Half-Baked Redemptions

A Half-Baked Redemption is when a villain who is written to be very evil suddenly redeems without any hints of redemption before this happened. This kind of redemption is a poor move in terms of writing and teaching mercy and forgiveness in fiction.

Examples

 * Abby Anderson (The Last of Us Part II)
 * Abraham van Helsing (Hotel Transylvania 3)
 * Amy (Cuties)
 * Astra Logue (Legends of Tomorrow)
 * Ava "Ghost" Starr (Ant-Man and the Wasp): She spends the whole film trying to kill Janet to save herself, and the heroes are stupid enough to help her after saving Janet instead killing her or letting her die as a rightful punishment.
 * Ayato Kirishima (Tokyo Ghoul)
 * Baron Draxum (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
 * Big Tex Arkana (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * Bebop and Rocksteady (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)): Their redemption was forced as they would change the way they act not because the Shredder and Kraang were trying to destroy the world but because they were being mean to Bebop and Rocksteady. It doesn't help that his redemption would occur a few minutes to before the series officially ended, not giving them a proper redemption.
 * Beelzebul/Raiden Shogun/Ei (Genshin Impact)
 * Beverly "Bev" Vane (Hillbilly Elegy)
 * Bob Bobowski (The Bob Arc - SMG4) Depending on your view.
 * Bucky (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
 * Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)): Disregarding what Incredible Characters Wiki says, she constantly committed terrible acts and refused to accept that she was responsible for her own actions, and then was given a rushed redemption without having enough time to go through a proper redemption arc. Her redemption was also only done because fans wanted her and Adora together, even though Adora eventually realized that she was too far gone and gave up on her.
 * Chancellor Neighsay (Season 8 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)): Like Discord, his redemption was rushed, but unlike Discord's, his redemption had little-to-no justification other than the insistence to include villains when saving "everyone".
 * Charlie/ Clotho (Legends of Tomorrow)
 * Chloé Bourgeois (Miraculous LadyBug): one of the worst examples is that writers who wanted Chloe irredemmable for petty reasons.
 * Clark "Kal-el" Kent/Superman (Injustice; film adaptation)
 * Colonel Tinker (Rupert (1991-1997))
 * Dark Meta Knight (Kirby Star Allies): Same reason as Marx except Dark Meta Knight appeared in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
 * Discord (Season 3 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)): His redemption in Season 3's "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was rushed, but in later seasons (most notably season 4's "Twilight's Kingdom"), his redemption is more justified.
 * Douglas Davenport (Lab Rats (2012-2016))
 * The Dino-Birds (Ice Age: Collision Course)
 * Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan): Depending on your view
 * Erisio (Kirakira★PreCure a la Mode (2017))
 * Eva McCulloch/Mirror Mistress (The Flash): Her redemption was when the Flash and Iris West wanted Eva to realize that creating mirror duplicates and "liberating" a new image of herself will not change anything.
 * Fairytale villains (Shrek the Third)
 * Gabriel "Sylar" Gray (Heroes)
 * Gai Amatsu (Kamen Rider Zero-One)
 * Gene (Wreck-It Ralph)
 * Great Zamboni (Spooky House)
 * Hawk (Cobra Kai)
 * Heidi Turner (Season 21 of South Park)
 * Hordak (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)): Despite his reasons, Hordak committed mass-genocide of intelligent-life and he was ultimately redeemed without any punishment whatsoever. Like Catra, his redemption arc is also rushed.
 * Jack Frost (The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause)
 * Jesse Justice (Miracle in Toyland)
 * Solid and Nebra Silva (Black Clover)
 * Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)
 * Kaname Asagiri (Magical Girl Site): Like Sarina, his redemption was when Aya wanted to make him realize his cruel nature by protecting him and trying to get over his father's "grueling" training for gifted students like him.
 * Kane (F the Prom)
 * Ker (Battlefield Earth)
 * Kimar (Santa Claus Conquers the Martians)
 * King Poseidon (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run)
 * Lady Vain (Happily N'Ever After 2: Snow White - Another Bite @ the Apple)
 * Laurel Lance (Arrowverse: Earth 2)
 * Leo Akaba (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V)
 * Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
 * Marx (Kirby Star Allies): Marx was dead in Kirby Super Star/Ultra, but he came back as a playable character as he fought alongside Kirby.
 * Master Frown (Unikitty!)
 * Master Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts Series)
 * Maxwell Lord (Wonder Woman 1984)
 * Merle Dixon (The Walking Dead)
 * Miss Nettle (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Most of the humans (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020)) While Doag and Greta were passable, everyone else was practically forced to redeem just to avoid having the heroes kill them and insist that communication and mercy are better than violence, despite the fact that they already helped Emilia cure a handful of the major mute characters. This also ruins Kipo's character development, making her never accept that she can't redeem everyone.
 * Namaari (Raya and the Last Dragon) Depending on your view.
 * Nicole (Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa)
 * Noah Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!): His redemption was when he realized that he'd unknowingly aided Gozuburo Kaiba in getting his revenge from beyond the grave. The problem is that he'd done nothing up until that point to earn it.
 * Nyx and the Fairy Scouts (Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast)
 * Orochimaru (Naruto)
 * Princess Ivy (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Prisma (Sofia the First (2013-2018))
 * Queen Barb (Trolls: World Tour)
 * Quipue (Elena of Avalor (2016-2020))
 * Raiden the Moon King (Kubo and the Two Strings)
 * Rei Isurugei (Gegege No Kitaro (2018 – 2020)): The anime practically ignored both the fact that he already crossed the Moral Event Horizon more than once with his attacks on Yokai and the fact he refused multiple times to let go of his revenge. Instead, it had the heroes force him to redeem himself because they didn't want to kill him (even Kitaro has been willing to kill if necessary) and used his tragic backstory as an excuse to justify showing mercy even though he never showed any. All of this, plus the fact that Shōnen manga and anime tend to force redemption and mercy even if the said villain does not deserve it.
 * Sarina Shizukume (Magical Girl Site): Her redemption was when Aya teleported her to her empty vandalized desk in order to make her realize her bullying.
 * Smiler (The Emoji Movie: Junior Novelization): Unlike in the movie, here, she all of the sudden redeems herself near the end and stops trying to kill Gene, Hi-5, and Jailbreak.
 * Snowball (The Secret Life of Pets)
 * Stalyan (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017-2020)): Not only was her redemption forced, but it also created a double standard saying we can never fight and/or imprison women even if they are criminals who have committed terrible things.
 * Talia Al Ghul (Season 8 of Arrow)
 * Takuto Maruki (Persona 5: Royal)
 * Terence (Tom & Jerry (2021 film))
 * Tess Tyler (Camp Rock)
 * The Diamonds (Steven Universe): These intergalactic dictators colonize planets, have committed kidnapping, murder, trapping humans in a zoo, experimenting on gems (including several Crystal Gems) and genocide, but Steven insists on redeeming then rather then shattering them for their many heinous crimes. This, along with the movie, shows how horribly reluctant Rebecca Sugar is to kill villains.
 * The Shadow (Odd Squad)
 * The Spy Girls (UglyDolls)
 * Toneri Ōtsutsuki (The Last: Naruto the Movie)
 * Toru Mutsuki (Tokyo Ghoul:re)
 * Xian Lang (Mulan (2020))
 * Void Dark (Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance)
 * Will of the Abyss (Pandora Hearts)
 * Yelena (Attack on Titan)
 * Zeta (The Angry Birds Movie 2)

Why this Happens

 * Many parents and writers think it is the right way to teach children the importance of mercy.
 * People often confuse the idea of justice with revenge or violence.
 * Some people are scared of the very concept of death and want to avoid it at all cost.
 * Due to the rise of radical feminism propganda some female characters ending up being redeemed just to promote a idology.

Why The Trope Sucks

 * 1) These redemptions are thrown in their stories, lacking any proper structure and skipping important steps of a redemption arc.
 * 2) It creates a misguided and false belief that everyone can  AND WILL redeem.
 * 3) Many of these examples are villains who have already crossed what is called the Moral Event Horizon, which means they have committed an act so evil or selfish or have crossed so many lines that audiences won't want them redeemed anymore, meaning these redemptions are forced down audiences' throats!
 * 4) *Also, making a villain commit terrible acts and refuse to give up, only to have the heroes force them to redeem is a waste of suspense!
 * 5) Insisting on this kind of redemption all the time can make audience members annoyed and become tired of the idea of redemption ALL TOGETHER.
 * 6) It is extremely limiting to viewers of all ages.
 * 7) While it does succeed in teaching that mercy is possible, it purposely leaves out the fact that it does not always work.
 * 8) This move means the villain is getting away with the terrible things they did without any punishment whatsoever and they are still a threat,  and it’s being treated like it's a good thing!
 * 9) Making characters who are supposed to be "heroes" force this kind of redemption and treat it as a good thing turns those characters into one-dimensional, unrealistic, and worst of all... downright flat!
 * 10) It is also a bad influence to viewers as anyone, in reality, could be easily killed or have their lives ruined by a bad person or someone evil when they do show mercy.

The Only Redeeming Quality

 * 1) While many of these redemptions are forced, some redemptions are executed very well, such as Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Karai from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012) and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader from Star Wars.

Examples of a well-written redemption

 * Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket; manga and 2019 reboot)
 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars) The most famous example of a well-written redemption.
 * Anastasia Tremaine (Cinderella III: A Twist in Time) After being forgiven too fast in the second movie, Dreams Come True, A Twist in Time gave Anastasia proper character development and made her redemption arc feel more realistic and complete.
 * Android 17 (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Annie Leonhart (Attack on Titan)
 * Beast (Beauty and the Beast (1991))
 * Bertholdt Hoover (Attack on Titan)
 * Boromir (The Lord of the Rings)
 * Byakuren Hijiri (Touhou Project)
 * Byakuya Togami (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010))
 * Captain Gantu (Leroy & Stitch)
 * Chidori Yoshino (Persona 3)
 * Chuck (Larva Island)
 * Curtis Everett (Snowpiercer)
 * Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)
 * Diamond Tiara (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * Dinobot (Beast Wars: Transformers)
 * Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place (2016-2020))
 * Emerald Sustrai (RWBY (2013-present))
 * Endeavor (My Hero Academia)
 * Entrapta (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Felonious Gru (Despicable Me (2010))
 * Flandre Scarlet (Touhou Project)
 * Flint Marco/Sandman (Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Fujiwara no Mokou (Touhou Project)
 * Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)
 * Gaara (Naruto)
 * Gabi Braun (Attack in Titan)
 * Globby (Big Hero 6: The Series (2017-2021))
 * Goro Akechi/Crow (Persona 5 and Persona 5: Royal)
 * Grace Monroe (Infinity Train)
 * Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist; Manga and Brotherhood)
 * Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)
 * Homura's Crimson Squad (Senran Kagura)
 * Iago (Aladdin: The Return of Jafar)
 * Ian Hawke (Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked)
 * Impmon (Digimon Tamers)
 * Isabella (The Promised Neverland; Manga)
 * Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
 * Jamack (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020))
 * Jinx (Teen Titans (2003))
 * John Silver (Treasure Planet)
 * Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail (2009-2019))
 * Juzo Sakakura (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School)
 * Kaguya Houraisan (Touhou Project)
 * Karai (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 and 2012))
 * Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
 * Ken Ichijouji (Digimon Adventure 02)
 * Kenny Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
 * Kevin Levin (Ben 10: Alien Force)
 * Kurumi Tokisaki (Date A Live)
 * Kuzco (The Emperor's New Groove)
 * Kyoko Sakura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
 * Kyosuke Munakata (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School)
 * Lena Sabrewing (Ducktales (2017-2021))
 * Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist; 2003 anime)
 * Majin Buu (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Maki Harukawa (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony)
 * Max Dillon/Electro (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Megamind (movie character of the same name)
 * Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
 * Miku Izayoi (Date A Live)
 * Mitsuo Yamaki (Digimon Tamers)
 * Nagato Uzumaki/Pain (Naruto)
 * Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)
 * Natsumi Kyouno (Date A Live)
 * Neji Hyuuga (Naruto)
 * Nino Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets)
 * Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Nuova Shenron (Dragon Ball GT)
 * Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
 * Origami Tobiichi (Date A Live)
 * Peridot (Steven Universe)
 * Piccolo (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Reiner Braun (Attack on Titan)
 * Remilia Scarlet (Touhou Project)
 * Ronnie Slithers (Sanjay and Craig)
 * Ruby Tojo (Rosario + Vampire; Manga)
 * Sadira (Aladdin (1994-1995 TV series))
 * Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)
 * Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist; Manga and Brotherhood)
 * Scorpia (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020))
 * Severus Snape (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
 * Sheriff Cannonball (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * Silver Spoon (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * SMG3 (SMG4): During the Genesis Arc, SMG3 became a temporary ally of SMG4, met SMG1 and SMG2 and they fight together against SMG0.
 * Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * Steve Harrington (Stranger Things (2016-present))
 * Stitch (Lilo & Stitch (2002))
 * Sunset Shimmer (My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks): After being forgiven too fast in the first movie, the second one gave Sunset proper character development, making her redemption more realistic and complete.
 * Suwako Moriya (Touhou Project)
 * Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!)
 * Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer): after being freed from Muzan's powers
 * Tetrax Shard (Ben 10)
 * Tex Arkana Jr. (Buddy Thunderstruck (2017))
 * The Highbreed (Ben 10: Alien Force)
 * Tien Shinhan (Dragon Ball)
 * The Newton Wolves (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020))
 * Theon Greyjoy (Game of Thrones)
 * Varian (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017-2020)):
 * Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Vergil (Devil May Cry 5)
 * Veronica Sawyer (Heathers)
 * Yamcha (Dragon Ball)
 * Yuyuko Saigyouji (Touhou Project)
 * Zabuza Momochi (Naruto)
 * Zeke Yeager (Attack on Titan): Until he was killed by Levi the second he made truce with the heroes.
 * Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)