How TSITP plays the victim card for Conrad and Belly

Community Discussion

"Freudian Excuse: [...] Most importantly, the Freudian Excuse does not involve the character growing or changing; it explains why they haven't changed, and in fact, often serves as a signal that they cannot and never will. [...]"

"Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: [...] Sometimes, characters that have gone through something horrible believe that they have the moral high ground or that they are in the right for their actions, no matter how evil they are or who the targets are. [...] If a Freudian Excuse is used as an "explanation", then it's meant to give a reason why a character acts this way. If it's a "justification," it means that the narration is giving the character the right to act that way. [..]"

"Playing the Victim Card: [...] On the rare occasion a good guy tries to perform this action, they are usually branded as whiners because Might Makes Right.

This may take the form of a Freudian Excuse if the villain legitimately believes what they're saying—see Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse when such cases overlap with this trope. Compare What Is Evil? and Playing Sick. If the fans actually believe the villain, that’s Draco in Leather Pants. Overlaps with Blaming the Cuckold if an adulterer tries to paint the one they cheated on as the bad guy. Compare/contrast Posing as Your Own Victim. A Self-Righteous Bully might do this while also claiming that their victims are the real bullies. False Abuse Accusation can be a form of this.

It's also rather common for psychological abusers to combine this with the taboo of victim blaming, simultaneously discrediting their accusers and casting themselves as the real victim in the scenario. This is a common enough ploy that it has been given the Fun with Acronyms nickname DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. In other words, a slightly more erudite "No, You!" A variant of this is the Desperate Abuser Apology (what psychologists refer to as "hoovering"): an abuser tries to make the victim believe they truly regret their actions and that things will be better if they come back to them... While making the victim think that he/she/they are the bad guy for hurting their abuser's feelings. [...]"

Source: tvtropes.org

Posted Mar 8, 2026, 8:04 PM UTC

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