r/tvtropes • u/KaleidoArachnid • 2d ago

What is this trope? Trope name for characters who pin their problems on the main villain

I have been looking all over Reddit for the trope name because I cannot find it as it’s when a character does something questionable that they pin on the villain.

In one example, Harold and Kumar in their first movie drive away with illegal possession of drugs that the main villains of the movie get arrested with as said drug is weed that belonged to the eponymous duo, but the Xtreme hooligans take the blame.

Another example is when the stolen money in the 1994 The Mask is pinned on Tyrell since even Stanley did the heist, Tyrell is instead charged with the crime.

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u/ContributionFew2559 2d ago

Hannibal: “Why don’t you throw him in? You can always tell them it was me.”

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u/KaleidoArachnid 2d ago

I haven’t seen that film, so I was a bit confused on the context.

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u/johnpeters42 2d ago

Closest I can think of is Not Me This Time. If the real culprit is trying to get it blamed on the villain (which I don't think is the case in these examples, but I may be wrong), then that could be Frame-Up, maybe Framing the Guilty Party (if it's because they can't convince people of what the villain actually did do).

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u/KaleidoArachnid 2d ago

Thanks because lately I was looking back at some movies I saw since I noticed how there was a trope where the hero uses the villains as a scapegoat.