!!Tropes
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11	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Or rather [[{{Pun}} five Sides have a point]].
12	** Patton is right that lying to your friends and going back on a promise is just not very nice.
13	** Virgil is right that lying to his friends would make Thomas anxious.
14	** Roman is right that the callback is a ''dream come true'', and one that will probably only come once in Thomas' lifetime. He's been working for this all his life, so why should he pass it up? He's also right that forcing someone to put your needs ahead of theirs is also pretty selfish.
15	** Logan is right that, statistically, Thomas is ''much'' more likely to get a chance to attend a wedding (or just make it up to Lee and Mary Lee) than he is to ever get a callback of this stature again. He's also the only person to bring up the merits of both the wedding and the callback -- the wedding enhances Thomas' social life, while the callback enhances his career.
16	** Deceit is right that Thomas really wants to skip the wedding, and did even before he got the callback. He's also right that no one can or should be expected to be 100% selfless 100% of the time.
17	* CloseupOnHead: When Roman says his sentence and bumps with the gavel, we next see a shot of Thomas' eyes, then we see he's back in the living room, sitting on the couch.
18	* ContinuityNod: When Thomas says "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" and Deceit adds "...and that is always true without exception", Logan pulls out his notebook and starts writing something down while frowning at them, the same notebook he showed in ''[[Recap/SandersSidesS2E9EmbarrasingPhasesTheNightmareInsteadOfChristmas Nightmare instead of Christmas]]'' where he said he wrote down everything someone said that he thought it was "unprecedentedly stupid".
19	* CourtroomEpisode: The majority of the episode takes place in a courtroom scenario of Deceit's invention.
20	* {{Cuckoosnarker}}: When Deceit starts mocking Patton, he gets so angry that he can't help subtly [[FlippingTheBird flipping the bird]] on Deceit, although it is in a FreezeFrameBonus shot, disguising it as if Patton was just adjusting his glasses, even though he does so with a revealing [[DeathGlare murderous glance]] at Deceit.
21	* CuttingBackToReality:
22	-->'''Deceit''': This isn't even a real courtroom! You're sitting on your couch with your eyes closed!\
23	'''Thomas''': (back in his living room, alone on his couch) That's fair, but why say it?
24	* DemotedToExtra: Invoked, and played with. Deceit "benches" Logan for the courtroom scenario, presumably because Logan's the only one who would ''actually'' be able to be objective. However, Logan is still present in the room, and acts as a witness at one point, as well as explains who Max Stirner was.
25	* EvilLawyerJoke: The Side chosen as the prosecutor is quite literally the embodiment of deception and selfishness.
26	* FelonyMisdemeanor: Thomas's Sides hold a full court of law to prosecute him for the crime of prioritizing his own needs before those of his friends.
27	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The fact that Thomas is willing to hear Deceit out in the first place is the first hint that, deep down, he ''agrees'' with him on some level.
28	* FreudianSlip: Seen in this dialogue with Deceit.
29	-->'''Deceit''': Your name is Roman, correct?\
30	'''Roman''': ''[happily]'' The one and ''lonely''! What? [[LampshadeHanging Freudian slip! I mean...]]
31	* GoingCosmic: Deceit holds a whole "We Live In A Society"-Monologue, referencing egoist philosopher Max Stirner.
32	* JerkassHasAPoint: Deceit's role in this episode in a nutshell. The fact that he's a slimy, manipulative jerk doesn't change the fact that he's ''right'': Thomas ''does'' want to skip the wedding for the callback, never wanted to go to the wedding to begin with, and just isn't as honest as he'd like to be. He's also not wrong when he points out that a lot of rules (laws, social conventions, etc.) are only followed by the vast majority of people for the sake of keeping up appearances and not causing trouble, not because people feel a great need to uphold those rules.
33	* KangarooCourt: Given that it's mock trial set up by ''Deceit'', it's probably not a surprise that there's absolutely no regard for actual courtroom procedure. Let us count the ways...
34	** There's one juror instead of twelve.
35	** Said juror openly loathes the prosecution.
36	** Meanwhile the judge openly ''favors'' the prosecution.
37	** Thomas and Patton are given no time to prepare a defense.
38	** Absolutely no one in the court room has any actual legal experience, and it ''shows''.
39	** The judge, jury, prosecution, defense, and accused all know each other personally, which would never fly in a real courtroom.
40	** Thomas lampshades this when he tries to invoke the sixth amendment: the right to a fair and speedy trial. As he points out, the trial is anything ''but'' fair.
41	* KubrickStare: When Deceit is discovered impersonating Logan, he stares at Thomas with this ominous glance before taking the disguise off.
42	* MyGodYouAreSerious: Roman's reaction when Thomas says that Deceit can stay is laughing lively... until Thomas frowns at him and he realizes in horror he's serious about it.
43	* NonSequiturEnvironment: Patton confronts Deceit saying that Thomas is perfect. They're in Thomas' living room when Patton says this. When Deceit answers him back yelling he can defend Thomas all he likes, they're both already in the courtroom and Patton doesn't know how he got there.
44	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: {{Lampshaded}} by Thomas:
45	->'''Deceit:''' No further questions. Smirk.
46	->'''Thomas:''' Did he just say smirk?
47	* SpotTheImposter: Deceit tries to fool the group by being Logan. Unfortunately, everyone was quick to note down what he got wrong.
48	* {{Sssssnaketalk}}: In what is surprisingly his first line like this, Deceit calls Patton a "ssssssssssuck up!" at one point.
49	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Virgil and Logan separately have the exact same response to Thomas' rationale for why he's hearing Deceit out ("He doesn't like Nazis").
50	-->''That... ''can't'' be where the bar is.''
51	* UnconventionalCourtroomTactics: Both Deceit and Patton play pretty fast and loose with courtroom procedure.
52	* VillainousBreakdown: After Roman's verdict that Thomas will go to the wedding, Deceit starts screaming and pointing that they are not understanding his point.

Context Recap / SandersSidesS2E10SelfishnessvSelflessness