History Main / RegretfulTraitor

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* Jayne Cobb in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' “Ariel”. He betrays Simon and River to the Hands of Blue but regrets it when he sees what they did to River’s brain. His telling Mal as much is part of what stops him being ThrownOutTheAirlock by Mal later.

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* Jayne Cobb in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' “Ariel”. He betrays Simon and River to the Hands of Blue but regrets it when he sees what they did to River’s brain. His telling Mal as much is part of what stops him being ThrownOutTheAirlock by Mal later.
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* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Volume 5 features two, Leonardo Lionheart and Rven Branwen, the former once a member of Ozpin's circle as well as headmaster of Haven Academy, the latter, a former member of Ozpin's circle and a bandit tribe leader. Both only worked with Salem out of fear.

* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': Ephialtes is noticeably wincing after seeing the contempt and StealthInsult lobbed at him by Leonidas after having sold out his fellow Greeks to the invading Persian army. He reappears in ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire'' as an envoy for the Persians, where he has a PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou moment with Themistocles.

* ''Literature/ForgottenRealms'': As of ''Literature/{{Transitions}}'' Jarlaxle has betrayed [[spoiler: Entreri to the Netherese]] somewhere between books. His original plan was to betray him, then later rescue him, when he had his resources in place again. Unfortunately, he was outmaneuvered by [[spoiler: Quenthel and Kimmuriel]], who made him forget about the incident. Apparently he has regained his memories now and is deeply regretful of his actions and seeks to mend things with [[spoiler: Entreri]].
* ''Literature/HarryPotter''

* Another one Creator/BioWare: The Sith Warrior recruits Malavai Quinn, a quiet and consummately professional Imperial officer. Quinn is working for Darth Baras the entire time because Baras salvaged Quinn's career. That, and a non-Force Sensitive has little rights compared to a Sith, who can rape, torture, and kill them with zero legal repercussions. Even though he's come to be more loyal to the Warrior than Baras, he still tries to get them all on the same side and hates the position he's put in.
* ''VideoGame/NaufragarCrimson'': [[spoiler:Hyo promises Lance that he'll revive the latter's adopted father Luhar, but only if Lance kills Athena. Lance attempts to do so by leaving Athena to die in battle against an ice dragon. The next time he's seen, he regrets his actions and decides to turn against Hyo.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Portal2'', Wheatley feels this way after you launch him into space. No longer being connected to [=GLaDOS=]'s body helps.
* Magolor is heavily implied to be this in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand''. The description of his OneWingedAngel form is ''A sad shell possessed by the limitless power of the Master Crown, no more than a manifestation of the crown itself.'' He later reforms in the 20th Anniversary collection, though.
* Susie in ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot''. Her original intention upon stealing Star Dream's program controller is to sell it off for profit and teach her former boss a lesson. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone She winds up regretting this]] after [[AIIsACrapshoot Star Dream absorbs Haltmann's consciousness and condemns all organic life in the universe]], leading her entrusting Kirby with the means to stop the machine and leaving her in the end with no computer, no profit, and the knowledge that [[spoiler:she caused the death of her own father]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Dreamfall}}''

* In ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheAzranLegacy'', after Emmy reveals that she's been TheMole the entire time, she expresses regret at having been so. After she's been forgiven, [[ButNowIMustGo she resigns as Layton's assistant]], feeling ashamed and unworthy to fill such a role anymore.
* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc '' has [[spoiler: Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist]]. From the beginning of the Killing School Life, [[spoiler:Sakura]] was TheMole for Monokuma/the Mastermind, as the fate of [[spoiler:her family's dojo]] hung in the balance. [[spoiler:Sakura]] was meant to get the killing started if things began to stabilise, but this never came about. [[spoiler:Eventually, the weight becomes too much for her, and after Monokuma outs her, [[DrivenToSuicide she poisons herself]]. Though as her final grace, she encourages the survivors to band together to fight back against the Mastermind and destroys a locked door before she dies. All of this proves crucial to the survivors getting out alive]].

* Sunset Shimmer apologizes at the end of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' and asks the Mane 6 for their forgiveness. Furthermore, the entire sequel ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' deals with her seeking forgiveness from the rest of Canterlot High. Although her original FaceHeelTurn is not shown on screen, she is nonetheless a traitor from Celestia's point of view, and sees herself as one in Rainbow Rocks too.

* Played straight with Wrestling/SethRollins. After betraying the rest of Wrestling/TheShield, he continuously stated that he never saw Wrestling/DeanAmbrose and Wrestling/RomanReigns and many of his actions afterwards seemingly cemented that. However, there was more than one tell that he was actually lying, and that he truly had cared for them. After the above Wrestling/TripleH betrayed him, the illusion broke, and it became clear to everyone that deep down, Seth Rollins actually considered breaking up the Shield and joining the Authority to be [[MyGreatestFailure the biggest mistake of his life]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfJafar'', after Iago integrates himself with the good guys, Jafar appears before him and pressures him into helping with his plan for revenge. Iago deeply felt guilty about betraying Aladdin and the others, but had no choice because Jafar kept him under constant surveillance to ensure he did his part. The moment Jafar eased off and was no longer paying attention to him, Iago set about making things right.

* Zuko from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is given the choice of betraying Iroh and the peaceful life they have made for themselves so that he can come back to the Fire Nation with his honor restored. Since coming home with his father's approval is the one thing he has wanted for years, he takes the offer, leading to Iroh being imprisoned, Ba Sing Se being conquered and Aang nearly dying from Azula's lightning bolt. He spends half of the third season conflicted and confused, trying to acclimate himself to the Fire Nation despite the suffering he has seen at both his hands and the Fire Nations. After realizing that [[spoiler:he is descended from Avatar Roku]], he has a HeelFaceTurn and leaves to join the Avatar.

* Benedict Arnold's last words were supposedly, "Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another."

* [[spoiler:Erstin Ho]] from the ''Anime/MaiOtome'' anime is one of many Schwartz spies, and in her case, she infiltrates Garderobe Academy. Even though her entire family has served Schwartz, she grows attached to her friends there in spite of her mother's warnings, and [[spoiler:dies trying to shield Arika from Nina's attack, leaving behind a letter that calls Arika and Nina her friends]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/ReturnOfJafar'', after Iago integrates himself with the good guys, Jafar appears before him and pressures him into helping with his plan for revenge. Iago deeply felt guilty about betraying Aladdin and the others, but had no choice because Jafar kept him under constant surveillance to ensure he did his part. The moment Jafar eased off on watching him, Iago set about making things right.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman''. In the backstory, when [=BoJack=]'s BigBrotherMentor and best friend Herb (who created the show that made [=BoJack=] a star) was outed as gay, the early [=90s=] MoralGuardians went berserk and wanted Herb kicked off the family friendly show he had written and created. [=BoJack=] was going to threaten to quit if the network moved to fire to Herb, but the network executives talked/bribed [=BoJack=] into standing aside as Herb was fired. [=BoJack=] was quite reluctant to do this, but not so reluctant that he didn't do it, and while he had plenty of regrets, it didn't stop him from avoiding Herb for the next 20 years, until Herb was on his deathbed. Hence why, when [=BoJack=] and Herb finally talk about it all those years later, [[RejectedApology Herb rejects [=BoJack=]'s attempt to apologize]]. Pointing out what else he could have done and why he chose not to do so

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "24 Minutes" (a parody of ''Series/TwentyFour''), Martin Prince gives himself a wedgie -- [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous which is portrayed as if he was hanging himself]] -- after he's forced to be TheMole.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman''. In the backstory, when [=BoJack=]'s BigBrotherMentor and best friend Herb (who created the show that made [=BoJack=] a star) was outed as gay, the early [=90s=] MoralGuardians went berserk and wanted Herb kicked off the family friendly show he had written and created. [=BoJack=] was going to threaten to quit if the network moved to fire to Herb, but the network executives talked/bribed [=BoJack=] into standing aside as Herb was fired. [=BoJack=] was quite reluctant to do this, but not so reluctant that he didn't do it, and while he had plenty of regrets, it didn't stop him from avoiding Herb for the next 20 years, until Herb was on his deathbed. Hence why, when [=BoJack=] and Herb finally talk about it all those years later, [[RejectedApology Herb rejects [=BoJack=]'s attempt to apologize]].

'''Herb''': I don't care about the job! I did fine, I had a good life, but what I needed then was a friend. And you abandoned me. And I will never forgive you for that. Now get the ''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck]]'' out of my house!

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]]: During ComicBook/TheContest Hippolyta betrays her own daughter and her people's oaths and traditions by having Diana's powers siphoned gradually to ComicBook/{{Artemis}} in order for Artemis to become the Wonder Woman who is prophecised to die. She is stubborn in insisting that she did what any mother would until it later becomes evident that her manipulating will lead to her daughter's death as well, by which point their relationship is already irreparably damaged.

** Discord in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 Twilight's]]'' ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Kingdom]]'' also fits the bill. He teams up with Tirek, thus betraying all of Equestria, but later realizes that his friendship with Fluttershy was more important to him after he is himself betrayed by Tirek.