| abstract | - Near death experiences have a tendency to change a person's outlook on life. Knowing you're going to die is no different; however, when faced with imminent death, villains by and large repent nothing and decide that if they're going to die, I'm Taking You with Me! But on rare occasions, the villain will have a Heel Realization where they ask "My God, What Have I Done?" as, faced with a lifetime of evil flashing in front of their eyes as the Collapsing Lair implodes, they decide to do one good thing before they die: save the hero. They may cling to life so that their death doesn't collapse their castle, or to hold back a wave of monsters. Perhaps they'll show them where their personal escape passage is hidden or briefly become a Load-Bearing Hero to let them escape. Another situation is where they feel they were beaten by a Worthy Opponent; and therefore the superior one should carry on. This isn't quite a Heroic Sacrifice or Redemption Equals Death -- they would have died anyway -- but at the least it shows they weren't completely evil and still retained a measure of nobility as a Fallen Hero, Noble Demon or Anti-Hero. Sadly, this is definitely not enough for Redemption Earns Life. In a best case scenario, they Died Happily Ever After. Subtrope of Graceful Loser and Death Equals Redemption. Not to be confused with Cruel Mercy. Can be used as a form of Restrained Revenge. Examples of Villain's Dying Grace include:
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