Basic Trope: A villain makes one of the heroes watch his/her loved ones suffer.
- Straight: The Black Badger forces Bob to watch Emperor Evulz kill Alice.
- Exaggerated:
- The Black Badger makes sure the only thing Bob will ever see in his life is Alice suffering.
- The Black Badger forces Bob to watch Evulz and/or his men rape Alice.
- Downplayed:
- The Black Badger places Bob in sight for him to watch, but Bob can look away before Emperor Evulz kills Alice.
- The Black Badger restrains Bob to prevent him from rescuing Alice from Evulz. If Bob's attempts to break free and save Alice make him look towards her, so be it.
- The Black Badger forces Bob to watch Alice forced to walk down the wedding aisle and marry Evulz.
- Justified: They want to psychologically break Bob.
- Inverted:
- The Black Badger makes sure Bob doesn't see Alice get killed.
- Bob can resist being tortured, but when Alice is brought in he cracks from the humiliation of appearing weak in front of her.
- Subverted: The Black Badger makes Bob watch, but he is a Noble Demon who realizes how senselessly cruel it is and he decides to let Bob look away.
- Double Subverted: Then Fat Bass Star steals Bob away from Black Badger and makes Bob watch Emperor Evulz kill Alice.
- Parodied: Black Badger makes Bob watch Emperor Evulz stab a punching bag that looks like Alice.
- Zig-Zagged: Black Badger forces Bob to watch, then Bob runs off, then Black Badger grabs him again and forces him to watch.
- Averted: Bob can look away, as Black Badger is doing other things.
- Enforced:
- "We need Bob to get very, very depressed, just like every hero... Let's force him watch Alice get killed!"
- "We need a scene were Bob breaks down and begs, but we don't want to have him beg for his own life. Let's have him beg for someone else's."
- Lampshaded:
- "Oh god... Why can't I look away!?"
- "Open your eyes, Bob! It's worth a look!"
- Invoked: Bob ask to be allowed to watch Alice die, as it's all he can do for her.
- Exploited: Black Badger makes Bob watch Emperor Evulz kill Alice so that he goes into a Heroic BSoD.
- Defied:
- The Black Badger decides it would be crueler to keep Bob from seeing Alice die, either to deny him closure or so that Bob can form his own, likely worse, mental images when he sees the corpse.
- Bob gouges his own eyes out in order to not see the scene. Bonus Points if the Black Badger is so utterly appalled by this drastic measure, that Bob takes the chance to kill him and rescue Alice in the process despite being blind.
- Discussed:
- "And here comes the Black Badger, holding Bob. He's gonna make him watch me kill you, Alice! Isn't that just wonderful? (Evil Laugh)"
- "I always warned you that your heroics would get someone you love killed. Now you will get to see that up close."
- Conversed: "I find this scene hard to watch. So does Bob, I imagine."
- Implied:
- In the battle between Bob and the Black Badger, where Bob says "You will pay for what you forced me to go through!"
- Bob has been defiant to Evulz even the face of torture, but when Evulz orders Black Badger to "bring her in" he immediate resorts to begging and pleading.
- Deconstructed: Bob closes his eyes.
- Reconstructed:
- The Black Badger forces his eyes open, and keeps them that way.
- The Black Badger removes Bob's eyelids.
- Bob closes his eyes... But he can still hear everything.
- Played for Laughs: The Black Badger forces Bob to watch Emperor Evulz eat a slice of Bob's own birthday cake. Bob then starts crying.
- Played for Drama: The Black Badger forces Bob to watch Emperor Evulz kill his entire family. His family watches Bob, and both Bob and his family cry.
Now! I will bring you to Forced to Watch, and I will make you watch as it falls apart of misuse and natter!
