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An Entity of Type : owl:Thing, within Data Space : 134.155.108.49:8890 associated with source dataset(s)

You're watching or reading something, and you're approaching a moment where the villain is on the spot. He's got a choice: continue being his old bad self, or do something nice. He does something nice. Aww, a Heel Face Turn, isn't that sweet?

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  • Adopt the Dog
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  • You're watching or reading something, and you're approaching a moment where the villain is on the spot. He's got a choice: continue being his old bad self, or do something nice. He does something nice. Aww, a Heel Face Turn, isn't that sweet?
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  • You're watching or reading something, and you're approaching a moment where the villain is on the spot. He's got a choice: continue being his old bad self, or do something nice. He does something nice. Aww, a Heel Face Turn, isn't that sweet? But it's more complicated than that. What if it's not the villain who does it? What if it's the protagonist in a story of Gray and Gray Morality? What if you weren't at all sure the character was going to do something good, because everything was lining up for a World Half Empty Downer Ending? That's Adopt the Dog: it's when, to quote a wise old man, someone chooses to do what's right instead of what's easy; if Kick the Dog is when the character decides to be bad, then Adopt the Dog is when he decides to be good. And for greatest effect, Adopt the Dog applies itself to a character who was sort of morally neutral. This isn't really a Heel Face Turn; this is a character who decides to be a Face after, previously, being neither. In addition to having an effect on the character (declaring themselves Good instead of Neutral, occasionally followed by death), it also has a profound effect on the audience. When you're dealing with morally ambiguous protagonists and (more often than not) spending a lot of time in the drowning end of the Sliding Scale pool, you're never sure what the ending's gonna be like, who's gonna win, or whether you're going to be happy about it. Adopting The Dog is when the audience believes it might be possible to Earn Your Happy Ending - or, for that matter, that the character has earned it - and begins to actively be on that character's side. Adopt the Dog is not just about the character's choice, it's also how that choice completely changes the tone and message of the story. As previously mentioned, can lead to Earn Your Happy Ending, Redemption Equals Death / Redemption Earns Life, and Big Damn Heroes, since there finally is a Hero who can Big Damn. Compare Last Second Chance, in which the character is given the choice, instead of making it out of their own heart. Contrast The Atoner: a character who Adopts The Dog may not have actually done anything that requires atonement.
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