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Sadly, someone who takes Awesomeness Is a Force so far that they seem Sueish doesn't have their awesome extend out of the pages they're on, and that "sympathetic" teen genius Wesley and "adorable" feisty pup Scrappy aren't exceptions either. Even the "cool" plot twist can go awry. What's an author to do? There's always the option of Putting Them on a Bus (also having that Bus Crash is optional) or hoping to succeed with an Author's Saving Throw, but this character, for various reasons, just can't be done away with like that. Well, there's only one thing left to do... get them Rescued From The Scrappy Heap. This is a reinterpretation of the character or idea, be it in the form of Character Development, a Retool, a Time Skip making the character mature a bit, or giving the actor acting lessons. In any event, they get fleshed out in a way that wins over bitter fans and breathes new life into the series. A few series can even do this intentionally, and have an otherwise unlikable Smug Snake evolve into a more human, three-dimensional character. Cases that weren’t planned out from the start are trickier to write, usually requiring the writers to pay attention to why the character is hated in the first place. Failing to do this will often just result in Character Shilling, and backfire stupendously. Of course, this assumes that fans hate the character for fundamentally rational reasons. If the character is hated arbitrarily, or for not fitting an archetype they were never intended to fit, then this trope becomes much harder to successfully invoke. Not to be confused with Took a Level in Badass, which, while capable of being a step in the right direction, is about a wimp becoming a badass. This is about a hated character becoming a much less hated character. Naturally, the two can be combined, if the main reason a character is disliked is their cowardice and lack of skill. In video games, sometimes the balance of a single character often causes them to become either a High-Tier Scrappy from being too strong or a Low-Tier Letdown from being too weak. Rescued From The Scrappy Heap in this case comes in the form of patches that rebalance the character, ironing out some weaknesses or reducing some aspects frustrating to be on the receiving end of. A change in personality is not a necessity in this case. In a way, this is the opposite of Canon Discontinuity, which excludes the character from the Canon entirely. Compare Ensemble Dark Horse (which is the best-case scenario for The Scrappy when they're redeemed) and Badass Decay. Contrast Author's Saving Throw, which is an attempt to Hand Wave away the offending element, rather than fix it outright. See Growing the Beard in case you feel this way about the show itself. Might overlap with Alas, Poor Scrappy, Reimagining the Artifact, or especially A Day in the Limelight. Closely related to Character Perception Evolution. Contrast Temporary Scrappy, which is a purposefully dislikable character that enters and goes in a short span.