I hate Karma Houdinis... · 9:27pm Oct 7th, 2020
...but clearly this fandom loves them.
It's a pattern I see all too often in stories here. A popular character does something morally objectionable or even outright evil, someone else in the story picks up on it and speaks out, but ultimately nothing is done and the offender walks away with no consequences with some bs excuse. The accuser was out of line and thus the accusation is seen as the real offense, or some detail is pulled out of nowhere that supposedly makes the offender right all along, or some detail is pulled out of nowhere that turns the situation into a misunderstanding, or an ass-pull is used to make the offender not really at fault, or the offender gives some bs justification for their actions that everyone else (or at least, everyone whose opinion the author expects us to care about) just mindlessly swallows, or the offender just gives an (often half-hearted pseudo-)apology and everyone just accepts it, or (and this one is especially infuriating) the matter is dropped because reasons, the plot continues, and the issue never comes up again, with the author responding to anyone who dares bring it up in the comments with some combination of "you don't care about what's right, you just want to see ponies cry" or "too much time has passed for them to face any consequences" or "but punishing them would undo all their victim's character growth". And in the end, the offender never has to make things right or face any consequences, and anyone (both in the story and out) who disagrees or even holds a negative opinion of the offender is ignored at best, or made out to be the real monster at worst.
It's not surprising, of course. Between Discord, Starlight, and Wallflower, the show writers have a well-established track record of not punishing the wicked for even the most vile of evil deeds, and have even dabbled in victim-blaming in the latter case. And on the whole, this fandom seems to shape its entire collective worldview around the show's warped morality. In fact, by and large, the only thing the fandom seems to object to is Cozy, Chrysalis, and Tirek being punished in the finale while Discord and Starlight are free - but not because they think the other two endbringers also need to pay, but because they've consumed the show's prior messages so completely that they see punishing an attempt to DESTROY THE WORLD as inexcusably evil*. But this lack of surprise doesn't make the situation any less aggravating. Whether seen coming or not, the fact remains that acts of wickedness are being excused while the victims are left to clean up the fallout. Evil is ignored at best, indirectly rewarded at worst, while the suffering of the innocent is compounded. The obvious evils may be stopped by story's end, but when it comes to corruption in the ponies' camp, the status quo is that The Bad Guy Wins.
But by far, the one Karma Houdini that infuriates me the most is Celestia. The reason? Because unlike all the other characters, who on rare occasion do face a reckoning for their sins, she never, and I truly mean never, faces any consequences for her actions. Even when she commits atrocities beyond her canon bs. Even when characters in the story notice her actions - be they canon or specific to the story - are horrible. Even on the rare occasions where the author admits her actions are horrible. There may be a moment where someone may get mad at her momentarily, but either they're a nobody whose opinion is ultimately discarded, or they inevitably come crawling to Celestia begging forgiveness for their irreverence, and either way ultimately nothing comes of it. Is it really too much to ask for Celestia to actually pay for her wickedness, even just once?
*And aren't they quite the hypocrites for having no objections to Sombra being executed twice, then.
I'm not fond of Karma Houdinis either, as my stories can likely attest. And the examples you've cited have routinely irked me, especially in Wallflower's case. Thankfully, as disappointing as the official stuff can be, there's always at least one story out there from a fanfic writer that can rectify the problem.
Not nearly as many as there could be, mind, but still.