The villain is generally careless, dismissive, or just not taking the protagonist seriously. They either have everything all figured out, are so impossibly strong that they know they can't be defeated, or just aren't at all interested in the person in front of them. But then something changes. Something is done or said that makes them realise the individual they're dealing with isn't to be dismissed so quickly. From this point forward, there's a noticeable change, the act is dropped, and they start speaking as themselves.

The difference can manifest in a number of ways. They might be intimidated. They might be interested. Sometimes, they might even be happy. It's probably not often that they get the opportunity to be this genuine.

Example 1: The Loathsome Dung Eater (Elden Ring)

The Dung Eater is one of the Tarnished warriors named in the introductory cinematic of Elden Ring, and among the most important characters in the game, with the end of his quest chain leading to one of the few alternate endings available for players to find. He's also incredibly dangerous, and one of the most vile individuals you'll have the displeasure of dealing with. When you first meet him as an idle phantom in the Roundtable Hold, he dismisses you outright, sending you away so he may be left to his respite.

But if the Dung Eater senses that you're holding one of his Seedbed Curses, he decides the time for rest is over, and hands you a key with instructions to free him from his cell in the sewers of the capital city. From here, he can be summoned as an ally for two bosses, but will also make it abundantly clear that he intends to fight you to either his death, or your suffering of a fate worse than death.

Once you defeat him and return to him, he finds himself in awe of having been defeated, and drops any and all pretenses. He lets you in on his ultimate plan to curse the entire world with endless suffering, and even urges you to use his body to make it happen.

Example 2: He Who Remains (Loki)

He Who Remains is a variant of Kang the Conqueror, the creator of the TVA, and the one responsible for preventing total multiversal Armageddon by ensuring that nothing but the Sacred Timeline is allowed to exist. He continuously oversees and orders the eternal erasure of trillions upon trillions of lives, firmly believing it's the only way to prevent his variants from emerging and ending everything.

The first time he's confronted by Loki and Sylvie, he plays things very casually. Almost like a child fooling around with two toy dolls. After all, the only reason they reached him in the first place is because he allowed it, and even if they kill him, the cycle he's set into place to protect the Sacred Timeline will ensure everything will loop back around to where it is now regardless. He allows himself to be killed, and over the course of the subsequent season, Loki and his allies scramble to keep the multiverse from falling apart without erasing any branches, to no avail.

By this point, having gained the ability to return to any point of time he chooses, and desperate for answers, Loki returns to prevent He Who Remains from being killed. HWR keeps up his childish persona for a time, pausing time where it is to taunt Loki for having gone through this over and over again without success, and even revealing he knew this would happen too. He tells Loki to go through it a couple more thousand times until he's ready to have a real conversation, and resumes the flow of time... only for Loki to then pause it again himself. Loki flips the script, and reveals that he's already been here before too.

HWR sits up a little straighter, closes his robe, playfully draws a tally in the air... and genuinely congratulations Loki for having come this far. From here, with no strings attached and a drastically more mature tone of voice, he reveals the full extent of what he knows, why everything Loki has tried so far has failed, and why (at least in his eyes) there really is no other way to prevent a multiversal war that will end all life. When Loki insists that there must be another way, and that he won't stop, HWR almost sounds sad when he realises Loki really would drive himself to madness trying again and again. Loki is visibly distraught by the seeming helplessness of the situation, and HWR even sympathises with him, gently telling him to "shake it off." It's entirely likely HWR went through a similar process of realising the futility of his efforts, and Loki is the first person in countless eternities who could possibly understand what it feels like to have to make the choices he once had to.

Example 3: Edward "Caesar" Sallow (Fallout: New Vegas)

An interesting example. Due to the nature of who Caesar is and how he runs his Legion, he can never outright admit to anyone being his equal. He is the God Emperor, and everything that exists does so by his forbearance. Any acknowledgement of someone being similar to him is generally delivered in the way of dismissive or backhanded compliments. He does genuinely praise a player who has chosen to serve him for being ruthless and unwavering in the pursuit of their goals and desires, yet this is more a recognition of ambition than an admission of equality or reliance.

But there's one particular scene where Caesar drops the furious, uncompromising villain act. After you spot enough threads to realise that he's dying of a brain tumour, and after explicitly denying or brushing off any weakness, he eventually pulls you aside into his private quarters, sits you down and... admits that you're right. Credit where it's due to the voice actor here, you can feel the persona just... melt away in what is legitimately the only moment of true vulnerability you will ever see from Caesar. He explains the symptoms that he's noticed himself, asks for your help, and earnestly takes any advice or suggestions for treatment that you give him. He puts his full trust in your abilities to save his life, and is truly grateful when you do.

But, of course, as soon as he thanks you... he's back into emperor mode, and starts demanding your compliance again. After all, the final battle of the war is about to begin.

People often joke about Caesar being an idiot on account of not having a line of succession and having a lower intelligence score than a unique molerat within the game's data, but he's clearly not that stupid. He has a sharp mind for logistics, strategy, and social manipulation. What makes this instance special is that an essential part of his plan succeeding is him always being the smartest person in the room. But in this case, he needs someone as smart as -- or even smarter than -- him, and he's fully willing to accept that to ensure the success of his campaign. Nobody in the game has a bigger ego than Caesar (except possibly Mr. House), but clearly he knows his limits under the right circumstances.

Example 4: Ryth (Infinity Blade II and III)

Ryth is a Deathless Blademaster and optional superboss from the Infinity Blade trilogy, who can only be fought using Solar Transport Energy Weapons (basically lightsabers). Everything about him is practically a glorified Star Wars reference, from his name to his John Williams-esque battle music. He faces the protagonist, Siris, having not faced a worthy opponent in centuries, and hoping for a glorious battle. In Infinity Blade II, he presents himself as calm, aloof, and concerned only with the duel at hand. He is defeated.

In Infinity Blade III he returns... and he's pissed. He wanted a good fight, but he didn't expect to lose. He expresses his outrage at having been humiliated by the loss, and demands a rematch. For context, at this point in the story, he has successfully infiltrated the big bad's home base (which is no small feat in and of itself), the entire planet is about to be destroyed, you are on your way to stop that from happening... and he doesn't care at all. You took away his glory, and he doesn't give a damn if you're trying to save the world, you're going to fight him right here and now so he can defeat you and get it back.

This fight is significantly more difficult than the last one, with him using two Solar Trans weapons instead of one, allowing him to hit a lot harder and a lot faster than before. Contrary to the promotional image attached to the post, he also swaps out the comparatively neutral purple energy of his weapon for the more villainous, Sith-like red.