There's Gonna Be Consequences
"'...and then Jack chopped down the beanstalk, adding murder and ecological vandalism to the theft, enticement and tresspass charges already mentioned, but he got away with it and lived Happily Ever After without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused just about anything if you're a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.'"
--Susan Sto Helit, Hogfather
In physics, every action is countered by an equal and opposite reaction. In human behaviour, a similar principle generally applies. Unless, apparently, you're the main character in an adventure story. While there are some cases in which the hero's immunity from punishment is part of the genre, and thus part of the fun (James Bond would be a lot less entertaining if 007 had to stop and fill out paperwork and go to court every time he beat up or killed one of the bad guy's minions), there is also a lot to be said for maintaining realistic consequences.
I think these sorts of 'mayhem as wish fulfillment' characters can only work under certain circumstances. First, we need to establish an in-universe reason they're allowed to kick the bad guy's henchmen out of windows with impunity. For example, 007 has a 'license to kill', and is always on a mission to save the world from the bad guys. Or if a character gets away with all kinds of shinanigans on the job because they're too valuable to fire, they have to demonstrate world-class skills where the audience can see it. Second, it needs to be in a genre which can absorb it. This can either be a genre where a character acting with impunity is a 'necessary weasel', such as action-adventure, or a genre which embraces exaggeration for fun and profit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this-- I've argued a number of times on this blog that 'fluff' entertainment is important because it allows us pure, enjoyable escapism.
If you're not writing in those genres, however, it's a good idea to make sure your characters aren't off the hook. The consequences don't necessarily need to be physical. Emotional consequences-- like losing someone's trust or causing friction in a group-- can be just as integral to the plot.
--Susan Sto Helit, Hogfather
In physics, every action is countered by an equal and opposite reaction. In human behaviour, a similar principle generally applies. Unless, apparently, you're the main character in an adventure story. While there are some cases in which the hero's immunity from punishment is part of the genre, and thus part of the fun (James Bond would be a lot less entertaining if 007 had to stop and fill out paperwork and go to court every time he beat up or killed one of the bad guy's minions), there is also a lot to be said for maintaining realistic consequences.
I think these sorts of 'mayhem as wish fulfillment' characters can only work under certain circumstances. First, we need to establish an in-universe reason they're allowed to kick the bad guy's henchmen out of windows with impunity. For example, 007 has a 'license to kill', and is always on a mission to save the world from the bad guys. Or if a character gets away with all kinds of shinanigans on the job because they're too valuable to fire, they have to demonstrate world-class skills where the audience can see it. Second, it needs to be in a genre which can absorb it. This can either be a genre where a character acting with impunity is a 'necessary weasel', such as action-adventure, or a genre which embraces exaggeration for fun and profit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this-- I've argued a number of times on this blog that 'fluff' entertainment is important because it allows us pure, enjoyable escapism.
If you're not writing in those genres, however, it's a good idea to make sure your characters aren't off the hook. The consequences don't necessarily need to be physical. Emotional consequences-- like losing someone's trust or causing friction in a group-- can be just as integral to the plot.
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