At a convention, a famous writer once said “tropes are like gears, if you use them well, they can be an integral part of the engine/plot. Or, you can just throw them on the side and make a steampunk hat”

I took that to mean that tropes are just tools, and, if used right, aren’t even really noticed.

“complaining about a story having tropes is like complaining that a tree is made of wood”