Tsukuba: Why...did you give me a chance?
Tsutomu: Because I got one, too. I was given a chance to make up for the things I said.
Tsutomu: Because I got one, too. I was given a chance to make up for the things I said.
Forgiveness is divine, as the saying goes. And those who experience forgiveness are often very grateful for the opportunity offered them.
So, if someone is forgiven for their transgressions, managing to avoid a case of Redemption Equals Death, they will be likely to offer the same to others when the opportunity presents itself.
It could be because they have become The Atoner. It could be because the person they now offer forgiveness to reminds them of themselves as they once were. Perhaps they just need to believe in their heart that no one is beyond salvation.
Of course, sometimes this works out. But there are also times when the person they offer forgiveness to will either have a fake moment of accepting the forgiveness in the hopes of starting their scheming and bad behavior again while escaping punishment. And other times, the offer of forgiveness will be flat out rejected by the person now being offered.
Compare Paying It Forward (the helped helps others).
Contrast The Chain of Harm.
See also Heel–Face Door-Slam, High-Heel–Face Turn, Reformed, but Rejected, Rejected Apology, and Then Let Me Be Evil.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Chihayafuru: Downplayed. Tsukuba, hoping to impress his younger brothers, tries to swap himself in on the starting lineup for the Misuzawa karuta team at Regionals. He's caught in the act and the others are angry with him, except for Tsutomu, who offers to step down and let Tsukuba play. Because the year before, Tsutomu had raged against his teammates in frustration, and been given a second chance with the team after cooling off.
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016): After Link comes back into contact with his old friends and neighbors from his hometown, which he accidentally sent to the Twilight Realm years past, he finds that some rough patches aside, they have forgiven him and are willing to join him in the fight against Ganondorf. Later, after finally winning the last duel against Ganondorf, Link starts to muse on whether it's possible to put their recurring war behind them, despite all the Demon King has done. Ganondorf commits suicide on the spot just to have the last word.
- Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha started out the series hellbent on killing his older brother Itachi Uchiha, who had massacred the Uchiha Clan to test the power of his new Mangekyō Sharingan. Learning that Itachi had been blackmailed into playing the villain by Danzo Shimura, Sasuke increasingly allows the Uchiha Clan's Curse of Hatred to consume him—assassinating Danzo and declaring his intent to destroy Konoha for profiting off Itachi's suffering. After a heart-to-heart with the reanimated Itachi and First Hokage, Sasuke decides to ensure world peace by enslaving the Tailed Beasts and killing the Kage to set himself up as a godlike enemy the Ninja Villages will have to remain united against. Ultimately defeated and forgiven by Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke is unable to forgive himself and begins walking the Earth to atone for his sins. During his travels, Sasuke encounters a seemingly young girl named Chino—who he eventually learns is the mastermind of a plot to destroy the Hidden Villages, blaming them for the deaths of her friends. Seeing his past self in Chino, Sasuke thwarts her scheme and defeats her, but refuses to kill her and instead offers her the same forgiveness and chance to atone that he was shown—leading to her becoming an agent of the Kage.
Fan Works
- Duran and Kiyohime's Omake Theater: With the events of My-HiME still considered canon to this sequel fic, both Shizuru Fujino and Nao Yuuki had been forgiven by Natsuki Kuga in the series proper for the things they'd done to her note , with Shizuru now in a relationship with Natsuki and Nao one of Natsuki's friends. To this end, Nao and Shizuru have also decided to forgive each other for the things that took place in the original series note . This really comes into play during a chapter set during the Christmas shopping season. Natsuki had decided not to venture out due to a heavy snowfall, figuring Nao would come to the same conclusion and cancel the shopping trip they'd planned. When Nao shows up at the house shared by Natsuki and Shizuru, and says that this is the only time she's free to shop, Shizuru, demonstrating that all bad blood between her and Nao has passed, argues in Nao's favor, that Natsuki had made a promise and should honor it. Nao recognizes that Shizuru was being genuine, and thanks her, saying that she'll pick up some sexy lingerie for her, even though Natsuki is clinging to her guns and refusing to go out.
Nao: [to Shizuru] Thanks for supporting me, at least, especially since it would have meant giving up some of your lovey-snuggly time with Kuga in the name of fairness. I'll have to get you a present as thanks. In fact, I know just the thing. How about a red satin and lace merrywidow with matching stockings—
Natsuki: Hey! Where do you get off buying lingerie for my girlfriend?
Nao: — In Kuga's size.
Natsuki: [sigh] I'll get my coat. - Optimus on Earth: When they were cadets training to become Elite Guard members, Bumblebee and Wasp instantly butt heads. Wasp took to bullying Bumblebee whenever he could, and thus it didn't take much for Bumblebee to be convinced Wasp was a Decepticon spy. Wasp was branded a traitor and spent decades in the stockade. When Bee learns that Wasp was framed and has been innocent all along, he apologizes to Wasp for what he did. After some time and therapy from Amaya's psychiatrist friend, Wasp comes to truly forgive Bee. In the process, he also realizes that his bullying wasn't okay, and he ends up apologizing to Bee on their first mission together. He begs Bumblebee to forgive him. Touched, Bumblebee says that he already has.
- Scarlet Lady: After she officially calls off her "friendship" with Chloe, Sabrina finds herself in an awkward situation: she wants to befriend her classmates and have meaningful friendships for the first time, but she also knows that she helped Chloe bully them for years and as such doesn't think her offer of friendship will be well-received. She ends up finding a friend in Lila, another would-be bully that Marinette was able to get through to. The girls become real Best Friends, partially because Lila also bullied the whole classnote and was forgiven, thus she knows how good it feels to be given a second chance. Alix helps them further by getting them into roller derby.
Films — Animation
- Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie: Invoked and subverted. After Jonah's attempt to disobey the command to preach to the Ninevites is foiled by the divine rainstorm and the whale that swallows him, God ultimately spares him and gives him a second chance to convince the Ninevites to repent of their evil. Jonah does so...and much to Khalil's shock, Jonah is disappointed God doesn't smite the Ninevites anyway and actively resists his traveling buddy's insistence that he should be the first to forgive after being forgiven himself.
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls 1: Sunset Shimmer, corrupted in pursuit of power, was offered the choice by Princess Twilight to learn about friendship or be forever alone after her humiliating defeat in the first film, and is later fully forgiven and befriended in Rainbow Rocks. She later gets the chance to do the same for others, to mixed effect:
- Friendship Games: When Human Twilight gets corrupted by the pursuit of magic into Midnight Sparkle, Sunset uses the Elements of Harmony to become Daydream Shimmer and defeat her, asking Twilight to take her hand and "[l]et me show you there's another way. Just like someone once did for me." She accepts.
- Forgotten Friendship: When Wallflower Blush, still bitter over Sunset's bullying, finds a stone that erases memories, she makes Sunset's friends forget their good memories of Sunset. Sunset attempts to show sympathy to Wallflower, saying that she, like Wallflower, was lonely and acted out, but Wallflower rejects it and instead doubles down. It isn't until Wallflower sees Sunset sacrifice her own memories for her friends' that Wallflower realizes how far gone she was and apologizes. Sunset forgives her, realizing her own lack of kindness to Wallflower was partly at fault.
- Turning Red: When Mei joins her friends at the 4*Town concert, they readily forgive her for her actions at Tyler's party. Not long afterward, Mei in turn extends a hand of caring and understanding to her traumatized mother Ming. That support enables Ming to forgive herself and apologize to her mother Wu for her long-ago loss of control, and by warming up to Mei's friends in the epilogue.
Films — Live-Action
- In Death Becomes Her, Helen and Madeline's feud ends when Helen apologizes for thinking Madeline was cheap, which causes Madeline to apologize for stealing Helen's lovers.
- Wake Up Dead Man: Despite Martha's history of fundamentalist hatred toward Grace Wicks (the "Harlot Whore") and her role in the recent murders, Father Jud offers her absolution and last rites after her Deathbed Confession. This profound experience of receiving grace despite her guilt enables Martha to finally "let the hatred go". In her final breaths, she offers the same mercy she was just shown to her long-dead enemy, tearfully acknowledging, "That poor girl. Forgive me, Grace."
Literature
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Pevensies' cousin, Eustace Scrubb, ends up in Narnia with Lucy and Edmund. Eustace is initially abrasive, and a bit of a Know-Nothing Know-It-All. After having managed to transform himself into a dragon and then subsequently being restored to his human form by Aslan, Eustace apologizes for his prior behavior. Edmund tells Eustace that he doesn't hold it against him, saying Eustace was merely "an ass"; but that when Edmund himself first came to Narnia he had been a full-on traitor, but he'd also been forgiven by Aslan.
Mythology & Religion
- The Bible: Forgiving others of their sins because we ourselves are forgiven is a major tenet in Christianity, as reflected in a number of passages.
- The Gospel According to Matthew has "The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor", who was forgiven a huge debt by the King when he pleaded for mercy, until he attacked a man who owed him a far lesser sum and wouldn't forgive him. Then the King, seeing the first man's unforgiveness, revoked his own, sending the man to prison until he had paid every cent.
- There was a man named Saul of Tarsus who sent many early Christians to their deaths. Then, one day, on the road to Damascus, he has a vision of Jesus asking Saul why he was persecuting Jesus and His followers. He is stricken blind, then healed by the Christian Ananais. Saul converts to Christianity, and becomes known as Paul, later Saint Paul, who wrote a series of letters known as the Pauline Epistles. One letter, "Epistle to Philemon", was from Paul, who himself had been forgiven for his early sins as Saul, and who had in turn baptised many, including the titular Philemon. Paul asks Philemon to forgive a runaway slave, Onesimus (in that time, a runaway slave was often put to death), and not only to forgive him, but to free him, that he might aid the now captive Paul as a courier, pointing out that Philemon himself had been forgiven of his own sins when he became a Christian. So confident is Paul in Philemon's response that he plans a meeting between Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul himself later.
Western Animation
- Hazbin Hotel: During one of the Exterminations, Sir Pentious ends up becoming an Ascended Demon after sacrificing himself to protect his friends and thereby atoning for the sin that got him sent to Hell. Sera, the appointed leader of Heaven, upon realizing that Sinners can be redeemed and didn't need to be wiped out, becomes greatly remorseful for allowing the exterminations and spends most of Season 2 desperately trying to find a way to atone for her sins. Pentious, having been forgiven for his transgressions, helps her understand that Mistakes Are Not the End of the World and that she can still repent if she genuinely tries to do better, which gives her the confidence to try and make peace with Hell before things get worse.
- Justice League: Superman reveals after the fact that he cast the deciding vote to let Shayera return to the Justice League, because after the events from the end of Superman: The Animated Series, when Darkseid had controlled him and used him as a weapon against the earth, Supes had eventually earned a second chance from the people of Earth, and wouldn't deny that to someone else.
- Miraculous Ladybug: In a case of "The Forgiven Offers Mercy", the Shanghai special introduces Fei, who has gained the Prodigious, a magical amulet, but can't access its full powers because of her desire for vengeance against her abusive boss, Cash, especially after Cash pushes her to run a con against Marinette, one of the few people to show her any kindness or sympathy. When Cash exposes the con to Marinette, and the latter runs away, Fei is enraged and tries to use her powers to get revenge on Cash, and the spirit guarding her powers becomes akumatized in order to rein her in. It is only when Marinette finds Fei and tells her that she forgives her for her actions that Fei is able to get some clarity and unlock her full powers so that she can bring Cash to justice instead of simply getting revenge.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Occurs a few times with Starlight Glimmer, the Arc Villain of Season 5 who was offered forgiveness and friendship by Princess Twilight Sparkle, reforming her.
- In "To Where And Back Again Part 2", Starlight, who once ruled through fear but found a better way, offers the deposed Chrysalis the same forgiveness and chance for redemption she was shown, but Chrysalis—although briefly tempted—rejects the offer and swears revenge, remaining a recurring antagonist for the rest of the series.
- In "Shadow Play Part 1", Starlight, herself a reformed villain, firmly believes that they need to offer Stygian, who became the Pony Of Shadows, a chance at redemption, and is very hurt that Twilight is not listening to her, but instead to her idol, Starswirl the Bearded, who doesn't believe initially in redemption. It turns out that Stygian was trying to escape the Pony of Shadows, but couldn't free himself, and Twilight is the first to leap into the darkness to help him, but Starlight is right behind her.
- Magical Movie Night: In "Mirror Magic", when a vengeful Juniper Montage discovers an enchanted mirror that grants wishes, she wishes for the Rainbooms to disappear. Starlight, visiting the human world for the day, recognizes her own vengeful tendencies in Juniper and offers her friendship. Juniper doubts she deserves to be forgiven, but Starlight says as long as she genuinely apologizes and makes up for what she did she has a chance. Juniper agrees and reverses her wishes, after which Sunset Shimmer and Human Twilight both sympathize with Juniper due to their own past mistakes with magic corruption.
- The Owl House: This happened at the very end of the series. In the later half of the final episode, Luz Noceda, Eda, and King forgave The Collector for all the trouble he'd caused, convincing him to make a Heel–Face Turn. Then, at the start of the battle against series Big Bad Emperor Belos, The Collector attempted to do the same by forgiving Belos for how he had lied to and double-crossed The Collector previously. To say the least, it didn't work that time. Instead, Belos tried to blast The Collector while his guard was down. Luz shoved The Collector out of the way, only to take the blast herself and suffer a Disney Death as a result. This ultimately lead to Luz returning with enough power to end Belos in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Following Catra's Heel–Face Turn in Season Five, Glimmer and Entrapta both forgive her remarkably quickly for her transgressions, which include trying to kill Glimmer personally and exiling Entrapta. This is largely because both Glimmer and Entrapta also screwed up royally—Glimmer by nearly causing The End of the World as We Know It by activating the Heart of Etheria against her friends' protests, and Entrapta by working for the Horde For Science! without regard to how her inventions would be used, causing a lot of damage in the process—but were still forgiven by their friends and accepted back into the fold. Both know how it feels to have to live with a huge mistake for the rest of their lives, and extend Catra the same grace they were given.