During the investigation of recent hollers in the Complete Monster thread, it's become apparent to the staff that an insular, unfriendly culture has evolved in the Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard threads that is causing problems.
Specific issues include:
- Overzealous hollers on tropers who come into the threads without being familiar with all the rules and traditions of the tropes. And when they are familiar with said rules and traditions, they get accused (with little evidence) of being ban evaders.
- A few tropers in the thread habitually engage in snotty, impolite mini-modding. There are also regular complaints about excessive, offtopic "socializing" posts.
- Many many thread regulars barely post/edit anywhere else, making the threads look like they are divorced from the rest of TV Tropes.
- Following that, there are often complaints about the threads and their regulars violating wiki rules, such as on indexing, crosswicking, example context and example categorization. Some folks are working on resolving the issues, but...
- Often moderator action against thread regulars leads to a lot of participants suddenly showing up in the moderation threads to protest and speak on their behalf, like a clique.
It is not a super high level problem, but it has been going on for years and we cannot ignore it any longer. There will be a thread in Wiki Talk
to discuss the problem; in the meantime there is a moratorium on further Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard example discussion until we have gotten this sorted out.
Update: The new threads have been made and can be found here:
for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.
- Why do a cleanup?: This trope definitely exists and has a well documented history of use. That being said, it frequently gets misused to a character who meets one of the components, namely that they are smart, charming while not necessarily even being a villain, or create good plans. While these are components, there is also a certain personality required, not to mention that all of the above are required to be present for a character to be a true Magnificent Bastard. As the trope attracts interest, it unfortunately brings in a lot of misuse and I thought the best way to rectify this would be a Perpetual Cleanup Thread, as is being done and has seen success with Complete Monster.
- What makes a Magnificent Bastard: Below is a list of the individual components to make this character. Note that they must all be present, not just some, which has lead to frequent misuse:
- Must be intelligent: Goes without saying, to be a Magnificent Bastard, the character has to be smart in the first place and use their brain to work towards whatever their end goal may be;
- Must be a Bastard: While going overboard in how vile the character is can be detrimental, a key aspect is the Bastard part of the trope, whether the character is an out-and-out antagonist in the work, some manner of Villain Protagonist, or something in between, they at least have some unscrupulous qualities to qualify for this trope;
- Must not be too detestable: Again, there is a ceiling on how bad the character can be before they just become too nefarious, blocking out the Magnificent part of the trope. A genocidal racist or child-raping Sadist aren't going to make the cut;
- Think on their feet: In addition to being a Chessmaster, a Magnificent Bastard, if the character deals with situations in which their initial plan is ruined, has to be able to pull a Xanatos Speed Chess and at least come up with a competent strategy to make up for lost time, otherwise they fail for being unable to think in tough spots;
- Have charm: Even if they don't necessarily make every character they meet fall in love with them and can even be detested by others, the audience has to find an amicable social relation to the character, or they are failing to make the impact required for this trope.
- What to do if a character is listed on a page but has not been approved?: They need to be removed, all candidates need to come through the cleanup thread first. The character could well count but they need to be analyzed properly and voted on first.
- Do we list Playing With this trope?: No; as a YMMV trope, this cannot be Played With, so we only want examples that are Played Straight.
- What do I do if I want a character to be listed as a Magnificent Bastard?: The greatest success Complete Monster saw for its cleanup effort was from the invention of the effort post format, so, borrowing from that, a troper wishing to propose a Magnificent Bastard will create such a post in the following format:
- Begin by describing The work, this will help establish the setting the character is in and for the reader to understand what kind of a scenario they are in;
- Summarize The character's actions, this will provide a listing for readers to understand what they do and how it applies to this trope because charm and lack of smugness are so crucial, this is a good time to be incorporating exactly the flavor of how they operate to explain this;
- List circumstances in which the character must Think on their feet, these are times where a wrench might be thrown in their initial plan and they have to adapt on the spot or even come up with a new scheme all together, this is also a good time to explain how the villain reacts to defeat when they have to face it, a true Magnificent Bastard won't break down into tears at the thought of death, they should have known such a possibility could occur and be able to handle it with more dignity;
- The competition, similar to the Heinous Standard dealt with for a Complete Monster, this section is to deal with how successful the character is in carrying out their plans compared to other characters. While, as a villain, they probably are going to lose in the end, it is good to explain how other characters handle the same situation. There is no exceptionalism case to be made for this trope but explaining the variety helps the reader have a better understanding of the proposal.
- How do you know when the character's arc is done so they can be proposed? When their tenure as a villain or antagonist finishes. This could happen in a single Story Arc in an entire work, a single work of a franchise, or the whole series in general. We'll show lenience to Long-Runners with constantly recurring candidates or series with outstanding continuities (ex. comic books), and it's entirely possible to count in a work or two but not in general for a reason like Depending on the Writer.
- What about candidates evil because of external sources? Those Made of Evil can qualify if they show enough individuality and tactical acumen — in other words, they have the personality to fulfill the magnificence requirement. Conversely, those brainwashed, especially if they're a better person without it, may fail the individuality aspect and cannot count.
- What if they are under orders from a higher-up? Depends. If the boss created the plans down to the letter and the candidate is just following them, sounds like we should discuss the boss instead. However, if the candidate takes creative liberties with the orders, adds their own charm and flair to them, fills in holes in the orders, and/or actively deals with obstacles their boss did not talk about, the candidate shows enough individual thinking to qualify.
- What about Character Development? An MB is something a character can develop into... a nice person who plots well might become more morally gray as the work goes on and hits the "Bastard" criteria, thus making them viable. Likewise, a Smug Snake might shed their ego, become more understanding of the threat others pose and gain the personality or "Magnificent" criteria, likewise making them viable. Conversely, a character who looks like this trope might suffer from a Sanity Slippage or just get outed as not being as smart as they thought they were and become incompatible with MB.
- Can an MB be a good guy? Not in the conventional sense... it is required they have at least some dubious traits lest they fail the "Bastard" criteria. That being said, a character who pulls a Heel–Face Turn or eventually stops taking villainous actions is still fair game: as there was a point in time where they were both "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and they've merely adapted as time goes on. Now... if such a character begins showing other issues (i.e.: becomes prone to freak outs or starts getting outwitted) then they're compromising their Magnificence and will probably be deemed a cut. What's important is stylishly operating while at least for some time being willing to take at best underhanded methods to see a job done. A Heel–Face Turn in itself isn't a disqualifier but they do have to have been "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and afterwards can't start slipping on the former front.
- What about characters whose stories can take different routes?: When proposing a character in a form of media that has them in multiple story routes. Said character must be consistent with their characteristics in all routes. (ex.: Can't have an example who shows promise on one route yet fails in another.) The only exception is if a later installment of the series confirms the character's actions which made them worth proposing are the canon route.
- Is there a timeframe rule like with Complete Monster?: Yes, please wait two weeks until after the work has concluded before proposing a character (again, usually using the North American air date). As is the case with CM, we want to give a reasonable time frame so that everyone interested in seeing the work has done so and can participate in the discussion without having anything spoiled.
- What about groups like with Complete Monster?: This is a point of divergence between the two tropes. While CM does not allow for a single entry encompassing more than three characters lest their heinousness for crimes becomes too watered down, with MB as long as they are treated as one "unit" it is acceptable to lump all characters provided they share acts of charm and intelligence.
- Can I propose my own work's character as a Magnificent Bastard?: No, this is a YMMV subject and the creator of a content is way too biased to be able to evaluate the criteria we're looking for without a second opinion taking over. That being said, you are more than welcome to encourage someone to consume your creation and if they feel a character counts, are more than welcome to suggest them.
- My example/edit has been approved, but the example subpage is locked! How do I get it added?: The moderators do not add examples to locked example subpages in the MagnificentBastard/ namespace directly. Rather, you need to do the edit to a sandbox page that follows the format Sandbox.MagnificentBastard<Name of the example subpage> (e.g for MagnificentBastard.Fullmetal Alchemist it's Sandbox.Magnificent Bastard Fullmetal Alchemist) and on a Friday, ask in the locked pages edit requests thread for the content to be swapped in.
Thread rules
When voting a troper must specify the effort post they're voting on and cannot merely vote on "Everything I missed" as in the past it has indicated the poster didn't read the effort post and is guessing instead of analyzing.
Resolved items
In general, a character listed on this trope is considered "settled". This means they should not be challenged unless information used to list them was incorrect or information was missed in the initial discussion.
However, when re-litigating a candidate, the same rules apply for when they were originally proposed. If they do not have five or more upvotes than downvotes for approval upon a re-litigation, including votes from the initial discussion if they do not change, then they are a cut.
This especially applies to the characters listed below, who have been discussed excessively and repeated attempts to get them listed/cut may result in punitive action for bogging down the thread.
Definitely an MB
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers: Any sadism Darkrai displays is limited in effect thanks to the game's nature and any cowardice which can be inferred about him is Alternative Character Interpretation about his tactical retreats.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Azula's Villainous Breakdown is undone in the sequel comic Smoke & Shadow where she regains her composure and ends up stable and in control enough to count.
Definitely not an MB
- South Park: The show's frequent use of vulgar comedy and mean-spirited humor leaves any potential candidates devoid of the dignity or charm to qualify.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:15:22 AM
Gotta love Jaws!
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
to Yen'fay, Vicious, Lalo and Desire.
Abstain on Ao.
"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
to Lalo and Desire.
Oh, and today is my birthday!
Happy Birthday Shadao!
Was gonna do a preemptive writeup too, but I'll leave that to Bull though if he wants it:
What is the work?
U.S. Marshals is the 1998 follow-up to 1993's The Fugitive (an actual sequel with Dr. Richard Kimble and Gerard working together was planned, but never happened) which kind of gets a bum rap if you ask me (RDJ was likely trying to get off drugs at the time and hates remembering the film experience). The movie involves Deputy Marshal Sam Gerard investigating the escape of yet another fugitive, but rather than the killing or the reasons why the killing happened being centered around medical subterfuge, it's government espionage and national security. Kimble himself is a 100% All-Loving Hero and this guy…while a good man truly is more shady to say the least.
Who is he and what has he done?
Mark Sheridan (also Mark Warren) is a DSS agent who worked in both wet-work as well as drops and exchanges. However, he's framed as a traitor selling top secret info to the Chinese by both fellow agents John Royce and Frank Barrows who are the real culprits and tricked into making a drop with their contact Xien Chen so he can fall into a trap where he's caught by two other agents. Not realizing they're agents when they attack him, Sheridan kills them and then quickly flees when he realizes what he's done.
Sheridan leaves New York and with a new name (Mark Roberts) moves to Chicago where he develops a loving relationship with a waitress named Marie Bineaux and works as a tow truck drive until a car accident puts him in the hospital where his concealed gun results in police checking his prints, arresting him and intending to extradite him back. While on the plane, a passenger giving Sheridan looks arouses his suspicions—as he uses Detective Rosetti's? broken glasses arm to pick the lock on his cuffs—and when the guy tries to assassinate him, Sheridan forces him to miss—resulting in a hole being blown in the plane and making it crash land until it eventually ends up in a river. He helps Gerard to off-load and save the surviving passengers who are left and then wedges the flashlight between the seats so he can escape unnoticed.
Sheridan also takes a couple in a truck hostage with a shiv to get further—and when he realizes the woman subtly informed the cop at a road block, forces the guy to drive through and nearly hit the cop there—and later in the swamp, takes Royce—who he doesn't know is dirty yet—hostage and shoots Gerard in the vest so as to just stun him. Sheridan track Chen to a cemetery (using both camera footage at the Chinese Embassy and a disguise) where he discovers Barrows helped set him up and then avoids Chen's assassination attempt (which kills Barrows) while he and Gerard then each shoot at Chen. Sheridan then decides finding who framed him is not worth it and seeks to flee the country on a cargo ship that night with Marie, only to be forced to run without her.
Nearly executed in a confrontation with Royce—with Royce killing Deputy Marshal Noah Newman for walking in on it and telling Gerard it was Sheridan—Sheridan swings off the roof of the nursing home and eventually lands on a moving train to get away from a pursuing Gerard. He later fights Gerard on the ship (striking Gerard with a gun that he then points at him), ends up wounded and captured and then while drugged nearly finished off by Royce. Gerard confronts Royce with the truth—with Royce having ended up with an empty gun.
Sheridan yells out to Gerard when Royce pulls a concealed weapon. Gerard successfully kills Royce and shortly after that, Sheridan passes out. Sheridan soon ends up totally cleared of all charges, apologies to Gerard for shooting him—the two having earned the other's respect—and then in front of the courthouse, Sheridan reunites and leaves with Marie.
Is he magnificent?
Sheridan is exceptionally smart as he notices little tiny things here and there and is always ready for them (his powers of observation and being reactionary while quietly contemplating things first are both always on point). He's skilled with a weapon, he's meticulous when it comes to planning and executing his schemes and he uses very few resources along with what he's learned so far to piece things together (as well as plans to both avoid detection and get away too). It's only when Sheridan is both shot and drugged near the end of the movie that he's off his game.
Bastard? Too much?
While the two murders he commits in the film are men he only at first perceives as hostile enemies, Sheridan has a history of shadow ops that show he's worked in sketchy dealings before this and throughout the movie, has no trouble threatening (the couple in the truck) or attacking people (the cop at the roadblock and both Gerard and Royce with him shooting Gerard in the vest as mentioned before) in order to keep himself from being caught or killed. Sheridan again shows he's far less of a peaceful guy than Kimble by threatening Barrows as well when he catches him with info he thinks is crucial and all the other stuff I already brought up distinguishes him all the more. While Sheridan also seeks to at one point run and save himself rather than expose whoever framed him (the traitorous Royce of course), he doesn't do so out of cowardice, but rather for self-preservation in thinking it's a fool's errand to try as well as wanting to escape with Marie too and find peace.
Verdict?
That's an easy to the other fugitive. Haha.
Mine for Better Call Saul sometime tomorrow.
Edited by futuremoviewriter on Aug 29th 2022 at 10:22:06 AM
Very well deserved for Lalo, not least because he manages to completely disappear from Gus' radar and practically outsmarts him too. Need I also point out that he is the only villain in the show whose mere presence is so terrifying that Jimmy is unable to con his way out of the situation, reducing him into a stuttering mess. And he managed to talk himself out of a situation with Tuco of all people.
Also, Lalo leaves such a lasting impression on Jimmy that he simply doesn't buy it when he's told the second time that Lalo is dead, and is terrified of the idea that he is still out there somewhere years later.
Yes to Lalo, Desire, and Mark.
- NetWatch Agent Bryce Mosley is a veteran Netrunner protecting the Blackwall from the malevolent A.I. seeking to cross it and the Voodoo Boys seeking to release them. Mosley hires a gang of thugs called the Animals to protect his hidden operations under the guise of them claiming territory, and entraps Voodoo Boys matriarch Maman Brigitte in cyberspace leaving her comatose. When confronted by V working with them out of desperation, Mosley disrupts their comms to privately speak with V and warn them the Voodoo Boys always betray their outside assets. Proving this by removing a deadly virus placed in V's cyberware, Mosley in turn secretly places a tracker on V allowing his team to swarm their enemies at their most vulnerable and get away with his life while abandoning V to the angry survivors.
Yes to Lalo. Can't wait for the expansions on Gus and the writeups for the other two BB/BCS candidates.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
When you have a guy with a mouth as good as Jimmy's but with none of emotional hookups or moral scruples, of course he'll be harder to talk down.
Classy, Refined, Unstable
Happy birthday Shadao!
Alright EP time and for once, it's not a Skyrim candidate (although spoilers I'm still not done with that game.)
What is the work?
(Copied from the Trope Page) Colombiana is a 2011 action movie starring Zoe Saldana, written and produced by Luc Besson. The film follows Cataleya Restrepo, daughter of a member of a Colombian cartel. Her parents were killed when she was 9, forcing her to flee to Chicago to live with her uncle. Using her uncle's tutelage and own intelligence, Cataleya becomes a beautiful and deadly assassin driven by vengeance for her parents' deaths. Hazard a guess who's the character I'm proposing?
Who is Cataleya Restrepo and what does she do?
Cataleya Restrepo is the daughter of Fabio Restrepo, an associate of drug lord Don Luis who wants to leave the life of crime behind him. Unfortunately Luis doesn't take very kindly to that and has his right hand man Marco and some goons go to Fabio's house to kill him and his family. Although Marco has Fabio and his wife shot down, he tries to bargain with Cataleya (who's a child at the time) for something that her father had in return for anything she wants. Her response? To stab Marco in the hand and reply "To kill Don Luis". A chase ensues in which Cataleya escapes from Marco's thug via numerous runs, eventually sliding under a sewer entrance to avoid them. Making her way to America, Cataleya sneaks off to her uncle Emilio and asks him to teach her how to become a proper killer to enact her revenge.
Over the years, Cataleya becomes an accomplished assassin, leaving a trail of 22 bodies (all labeled "Bad Apples") with a calling card, the Cattleya flower drawn on them, to slowly get towards Don Luis and draw him out. You see one of her ways of operating as she fakes being a drunk driver to get locked into the same prison block as one of her targets in which she uses precision and technique with avoiding camera's and guards to take him out before returning back to her cell still seeming drunk and out cold. When leaving the next day, you see that Cataleya used fake finger prints so she can't be traced by her "drunk" driving incident.
Bit of movie stuff happens where it shows other characters such as the lead agent investigating Cataleya's murders, James Ross has finally got a lead with the markings on the victim's bodies. Cataleya's next target is shown to be some schemer called Willienote who's leeched billion's off people. She sneaks into his compound by hiding under the new guard's vehicle and slides out when they go to leave, then she swims through Willie's shark pool to get into his inner compound. She lures Willie out to the shark pool where (showing dead guards she's taken out and their bullets so Willie can't defend himself) and shoots him into it, letting his sharks devour him.
Unfortunately for Cataleya this is when problems start happening for her now. Emilio (who's already shown to be wary of Cataleya taunting Luis) want Cataleya out of the business for her safety and his family's after Marco slaughters 8 people including one of his friends. Her identity also gets discovered after her boyfriend Danny takes a picture of her which leads to a chain of events that allows James to discover who she is. James leads an attack force on Cataleya's set of flats to capture her but she manages to escape. With nowhere to go, she heads to Emilio's but discovers Marco went there first and killed Emilio and his family.
Cataleya ambushes James in his house and talks to him about the location about Luis, when James says he can't get it, because CIA protection. Cataleya threatens to kill his family as persuasion. At the office of the agent guarding Luis, Cataleya has James demand the location. When the agent smugly refuses, it's shown Cataleya is watching the conversation from afar with a sniper and shoots a warning shot.
With the location at hand, Cataleya discovers the floor plans of Luis' hideout and lays an attack on it. Although Marco is aware that she'll be coming, Cataleya catches them all off guard by shooting a rocket directly into the building. In the process, Cataleya massacres Luis' goons, eventually killing Marco in a brawl. After Luis escapes in Cataleya's van, they have a talk on the phone where he taunts her about how he can't be killed before it's revealed Cataleya's pair of Big Friendly Dogs are in there... who promptly maul the bastard to death. The film ends with Cataleya calling Danny one more time before hitching a ride onto a bus.
Is she magnificent?
The film showcases two of Cataleya's assassinations so her badassery isn't offscreen despite her racking up a count in the early 20s. Her identity being discovered? That was a chain reaction that started from something harmless (Danny taking a picture of her.) Even then the film showed that she realises and manages to evade the Swat invasion. Emotionally to her enemies she's cold and ruthless to. The only slip up against an enemy in emotions is her final fight against Marco but come on he murdered her parents and had Emilio's family killed with Emilio presumably tortured. Her taunting of Luis with her marks did backfire with the death of Emilio but considering the shit storm she reigns down on him, she makes up for it IMO.
Is she a bitch?
Oh fucking hell Cataleya is not the hero of the story. In the first assassination you see she does, it ends up with her framing a guard she knocked out unconscious but considering James discovers her identity, it's safe to assume they realise the guard was innocent. To pull off her "drunk driving" appearance, she rams her car into a police car with two guys in it. Her biggest bitch moment is when she threatens James' family to him, with her saying that he'd be going to a new funeral each week. However she's shown to care about Danny and doesn't go about shooting innocents only incapacitating.
Verdict?
Your call guys
Also gonna be off the thread for a couple days, going to hospital. Take care guys!
Oh, Mr. Kennedy, you entertain me. To show my appreciation, I will help you awaken from your world of clichés.
Will Gus get another entry for Better Call Saul? Given how much he does in both series, I think another entry is a given, seeing how one candidate from Fire Emblem Three Houses got a similar treatment in the sequel.
Big to Lalo and a late to Sosa.
Goku Black
Happy birthday Shadao
Catayla, Desire and Sheridan
Edit: Also sorry to hear that Wet
Edited by miraculous on Aug 30th 2022 at 3:14:51 AM
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
to Lalo, Yen'fay and Vicious.
Rav's already given his solution for Gus' entry. Let's please focus on some of the newer EPs and you take care and stay well there Wet: yes to Mark of many last names and Cataleya.
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
Yes to Mark and Cataleya.
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
to Lalo, Yen'fay, Vicious, Mark and especially Cataleya (whom I was thinking of proposing myself recently).
Yes to Cataleya.
It's been a busy first half of the week for me so I'll get back to Cyberpunk hopefully tomorrow.
On another note, recently finished the 12th Discworld novel Witches Abroad. The first half and even a bit later made me think easy Fairy Devilmother MB, but by the end my opinion shifted more towards complex Complete Monster. That conversation will go up once I finish with the Cyberpunk stuff.
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
Goku Black
Think Lilith from their has already been downvoted on the cm thread. She's really divorced from reality....
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
Let me try and find it. It seems to be initial purge stuff and I disagree having just read it, but that's not this forum so I won't discuss any note here.
Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
Dagded Dujardin
Mark and Cataleya
Cataleya. Zoe Saldaña kills 41.
Found this on the trope page for Valentine. Does Adam still keep with it or should I delete this entry? It's the last example under this trope.
- Domestic Abuser: All of the gals' current boyfriends leave something to be desired, mainly vices.
- Lily's boyfriend Max is a Casanova Wannabe who tries to smooch up other women in front of Lily, including her friends.
- Dorothy's boyfriend Campbell is a Gold Digger and Con Man only interested in her money.
- Kate's boyfriend Adam is a recovering alcoholic. This turns out to be the least of his issues since neither Max nor Campbell is a ruthless serial killer (as far as the audience knows).
Edited by k410ren on Aug 30th 2022 at 3:14:39 PM
"I'll show you the Dark Side." CM actors and kills
Goku Black
Does Adam do anything to Kate?
He seems to actually really like her.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
Kate mentions that when Adam drinks it scares her. Onscreen he never actually does anything to Kate, outside of making her think Dorothy went on a killing spree while it was really him killing all those people. And yes, it looks like he really does like her, he always has.
This used to be under the defunct Bastard Boyfriend trope without any alterations.
Edited by k410ren on Aug 30th 2022 at 3:20:22 PM
"I'll show you the Dark Side." CM actors and kills
Have a good one today:
What's the work?
Lola On Fire is a thriller novel by Rio Youers set in two time periods: Jimmy "The Italian Cat" Latzso was the top mob boss of Philly. A criminal empire built on corpses. It was dismantled, Jimmy left for dead, disfigured, thanks to one woman: Lola Bear, the greatest hit woman and enforcer on the east coast. An unbeatable, peerless, ruthless killer who one day did the one thing Jimmy couldn't abide:
She got a conscience. Lola vanished after....and cut to modern day where Brody is a young man looking after his beloved sister Molly, who has cerebral palsy. He runs into a woman named Blair who asks for his help...problem is, he gets roped into a dangerous scheme and is sent on the run...The man behind it? Jimmy Latzso.
At the center of it...
Who is Lola Bear?
Beautiful. Well trained. Deadly. Ruthless. Lola was one Jimmy's top killer. A ruthless, brilliant assassin who executes each job with grim finesse, Lola built Jimmy's empire, taking out countless people, from innocents to mobsters alike. But Jimmy's growing brutality began to make Lola doubt herself and finally, she decided to end Jimmy's empire herself.
Lola waged a one-woman war on Jimmy and destroyed his entire power base. Ending as she faced jimmy personally, Lola put three bullets into him and left him for dead. Lola left the game and vanished...Jimmy never forgot and never forgave. Years later, it turns out Brody and Molly are Lola's kids. Lola took up with an ordinary man she fell for, had two kids and as far as Brody and Molly knew? Vanished from their lives. Their father killed himself after.
It turns out Jimmy was the one who murdered him. Lola realized jimmy was onto her and her only way of saving her family was to disappear. Lola is off the grid and interacts seldom with other people, managing to watch her kids grow up on social media, while having occasional boyfriends...breaking off with one when she worries she's falling for him for real.
Jimmy and Blair intend to flush Lola out with her kids. See, Blair is just as good (if not better) than Lola in her prime and wants to prove it. Jimmy is obsessed with destroying her. Lola manages to cotton on to something and investigates, ending up showing up to rescue Brody and takes him in...Molly is taken captive and tortured by Jimmy as a message, which makes Lola go to where she knows is a trap...and springs her own.
With Brody helping, Lola cuts through Jimmy's careful web and ends up facing Blair in one on one. Problem is Blair is younger, faster and stronger. Lola's smarter, to the point she manages to turn the tide by using Blair's own knife that she stabbed into Lola, who manages to send her crashing down and flings her knife through Blair's skull at the end, as Brody kills Jimmy. Lola's last words to blair? "You were the best I ever beat."
At the end, Lola ends up with her kids, reunited and at peace.
Mitigating issues?
Like hell. Lola is a hit woman, a killer and she is fucking good at it. She's a ruthless, brilliant combatant, all but unstoppable in a fight. Like, we're talking John Wick levels of efficiency. She builds and takes down a massive criminal empire and years later, has lost none of the edge.
Her defining feature at the end is her love for her kids. She abandons them, but believes she has to in order to keep Jimmy from them and is noted to miss them every single day for years, watching their social media so she can always keep a close eye on them and watch them grow up.
Conclusion?
Easy keep.
Yes to Lola.
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]")
to Yen'fay. Gets out of a tough spot with a Thanatos Gambit while also fighting the good guys.
Everyone look at my sandbox