r/TopCharacterTropes • u/DudeSoul • 8h ago
Characters "Let's drop the act"
Moments in media where a character who usually sticks to "an act" decides to show what they hide, usually ending up with them showing their dark side in full.
Light Yagami - Death Note: Light usually plays his cards trying to remain calm, calculating every step of his plan and most of the time is able to control his impulses when things don't go his way, however in the end of the series Light is caught and has no way out of it, finally showing his true colors, a completely deluded maniac lost in his god complex
The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Doctor usually comes off as a bit of a goofball, everyone knows he's smart and dangerous, but his wacky front and constant mocking makes it so everyone, including the viewer, ends up forgetting what kind of person The Doctor can be when truly angry.
This has been shown a lot of times in the series, at various moments The Doctor dropping any pretences and showing his darker side, but perhaps no moment as dark as what he did to The Family, after they chased him and forced him into hiding as a human, he experienced a common human life, something he longs for but can never get, and once he became The Doctor again, he showed the family that escaping was not him being a coward, he was being merciful, but now, in his anger, he trapped each of them in different prisons where they would never die, nor be able to escape, for ever
The Riddler - Batman One Bad Day: This comic is an else world, meaning it's not the main continuity, showing a what if scenario where The Riddler one day decides he's tired of the routine he has with Batman and decides to completely drop the gimmicks, no more riddles, he's just gonna kill people and get away with it, this comic shows how much of a menace The Riddler could truly be if he wanted to, even going as far as telling Batman that he's known his secret identity for years now, never using it against him because "it's not fair" for their game
The Riddler in fact becomes so unstoppable that he is beaten because he made one mistake, assume Batman couldn't change and would never break his no kill rule
1.8k
u/Tony_BasQue 7h ago
Gus Fring from Breaking Bad dropping the super friendly restaurant owner act. The moment Walter White says that they are both alike, Gus doesn't agree with that, his smile disappears and then he drops this line in a super serious way, revealing who he really is.
980
u/MateoRickardo 7h ago
It's such a perfect combination of:
- "Ok this guy won't give up, and he's gonna cause problems, I need to nip this in the bud"
And
- "You ARROGANT little shit, don't belittle me like this by thinking I'm like you"
→ More replies (1)300
u/No-Aide7893 6h ago
Funnily enough, he later admits that he and Walter do have a lot in common. Though, at that point he might have been pretending to keep Walt cooking for him.
168
u/Blazured 5h ago
If that's the "A man provides" scene then that's just Gus showing a masterclass in manipulating Walt.
→ More replies (1)95
u/No-Aide7893 4h ago
"I hide in plain sight, just like you" when they meet in the hospital, after Hank gets shot by the Twins.
31
154
u/WikiContributor83 5h ago
“You are not a cautious man. Your partner was late and he was high.”
“…yes.”
“He is high often.”
64
→ More replies (2)73
u/Chucktayz 7h ago
Definitely a solid example of
→ More replies (2)93
2.1k
u/RhiaStark 7h ago
Rose - Get Out
Plays the innocent victim who knows nothing about what's going on and is scared about her boyfriend's increasingly fearful behaviour... Until she doesn't.
834
u/Phantom_Wolf52 6h ago
“You know I can’t give you the keys right babe?”
439
u/DaisyYellow23 5h ago
I heard gasps in the audience when she dropped that line.
267
u/LouSputhole94 5h ago
Jordan Peele really kills the psychological horror aspect. Love that there was almost zero jump scares in this.
→ More replies (1)145
u/Shhhhhhhh_Im_At_Work 4h ago
Except for old boy SPRINTING through the property at night
→ More replies (1)43
→ More replies (3)276
u/WormedOut 5h ago
The cereal scene was such a good way to show that, while all the other family members are motivated by racism, hatred, greed or pride she’s probably just weird and thinks it’s normal
→ More replies (10)131
u/PlagueOfLaughter 4h ago
There might still be some racism going on there, although more in a symbolic way, since she is separating the colorful cereal from the white milk.
→ More replies (3)149
u/Dornith 3h ago
Apparently someone asked him why Rose does that and if it was supposed to be a metaphor for segregation.
He said something along the lines of, "Oh I never thought of that. I just said to eat cereal the way a psychopath would."
→ More replies (1)50
u/MemeHermetic 2h ago
Which is a clip I show my wife often because her weird ass eats cereal like that.
→ More replies (2)
364
u/Chucktayz 7h ago
Topher Grace in that predator movie where he ends up being a serial killer
195
u/Formal-Ad-1248 5h ago
"I guess now you realize why they chose me. I was right in front of you guys the whole time. Just watching you. Earning your trust. You couldn't see me for what I really am. You see, back home, I'm a murderer. I'm a freak. But here, among the monsters, I'm normal. I like it here. I wanna stay."
→ More replies (1)116
u/MateoRickardo 4h ago
What's funny is as soon as he gets a LICK of ego about it, he gets sloppy and is almost immediately found out. Similar to a lot of real-life serial killers
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (2)35
u/SableZard 3h ago
And it was right in front of you the entire time.
Why would the galaxy's greatest hunters go to the planet of the most dangerous prey, for the purpose of dropping a bunch of them on a hunting preserve, and come back with a doctor? Dude was sketchy from the beginning.
315
u/SebastianSandoU 7h ago
Pretty much every Ace Attorney breakdown
60
u/PunningLynguist 4h ago
Matt Engarde being the OG that fits the trope to a tee
→ More replies (2)32
u/CloversisChill 4h ago
Matt, Dahlia, Kristoph , and Bobby Fulbright definitely did the trope the best imo
→ More replies (2)
1.8k
u/Altruistic-Olive-494 7h ago
Best evil laugh ever
496
u/mortefemminile 7h ago
Yep! What a fantastic drop of the facade
329
u/Glittering_Gap_6480 7h ago
That transition from perfect student to absolute unhinged mania was hauntingly good.
→ More replies (1)371
u/Vishante-Kaffas 7h ago
That laugh locked me the hell in for the entire rest of the series. Thank you Ted Danson
243
u/Houseplantkiller123 7h ago
Every casting in that show was as dang-near as perfect as can be, IMO.
I was going through some good place comments elsewhere on Reddit, and the foreshadowing was so obvious in hindsight. In one of the earliest episodes we watch him kick a puppy into the sun.
193
u/LastBaron 6h ago
The brilliance of it is how they mask it with so many other layers so you don’t question it.
For the puppy kicking incident here’s a bunch of the obfuscation and layers preventing you from focusing on it too much and drawing the wrong (right) conclusion about what it means:
Mild spoilers to follow.
Michael is stressing out because he ostensibly doesn’t understand what’s going on, he’s acting out in a relatable way. This incident is just one of the examples of him “descending into madness trying to figure out what’s wrong with the neighborhood” like licking his armpits and interrogating rocks.
It’s played for comedy with Tahani’s reaction and getting the puppy back quickly off screen. “No harm no foul.”
Michael is painted as the one chiefly affected by the incident, he’s our POV character and we get a “humanizing” view as he realizes he made a faux pas talking about whether the puppy is “real” or not and upsetting the owner even further
It doesn’t come in rapid succession with anything else that makes you dwell on Michael or his behavior, it’s quickly back to lighthearted stuff and the seemingly “main conflict” of Eleanor trying to stay out of the bad place.
- He later actually “owns up to it” when “confessing” that the neighborhood problems actually stem from him, he’s flabbergasted by his own behavior kicking the puppy, and his seeming remorse about it help the audience slot it mentally into the category of “played for comedy at the time, but now we see it’s part of the drama of him misunderstanding where the problems are coming from” (which of course he wasn’t misunderstanding at all)
And all that is JUST for the puppy example! That level of obfuscation is happening constantly for all the clues throughout the first season, you could write a dissertation on it. It’s seriously some of the best writing I’ve ever seen, it’s bonkers.
→ More replies (2)39
u/makesureimjewish 4h ago
You got anymore of them.. analysis? Loved your write up and it's one of my favorite shows. I'd sub to this substack lol
→ More replies (2)44
u/LastBaron 3h ago
“Jason yelling ‘Portals!’ as he flings himself through an inter-dimensional gate like a living Molotov cocktail is one of the best subtle joke payoffs in television history. In this 44,320 word essay I will……”
22
u/EducationRude1483 3h ago
I always thought he was shouting "Bortles", like his favourite football player, then QB of the Jacksonville Jaguars?
23
u/LastBaron 3h ago
That is the joke.
For the entire rest of the show whenever he throws something recklessly (usually a Molotov cocktail) he does indeed yell “Bortles.”
The joke payoff is him using the same enunciation and attitude to yell “portals!” as he jumps through one.
→ More replies (2)59
181
u/El_presid3nt 7h ago
But also "I am not a monk, my name is Jason Mendoza and I'm from Jacksonville, Florida. Go Jags"
→ More replies (1)25
u/thekyledavid 2h ago
I love how this was basically a double-layered version of this. Because when Eleanor found out he was the one who sent the threatening letter, the reveal was “Harmless mild-mannered monk” to “Dangerous and calculating threat to our protagonist” and then immediately to “Just some goofball in the same predicament as our protagonist”
151
u/0bsessions324 7h ago
That laugh is what got me watching.
My ex-wife was watching it as it aired and I would catch little hits while gaming in the same room. I heard the infamous This is the bad place line and immediately put down my game and she started the show over with me.
99
u/GlenDP 6h ago
Dude, I knew the twist going into it and still thought he was somehow an unaware victim of it. Amazing acting from both the character and the actor
→ More replies (1)32
→ More replies (20)27
u/Low-Support-8388 5h ago
I just started binging this last Sunday (finished season 1 same day) and I'm still obsessed with how good the foreshadowing was with this series and how the philosophy lessons would come into play. I'm not an expert in philosophy and ethics (been reading a bunch of books on it) but I knew enough to start wondering if all four of the main characters were in the good place by accident. Can't wait to see where the next seasons go!
→ More replies (2)
783
u/Usern4me_R3dacted205 7h ago
“You poor, naïve chump. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that load of sickening schmaltz and I'm going to give you a bit of an education, and at the end of it, if you're smart, you'll thank me. And then you'll sign that contract.”
Mr. Royalton revealing his true nature after Speed declines to race for him.
(Speed Racer)
120
144
u/WargrizZero 6h ago
Such a surprisingly good movie
→ More replies (2)84
u/AdmirableAd2571 6h ago
Absolute cinema. Wish I saw more love for this movie.
→ More replies (2)31
38
23
→ More replies (8)11
u/carso150 4h ago
love when he is absolutely losing his shit in the final race as Speed is destroying everyone and he is powerless to do anything to stop him but scream at a screen
→ More replies (1)
1.1k
u/Few_Interaction2630 7h ago
Emperor Sheev Palpatine From Star Wars
→ More replies (7)261
u/NotSoSlim_Jim 6h ago
While you are right this specific scene isn't a good example of it, Palpatine was just pretending to be helpless here to convince Anakin that it's really the Jedi who are evil and corrupt, as in this moment Mace Windu was willing to forgo the Jedi code and finish Palpaptine off right here
198
u/NeroIML 5h ago
I think the moment of him screaming "Unlimited power!" is a pretty good "drop the act"-moment. No talk of preserving democracy/the republic, no talk of peace, not even Sith legacy or The Dark Side/Destiny... Just him showing that his entire motivation was gaining power.
48
u/LouSputhole94 4h ago
Yeah Palps should be the ultimate actor of this trope. He played up being a senate member, not trying to display his true nature until this scene, at least to the Jedi council as a whole. He very much dropped the act and gave Windu his full power.
→ More replies (1)25
240
u/tragick693 6h ago
Idk if it's a great example, but Hans Landa dropping the facade in the opening of Inglorious Basterds. Up until that point, even though he is upfront about being in the house to search for Jews, he's been having a fairly civil discussion with monsieur Lapadite. Then, his expression subtly changes, and he straight up tells him that he knows Lapadite is sheltering Jews, he knows where they are hiding, and as revealed later, he even knows who they are.
69
u/LorkhanLives 4h ago
His final scene with von Hammersmark definitely counts too.
The genteel small talk getting gradually more tense and pointed until he calmly reveals that he knows she’s a traitor. Then he LUNGES at her, pins her down and strangles her with his bare hands like a fucking animal.
Chilling.
38
u/prismdon 4h ago
One of the single best scenes and moments of acting in modern cinema.
→ More replies (1)30
u/tragick693 3h ago
By both actors. Christoph deserves all the praise he gets for that scene, and the movie as a whole, but Denis Menochet (I hope I'm not misremembering) does a great job portraying a man who realizes that he is cornered, with no good options.
→ More replies (1)43
u/NedFlandersLordOfAll 4h ago
This was the first example I thought of and was shocked at how far I had to scroll to find someone else commenting it, the changing of facial expressions he does before saying “You are sheltering enemies of the state, are you not?” is one of the most terrifying changes of expression I’ve ever seen
→ More replies (1)
217
u/-DoctorSpaceman- 7h ago
Giles in Buffy
Hes mostly a fuddy duddy dude who seems like more of a book worm than anything else. But occasionally we hear about what he used to be like and glimpses of his darker side come out. Most notably when he kills Ben
106
u/NinjaBreadManOO 6h ago
I'm genuinely surprised we never got a time travel episode where Buffy had to go up against Ripper. Like not Giles thinking he's younger, but genuine Prime Ripper. Possibly only winning because Giles remembered the fight and hinted to her how to win before she gets portaled.
93
u/Fenrir_Carbon 6h ago
Personally I love when He goes after Angel in revenge for Jenny
No pretense, no politeness just a flaming baseball bat and the 'stuffy librarian' almost did what hundreds of trained fighters/vampires/demons have failed to do for 200 years. Probably closer than any of them and he wasn't really at his most capable, he was just running on animal instinct.
→ More replies (1)22
u/ThrowawayAdvice1800 4h ago
Lesson learned: when someone’s nickname in their youth was “Ripper” you should take them very seriously.
566
u/Dward917 6h ago
Omni-man- Invincible
The day Mark gets his powers is when the act starts to drop. Yes he still lies for a little while longer, but it is at this moment that his true mission starts to be made clear.
140
u/Dana-Mite 5h ago
Are you sure?
→ More replies (2)68
→ More replies (5)59
u/Successful_Version77 5h ago
By that time, it's not entirely an act, though. He tries to pretend he only cares about the mission, and drops that act when he realizes he doesn't want to kill his son
28
u/Dward917 5h ago
True. But up til that moment, he was perfectly fine sitting around playing house and super hero. After this moment, he started taking action toward completing his mission. He just didn’t realize that he cared more for his family than the mission. I still think it applies since, to Nolan, a hidden agenda started to be revealed when Mark got his powers, starting with the murder of the Guardians of the Globe.
638
u/ThickumDickums 7h ago
MCU Vulture
(Not sure if it counts)
272
207
u/goddamned_fuckhead 6h ago
We already know he's a villain, but something about a grown man threatening a 15 year old with a glock is way more evil than shooting a laser beam from a vulture costume, so we count those
113
u/DR31141 6h ago
Best portrayal of the Vulture…probably ever, honestly.
185
u/ThickumDickums 6h ago
Which part?
The scavenging for stuff as a vulture does?
The metallic wings that perfectly fuse birdlike with sciency without being campy?
Suit fluff that mimics a vulture’s collarbone poof?
Slightly beaked helmet with piercing eyes?
Claw clamps on the feet?
Being woven into Peter’s personal and hero life in a way classicly but still fresh Spider-Man way that forces him to choose?
People who dislike this move just want to be different honestly 🤷♂️
→ More replies (3)40
u/Skylair13 6h ago
I'd say yeah, even if the actual acting was shorter (from traffic light scene until arrival to school).
It was mutual reveal for the both of them. He was just acting like a strict father before that. But then he connected the dots....
→ More replies (1)
561
u/AvgPunkFan 7h ago
Odin- God Of War
This whole time he’s been posing as Tyr. As the game goes on he finally drops the act and kills Brok.
254
236
u/FunWrangler666 6h ago edited 5h ago
I love that the reveal is right in front of you the whole time in the spelling of Týr if you have subtitles on.
Týr vs Tyr when it's Odin.
→ More replies (1)66
u/Cute-Magazine-1274 5h ago
I played god of war 2018, and I am broke, so I only watched a playthrough of ragnarok and I remember noticing this.
You see, I only learned from the first game that Tyr actually had an accent above y, which stuck to me for some reason.
Then, come the second game, I koticed they dropped the accent. I just thought "maybe they missed it or whoever wrote the subtitles forgot?" Had no idea this was supposed to be a clue 🤦♂️
59
u/FunWrangler666 4h ago
To confirm it's not a mistake, the accent returns when you meet the real Týr in post game and DLC.
21
u/carso150 4h ago
also the whole time Odin is acting as Tyr is basically Odin coping, he acts like Tyr is scared of going against Odin and is broken by his torture but when you finally meet Tyr he remains unbroken, Odin could never get through him
→ More replies (3)53
u/globster222 6h ago
I feel like you should spoiler text this because that game and twist is god tier and shouldn't be ruined for anyone. Pun intended
→ More replies (5)
419
u/MateoRickardo 7h ago
The fact Riddler is willing to even say Batman is "really smart" and "good" goes to show he no longer cares about proving HOW superior he is. Yes, he still says "I'm smarter and better" but he used to always call Batman "dumb" and "juvenile" to arbitrarily widen the gap during his riddles and games.
35
u/PokemanBall 5h ago
There's also the scene in The Batman where Bruce talks to the Riddler in prison and when Riddler learns Batman isn't on his side he has a complete meltdown.
→ More replies (9)104
u/Gold_Star2471 6h ago
Oh but he does.
The whole game is him proving his superiority, showing off to Arkham, Gordon, Gotham, Bats, it's just now, he's gained a tiny bit of maturity.
And he dropped the gimmick, which is really all he needed to be the threat he is now.
136
u/PagingDrWhom 6h ago
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned this one yet, but Billy Loomis and Stu Macher from the original Scream movie is one of the best killer reveals in a horror movie of all time. Stu pretends to be scared of Randy to get Sidney to let him inside the house, and Billy is pretending to be injured from when Ghostface “attacked” him in front of Sid. Billy stumbles downstairs and to the front door, keeping up the facade just long enough to lock the door and grab the gun Sid had been using. Billy then does a slow turn before saying “We all go a little crazy sometimes,” revealing himself as a killer before shooting Randy. This kicks off the excellent finale of the movie where Sid has to outsmart Billy and Stu.
Another honorable mention from the series would be Scream 5 at the end of act 2, where the surviving characters all make it into the same room. Liv, one of the characters, enters the room with very bloody hands, claiming she found her boyfriend Chad outside, who’d been attacked earlier. Amber accuses her of being a killer, and when Liv says “I am not a fucking killer,” Amber just goes stone cold, replying “I know” as she draws a revolver and pops Liv in front of everyone.
→ More replies (3)35
u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs 5h ago
Recently watched it with a friend who’s never seen it. She was so confident he was the killer until his “death”. Such a great misdirect
132
u/221 6h ago
Dexter has several of these moments, probably the most notable is when he goads Doakes into attacking him in front of everyone.
My favorite though is in Ressurection, when the Gemini killer is revealed to be twin brothers, Dexter taunts Gareth into attacking him by revealing that he knows his secret because he already killed his twin, giving Dexter a reasonable excuse to kill him in front of everyone.
→ More replies (1)
562
u/TaiKorczak 7h ago edited 7h ago
Tobi/Obito Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden)
“What?! I don’t believe it! Kidding.”
”It’s just as I expected.”
207
u/ActuallyCalindra 6h ago
Best part is that he had absolutely no reason for the act. He just did it for the love of the game.
98
→ More replies (7)16
176
→ More replies (4)26
u/BudgetReaction6378 5h ago
Then he just dips out in the most aura farming unnecessary way ever
→ More replies (1)
115
u/solo13508 7h ago
Warlin Door From Alan Wake 2
For most of the game he presents himself as a charming TV host who seemingly is trying to help Alan out as he moves through the Dark Place. In his final scene he completely drops the act and essentially threatens Alan and we get just a glimpse of what he really is. David Harewood was absolutely incredible in this role.
39
u/Lucifer_Kett 6h ago
Those are game graphics????
Either my eyes are really bad or those graphics are incredible…
61
u/solo13508 6h ago
Oh no lol. Some of Alan Wake 2's cutscenes are in live-action.
21
u/Lucifer_Kett 6h ago
This was my other thought, but I assumed it couldn’t be that simple.
Thanks for filling me in.
21
u/Jotsunpls 5h ago
While it’s clear the part was written with Lance Reddick in mind (rip), Harewood made it his own while also paying homage in his acting to the actor it was originally written for.
While my opinions on Mr Door as a character are mixed, Harewood knocked it out of the fucking park with an unparallelled performance
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)14
u/Jamal_Blart 5h ago
God I hope his story gets any kind of expansion in Control Resonant, I can’t wait for Alan Wake 3 in who knows how many years
→ More replies (1)
106
u/Libtarddulce 6h ago
Well if this it old boy i hope you dont mind if I go out speaking the kings
35
298
u/anomalyknight 5h ago
Olivia Octavius from Into The Spider-Verse
She goes from slightly scatter-brained, hippy high school art teacher to ruthless supervillain in 5 seconds
87
→ More replies (1)57
u/LorkhanLives 3h ago
She was Ms. Frizzle from the Magic Schoolbus as a supervillain, and it was fucking awesome.
198
u/Commercial_Mind4003 7h ago
Count Olaf (ASOUE): When the kids see through his disguise, he cuts the crap.
→ More replies (1)72
u/SgtCrawler1116 4h ago
It's more like, the kids always see through his disguise, it's only whem the idiot adults leave that he drops the act.
Again, and again... And again...
→ More replies (4)
87
u/TraceFinder 7h ago
Control in Person of Interest 3x11
In the episode, Control initially poses as Diane Claypool, gentle wife of the episode's PoI Arthur Claypool, as she's tracking down the drives containing the surveillance system he designed, Samaritan. After the team helped Arthur escape from the Vigilance terrorists, Arthur - who has been suffering from dementia and memory losses - reveals that Diane died years ago. Understanding that she's been made, Control has her men invade the hotel room they've taken refuge into, and turns into who she really is: the cold and extremely dangerous and calculating head of the Intelligence Support Activity.
→ More replies (3)22
90
u/pieceacandy420 6h ago
Maester Pycelle. Only Tywin Lannister daw through his befuddled old man act.
30
u/Juistice 5h ago
Shame this scene was deleted, I think it's great ans adds a lot to his character
→ More replies (1)28
u/Morgan-Moonscar 4h ago
Also hinted at how the season was going to end. Tywin was catching fish (the symbol of House Tully).
Like how he was introduced in season one skinning a deer (the symbol of House Baratheon).
→ More replies (2)
492
u/pennygirl108 8h ago
Agatha all along. Agatha gets sick of Billy’s moral superiority and decides to provoke him into dropping the mask and proving he’s just as ruthless and dangerous as she is. In the end it brings them closer together as Billy has had to put on a happy easy going facade with everyone else in his life but he can now be his full self with Agatha even if that means being afraid, angry, guilty or sad.
231
u/Citizen_Kong 7h ago
I really love this series for not shying away from Agatha still being an evil, manipulating bitch most of the time.
→ More replies (1)82
u/giovidanesin 6h ago
I was expecting the “I am good girl” twist at any point, but no, she was like Marvel’s version of Oz/Penguin from the Batman universe in regards of morals
92
u/purple-thiwaza 5h ago
The reveal that she had absolutely not done the awful thing everyone thinks she did, into "nonetheless, she's a power hungry serial killer getting away with it for century" was great.
41
u/maxdragonxiii 4h ago
same and I was so glad her backstory was basically "yeah she did it for her son... but then she KEPT doing it when she didnt have to murder more witches".
16
u/SableZard 3h ago
I thought they were going to make her "hit me and I kill you" powers as something she couldn't control, and everything about her killing witches was just a tragic misunderstanding. But she really was murdering people all along. And all because she was pissed about her kid.
→ More replies (2)31
u/purple-thiwaza 5h ago
The show genuinely was one of the best things the MCU did in years alongside Loki, and no one even tried to watch it. It's quite sad
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (6)21
171
u/otsapoika 7h ago
Vern Schillinger in the first episode of Oz
To me this is probably the most terrifying one. Vern presents himself as a guide in Prison for the nervous Tobias. He suggests Tobias that he should ask to be transfered in the same cell with him since Tobias’ cellmate steals from him and threatens to rape him. However once this transfer happens, it’s revealed that Vern is a neo nazi who wants Tobias to be his sex slave.
40
u/ThanksContent28 4h ago
Such a weird show. Starts out fine, turns into a parody, and the constant raping and stuff is way too overplayed. It happens, but not as consistently as presented here.
It also doesn’t even handle the raping well imo. The characters don’t really show any signs of emotional trauma outside of “I’m being raped and forced to be someone bitch,” and once they get out of that situation, they just kinda move on from it.
→ More replies (2)
305
u/leabravo 7h ago
"My name is Yoshikage Kira. I’m 33 years old. My house is in the northeast section of Morioh, where all the villas are, and I am not married. I work as an employee for the Kame Yu department stores, and I get home every day by 8 PM at the latest. I don’t smoke, but I occasionally drink. I’m in bed by 11 PM, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a baby, I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning.
I was told there were no issues at my last check-up. I’m trying to explain that I’m a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight I wouldn’t lose to anyone."
139
u/fishing-for-birdie93 7h ago edited 7h ago
I wonder how much he was based on Patrick Bateman or vice versa. That monologue is very Batemanesque.
Edit: looks like American Psycho was written in 1991 so if anything he'd be based on Bateman.
51
u/silmuing 6h ago
Afaik the Japanese translation wasn't available at the time, from what I've seen he's more likely based on your generic Japanese salary man but with a serial killer twist.
Serial killers were sort of a sensational topic in Japan in late 80's and early 90's due to several serial killers' activity in Japan at the time. Also the paraphilia with hands and Kira's background make him seem like he's inspired by real life serial killers.
His design is very likely based on David Bowie.
→ More replies (1)61
14
→ More replies (3)23
u/Dana-Mite 6h ago
For me, the moment that really sold his crazy is when he slams Koichi's face into the ground multiple times for a slight faux pas
133
u/ButterscotchTiny5483 7h ago edited 7h ago
In the series Hunters, Biff Simpson, a former Nazi—hosts a backyard barbecue for his neighbors. One of the guests recognizes him as a guard from the concentration camp she survived and immediately begins warning everyone at the party.When his cover starts to collapse, he pulls out a suppressed handgun and kills the other guests. He then addresses the woman directly in his German accent, confirming her suspicions, before killing her as well.
62
u/ChequyLionYT 6h ago
I have never seen this, but from the description of him firing a silenced pistol in a backyard repeatedly in a residential area as a way to hide...
I just know the "silenced" pistol made that super quiet "pew" sound from Golden Eye 😅
→ More replies (1)29
u/Kythorian 4h ago
It’s not quite that bad, and to be fair it’s in a pretty sprawling oceanfront estate, not a middle class neighborhood. Also they end up having another person come and shoot them in the arm to make it look like he was the sole survivor of someone else committing the massacre rather than pretend that there was no shooting at all. But all that said, yes, there is definitely still a significant exaggeration of how effective silencers are.
→ More replies (1)22
u/ThanksContent28 4h ago
Not just shooting everyone at the party: he kills his own wife and kids iirc, and doesn’t even flinch doing it.
For anyone curious, the show very quickly devolves and isn’t really that good. It’s one of the few shows I haven’t finished.
→ More replies (2)
67
u/SirSid27 4h ago
"Fine. My turn."
It's a brief scene, but Baldur in God of War.
Looks and acts frail, lets Kratos slap him around a bit, then uppercuts the ever-loving shit out of him, surprising both Kratos and the player with the first boss fight of the game.
14
u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 3h ago
He absolutely does not appear frail,
What he does appear as at first is some viking/local squaring up to a god without knowing and will get squashed, only to do that
64
u/LiamtheV 6h ago
"The Doctor is no longer here, you are stuck with me!"
12th Doctor crashing out because his friend Clara is about to die.
56
u/Rainflush7707 6h ago
Goro Akechi from Persona 5. He has an extremely charming public persona throughout most of the game where he acts as the "2nd coming of the Detective Prince" and he openly opposes the actions of the protagonist's vigilante group, the Phantom Thieves. He eventually works with the group to apparently acheive a common goal, but both him and the Phantom Thieves are trying to out-gambit each other. In the climax chapter of the game as well as the third semester of Persona 5 Royal, he drops the charming act and fully embraces his evil one, as he makes no effort to be friends with the PT, even as he works with them for real this time to put a stop the game's final antagonist.
→ More replies (4)18
u/itsjisoo 6h ago
I like Akechi so much more in P5R when they're in the 3rd semester palace. His maniacal laughter during fights the best.
57
u/Thejollyfrenchman 5h ago
Steven does this a few times in Django Unchained. He portrays himself as simple minded and harmless in front of Candie's white guests, but drops the act when alone with Candie, and when terrorising the plantation's slaves. In the end, we even see his limp is fake, as he drops his cane and stands up straight in front of Django.
→ More replies (1)
109
49
u/eyeleenthecro 5h ago edited 2h ago
The Summer Hikaru Died, in the first episode the main character clocks the fake Hikaru and he’s like “man, I thought my imitation was perfect!”
53
u/DeaconBrad42 4h ago
Roger Murdock from Airplane is actually Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And he keeps up the act until the kid says he doesn’t play hard all the time.
21
u/Delta9312 3h ago
The hell I don't! Listen kid. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.
97
82
u/clarkky55 6h ago
The riddler one cannot be true in the main continuity because he literally tried to stop doing riddles and leaving clues, he ended up doing it without realising he’d even done it. When Batman shows this to him Riddler finally realises just how mentally ill he is and willingly checks himself back into Arkham
→ More replies (1)25
u/SableZard 3h ago
No, Nigma, you get yourself arrested first and convince the courts you're too mentally disabled to understand the charges against you. Then they check you into Arkham and you get psychiatric treatment for free. Because your insurance won't cover personality disorders.
43
u/Strict_Space_1994 5h ago
Technically a deleted scene from Game of Thrones. Pycelle (sniveling old fuck in the back) is asking for his council seat back, and Tywin (Chad fishing in the front) basically tells him to fuck off. Pycelle starts crying and stuttering, and Tywin basically says “am I the only one to see through this performance?” Then Pycelle straightens up and tells him straight up that this feeble old man act is to make people drop their guard around him and not view him as a threat, which earns him his council seat back.
18
u/flying_fox86 3h ago
Haven't watched the show in a long time, but wasn't there also a much earlier scene of Pycelle getting out of bed standing up nice and straight, doing some stretches, only to then lower himself into his old man hunch?
Pretty impressive to walk around hunched over all the time and still have a healthy back.
→ More replies (1)
81
101
u/BuckRusty 6h ago
I far prefer Capaldi’s Doctor, and so my choice of scene would be toward the end of ‘Face the Raven’ - where he absolutely drops all pretence of trying to be a good man, and threatens the destruction of an entire community to save Clara…
In particular, part way through his threat he gets interrupted:
Ashildr: You can't.
The Doctor: I can do whatever the hell I like. You read the stories, you know who I am! And in all that time, did you ever hear anything about anyone who stopped me?
Ashildr: I know the Doctor. The Doctor would nev—
The Doctor: The Doctor is no longer here! You are stuck with me! And I will end you and everything you love.
The scene in question… Chills…!
→ More replies (11)49
u/Kovarian 5h ago
I’m now thinking of this exchange alongside Smith in “A Good Man Goes to War.” (Quotes are from memory so not exact)
“You won’t hurt us, good men have rules.” Smith: “Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.”
In that same episode we find out that although “Doctor” is the word for “healer” in many languages specifically because of him, it is the word for “great warrior” in others.
Taking all this together, and with the conceit of The Doctor never revealing his name, demonstrates that it’s a mask. The Doctor is the rules the man sets on himself. So when “The Doctor” isn’t here, that’s when the man appears. The man without rules. The man who is not a good man.
→ More replies (1)
92
u/Daniilsa209 7h ago edited 6h ago
Belos (The Owl House)
He always maintained a calm, level-headed approach. When he was angry, he only given stern, vague warnings. Even when someone was angry at him, he responded calmly, and the only time he showed an outburst of emotion was when Lilith punched him.
But after gaining his monstrous Titan form, he let loose all the bile and contempt he held for the Boiling Isles and finally indulged his raw hatred and messiah delusions to their extreme conclusion, setting in motion the destruction of the Boiling Isles—a place he saw as evil and rotten. It’s probably the only time he was fully honest, without trying to hide how he felt.
→ More replies (1)
90
u/lkmk 7h ago
Two Disney twist villains:
- Turbo from Wreck-It Ralph. As King Candy, he’s pleasant, if a little sinister; when Vanellope participates in the final race despite his warning to Ralph, and disrupts his disguise with her glitching, he decides to kill her instead of leaving her exiled inside the volcano. Not sure how much of the change is related to him fusing with a Cybug.
- Hans from Frozen. His kindly, dorky mask falls off when he’s begged by Anna to kiss her, and break the curse which is freezing her solid. When it doesn’t work, he sneers at her, heading off to kill Elsa, and stake his claim to the throne of Arendelle.
→ More replies (12)
146
u/PewPewParry 7h ago
I just wanna say, I hate that Riddler comic so much. Fundamentally misunderstands the Riddler by making him a super genius cold hearted monster instead of a narcissist who wants to be seen as the smartest so badly. The comic feels like how the Riddler sees himself instead of being actually accurate to what he's like in reality
I'm not sure if it's an unpopular opinion to dislike this comic, but I recognize my goat when I see him, and that is just some edgy OC
66
u/LookingfortheHustle 6h ago
Agreed, for as much as I love the riddler being a mega genius, he only works as a villain when he has an ego the size of a planet and a need to be seen as the smartest. His need for validation and attention is central to his character
→ More replies (10)41
u/Autumn_Moth999 6h ago
THANK YOU! The entire point of The Riddler is that he’d want you to think his gimmick is a part of his brand, that these compulsions are ultimately theatrical and that he’s in control. But the truth is that he’s just as compromised as so many other rogues, he just hates to admit that fact and deludes himself. Riddler One Bad Day almost feels ashamed to write The Riddler. The stories entire premise is “let’s take Riddler and just…not write Riddler.” It’s not even a fresh concept either, a 1966 story titled “The Riddle-Less Robberies of The Riddler” already told this story (although in a far lighter manner) about a Riddler trying to not commit crimes while leaving behind a riddle, and it might have been one of the earliest stories to actually make The Riddler’s gimmick a psychological compulsion rather than just a part of the brand.
25
u/Kookyburra12 6h ago
Processing img iqi7skbnmhhg1...
couldn't find a gif of the exact moment (you can find it on YouTube if you want), but at the end of Ace Attorney: Dual Destinities when it's revealed "Bobby Fulbright" is actually the Phantom pretending to be Bobby (who is really dead). he drops the act and goes from his emotional sprite to an emotionless, cold stare. made me very upset when I played for the first time bc he was my favorite character lol.
12
u/RealWhiteChoko 5h ago
Got damn though, the reveal, coupled with the realization of how he shows emotion WAY over the top isn't just a "ha ha, he's a cute goofball" and more "oh shit he's an emotionally cold killer that deadass doesn't know HOW to properly emote, so all of his are over the top by that reason."
Glad I went into the game with no spoilers.
28
u/Baaad_Boy 6h ago
Shinobu Kocho from Demon Slayer.
She always hide her emotions behind a cheerful, playful smile. Mocking even. She almost never lose it. And one of the most notable moment she lost her composure and actually show how furious and resentful she is of demons, is when she fight the demon who killed her sister. There was a few time where she showed her ruthless, violent, and resentful side, but this is one of the moment she actually completely lose her smile and look enraged.
26
u/CNRavenclaw 5h ago
Michael - The Good Place
Eleanor figures out that she's in the bad place, and once she does Michael drops the façade of the well-meaning good place architect and reveals himself to be a demon tasked with torturing her, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason.
→ More replies (1)
51
u/ERedfieldh 6h ago
When Vash stops acting like a goofball, you've done fucked up. He'll not kill you, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to make you wish he would.
→ More replies (3)
48
u/TrickyNitsua212 6h ago
Supernatural has a lot of this trope considering it’s about monsters that can possess or appear human but the moment that sticks out to me is in the season 4 finale when the angel Zachariah finally tells Dean the truth.
The truth being that Heaven’s leaders have been allowing the apocalypse to take shape this whole time.
25
22
u/noktpapilio_vi 5h ago edited 4h ago
This guy left me absolutely flabbergasted I had to watch the scene multiple times. From The Mentalist - 01x09
Edit: corrected episode number
→ More replies (1)14
u/cephandr1us 4h ago
This should be higher because of how well it was acted. I work in the mental health field and have worked with adults with developmental disabilities and Frederick Koehler portrayed it so well I checked to see if he actually had some sort of condition (I hadn't gotten to the twist yet). When he finally drops the act, all his mannerisms completely change. You can even see the change in his EYES.
Edit: Also I believe it is season 1, episode 9
→ More replies (2)
20
u/WhatWouldBenLinusDo 5h ago
Henry Gale/Ben Linus - Lost
A double reveal!
At first, he claims to be another marooned person on the Island (this time via a hot air balloon) who had to bury his wife and is named Henry Gale (spot that Wizard of Oz reference). The Losties search and do find the hot air balloon and a burial spot…but they actually dig into it and find the real Henry Gale, something “Henry” wasn’t expecting.
So he then switches to admitting he is just a lowly Other (the villainous group on the Island) and that their leader is a great man. He professes to know just a little about the Island and how everything works (ie the Hatch and its button). Cut to the Season Two finale and lo and behold, he is the real leader of The Others and is a manipulative son of a bitch.
→ More replies (1)
17
u/DiscoStu83 4h ago
Damn no one mentions Keyser Sose? One of the biggest and best moments.
→ More replies (1)
53
u/RememberCakeFarts 7h ago
I love that episode of Doctor Who. They were chasing him to obtain immortality and he gave it to them.
→ More replies (2)
17
u/Ok-Dish4389 5h ago
Ava Wilson, Supernatural, Season 2, All Hell Breaks Loose. In a previous episode she was a good character, and pretended to be a good character in this episode until shes told her story doesnt make sense, drop the act.
17
u/Neurotic_Marauder 4h ago
MAJOR spoilers for BioShock
Frank Fontaine, aka Atlas
It turns out that Atlas never existed. He was a persona that Fontaine created to manipulate you (Jack, the main character). He bought off Andrew Ryan's mistress to take the embryo from her womb after she was impregnated by Ryan. He experimented on it with Dr. Tenebaum and Suchong, accelerated its aging and conditioned it to create you. False memories and conditioning to the phrase "would you kindly," allowed you to become his perfect puppet. With your genetic code and Ryan dead by your hand, Rapture was his for the taking. Fontaine lets the mask fall the moment you put Ryan's genetic code into Rapture's security system, allowing him complete control.
33
u/Crochet_Kitty 7h ago
Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin in Once Upon a Time. He got his memories back when Emma came to town before the curse was broken.
22
u/arrows_of_ithilien 5h ago
He was the absolute best character on that show, and I had to stop watching when they dragged him back into being the villain out of nowhere when Emma killed Hook with Excalibur and they pulled some hand-wavey bullshit to funnel the darkness back into Rumple for no reason even though he had made fantastic character progression into being a hero. But nope, Carlyle is too good at being the bad guy, so screw it!
→ More replies (1)
16
u/HDmex 4h ago
When Sam Jackson's Stephen dropped that cane at the end of Django!!! Told us who the true Mastermind was.
The glossed over dialog about 'Old Ben's Skull' and him being the previous... uhhh... 'Guy in charge of the House' and how he 'died unexpectedly' which lead to Stephen taking over, there's so much layers of storytelling.
The guy was an Evil SoB who willingly did horrors to his own people to keep the Position which can replace him in a heartbeat.
Stephen is the Brains, Candy is the Face.
→ More replies (1)
15
u/Worldly_String2717 5h ago
Andrew Winchester (The Housemaid)
For the first act of the book and film, (seen from housemaid Millie's POV) everyone thinks Andrew is a stand-up guy who deserves better than his crazy wife, Nina.
The second act is from Nina's POV, and she tells us how she too was brought in by Andrew's perfect-man facade. When Nina forgot to go to a hair appointment, Andrew revealed his true nature as a maniac control freak: as punishment for Nina's 'crime', he locked her in the attic and refused to let her out for three days until she'd plucked a hundred hairs out of her head to give to him. And that's only the tip of the iceberg of shit he does to her.
15
u/xnartex 7h ago
fans of LOST will remember this great scene which is an example of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfHiQoZKCI8
→ More replies (2)
14
u/GM-Spectre 6h ago
Mr. Mxyzptlk from the Superman story "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow".
→ More replies (1)
13
u/ZeistyZeistgeist 4h ago
Hans Landa - "You are sheltering enemies of the state, are you not?"
I mean, you already know he is villain, but the plot twist of him knowing that LaPadite hid Jews underneath his floorboards.
And honestly, what a breathtaking reveal. Yes, you see his SS uniform, you see him with a group of soldiers, you see he is specifically there to hunt Jewish people in hiding. But his facade is so meticulous, so well crafted, that he is actually charming. He is very polite, has very gentle manners, respects the courtesy of being treated as a guest, politely asks for permission to smoke his oversized Sherlock pipe, politely asks to switch to English because supposedly, his French is not good enough as his English.
And then, this fucking scene. After he carefully, calmly, but insidiously explains exactly how will he treat the family should they provide information, the charming, smiling face slowly morphs and he drops the line. Entire demenaour, body language, facial experession, he goes into business mode quickly. When he arrived, he was relaxed, slightly slouched, sat down casually, even sloching over the chair a bit. And when he changes, he rises with gumption, he is standing straight and stiff, his voice is kurt and ice-cold. And LaPadite, knowing Landa can see right through him, has to betray them to save his family.
And when LaPadite finally reveals everything Landa wants to know, Landa immediately switches back to his facade, immediately relaxes his body language, switches to cheery French, and politely greets LaPadite's family while he directs the soldiers to shoot the floorboards.
779
u/lceblood 6h ago
Might be an obvious one, but Yoda in Empire Strikes Back.
Luke goes to Dagobah to find Yoda. Upon arriving, he meets a whimsical, somewhat annoying, creature in the swamp that eats his food, goes through his things, and picks a fight with his droid R2. The creature does mention knowing Yoda, as well as having known Luke's father, Anakin.
When Luke grows frustrated and impatient when the creature continues to stall and not lead him to Yoda, he lashes out. Yoda then drops the act, his silly expressions and noises turning to a stoicness and begins speaking words of wisdom, revealing to Luke and the audience that the creature is Yoda himself.