History Main / DisobeyedOrdersNotPunished

*** "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime Amok Time]]". Captain Kirk is ordered by Starfleet Command to take the Enterprise to the planet Altair Six to attend some inauguration ceremonies. When he learns that Commander Spock needs to be taken to the planet Vulcan or he'll die, Kirk disobeys orders and takes the Enterprise to Vulcan instead. At the end of the episode, a Vulcan government leader asks that the Enterprise be diverted to Vulcan and Star Fleet agrees and changes Kirk's orders, retroactively letting him off the hook.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': When the Romulans figure out a way to neutralize a tachyon web that a Federation fleet was generating in an effort to prove that the Romulans were fomenting a Klingon Civil War, Picard orders the fleet to regroup at a new location. Commander Data, however, who has been placed in command of a starship for this mission, orders his crew to look for two specific overlapping energy signatures, and then orders torpedo strikes on those locations of overlap. The torpedos reveal cloaked Romulan ships, proving their interference, and causing the Klingons backing the Duras sisters to withdraw their support. Data submits himself for punishment for breaking orders, but Picard dismisses the idea, saying that too often, tragedies have been caused by people saying "I was JustFollowingOrders." He does tell Data not to make a habit of breaking rank.
** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': Captain Gabriel Lorca will follow the rules only if they align with what he thinks is best. Otherwise, he has no problem aggressively circumventing the admiralty, reminding them that he was given carte blanche during the war effort because of his effectiveness. He gets an informal talking to several times but never sees any real consequences to his action because he's just too damned valuable. Throughout season one, Lorca:

** Downplayed in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED''. Early in the series, Kira Yamato not only brings in a civilian lifepod from Heliopolis, but also the lifeboat containing Lacus Clyne against orders. When he decides to free Lacus and return her to ZAFT, he's brought in and told by Captain Murrue Ramius that the punishment for such a thing was death. However, since Kira is still a civilian technically, they can't impose that sort of punishment on him (besides, he's their own Mobile Suit pilot), so he's gotta scrub down part of the ship.

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, after a spy sabotages the Vita-Ray experiment, and Steve Rogers becomes the only SuperSoldier in the U.S. Army, as opposed to an entire unit. He tours America with the [=U.S.O.=], doing propaganda plays. When he goes to an army camp in Italy, he finds out that Bucky was captured, and is being held in a Hydra castle a few miles from the camp. He requests permission to rescue him and the other P.O.W.s, but he's ordered to stay put as he's just a propaganda tool. Steve decides to mount a one-man rescue operation, and when he breaks out the prisoners, he's reassigned from morale booster in the [=U.S.O.=] to the leader of his Howling Commandoes.

* DoubleSubverted in ''Film/BattleOfBritain''. In a {{dramatization}} of a true story, a training flight of Polish emigres is ordered to return to base when their course takes them close to a German air raid. The Poles instead [[ICantHearYou pretend they can't understand the instructor]] and attack the German bomber wing, scoring multiple kills. The next day the instructor chews them out for disobeying orders... and then reads off a cable from the Air Vice Marshal announcing that the squadron has been ordered operational.

* In ''[[Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall Lady Knight]]'', Keladry of Mindelan, commanding a refugee camp during the Scanran War, is ordered not to mount a rescue mission for her abducted refugees by her erstwhile training master and current district commander, Lord Wyldon of Cavall. Wyldon, well acquainted with Kel's [[{{Determinator}} dedication to her post and her charges]], realizes within five minutes that it was quite possibly the single stupidest order he could have given her, and reflects that no good commander ought to give an order if he isn't sure it'll be obeyed. (In his defense, he was worrying about defending the entire northern border, and had a few other things on his mind at the time.) Kel returns after her successful mission convinced she'll end up executed on Traitor's Hill for disobeying orders and is utterly floored to be given no punishment whatsoever, a [[AnywhereButTheirLips kiss to her forehead]] from Wyldon, and his admission that "You are a true knight, Keladry of Mindelan. I am honored to know you."

* PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''. When Snowe wants to abandon their EscortMission in a MomentOfWeakness after [[MinorInjuryOverreaction being injured]], the whole ship [[TheMutiny mutinies]] against him. Glen Cott refuses to punish any of the survivors, instead punching Snowe and berating him for his cowardice while praising [[HelloInsertNameHere Lazlo]] and the others. Snowe's takeaway from this is that Glen is fine with others defying orders so long as they're acting courageous, spurring him to pursue some pirates when they attack Razril. He's ''very'' confused when Glen punishes him for this, not understanding the difference between both situations.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': During her "Greek antiquities theft" arc, Stella goes against Mac's direct order to stand down because of a conflict of interest, saying he'll handle it himself. Later, he turns it over to a more appropriate department, but she keeps investigating behind his back anyway and goes so far as to involve another officer. The two of them discover a dead body and Stella reports it anonymously via a 911 call from a pay phone, completely against NYPD/Crime Lab policy. Mac is furious and tells her that her actions are grounds for a desk assignment, if not a full-on suspension. She angrily slams her badge down on his desk and heads to Greece. He and the team find more evidence, he follows her there, helps her instead of chewing her out again, and gives her badge back when they return to NYC. Far-fetched to how a real-life situation would go, but then again this episode was [[WrittenByCastMember written by]] Creator/MelinaKanakaredes, who plays Stella, so there you have it.

* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'', ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'': Shinn Asuka is repeatedly shown being insubordinate and rude to superior officers or important civilians. He doesn't suffer any punishment for taking enemy pilot Stella Loussier aboard their ship ''[[TheBattlestar Minerva]]'' and directly to sickbay, nor for breaking her out and returning her to her comrades in return for a promise she no longer be sent into battle.

In this world, there are rules, regulations, and [[TheChainOfCommand chains of command]]. People are assigned positions of authority based on experience, or chosen for leadership roles by others in a democratic process. However they come by it, these people have authority over those beneath them.

ChronicHeroSyndrome is a possible explanation for why a hero might engage in this sort of behavior regularly, though it could just be because the writers feel that CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority (that said, repeated violation of orders without punishment can strain audience belief, especially where the military is involved). StatusQuoIsGod can also explain this trope's use from a writer's perspective, although there are Real Life examples as well.

* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'', ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'': Shinn Asuka's repeatedly shown being insubordinate and rude to superior officers or important civilians. He doesn't suffer any punishment for taking enemy pilot Stella Loussier aboard their ship ''[[TheBattlestar Minerva]]'' and directly to sickbay, nor for breaking her out and returning her to her comrades in return for a promise she no longer be sent into battle.

** ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'': Picard has been ordered by Starfleet Command to stay away from Earth and the approaching Borg cube, fearing "an unstable element" due to his prior experience with being assimilated. Picard overhears the carnage befalling the fleet over subspace radio, and then informs the crew that he's about to disobey a direct order from Starfleet, and if anyone has any objections, speak up and it will be noted in the ship's log. It turns out that Starfleet's concerns were NOT unfounded, but Picard managed to save the day and is not punished for it.

** ZigZagged in ''Film/TopGunMaverick''. First, Mav launches in the SR-72 Darkstar prototype in defiance of a planned shutdown of the program to prove it really can exceed Mach 10 (the justification for the shutdown), only to miraculously survive when it disintegrates at Mach 10.3+. He gets chewed out, and then sent to San Diego because the Navy needs an instructor for an AirstrikeImpossible mission. After a series of ups and downs, Mav's KarmaHoudiniWarranty seemingly runs out when [[spoiler:his protector Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky dies of cancer]]... and then he launches in his F/A-18E without authorization to prove to his team that the mission in fact ''can'' be done as described, and succeeds. Cyclone dearly wants to CourtMartial him at this point, but instead [[BunnyEarsLawyer appoints Maverick the mission leader on the grounds that he's probably their best chance to get everyone home alive]]. [[spoiler:Maverick survives to the end of the film and honorably retires from the Navy.]]

* In ''[[Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall Lady Knight]]'', Keladry of Mindelan, commanding a refugee camp during the Scanran War, is ordered not to mount a rescue mission for her abducted refugees by her erstwhile training master and current district commander, Lord Wyldon of Cavall. Wyldon, well acquainted with Kel's [[{{Determinator}} dedication to her post and her charges]], realizes within five minutes that it was quite possibly the single stupidest order he could have given her, and reflects that no good commander ought to give an order if he isn't sure it'll be obeyed. (In his defense, he was worrying about defending the entire northern border, and had a few other things on his mind at the time.) Kel returns after her successful mission convinced she'll end up executed on Traitor's Hill for disobeying orders, and is utterly floored to be given no punishment whatsoever, a [[AnywhereButTheirLips kiss to her forehead]] from Wyldon, and his admission that "You are a true knight, Keladry of Mindelan. I am honored to know you."

* Averted in ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', with Isaiah Bradley, an African-American SuperSoldier deployed to [[UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar Korea]] who snuck off his base to rescue two of his men whose prison was to be bombed to hide the evidence of more Super Soldiers. Soon after arriving back to base, the other men died from complications from the SuperSerum, Bradley was court-martialed for insubordination and disobeying direct orders, and was locked up and experimented for thirty years, until a sympathetic nurse helped him fake his death and escape. This is important because it's a direct contrast to Captain America's earlier actions, where he was praised for doing pretty much the exact same thing.

* In an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', the boys fix up an old mini-bike, but Lois at first prohibited them from using it she deemed it too dangerous. When Malcolm and Dewy manage to talk to her allowing them to do a couple of laps in the park, Reese tells them that he broke his leg when he secretly took it out for a ride. Also, Craig was allowed to live with the family until his was renovated, following Lois and Hal accidentally burning his house down, but his slovenly ways were driving the family crazy. The boys get rid of Craig by tricking him into thinking he ran over Reese, and at the very end, Lois tells the boys she found the destroyed mini-bike, and just as, Malcolm feared, she was going to ground them and prevent them from doing anything fun, she subtly tells them that their only punishment is not getting a reward for getting Craig out their house.

** In one episode, Hawkeye and BJ cause a minor mutiny by not returning to camp from Rosie's Bar. Potter tells them that he's pissed with them because he feels he deserves and has earned the respect that is his due. They apologize, telling him that they were revolting against a great many things, but they hadn't intended for Potter to be one of them. Ultimately, the stern lecture they got is their only punishment.

*** "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E14BalanceOfTerror Balance of Terror]]". Captain Kirk is under Starfleet orders to not enter the Romulan Neutral Zone under any circumstances. When a Romulan ship attacks Federation outposts and flees back into the Zone, he disobeys those orders and enters the Zone because he believes that not doing so will trigger a war. At the end of the episode he gets a transmission from Starfleet saying they'll support whatever decision he makes, so he doesn't get court-martialed.

*** "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E16TheMarkOfGideon The Mark of Gideon]]". A Starfleet admiral denies Spock permission to beam down to the planet Gideon and look for Captain Kirk, because doing so could provoke a war with Gideon. Spock disobeys this order, beams down to the planet and rescues Captain Kirk. By the end of the episode, there is no mention of any punishment for Spock's violation of orders. Unlike several other TOS episodes, there is no HandWave to explain away the lack of punishment.

** ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': Captain Gabriel Lorca will follow the rules only if they align with what he thinks is best. Otherwise, he has no problem aggressively circumventing the admiralty, reminding them that he was given carte blanche during the war effort because of his effectiveness. He gets an informal talking to several times, but never sees any real consequences to his action because he's just too damned valuable. Throughout season one, Lorca:
*** Recruits Michael Burnham [[spoiler: who has been stripped of all rank and sentenced to a life sentence as Starfleet's only mutineer]]. When told by the Admiralty that this is demoralizing to the rest of the fleet, he tells Admiral Cornwell that he doesn't care, he wants Burnham on his ship. Burnham is allowed to stay.

** In ''The Taken King'' expansion for ''Destiny'', Cayde and the [[PlayerCharacter Young Wolf]] go behind Zavala?s back and launch an infiltration mission onto Oryx?s Dreadnaught. Once Cayde reveals the mission to Zavala, he assume command at the end of the mission, but rather than punish Cayde due to not having authorization, he thanks him and the Young Wolf for setting up a transmat zone on the Dreadnaught.
** In the ''Forsaken'' expansion for ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', when Cayde is killed by Uldren, Zavala refuses to send Guardians to the Reef to hunt him down. Despite that, Young Wolf decides to go after him anyway, though Zavala warns that he won?t support them, but he won?t oppose them either. At the end of the expansion, while Zavala doesn?t reprimand the Young Wolf, he makes it clear that he?s [[DisappointedInYou not happy with what they?ve done]], and that their actions will have consequences.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', when Byleth finds evidence of a plot to assassinate Rhea, they're ordered to patrol the perimeter of Garreg Mach Monastery to prevent any would-be assassins from getting through. However, their students suggests that the assassination attempt is a ruse, and that their real objective is to steal from the Holy Mausoleum. Upon stopping the thieves in the Holy Mausoleum, Byleth and the students are not punished for disobeying orders, due to the fact that Byleth can unlock the power of the Sword of the Creator, which was hidden in the Holy Mausoleum.

* In ''VideoGame/Halo4'', when Cortana shows signs of rampancy, the captain of the UNSC Infinity orders the Master Chief to hand her over. The Chief refuses, and when the captain orders for his men to arrest the Chief, the crew of the Infinity chose to let the Chief leave the ship, and the captain is relieved of his post and replaced with his lieutenant.

** ''Literature/BeforeTheStorm'': Despite new Warchief, Sylvanas Windrunner, ordering Baine to stop exchanging letters with Alliance leader, Anduin Wyrnn, during wartime, Baine still manages to send one last letter. Even though, Sylvanas is supposedly merciless, she doesn't punish him in any way.
** ''Battle For Azeroth'': During the funeral for King Rastakhan, a powerful leader of the Horde whom was killed in his own city by the Alliance, Baine loudly announces that the Horde should surrender to the Alliance. Despite Warchief Sylvanas and Talanji the daughter and successor of Rastakhan being present along with countless soldiers of Rastakhan, Baine suffers not even a slap on the wrist. It takes Baine outright personally killing Horde soldiers and releasing a political prisoner, for him to be arrested for treason.

** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': During the season one finale, Megatron orders the Decepticons to remain in position while [[EnemyMine he allied with the Autobots and accompanies them]] to face [[GodOfEvil Unicron]]. In his absence, Airachnid decides that with Megatron out of contact and possibly even dead, remaining would be foolish and orders the ''Nemesis'' off of Earth to flee to another system. [[TheDragon Soundwave]] quickly puts a stop to it, and upon his return, Megatron makes no comment of the attempted desertion. However, several episodes later Megatron muses about whether or not Airachnid can be trusted, and is reminded of her attempt at usurping his position. He decides to have her killed, but [[DangerousDeserter she manages to escape]].

* UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar: During Confederate General Robert E Lee's second invasion of the North, he dispatched his cavalry under General J.E.B. Stuart to reconnoiter and gather information about the opposing Union forces (primarily the Army of the Potomac). Since Lee gave his subordinates much leeway, Stuart decided to interpret the orders as permission to perform another of his daring long distance cavalry raids. [[note]] During a previous campaign, Stuart had led his cavalry on a raid that circumnavigated the entire Army of the Potomac, inflicting damage while gathering priceless information that helped Lee make his preparations to face it. [[/note]] This time, however, the Army of the Potomac was under a more energetic and aggressive commander who pushed his troops much harder than expected. As a result, every time Stuart thought he was almost done with his circumnavigation, the Army of the Potomac had moved and his cavalrymen had more distance to travel. He only rejoined Lee during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, his troops too exhausted to be of any use and the information he'd gathered practically useless. His only punishment was Lee simply observing, "Well, General, you're here at last.", with observers who were present noting that Stuart [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone seemed well aware he'd let his beloved commander down]].