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.
 * 5) It is usually shocking or rather disturbing to see these Karma Houdinis escaping their punishments, or even proper punishments. It's so bad that you feel the urge to punish them.

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.
 * 3) As frustrating as this trope is, it doesn't necessarily make the story bad unless the story feels forced, contrived, or even short-sighted.