History Main / ConflictingLoyalty

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Suzaku Kururugi is Japanese by birth, and only wants to protect his country - and is working in the military of TheEmpire that invaded it. And then there are his loyalties to the people he cares about, many of whom are at various points on opposite sides of the conflict. And then there's his personal ideology...
** Not to mention [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]], who himself has this conflict starting when he finds out he's the pilot of the Lancelot.

** Later in the series, [[spoiler: Mikasa comes under suspicion while the Alliance plans to fight Eren and his genocidal ambitions. Although Mikasa consistently stood with the Scouts even as Eren grew detached, they are also long-time friends and adoptive siblings, with Mikasa’s crush on Eren being apparent to everyone. Even after Eren declares that he always hated her, she still insists on stopping him without killing him, causing doubt that she would be able to do so if push came to shove. This is compounded by Eren’s claim that Mikasa, as a member of the genetically-engineered Ackermann family, is bonded to him as a “host” and thus is little more than his slave. Ultimately, Mikasa proves her loyalty to the cause by killing Eren, who deliberately pushed her away to stop her from throwing her life away by joining his ThanatosGambit. His claim about her Ackermann blood is likewise shown to be false, with Eren’s half-brother Zeke explaining that Mikasa was so dedicated to him not out of any brainwashing, but because she loved him]].

** Later in the series, [[spoiler: Mikasa comes under suspicion while the Alliance plans to fight Eren and his genocidal plans. Although Mikasa consistently stood with the Scouts even as Eren grew detached, they are also long-time friends and adoptive siblings, with Mikasa’s crush on Eren being apparent to everyone. Even after Eren declares that he always hated her, she still insists on stopping him without killing him, causing doubt that she would be able to do so if push came to shove. This is compounded by Eren’s claim that Mikasa, as a member of the genetically-engineered Ackermann family, is bonded to him as a “host” and thus is little more than his slave. Ultimately, Mikasa proves her loyalty to the cause by killing Eren, who deliberately pushed her away to stop her from throwing her life away by joining his ThanatosGambit. His claim about her Ackermann blood is likewise shown to be false, with Eren’s half-brother Zeke explaining that Mikasa was so dedicated to him not out of any brainwashing, but because she loved him]].

** Jaime Lannister is known across Westeros as the [[TheOathbreaker Kingslayer]] for killing the king he swore to protect. He provides the page quote when he points out that the oaths about honoring your family and honoring your King are forced to be helplessly contradictory sooner or later. But once the readers get to know him, they learn that Jaime can actually be very loyal, if his loyalty is earned (or if [[FoolForLove you sleep with him enough]]). When he killed the king, he chose between his duty to his king and to his father and family. Also, the fact that choosing his family meant saving thousands of innocent lives is what tipped the balance for him. He also debates with a fellow Kingsguard whether their vow to protect the royal family extends to [[MaritalRapeLicense protecting the Queen from the King]].

Related to SadisticChoice. Compare RebelliousRebel, AntiMutiny. Sometimes invokes HonorBeforeReason. SuperTrope to EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes and ToBeLawfulOrGood. May be caused by DoubleConsciousness.

* A driving force in the plot of ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' is how attached undercover agent [[CowboyCop Wei Shen]] gets to the Triad gang he's infiltrating, and whether he'll end up [[BecomingTheMask defecting]] or not.

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** This is often a recurring theme in the series; usually it's an enemy general struggling between his conscience and their loyalty to the nation they serve. Characters who choose their nation are called Camus archetypes by the fans, while characters who choose their conscience are called Lorenz archetypes.
** Ishtar in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' is torn between her love for her family and the big bad, the reincarnation of the evil god, and what's right. She chooses to basically suicide on your army.
** You also get to experience this decision for yourself in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', where you must choose whether to side with the homeland you were born in or the country that raised you. You may also TakeAThirdOption.
** You get hit with this in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' if you're a Black Eagle. Chapter 11 reveals [[spoiler:Edelgard is the Flame Emperor who has been orchestrating attacks on the Church throughout Part 1; if you accompanied her to her coronation in Enbarr, you must choose whether to side with the student you've been teaching for the better part of a year or the Church who has been signing your paychecks for the same amount of time. If you didn't accompany her for whatever reason, you are automatically forced to side with the Church.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has Axel. Although he apparently suffers from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has no issues with being a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent when necessary, he's shown some capacity to be conflicted in which side to stick with:
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion conflicts with [[spoiler:his orders by the Organization to [[LetsYouAndHimFight "let things run their natural course"]].]] Even his [[spoiler:friendship with the pair suffers from this trope, as he comes to realize that only one of them can survive, and one of them has to perish to ensure the survival of the other.]]
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', his friendship with Roxas is again the driving factor of his Conflicting Loyalty. While he has no qualms with his orders to bring Roxas back, he starts to grow disgruntled with his superiors when he is tasked to [[spoiler:eliminate Roxas]]. He eventually [[spoiler:screws over the Organization, and starts working independently]], leading to a TearJerker when he [[spoiler:dies at Sora's side, lamenting the fact that he never got to revive Roxas]]. Fortunately, by the events of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', [[spoiler:Roxas is revived by Sora and Vexen, and reunites with Axel]].
* In ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'', Nessiah's first prerogative may be to ensure the safety and growth of the Gran Centurio, but he's also implied to care fairly deeply for the Imperial Army. When forced to choose between [[spoiler:protecting the Imperial Army by killing the player's army, thus ensuring that the sword's current wielder will die, or joining up with the player to rescue Yggdra and oversee the Gran Centurio's growth personally, he decides to TakeAThirdOption and kills himself to let things play out as naturally as possible. (Which isn't as extreme as it sounds, because Nessiah's pretty nonchalant about dying [[{{Immortality}} for obvious reasons]].)]] This is probably also done to preserve the balance of the game, but Nessiah having conflicted loyalties is the most reasonable explanation in-plot.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', Saturn realizes in the post-game that what he'd been working for was truly terrifying (he tries to tell you that he didn't know what his previous leader, Cyrus, was really after, but he was the first character to tell you the extent of the plan, so either he's lying or he's trying to convince himself that he didn't know). But he still believes in the ultimate ideal, which is a peaceful world. Having been left in charge of Team Galactic by default, he says he's going to try to work for basically what he's always worked for, having realized that "extremism is never the answer".
* Etna from ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' has great loyalty to King Krichevskoy, so great in fact that it remained with her even when she [[spoiler: lost her memory.]] But she also made a promise to him; to [[spoiler: protect Laharl and make sure he become a great Overlord,]] which may or may not be more then Etna can stand.
* This trope is the basis for both Beatrix and Steiner's character development in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', where they stand torn between their sworn duty to protect Princess Garnet, and their loyalty to Queen Brahne who means to kill the girl. It's only when they find the queen trying to kill the princess outright that they finally come their senses and [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight rebel]].

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' - Miranda is [[UndyingLoyalty loyal to the end]] for Cerberus, having given up everything so they could protect her from her father. Then Shepard comes along and wins her loyalty by treating her as her own person and helping her out with a personal issue without expecting anything in return. In the endgame, if she goes with Shepard into the FinalBoss area, when forced to choose between Shepard and Cerberus, she chooses [[spoiler: Shepard. Without hesitation]].
** In [[VideoGame/MassEffect1 the first game]], Shepard is a Commander in the Systems Alliance Navy (Earth's SpaceNavy) who gets invited to become a Spectre, a special operative serving the will of the Citadel Council (a multi-species governing body for TheFederation, which doesn't yet include Earth). It's ultimately up to the player which organization Shepard is more loyal to. Renegade!Shepard is loyal to humanity alone, and sees the Citadel Council and their resources as a means to an end; Paragon!Shepard wants humanity to ''join'' the Citadel Council, and believes in cooperation between all species. This is highlighted when Shepard must seek the help of several non-human allies--the krogan [[TheBigGuy Urdnot Wrex]], the turian [[SpaceCop Garrus Vakarian]], the quarian [[WrenchWench Tali'zorah nar Rayya]], and the asari [[TheSmartGuy Liara T'Soni]]--to stop the BigBad; some of the ''Normandy'''s crew are uneasy with the new arrivals, wondering whether their Commander is still loyal to ''them''.
** In the first game, [[CowboyCop Garrus]] has trouble reconciling his decision to go rogue and fight alongside Shepard with the [[ByTheBookCop typical Turian ideology]]. He ultimately accepts the fact that he's "not a very good Turian" and settles for being an ''extremely'' good [[TheLancer lancer]] to the galaxy's best chance of avoiding extinction.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Solatorobo}}'', [[spoiler:Elh must choose between her duty to seal Lares (which requires the sacrifice of Red) and her loyalty to her friend. She ultimately can't do it and stops the Rite mid-way, unable to bring herself to finish.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', Yasha had to choose between his family and his duty to protect humanity from the Gohma, since Deus' plan required Asura (Yasha's brother-in-law) being scapegoated as a traitor and Mithra (his niece) enslaved as the Brahmastra's Mantra-channeler. After witnessing many people suffering after the Gohma's recent attack, Yasha sided with Deus. It got worse for Yasha since his sister Durga (Asura's wife and Mithra's mother) was also killed [[spoiler:though it's unclear whether Deus ordered it or Sergei did it on his own just to anger Asura]]. 12,000 years later, Yasha has to make the choice again when Asura returns, hell-bent on saving Mithra. He initially remains loyal to Deus since he still believes stopping the Gohma is more important than anything. Ultimately, Yasha turns against Deus after battling [[spoiler:Wrath Asura]] helps Yasha realize that if there's even the slightest chance to stop the Gohma without resorting to Deus' horrific plan, then he has to take it.
* A driving force in the plot of ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' is how attached undercover agent [[CowboyCop Wei Shen]] gets to the Triad gang he's infiltrating, and whether he'll end up [[BecomingTheMask defecting]] or not.
* A relatively minor example happens in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' in patch 4.1 Rise of the Zandalari. Following the Cataclysm, the previously player friendly Zandalari trolls have decided that they will rebuild the troll civilization [[JumpingOfftheSlipperySlope at any costs]], to which end they start making alliances with all the various barbaric troll tribes scattered throughout Azeroth, including the Horde aligned Darkspear Trolls,[[spoiler: whose leader refuses the offer in a very much awesome manner:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Zandalari Leader''':Vol'jin of the Darkspear. You would turn your back on your own people?\\
'''Vol'jin''': Da Horde is my people. If it be war you bring, den i stand against you.\\
'''Zandalari Leader''': So be it, Darkspear.]]
** One expansion later (in the tie-in book Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde), Vol'jin's loyalty to the Horde is considerably weakened. [[spoiler: The former Warchief, Thrall, had appointed an unfit replacement (even the replacement '''himself''' thought so), Garrosh, who had always been a reckless warmonger compared to his predecessor's calm, moderate personality. As the months pass, Garrosh becomes more and more unhinged, turning into a dictator with fewer and fewer qualms about executing noncombatants or even fellow Horde members. Thrall's response to this is... nonexistent; nothing is done about it. Vol'jin and Garrosh had never liked each other, and following Garrosh simply attempting to have Vol'jin killed in secret, Vol'jin is again approached by the Zandalari. The troll attempting to recruit him this time is doing so without direct orders to do so, [[WorthyOpponent because she admired the strength it took to defy the Zandalari last time]], and [[SympathyForTheHero she truly believes he's getting a raw deal from the Horde these days]]. [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine She holds his friends hostage in order to make him listen to her pitch]], but admits she's willing to defy orders and let them go if it helps sway him. With his loyalty to the Horde at its absolute lowest, Vol'jin is '''actually conflicted''', and spends a long time wondering if taking the Darkspear and joining the Zandalari '''would''' be the right thing to do. [[StupidEvil Of course, when she brings him to her superiors and they spend the entire meeting treating him with scorn]], he makes his mind up in a hurry and just engineers a midnight breakout instead.]]
** And in a straight {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, despite the fact we would expect the mantid to be absolutely loyal to their HiveQueen by virtue of being a race of {{Bee People}}, the [[PraetorianGuard Klaxxi's]] main goal is to keep in check the [[HiveQueen Mantid Empress]] in the case she ever becomes a threat to the [[BeePeople mantid]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy civilization]]. In the game, the current Mantid Empress has become corrupted by the [[EldritchAbomination Sha of Fear]], and has engaged in all sorts of [[TheCorruption morally]] [[WeHaveReserves questionable]] [[OmnicidalManiac activities]] due to it, so it's of no surprise that the Klaxxi want her dead. A better example comes from the backstory of one of the Paragons, whom is noted to not be the first time he has to fight a rogue Empress, altough that particular situation seems to have been much {{grey|AndGrayMorality}}er ([[ValuesDissonance by human standards, not mantid]]), he still seems to not have had much of a problem [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what had to be done]]:
-->'''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Xaril the Poisoned Mind]]''': How does it feel to go rogue a second time, Swarmkeeper? Your empress was also gripped by paranoia, was she not?\\
'''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hisek the Swarmkeeper]]''': Grand Empress Zek'hara masked her true intentions behind the guise of matronly worry. She claimed her overbearing ways were necessary to protect us. When she tried to forbid [[TrainingFromHell the swarm]], it was to prevent, as she put it, [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife "a senseless loss of life."]] In reality, she was obsessed with control. [[BlueAndOrangeMorality She aspired to stay in power long past her time, and was willing to sacrifice our eternal cycle to achieve that.]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo We had no choice but]] [[DeadlyEuphemism to end her.]] How does it feel? [[IRegretNothing I have no regrets, if that is what you are asking.]] I am honored to serve the will of the Klaxxi. And having seen what Grand Empress Shek'zeer is doing to our land... [[PayEvilUntoEvil I need no convincing]].
* In ''VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction'', Kyrie promises Morte that [[LoveMakesYouDumb he'll help her end the world if that's what she wants]], but after Elephas Rex [[ArmorPiercingQuestion points out that he can't be with her if the world is destroyed]], Kyrie begins to feel an internal conflict between his desire to keep his promise and his desire to keep Morte safe. He ultimately chooses [[spoiler:to save her - and the world - by asking Naja to kill him so he can't lose control of himself. This causes Morte to change her mind and decide that remaking the world is better than outright destroying it, and after finding a way to resurrect him, that's exactly what they set out to do]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Infernal}}'', Lt. Barbara Mitchell, an [=EtherLight=] member and a friend of Lennox, is with Lennox at a bar when the [=EtherLight=] ambush occurs. She seems to have been ordered to kill Lennox as part of it, but after briefly pointing a gun at him, tells him to run. This conflicting loyalty lingers - she doesn't like what [=EtherLight=] is up to, but isn't keen on Lennox's association with the Abyss, either, wondering if she can still trust him now that he's all demon-y. In the end, she sides with Lennox, although there's a bit of DoubleAgent confusion before that's clear.

* In the Sith Warrior's story in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', this ends up being the reason that [[spoiler: Quinn betrays you]]. Whether you simply view them as TheMole or as a more nuanced case of conflicting loyalties depends partly on your choices.
* The ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic II'' expansion ''The Price of Loyalty'' had this in one of its campaigns. Interestingly it ''isn't'' the eponymous campaign, but in [[spoiler: "Voyage Home"]], where the final scenario is a war between the protagonist's sister (whom he is close to) and his king (who has treated the protagonist honorably during his years of service, giving him no reason to rebel), with the protagonist forced to choose which side to fight on.

** Javier Escuella has this. While still blindly obedient to Dutch van der Linde, [[spoiler: he's noticeably hesitant in drawing his gun on Arthur Morgan and John Marston, whereas the rest of Dutch's loyalists aimed at them without question.]]

* Raubahn in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' is the leader of Ul'dah, but is a native to Ala Mhigo, a city state that was taken over by TheEmpire. In ''Stormblood'', Ala Mhigo is freed, which makes Raubahn happy since his homeland can now start anew. As much as he wants to return to his homeland, he feels that he has to stay behind in Ul'dah to serve and protect Nanamo like he had sworn to do. [[spoiler: Nanamo can sense Raubahn's inner turmoil and she makes the decision for him by effectively firing him from his role, which would allow him to stay in Ala Mhigo.]]
** Vtra in the ''Endwalker'' story wants to find his sister [[spoiler: who had sealed a void gate behind her so that the voidsent couldn't invade]], but he refuses to do so because he feels his duty as ruler of Radz-at-Han is more important and he can't leave his people behind. The citizens learn of this and encourage Vtra to go find his sister and that they can take care of themselves.

* Comes up a few times in ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'': [[spoiler: Jun]] between [[spoiler: Touma]] and his own wishes in the Ryuuzetsuran route, Chris between Yamato and [[spoiler: her father]] in her own route, the entire group between [[spoiler: Miyako and Wanko]] in Miyako's route, so on and so forth.

** Chojiro hesitates to side with Enju, not because he doesn't have feelings for her, but because, if he did, [[spoiler: Koga would be destroyed if he did not kill her. Chojiro, having survived the loss of his first village, is terrified of losing his home again.]]
** Near the end of his route, Hanzo is torn between his love for Enju or completing his mission. [[spoiler: Ieyasu orders him to kill Enju to secure the position of Hideyori's guardian. Ultimately, Hanzo chooses to protect Enju from the rest of his clan. Thankfully, Ieyasu lets him off by only ordering ''proof'' of Enju's death (in the form of her bloodied sash), allowing her to live on in secret and spare Hanzo from defying his orders.]]

* {{ZigZagged}} in ''WebAnimation/{{Lackadaisy}},'' when Marigold Gang ConsummateProfessional Mordecai shows reluctance to join a CarChaseShootout, his underling Serafine [[DiscussedTrope asks directly]] whether they should "worry about you gettin' sentimental about [[WeUsedToBeFriends old times]]." Mordecai proceeds to acquit himself by SnipingTheCockpit of rival Lackadaisy Gang's fleeing car, subsequently engaging their gunner Freckle in a [[DarkenedBuildingShootout shootout]], each time only defeated by TheLeader Rocky's wildly unpredictable intercessions. But when he ''finally'' lines up another, better shot at Lackdaisy's rear window and locks eyes with their frightened [[spoiler: getaway driver Ivy, he doesn't take the shot, implying his underlings were right, after all.]] Confusing the matter further, in TheStinger, Mordecai readily recommends to his boss that the Lackadaisy runners now "warrant our attention," which suggests nothing good.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' Therkla is ordered by her master Kubota to kill Elan, who she is in love with. Elan successfully persuades her to quit even if he won't be her boyfriend, but she still won't betray Kubota. She tries to convince Kubota to step back because Hinjo already knows everything about his plan, but she also tries to convince Elan not to kill Kubota. Finally, she realizes that she can't have it both ways [[spoiler: and sides with Elan. It doesn't end well for her, as Kubota immediately hits her with a PoisonedWeapon.]]

** Lilith herself is both a subversion and a straight example; she has no Loyalty left for Charlie, which is why she is happy she is the one he managed to capture. Some of her decrypted sisters still loved him and would have begged to be let back into the fold, and [[spoiler:he would have dissected them anyway]]. Later, Wanda does something very stupid by countermanding one of Parson's orders. When Parson asks Lilith what happened, Lilith thinks to herself that sometimes you don't know which way your Loyalty is going to fall until a choice actually appears in front of you. [[spoiler:Then she tells Parson the truth, that it was Wanda's fault]].

* Phase of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. Brought up as an heir in the Goodkind family to hate mutants and know they are a threat to everything one should care about. Then Phase manifests as a mutant and ends up at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] and in Team Kimba, where he is expected to support mutants and hate the Goodkind family. He's loyal to his family even after what they did to him. He's loyal to his friends and has risked his life for them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', Karai's loyalty to the Foot and her father will often clash with her loyalty to the turtles, who helped her restore the Foot when she asked for their aid.

** [[AntiVillain Zuko]] goes through this throughout the entire third season. He's finally got everything he's ever wanted, but he's betrayed the only family who cared for him. Team Avatar, his ''enemies'', care more for him then his father and sister do. And then we find out that [[spoiler:his grandfathers are not just Fire Lord Sozin but also Avatar Roku, splitting him even further. He finally chooses Team Avatar and his uncle - [[ThrowTheDogABone a decision which ultimately pays off in spectacular style]].]]

* Kaldur/Aqualad went through this in the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' episode "Downtime", wondering if he should stay on the team or return home to {{Atlantis}} where his crush Tula was. This was eventually resolved when [[spoiler:he found out Tula was already in a relationship with his best friend Garth and he decided to pull an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy]] and thus return to Young Justice in good terms.
* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' villain Discord manipulates Rainbow Dash this way by tricking her into thinking she has to make a choice - stay and play the game by the rules or retake her wings and fly off to save her hometown from being destroyed. [[spoiler:She picks the latter, and Discord uses this as an excuse to declare the game over because ''someone cheated.'' Not that it mattered anyway, as [[MortonsFork regardless of which choice she made]], she'd play into his hand by betraying something she cares about and going against her Element Of Harmony [[XanatosGambit which was Discord's intention]].]]
** ''Rainbow Falls'' has a decidedly less sadistic version where Rainbow Dash is forced to choose between her loyalty to her friends and the Ponyville Team (which, to not mince words, ''sucks''), and her loyalty to the Wonderbolts and their team. This turns out to be her SecretTestOfCharacter which in turn bestows her the Loyalty key to the Tree of Harmony chest.
** Another one that counts is Sugar Belle in the big finale episode. The pony races fall for Queen Chrysalis spreading rumors and hate and causing the pony races to hole up with their own kind. In Ponyville, we see unicorn Sugar Belle choosing her new husband Big Mac and his family, who are earth ponies, rather than holing up with the rest of the unicorns in Canterlot.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', Ms. Marvel becomes the first superhero to work for two teams: The Avengers and SWORD. This fact comes to a head when Hawkeye becomes accused of being a Skrull in disguise, and Ms. Marvel risks harming her relationships with the Avengers if she turns him in.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', as the movie goes on, Mei becomes conflicted between remaining Ming's dutiful daughter or loosening up and being true to herself with her friends. It eventually culminates in Mei being forced to choose between [[spoiler:having her red panda spirit extracted per her family's wishes or going to the 4*Town concert to reconcile with her friends.]]

* ''Film/JasonsLyric'': The primary theme. The main character, Jason, is a [[TheDutifulSon dutiful son]] who used to be a breadwinner to his family [[spoiler:following his father's passing]] and vows to prioritize their well-beings above his, particularly his troubled younger brother, Joshua. However, when he found love in [[LoveInterest Lyric]], he starts to feel torn between his family or his wish to be with Lyric. Upon learning Joshua has become insufferably unbearable, he eventually leaves his brother for good and chooses to be with Lyric.
* ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'':
-->'''Arab:''' You are loyal to England...\\
'''Lawrence:''' And other things...
* In ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin Skywalker falls to TheDarkSide when circumstances force him to choose between his loyalty to the Jedi and the need to save Padmé, which Palpatine promises he would be able to do. [[TragicMistake He chooses Padmé]]. He ''finally'' makes the right decision in ''Star Wars Episode VI: Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

* Tony Leung's Alan from ''Film/HardBoiled'' also has to deal with conflicting loyalties, both due to having to choose between Johnny Wong and his old triad boss, and also being an undercover cop as well.
* In ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', the ''Enterprise'' has a different captain, Decker, but he's quickly replaced by [[TheCaptain Kirk]] and demoted to first mate. This sets up a number of moments of conflicting loyalty for the crew, particularly in a scene where Decker countermands one of Kirk's orders because he has better knowledge of how the new, improved ''Enterprise'' works.
* This is a major problem for undercover LAPD Officer Brian O'Connor in ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious2001'', who is assigned to obtain evidence against Dominic Toretto and his team of truck jackers. He ends up falling for Toretto's sister and becomes Toretto's friend. In the end, he chooses to let Toretto go.

* Vincento in ''Film/HussarBallad'' finds himself facing a choice of either exposing a Russian spy and sending a FriendlyEnemy to his death or covering for him and betraying his own vow to his army and country. He chooses the latter, [[spoiler: saving the hero(ine)'s life, but the defection ends tragically for him, as he is shot by the French]].

* In ''Literature/AncillaryJustice'', the ship AI Justice of Torren [[spoiler: is made to kill one of its officers by TheEmperor Anaander Miaani, but immediately afterwards turns against him. At the end of the book the entire Radchaai empire faces one when it is revealed that Miaani has a SplitPersonality and is at war with himself.]]

** In order to gain the political support of the Freys, Robb [[spoiler:vows to marry a daughter from the Frey family. However, when he sleeps with a girl while he is pledged to the Frey daughter, he must choose to either keep his vow to marry the Frey daughter or protect the honor of the girl. He chooses to protect the girl's honor and breaks his oath to the Freys -- resulting in far-reaching consequences.]]

* Drives the plot of ''[[Literature/AssassinFantastic On My Honor]]'': the POVCharacter is a DoubleAgent, working as a trusted assassin under a queen while secretly remaining loyal to his homeland. This puts him in a tight spot when the queen sends him to murder the current king of his country...
* ''Literature/TheAssassinsOfTamurin'': Lale is torn between loyalty to her {{Cult}} mother and her lover after she [[BecomingTheMask becomes the mask]].
* The ''Literature/BhagavadGita'' makes this at least Older Than Feudalism. Arjuna's family has usurped his crown with the only hope of getting it back being to fight them for it, and he is stuck between two conflicting dharmas (duties): his duty to his family and his duty as a soldier and a king. Eventually, Krishna sorts him out and tells him that he should suck it up and fight the battle.
* ''Literature/TheChosen'': Danny must choose between his father and friendship with Reuven.
* ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'': Morrelia is deeply committed to protecting humanity and other surface races from the monsters of the Dungeon. Having spent several months with the Colony, though, and watched the ants repeatedly protect their surface allies, she no longer really considers the ants to be monsters, but a peaceful people deserving protection. Unfortunately, having joined the Abyssal Legion in order to better fight against the monsters, she's obliged to take up arms when the Legion decides that the Colony is an unacceptable threat, leaving her torn and uncertain about what is the right thing to do. [[spoiler:She eventually allows herself to be captured by the Colony and used as a bargaining chip, causing the Legion's assault to fail, and she then pursues a leadership role so that she'll be able to influence future decisions and avoid being caught in the same dilemma.]]
* ''Literature/DaisyMiller'': Winterbourne must choose between Daisy (Rome's local strange girl who has caught his eye) and the approval of his peers (who scorn her for being a [[GoodBadGirl shameless flirt]]).
* ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'': In ''Brothers In Arms'', one of the commanders mentions that this is why he didn't want to be a knight. He feared the potential for his lord and his god to demand conflicting things of him.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix,'' Marietta Edgecombe is torn between her loyalty to Cho and her loyalty to the Ministry. She chooses [[spoiler: the ministry, at what would have been the expense of Cho and a lot of other student's careers seeing as they would have all been expelled and unable to complete their NEWT exams, and for many of them their OWL exams as well if not for Dumbledore's intervention. It's implied that either she did not take Voldemort's return seriously or she believed the Ministry propaganda about him not being back, since she went willingly on her own to expose the DA to Umbridge. In her defence, Marietta has no actual loyalty to the Ministry herself- it's her mother who is employed there and she's presumably concerned about the possible effect on her career if her daughter was caught working against it.]]
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, many of the Havenite characters experience this between the first and second revolution, when they're forced to deal with the conflict between their duty and honor, the loyalty to their nation, and the demands of serving an increasingly sociopathic dictatorship.
* ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'': At the end, Vimes is briefly torn between his loyalty to the law and his loyalty to the Patrician. He picks, as the Patrician knew he would, the law. Anything else wouldn't be Sam Vimes.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfBembibre'': Beatriz is torn between loyalty to her father Alonso -who wants her to marry the amoral Count of Lemos- and her lover Álvaro, feeling reluctant to disobey her father but flatly and stubbornly refusing to accept any other man as her husband.
* ''Literature/LesMiserables'': Conflicting Loyalties are build up in a majority of characters (including, but not limited to: Cosette, Jean, Eponine, and Gillenormand). But special notice should be given to Marius and [[spoiler:Javert]]; Marius, because it's his position in the novel, and [[spoiler:Javert]] because of the twist. Conflicting Loyalties are a central theme of the novel.
* ''Literature/MySisterTheSerialKiller'': Korede is fiercely protective of Ayoola, her younger sister. She is also worried for Tade, Ayoola's newest boyfriend, as Ayoola has killed her last three suitors. It doesn't help that Korede had unrequited feelings for Tade before he met and became infatuated with Ayoola.
* ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'': Conflicts of loyalty play a huge part. To point out the more important ones: In the matter of the murder of Siegfried, Gunther is torn between his obligation to protect the honour of his wife Brunhilde and those towards his vassal and brother-in-law Siegfried. Later, after the deed is done, Gunther and his brothers are torn between their feudal obligation to protect their vassal Hagen and their fraternal loyalty towards their sister Kriemhild; they opt for Hagen. Rüdiger of Bechlarn is visibly torn between the oaths he swore to his queen Kriemhild and to the Burgundians, one of whom is betrothed to Rüdiger's daughter. Kriemhild has to choose between her sisterly affections to her brothers (especially Giselher, the youngest) and to her loyalty to her dead husband Siegfried. She eventually opts for the latter, allowing Gernot and Giselher to die in battle and ordering Gunther to be executed. This is an interesting switch from earlier versions of the story (preserved e. g. in the Icelandic Atli-saga), she killed her second husband Atli (Etzel) in order to avenge her dead brothers.
* ''Literature/NightfallSeries'': Myra is loyal to the Resistance. Still, [[spoiler:she won't let them kill Vladimir and helps him escape from the cave.]]
* In the third book of ''Literature/TheQueensThief'' series, Costis finds his loyalty torn between his queen and king. He wonders what he would do if they should ever go against each other.
* In the Literature/RachelPengNovels, set in the Webcomic/AGirlAndHerFed universe, Rachel repeatedly has to choose between protecting OACET and obeying the law--and while she tries very hard to make everyone think the law comes first, more often than not OACET wins out.
* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': ''Defender of the Crown'' forces Isengrim to choose between [[spoiler: his friendship with Reynard (who is rapidly approaching the MoralEventHorizon) and his own notions of right and wrong.]]
* In the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series, Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz is torn between loyalty to his new American wife, and to Spain. [[spoiler:Ultimately, the wife wins.]]

* A major theme of ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm]]'' novel ''The Stone Prince]]'', in which a great deal of bloodshed is caused by characters torn between love and duty.

--->''My brother is lost to me, and I am caught between [[ThickerThanWater the ties of blood to my family]] and [[FireForgedFriends my duty to the Chapter]]. . . ''

* Sebastian in ''Literature/TheGardellaVampireChronicles'', whose behavior is ambiguous because [[spoiler: (a) he comes from the Gardella vampire slayer line, and yet (b) has a relative who is a vampire that he is very close to.]]
* In Creator/MelisaMichael's ''Skyrider'' series, as tensions heat up between the [[AsteroidMiners belt]] and Earth, Skyrider's primary loyalty is to the belt, but she stayed out of the last war because she has close family still living on Earth.
* The new canonic version of [[Franchise/StarWars Grand Admiral Thrawn]] is shown to have divided loyalties between the Galactic Empire and the Chiss Ascendancy. He does his best to maneuver in such a way as to keep him loyal to both, but both the Emperor and Vader ask him several times point-blank about his true loyalties in ''Literature/{{Thrawn}}'' and ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances''. While Vader is initially fearful that Thawn is Palpatine's new favorite, he realizes that Thrawn will never give up his loyalty to the Chiss and would thus never fully commit to the Empire, thus his own position is safe. In fact, in ''Alliances'', Thrawn actually makes a call that is more beneficial to the Empire than to the Ascendancy [[spoiler:by sending the Grysks a warning to stay away from the Empire, while also giving his full name, which identifies him as a Chiss (knowing full well the Grysk propensity to attack the nearest target)]].
* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Sylvester has family members in different two different factions of the nobility. He's already defying the trope by the time his situation is made explicit; one group was consistently making use of ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections while the other was being consistently hard-working and loyal to Sylvester, making choosing a side relatively easy. [[spoiler:Or so it first seems. The faction associated with the realtives he turns his back on also contained the most people who supported his rule, and many of those people are starting to like the idea of seeing his older sister in his seat. The faction associated with the relatives Sylvester sided with, meanwhile, is overall reluctant to support him until he makes clearer political moves in their favor, and many of those that the faction's members have in mind are some Sylvester has no plans to make]].
* Lancelot of Myth/ArthurianLegend is torn viciously between his place as Arthur's general and Guinevere's knight, to say the least of the romantic involvement. ''Literature/LancelotTheKnightOfTheCart'' makes little of this, as Arthur is mostly an inept and impotent king, but from ''Literature/LeMorteDArthur'' onwards it tends to be one of the driving forces of the tragedy. ''Literature/IdyllsOfTheKing'' cranks it up to the point where the conflict inside him prematurely ages Lancelot, and the longest book of ''Literature/TheOnceAndTheFutureKing'' is dedicated to Lancelot's story, at which this struggle is the focal point.

* ''{{Series/CSI}}'': Flack has a few instances of feeling torn between the lab and the precinct he is technically part of. The big one is when he struggles with Mac bringing to Justice a DurtyCop whose conviction overturns many prior cases. Flack never really is able to rectify which side he’s closer to.

** Also between [[spoiler: Davis and Clark, especially when Davis asks her to [[MercyKill kill]] him and Clark asks her not to. Also when she runs away with a resurrected Davis in an effort to stop them from killing each other. There is nothing that could BreakTheCutie as brutally as being caught between [[PhysicalGod Superman]] [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny and]] [[InvincibleVillain Doomsday]].]]
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Ziva is torn between her father and Gibbs in the last few episodes of season six. She chooses [[spoiler: her father, after Tony kills Michael and she believes Gibbs no longer trusts her. When her father promptly throws her under a bus when a mission goes south, it's Gibbs and his team who save her, prompting her to revise her earlier decision.]]

* ''Series/{{Kings}}'' episode "Insurrection". David is sent to his hometown by King Silas to convince the locals to accept the decision to give their land away in a peace deal. His family turn out to be the leaders of the protesters.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** Simon chooses to rescue his sister, not only against the wishes of TheGovernment but against those of his parents. He also chose her over a [[NobleProfession calling]] he loved which may have been even harder.
** Also, in "War Stories", Mal admits that he was initially against Zoe's marriage to Wash, concerned that it would split loyalties amongst the crew.
** Strongly averted by Zoe in the same episode when given a choice between saving Mal or Wash from torture. [[spoiler:She picks Wash because Mal can take the torture and Wash can't, while Wash's piloting skills will be needed for the team's BigDamnHeroes moment to rescue Mal.]]
* Series/{{Merlin|2008}} is often conflicted at this. Should he protect Arthur or reveal himself as a wizard, where he would be executed?
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Gunn, between his old vamp hunting team and Angel's group, in "That Old Gang of Mine".
** Wesley had this big time in Season 3, during the baby Connor storyline. He was struggling over whether to stay loyal to the team and Angel or help the baby even if made the team hate him - which is ultimately what happened. Foreshadowed in "That Old Gang of Mine". Wes was addressing his speech to Gunn, but it's really easy to tell it was being pointed at Wes himself as well.
* ''Series/MurderRooms'': During a particularly difficult investigation in "The White Knight Stratagem", Conan Doyle, who serves as a mediator between his friend and mentor Joseph Bell and Bell's old enemy Lieutenant Blaney, grows to sympathize with the latter. Which doesn't make Bell happy, especially considering the fact that Doyle refuses to support his theory on the case and instead, apparently, supports Blaney's. Doyle feels uncomfortable. [[spoiler: In the end it is revealed that Doyle joined forces with the lieutenant only because he suspected that Blaney had something to do with the crime. However, it is likely that Doyle still felt sorry for him.]]
* In ''Series/NecessaryRoughness''
** Danni works as a therapist for the New York Hawks, a football team. As a psychiatrist her primary responsibility is to her patients, the players. However, this can conflict with the wishes of the team's management who want the problem fixed immediately and the players back on the field. When the new manager suggests that Danni break patient confidentiality, she tell him off and [[spoiler: is fired]].
** Nico has to judge multiple instances of this. His loyalty to Danni can conflict with his loyalty to the team. His loyalty to the team can conflict with his loyalty to the team's owner Marshall Pittman. His loyalty to Marshall often conflicts with his loyalty to Marshall's wife and daughter. In season three he gets a whole new set of conflicting loyalties as he has to juggle his loyalty to Danni with [[spoiler: his loyalties to his new bosses in V3 and his loyalty to whoever has him acting as a mole in V3]].
* The whole concept of ''Series/TheOtherKingdom'' is how Astral's emotionally torn apart over whether she should stay in her magical kingdom of Athenia to be their newest queen, or stay in the human world to live as an "other" forever. Part of the show's central conflict is how she'd have to make a choice after 90 days.
* ''Series/TeenWolf''
** Allison spent most of season two being torn between her family and Scott. It came to a head when she told them [[spoiler: about Jackson being the kanima and then her mom almost killed Scott, only to be bitten by Derek]]. After that, she, under the influence of Gerard, went fully against the wolves until she learned how truly evil her grandfather was.

* In ''Series/AmericanCrimeStory: The People v. O.J. Simpson'', Robert Kardashian is close friends with O.J., Simpson and even became one of his "Dream Team" lawyers, but over the series, Kardashian began to have increasing doubts about defending his friend, especially after DNA evidence was introduced, which shows that O.J. could be the killer. At the end of the series, Kardashian ends his friendship with O.J. after O.J. announced his intention to search for the real killers. According to the epilogue, they didn't speak to each other again after Kardashian died in 2003.
* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode ''[[Recap/StargateSG1S7E16DeathKnell Death Knell]]'', Delek accuses Jacob/Selmak of being torn between his loyalties to the Tok'ra and his ties to Earth, stating that he's fallen out of favor with much of the Council as a result.
* ''Series/Foundation2021'': Demerzel is utterly loyal to the Empire [[spoiler: due to her [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot programming]]]], and is also a devout follower of Luminism. When the religion starts leaning towards radical beliefs that put it in opposition to the Empire's ruling genetic dynasty, she finds herself torn.
* ''Series/DarkMatter2015'': Crewmember [[spoiler:Six]] is hit with this bigtime in the last few episodes of Season 1. Aside from Five, the MysteriousWaif, the ''Raza'' crew are all criminal mercenaries with extensive rapsheets including everything from piracy to mass murder, but a mindwipe at the start of the series while they were in stasis for a long journey to their next target caused them all to lose their memories. Hence [[YouAreNumberSix adopting numbers as names]] and [[ThatManIsDead rejecting their old ones]] after learning what kind of people they were. During "Episode 8", [[spoiler:Six]] learns offscreen from a colleague that he actually wasn't a criminal at all, but an undercover cop with a mission to sabotage the ''Raza'' and deliver the crew to justice. Which their original selves arguably would have richly deserved. But now, thanks to the mindwipe, he genuinely thinks of them all as friends/FamilyOfChoice, knows they're trying to be better people, and is very reluctant to fulfill his original mission.
** Finally in "Episode 13", the season finale, [[spoiler:Six]] does incapacitate the rest of the crew and bring them into custody after their heist of what turned out to be a white hole bomb unintendedly led to the destruction of an inhabited planet a few episodes ago, deciding that they're too dangerous to go free. In the Season 2 premiere "Welcome to Your New Home", he begins to have doubts after learning the Galactic Authority had known in advance about the bombing of a space station by terrorists in one of his previous undercover missions but had wanted it to happen for propaganda purposes, and in the next episode "Kill Them All", he finally helps the crew escape prison after learning that [[spoiler:One]] has been whacked and the rest of them are surely next.
* ''Series/TheDevilJudge'':
** Ga-on is forced to choose many times between his virtuous BestFriend Soo-hyun and the merciless VigilanteMan Yo-han and his questionable methods of punishing evil. His choice differs depending on the situation but he mostly takes (the morally unambiguous) Soo-hyun's side.
--->'''Yo-han:''' If you want to save the world, cut Yoon Soo-hyun out of your life.\\
'''Ga-on:''' ''[Removes Yo-han's hand from his shoulder]'' [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Soo-hyun is my world]].
** He was made to pick between Yo-han and Professor Min once, and he eventually chose Yo-han.
* ''Series/TheWhitePrincess'': The central conceit: heroine Elizabeth of York is torn between the marriage and family she is building with Henry Tudor and her scheming mother and the rest of the Yorkist faction, who would gladly see Henry deposed. [[spoiler:She aligns herself fully with the House of Tudor in the end when she condemns her brother and cousin to execution to secure her children's future]].

* Also from the Bible: In [[Literature/TheFourGospels the gospels of Matthew and Luke]], Jesus says "nobody can serve two masters, for you will either love the one and hate the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other." He also goes on to say that "you cannot serve both God and mammon [''or'' money]".

* In Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', the eponymous lovers are each torn between their families' warring factions and their intense devotion to each other, especially as the fighting escalates. On a less grandiose level, Juliet's Nurse is torn between wanting Juliet to be happy with Romeo, and wanting her to be happy ''at all''. In the end, she advises Juliet to give up on Romeo and marry Paris, saying that would be the practical option.
* ''Theatre/AntonyAndCleopatra'': A major part of Antony's character. He's stuck between his love for Cleopatra and his duty to serve Rome.
** Enobarbus is also conflicted between his love for Antony and his duty to Rome.

** The laws of the gods insisted Polynices be buried; King Creon decreed that he must not be buried because he attacked the city. Antigone chose [[spoiler:the gods' law rather than the king's law. A priest even calls Creon out on his treatment of Antigone.]]

* What about Becket? His loyalty is most definitely torn between king and church.
* ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'': When Billy's dad (who has been on strike for almost a year) becomes desperate to afford Billy a future, he must choose between breaking strike and betraying the community and his son Tony, or staying on strike and betraying Billy.

* A major part of the second-season arc of ''Literature/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'' centers around Ran Shuuei being caught in a conflict of loyalty -- between his loyalty to his Emperor (who has shown him absolute trust) and his {{Big Screwed Up|Family}} [[TheClan Clan]], the Rans, who dislike the emperor and only care about their own people and lands. Getting it resolved takes a lot of work (and, ultimately, intentionally getting himself disowned so that he can freely swear his unconditional loyalty to Ryuuki).
* ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon'' has this as a ''major'' theme. Events really start unravelling around the topic of loyalty to an individual versus loyalty to a cause, or when loyalty to "king and country" ends up as two conflicting loyalties. [[spoiler:The first event to really drive this home is when Durand - an unconditionally loyal secret agent - is ordered by his king to kill his friends to protect a state secret. This screws him up enough to nearly get him killed. In the end, he insists on protecting his friends while still trying to have it both ways. A villain later tries to persuade Durand to join him by calling him out on it, asking why Durand would serve a king who would give him such an order. Even then, Durand doesn't give in.]]
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Suzaku Kururugi is Japanese by birth, and only wants to protect his country - and is working in the military of TheEmpire that invaded it. And then there are his loyalties to the people he cares about, many of whom are at various points on opposite sides of the conflict. And then there's his personal ideology...
** Not to mention [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]], who himself has this conflict starting when he finds out he's the pilot of the Lancelot.

* Athrun has this big time in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny''. On the one hand, Durandal sweet-talked him into rejoining ZAFT to protect his former nation [=PLANTs=] from EA attack. He also has loyalty to the crew of the Minerva as fellow soldiers who have tried to save a world that hates them. On the other hand, his adopted nation Orb was effectively blackmailed into joining the EA, and his best friend and his ex-fiancees were forced to flee with the Archangel. This all comes to a head when Orb is ordered to send a fleet out to fight ZAFT, and Athrun's ship the Minerva is sent out to fight it, and the Archangel ends up intervening against both ZAFT and the EA to protect the Orb fleet. Cue ten episodes of Athrun wrestling with his loyalties until he finally jumps ship (again) and joins Orb.
** He never even really gets to totally make the choice. After learning of this Durandal decides he doesn't need someone that isn't completely loyal to him and sends soldiers after Athrun branding him a traitor to Zaft before he really did anything and forcing him to flee back to Orb.

* ''Anime/TransformersEnergon'' gives an interesting variant with Demolishor, whose loyalties are both to Megatron. In this case, the conflict comes down to whether he obeys the last command Megatron gave at the end of ''[[Anime/TransformersArmada Armada]]'', or whether he disregards that to go along with the dramatically different orders Megatron starts giving after being resurrected.
* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'': Black starts to show issues between his own personal agendas and the fact that he's apparently TheChosenOne. He had been training his whole life to [[ToBeAMaster win the League]] but the Team Plasma shenanigans are getting in the way. It gets to the point where [[spoiler: Reshiram refuses to come out for him just yet and his Munna leaves him because it can no longer feed on his dreams]].
* In ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'', Ian goes through a period of conflict where he has to decide whose honor he wants to save- the good memory of his father or his step-brother Jeremy's innocence in his reasoning for [[spoiler:VehicularSabotage]].
* Tsurara in ''Manga/{{Kurosagi}}'' has a tough time deciding if she should put more stock in her love of and belief in the law, or her growing love for her [[ConMan swindling]] landlord
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie]] are torn between [[BecomingTheMask affection]] for comrades and loyalty to superiors. It causes numerous major mistakes to be made, and more than one case of a VillainousBSOD. [[spoiler: Reiner has it the worst, unable to reconcile his conflicting loyalties leads to SanitySlippage and identity issues]].
* The duty-bound Souseiseki in ''Manga/RozenMaiden'' is conflicted between her love for her sisters and her obligation to follow her Father's wishes, which is to fight in the Alice Game and kill off said sisters until one doll remains standing. She is also this towards her mediums, whom she addresses as "Master" and is determined to help them be happy even if it keeps her trapped with no free will.
* In ''[[Manga/ShinozakisanKiWoOtaShikaNi Don't Become an Otaku, Shinozaki-san!]]'', Akina ''thinks'' this trope is in effect between her loyalty to her old middle school GirlPosse and her new high school otaku friends. Multiple incidents prove that this is really just in Akina's head.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** For the Cerulean Gym battle, Pikachu refuses to participate, since he doesn't want to go up against Misty, a friend.
** May has trouble choosing who she wants to win during the Petalburg gym match: Ash, or her father Norman. Max, in contrast, is ready to root for his father, and admonishes May for her indecisiveness.
* In the anime/manga of ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'', Bahman was conflicted after receiving a letter from commander-in-chief Vahriz about [[spoiler: the possibility that Arslan isn't of royal blood]] and finding out that [[spoiler: Silvermask is the former Prince Hermes]]. He was torn between wanting to support [[spoiler: Prince Hermes]] or continue to stand by Arslan.
* The autobiographical protagonist of ''Manga/MyLesbianExperienceWithLoneliness'' is torn between wanting to make her parents proud versus allowing herself to be proud.
* This forms the bulk of Maki's suffering in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', as she finds herself torn between supporting her best friend Kashiwagi and extreme jealousy over the fact that Kashiwagai unknowingly stole her longtime crush Tsubasa.
* In ''Anime/AdventuresOfTheLittleKoala'', Roobear ends up stuck in an example of this near the beginning of "Who Will Be the Flower Queen?". With Weather predicting an outstanding eucalyptus blossom display for the year's eucalyptus blossom festival, the village decides to hold an election for the queen of the festival. But as both Laura and Betty plan to enter the competition, Roobear is caught between promising to vote for his sister and wanting to vote for his would-be girlfriend. Luckily for Roobear, it becomes a moot point when the rules of the contest are changed to award the crown to whoever produces the most beautiful eucalyptus blossoms - which ends up being a joint award to literally every girl who enters the contest.

* The pivotal plot point of ''ComicBook/{{Scion}}'': Ethan has to choose between loyalty to his family and kingdom in the war against the Raven Kingdom and loyalty to Ashleigh and her movement to liberate the Lesser Races.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is both a member of the X-Men and the Avengers. He's stated that he sees the Avengers as work and the X-Men as his family. However, in ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen, he sides more with the Avengers than the X-Men.

* For Carol Danvers in ''ComicBook/OperationGalacticStorm''. Cross the portal and retrieve the Nega-Bomb, and prevent the annihilation of the Kree, or fix the things going wrong with the sun because of the portals and prevent the annihilation of the human race? As a human herself, Carol Danvers did not doubt... and indirectly allowed the genocide of the Kree.

** [[spoiler:When Celestia and Luna end up being tried as traitors, Soul Society is sent into an uproar as Soul Reapers from the lowest rank to even the other Captains have to decide whether to stand by the law of Central 46 or with the condemned Captains, both of which having records of being among the greatest members of their organization. Celestia's entire 13th Division pretty much gathers together in preparation to fight the 11th Division, and Luna's 2nd Division is noted to be split right down the middle in their loyalty]].
** [[spoiler: Zecora experiences this during the trial. Her Zanpakuto is said to be impossible to fool, so despite knowing that Celestia and Luna would never betray Soul Society, she still casts the deciding vote against them. Though considering she was really Chrysalis at the time, this was subverted since she was just playing a role and fully in on Starlight Glimmer's scheme.]]
** [[spoiler:When evidence all but mounts that the "treason" has been a bunch of hogwash and nothing more than manipulation, both Blueblood and Troubleshoes falter, but their loyalty to Platinum (the only Captain who was completely in on Starlight's scheme) and Soul Society's laws respectively and lack of hard evidence lead them to siding with Hurricane (who himself honestly couldn't have cared if Celestia and Luna really were traitors and saw this as an opportunity to get Soul Society back on the offensive in the spirit war) against Sweet Cider, Cheese Sandwich, Daring Do, and Amore.]]
* In ''Fanfic/StarsAbove'', this trope and ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies cause [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Homura]] to coldly reject [[Manga/LuckyStar Kagami]] for a while.
* As the Games begin in the ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SomeSemblanceOfMeaning'', [[{{Deuteragonist}} Obsidian]] is torn between his ties to [[BloodKnight his fellow Careers]] and the inexplicable friendship he feels toward [[NiceGirl Vale]] and [[KidSidekick Kit]]. He ends up [[spoiler: leaving the Career pack after he realizes the extent of their ruthlessness and eventually allies with Vale]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Legionnaire}}'' poses this problem for [[ChurchMilitant Justicars]] like Prophet, who are willing to put their religion's principles over [[TheFundamentalist the orthodox]].
* In ''Fanfic/AmbienceAFleetSymphony'', several of the ship girls, most notably Shiranui and Zuikaku, struggle to prioritise between the well-being of their sisters and the needs of the fleet as a whole.
* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSevenKingdoms'': Farengar Secret-Fire is one of Prince William's Blades, sent to [[TheMole spy on Daenerys]]. However, over time, he comes to admire her as a ruler as much as his Black Prince, and he eventually admits [[spoiler: when outing himself]] that if it ever comes down to it, he wouldn't be able to pick a side between the two of them and would have to stay neutral.
** Like in canon, Theon experiences this conflict between his Iron Born family and his mainlander friends. Unlike in canon, however, [[spoiler: he chooses his friends]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheRavensPlan'', Ned Stark is faced with the choice of swearing fealty to Jon (and thus betraying his oldest friend) or staying loyal to Robert (and thus turning on the nephew he raised as his own son). He ultimately chooses Jon.
** After learning that Jon is a Targaryen, Barristan is torn between staying in Westeros and swearing fealty to him, or going to Essos in order to uphold his original oath to Daenerys. He ultimately decides on Jon, due to feeling a need to protect his old friend's son.

* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'':
** Haku is torn between his pledged loyalty to Zabuza, and [[spoiler: the fact he's grown accustomed to live in Konoha, even finding himself a girlfriend in Tenten. However, this is solved when at the end of the Kirigakure War arc, Zabuza officially gives him permission to leave him, and Mei Terumi, who has just been instilled as Mizukage, names him her official ambassador in Konoha. In Chapter 69, when asked by Hotaru what he would do if both villages went to war with each other again, [[TakeAThirdOption he replies that he would pick neither side, and his work is to ensure that never comes to pass]].]]
** PlayedForLaughs with Karin at the beginning of the Kirigakure civil war arc [[spoiler:where she isn't sure if she should cheer for Sasuke or Neji during a sparring match since the former is her teammate but the latter is her boyfriend.]]

* In ''Fanfic/BeyondHeroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium'', thanks to her behavior in Valammar, [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Varric]] realizes he feels torn between his loyalty to [[spoiler:his longtime girlfriend]] and the Hawke family. When he compares the way the two sides have treated him over the years, he realizes it's practically a ForegoneConclusion as to who deserves his loyalty more.
* ''Fanfic/DaughterOfFireAndSteel'': When General Zod's crew find signs of Kal-El, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] wonders whether she will have to choose between her family and her commander and mentor once again.
-->"Should Kal-El resist then we'll cross that road when we come to it but the Codex is our first priority," said Zod. Kara didn't know to be grateful for this discovery or angry. Once again it seemed like she was going to be in a position where she would be forced to choose between her family and Zod.
* In ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'', ComicBook/MaryMarvel is torn between her lover Freddy Freeman and her foster mother. On the one hand, she wants to get married to Freddy whether her mother approves of it or not. On the other hand, she loves her mother and does not want to go behind her back. Due to her mother's disapproval, though, Mary and Freddy can be forced to elope.
* In ''Fanfic/GleeReprise'', Monica wants to maintain her friendship with Beth, but also wants to succeed as a member of Vocal Adrenaline.
* ''Fanfic/ChasingDragons'': Barristan is very disturbed by how the Targaryen [[GovernmentInExile court-in-exile]] has descended into enforcing slavery for its Volantene allies, seeing it as ungodly and a violation of his vow to protect the innocent... but at the same time he can't bring himself to break his ''other'' vow to obey his king without question.
* In ''Fanfic/RiverOfStars'', Sha Gojyo desperately wants to stay part of Stargate Command, as remembering he was an Air Force captain helped him to withstand two years stranded on a DeathWorld, but on the other hand he cannot bear the idea of leaving the friends he made after becoming a bodyguard to Sanzo. When General Hammond realizes how much it's eating the guy inside, he quickly solves the dilemma by naming the captain a Terran liaison to Shangri-La -- and Sha Gojyo is so relieved he almost bursts into tears.
* In ''Fanfic/AllMixedUp'', when Carlos sees Otto and Oscar up against Mariana Mag, he becomes torn on whose side to take -- the side of the agents he barely knows, or the side of the woman who was his OnlyFriend and vice versa for so long. He doesn't get to make his decision until Mariana uses a [[TheParalyzer stun gun]] on Otto to wound him and leave him unable to fight back, at which point he gets in between them and tries to stop the ex-agent from anagramming him.
* ''Webcomic/BakeryEnemies'': Adrien eventually admits to Marinette [[spoiler:he figured out his father was Hawkmoth about one week before the latter's downfall. She understands why he didn't tell her as soon as he found out.]]

* Ringo Lam's ''Film/CityOnFire'' is all about this, as Chow Yun-Fat plays an undercover cop who has to choose between loyalty to his fellow cops and loyalty to the triad gang that he's infiltrated.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid'': Sebastian is conflicted with obeying King Triton's orders to keep his daughter Ariel away from the surface and out of trouble, and helping Ariel realize her dreams and be with Eric. He ultimately chooses the latter, especially after seeing just how far Triton was willing to go to keep Ariel from the human world.

& ''Film/JasonsLyric'': The primary theme. The main character, Jason, is a [[TheDutifulSon dutiful son]] who used to be a breadwinner to his family [[spoiler:following his father's passing]] and vows to prioritize their well-beings above his, particularly his troubled younger brother, Joshua. However, when he found love in [[LoveInterest Lyric]], he starts to feel torn between his family or his wish to be with Lyric. Upon learning Joshua has become insufferably unbearable, he eventually leaves his brother for good and chooses to be with Lyric.