What Measure Is a Mook?/Playing With

Basic Trope: The Big Bad is given more mercy than his/her minions.

• Straight: The Hero Alice refuses to kill Emperor Evulz but has no qualms about the hundreds of guards she had to kill to get there.
• Exaggerated: Alice slaughters Evulz's entire army, including those who surrendered or offered to change sides. Then when she reaches the throne room, she just turns and leaves.
• Justified: Evulz surrendered; the mooks didn't.
  • Alice is from a culture where regicide is outlawed, even in times of war.
  • Evulz was not the one she was trying to kill. Alice was very much trying to kill the guards the whole time, but still had to face down Evulz.
  • Alice can justify killing Mooks in the heat of battle, but can't justify a more premeditated act against Evulz.
• Inverted: Alice goes through incredible lengths to ensure that none of the guards are fatally injured, but cuts loose as soon as she starts to fight Evulz.
• Subverted: Alice contemplates sparing Evulz, but instead decides to treat him the same way as his minions.
• Double Subverted: ...only for Evulz to guilt-trip her into sparing him anyway.
• Deconstructed: Alice's lack of mercy towards the guards is a sign that she's starting to become more like Evulz.
• Averted: Alice has no qualms killing either the guards or their boss.
  • Alternately, she refuses to kill anyone, whether they're the villain or a mook.
• Defied: Alice's friend Bob calls her out for giving mercy to Evulz when the guards they just slaughtered deserved it far more.