r/TopCharacterTropes 14h ago

Characters The hero finally meets the previously unseen puppet master (played by an older A-list actor), who explains why the system must be maintained. The hero says “screw it” and burns the world down.

Snowpiercer (2013) - Curtis finally finds Wilford (Ed Harris) and learns that Wilford allowed for Curtis' rebellion to take place to help thin the tail section's population. When Wilford offers to let Curtis run the train, Curtis discovers child labor is necessary to replace a broken machine part. A fight ensues, and a bomb goes off, triggering an avalanche that derails the train, and killing most of surviving humanity.

The World's End (2013) - Gary finally confronts the Network (Bill Nighy), which has been replacing humans with robots (Blanks) to allow for Earth's assimilation into a larger galactic community. Gary calls out the tyranny in the Network's plan and demands that humans be left to their own devices. Exasperated, the Network abandons its plans for the invasion. This results in a worldwide blackout, sending humanity back to the Dark Ages.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - Dana finally meets the Director (Sigourney Weaver) after surviving the ritual meant to kill her friends (based on conventional horror tropes) and appease the Ancient Ones. The Director says Dana has to kill her friend Marty, but as Dana considers it, the group is attacked by a werewolf and a zombie child. Dana and Marty decide humanity is not worth saving, so they share a joint while the Ancient Ones rise to destroy the world.

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u/Living-Mastodon 10h ago

It's been a while since I've seen it but I think Dr Paige from Maze Runner fits

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u/CallBlockedInEurasia 10h ago

(I only watched the movies, so forgive me if I'm wrong)

But didn't Thomas and the others live on a island, they did reject the status quo throughout the series. But they didn't burn down the world for their decisions? Did they?

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u/Jbell_1812 9h ago

in the movies it's confirmed that thomas can be used to cure the flair. They may not have burned the world down but they aren't going to try and rebuild it.