Karma Houdini

Karma Houdinis (also known as Caillous) are characters who repeatedly commit wrongdoings and somehow get away with little-to-no comeuppance or karma. They are the polar opposite of butt-monkeys. No matter how much bad they do, or how much they deserve it, karma just seems to forget about them and instead punish the innocent butt-monkeys.

For a list of notable karma houdinis, see here.

Why This Trope Is A "Karma Houdini"

 * 1) Basically, this trope serves as hateful character development, where characters you hate or despise get off scott-free from anything they caused and actually deserve their comeuppance more than the butt-monkeys.
 * 2) It can ruin the reputation and likeability of characters who avoid the punishment that they deserve and do not learn from their wrongdoing.
 * 3) It is more often frustrating than funny to watch the wrong characters get other characters punished for actions that they didn't do.
 * 4) Avoiding karma can also cause characters to become unintentionally unsympathetic.

The Only Redeeming Quality

 * 1) Sometimes as said above, Karma Houdinis do at least get their comeuppances for excessively being mean-spirited towards other characters. Four is an example of this.
 * 2) *Just because a character gets off scot-free doesn't necessarily mean we're meant to like them.