History Main / GracefullyDemoted

** After leading his deserter crew in saving Earth from the Whale Probe (and delivering an intel gold mine in the form of the captured Klingon Bird of Prey), James Kirk willingly accepts demotion from Admiral to Captain at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', as it takes him from his boring desk job and puts him back in the Big Chair. This also gives the Federation the ability to look like they've punished Kirk and admonish his cavalier regard for the chain of command [[{{Unishment}} while giving him what he really wanted and placing him back in a position where he can do the most good]]. As a further honor to his deeds, the ship he was given was rechristened ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-A, beginning the Starfleet tradition of [[LegacyVesselNaming registering later ships named ''Enterprise'' with the same registry number and a serial letter suffix]].

* In ''Literature/HeraldsOfRhimn'', Atevia is demoted from Civility Commander and has her silver hairjeweling stripped away after letting Knight Jeidhe die, and losing the Shadow Herald again. She considers herself lucky that [[BadBoss Regent Ilaina]] kept her as a knight, and didn’t give her a worse punishment.

** Played straighter with Porenn, Regent of Drasnia for her son Kheva after her husband, King Rhodar, passes away. It's noted that, unlike the stereotypical regent, she goes out of her way to prepare her son for the throne with the full intention of stepping down once she comes of age.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': PlayedForDrama when the RightfulKingReturns to Riva after a millennium. The RegentForLife Brand is happy to yield the throne to Belgarion, but Brand's son sees Belgarion as TheUsurper and tries to assassinate him. [[spoiler:Belgarion forgives the attempt, but when the son makes a DeathbedConfession later, Brand [[IHaveNoSon rejects him]].]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Korean Admiral [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Sun-sin Yi Sun-sin]] was demoted ''multiple'' times during his career.
** First, he was stripped of his commission after he was a rigorous DrillSergeantNasty to recruits [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections who were well-connected at court]].
** Due to his undeniable training ability, he was reappointed to lead a northern outpost that was drastically undersupplied and undermanned. When the outpost fell to raiding pirates, he was stripped of his commission and tortured for his failure, until he was able to testify that he'd sent ''multiple'' requests for more men and more equipment, all of which were utterly ignored. While he escaped death because of his ethical reputation, he was again reduced to ranks, retiring not long after due to his father's passing.
** Finally, [[MandatoryUnretirement he was recruited]] by a well-connected friend of his to help repel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasions_of_Korea_(1592%E2%80%931598) the Japanese invasion,]] serving with such distinction he's in a two-man contest with UsefulNotes/HoratioNelson as "Best Admiral Ever". However, a Japanese double-agent was able to convince the court to ''again'' reduce him to ranks for not falling for a trap, only to be re-promoted after his successor was lured into it and lost all but 13 ships.
[[/folder]]

A lot of people are concerned about rank and power, especially in fiction. Both [[ToBeAMaster heroes]] and [[AmbitionIsEvil villains]] are often driven by ambition, and since AsskickingEqualsAuthority, [[RankUp gaining rank]] can often mean that you deserve that rank- and, naturally, someone wants to keep what they've earned, so they fight against attempts to push them further down the social ladder.

* In ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]: Year One'', nobody is ''actually'' appointed leader, but [[Comicbook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] assumes it's him, and gets increasingly stressed that he's screwing up. When the others tell him that they all see [[Comicbook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] as the leader, and assumed Barry was letting Hal bark orders because it seemed to be imprtant to him, his reaction is "Thank God."

* In ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]: Year One'', nobody is ''actually'' appointed leader, but [[Comicbook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] assumes it's him, and gets increasingly stressed that he's screwing up. When the others tell him that they all see [[Comicbook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] as the leader, and assumed Barry was letting Hal bark orders because it seemed to be imprtant to him, his reaction is "Thank God."

* ''Series/TheWire'':
** Bumbling detective Michael Santangelo is demoted from the Homicide Department to a [[MeddlesomePatrolman patrol officer]] after he refuses to help [[DaChief Major]] [[MeanBoss Rawls]] spy on and kick fellow detective (and the closest thing the show has to a main character) Jimmy [=McNulty=] off the force. Santangelo later admits that [[ReassignedToAntarctica despite the fact that the reassignment is supposed to be a punishment]], he [[ReassignmentBackfire actually prefers]] the position, as he keeps his old pay rate, it gets him away from Rawls and others like him, and Santangelo is much more competent at being a beat cop than he ever was as a detective.
** Santangelo's story also gives Jimmy the impetus to ask for a demotion to patrol, as Jimmy realizes that his obsession with solving cases as a detective exacerbates [[UngratefulBastard all]] [[TheAlcoholic his]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder worst traits]]. Between this epiphany and forging a new relationship, Jimmy steps away from investigative work to try to get his life in order. It works... [[HopeSpot for one season]].

* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': When Picard goes to see Admiral Clancy, C-in-C of Starfleet, to request to be reinstated and given a ship so he can track down a lead on Data's possible daughter, he offers, if an admiral is too much for such a mission, to be downgraded to captain. Clancy, however, is not happy with him, both for an interview on the news in which he was ''highly'' critical of Starfleet as well as lingering resentment for [[ResignInProtest how he left the fleet in the first place]], and turns him down. Even with the demotion.
* In the second-season finale of ''Series/Lodge49'', having accepted that he was a terrible Sovereign Protector, Scott willingly hands over the title to his longtime rival Ernie.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Radar actually begs to be demoted after the episode where he's promoted to Lieutenant. At first he takes pride in the promotion but finds he's not the same one-of-the-guys as he was as corporal.
* In ''Series/{{BUGS}}'', when Beckett has a TenMinuteRetirement after [[ResignInProtest Resigning in Protest]] at the search for Ros being abandoned, Ed is made the new Bureau chief. He lasts in the role for three episodes (even though Beckett's retirement only lasted for one), before deciding Beckett is more suited to the job and stepping down in his favour.

* Seen in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' games. During ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Bran is the seneschal of the Viscount of Kirkwall. Somewhere between the end of that game and the start of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the upheaval in the city-state becomes such that Bran is basically the only person left in Kirkwall who knows how to run the place, and he reluctantly accepts the post of Provisional Viscount. By the time of the ''Trespasser'' DLC for ''Inquisition'', which is set a few years later, a new Viscount has been selected and Bran has (quite joyfully) stepped down and returned to his duties as seneschal.

* In ''Literature/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo'', Blomkvist resigned in order to protect Millenium against reprisals from Wennerstrom, whether in term of ads (Wennerstrom could frighten clients into not buying ads in the newspaper) or in term of image, since a newspaper led by a convicted libeller might lose readers.

--> '''Mitchell:''' The truth is, I would never have been able to afford the investments necessary to make [[the stockyard he now works for]] the success it is today. If I still owned it ... If I still owned it, I ''wouldn't'' own it. I would have already lost it by now.

->'''Federation President:''' Because of certain mitigating circumstances, all charges but one are summarily dismissed. The remaining charge, disobeying orders of a superior officer, is directed solely at Admiral Kirk. I'm sure the Admiral will recognize the necessity of keeping discipline in any chain of command.\\

'''Federation President:''' James T. Kirk. It is the judgment of this Council that you be reduced in rank to Captain and that as a consequence of your new rank, you be given the duties for which you have repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability: the command... of a Starship.

** After leading his deserter crew in saving Earth from the Whale Probe (and delivering an intel gold mine in the form of the captured Klingon Bird of Prey), James Kirk willingly accepts demotion from Admiral to Captain at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', as it takes him from his boring desk job and puts him back in the Big Chair. This also gives the Federation the ability to look like they've punished Kirk [[{{Unishment}} while giving him what he really wanted and placing him back in a position where he can do the most good]]. As a further honor to his deeds, the ship he was given was rechristened ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-A, beginning the Starfleet tradition of [[LegacyVesselNaming registering later ships named ''Enterprise'' with the same registry number and a serial letter suffix]].

** Finally, [[MandatoryUnretirement he was recruited]] by a well-connected friend of his to help repel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasions_of_Korea_(1592%E2%80%931598) the Japanese invasion]], serving with such distinction he's in a two-man contest with UsefulNotes/HoratioNelson as "Best Admiral Ever". However, a Japanese double-agent was able to convince the court to ''again'' reduce him to ranks for not falling for a trap, only to be re-promoted after his successor was lured into it and lost all but 13 ships.

Maybe they just aren't very ambitious and are happy living a simple, average life. Maybe they ''used'' to have ambition, but lost their motivation, and aren't too concerned with losing their rank as well. Maybe they don't believe themselves to be cut-out for the role they're in, and will gladly leave said position if the option is granted, often so a more interested party can step up to the plate. Maybe they're being punished for something that they agree they should be punished for. Hell, they may even just want to retire altogether.

* In ''Manga/WithTheLight'', Sachiko's husband Masato is at first a high ranking employee in an electronics company, and in the beginning, was set to achieve great things due to putting a lot of work into a new project. However, his relationship with his wife is strained because he's having trouble accepting that his child is autistic. At one point, he overworks himself to the point of getting sent to the hospital. He and Sachiko have a heart-to-heart, and in the end, he decides that being a father is more important, so he requests to be placed in an easier, less taxing position in his company, and although he doesn't get credit for the work he put into the project, he's okay with it now that he's gotten his priorities straight.

** Captain Kirk willingly accepts demotion from Admiral to Captain at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', as it takes him from his boring desk job and puts him back in the Big Chair. This also gives the Federation the ability to look like they've punished Kirk [[{{Unishment}} while placing him back in a position where he can do the most good]]. As a further honor to his deeds, the ship he was given was rechristened ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701-A, beginning the Starfleet tradition of [[LegacyVesselNaming registering later ships named ''Enterprise'' with the same old number and a serial letter suffix]].

* ''Seres/{{MASH}}'': Radar actually begs to be demoted after the episode where he's promoted to Lieutenant. At first he takes pride in the promotion but finds he's not the same one-of-the-guys as he was as corporal.

** Santangelo's story also gives Jimmy the impetus to ask for a demotion to patrol, as Jimmy realizes that his obsession with solving cases as a detective exacerbates [[UngratefulBastard all]] [[TheAlcoholic his]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder worst]] [[YourCheatingHeart traits]]. Between this epiphany and forging a new relationship, Jimmy steps away from investigative work to try to get his life in order. It works... [[HopeSpot for one season]].