History Main / FriendOrIdolDecision

Of course, a true hero will choose to save his friend over taking the treasure every single time. (Besides, [[StatusQuoIsGod it wouldn't be wise]] to resolve a whole major ongoing plotline [[SpoiledByTheFormat right in the middle of the season]], now would it? Or to lose any of the regulars, either.) It's very rare that the hero manages to TakeAThirdOption and do both; that's usually reserved for a GrandFinale or situations where a villain forces a hero to make a SadisticChoice. It's even rarer when the friend, and everyone else for that matter, pushes for the hero to choose the idol when the stakes are that high. Further down the line of [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynisim]], the hero forgoes their friend and takes the idol, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regretting it later]], or sometimes learns to late that [[AmbitionIsEvil the treasure wasn't worth it]]... or they [[FallenHero become something worse]]. The rarest and most cynical option is for hero to abandon both the treasure and a friend.

Of course, a true hero will choose to save his friend over taking the treasure every single time. (Besides, [[StatusQuoIsGod it wouldn't be wise]] to resolve a whole major ongoing plotline [[SpoiledByTheFormat right in the middle of the season]], now would it? Or to lose any of the regulars, either.) It's very rare that the hero manages to TakeAThirdOption and do both; that's usually reserved for a GrandFinale or situations where a villain forces a hero to make a SadisticChoice. It's even rarer when the friend, and everyone else for that matter, pushes for the hero to choose the idol when the stakes are that high. The rarest and most cynical option is for hero to abandon both the treasure and a friend.

See also HostageForMcGuffin. A [[SubTrope specific form]] of the SadisticChoice and a classic MoralDilemma. Happier cases overlap with SecretTestOfCharacter or SweetAndSourGrapes, where saving the friend means winning the idol too. Depending on how important the "idol" is to the hero, this trope may overlap with ActOfTrueLove. If the "idol" is something needed to save others, this may be AlwaysSaveTheGirl. Compare DeathByMaterialism when a character chooses the idol over something immaterial which marks them for certain death.

Of course, a true hero will choose to save his friend over taking the treasure every single time. (Besides, [[StatusQuoIsGod it wouldn't be wise]] to resolve a whole major ongoing plotline [[SpoiledByTheFormat right in the middle of the season]], now would it? Or to lose any of the regulars, either.) It's very rare that the hero manages to TakeAThirdOption and do both; that's usually reserved for a GrandFinale or situations where a villain forces a hero to make a SadisticChoice. It's even rarer when the friend, and everyone else for that matter, pushes for the hero to choose the idol when the stakes are that high.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' it's revealed in the 1933/The Slash arc that, once she informally hooks up with [[spoiler:Claire Stanfield]], Chane's greatest fear is that she'll be forced to choose between him and her [[BattleButler loyalty to her father]] should Huey ever order her to kill him (particularly since [[spoiler:Claire]] is proving to be a serious SpannerInTheWorks of his more recent plans). [[spoiler:Claire]]'s response is exactly what you think it might be:
-->'''[[spoiler:Claire]]:''' "Feel free to try. I'll just dodge them ''and'' stay in love... Hey, that's even ''more'' like true love, [[SlapSlapKiss now that I think of it]]!"
* Griffith is faced with such a dilemma during the climax of the Golden Age Arc in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': [[spoiler:he has the chance of ascending to godhood and healing his broken body should he sentence the [[TrueCompanions Band of the Hawk]] to a CruelAndUnusualDeath. Horrifically, he takes the Idol and gleefully crosses the MoralEventHorizon with it]].
* ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' (the series from which ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' was spun off) ends with Sailor Venus and the ''BigBad'' both having one: for Venus is between love or continuing to fight as a Sailor Senshi, and for Danburite/[[spoiler:Ace]] is to stand down and join Sailor Venus [[spoiler:the woman he loves]], or fighting (and dying) to [[spoiler:make her understand [[MarriedToTheJob she'd always choose her duty over love]] before she can be destroyed by the doubt]]. [[TearJerker They both choose to fight]].
* PlayedWith in the Tower of Heaven arc of ''Manga/FairyTail''. [[spoiler:Simon]] sacrifices himself to shield Erza from Jellal's attack; after Natsu defeats Jellal and passes out, the Tower of Heaven begins to collapse. Erza briefly sees [[spoiler:Simon]]'s body sliding slowly into a crevasse, but she turns away and escapes with the unconscious Natsu rather than retrieving him.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** During a chaotic fight, May Chang has to choose between going for the Philosopher's Stone, which she needs to complete her quest to save her clan, or stop [[spoiler:Hawkeye]] from bleeding to death, someone whom she barely knows. She chooses the latter, only to see that [[spoiler:Wrath]] has seized the stone.
** One chapter later, Al faces a similar decision -- [[spoiler:reunite with his body]] or [[spoiler:leave it to join the fight against Father]]. When he [[spoiler:sees the bad shape his body's in]], it's an easy choice.
* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Princess Hime's been collecting PreCards in order to use them to grant her wish, [[spoiler:rescuing her kingdom from the Phantom Empire, undoing one of her mistakes]]. She finally gains enough cards in episode 22, but finds herself in a conundrum: Iona Hikawa, Cure Fortune, is at the mercy of the [[HeroKiller Precure Hunter]] Phantom, powerless and trapped in another dimension. This is also the same girl who has spent the same amount of episodes giving Hime [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten hell over her]] DarkSecret. [[spoiler:Hime decides to lead the charge into that dimension and begs Iona to take her cards. Iona does so and uses them to regain her powers.]]
* ''Anime/TheIdolMaster'' - Played literally with Miki in episode 24 when she has a chance to become the solo MC of the show to be aired in the timeslot that would succeed the [[ShowWithinAShow "Are we live?"]] show.
* Near the end of the first season of ''[[Anime/LoveLive Love Live! School Idol Project]]'', [[spoiler:Kotori was given the choice to either leave to study fashion abroad, or stay and continue being a school idol with her friends. When Umi announces this to the others, Honoka questions Kotori about why she never told her, she learns she was intending to tell her following the live performance, but got put off following her accident. This caused Honoka to become [[HeroicBSOD depressed]], get into a fight with the others, and say that she wants to quit being a school idol, [[ArmorPiercingSlap Umi even threw a slap at her]]. In final episode, after cheering up and realizing her true feelings with the help of her friends, Honoka and Umi forgave each other, and the latter sends the former to get to Kotori before she leaves Japan and manages to convince her to stay behind, helping Kotori to realize her own desire to be an idol as well with the rest of μ's members]].
* Before the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' timeline begins, Sakumo Hatake faced a choice between saving his comrades or completing a mission. He chose to save their lives... and was punished heavily for it, [[TheScapegoat blamed for triggering war]] and shunned by his whole country. Eventually he committed {{seppuku}}, followed by his son, Kakashi, dedicating his childhood to turning himself into an emotionless weapon. It would take years of thankless service and losing several of his own comrades for Kakashi to come around to his father's way of thinking, deciding that those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.
* In the GrandFinale of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'', the girls are asked if they want to become full time witches or return to being regular humans. They choose the latter, which SixthRanger Hana [[TearJerker doesn't take well]].
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Negi is forced to either stay behind and fight a giant monster so his students can escape with a magical book that can make them smarter (for the big exams) or dump the book so they can all escape safely. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Negi ends up ''trying'' to stay behind, but Asuna decides to make the "right" choice for him anyway.]]
** During their fight in ''Budokai'', Evangeline makes Setsuna choose between "sword" and "happiness". Setsuna [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]], which Eva [[SureLetsGoWithThat wasn't meaning to give]].
* The ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "Jumping Rocket Ship" has an interesting villainous Reconstruction. When Meowth pulls a HeelFaceMole scheme against the heroes, they discuss his potential as a talking Pokemon, with Dawn even offering him media ties via Rhonda. Starstruck at the idea of becoming a potential TV star, he ponders whether to ditch Team Rocket for real. However, when Jessie and James find Meowth and suffer their usual CurbstompBattle against Ash's group, he realises he doesn't have the heart to abandon them, turning on the heroes and happily joining his team in another blasting off.
* In the ''Anime/PrettySammy'' storyline in the ''[[Anime/TenchiMuyo No Need for Tenchi]]'' manga series, Pixy Misa had set things up for Tenchi to learn Sasami was Pretty Sammy, then turned him into a monster during a school play about Pretty Sammy (with Sasami as the heroine, natch). Pixy Misa forced Sasami to chose between revealing her identity and stopping the monster or letting the monster go on its rampage and maintain her identity (either way, Rumia would end up winning). [[TakeAThirdOption Tsunami, then, steps in,]], [[SpannerInTheWorks disguised as Pretty Sammy]], allowing Sasami to swap up and save the day.
** The story before that had a childhood friend of Tenchi's coming to visit, royally pissing of Ayeka and Ryoko due to her clinginess and a childhood promise. However, Washu discovers why the friend was there and agrees to help her with a plan. They end up knocking out Ryoko and Ayeka and putting through a theoretical situation - for Ryoko, she gets a chance to date Tenchi with the agreement to not use her powers or lose that chance forever. However, an ambulance carrying an expecting couple she aided gets stuck in traffic and only she can make a difference. For Ayeka, she's asked to return to Jurai with Sasami. However, she panics and tries to stay, with Emperor Azusa calling her and telling her that if she stays, she loses the crown. Both end up going with their hearts rather than what others tell them. [[spoiler:Turns out the childhood friend set it up because she was ''dying'' and she wanted to make sure Tenchi would be alright with them. They return the favor by having Tsunami resurrect her moments after her death.]]
* Ahiru/Duck in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' is given this sort of dilemma at the end of the series when she finds out that the pendant that allows her to be a girl is [[spoiler:Mytho's final missing heart shard]], meaning that she has to choose between saving the boy she loves ([[spoiler:who, to make it worse, has decided he's in love with [[DarkMagicalGirl another girl]], who just pulled an HeroicSacrifice for ''him'']]) and [[ToBecomeHuman her ability to be human]].
* In the ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'' movie ''Nihao My Concubine'', Ranma and Akane find themselves falling through open air toward a magical pool whose water will turn anyone permanently into a man, even overriding the GenderBender [[TransformationRay Jusenkyo curse]] Ranma had spent the whole series trying to cure. In an unusually elegant variation of the Friend or Idol Decision, Ranma realizes that if he dives right in, Akane will fall into the water as well, and will become afflicted with the very curse he seeks to cure in himself! And of course, since they are the OfficialCouple, and StatusQuoIsGod, it naturally follows that FailureIsTheOnlyOption, and so Ranma must use his tremendous chi powers to destroy the fountain before they touch the water, so that Akane will be spared.
* In the ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' {{OVA}} there is a great example of this trope starring the villains. When Black Knight Ashram is given the chance to take the Scepter of Domination before the good guys can or save the life of dark elf Pirotess he [[spoiler: actually picks saving her over the scepter. She dies anyway, unfortunately.]]
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** In one episode, Chibi-Usa switches ages with Usagi and is (at first) delighted at being tall and very beautiful and well-figured. But Pegasus has trouble finding her after her dream was fulfilled and tells her that it's unlikely he'll ever be able to do so again. Chibi-Usa, through sheer force of will alone, reverses the magic that changed her and Usagi to not lose him. Somewhat averted in that she'll eventually grow up anyway and be able to have both, but she resisted taking the easy way out.
** In the same season, Fish's Eye discovers that Chibi-Usa is the host of Pegasus but realizes that using his magic to make the Trio human permanently still wouldn't give them dreams of their own, and that Zirconia [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness wouldn't likely adhere to the deal anyway]]. Instead, they use the last of the magic that gave them human forms to revive Usagi (whose dream mirror was shattered) and dying and reverting to their animal selves in the process. Pegasus, however, is touched enough by their sacrifice that he gives them dream mirrors of their own, making them fully human in the process and with the promise that they'll be reborn as such some day.
* In the Jigokiller two-parter of ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'', the titular creatures have gathered around an important water reservoir. G-3 (Jun the Swan) had been captured by one of the flowers very recently. G-1 (Ken the Eagle) has to choose between burning the flowers, ''knowing'' his teammate will almost certainly die, and leave them, allowing them to spread. [[spoiler: He chooses burning, earning a punch from G-2 (Joe the Condor) and protests from 4 (Jinpei the Swallow) and 5 (Ryu the Horned Owl), although they later back him up. ''Double''-subverted in that burning the flowers makes them release their dandelion-like seeds, and that G-3, who had been wearing an experimental protection suit, had survived, attracted Galactor's attention, and was in their custody.]] Incidentally, the Gatchaman and Guardians of Space versions killed women, while the Battle of the Planets species killed anyone.
* ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' has a literal example. The crux of episode 10 is that Rin has to decide whether she will give up her voice acting/IdolSinger career and stay at Hakuo, or go to apply to a high school where she can continue it (leaving [[ChildhoodFriend Sayo]] behind). [[spoiler:Ultimately, she chooses to apply to a different school, but Sayo points out that they can still see each other during their free time.]]
* In ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', the Autobots enter a race to find [=SkidZ=], in which Megatron and Sky-Byte also enter. Megatron manages to trap the other Autobots under a rock, forcing [=SkidZ=] to choose between winning and saving his friends. [[spoiler:He manages to get both.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': In the backstory, Anguirus once had a choice to either absorb some mana crystals to gain his full potential, or allow Baragon to absorb them to heal his fatal injuries. He chose to save Baragon, deciding power was worthless without his friends.
* [[http://www.deviantart.com/art/Dipper-would-483469230 This]] ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' fancomic depicts Dipper facing a Sister Or BigBookOfEverything Decision courtesy of Bill Cipher.
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'':
** [[spoiler:Brainiac]] tempts Asuka with a knowledge orb of Krypton. [[spoiler:She doesn't gives as much of a damn about it as Brainiac thought she would have, but she does try to save it when Brainiac's ship starts to explode. She fails to but manages to save a knowledge orb with recordings of Kyoko when she was sane, instead.]]
** Later on she has a similar moment when Leliel starts to swallow Evangelion Unit-02 and she tries to decide whether to eject from the Eva and be [[spoiler:''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' all the time or not. Shinji saves her before her Evangelion completely falls into the Dirac Sea,]] rendering it (temporarily) moot.
** Finally, when Armisael struck she had to choose between [[spoiler:getting into her giant robot to or donning her Supergirl identity to fight it. She had got better odds of winning if she used her super-powers, but then she would be fired and stop being a pilot. She chose being Supergirl, quitting being an Eva pilot for good.]]
* In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/820765/chapters/1554746?view_adult=true Save Me]]'' a ''Film/StarTrek2009'' AU where [[SlashFic Kirk and Khan are dating]] Khan can either save Kirk or the instruments of his {{Revenge}}.

[[folder:Films — Animated]]
* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', [[spoiler:Charlie is forced to choose between saving either his watch from sinking or Anne Marie from drowning. Keep in mind he's literally living on borrowed time -- he stole the watch from heaven to resurrect himself after being killed by a car, and if the watch stops, as watches tend to do in water, he will die. And worse, he'll be sent to Hell since he "can never come back". Ultimately, he chooses saving Anne Marie while sacrificing both the watch and his life, earning his way back to Heaven]].
* ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' [[WesternAnimation/{{Barbie}} films]]:
** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia: Mermaidia'': Elina either has to give Max the Immunity Berry, or he'll poison Mermaidia. She goes with the former, but he denies his promise and drops the poison anyway. Thus, Elina decides to save the vial from poisoning the water, but risks her chance to regain her wings and remains a mermaid forever in return. Luckily, it turns out the Immunity Berry was swapped out with another berry that reveals one's true self, and when Elina consumes it, she gets her wings back.
** ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'': Delancy has to pick either Dame Devin or Blair to give the crown to; she chooses the latter, which [[spoiler:reveals her as the kingdom's missing princess]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'', Kenai finally achieves his goal of changing back into a human. However, when he learns he cannot talk to Koda, whose mother he killed, Kenai realizes his true responsibility. After all, given what he did to Koda and the options that are available, changing back into a bear to care for the bear cub is the only moral thing to do.
* In Pixar's movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', [[spoiler:Lightning [=McQueen=] gives up first place in the Piston Cup race to help The King cross the finish line after Chick Hicks causes him to wreck out. Hicks still wins the cup, but everyone knows that Lightning would have won, and Hicks' dishonorable tactics lose him any regard the win would have brought. In a mild DoubleSubversion and AnAesop, [=McQueen=] gains the adulation he had desired but discovers that he doesn't really need it anymore -- the events of the movie have taught him that there are more important things than fame.]]
** In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', [[spoiler:Lightning realizes his former trainer Cruz Ramirez wanted to be a racer just like he is, and resigns from the race halfway through so she can take over. When she wins, she turns down the deal to race for Sterling and chooses to race for Dinoco instead, and when Lightning is about to accept his fate that he didn't win the race and has to retire immediately, he is considered a winner along with Cruz due to both sharing the number, thus he wins the bet and gets to keep racing. Not only does he help a friend, he gets the idol as well!]]
* This happens twice in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. First time, Gru has to make the decision of choosing between the girls' ballet recital and taking the moon, which was his lifelong dream. [[spoiler:Originally, he wanted to push back the date for taking the moon, but Nefario called Miss Hattie so she could take the kids back to the orphanage and Gru could focus back on task.]] The second time, Vector kidnaps the girls and demands that Gru gives him the moon. [[spoiler: Gru gave up the moon, but Vector didn't hold his side of the bargain.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' [[spoiler:Kuzco, who starts the movie as a spoiled brat, gives up the potion he needs to change back into a human in order to rescue Pacha. In a subversion, the pair uses ThePowerOfFriendship to get it back not two minutes later]].
* At the climax of ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', Anna wants to get a kiss from Kristoff that would hopefully thaw out her frozen heart; but then she sees her estranged sister about to be murdered by her own treacherous fiancé, who wants them both dead so he can become the new King of Arendelle. Immediately she abandons the chance to save her own life and rushes to Elsa's aid, shielding her from the killing blow. Since this counts as an ActOfTrueLove, she ended up thawing out moments later.
* The end result of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension''. After the events of the movie, Major Monogram appears and reveals Perry has to be assigned to a different family because his cover was blown. Phineas is upset and wishes there's another way, but Monogram declines as it's not safe. When Carl suggests Doofenshmirtz's Amnesia-nator, Phineas is given a choice: remember the events of today but never see Perry again, or use the Amnesia-nator to forget the entire adventure and forget learning Perry's agent life. Ultimately, he chooses the latter.
** Also the end result of the second movie, ''[[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse Candace Against The Universe]]''. As Candace sees her Mom pulling up towards her, Stacy points out that there is virtually no way to hide the collateral damage done during the final battle and that Phineas and Ferb will finally be busted once and for all. After hearing this, Candace runs up to her Mom and talks of Phineas and Ferb while her {{leitmotif}} plays...and tells Mom that they want pizza for dinner from a restaurant on the other side of town, preventing her from seeing everything. Noteworthy considering the heartfelt moment between the three a little while before said final battle.
* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'': A subversion of the trope, in which the friend (Humpty) sacrifices himself so Puss can recover the idol (a monster goose's chick).
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', Tulio is forced to sacrifice almost all of the enormous pile of gold that he and Miguel acquire by posing as gods in El Dorado in order to save the city's people from advancing Spanish soldiers. Though he is very choked up about the decision.
* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', this is a parental example. Harold is forced by the Fairy Godmother to give Fiona a love potion in order that Fiona will fall in love with her son, Prince Charming, and marry him as per his promise to her decades earlier. Harold knows if he does not, he will expose himself to the Fairy Godmother's wrath. But if he does, he will be tearing Fiona away from her real love, Shrek, and forcing her into a fake love with what is treated as essentially a date rape drug. After reluctantly putting the potion into some tea to give her, she expresses to him how much she wants Shrek as himself, making him ultimately decide to go back on his promise to the Fairy Godmother and not give her the spiked tea. Turns out later though, his fears of the Fairy Godmother were completely justified.
* In ''The WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit'', Strawberry has to rescue her friend Mr. Longface Caterpillar and The Great Geyser Stone (which will provide water for her town) after both fall over the side of a cliff, landing on a ledge. In order to do so, her friends lower her, using a rope, so she can grab the stone first, and then Mr. Caterpillar. However, as she's being lifted with the stone, the ledge that Mr. Caterpillar is standing on crumbles, and he starts to fall. She grabs hold of his hand with her free hand, but can't hold onto him with just one hand. She briefly considers which to give up, but drops the stone in favor of her friend.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2,'' Woody has to choose either to stay with Andy and his friends or be taken to a museum to be worshiped as a collector's piece, along with the rest of the Roundup Gang. [[spoiler:He chooses the former, but brings the other Roundup members (minus Stinky Pete) along with him.]]
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'', [[spoiler:Woody has to pick either Bonnie or Bo to go with; he chose the latter.]]
* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', [[spoiler: the movie's resident AntiVillain has to choose between saving a boatload of gold that's about to drift into a laser beam or his surrogate son Jim who's holding on for dear life over a raging inferno. He chooses to save Jim, saying that he'll get over giving up his lifelong obsession.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys Movie'', Eliza has to make a Sister or Idol decision when the BigBad has Debbie and wants to know how Eliza could have known about his plans. She saves Debbie by revealing the thing she cannot tell: she can talk to animals. It costs her the power. [[spoiler:She gets it back later with a heroic sacrifice.]]
* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh2011'', Pooh must decide between finally having a smackeral of honey from Owl or bringing Eeyore's tail back to him. He chose the latter, which in turn is what wins the contest and he is awarded an even bigger honey meal than he thought.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': Since Loki once craved the power of the Tesseract, for him the choice offered by Thanos between the cube and his brother's life is this. [[spoiler:He pretends not to care for Thor, then attempts to TakeAThirdOption by announcing Hulk's attack, but neither works. Loki then tosses the cube aside and rushes to shield Thor.]]
* In the 1995 movie adaptation of ''Film/{{Casper}}'', the titular ghost makes just such a decision at the end of the film, choosing to give up the only bottle of life-restoring formula for his father's "Lazarus Machine" in order to bring back Cat's newly-deceased father.
* In ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', Cyrano is finally confronted with the possibility that his cousin (don't worry about it) actually loves him for his wit despite his ugly nose. Tragically, at the same time Christian, the man she ''thinks'' is writing all the letters Cyrano has actually been writing, is fatally wounded. Cyrano, in the ultimate sacrifice, ends up choosing to save his friend's honor and memory over the chance to be with the love of his life.
* In ''Film/DarkmanIIIDieDarkmanDie'', a villain shoots a [[MagicFloppyDisk floppy]] with the main character's accumulated research on skin substitutes, and a fire during the climactic fight leaves one girl severely burnt. Darkman had been intending to use the flask of liquid skin he kept on himself, since it had shown promising results... but he ends the series still faceless, as the flask goes to the burn victim instead.
* The Disney Channel original movie ''Brink!'' (a loose adaptation of ''Literature/HansBrinkerOrTheSilverSkates'') revolves around this trope: the main character (a competitive skater) must choose between competing with his friends or as part of a sponsored team.
* At the end of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', Indy had to choose between getting the Holy Grail or taking his father's hand, thus allowing Indy to survive. [[spoiler: He chooses to "let it go". The Nazi-lady doesn't.]]
* This happens twice in the ''Film/JamesBond'' movie ''Film/GoldenEye''. During the second, the BigBad even says "So, what's the choice James? Two targets; time enough for one shot: the girl or the mission?" The game uses the same scenario, but leaves an opening to subvert the trope; if the player stands at exactly the right angle, it is possible to kill the person holding the girl hostage, and shoot TheDragon before they get the shield down. This buys you more time in the escape scene.
* ''Film/K2SirenOfTheHimalayas'': Team leader Fabrizio Zangrilli on one of his climbs up K2 was within an hour of the summit, but saw a porter that had suffered a stroke, so the priority became getting him down the mountain.
* In ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'' both Napoleon and Illya are forced into this position by the end of the movie: retrieve the tape containing sensitive information at all costs, including, if necessary, killing the other to do so. Yet to do so would mean killing a man they've come to respect. [[spoiler: After Napoleon gives Illya his father's watch (which had been stolen from a mook, and Napoleon found during the raid), they TakeAThirdOption and burn the tape altogether. Immediately after Mr. Waverly comes to them with a job offer to join U.N.C.L.E.]]
* At the end of ''Film/MeetDave'', the aliens realize that they only have enough power to either retrieve the orb and save Earth or go home. Fortunately, Josh's quick thinking allows them to [[TakeAThirdOption do both]].
* In the film adaptation of ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', Adso of Melk, a young virginal monk, begins to feel a bond of love towards the young peasant girl that he had intercourse with. However, at the end of the film, after the girl was spared from death, Adso had to make a decision to leave behind the girl and follow his calling as a monk, or to leave behind his calling and possibly marry the girl. He chose the former option, and in the latter years of his life, as he was narrating the entire story as a memoir, he recalled that he did not know the girl's name.
* In ''Film/NationalTreasure'', Ben ''the hero'' chooses the idol, dropping the LoveInterest in order to save the Declaration of Independence. She later reassures him that she would have done exactly the same thing. And he drops her someplace safer than where he is at the moment.
--->'''Riley:''' I would have dropped you both! ''[mutters]'' Freaks.
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'': [[spoiler:At the end of the maelstrom battle, Jack has a shot at his lifelong dream of immortality and the most dangerous ship in the Caribbean -- not to mention supernatural powers and revenge on all of his enemies -- but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold gives it up]] to [[PetTheDog save Will]].]]
* In ''Film/RememberTheTitans'', Coach Yoast finds himself faced with one of these. The School Board has placed a condition on the African-American Herman Boone keeping his job as head coach (the Caucasian Yoast's previous position; he's now the Assistant Coach)--namely, Boone has to win every single game or be fired. Before the first playoff game, Yost's School Board friends assure him that they've done something to ensure a loss, and sure enough, the Titans are flagged for every single play. If Yoast keeps his mouth shut, he'll not only get his old job back, but he'll be nominated for the High School Football Hall of Fame, which has been his dream for years. For a few minutes, he seems to actively consider not saying anything...but then calls out the ref, telling him that he knows they've been paid off to make crooked calls, and that he'll reveal the whole operation to the papers if they don't stop immediately. The ref agrees, the Titans win, and the furious School Board officials assure Yoast that "you just lost yourself the Hall of Fame."
* ''Film/SafetyPatrol:'' In the climax, Mr. Miller nearly falls to his death from a hot air balloon because he won't let go of a bag of stolen money to grab Scout's hand.
* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'': When Tails is knocked unconscious, Sonic immediately abandons chasing the [[MacGuffin compass]] to save him, letting Dr. Robotnik and Knuckles take the compass. This pays off because seeing this honorable act makes Knuckles question if Sonic is really evil or not, and ultimately gets Knuckles on his side.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** In the climax of ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', Count Dooku destroys a pillar to escape. Two Jedi are underneath the pillar, and would be killed if it fell. But Yoda needs to kill Dooku to end the war. Of course, Yoda saves the two Jedi. Though it's possible he missed the trick of throwing the pillar at Dooku's ship.
** In the climax of the ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' , Darth Vader must make the choice between obeying his master Palpatine, or saving his son Luke. In the end he chooses to save his son by throwing Palpatine down the reactor shaft at the cost of his own life.
* Toward the end of ''Film/TowerOfTerror'', Buzzy has to decide between [[spoiler: helping the ghosts]] or getting his newspaper career back. In the end, he gets both.
* In ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', Charlie finds himself faced with this in the final stretch. As the factory tour ends, turns out that Willy Wonka knew that Charlie and Grandpa Joe stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks, and due to violating a (very small!) clause in the contract they signed at its start, Charlie will not receive a lifetime supply of chocolate. But if he sells the Everlasting Gobstopper he received to Mr. Wonka's rival Slugworth, he'll get enough money to lift his family out of poverty, which he wants more than anything else...but he promised Mr. Wonka he'd never do such a thing when he got it. [[spoiler: He decides to apologize for what he did by giving the Gobstopper back to Mr. Wonka, who then reveals that this was actually a SecretTestOfCharacter that Charlie passed. Now Charlie will not only get the chocolate, but ''become his heir'', so Charlie gets even more than he wanted for doing good!]]
** Happens again in the [[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2005 film adaptation]]. After Charlie is the last kid left, Wonka designates him as the heir of the factory...but states that he will only do so if Charlie has to leave the rest of his family behind. Because family always comes first for him, Charlie declines the offer. However, after Wonka reunites with his own long-estranged father, he changes his mind and allows the family to live in the factory, even moving their entire house into there.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Book 41 of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', titled ''The Familiar'', takes place in a BadFuture and ends with Jake having to choose between saving Cassie or the world. [[spoiler:He chooses to save "what must be valued above all else". We're not told explicitly which that is; all we're told is that a MysteriousWatcher found his decision "interesting".]]
* In ''Literature/TheBigWave'', Jiya, orphaned by a tsunami, is given the choice to live in poverty with his best friend Kino's family, or to live in luxury, raised by the wealthy Old Gentleman. He chooses the former.
* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Eldest Moorland is confronted with the option to marry her brother Cullen to a woman (or rather, set of sisters) he loves, and get little in way of a "brother's price", as the family is poor, or sell him to the highest bidder, so to speak. [[spoiler: She chooses Cullen's happiness over the money.]]
* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'':
** ''Literature/TheGunslinger'': The Man in Black forces Roland to either save Jake from certain death, and never again catch up to him, or let Jake die, and gain the information he needs to continue his quest for the Dark Tower. Roland chooses to [[spoiler: let Jake fall]], establishing his character for the rest of the series.
** The same scenario is [[{{Anvilicious}} anviliciously]] repeated again in the third book, this time with [[spoiler:Jake, who has come BackFromTheDead (sort of), and his pet billy-bumbler (MixAndMatchCritters), Oy.]] He chooses to [[spoiler:go back and save Oy, but this time he manages to succeed anyway.]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'': Lu-Tze, after injuring himself, yells at his apprentice Lobsang to choose the Idol (stopping the "perfect clock" that will cause all of time to come to a halt) over the Friend (the injured Lu-Tze). The fact he even hesitates in saving the world for Lu-Tze's sake prompts Susan Sto Helit to call him a "hero"... in a tone that implies it's synonymous with "idiot".
* An extreme example with ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'''s Malbecco. When given a choice between saving his treasures from a fire or protecting his wife from a rapist, he chooses to save his money. He suffers dearly for this.
* In the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' duology, Ward is presented with the opportunity to protect his castle from invaders. This, however, comes at the cost of killing a friend, who wants to make a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler:As there is more at stake than just his property, he chooses to enable his friend's HeroicSacrifice.]]
* Creator/DavidCPoyer's "Literature/IfYouCanFillTheUnforgivingMinute": A teenage human is representing the Earth in a marathon race against an alien teen. When the alien is injured during the race, the human must make a choice: continue running and win the race, or help the alien and lose. He decides to help the alien and loses. Afterwards, he is told that the aliens consider honor to be more important than winning and that as far as they're concerned, he won the race.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/JewelsOfGwahlur'', Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian faces it and quite awesomely subverts it (as given the choice, the barbarian mercenary not even for a split-second considers the idol, and chooses the GirlOfTheWeek instead):
-->''Either was within arm's length; for the fraction of a split second the chest teetered on the edge of the bridge, and Muriela clung by one arm, her face turned desperately toward Conan, her eyes dilated with the fear of death and her lips parted in a haunting cry of despair.\\
Conan did not hesitate, nor did he even glance toward the chest that held the wealth of an epoch.''
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Ataidar's royal sentinel, Fairtheora, defies this trope. His 42nd emergency procedure involves turning control of his armor over to an AI so it can act independently; it can go after the idol while he himself goes after the friend.
* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'': In ''The Red Pyramid'', Sadie Kane's father has been magically bound to the Egyptian god Osiris and captured in a coffin by the god Set (ItMakesSenseInContext). When she finally discovers the coffin, it is inside a magic pyramid created by Set. She learns that if she breaks open the coffin, she can probably save her father, but the power of Osiris will be consumed by Set, allowing him to reduce North America to a desert wasteland. On the other hand, if she uses the Scroll of Banishing Set (Egyptian magic scrolls have very descriptive names), she can banish Set and save the country, but the destruction of Set's pyramid will kill her father. Very unusually, she choses to use the scroll.
* Creator/HansChristianAndersen's ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': The mermaid is depressed when the prince she loves marries the girl at the temple who met him following the mermaid rescuing him from a storm. Her sisters come to help her and she is faced with a choice: use her father's knife to stab the prince to death and return to her mermaid form, sparing her life, or spare his, but die herself once the sun comes up. She is unable to kill him [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because she loves him]], so she chooses the latter. In some versions, she dies, in others, her honorable choice causes her to be turned into a Daughter of the Air, where she will go to Heaven after 300 years of good deeds.
* Creator/OrsonScottCard's "Literature/TheOriginist": Leyel Forska is given a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] when Hari Seldon says that if Leyel tries to join the Foundation on Terminus, he must leave his wife on Trantor. Leyel is angry with Hari, because now he blames his wife, Deet, for making him unable to work on Hari Seldon's greatest scientific project.
* [[Creator/ALPhillips A.L. Phillips]]'s ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'': Alaric is trapped in a cave with an extremely powerful villain, and must choose between grabbing the Prince's Crown and accepting its incalculable power, or trusting his guide and friend, Laeshana, to use it.
* During ''The Shadow Rising'', the fourth book of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', [[TheChessmaster Moraine]] tires of competing for the position of the protagonist's political mentor, and offers [[CynicalMentor Thom Merrilin]] a ledger containing the names of the mages who [[FateWorseThanDeath "gentled"]] his beloved nephew if he'll escort two of the cast members to [[WretchedHive a faraway and dangerous city]]. Ostensibly, so he can protect them with his expertise, but it's really to get him out of the way so she can manipulate the [[spoiler:Dragon Reborn]] easier. Thom is thus faced with a choice between refusing the list to continue aiding [[ReplacementGoldfish Rand]] or gaining information to avenge his dead family. [[spoiler:He chooses revenge.]]
* In ''Hunted'', the second book of the ''Literature/SpiritAnimals'' series, a villain offers Connor his family's freedom in exchange for the Iron Boar talisman that both sides had been chasing. As fits his [[BondCreature spirit animal]] (a wolf), Connor accepts the bargain.
* Creator/KathiPeterson's ''Literature/StoneTraveler'': Tag is trapped in the past (34 AD Meso America, to be exact), and his only way home is to use a blessed stone which was stolen by the bad guys. When he is about to retrieve it, during a huge natural disaster explosion (storms, quakes, volcanoes, you name it) one of his friends, Rasha, falls through the ground. He only has time to save the stone or the girl (who isn't his love interest). He chooses to save her, meets Jesus, and gets a free ride home (turns out there was more than one magic stone).
* ''Literature/TheWaterstone'': Tad, the ChosenOne, is in the lair of the evil queen, and needs to defeat her and take back the waterstone, or very bad things will happen. Then she reveals that she has captured [[spoiler: his presumed dead father, Pondleweed.]] Tad can either save [[spoiler: his father]] or take back the stone. [[spoiler: surprisingly for a children's book, he knows his father would not agree with his choice to save him over the world, but before he can say either way, Pondleweed TakesAThirdOption and sacrifices himself. Notably, he does not get better.]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': In "The Hub", Skye has the choice between searching out an unredacted version of the report on her being left at an orphanage or detail on Ward and Fitz's mission and extraction. She only chooses to get the mission details but only when it becomes clear she doesn't have time to get the report.
* In the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS05E04HellBound Hell Bound]]", Spike gives up his chance to become corporeal in order to save Fred.
* In the ''Series/{{Austin and Ally}}'' episode "Relationships & Red Carpets", Austin is forced to decide between revealing his relationship with Ally to the world and getting fired or breaking up with Ally to keep his job. Ultimately, he chooses the former preferring to be unemployed than to live without Ally.
* In ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'', [[BigGood Luke Skywalker]] has [[ChildProdigy Grogu]] choose between continuing his Jedi training or returning to [[Series/TheMandalorian Din]]'s side. Grogu chooses to abandon his birthright and returns to Din as a Mandalorian foundling.
* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E19Choices Choices]]" the gang is faced with just such a decision. Buffy and Xander immediately and very vocally choose to trade the Big Bad's evil artifact back to him in exchange for Willow, while Wesley wants to continue with ThePlan to destroy it. While they're arguing, Oz (Willow's boyfriend) smashes the mystic urn that was necessary for the artifact's destruction.
* In the very first episode of ''Series/ForeverKnight'', Nick Knight has a split second to decide whether to save an innocent woman from [[IHateYouVampireDad his maker]], or catch a falling cup that is the key to his [[ToBecomeHuman cure for vampirism]]. He picks the woman, but since she's dead before the episode ends, it's kind of a ShootTheShaggyDogStory.
* An interesting case on ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' at the end of Season 2. Chuck ''finally'' has the Intersect out of his head and has a chance to restart his normal life. However when asked by [[spoiler:a mortally-wounded Bryce Larkin]] to destroy the Intersect computer before it can be captured during one last mission, Chuck must choose between going back to his old life, or re-uploading the Intersect and finally stepping up to become a hero by choice after spending the previous two years forced into it against his will. Chuck chooses the Intersect.
-->'''Chuck:''' Guys. I know kung-fu.
** In the series finale [[spoiler:Chuck has been able to recover the non-faulty Intersect needed to restore Sarah's memories. However, a theater full of people, Beckman included, is being threatened with a bomb that will detonate in a few minutes, and the only method to defuse it is stored within the Intersect, which he's ultimately forced to re-upload into himself. However, it's strongly hinted that Sarah's memory will gradually return.]]
* In the penultimate episode of ''Series/{{Continuum}}'''s second season Kira ends up pinned down on a rooftop with the Time Travel device that will allow her to return home and Emily, the LoveInterest of an ally. In rage and panic Emily throws the device away. [[spoiler: Kira chases after it, and Emily is fatally shot.]]
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In season 3 episode 7, after being hospitalized during Dex's attack on the ''Bulletin'', Ellison realizes that Karen knows who Daredevil (the real Daredevil) is. He demands that she tell him who it is, or she's fired. Karen is clearly upset, but she refuses to sell out Matt.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E5WorldWarThree "World War Three"]], the Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones (MP, Flydale North) are trapped in the Cabinet rooms in 10 Downing Street, unable to leave because the Slitheen have them surrounded. The Doctor has the option of instructing Mickey Smith, over the phone, to launch a missile into the building to stop the Slitheen from starting a nuclear war. However, he is reluctant to do so because Rose could be killed as a result, as he says, "I could save the world but lose you!" [[spoiler:In the end, Harriet, as the only member of the British government present, orders the Doctor to go through with it. The trio hide in the closet and survive the blast.]]
* In the eighth episode of ''Series/Girls5eva'' the foursome take the financially stable but unfulfilling jobs offered to them by megaproducer Nance Trace...for a while. When presented with the opportunity to reunite and perform music with each other, they take it, even if it means destroying their fledgling careers.
* This is the basic premise of the series finale of ''Series/HannahMontana'', as Miley must choose between starring in a big-budget movie in Paris co-starring Creator/TomCruise and directed by Creator/StevenSpielberg, and going to a CaliforniaUniversity with her BFF Lilly. She tries one last ZanyScheme of trying to convince Lilly she'd be too troublesome to room with her, getting into an argument with Lilly that nearly ends their long friendship. Miley then tries to convince Lily to abandon college for a year to go join her in Paris, but a comment to Lilly from Oliver at the airport convinces Lilly to stay and tearfully and reluctantly let Miley go shoot her movie without her. After Miley stays in her hotel, lonely, guilty, and greatly missing Lilly. [[spoiler:Miley is next seen knocking on the door on Lilly's dorm, extending her hand, introducing herself as Lilly's "new neighbor", and telling her that there'll be millions of chances to make a movie or do a tour, but only one chance to go to college with her best friend. The two hug, and the episode ends.]]
* ''{{Series/Heartbeat}}'', Constable Rowan is chasing a trio of crooks and when their car stalls, the one male criminal runs away on foot. Rowan catches up to the two female accomplices who note that he can take in them, or let them go to catch the ringleader. Unfortunately, at that moment, a police K-9 unit arrives to have the police dog continue the chase and Rowan, with some satisfaction, notes in so many words that he can now do both.
* ''Series/HermansHead'': Herman is out to set a world record for continuous working at one sitting. He discovers that one of his colleagues is planning to sing at a night club, and leaving work to watch her would preclude him breaking the record. He watches her anyway. The next day, the record book authorities come in, and Herman wonders why. Turns out that he [[ConsolationWorldRecord broke a record]]: eating the most sunflower seeds in one sitting-- he'd been eating them the entire time.
* In the ''Series/{{Jessie}}'' episode "Ride to Riches" when Jessie arrives at her audition, she is suddenly faced with the decision whether to leave the cab resulting in the game ending early or stay and continue. She chooses the latter for Ravi's sake.
* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': After Taiga had been gravely injured from his fight with Graphite, Masamune realizes that Hiiro is the only one who is capable of operating on him and gives him the the most fatal ultimatum: botch the operation and letting Taiga die in exchange for returning the consciousness of his LostLenore Saki, or complete the operation and having her deleted for good. Granted, Hiiro had every reason to intentionally fail the operation, considering Taiga failed to defeat Graphite in the past and in turn, cause Saki to succumb to the [[TheVirus Bugster Virus]], but goes through a moral crisis since [[FaceHeelTurn he sided with Masamune]], hoping to be reunited with Saki. Hiiro eventually goes through with the surgery and completes it, allowing him and Taiga to make amends.
* On ''Series/{{Land of the Lost|1991}}'' (1991), the Porters had the chance to drive through a portal back to their 20th-century home, but Tasha and Stink needed help evading Scarface. Unlike in most of the examples on this page, they expected to retain some chance of accomplishing both. But the portal closed a second before they would've made it.
* Seen in ''Series/LostInOz'', with the heroes choosing to either save Ozma and Oz, or use a bottled tornado to return home without saving the land.
* ''Series/TheMallorcaFiles'': At the end of the first episode, Blake is given the chance to either shoot the BigBad and prove she was right to lie her way into joining the investigation, or help her new partner Winter, who is hanging from a cliff. She chooses the latter despite Winter himself yelling her to shoot, which leads to the Big Bad's escape, her being suspended and becoming a PrivateDetective.
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Belle at one point has to choose to save [[WesternAnimation/{{Frozen2013}} Anna]], who's hanging off a cliff, or the (one-of-a-kind) crystal that shows how her mother died (don't ask why she'd want to see that in the first place), ''also'' right on the edge of the cliff. She chooses the ''crystal'', and in a lovely example of LaserGuidedKarma winds up knocking it off the cliff and destroying it. [[spoiler:Anna then falls too, but is saved by the Ice Queen as a part of her overall plan]].
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': This is used to facilitate [[ProfessionalKiller Root's]] HeelFaceTurn in "[[TitleConfusion /]]". She has the option to stop one of the villains from stealing a powerful chip that would help them bring an evil [=AI=] online, or help save the life of the man she had been tasked with protecting for the episode. Given [[TokenEvilTeammate who she is]], everyone (including her) thought she would abandon him to his fate. Thanks to some prodding and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone lessons in morality]] from The Machine, [[HeelFaceTurn she doesn't]].
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** In ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'', a device that [[ItOnlyWorksOnce will only work once]] can be used to shut down [[spoiler:Dillon's brainwashed cyborg sister. Unfortunately, the MonsterOfTheWeek is too strong, and Dillon chooses to shut it down instead and save the city.]]
** In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Rita had created a special candle that, when completely melted, would rob Tommy of the Green Ranger powers. Since Tommy is unable to get it as it speeds up the process in his presence, Jason goes after it instead. However, the MonsterOfTheWeek appears and Tommy attempts to fight it alone. As Jason's close to getting it, Zack appears and tells Jason to forget it and save Tommy instead.
--->'''Jason:''' But if I don't get the candle in time, he'll lose his powers!\\
'''Zack:''' If we don't get to him in time, he'll lose his ''life''!
*** This time, there's no [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] available, and while Tommy is saved, his powers aren't. This becomes Jason's [[MyGreatestFailure Greatest Failure]], in his mind.
* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' has this when Sam and Al switch places due to a lightning strike/electroshock therapy combo. Sam must save Al by entering the Quantum Leap Accelerator again, thus switching places with Al again and forgoing his chance to remain in his present with his wife.
** When Sam leaps into the middle of the Vietnam War, he has the chance to save his brother, Tom. Things come to a head during a mission to rescue some American prisoners-of-war. Just as there's a chance of rescuing them, Sam learns the exact cause of Tom's death and needs to cross dangerous terrain to find him to prevent it. Al decides to help Sam save Tom, which embodies this trope. As Sam learns in the end, Al was one of those prisoners and won't be freed for another five years.
* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Thor's Hammer", the team finds a labyrinth created by the Asgard with an egress that can remove the possession of the Goa'uld... but Teal'c is trapped within when the device mistakenly identifies his symbiote, which if removed, would lead to his death. The task of destroying the device is left up to Daniel, a decision made especially hard for him because of his desperation to save his wife and brother-in-law from Goa'uld possession.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Worf lets a Cardassian defector get caught to save his wife. The defector is caught and killed; tactical information that could help turn the tide of the war dies with him. In the aftermath, Sisko tells Worf he made the wrong choice and lists the consequences this will have on his career; but admits that as a husband himself, he would have made the same choice.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
** The entire "lost in space" element was borne of such a decision in the pilot, when Janeway orders the destruction of technology that could have gotten them home to stop it falling into the hands of the Kazon, who would have used it to destroy the Ocampa. And the Ocampa weren't even friends, as such, just weak innocents.
** Subverted in "Prime Factors", when several of the crew conspire to betray their new-found allies to acquire their technology, which could conceivably have cut decades off their journey home. Unfortunately for the conspirators, said technology turns out to be incompatible with ''Voyager'''s tech, and nearly blows up the ship when they attempt to use it, thereby making it AllForNothing.
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'': In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the pirates are able to gather the 35 Greater Powers and bring about the MacGuffin, the Greatest Treasure in the Universe. They learn that the Treasure [[spoiler:can grant any of their wishes, even up to wiping the Zangyack Empire from existence. However, doing so would destroy the powers forever, making it as if the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' never existed. The team weights the choices before making a decision... or well, ''Gai'' does, destroying the Treasure and [[TakeAThirdOption find another way to beat the Zangyack without losing the powers.]]]]
* In ''Series/TheWarAtHome'', Larry should choose between Kenny or the poem he got from him which he claims it was made by himself which had gotten a reward.
* On ''Series/{{Wizards of Waverly Place}}'', [[spoiler: this is how Alex won the Wizard Competition in the GrandFinale. She was in the lead during the final round and was just about to cross the finish line, but immediately turns back to help Justin remove his leg from a plant he got caught in.]]
** [[spoiler: Justin is also this in the same situation as he crossed the finish line and was just about to be crowned the Family Wizard, but refuses the position and gives it to Alex in graditute for saving him.]]
* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Mulder has to choose between saving Scully or finding his abducted little sister several times. He always chooses Scully, but it's a close thing in the first few seasons.
* An odd example in ''Series/YoungDracula'', in "Dad's Back". Vlad has to choose between getting the cure for vampirism and saving Robin's life; however, his hesitation is portrayed as a sign of the prospect of the cure turning him evil, and Robin even says as much. He's also forced to choose between the cure for vampirism and his father's life in another episode, but this time doesn't hesitate at all.

[[folder:Music]]
* In the ConceptAlbum ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, the protagonist [[UnreliableNarrator Rael]] is ultimately confronted with a situation where he can either escape from the mad dream he has been caught in and go back to his normal life in New York City, or risk dangerous rapids to rescue his drowning brother John (who has repeatedly refused to help Rael in his times of need). [[spoiler:He decides to save John from the rapids, but during the confusion and peril of the struggle, the mad dream takes another turn and Rael finds that he and John are actually the same person]]. See also: [[spoiler:TomatoInTheMirror]], [[spoiler:TwistEnding]], and [[spoiler:ItWasHisSled]].

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* At the 2011 Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} SeasonFinale [=iPPV=] ''High Noon'', November 13, 2011, there was a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' match, with the ''[[{{Face}} tecnico]]'' team The Spectral Envoy (Wrestling/{{UltraMantis Black}} and Wrestling/{{Hallowicked}}) vs. the ''[[{{Heel}} rudo]]'' team Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes (Ares and Tim Donst). The stipulations were that if Wicked or Mantis were pinned, they would have to give up their masks, if Ares got pinned he had to give up the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eye of Tyr]], and if Donst was pinned he had to lose his hair.[[note]]While these kinds of matches are usually mask(s) vs. hair, Ares is bald, and the Eye of Tyr was far more important than any hair.[[/note]] Realizing that his team was on the verge of losing, Donst bailed with his [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pa/e/chikara/chikara-yl.html CHIKARA Young Lions Cup]], doing nothing to prevent Mantis from driving Ares through a chair and pinning him.
* No one in Wrestling/{{GLOW}} was capable of defeating Mountain Fiji, especially not one on one, but many were more than capable of defeating her little sister. So whenever Mt Fiji came close to winning a championship in GLOW, one of her enemies would run out an attack Little Fiji or come out to taunt Mt Fiji with a kidnapped Little Fiji, forcing big sister to choose between continuing to fight the champion of forfeiting the match to save Little Fiji. Mt. Fiji always opted to save her sister.
* Valkyrie revealed itself by jumping and mercilessly beating [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Amazing Kong]], laying out members of the SHINE roster who, somewhat unexpectedly, tried to stop them. This [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney and]] an {{army of lawyers}} let Valkyrie ride a wave of intimidation to the crowning of their leader, Rain, as SHINE's first champion. But Kong didn't go away, fought off Valkyrie when they attacked her again and then joined Wrestling/{{Daffney| Unger}}'s squad [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections for a title match]]. So Valkyrie switched targets and went after one of Kong's new teammates, Solo Darling. Amazing Kong opted to save Wrestling/SoloDarling, Rain retained by count out.
* {{V|illainTeamUp}}AL[=kyrie=] also used this trick to retain the TagTeam Title belts, bating BTY's challengers, Wrestling/IvelisseVelez and ACR of Las Sicarias, with the potential abduction of their injured stablemate Wrestling/{{La Rosa|Negra}}. Though this ploy was also [[ItsPersonal the beginning of VALkyrie's end]], as [[HeelFaceTurn original]] Valkyrie member, and [[WeUsedToBeFriends Valkyrie killer]], Velez, [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame was much better suited]] for taking them down than Daffney.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* The classic example of this trope in literature is Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw's 1906 play ''[[Theatre/TheDoctorsDilemma The Doctor's Dilemma]]'', in which a doctor must choose whether a phial of a new life-saving drug is given to a kindly poor colleague or to a brilliant yet thoroughly unpleasant artist.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Happens SEVERAL times in ''VideoGame/NinetyNineSpirits'' - somewhere between 3 and 5 times, depending on how loosely you're willing to interpret the trope and whether you count two attempts within seconds of each other ("Oh, you don't care about [[KickTheSonOfABitch this woman]]? Then I'll take [[CuteClumsyGirl THIS]] [[{{Moe}} woman]] hostage instead...") as two separate cases. However, considering that the 'idol' in question is the only weapon capable of [[ImmuneToBullets hurting the villains]], it is perhaps understandable that they're trying everything to AVOID a direct confrontation...
* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' likes these just a bit too much. At least thrice does your opponent put a contact (preferably a RomanceSidequest character) in one room, himself and/or your mission objective in the other room, and then announces this to the player.
** Mostly because it's effective: only ''one'' of those times are you able to actually save the contact ''and'' complete the mission, and it requires the right skills.
* ''VideoGame/AmazonGuardiansOfEden'': Maya leaves Jason with such a decision. [[spoiler:In the end, will he take a precious emerald and leave them with a promise that he'll never reveal their people and mission to the outside world, or will he stay with her as his wife in Eden. Ultimately, Jason chooses to stay with her.]]
* At the end of the ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' series, you can choose: [[spoiler:become a god, or stay mortal]]. This choice is particularly poignant if you have a romance going at the time. (Interestingly, one of your possible romantic partners actually tries to convince you to take [[spoiler: godhood]] when it's offered.)
** The funny thing is, for this certain partner, actually doing as she asks you to do will give her the happier ending than staying with her.
* In Catwoman's storyline sections in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', the player is made to make a decision at one point as to whether to escape from the eponymous prison city with his appropriated loot, or to leave it behind and go to save the dying Batman. Canonically, the latter has to happen (as the main storyline has her rescue him at that time), but the player can choose the former for a NonStandardGameOver if they wish.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' employs this as well during the climax of the first game, as the Children of Arkham's leader has Alfred held hostage, giving Batman an ultimatum - reveal his SecretIdentity, or Alfred gets blasted with a sonic weapon that can tear apart ''concrete''.
* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', a [[TheMole mole]] on the heroes side is forced with this when the BigBad of the game manages to crash a helicopter and capture a fellow soldier (Your commanding officer in fact) who managed to survive, then giving the mole a gun and forcing him to kill the soldier. You're given the opinion of killing the soldier [[spoiler: (which is a requirement to get the GoldenEnding, as said mole has to survive for a later part in the story)]] who even ''encourages'' you to do it to maintain your cover. Or try to kill the Big Bad right there [[spoiler: which predictably fails and results in the mole getting killed.]]
* In the end of ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis'', Regina must choose between helping her commanding officer Gail, who is severely wounded at that point of the story, in capturing the renegade scientist Dr. Kirk or force Gail to give up the chase and leave the island with her and Rick, allowing Dr. Kirk to escape and ending the mission in failure. Helping Gail capture Dr. Kirk will result in Gail dying from his wounds. [[spoiler:However, Regina can also TakeAThirdOption by leaving Gail with Rick and going after Dr. Kirk by herself, allowing her to complete the mission without Gail dying.]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': A seemingly downplayed one in the wedding arc. Essentially, it appears as though if you want the Legendary Shield, you'll have to give up your Childhood Friend. Ultimately averted in that if you choose Bianca, you get the Shield anyway.
* The ending of ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}''. You can either save the TrueCompanions you formed throughout the game or the Chest you have been racing for the entire game.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the '''only''' way to gain all fifteen Daedric artifacts for the "Oblivion Walker" achievement involves [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder stabbing your ally]] [[KickTheDog in the back]] in most of their associated quests, or else [[PermanentlyMissableContent losing the chance]] to gain the artifact involved. Understandable, since the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]] are, for the most part, a collection of JerkassGods. The most brutal decision is probably the one in the quest for Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of [[YourWorstNightmare Nightmares]]. If you want her artifact and the achievement, you must [[spoiler:kill Erandur, an EnsembleDarkhorse companion and one of the few followers in the game to actually level up with you]]. By saving this as the last Daedric quest you do, you can, through SaveScumming, get the achievement ''and'' keep [[spoiler:Erandur]] alive, but you lose out on the artifact.
** The quest for [[JackassGenie Clavicus Vile]] is a particularly dark example of the trope, because Vile ''himself'' tells you to use the Rueful Axe and kill Barbas, the talking BigFriendlyDog who has accompanied you on the quest. [[spoiler:Doing this is the ''wrong move'', because the Rueful Axe is not his true artifact. Instead, you have to replace the Rueful Axe in the statue, enabling Barbas to return to his rightful place as Vile's conscience. You are then rewarded with the true artifact, the Masque of Clavicus Vile.]]
* Pops up in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. At one point, an NPC thief and a moogle are left hanging over a ledge, and the group can choose to save one. Saving the thief nets them a Golden Hairpin, a rare, but by no means unique, relic that halves MP consumption when equipped. This causes the moogle to plummet to his (apparent) doom. Saving the moogle nets the party Mog, an optional party member with fairly useful abilities and arguably the best character-specific relic in the game, which eliminates random encounters. He ''can'' be recruited later in the game regardless of choice, but choosing the Gold Hairpin will make Mog unable to learn his Water Rondo dance. (The remake for the Game Boy Advance allows the possibility for Mog to learn the dance after the critical point, but the encounter is one-time, and if Mog is not present for it, it's {{Permanently Missable|Content}}.)
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
** In Catherine's support conversations with Ashe, she reveals that the reason why she turned in Christophe over to the Church was because he was involved in an assassination plot to kill Lady Rhea, and he asked her to join him. She sided with Rhea, because in another support conversation with Seteth, she explains that was ambushed by a group of monsters, and Rhea nursed her back to health after she barely survived. Despite that, the decision still haunts her in the present, and she says that if there was a way to convince Christophe to back down, she would have taken it.
** [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]] must make this decision in the Holy Tomb mission [[spoiler:if they chose to lead the Black Eagle students and attended Edelgard's coronation. The Friend decision[[note]]Edelgard[[/note]] leads to the Crimson Flower route where the Adrestian Empire reunites the continent of Fódlan. The Idol decision[[note]]Rhea[[/note]] leads to the Silver Snow route, where the Church of Seiros forms a resistance movement against the Adrestian Empire.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'', Cole is forced to choose between saving Trish and a bus filled with medical professionals who can help the whole city. No matter which choice you make, Trish will die, but how it happens differs:
** Should you choose the "Good" decision, Cole saves the bus, but watches as Trish falls. He jumps down to her, and she forgives him tearfully as she dies, resulting in Cole feeling both relieved and incredibly angry that this situation even happened.
** Should you choose the "Evil" decision, Cole saves Trish, only to find out it's ''not'' Trish, but a girl wearing similar clothing. Cole then sees Trish was actually on the bus, which falls and kills everyone on board, save Trish, who is gravely injured. When Cole jumps down to her, she chastises him for being willing to forsake the city for his own personal satisfaction, and then dies.
* ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'' ends on Nima having to choose whether to save Jess from the T-Rex or the can of dinosaur embryos she can sell for enough money to get herself and her daughter out of poverty for good. The will lead the player to different endings. [[spoiler:In a subversion, if Nima chooses the can, she's the one who dies.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'', you enter Mephisto's lair, where he has Nightcrawler and Phoenix held hostage and rescuing one or the other alters the game's end: [[spoiler:rescuing Nightcrawler means Phoenix dies, but she comes back as the Dark Phoenix, looking for revenge. Rescuing Phoenix has Mystique killing Professor X in revenge for Nightcrawler's death which causes the X-Men to disband]].
* Employed in the first ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' game where you face the dilemma of either rescuing the last surviving females of the elven race, thus ensuring the race continues... or getting a dwarven king's stockpile of gold. Needless to say, with the game's overall theme you're encouraged to pursue the latter option.
* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII'', during the Fighter and Paladin storyline the player undergoes the RiteOfPassage for a local tribe, which is a competition with only one winner. Near the end of the race, your friend and competitor Yesufu has gotten his foot caught in a hole, and the player can either help him out or go ahead and win the race. However, rescuing Yesufu is the only right choice: a true warrior would never abandon a friend, so if you help him the chief [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem bends the rules]] and declares you both winners, while ignoring him nets you a NonStandardGameOver.
* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'', [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Emperor Percival Tachyon]] gives Ratchet (the Lombax protagonist) the option to either go to the new homeworld that the Lombaxes have created and discover the mysteries of his origins or stay and attempt to save the Polaris galaxy from him. Ratchet sees this as a MortonsFork, citing that if he leaves, Tachyon would use the Dimensionator to finish off the Lombaxes in a genocide attack anyway. And as long as [[OmnicidalManiac Tachyon]] holds it and continues to summon [[TheHeartless Cragmites]], ''reality itself'' is in danger. Ratchet opts to stay, making a vow to destroy the Dimensionator and kill Tachyon to save TheMultiverse from his fascist tyranny.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2''. [[spoiler:After rescuing Abigail Roberts from Andrew Milton, Arthur Morgan says he needs to go back to Beaver Hollow to deal with Micah Bell and Dutch van der Linde and the others, and she hands Arthur the key, telling him to use it to open the chest of money hidden away in the camp. Once he returns to the camp, however, John Marston recovers from his DisneyDeath, and he and the others are attacked by the Pinkertons led by Agent Edgar Ross, who force Arthur and John to flee to the mountains. Once John learns that his family is safe at Copperhead Landing, he wants Arthur to protect him; Arthur, however, wants to return to the camp to get the money to spite Dutch and Micah, but John says that he might be killed by the Pinkertons if he heads back to his family alone. Here, the player is faced with two options: "Go with John" or "Go for the loot". If Arthur decides to go with John, he'll have to fight off the Pinkertons a bit while escorting John before stopping, saying [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown he can't go any further due to his now-advanced tuberculosis]], [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin before handing John his hat and satchel]]. On the other hand, if Arthur decides to go for the money, he will part ways with John and hand him his hat and satchel, making sure that John will survive. However, when Arthur returns to Beaver Hollow and takes the money from Dutch's chest, Micah knifes him in the side, critically wounding him; and depending on what you do with his honor, he takes the money from Arthur either before the latter succumbs to his TB and his wounds or after Micah kills him.]]
* The ending of the adventure game ''Return to Mysterious Island 2'': [[spoiler:The player character discovers that her deactivation of the shield surrounding the island as part of her aborted escape attempt in the ending of the previous game has caused the island's ecosystem to start dying from foreign microorganisms. She then must choose between escaping and causing the entire island to die or reactivating the shield, saving the island but trapping her there for the rest of her life.]]
* In the last mission of ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', the Boss has to decide between finishing off [[BigBad Killbane]] before he escapes Steelport or save Shaundi, Viola, and Mayor Reynolds from getting blown up along with a regional monument. The latter is the more ethical choice and is canon according to ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV''.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight: King of Cards'', the Enchantress offers to grant King Knight the authority and respect he wants. All he has to do is betray all the friends who helped him get there. [[spoiler:He takes the offer.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has this in the endgame areas: When a level is generated with the "I hear prayers to Kali!" feeling, the player will be presented with a [[spoiler:damsel and a solid-gold Idol suspended over a pit filled with traps and a lava pool at the bottom]]. Of course, canny players can [[TakeAThirdOption rescue both]].
** Only one of them actually triggers it anyway.
* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler:Spider-Man has a sample of the cure to the Devil's Breath virus and learns that they need the entire sample to create more, which puts him in a conundrum as one of the first victims is his beloved Aunt May. In a moment of emotion, Peter prepares to jab the antidote sample into May's IV patch, but stops himself and grieves as he decides on TheNeedsOfTheMany, allowing Aunt May to die so others can live]].
* In the finale of ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', Sam (having infiltrated a terrorist group as one of their members) is given the choice of either shooting his NSA boss (a series regular, who's been captured by the terrorists) to maintain his cover, or shooting the terrorist standing guard over them (which instantly blows his cover and causes everyone in the base to come and try to kill him).
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', ''Enterprise''-F captain Va'Kel Shon finds himself in an conundrum: either destroy [[spoiler:the recently activated Iconian gateway]] to spare everyone anything that could waltz through and lose the friendship of the Romulan Republic or leave it and allow anything to get through. [[spoiler:The discovery of Omega molecules]] takes it out of their hands.
* ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' is rife with these, but only when you're playing as Rhys.
** An interesting subversion at the end of episode 2: Rhys has choose who to trust to save your friends Vaughn and Sasha who are being held at gunpoint: Fiona, who has a plan [[IndyPloy that's mostly just winging it]], or Handsome Jack, who has a definite plan, but will lead to him gaining control of your body and likely causing causing chaos and bloodshed just for the fun of it.
** Episode 4 ends with the choice and ramifications of a deal that Jack proposes to Rhys: [[WeCanRuleTogether become the CEO of Hyperion,]] which has been his dream since he was a kid, once Jack leaves Rhys' head and takes control of the Helios space station, or reject the deal to stay with his friends Fiona, Vaughn, and Sasha. Your choice leads to the episode ending in very different ways.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', after breaking all the seals and thinking you finished the game you get a YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle moment at the Tower of Salvation when [[spoiler:you find out the purpose of the Worldregeneration Journey is for the Chosen to die]]. During that scene IdiotHero Lloyd gets asked if [[spoiler:he'd rather have the entire world die than sacrifice one life to save it]]. He doesn't answer, but shortly afterward you learn in a skit that [[spoiler:for a moment he chose to save the world rather than the Chosen]].
* In a somewhat gruesome example, in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Black'', Dollface is offered the key to her mask, but taking it will close her former boss (who put the damn thing on her in the first place) in an Iron Maiden. She takes it, then decides that she didn't really want it anyway.
** Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane is given a cure for his curse (an eternally burning skull), but is told it will only work as long as he never kills again. He decides he likes killing too much, and decapitates Calypso, deciding to just live with the constant agony.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/UltimaVII: The Black Gate'', the Avatar can choose between entering the titular Moongate, returning to Earth but leaving Britannia in the clutches of BigBad the Guardian, or destroy it but forever be prevented from returning. The choice is the player's, but the next game in the series naturally assumes the Avatar made the Friend choice.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/AmnesiaMemories'' pits this at the end of Kent's route. It's the day of his presentation, something that he's been working hard for and will net him the chance to study a year abroad, something that he's really looking forward to do. But then Ikki rushes in and tells him that the heroine has gotten into an accident and has been taken to the hospital. She's injured, but not in mortal danger. Kent points out his dilemma of choosing to focus on his presentation or heading to his girlfriend's side. Depending on the Ending the player is approaching, Kent chooses three ways: 1) Chooses his presentation because he knows that being by the heroine's side at this time would be of no help to anyone, and both know how important his presentation is. 2) Chooses to do his presentation early, so that he can head to the heroine's side and kill two birds with one stone. 3) Chooses to forego doing his presentation completely, giving up on his chance for this year, and rushing to the heroine's side.
* This trope seems to be the only thing that can make ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s Shirou give up on his dream of being a superhero. [[spoiler:Of course, not just any friend. A [[NotBrainwashed semi-possessed]] friend. That he loves. Plus Ilya ''and'' all his other friends, to judge by the bad end that results if you don't do this, which implies Shirou wins by killing every other Master.]] At the end of that route, though, [[spoiler:it's implied that he may still be trying for his 'idol' here as he is still training in magic, especially his reality marble. But he'll always know he knowingly turned against that path and got about half of his town killed off and nearly destroyed the world.]]
** A straighter example is [[spoiler:Kotomine]] offering Saber the Grail... if she kills Shirou, who is already near death. She declines, unless you've made some ''very'' bad choices throughout the path and basically pissed her off at every juncture (Practically a PressXToDie affair), in which case she hesitates and Shirou dies.
---> "Do you not understand, knave? I want Shirou more than such a thing."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Happens several times in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. In the original children's book that started the concept, Homestar gives up the chance to win the Strongest Man In The World Contest in order to expose Strong Bad's cheating. As a result, Pom Pom shares the victory trophy with him. The same thing happens in the remade cartoon version of it, only Pom Pom refuses to share the trophy. And in "A Jumping Jack Contest", it's Pom Pom who exposes the cheating, and Homestar who ends up winning and sharing the trophy with Pom Pom.
* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[spoiler:the heroes use the Staff of Creation, which was used to lift the floating city of Atlas above Mantle, to evacuate the citizens of both cities from the Salem's horde bearing down on the kingdom. While this results in the destruction of Atlas and Mantle, they manage to save the majority of both cities' populations from certain death.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/StarslipCrisis'', Zillion tries to invoke this trope after he [[TwistedAnkle twists his ankle]]...and ''fails''. His big mistake was making sure the other person ''didn't'' want him dead. Whoops.
* In one ''Webcomic/DragonTails'' arc, Enigma begins to question his heritage, and decides to undergo a test to determine whether he is really related to his brothers. By the end of the arc (in which it turns out a giant bug creature with maybe-psychic powers had been influencing Engima in order to draw him away from his brothers), he receives the results of the test. His reaction...can be seen [[http://www.dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=020630 here]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Finn, Jake, and four Hot Dog Knights go into a labyrinth searching for wishes, the first two hoping to get [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot a psychic double-head war elephant]]. Jake stretches his body to have a lifeline back to the start and by the time they get a chance for a wish each two of the hot dogs had died and Jake was dying from overstretching himself. Finn was hoping to use his wish to bring Jake back to life while Jake wished for the elephant, but then the two hot dogs and Jake [[WastefulWishing wished for a box, to blow up (he meant to get big but that didn't matter), and for a sandwich, respectively.]]\\
Faced with deciding whether to save his friend or get what they came for, Finn [[SubvertedTrope wishes for the elephant]], by Jake's suggestion, [[TakeAThirdOption then convinces the elephant to use ITS wish to revive everyone then fly out of there]] to the [[JackassGenie Labyrinth guardian's great frustration]].
--->'''Aquandrius:''' No! You weren’t supposed to have your wishes come true! You were supposed to die!
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'':
** Near the end of "Prison Break" once all is taken care off, Sasha is finally released from Grime's prison but he surprises her with an ultimatum: either she can go off free, or stay with him as his lieutenant. She chooses the latter, setting her up as the secondary antagonist for the show.
** In "Wally and Anne", Anne has to pick whether to take a picture of the moss man or save Wally from falling off the cliff. She chooses the latter.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': A villainous example. [[spoiler:Jayce offers Silco a deal, giving in to every single one of his demands in return for the end of [[PsychoSerum Shimmer]] production and [[DaddysLittleVillain Jinx]] to face trial for her crimes. Despite being TheUnfettered with everything he has ever wanted within reach, Silco finds that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes he cannot go through with it]] if it means betraying his daughter.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Zuko has a choice between going after the Avatar, whose capture would restore his honor, or saving his uncle Iroh who has been imprisoned by the Earth Kingdom. After much agonizing, he chooses Iroh.
** Zuko later faces the same choice, between joining Azula against the Avatar (thus restoring his honor) and helping his imprisoned uncle. He chooses Azula, although he has a HeelRealization in the next season.
** It seems to run in the family. His great-grandfather Sozin had to choose [[spoiler:between saving his former best friend's life or letting him die to the poisonous gases of a volcanic eruption to pursue his dreams of conquest. Said friend was Avatar Roku, who had previously spared his life when he first began his world conquest and saved his life again during their joint efforts to stop said eruption. He chose ambition, [[HeelRealization though he would realize near his own life's end that it wasn't worth it]]]].
** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Team Avatar manage to kidnap Kuvira's fiancé, Baatar Jr., and demand that she stop her conquest of Republic City and give herself up or she'll never see him again. [[spoiler:She feigns the first choice, but sneakily aims her WaveMotionGun at their building in an attempt to ShootTheHostage. Everyone survives but it results in Baatar Jr. [[HeelFaceTurn turning against her]] when he sees Kuvira was fully willing to sacrifice him in pursuit of her Earth Empire.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ComicBook/PlasticMan (who is obsessed with money) has to choose between taking the [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain]]'s gold/jewels or saving Batman, who was a great friend/mentor and kept giving him chances to better himself, even helping him [[HeelFaceTurn get out of prison]]. He saves Batman of course but is distracted by the loot for a bit, so by the time he reaches Batman, he had already been [[AppliedPhlebotinum turned into an ape]]. Luckily, the treasure [[ItMakesSenseInContext helped him fight off]] the villain and his henchmen and the transformation was reversed.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'': Max Tennyson experiences one of these in the episode "Ultimate Weapon". The episode centers around Max chasing after the only [[AncientArtifact object]] he failed to acquire during his time as a Plumber. Near the end he has the choice of grabbing it or saving Ben. Obviously he saves his grandson. The artifact later is revealed to have aged to the point of crumbling into dust when the leader of the [[ArtifactCollectionAgency Forever Knights]] holds it.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'':
** In "Steak Night", Cricket decides to leave the steak behind and get sploshed by the incoming subway train, finally learning that it's not the steak that matters, but the family who eats it.
** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a photo studio so they could get a family portrait]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. The rest of the family, furious at Bill for tricking them, tries to escape, to no avail. Bill decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family naturally happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]
** In "Blood Moon", Cricket decides against spending the candy he earned in favor of sacrificing himself with Bill, because he wouldn't spend Halloween without him. Naturally, the blood moon ends right when they are about to accept their fates.
** In "Elevator Action", Gloria has to pick either to return her apartment key or not. She chooses the latter, upon realizing how much the Greens have done for her.
** In "Green Christmas" when Cricket realizes the error of his ways and faces the prospect of not getting any presents, he encounters the real Santa who presents him with a gift which will grant him anything he desires. However, he rejects it, as [[SelflessWish he decides to use the wish for Tilly to be back on the nice list]], as the best gift doesn't come from a box. The wish is granted, and because of this selfless act of putting Tilly's needs before his, it puts him on the nice list as well.
** Implied in "Friend Con" as Gramma was forced to decide between her swag and her son, ultimately choosing the latter.
** In "Dolled Up", Bill is forced to pick either the dollhouse he built, or Cricket; after some hesitation, he chooses the latter.
** In the climax of "Bleeped", Cricket is given the choice by Bill to pick whether or not to drop the cuss word "[[UnusualEuphemism blort]]" during the children's choir's big finish; he chooses the latter, as he realized being a foul mouth is not the person he wants to be.
* The titular ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' was forced into this midway through ''Horsin' Around'', [[spoiler: after Herb, his best friend and show's creator, was caught in a gay sex scandal, and Herb wanted him to threaten to walk out if Herb got fired. [=BoJack=] chose the Idol]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brandy and Mr Whiskers}}'': Mr Whiskers saves Brandy from falling into the collapsing cave rather than the gameboy he had been obsessing over throughout the episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', "Cruel Dilemma": Somehow, Jérémie has stumbled on a solution to Aelita's materialization he's been working on for the past 8 eps... however, Yumi falls through a pit into the Digital Sea on her latest mission against XANA, and Jérémie has to use it to bail her out instead.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', "Operation C.A.K.E.D.F.O.U.R.": Numbuh 2 is out to win the Tube-A-Thon for his winless dad. He ends up saving the other competitors from being baked into a cake instead. [[spoiler:Of his family members, his younger brother, Tommy, takes first place, as do the other kids in a 634-way tie.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' episode "Shell Shocked Part 2" Viggo captures Astrid to use her as a hostage to get Hiccup to hand him over the Dragon Eye. Hiccup chooses to {{Take A Third Option}} and tosses the Dragon Eye away, forcing Viggo to let go of Astrid and chase after it.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' Dodgers is shown to be obsessed with winning prizes (whether they are useful or not). Dodgers wins a game show later on and has to choose between two prizes. The mystery grand prize or the lives of his fellow competitors (which include his friends and frenemies). [[spoiler: He choose the prize, but pressed the wrong button and set his friends free]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E26TheGoldenFleecing The Golden Fleecing]]", Scrooge twice has to make a decision between saving Launchpad and successfully taking the fleece. The first time, he ditches his friend in an attempt to escape with the treasure, but ultimately he can't sit by and watch Launchpad be killed.
* The cast of ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' would refuse to take a portal home until the people who had helped them were safe.
* ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder'': During "Factory Recall", Blue Falcon prepares to capture Mr. Cool with a net, until Cool points out that the frozen Dynomutt will fall off the rafter he was perched on in a few seconds. Blue Falcon chooses to save Dynomutt, and Mr. Cool escapes in the meantime.
* A subversion occurs in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', "Don't Rain On My Ed": with less than a minute before the candy store closes and the Eds miss Customer Appreciation Day, Eddy must choose between free jawbreakers and rescuing Edd from an unexpected chicken stampede. Eddy, being the greedy jerk of the trope, goes for the jawbreakers, but by the time he stops hesitating, the store's closed.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FancyNancy'' ChristmasEpisode "Nancy and the Nice List", Nancy gets the bike she was asking for, but when she is reminded of the poor girl Daisy and her desire to just have "a nice Christmas", she selflessly decides to give the bike to Daisy.
* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Near the end of "Affair Weather Friends", Berry [[ChainedToARailway ties Mac to a set of toy train tracks and tries to run him over with a toy train]] so she can have Bloo all to herself. To ensure Bloo won't be able to save Mac, she gives him an automatic paddle ball that he's been wanting to play with for so long. As Mac begs for Bloo to save him, Bloo has to choose between saving Mac or the playing with the paddle ball. He chooses the paddle ball... [[SubvertedTrope and uses it to save Mac]].
* It wasn't something he had been ''looking'' for, per se, but in ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', Cosgrove's girlfriend Mary Beth offers to share immortality with him, which, the secret being drinking the essence of a superhero, means Freakazoid will die. A chorus sings 'What will Cosgrove do?' as he ponders the decision, before he tells them to cut it out and turns Mary Beth down.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' had Lexington locked-on to the escaping bad guys' hovercraft with a laser cannon, but he gives up the sure shot to rescue Brooklyn.
** Noteworthy because the baddies in question are the Pack, Lex's former heroes, who used his admiration and naivete to trap and nearly kill Goliath. Lex has harbored an intense hatred since (which he's not completely over by the time the clan moves back in with Xanatos and Fox). In fact, that episode largely concerns Lex's lust for revenge clouding his judgment, so the fact that he gave up that kill shot to save his rookery brother says a lot.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** In "The Love God" when all is taken care of, Mabel gets a hold of the Love God's anti-love formula and is about to use it on Robbie and Tambry to break their induced bonding over each other. However, upon seeing how happy they are to be together, she decides against it and [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy lets them remain a couple.]]
** In "Not What He Seems", Mable has to decide whether to listen to Dipper and turn off the portal to prevent the potential apocalypse from happening, or listen to Stan and leave it on. She ultimately chooses the latter, which in turn leads to the surprise TwistEnding.
* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheKarateKid Karate Kid]]'' cartoon, anytime they got near the idol (it was even called that) they would inevitably have to give it up to save somebody. Its nature meant that it would inevitably be gone by the time they got back to it.
* The first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' has Blythe having to decide whether or not she should leave her family and friends to go to a prestigious summer camp. She goes through with it, and the first episode of season 2 is her realizing [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving it's not all it's cracked up to be]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': In "We're In Big Truffle", after a harrowing adventure trying to track down a rare mushroom worth half a million dollars, Porky falls into some rapids. Daffy offers a stick for Porky to grab, but Porky threatens to slip away as he's still holding the truffle in his other hand.
-->'''Daffy:''' Let go of the truffle!\\
'''Porky:''' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness A-are you sure?]]\\
'''Daffy:''' I'm not going to say it twice! [[ICantBelieveImSayingThis I can't believe I said it once!]]
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'', Arnold forces his cousin Janet to make one of these, more or less so she won't end up dead on Pluto when her oxygen runs out, as she had refused to leave without the souvenirs she had collected from around the solar system; the bus couldn't hold everything she had taken. [[TakeAThirdOption Bringing back only ''some'' of her interplanetary plunder and still most likely becoming famous]] apparently didn't occur to anyone. Then again, ''you'' try convincing [[{{Jerkass}} Janet]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In the second part of the two part pilot, [[ArcVillain Nightmare Moon]] tempts Rainbow Dash to abandon her friends for the chance to live her dream and lead the Shadowbolts (dark versions of her idols, the Wonderbolts, but the idol part still plays in). Rainbow Dash quickly refuses and sides with her friends.
** In the ninth episode of the second season, Rarity gets put in this position, being forced to choose between maintaining some important upper-class connections, and hanging out with her lower-class friends. She ends up [[TakeAThirdOption splitting the difference]]. Also, unlike most cases, when the Friends found out, they encouraged her to go for the Idol since it really was a genuinely good opportunity for her.
** Throughout Season 4, each of the mane characters gets ADayInTheLimelight, leading them to experience a SecretTestOfCharacter about her particular Element and what she should do:
*** In "Rarity Takes Manehattan", Rarity lets her generous spirit go too far when she lets Suri Polomare take advantage of her generosity and forces her friends to work double time in trying to outshine her. Realizing she wasn't being generous at all, Rarity apologizes to her friends for overusing them.
*** When competing to qualify for the Equestria Games in "Rainbow Falls", an injured flyer and a technicality mean Rainbow would qualify to join the Cloudsdale team with her idols, the Wonderbolts, instead of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits ragtag]] Ponyville team. Her indecision leads her to [[TakeAThirdOption fake an injury]], but Twilight points out that "Choosing not to choose isn't really a decision." When she learns the Wonderbolts had lied about their teammate Soarin's recovery so they could get a better flyer, Rainbow tells them she realized it was wrong to ditch a teammate, [[HeelRealization and the Wonderbolts offer Soarin to rejoin the team]].
*** In "Pinkie Pride", Pinkie Pie goes to great lengths to plan the perfect birthday party for Rainbow Dash and prove she's a much better party planner than Cheese Sandwich. However, she is soon tested between proving herself better and seeing her friend happy; when she realizes she went out of control and broke her Pinkie Party Promise, she forfeits to Cheese.
*** In "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", Fluttershy takes in a group of Breezies lost from the storm who refuse to listen to their leader, Seabreeze, but her kindness gets better and she must decide if caring for them is best for them. Realizing what has to be done, she shoos them away against her will.
*** In "Leap of Faith", Granny Smith becomes hooked on the Flim Flam Brothers' tonic which is said to heal anypony, but is clearly a hoax; Applejack sees how much she needs it and keeps shut about the truth, to the point of even lying. She soon realizes her mistake and exposes the brothers' scam.
*** In the climax of "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2", Twilight Sparkle is forced to make a DealWithTheDevil with Tirek whether to give him her magic in exchange for setting her friends free, or not and leave them trapped. Realizing this is the same kind of test her friends encountered, she accepts the deal.
** The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E8TheLostTreasureOfGriffonstone The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone]]" has Gilda make a literal Friend or Idol Decision between saving Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash from falling, or saving an ancient griffon artifact called the Idol of Boreas. Gilda chooses to save Pinkie and Rainbow, letting the idol fall into the Abysmal Abyss, [[CharacterDevelopment symbolically casting off her greed]].
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E25ShadowPlayPart1 Shadow Play]]", Twilight Sparkle has to choose between following Star Swirl the Bearded, [[spoiler: her idol whom she has just brought back from limbo]] in banishing the Pony of Shadows, or listening to her friend and student Starlight Glimmer's suggestion that this is a friendship problem.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E22WhatLiesBeneath What Lies Beneath]]", Rarity and Rainbow Dash invite Sandbar on a friendship mission but he has to abandon his friends to do so. After he ultimately chooses his friends, they are revealed to be illusions as part [[spoiler:the Tree of Harmony]]'s SecretTestOfCharacter.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Traffic Cam Caper", Candace has to save either a disc that would let her finally accomplish her goal of busting her brothers, or Phineas; she chooses the latter at the expense of the former. When it seems like Ferb retrieved the disk seconds later, he flies away with disk in hand, only for the real Ferb to show up coming over the bridge, and the first Ferb turned out to be Perry in a costume.
** In "The Lemonade Stand", Candace is forced to decide between busting her brothers or taking an opportunity to make up with best friend Stacy after an argument. She chose the latter.
** In "The Beak", Khaka Peü Peü gives Phineas as the Beak the choice between either saving Isabella who is about to fall off City Hall, or the citizens about to be crushed by a Bango-Ru billboard. He manages to do both; he leaves the suit to save Isabella, while Ferb pilots the suit alone to save the citizens.
* The Halloween episode of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' has Brain give up not only the world domination he's been magically granted, but the ''possibility of trying to take it over again in the future'' (a big deal to someone whose entire purpose in the world revolves around trying to TakeOverTheWorld) to save Pinky's soul from [[strike:Hell]] Hades. Fortunately for Brain, there's a problem with the original contract, and Pinky is let off the hook anyway.
* The ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'' episode "Be My Glomley" has Glomer and a female glomley called Glomine using their combined magic and some gadgetry by Punky and her pals to create a rainbow gate to their home land of Chaundoon. But a rope in the hot air balloon Punky is in snaps, leaving Punky dangling from the side. Faced with whether to finally return home or rescue Punky, Glomer sends Glomine back ("[[PlatonicDeclarationOfLove Tell momly and dadly I love them]]!") and effects the rescue. By that time, the rainbow disappears and Glomer remains stranded. But he's not ''too'' disappointed--he joyfully leaps into Punky's arms and hugs her.
* ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'':
** In "The Big Day", Otto is out to win a skating tourney, with a training trip with Shaun White as its top prize. He ends up having to convince his father's bride-to-be that he's ready for a new mother, even though he's been against it all this time, instead.
** In "Race Across New Zealand", Otto decides to stop to help Twister, with his sprained knee, cross the finish line in a race, instead of racing for the finish line and winning the main title. Later, when it turns out that the 1st place winner cheated in the race, he is awarded the title in a tie with his sister Reggie.
* WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack suffered from severe ChronicHeroSyndrome where every single time he found some MacGuffin or magic portal that could take him back to his own time, he would ''always'' sacrifice it to save someone in danger. Even though the whole reason he's trying to go back to his own time is to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong and prevent the BadFuture he is currently trapped in from ever coming to pass. Therefore, if he took the out and went back to his own time, that person would never need to be saved in the first place, or quite possibly never even ''exist'' in the first place. The samurai code of honour must not be very "big picture" oriented.
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'', the main character, Zak, was forced to choose between saving the life of a cryptid he had befriended or stopping the villain from getting a piece of the Kur Stone. He saved the cryptid.
* Used in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Three Men and a Comic Book", where Bart has to choose between rescuing Milhouse and rescuing the copy of Radioactive Man #1 that has caused them so much trouble. Given a particularly fine comedic twist with Martin Prince calmly pointing out "If you hadn't tied me up, I could be saving the comic book right now..."
* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In "Cedric's Apprentice", Cedric prepares to use his invisibility potion to turn himself invisible so he can take Sofia's amulet ([[UnknownRival which she is completely unaware of since their first meeting]]), [[IGaveMyWord which she refuses to take off due to a promise she made with Roland]]. However, when he takes one look at Sofia giving him a genuine smile, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe he is reminded by her kindness to him throughout the episode]] and the fact that earlier, he’s proven to Roland what a great sorcerer he is with her help, so he uses the potion on Clover instead for her sake. For bonus points, if he did use the potion on himself as intended and took the amulet, [[DoNotTauntCthulhu this would've triggered its safeguard and cursed him]] [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield for taking it away from its chosen bearer without warning.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' episode "[[Recap/SonicBoomS1E47FuzzyPuppyBuddies Fuzzy Puppy Buddies]]", Amy puts Eggman in one of these: Either he returns the Fancy Poodle he stole, or she'll call off their ''Fuzzy Puppy'' friendship. Eggman chooses "friend" and returns the stolen Fancy Poodle.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** In "Squirrel Jokes", [=SpongeBob=] finds success as a stand-up comedian, but his only funny jokes [[FantasticRacism are at Sandy's expense]]. When Sandy tells him to can it, he finds himself having to choose on-stage between his friend or his career. He drops the microphone, walks away... [[SubvertedTrope then returns for one last squirrel joke]]. Sandy does eventually "convince" [=SpongeBob=] to change his material, however.
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E15BornAgainKrabsIHadAnAccident Born Again Krabs]]", to stop the Flying Dutchman from taking Mr. Krabs' soul, [=SpongeBob=] bets the Dutchman that Mr. Krabs wouldn't sell his soul for several dollars. The Dutchman lets Mr. Krabs choose between [=SpongeBob=] and all the money in his pocket ($0.62). Being the penny-pincher he is, Mr. Krabs chooses the money to [=SpongeBob=]'s shock. Squidward, who absolutely hates [=SpongeBob=], calls Mr. Krabs out on this, reminding him that [=SpongeBob=] stood up to the Dutchman for him. This gives Mr. Krabs a JerkassRealization, and he begs for [=SpongeBob's=] return. His wish is granted, as The Flying Dutchman willingly gives [=SpongeBob=] back, as he couldn't stand having him for thirty seconds due to [=SpongeBob=] [[MotorMouth talking about all the things he likes to do]].
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
** In the first season finale "Storm the Castle", Toffee has Marco in a DeathTrap that even Star's magic can't bust him out of. When she realizes this, without a moment's hesitation Star hands over her magic wand, the very thing she's been fighting to protect for the entire series up to that point.
** In "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown", [[BigBad Ludo]] grabs Star's spell book and tries to escape. Marco grabs him, but Ludo points out Star is about to get sucked into a portal. Marco chooses to save Star.
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosSuperShow'':
** In the episode "Brooklyn Bound", the group finds another plumber that got stranded in the Mushroom Kingdom. He had finished building a machine that could get back to Brooklyn, but it had a short window of use. The Mario brothers have to choose between going back home or saving Princess Toadstool and Toad from King Koopa (whose theme of the episode was Genghis Koopa). Here's a hint on what they chose: this isn't the series finale.
** "Flatbush Koopa" has them actually get back to Brooklyn... only to find out that King Koopa and his Koopa Pack had followed them and were taking over the city. They end up having to lure Koopa and his minions back to the Mushroom Kingdom and destroy the pathway to Brooklyn, thus returning to the old status quo.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' has a dream sequence in which Taz, as a super hero, is forced to choose between rescuing his family or rescuing his comic book collection. He finally chooses his family and the time spent rescuing them leaves him unable to save the comics.
* A rather odd variation was used in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'''s season "Back to the Sewers". As the goal of that season was to save Splinter from being lost in cyberspace the MacGuffin actually ''was'' a friend (to say the least). The episode "Hacking Stockman" featured a Friend or Idol Decision in the sense that Donatello was forced to choose between the data bits he'd been tracking for the entirety of the episode and saving his brothers... which, naturally, made it a difficult decision. Hint: everyone's still alive and well at the end of the episode.
* In "Freeze Tag" from ''WesternAnimation/TrashTruck'', Donny has to choose between hanging on to the smartphone that everyone's been fighting over or rescuing Walter from falling from a tree. He hesitates only briefly before rescuing Walter.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'':
** Eliza had to make a Sister or Idol Decision during a volcanic eruption. Debbie needed help freeing a trapped foot, but Eliza had been hoping to make off with a chest of gold coins for herself. Three guesses.
** Another instance occurs in TheMovie. Eliza has to choose between saving her sister or keeping her powers. She ends up saving Debbie by revealing the fact that she can talk to animals, and ends up losing her abilities. She gets them back in the end though.
* In the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' ValentinesDayEpisode "[[WesternAnimation/WinnieThePoohAValentineForYou A Valentine For You]]", Pooh has to decide whether or not to give Christopher Robin the Smitten for a second bite to cure his potential lovesickness. He chooses the latter, because seeing how happy he is to have a new friend [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy is for the best.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' had Aisha earning her Enchantix through such a decision (heal her eyesight or the dying mermaid queen, she chose the latter). But considering how they are earned (through a sacrifice), perhaps there should have been more.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'': A subversion of the trope, in which the friend (Humpty) sacrifices himself so Puss can recover the idol (a monster goose's chick).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': A villainous example. [[spoiler: Jayce offers Silco a deal, giving in to every single one of his demands in return for the end of [[PsychoSerum Shimmer]] production and [[DaddysLittleVillain Jinx]] to face trial for her crimes. Despite being TheUnfettered with everything he has ever wanted within reach, Silco finds that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes he cannot go through with it]] if it means betraying his daughter.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' episode "Shell Shocked Part 2" Viggo captures Astrid to use her as a hostage to get Hiccup to hand him over the Dragon Eye. Hiccup chooses to {{Take A Third Option}} and tosses the Dragon Eye away forcing Viggo to let go of Astrid and chase after it.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** In "The Love God" when all is taken care of, Mabel gets a hold of the Love God's anti-love formula and is about to use it on Robbie and Tambry to break their induced bonding over each other. However, upon seeing how happy they are to be together, she decides against it and [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy lets them remain a couple.]]
** In "Not What He Seems", Mable has to decide whether to listen to Dipper and turn off the portal to prevent the potential apocalypse from happening, or listen to Stan and leave it on. She ultimately chooses the latter, which in turn leads to the surprise TwistEnding.

* WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack suffered from severe ChronicHeroSyndrome where every single time he found some MacGuffin or magic portal that could take him back to his own time, he would ''always'' sacrifice it to save someone in danger. Even though the whole reason he's trying to go back to his own time is to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong and prevent the BadFuture he is currently trapped in from ever coming to pass. Therefore, if he took the out and went back to his own time, that person would never need to be saved in the first place, or quite possibly never even ''exist'' in the first place. The samurai code of honour must not be very "big picture" oriented.
* The cast of ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' would refuse to take a portal home until the people who had helped them were safe.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', "Cruel Dilemma": Somehow, Jérémie has stumbled on a solution to Aelita's materialization he's been working on for the past 8 eps... however, Yumi falls through a pit into the Digital Sea on her latest mission against XANA, and Jérémie has to use it to bail her out instead.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosSuperShow'':
** In the episode "Brooklyn Bound", the group finds another plumber that got stranded in the Mushroom Kingdom. He had finished building a machine that could get back to Brooklyn, but it had a short window of use. The Mario brothers have to choose between going back home or saving Princess Toadstool and Toad from King Koopa (whose theme of the episode was Genghis Koopa). Here's a hint on what they chose: this isn't the series finale.
** "Flatbush Koopa" has them actually get back to Brooklyn... only to find out that King Koopa and his Koopa Pack had followed them and were taking over the city. They end up having to lure Koopa and his minions back to the Mushroom Kingdom and destroy the pathway to Brooklyn, thus returning to the old status quo.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'', Arnold forces his cousin Janet to make one of these, more or less so she won't end up dead on Pluto when her oxygen runs out, as she had refused to leave without the souvenirs she had collected from around the solar system; the bus couldn't hold everything she had taken. [[TakeAThirdOption Bringing back only ''some'' of her interplanetary plunder and still most likely becoming famous]] apparently didn't occur to anyone. Then again, ''you'' try convincing [[{{Jerkass}} Janet.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', "Operation C.A.K.E.D.F.O.U.R.": Numbuh 2 is out to win the Tube-A-Thon for his winless dad. He ends up saving the other competitors from being baked into a cake instead. [[spoiler:Of his family members, his younger brother, Tommy, takes first place, as do the other kids in a 634-way tie.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E26TheGoldenFleecing The Golden Fleecing]]", Scrooge twice has to make a decision between saving Launchpad and successfully taking the fleece. The first time, he ditches his friend in an attempt to escape with the treasure, but ultimately he can't sit by and watch Launchpad be killed.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' Dodgers is shown to be obsessed with winning prizes (whether they are useful or not). Dodgers wins a game show later on and has to choose between two prizes. The mystery grand prize or the lives of his fellow competitors (which include his friends and frenemies). [[spoiler: He choose the prize, but pressed the wrong button and set his friends free]].

* In the ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' ValentinesDayEpisode "[[WesternAnimation/WinnieThePoohAValentineForYou A Valentine For You]]", Pooh has to decide whether or not to give Christopher Robin the Smitten for a second bite to cure his potential lovesickness. He chooses the latter, because seeing how happy he is to have a new friend [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy is for the best.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' had Aisha earning her Enchantix through such a decision (heal her eyesight or the dying mermaid queen, she chose the latter). But considering how they are earned (through a sacrifice), perhaps there should have been more.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' has a dream sequence in which Taz, as a super hero, is forced to choose between rescuing his family or rescuing his comic book collection. He finally chooses his family and the time spent rescuing them leaves him unable to save the comics.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'':
** Eliza had to make a Sister or Idol Decision during a volcanic eruption. Debbie needed help freeing a trapped foot, but Eliza had been hoping to make off with a chest of gold coins for herself. Three guesses.
** Another instance occurs in TheMovie. Eliza has to choose between saving her sister or keeping her powers. She ends up saving Debbie by revealing the fact that she can talk to animals, and ends up losing her abilities. She gets them back in the end though.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Traffic Cam Caper", Candace has to save either a disc that would let her finally accomplish her goal of busting her brothers, or Phineas; she chooses the latter at the expense of the former. When it seems like Ferb retrieved the disk seconds later, he flies away with disk in hand, only for the real Ferb to show up coming over the bridge, and the first Ferb turned out to be Perry in a costume.
** In "The Lemonade Stand", Candace is forced to decide between busting her brothers or taking an opportunity to make up with best friend Stacy after an argument. She chose the latter.
** In "The Beak", Khaka Peü Peü gives Phineas as the Beak the choice between either saving Isabella who is about to fall off City Hall, or the citizens about to be crushed by a Bango-Ru billboard. He manages to do both; he leaves the suit to save Isabella, while Ferb pilots the suit alone to save the citizens.
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'', the main character, Zak, was forced to choose between saving the life of a cryptid he had befriended or stopping the villain from getting a piece of the Kur Stone. He saved the cryptid.
* The Halloween episode of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' has Brain give up not only the world domination he's been magically granted, but the ''possibility of trying to take it over again in the future'' (a big deal to someone whose entire purpose in the world revolves around trying to TakeOverTheWorld) to save Pinky's soul from [[strike:Hell]] Hades. Fortunately for Brain, there's a problem with the original contract, and Pinky is let off the hook anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Zuko has a choice between going after the Avatar, whose capture would restore his honor, or saving his uncle Iroh who has been imprisoned by the Earth Kingdom. After much agonizing, he chooses Iroh.
** Zuko later faces the same choice, between joining Azula against the Avatar (thus restoring his honor) and helping his imprisoned uncle. He chooses Azula, although he has a HeelRealization in the next season.
** It seems to run in the family. His great-grandfather Sozin had to choose [[spoiler:between saving his former best friend's life or letting him die to the poisonous gases of a volcanic eruption to pursue his dreams of conquest. Said friend was Avatar Roku, who had previously spared his life when he first began his world conquest and saved his life again during their joint efforts to stop said eruption. He chose ambition, [[HeelRealization though he would realize near his own life's end that it wasn't worth it]]]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Team Avatar manage to kidnap Kuvira's fiancé, Baatar Jr., and demand that she stop her conquest of Republic City and give herself up or she'll never see him again. [[spoiler:She feigns the first choice, but sneakily aims her WaveMotionGun at their building in an attempt to ShootTheHostage. Everyone survives but it results in Baatar Jr. [[HeelFaceTurn turning against her]] when he sees Kuvira was fully willing to sacrifice him in pursuit of her Earth Empire.]]
* It wasn't something he had been ''looking'' for, per se, but in ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', Cosgrove's girlfriend Mary Beth offers to share immortality with him, which, the secret being drinking the essence of a superhero, means Freakazoid will die. A chorus sings 'What will Cosgrove do?' as he ponders the decision, before he tells them to cut it out and turns Mary Beth down.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Finn, Jake, and four Hot Dog Knights go into a labyrinth searching for wishes, the first two hoping to get [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot a psychic double-head war elephant]]. Jake stretches his body to have a lifeline back to the start and by the time they get a chance for a wish each two of the hot dogs had died and Jake was dying from overstretching himself. Finn was hoping to use his wish to bring Jake back to life while Jake wished for the elephant, but then the two hot dogs and Jake [[WastefulWishing wished for a box, to blow up (he meant to get big but that didn't matter), and for a sandwich, respectively.]]\\
Faced with deciding whether to save his friend or get what they came for, Finn [[SubvertedTrope wishes for the elephant]], by Jake's suggestion, [[TakeAThirdOption then convinces the elephant to use ITS wish to revive everyone then fly out of there]] to the [[JackassGenie Labyrinth guardian's great frustration.]]
--->'''Aquandrius:''' No! You weren’t supposed to have your wishes come true! You were supposed to die!

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
** In the second part of the two part pilot, [[ArcVillain Nightmare Moon]] tempts Rainbow Dash to abandon her friends for the chance to live her dream and lead the Shadowbolts (dark versions of her idols, the Wonderbolts, but the idol part still plays in). Rainbow Dash quickly refuses and sides with her friends.
** In the ninth episode of the second season, Rarity gets put in this position, being forced to choose between maintaining some important upper-class connections, and hanging out with her lower-class friends. She ends up [[TakeAThirdOption splitting the difference]]. Also, unlike most cases, when the Friends found out, they encouraged her to go for the Idol since it really was a genuinely good opportunity for her.
** Throughout Season 4, each of the mane characters gets ADayInTheLimelight, leading them to experience a SecretTestOfCharacter about her particular Element and what she should do:
*** In "Rarity Takes Manehattan", Rarity lets her generous spirit go too far when she lets Suri Polomare take advantage of her generosity and forces her friends to work double time in trying to outshine her. Realizing she wasn't being generous at all, Rarity apologizes to her friends for overusing them.
*** When competing to qualify for the Equestria Games in "Rainbow Falls", an injured flyer and a technicality mean Rainbow would qualify to join the Cloudsdale team with her idols, the Wonderbolts, instead of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits ragtag]] Ponyville team. Her indecision leads her to [[TakeAThirdOption fake an injury]], but Twilight points out that "Choosing not to choose isn't really a decision." When she learns the Wonderbolts had lied about their teammate Soarin's recovery so they could get a better flyer, Rainbow tells them she realized it was wrong to ditch a teammate, [[HeelRealization and the Wonderbolts offer Soarin to rejoin the team]].
*** In "Pinkie Pride", Pinkie Pie goes to great lengths to plan the perfect birthday party for Rainbow Dash and prove she's a much better party planner than Cheese Sandwich. However, she is soon tested between proving herself better and seeing her friend happy; when she realizes she went out of control and broke her Pinkie Party Promise, she forfeits to Cheese.
*** In "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies", Fluttershy takes in a group of Breezies lost from the storm who refuse to listen to their leader, Seabreeze, but her kindness gets better and she must decide if caring for them is best for them. Realizing what has to be done, she shoos them away against her will.
*** In "Leap of Faith", Granny Smith becomes hooked on the Flim Flam Brothers' tonic which is said to heal anypony, but is clearly a hoax; Applejack sees how much she needs it and keeps shut about the truth, to the point of even lying. She soon realizes her mistake and exposes the brothers' scam.
*** In the climax of "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2", Twilight Sparkle is forced to make a DealWithTheDevil with Tirek whether to give him her magic in exchange for setting her friends free, or not and leave them trapped. Realizing this is the same kind of test her friends encountered, she accepts the deal.
** The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E8TheLostTreasureOfGriffonstone The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone]]" has Gilda make a literal Friend or Idol Decision between saving Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash from falling, or saving an ancient griffon artifact called the Idol of Boreas. Gilda chooses to save Pinkie and Rainbow, letting the idol fall into the Abysmal Abyss, [[CharacterDevelopment symbolically casting off her greed]].
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E25ShadowPlayPart1 Shadow Play]]", Twilight Sparkle has to choose between following Star Swirl the Bearded, [[spoiler: her idol whom she has just brought back from limbo]] in banishing the Pony of Shadows, or listening to her friend and student Starlight Glimmer's suggestion that this is a friendship problem.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E22WhatLiesBeneath What Lies Beneath]]", Rarity and Rainbow Dash invite Sandbar on a friendship mission but he has to abandon his friends to do so. After he ultimately chooses his friends, they are revealed to be illusions as part [[spoiler:the Tree of Harmony]]'s SecretTestOfCharacter.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brandy and Mr Whiskers}}'': Mr Whiskers saves Brandy from falling into the collapsing cave rather than the gameboy he had been obsessing over throughout the episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'': Max Tennyson experiences one of these in the episode "Ultimate Weapon". The episode centers around Max chasing after the only [[AncientArtifact object]] he failed to acquire during his time as a Plumber. Near the end he has the choice of grabbing it or saving Ben. Obviously he saves his grandson. The artifact later is revealed to have aged to the point of crumbling into dust when the leader of the [[ArtifactCollectionAgency Forever Knights]] holds it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ComicBook/PlasticMan (who is obsessed with money) has to choose between taking the [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain]]'s gold/jewels or saving Batman, who was a great friend/mentor and kept giving him chances to better himself, even helping him [[HeelFaceTurn get out of prison]]. He saves Batman of course but is distracted by the loot for a bit, so by the time he reaches Batman, he had already been [[AppliedPhlebotinum turned into an ape]]. Luckily, the treasure [[ItMakesSenseInContext helped him fight off]] the villain and his henchmen and the transformation was reversed.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'':
** In "Steak Night", Cricket decides to leave the steak behind and get sploshed by the incoming subway train, finally learning that it's not the steak that matters, but the family who eats it.
** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a photo studio so they could get a family portrait]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. The rest of the family, furious at Bill for tricking them, tries to escape, to no avail. Bill decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family naturally happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]
** In "Blood Moon", Cricket decides against spending the candy he earned in favor of sacrificing himself with Bill, because he wouldn't spend Halloween without him. Naturally, the blood moon ends right when they are about to accept their fates.
** In "Elevator Action", Gloria has to pick either to return her apartment key or not. She chooses the latter, upon realizing how much the Greens have done for her.
** In "Green Christmas" when Cricket realizes the error of his ways and faces the prospect of not getting any presents, he encounters the real Santa who presents him with a gift which will grant him anything he desires. However, he rejects it, as [[SelflessWish he decides to use the wish for Tilly to be back on the nice list]], as the best gift doesn't come from a box. The wish is granted, and because of this selfless act of putting Tilly's needs before his, it puts him on the nice list as well.
** Implied in "Friend Con" as Gramma was forced to decide between her swag and her son, ultimately choosing the latter.
** In "Dolled Up", Bill is forced to pick either the dollhouse he built, or Cricket; after some hesitation, he chooses the latter.
** In the climax of "Bleeped", Cricket is given the choice by Bill to pick whether or not to drop the cuss word "[[UnusualEuphemism blort]]" during the children's choir's big finish; he chooses the latter, as he realized being a foul mouth is not the person he wants to be.
* The first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' has Blythe having to decide whether or not she should leave her family and friends to go to a prestigious summer camp. She goes through with it, and the first episode of season 2 is her realizing [[WantingIsBetterThanHaving it's not all it's cracked up to be.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** In "Squirrel Jokes", [=SpongeBob=] finds success as a stand-up comedian, but his only funny jokes [[FantasticRacism are at Sandy's expense]]. When Sandy tells him to can it, he finds himself having to choose on-stage between his friend or his career. He drops the microphone, walks away... [[SubvertedTrope then returns for one last squirrel joke]]. Sandy does eventually "convince" [=SpongeBob=] to change his material, however.
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E15BornAgainKrabsIHadAnAccident Born Again Krabs]]", to stop the Flying Dutchman from taking Mr. Krabs' soul, [=SpongeBob=] bets the Dutchman that Mr. Krabs wouldn't sell his soul for several dollars. The Dutchman lets Mr. Krabs choose between [=SpongeBob=] and all the money in his pocket ($0.62). Being the penny-pincher he is, Mr. Krabs chooses the money to [=SpongeBob=]'s shock. Squidward, who absolutely hates [=SpongeBob=], calls Mr. Krabs out on this, reminding him that [=SpongeBob=] stood up to the Dutchman for him. This gives Mr. Krabs a JerkassRealization, and he begs for [=SpongeBob's=] return. His wish is granted, as The Flying Dutchman willingly gives [=SpongeBob=] back, as he couldn't stand having him for thirty seconds due to [=SpongeBob=] [[MotorMouth talking about all the things he likes to do]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'' episode "Be My Glomley" has Glomer and a female glomley called Glomine using their combined magic and some gadgetry by Punky and her pals to create a rainbow gate to their home land of Chaundoon. But a rope in the hot air balloon Punky is in snaps, leaving Punky dangling from the side. Faced with whether to finally return home or rescue Punky, Glomer sends Glomine back ("[[PlatonicDeclarationOfLove Tell momly and dadly I love them]]!") and effects the rescue. By that time, the rainbow disappears and Glomer remains stranded. But he's not ''too'' disappointed--he joyfully leaps into Punky's arms and hugs her.
* The titular ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' was forced into this midway through ''Horsin' Around'', [[spoiler: after Herb, his best friend and show's creator, was caught in a gay sex scandal, and Herb wanted him to threaten to walk out if Herb got fired. [=BoJack=] chose the Idol]].
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
** In the first season finale "Storm the Castle", Toffee has Marco in a DeathTrap that even Star's magic can't bust him out of. When she realizes this, without a moment's hesitation Star hands over her magic wand, the very thing she's been fighting to protect for the entire series up to that point.
** In "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown", [[BigBad Ludo]] grabs Star's spell book and tries to escape. Marco grabs him, but Ludo points out Star is about to get sucked into a portal. Marco chooses to save Star.
* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In "Cedric's Apprentice", Cedric prepares to use his invisibility potion to turn himself invisible so he can take Sofia's amulet ([[UnknownRival which she is completely unaware of since their first meeting]]), [[IGaveMyWord which she refuses to take off due to a promise she made with Roland]]. However, when he takes one look at Sofia giving him a genuine smile, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe he is reminded by her kindness to him throughout the episode]] and the fact that earlier, he’s proven to Roland what a great sorcerer he is with her help, so he uses the potion on Clover instead for her sake. For bonus points, if he did use the potion on himself as intended and took the amulet, [[DoNotTauntCthulhu this would've triggered its safeguard and cursed him]] [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield for taking it away from its chosen bearer without warning.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' episode "[[Recap/SonicBoomS1E47FuzzyPuppyBuddies Fuzzy Puppy Buddies]]", Amy puts Eggman in one of these: Either he returns the Fancy Poodle he stole, or she'll call off their ''Fuzzy Puppy'' friendship. Eggman chooses "friend" and returns the stolen Fancy Poodle.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': In "We're In Big Truffle", after a harrowing adventure trying to track down a rare mushroom worth half a million dollars, Porky falls into some rapids. Daffy offers a stick for Porky to grab, but Porky threatens to slip away as he's still holding the truffle in his other hand.
-->'''Daffy:''' Let go of the truffle!\\
'''Porky:''' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness A-are you sure?]]\\
'''Daffy:''' I'm not going to say it twice! [[ICantBelieveImSayingThis I can't believe I said it once!]]

* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Near the end of "Affair Weather Friends", Berry [[ChainedToARailway ties Mac to a set of toy train tracks and tries to run him over with a toy train]] so she can have Bloo all to herself. To ensure Bloo won't be able to save Mac, she gives him an automatic paddle ball that he's been wanting to play with for so long. As Mac begs for Bloo to save him, Bloo has to choose between saving Mac or the playing with the paddle ball. He chooses the paddle ball... [[SubvertedTrope and uses it to save Mac]].

* [[http://www.deviantart.com/art/Dipper-would-483469230 This]] ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' fancomic depicts Dipper facing a Sister Or BigBookOfEverything Decision courtesy of Bill Cipher.
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': In the backstory, Anguirus once had a choice to either absorb some mana crystals to gain his full potential, or allow Baragon to absorb them to heal his fatal injuries. He chose to save Baragon, deciding power was worthless without his friends.

* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', [[spoiler: Charlie is forced to choose between saving either his watch from sinking or Anne Marie from drowning. Keep in mind he's literally living on borrowed time -- he stole the watch from heaven to resurrect himself after being killed by a car, and if the watch stops, as watches tend to do in water, he will die. And worse, he'll be sent to Hell since he "can never come back". Ultimately, he chooses saving Anne Marie while sacrificing both the watch and his life, earning his way back to Heaven.]]
* Franchise/{{Barbie}} [[WesternAnimation/{{Barbie}} films]]:

* This happens twice in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe''. First time, Gru has to make the decision of choosing between the girls' ballet recital and taking the moon, which was his lifelong dream. [[spoiler: Originally, he wanted to push back the date for taking the moon but Nefario called Miss Hattie so she could take the kids back to the orphanage and Gru could focus back on task.]] The second time, Vector kidnaps the girls and demands that Gru gives him the moon. [[spoiler: Gru gave up the moon, but Vector didn't hold his side of the bargain.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' [[spoiler: Kuzco, who starts the movie as a spoiled brat, gives up the potion he needs to change back into a human in order to rescue Pacha. In a subversion, the pair uses ThePowerOfFriendship to get it back not two minutes later.]]

* Also the end result of the second movie, ''[[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse Candace Against The Universe]]''. As Candace sees her Mom pulling up towards her, Stacy points out that there is virtually no way to hide the collateral damage done during the final battle and that Phineas and Ferb will finally be busted once and for all. After hearing this, Candace runs up to her Mom and talks of Phineas and Ferb while her {{leitmotif}} plays...and tells Mom that they want pizza for dinner from a restaurant on the other side of town, preventing her from seeing everything. Noteworthy considering the heartfelt moment between the three a little while before said final battle.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys Movie'', Eliza has to make a Sister or Idol decision when the BigBad has Debbie and wants to know how Eliza could have known about his plans. She saves Debbie by revealing the thing she cannot tell: she can talk to animals. It costs her the power. [[spoiler: She gets it back later with a heroic sacrifice.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', this is a parental example. Harold is forced by the Fairy Godmother to give Fiona a love potion in order that Fiona will fall in love with her son, Prince Charming, and marry him as per his promise to her decades earlier. Harold knows if he does not, he will expose himself to the Fairy Godmother's wrath. But if he does, he will be tearing Fiona away from her real love, Shrek, and forcing her into a fake love with what is treated as essentially a date rape drug. After reluctantly putting the potion into some tea to give her, she expresses to him how much she wants Shrek as himself, making him ultimately decide to go back on his promise to the Fairy Godmother and not give her the spiked tea. Turns out later though, his fears of the Fairy Godmother were completely justified.

** Happens again in the [[Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory 2005 film adaptation]]. After Charlie is the last kid left, Wonka desginates him as the heir of the factory...but states that he will only do so if Charlie has to leave the rest of his family behind. Because family always comes first for him, Charlie declines the offer. However, after Wonka reunites with his own long-estranged father, he changes his mind and allows the family to live in the factory, even moving their entire house into there.
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': Since Loki once craved the power of the Tesseract, for him the choice offered by Thanos between the cube and his brother's life is this. [[spoiler:He pretends not to care for Thor, then attempts to TakeAThirdOption by announcing Hulk's attack, but neither works. Loki then tosses the cube aside and rushes to shield Thor.]]
* In ''Film/RememberTheTitans'', Coach Yoast finds himself faced with one of these. The School Board has placed a condition on the African-American Herman Boone keeping his job as head coach (the Caucasian Yoast's previous position; he's now the Assistant Coach)--namely, Boone has to win every single game or be fired. Before the first playoff game, Yost's School Board friends assure him that they've done something to ensure a loss, and sure enough, the Titans are flagged for every single play. If Yoast keeps his mouth shut, he'll not only get his old job back, but he'll be nominated for the High School Football Hall of Fame, which has been his dream for years. For a few minutes, he seems to actively consider not saying anything...but then calls out the ref, telling him that he knows they've been paid off to make crooked calls, and that he'll reveal the whole operation to the papers if they don't stop immediately. The ref agrees, the Titans win, and the furious School Board officials assure Yoast that "you just lost yourself the Hall of Fame."
* In the film adaptation of ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', Adso of Melk, a young virginal monk, begins to feel a bond of love towards the young peasant girl that he had intercourse with. However, at the end of the film, after the girl was spared from death, Adso had to make a decision to leave behind the girl and follow his calling as a monk, or to leave behind his calling and possibly marry the girl. He chose the former option, and in the latter years of his life, as he was narrating the entire story as a memoir, he recalled that he did not know the girl's name.
* ''Film/SafetyPatrol:'' In the climax, Mr. Miller nearly falls to his death from a hot air balloon because he won't let go of a bag of stolen money to grab Scout's hand.
* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'': When Tails is knocked unconscious, Sonic immediately abandons chasing the [[MacGuffin compass]] to save him, letting Dr. Robotnik and Knuckles take the compass. This pays off because seeing this honorable act makes Knuckles question if Sonic is really evil or not, and ultimately gets Knuckles on his side.

* Creator/HansChristianAndersen's ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': The mermaid is depressed when the prince she loves marries the girl at the temple who met him following the mermaid rescuing him from a storm. Her sisters come to help her and she is faced with a choice: use her father's knife to stab the prince to death and return to her mermaid form, sparing her life, or spare his, but die herself once the sun comes up. She is unable to kill him [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because she loves him]], so she chooses the latter. In some versions, she dies, in others, her honorable choice causes her to be turned into a Daughter of the Air, where she will go to Heaven after 300 years of good deeds.

* Creator/OrsonScottCard's "Literature/TheOriginist": Leyel Forska is given a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] when Hari Seldon says that if Leyel tries to join the Foundation on Terminus, he must leave his wife on Trantor. Leyel is angry with Hari, because now he blames his wife, Deet, for making him unable to work on Hari Seldon's greatest scientific project.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'': Lu-Tze, after injuring himself, yells at his apprentice Lobsang to choose the Idol (stopping the "perfect clock" that will cause all of time to come to a halt) over the Friend (the injured Lu-Tze). The fact he even hesitates in saving the world for Lu-Tze's sake prompts Susan Sto Helit to call him a "hero"... in a tone that implies it's synonymous with "idiot".

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's "Literature/JewelsOfGwahlur", Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian faces it and quite awesomely subverts it (as given the choice, the barbarian mercenary not even for a split-second considers the idol, and chooses the GirlOfTheWeek instead):

* In the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' duology, Ward is presented with the opportunity to protect his castle from invaders. This, however, comes at the cost of killing a friend, who wants to make a HeroicSacrifice.[[spoiler: As there is more at stake than just his property, he chooses to enable his friend's HeroicSacrifice.]]

* Creator/KathiPeterson's ''Literature/StoneTraveler'': Tag is trapped in the past (34 AD Meso America, to be exact), and his only way home is to use a blessed stone which was stolen by the bad guys. When he is about to retrieve it, during a huge natural disaster explosion (storms, quakes, volcanoes, you name it) one of his friends, Rasha, falls through the ground. He only has time to save the stone or the girl (who isn't his love interest). He chooses to save her, meets Jesus, and gets a free ride home (turns out there was more than one magic stone).

* Creator/DavidCPoyer's "Literature/IfYouCanFillTheUnforgivingMinute": A teenage human is representing the Earth in a marathon race against an alien teen. When the alien is injured during the race, the human must make a choice: continue running and win the race, or help the alien and lose. He decides to help the alien and loses. Afterwards, he is told that the aliens consider honor to be more important than winning and that as far as they're concerned, he won the race.

* Book 41 of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', titled ''The Familiar'', takes place in a BadFuture and ends with Jake having to choose between saving Cassie or the world. [[spoiler:He chooses to save "what must be valued above all else". We're not told explicitly which that is; all we're told is that a MysteriousWatcher found his decision "interesting".]]
* During ''The Shadow Rising'', the fourth book of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', [[TheChessmaster Moraine]] tires of competing for the position of the protagonist's political mentor, and offers [[CynicalMentor Thom Merrilin]] a ledger containing the names of the mages who [[FateWorseThanDeath "gentled"]] his beloved nephew if he'll escort two of the cast members to [[WretchedHive a faraway and dangerous city]]. Ostensibly, so he can protect them with his expertise, but it's really to get him out of the way so she can manipulate the [[spoiler:Dragon Reborn]] easier. Thom is thus faced with a choice between refusing the list to continue aiding [[ReplacementGoldfish Rand]] or gaining information to avenge his dead family. [[spoiler:He chooses revenge.]]

* In the ConceptAlbum ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, the protagonist [[UnreliableNarrator Rael]] is ultimately confronted with a situation where he can either escape from the mad dream he has been caught in and go back to his normal life in New York City, or risk dangerous rapids to rescue his drowning brother John (who has repeatedly refused to help Rael in his times of need). [[spoiler: He decides to save John from the rapids, but during the confusion and peril of the struggle, the mad dream takes another turn and Rael finds that he and John are actually the same person]]. See also: [[spoiler: TomatoInTheMirror]], [[spoiler: TwistEnding]], and [[spoiler: ItWasHisSled]].

* At the 2011 Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} SeasonFinale [=iPPV=] ''High Noon'', November 13, 2011, there was a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' match, with the ''[[{{Face}} tecnico]]'' team The Spectral Envoy (Wrestling/{{UltraMantis Black}} and Wrestling/{{Hallowicked}}) vs. the ''[[{{Heel}} rudo]]'' team Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes (Ares and Tim Donst). The stipulations were that if Wicked or Mantis were pinned, they would have to give up their masks, if Ares got pinned he had to give up the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eye of Tyr]], and if Donst was pinned he had to lose his hair.[[note]]While these kinds of matches are usually mask(s) vs. hair, Ares is bald, and the Eye of Tyr was far more important than any hair.[[/note]] Realizing that his team was on the verge of losing, Donst bailed with his [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pa/e/chikara/chikara-yl.html CHIKARA Young Lions Cup]], doing nothing to prevent Mantis from driving Ares through a chair and pinning him.

* ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' is rife with these, but only when you're playing as Rhys.
** An interesting subversion at the end of episode 2: Rhys has choose who to trust to save your friends Vaughn and Sasha who are being held at gunpoint: Fiona, who has a plan [[IndyPloy that's mostly just winging it]], or Handsome Jack, who has a definite plan, but will lead to him gaining control of your body and likely causing causing chaos and bloodshed just for the fun of it.
** Episode 4 ends with the choice and ramifications of a deal that Jack proposes to Rhys: [[WeCanRuleTogether become the CEO of Hyperion,]] which has been his dream since he was a kid, once Jack leaves Rhys' head and takes control of the Helios space station, or reject the deal to stay with his friends Fiona, Vaughn, and Sasha. Your choice leads to the episode ending in very different ways.

* In a somewhat gruesome example, in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Black'', Dollface is offered the key to her mask, but taking it will close her former boss (who put the damn thing on her in the first place) in an Iron Maiden. She takes it, then decides that she didn't really want it anyway.
** Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane is given a cure for his curse (an eternally burning skull), but is told it will only work as long as he never kills again. He decides he likes killing too much, and decapitates Calypso, deciding to just live with the constant agony.
* At the end of the ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' series, you can choose: [[spoiler:become a god, or stay mortal]]. This choice is particularly poignant if you have a romance going at the time. (Interestingly, one of your possible romantic partners actually tries to convince you to take [[spoiler: godhood]] when it's offered.)
** The funny thing is, for this certain partner, actually doing as she asks you to do will give her the happier ending than staying with her.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/UltimaVII: The Black Gate'', the Avatar can choose between entering the titular Moongate, returning to Earth but leaving Britannia in the clutches of BigBad the Guardian, or destroy it but forever be prevented from returning. The choice is the player's, but the next game in the series naturally assumes the Avatar made the Friend choice.
* In the finale of ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', Sam (having infiltrated a terrorist group as one of their members) is given the choice of either shooting his NSA boss (a series regular, who's been captured by the terrorists) to maintain his cover, or shooting the terrorist standing guard over them (which instantly blows his cover and causes everyone in the base to come and try to kill him).
* Pops up in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. At one point, an NPC thief and a moogle are left hanging over a ledge, and the group can choose to save one. Saving the thief nets them a Golden Hairpin, a rare, but by no means unique, relic that halves MP consumption when equipped. This causes the moogle to plummet to his (apparent) doom. Saving the moogle nets the party Mog, an optional party member with fairly useful abilities and arguably the best character-specific relic in the game, which eliminates random encounters. He ''can'' be recruited later in the game regardless of choice, but choosing the Gold Hairpin will make Mog unable to learn his Water Rondo dance. (The remake for the Game Boy Advance allows the possibility for Mog to learn the dance after the critical point, but the encounter is one-time, and if Mog is not present for it, it's {{Permanently Missable|Content}}.)
* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'', [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Emperor Percival Tachyon]] gives Ratchet (the Lombax protagonist) the option to either go to the new homeworld that the Lombaxes have created and discover the mysteries of his origins or stay and attempt to save the Polaris galaxy from him. Ratchet sees this as a MortonsFork, citing that if he leaves, Tachyon would use the Dimensionator to finish off the Lombaxes in a genocide attack anyway. And as long as [[OmnicidalManiac Tachyon]] holds it and continues to summon [[TheHeartless Cragmites]], ''reality itself'' is in danger. Ratchet opts to stay, making a vow to destroy the Dimensionator and kill Tachyon to save TheMultiverse from his fascist tyranny.
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has this in the endgame areas: When a level is generated with the "I hear prayers to Kali!" feeling, the player will be presented with a [[spoiler:damsel and a solid-gold Idol suspended over a pit filled with traps and a lava pool at the bottom.]] Of course, canny players can [[TakeAThirdOption rescue both]].
** Only one of them actually triggers it anyway.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', after breaking all the seals and thinking you finished the game you get a YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle moment at the Tower of Salvation when [[spoiler: you find out the purpose of the Worldregeneration Journey is for the Chosen to die.]] During that scene IdiotHero Lloyd gets asked if [[spoiler: he'd rather have the entire world die than sacrifice one life to save it.]] He doesn't answer, but shortly afterward you learn in a skit that [[spoiler: for a moment he chose to save the world rather than the Chosen]].

* Employed in the first ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' game where you face the dilemma of either rescuing the last surviving females of the elven race, thus ensuring the race continues... or getting a dwarven king's stockpile of gold. Needless to say, with the game's overall theme you're encouraged to pursue the latter option.

* The ending of the adventure game ''Return to Mysterious Island 2'': [[spoiler:The player character discovers that her deactivation of the shield surrounding the island as part of her aborted escape attempt in the ending of the previous game has caused the island's ecosystem to start dying from foreign microorganisms. She then must choose between escaping and causing the entire island to die or reactivating the shield, saving the island but trapping her there for the rest of her life.]]
* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' likes these just a bit too much. At least thrice does your opponent put a contact (preferably a RomanceSidequest character) in one room, himself and/or your mission objective in the other room, and then announces this to the player.
** Mostly because it's effective: only ''one'' of those times are you able to actually save the contact ''and'' complete the mission, and it requires the right skills.
* In ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'', you enter Mephisto's lair, where he has Nightcrawler and Phoenix held hostage and rescuing one or the other alters the game's end: [[spoiler:rescuing Nightcrawler means Phoenix dies, but she comes back as the Dark Phoenix, looking for revenge. Rescuing Phoenix has Mystique killing Professor X in revenge for Nightcrawler's death which causes the X-Men to disband]].
* In Catwoman's storyline sections in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', the player is made to make a decision at one point as to whether to escape from the eponymous prison city with his appropriated loot, or to leave it behind and go to save the dying Batman. Canonically, the latter has to happen (as the main storyline has her rescue him at that time), but the player can choose the former for a NonStandardGameOver if they wish.
* In the last mission of ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'', the Boss has to decide between finishing off [[BigBad Killbane]] before he escapes Steelport or save Shaundi, Viola, and Mayor Reynolds from getting blown up along with a regional monument. The latter is the more ethical choice and is canon according to ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV''.
* Happens SEVERAL times in ''VideoGame/NinetyNineSpirits'' - somewhere between 3 and 5 times, depending on how loosely you're willing to interpret the trope and whether you count two attempts within seconds of each other ("Oh, you don't care about [[KickTheSonOfABitch this woman]]? Then I'll take [[CuteClumsyGirl THIS]] [[{{Moe}} woman]] hostage instead...") as two separate cases. However, considering that the 'idol' in question is the only weapon capable of [[ImmuneToBullets hurting the villains]], it is perhaps understandable that they're trying everything to AVOID a direct confrontation...

* ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'' ends on Nima having to choose whether to save Jess from the T-Rex or the can of dinosaur embryos she can sell for enough money to get herself and her daughter out of poverty for good. The will lead the player to different endings. [[spoiler: In a subversion, if Nima chooses the can, she's the one who dies.]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', ''Enterprise''-F captain Va'Kel Shon finds himself in an conundrum: either destroy [[spoiler:the recently activated Iconian gateway]] to spare everyone anything that could waltz through and lose the friendship of the Romulan Republic or leave it and allow anything to get through. [[spoiler:The discovery of Omega molecules]] takes it out of their hands.
* In ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'', Cole is forced to choose between saving Trish and a bus filled with medical professionals who can help the whole city. No matter which choice you make, Trish will die, but how it happens differs.

* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', a [[TheMole mole]] on the heroes side is forced with this when the BigBad of the game manages to crash a helicopter and capture a fellow soldier (Your commanding officer in fact) who managed to survive, then giving the mole a gun and forcing him to kill the soldier. You're given the opinion of killing the soldier [[spoiler: (which is a requirement to get the GoldenEnding, as said mole has to survive for a later part in the story)]] who even ''encourages'' you to do it to maintain your cover. Or try to kill the Big Bad right there [[spoiler: which predictably fails and results in the mole getting killed.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'', [[spoiler:Spider-Man has a sample of the cure to the Devil's Breath virus and learns that they need the entire sample to create more, which puts him in a conundrum as one of the first victims is his beloved Aunt May. In a moment of emotion, Peter prepares to jab the antidote sample into May's IV patch, but stops himself and grieves as he decides on TheNeedsOfTheMany, allowing Aunt May to die so others can live.]]

* ''VideoGame/AmazonGuardiansOfEden'': Maya leaves Jason with such a decision. [[spoiler:In the end, will he take a precious emerald and leave them with a promise that he'll never reveal their people and mission to the outside world, or will he stay with her as his wife in Eden. Ultimately, Jason chooses to stay with her.]]
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
** In Catherine's support conversations with Ashe, she reveals that the reason why she turned in Christophe over to the Church was because he was involved in an assassination plot to kill Lady Rhea, and he asked her to join him. She sided with Rhea, because in another support conversation with Seteth, she explains that was ambushed by a group of monsters, and Rhea nursed her back to health after she barely survived. Despite that, the decision still haunts her in the present, and she says that if there was a way to convince Christophe to back down, she would have taken it.
** [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]] must make this decision in the Holy Tomb mission [[spoiler:if they chose to lead the Black Eagle students and attended Edelgard's coronation. The Friend decision[[note]]Edelgard[[/note]] leads to the Crimson Flower route where the Adrestian Empire reunites the continent of Fódlan. The Idol decision[[note]]Rhea[[/note]] leads to the Silver Snow route, where the Church of Seiros forms a resistance movement against the Adrestian Empire.]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': A seemingly downplayed one in the wedding arc. Essentially, it appears as though if you want the Legendary Shield, you'll have to give up your Childhood Friend. Ultimately averted in that if you choose Bianca, you get the Shield anyway.

* In the ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'' movie ''Nihao My Concubine'', Ranma and Akane find themselves falling through open air toward a magical pool whose water will turn anyone permanently into a man, even overriding the GenderBender [[TransformationRay Jusenkyo curse]] Ranma had spent the whole series trying to cure. In an unusually elegant variation of the Friend or Idol Decision, Ranma realizes that if he dives right in, Akane will fall into the water as well, and will become afflicted with the very curse he seeks to cure in himself! And of course, since they are the OfficialCouple, and StatusQuoIsGod, it naturally follows that FailureIsTheOnlyOption, and so Ranma must use his tremendous chi powers to destroy the fountain before they touch the water, so that Akane will be spared.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Negi is forced to either stay behind and fight a giant monster so his students can escape with a magical book that can make them smarter (for the big exams) or dump the book so they can all escape safely. [[spoiler: Subverted in that Negi ends up ''trying'' to stay behind, but Asuna decides to make the "right" choice for him anyway.]]
** During their fight in ''Budokai'', Evangeline makes Setsuna choose between "sword" and "happiness". Setsuna [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]], which Eva [[SureLetsGoWithThat wasn't meaning to give]].
* Griffith is faced with such a dilemma during the climax of the Golden Age Arc in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': [[spoiler:he has the chance of ascending to godhood and healing his broken body should he sentence the [[TrueCompanions Band of the Hawk]] to a CruelAndUnusualDeath. Horrifically, he takes the Idol and gleefully crosses the MoralEventHorizon with it]].
* Ahiru/Duck in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' is given this sort of dilemma at the end of the series when she finds out that the pendant that allows her to be a girl is [[spoiler:Mytho's final missing heart shard]], meaning that she has to choose between saving the boy she loves ([[spoiler:who, to make it worse, has decided he's in love with [[DarkMagicalGirl another girl]], who just pulled an HeroicSacrifice for ''him'']]) and [[ToBecomeHuman her ability to be human]].

--> '''[[spoiler:Claire]]:''' "Feel free to try. I'll just dodge them ''and'' stay in love... Hey, that's even ''more'' like true love, [[SlapSlapKiss now that I think of it]]!"
* In the ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' {{OVA}} there is a great example of this trope starring the villains. When Black Knight Ashram is given the chance to take the Scepter of Domination before the good guys can or save the life of dark elf Pirotess he [[spoiler: actually picks saving her over the scepter. She dies anyway, unfortunately.]]
* In ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', the Autobots enter a race to find [=SkidZ=], in which Megatron and Sky-Byte also enter. Megatron manages to trap the other Autobots under a rock, forcing [=SkidZ=] to choose between winning and saving his friends. [[spoiler:He manages to get both.]]

* In the GrandFinale of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'', the girls are asked if they want to become full time witches or return to being regular humans. They choose the latter, which SixthRanger Hana [[TearJerker doesn't take well]].
* Before the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' timeline begins, Sakumo Hatake faced a choice between his comrades or a mission. He abandoned the mission, saved their lives and was ostracised by his entire country. Eventually he committed {{seppuku}}, and his son got the wrong message and spent the next few years of his life turning himself into an emotionless and ''successful'' weapon. Life can be stupid.

* Played with in the Tower of Heaven arc of ''Manga/FairyTail''. [[spoiler: Simon]] sacrifices himself to shield Erza from Jellal's attack; after Natsu defeats Jellal and passes out, the Tower of Heaven begins to collapse. Erza briefly sees [[spoiler: Simon]]'s body sliding slowly into a crevasse, but she turns away and escapes with the unconscious Natsu rather than retrieving him.

* In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Princess Hime's been collecting PreCards in order to use them to grant her wish, [[spoiler:rescuing her kingdom from the Phantom Empire, undoing one of her mistakes]]. She finally gains enough cards in episode 22, but finds herself in a conundrum: Iona Hikawa, Cure Fortune, is at the mercy of the [[HeroKiller Precure Hunter]] Phantom, powerless and trapped in another dimension. This is also the same girl who has spent the same amount of episodes giving Hime [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten hell over her]] DarkSecret. [[spoiler:Hime decides to lead the charge into that dimension and begs Iona to take her cards. Iona does so and uses them to regain her powers.]]
* ''Manga/SeiyusLife'' has a literal example. The crux of episode 10 is that Rin has to decide whether she will give up her voice acting/IdolSinger career and stay at Hakuo, or go to apply to a high school where she can continue it (leaving [[ChildhoodFriend Sayo]] behind). [[spoiler: Ultimately, she chooses to apply to a different school, but Sayo points out that they can still see each other during their free time.]]
* In one episode of ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Chibi-Usa switches ages with Usagi and is (at first) delighted at being tall and very beautiful and well-figured. But Pegasus has trouble finding her after her dream was fulfilled and tells her that it's unlikely he'll ever be able to do so again. Chibi-Usa, through sheer force of will alone, reverses the magic that changed her and Usagi to not lose him. Somewhat averted in that she'll eventually grow up anyway and be able to have both, but she resisted taking the easy way out.
** In the same season, Fish's Eye discovers that Chibi-Usa is the host of Pegasus but realizes that using his magic to make the Trio human permanently still wouldn't give them dreams of their own, and that Zirconia [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness wouldn't likely adhere to the deal anyway]]. Instead, they use the last of the magic that gave them human forms to revive Usagi (whose dream mirror was shattered) and dying and reverting to their animal selves in the process. Pegasus, however, is touched enough by their sacrifice that he gives them dream mirrors of their own, making them fully human in the process and with the promise that they'll be reborn as such some day.
* ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' (the series from which ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' was spun off) ends with Sailor Venus and the ''BigBad'' both having one: for Venus is between love or continuing to fight as a Sailor Senshi, and for Danburite/[[spoiler:Ace]] is to stand down and join Sailor Venus [[spoiler:the woman he loves]], or fighting (and dying) to [[spoiler:make her understand [[MarriedToTheJob she'd always choose her duty over love]] before she can be destroyed by the doubt]]. [[TearJerker They both choose to fight]].
* The ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' episode "Jumping Rocket Ship" has an interesting villainous Reconstruction. When Meowth pulls a HeelFaceMole scheme against the heroes, they discuss his potential as a talking Pokemon, with Dawn even offering him media ties via Rhonda. Starstruck at the idea of becoming a potential TV star, he ponders whether to ditch Team Rocket for real. However, when Jessie and James find Meowth and suffer their usual CurbstompBattle against Ash's group, he realises he doesn't have the heart to abandon them, turning on the heroes and happily joining his team in another blasting off.
* Near the end of the first season of ''[[Anime/LoveLive Love Live! School Idol Project]]'', [[spoiler:Kotori was given the choice to either leave to study fashion abroad, or stay and continue being a school idol with her friends. When Umi announces this to the others, Honoka questions Kotori about why she never told her, she learns she was intending to tell her following the live performance, but got put off following her accident. This caused Honoka to become [[HeroicBSOD depressed]], get into a fight with the others, and say that she wants to quit being a school idol, [[ArmorPiercingSlap Umi even threw a slap at her]]. In final episode, after cheering up and realizing her true feelings with the help of her friends, Honoka and Umi forgave each other, and the latter sends the former to get to Kotori before she leaves Japan and manages to convince her to stay behind, helping Kotori to realize her own desire to be an idol as well with the rest of μ's members]].

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': ComicBook/HarleyQuinn had to decide between saving a girl's eyesight or getting codes that give her lots of money. [[spoiler:She chooses the money. But she can barely look at herself in the mirror afterwards and the girl in question deals with it better than Harley does.]]

* A ComicBook/SandmanMysteryTheatre flashback story in ComicBook/{{Starman}} reveals a case where The Gambler had a stolen statue in one hand and a knife to Wesley Dodds' throat in the other. Ted Knight doesn't hesitate to blast the Gambler and destroy the statue. It turns out he knew it was a fake, but he would have fired anyway, because an inanimate object isn't worth a human life. Ted and Wesley weren't even good friends.
* ''ComicBook/TheBlackRing'': During the final confrontation between Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/LexLuthor prior to ''Flashpoint'', Luthor has gained god-like power and has actually brought total peace to the cosmos. However, the Lois Lane android with him warns him that he can't do negative things like, say, ''kill Superman''. Luthor actually agonizes over before finally deciding that killing Superman is the lesser evil. All the while ComicBook/TheJoker is laughing back in Arkham, realizing that Luthor had all of that power and he ''threw it all away''.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', "Operation C.A.K.E.D.F.O.U.R.": Numbuh 2 is out to win the Tube-A-Thon for his winless dad. He ends up saving the other competitors from being baked into a cake instead.

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a photo studio so they could get a family portrait]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. The rest of the family, furious at Bill for tricking them, tries to escape, to no avail. Bill decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a photo studio so they could get a family portrait]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. The rest of the family, furious with Bill tricking them, tries to escape, to no avail. Bill decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In one episode, the group finds another plumber that got stranded in the Mushroom Kingdom. He had finished building a machine that could get back to Brooklyn, but it had a short window of use. The Mario brothers have to choose between going back home or saving Princess Toadstool and Toad from King Koopa (whose theme of the episode was Genghis Koopa). Here's a hint on what they chose: this isn't the series finale.
** And another episode has them actually get back to Brooklyn... only to find out that King Koopa and his Koopa Pack had followed them and were taking over the city. They end up having to lure Koopa and his minions back to the Mushroom Kingdom and destroy the pathway to Brooklyn, thus returning to the old status quo.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', "Caked Four": Numbuh 2 is out to win the Tube-A-Thon for his winless dad. He ends up saving the other competitors from being baked into a cake instead.

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a family portrait studio]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. The rest of the family tries to escape, to no avail. He decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a family portrait studio]], and he doesn't have enough money for both. He decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, [[DestinationRuse only to lure them to a family portrait studio]], and he doesn't have cash for both. He decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court at the mall, only to lure them to a family portrait studio. He decides not to buy the photo after he saw how sad his family was and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op", Bill tricks the family into thinking they were going to the food court, only to lure them to a family portrait studio. He decides not to buy the family photo after he saw how sad his family is and takes them to the food court instead, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself. [[spoiler:Tilly decides to get the family portrait anyway in a photo booth.]]

** In "Photo Op" Bill decides not to buy the family photo after he saw how sad his family is after they were being tricked into taking the family photo, finally learning that it's best to see his family happy rather than make them happy himself.

* In the ConceptAlbum ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' by Music/{{Genesis}}, the protagonist [[UnreliableNarrator Rael]] is ultimately confronted with a situation where he can either escape from the mad dream he has been caught in and go back to his normal life in New York City, or risk dangerous rapids to rescue his drowning brother John (who has repeatedly refused to help Rael in his times of need). [[spoiler: He decides to save John from the rapids, but during the confusion and peril of the struggle, the mad dream takes another turn and Rael finds that he and John are actually the same person]]. See also: [[spoiler: TomatoInTheMirror]], [[spoiler: TwistEnding]], and [[spoiler: ItWasHisSled]].

* In the 1995 movie adaptation of ''Film/{{Casper}}'', the titular ghost makes just such a decision at the end of the film, choosing to give up the last bottle of fuel for his father's life-restoring "Lazarus Machine" in order to bring back Cat's newly-deceased dad.

* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2'': When Tails is knocked unconscious, Sonic immdediately abandons chasing the [[MacGuffin compass]] to save him, letting Dr. Robotnik and Knuckles take the compass. This pays off because seeing this honorable act makes Knuckles question if Sonic is really evil or not, and ultimately gets Knuckles on his side.

* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', this is a parental example. Harold is forced by the Fairy Godmother to give Fiona a love potion in order that Fiona will fall in love with her son, Prince Charming, and marry him as per his promise to her decades earlier. Harold knows if he does not, he will expose himself to the Fairy Godmother's wrath. But if he does, he will be tearing Fiona away from her real love, Shrek, and forcing her into a fake love with what is treated as essentially a date rape drug. After reluctantly putting the potion into some tea to give her, she expresses to him how much she wants Shrek as himself, making him ultimately decide to go back on his promise to the Fairy Godmother and not give her the spiked. Turns out later though, his fears of the Fairy Godmother were completely justified.

* Creator/HansChristianAndersen's ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': The mermaid is depressed when the prince she loves marries the girl at the temple who met him following the mermaid rescuing him from a storm. Her sisters come to help her and she is faced with a choice: use her father's knife to stab the prince to death and return to her mermaid form, sparing her life, or spare his, but die herself once the sun comes up. She is unable to kill him [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because she loves him]], so she chooses the latter.

Of course, a true hero will choose to save his friend over taking the treasure every single time. (Besides, [[StatusQuoIsGod it wouldn't be wise]] to resolve a whole major ongoing plotline [[SpoiledByTheFormat right in the middle of the season]], now would it? Or to lose any of the regulars, either.) It's very rare that the hero manages to TakeAThirdOption and do both; that's usually reserved for a GrandFinale or situations where a villain forces a hero to make a SadisticChoice.

* ''Barbie'' films:
** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieFairytopia: Mermadia'': Elina either has to give Max the Immunity Berry, or he'll poison Mermaidia. She goes with the former, but he denies his promise and drops the poison anyway. Thus, Elina decides to save the vial from poisoning the water, but risks her chance to regain her wings and remains a mermaid forever in return. Luckily, it turns out the Immunity Berry was swapped out with another berry that reveals one's true self, and when Elina consumes it, she gets her wings back.
** ''WesternAnimation/BarbiePrincessCharmSchool'': Delancey has to pick either Dame Devin or Blair to give the crown to; she chooses the latter, which reveals her as the kingdom's missing princess.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "Traffic Cam Caper", Candace has to save either a disc that would let her finally accomplish her goal of busting her brothers, or Phineas; she chooses the latter at the expense of the former. When it seems like Ferb retrieved the disk seconds later, he flies away with disk in hand, only for the real Ferb to show up coming over the bridge, and the first Ferb turned out to be Perry in a costume. [[WhatAnIdiot Also if she hadn't hesitated]], she would've [[ItMakesSenseInContext probably]] thought to TakeAThirdOption and rescued both.

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In "Cedric's Apprentice", Cedric prepares to use his invisibility potion to turn himself invisible so he can take Sofia's amulet ([[UnknownRival which she is completely unaware of since their first meeting]]). However, when he takes one look at Sofia giving him a genuine smile, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe he is reminded by her niceness to him throughout the episode]] and the fact that earlier, he’s proven to Roland what a great sorcerer he is with her help, so he uses the potion on Clover instead for her sake.