More than Meets the Eye: Uchiha Itachi and the Good All Along Trope

***WARNING: This post contains spoilers for Naruto***

When it comes to tropes, the first thing that tends to pop into my mind is romance. Tropes like enemies to lovers, only one bed, and hurt/comfort are wildly popular in romantic plots, and it’s easy to understand why. They each hold so much potential for angst and drama. But recently, I found myself watching Naruto, and came across the Good All Along trope. This trope happens when, for whatever reason, a character must play the role of a villain in order to do good. Usually, this character is a double agent that provides valuable information about and/or hinders the real villain(s) plans. When they’re revealed to be a hero, it comes as a great shock to the protagonist.

Although the Good All Along trope isn’t typically associated with romantic plots, it holds just as much potential for angst. How far was the character willing to go to play the role of the villain? Were their actions completely justified/forgivable? And how does the protagonist react to learning they were never really evil? Answering these questions gives an author room to explore guilt, forgiveness, and love. The best example I’ve seen of the Good All Along trope being used to explore these topics is Uchiha Itachi in Naruto.

***A note before we begin: This post is part of the annual fantasy event, Wyrd and Wonder, hosted by Imyril, Lisa, Jorie, Annemieke, and Ariana.***

What Makes Uchiha Itachi a Perfect Example of the Good All Along Trope?

1. It didn’t completely contradict his previous character development

As a villain, Itachi was always portrayed as distant and calculating. His fight scenes revolve around him using genjutsu and his high intelligence to outwit his opponents. In flashback scenes, we see that Itachi was often dismissive of his younger brother, Sasuke, even if he seemed to hold a lot of affection towards him. Even if it’s surprising that Itachi was good all along, his personality was fitting for a double agent. He could use his intelligence to plan his actions to look villainous when he was actually holding back or completing a mission for the Leaf Village. It also makes sense that he was especially reserved, even towards his beloved brother, since he had to keep secrets in order to play the villain.

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When Itachi is reanimated and revealed to be good, his ability to strategize is put on full display. We first see this when Itachi manages to overcome the will of the reanimation caster, Kabuto. Earlier in the series, Itachi programmed Shisui’s eye to activate when it came into contact with his Mangekyo Sharingan. Shisui’s eye would order the person with Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan to protect the Leaf Village. He then implanted the eye into Naruto, correctly predicting that two events would take place. First, Sasuke would take Itachi’s eyes after killing him in order to become more powerful. Second, Naruto would be the one to battle Sasuke if he ever became a threat to the Leaf Village after learning the truth about Itachi. However, Itachi is reanimated before Naruto and Sasuke fight, so Shisui’s eye instead orders Itachi to protect the leaf village. Once freed from the reanimation caster’s will, Itachi quickly assesses the situation and formulates a plan to defeat Kabuto. His ability to overcome the reanimation caster’s will and quickly come up with a plan for a counter-attack demonstrate his intelligence. Seeing Itachi’s quick thinking in action makes it much more plausible to the viewer that he’d be able to work as a double agent for the leaf village.

Itachi also demonstrates his distant and secretive personality when he finally comes face to face with Sasuke. At first, Itachi ignores Sasuke, completely focused on his mission. When Sasuke confronts Itachi and demands answers, he refrains from giving Sasuke the whole truth. Itachi’s reluctance to explain his motivation and plans to Sasuke, even after he learns that Sasuke knows the truth about him, makes sense considering he’s always been a double agent. Itachi’s reserved and reflective nature kept him from revealing his secrets in order to protect the Leaf Village.

Lastly, the revelation that Itachi was actually Good All Along resolved the disconnect between his seemingly genuine affection towards his brother and the cold and unfeeling persona he took on as a villain. Even though Itachi could be dismissive towards Sasuke, it didn’t make sense to me that Itachi didn’t care about him at all. It truly looked like he loved a cared about his brother. When I learned that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan to prevent war and save his brother, it made a lot of sense to me.

Although I was shocked when I learned Itachi was actually a hero, it made sense when I looked back and thought about it. His character development made him a great villain but an even better double agent.

2. It’s still believable that people thought he was a villain

This point doesn’t need much explanation. I mean, he killed off his entire clan, including his friends and family. How could he not be evil?!

3. But at the same time, the motivation behind his actions was enough to make them understandable

I’m not going to say Itachi was right to commit genocide, but once you see how Danzo and the other village elders manipulated him when he was still a child, it becomes harder to blame him. In the flashbacks to before Itachi killed his clan, we learn that Shisui was supposed to use his unique visual Jutsu to prevent the leaders of the Uchiha clan from continuing their war plans. However, before Shisui can complete his mission, Danzo attacks him and takes one of his eyes. Danzo’s attack causes Shisui to miss the village meeting when he was supposed to use his Jutsu. The village was already running out of time to prevent war, and Danzo is convinced the only way is to eliminate the Uchiha clan.

Danzo then approaches Itachi and tells him that the war will result in the death of everyone in the Uchiha clan, including his beloved younger brother. However, if Itachi kills everyone in the Uchiha clan to prevent the war, he can at least guarantee his brother’s safety.

Looking at the whole story, it’s clear that Danzo deserves most of the blame for the genocide of the Uchiha clan. He sabotaged the original plan to preserve peace and convinced Itachi that preventing war was his sole responsibility. He even goes so far as to threaten Itachi with the death of his brother if he doesn’t comply.

In conclusion, Danzo is the real villain. But since this post isn’t about him, I’ll continue with my analysis of Itachi.

You might also like my review of Jade City by Fonda Lee, another great story with morally grey characters.

4. In the end, he’s not completely redeemed

Ironically, Itachi admits that his inability to be honest with Sasuke was also his downfall. While Itachi’s ability to keep secrets made him a great spy, it also kept him from finding an alternative to preventing war. If Itachi hadn’t killed the Uchiha clan, Sasuke never would have set out for revenge and helped instigate The Fourth Shinobi War. In his final moments, Itachi wonders if he wouldn’t have needed to kill the Uchiha clan if he’d been honest with Sasuke from the beginning. He believed that Sasuke could have changed the Uchiha clan if Itachi had given him a chance.

I also think Itachi had the option of going to the Third Hokage after Danzo ordered him to kill the Uchiha clan. The Third Hokage wanted to find a peaceful solution and had more authority than Danzo. Itachi could have reported Danzo’s actions to the Third Hokage and worked out another solution. The fact that Itachi agreed to complete the mission, means he either agreed with Danzo’s decision or he didn’t think of asking someone else for help. I personally think it’s the latter. This goes back to Itachi’s independent nature. He didn’t ask the Third Hokage for help for the same reason he wasn’t upfront with Sasuke. He was already accustomed to keeping his secrets and solving problems on his own, which was ultimately his tragic flaw.

So, while it’s easy to understand Itachi’s motivation for killing the Uchiha clan, he had options besides genocide. He still had to face the consequences of his own actions, and he was always honest with himself about that. When he first meets his partner in the Akatsuki, Kisame, he bluntly tells him that “No one who dares to raise a hand against a comrade ever dies a peaceful death”. Itachi knows that killing the Uchiha clan was deplorable and expects to face the consequences.

5. Too late to change anything

The most heartbreaking thing about Itachi’s story was the possibility that his actions were never necessary. What would have happened if he’s told his brother the whole truth right from the start? As the audience, we’re able to sympathize with Itachi for wanting to save his brother, but even Itachi admits that he made a mistake by keeping his secrets for so long and treating Sasuke like a helpless child.

Regardless of whether Itachi’s actions were right or wrong, it was too late to change anything. He made his decision and accepted the consequences.

Conclusion

Itachi’s story has so many layers that make it so impactful as the good all along trope. The fact that he was such a believable villain, but at the same time, his personality fit perfectly into the double agent role. It was impossible not to sympathize with his character for what he went through, but there was still that lingering question of whether genocide was really necessary to prevent war. I also love that the author didn’t force the audience to see Itachi as completely righteous. Instead, it’s up to you to decide whether his actions were justifiable.

Do you think Itachi was really good all along? Or was he just another villain with the right idea but the wrong plan?

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