History Main / ScyllaAndCharybdis

The trope name refers to the two sea monsters of Myth/GreekMythology which trapped sailors between them, making it OlderThanFeudalism. Scylla was a ShapeShifterMashup that ate sailors, and Charybdis a whirlpool that swallowed ships. It has since been rationalized that the "monsters" were a real and dangerous shoal and a real but pretty weak whirlpool in the Strait of Messina, between the Italian mainland and Sicily (both long known to the Greeks and colonized by them by the 8th century BCE--incidentally around the same time modern historians believe Creator/{{Homer}} lived).

* In ''Ghost Story'' from TheDresdenFiles, [[TheFairFolk Lea]] strikes a deal with Dresden, and gets caught in the position of having to uphold the deal, which stated that he got answers to three questions. One of those questions was "Who killed me?" Unfortunately for Lea, she also had to uphold a promise to not tell Dresden who killed him. Presumably, this promise was given to Mab. She manages to balance these two conflicting promises by using ExactWords with a healthy dose of FromACertainPointOfView.

--> -- ThePolice, "Wrapped Around Your Finger"

* ''[[TwentysevenDresses 27 Dresses]]'' has a bit of a variation, with the main character going to two weddings at once.

* The 2010 version of ''MedalOfHonor'': [[spoiler: Rabbit and Mother]] have to choose between a [[BolivianArmyEnding gunfight against a huge number of enemies]] or [[NoEscapeButDown leaping off a high cliff]]. [[spoiler: [[LeapOfFaith Bones]] [[BadassBoast heal.]]]]

The trope name refers to the two sea monsters of GreekMythology which trapped sailors between them, making it OlderThanFeudalism. Scylla was a ShapeShifterMashup that ate sailors, and Charybdis a whirlpool that swallowed ships. It has since been rationalized that the "monsters" were a real and dangerous shoal and a real but pretty weak whirlpool in the Strait of Messina, between the Italian mainland and Sicily (both long known to the Greeks and colonized by them by the 8th century BCE--incidentally around the same time modern historians believe Creator/{{Homer}} lived).

* The final trial of ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpa2'' was constructed by the BigBad to be like this. [[spoilers:The heroes can either leave the simulation as they are while damning the world to be overrun with [[GrandTheftMe Junko-infested corpses]], go back to reality where their minds and bodies have already been destroyed by Junko while losing all their memories of the battles they fought and relationships they formed inside the simulation, or they can [[LotusEaterMachine stay in the simulation]] and [[AndIMustScream trap the 3 members of the Future Foundation who came to rescue them inside as well with Junko (who hates the 3 of them with a passion) in control forever]]. By the end of it, the protagonist refuses to make a decision]].

Often dumbed down to "a rock and a hard place". (In fact, the phrase likely had its origins in the aforementioned myth.)

* Many {{Love Dodecahedron}}s fall into this trope, with the poor fellow in the center doomed to infuriate (potentially violently) whomever he rejects if he makes a decision. Ranma of ''RanmaOneHalf'' and Tenchi of ''TenchiMuyo'' are extreme examples.
* In ''TokyoMewMew'', Ichigo is trapped in a battle with a monster and desperately trying to finish up so that she can go on a date. In the end, the battle escalates so far that she misses the concert and appears, hours late and in tears. Of course, her boyfriend was nice enough to wait all that time in the rain.

Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis\\

* BurnNotice has a drmaatic example when Michael has to choose between helping Anson and hurting the CIA or stopping Anson by telling the CIA about him and suffering his revenge.

* ''EverybodyLovesRaymond'': Raymond found himself in the middle of conflicts between his violent and immature wife, Debra, and his family--especially his overbearing and guilt-mongering mother--on an almost episodic basis. He was pretty much in a situation where there was no way he could please one without royally pissing off the other due to the fact that [[NotSoDifferent they both wanted complete and exclusive control over Ray.]]

* PrisonBreak: Towards the end of the show the General and another of Michael's enemies each have one of his loved ones held hostage and they both want Scylla.

* WhiteCollar has Neal trying to choose between keeping Peter happy and keeping Mozzie happy early in S3. He doesn't want to rat Mozzie out to Peter but he also doesn't want to disappoint Peter by fleeing with the treasure.

->''You consider me the young [[PainfulRhyme apprentice]]\\

* In ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', Canale, a very young assassin, is planted in the court of Pisare to kill the attorney-general, Sesaam, in exchange for being set free. He falls in love with Sesaam and ends up with the options of either killing the man he loves or revealing that he is an assassin and be cast out or possibly killed by Sesaam, while knowing the assassins guild would just come after Sesaam again anyways and succeed next time. He decides to kill Sesaam and die with him as penance.[[hottip:*:This doesn't work out as planned.]]

* ''[[Franchise/ResidentEvil Resident Evil: Nemesis]]'' had the QuickTimeEvent precursors to the [[ScrappyMechanic reviled]] PressXToNotDie mechanic in the later games. You'd often be given two very poor choices like eithern jump off the bridge or ''Punch [[ImplacableMan Nemesis]] in the face'', though sometimes doing nothing would be a distinctly third (but usually much worse) option.

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' Niles is caught between Mel and Daphne when Mel makes Niles pretend they are happily married after he runs off with Daphne. Mel won't give him a quickie divorce otherwise but Daphne almosts breaks up with him due to the strain of watching Niles pretend to be in love with Mel.

* Series/Frasier Niles is caught between Mel and Daphne when Mel makes Niles pretend they are happily married after he runs off with Daphne. Mel won't give him a quickie divorce otherwise but Daphne almosts breaks up with him due to the strain of watching Niles pretend to be in love with Mel.

* {{''Frasier''}} Niles is caught between Mel and Daphne when Mel makes Niles pretend they are happily married after he runs off with Daphne. Mel won't give him a quickie divorce otherwise but Daphne almosts breaks up with him due to the strain of watching Niles pretend to be in love with Mel.

Often dumbed down to "a rock and a hard place".

* A very much life-and-death example in the 2008 version of {{''Series/Survivors''}} where a father attempts to keep his two kids inside their house, fearing any contact with the outside might land them with the virus (which they have not yet come into contact with). The daughter refuses to stay in this existence, though, and escapes, to be shut out by her dad. Eventually it boils down to a choice, posed by two of the main characters who take the daughter temporarily under their wing: either risk leaving the effective imprisonment in their own home and risk exposure to the virus, or stay inside and eventually starve to death when all the food runs out.

* A very much life-and-death example in the 2008 version of ''Series/Survivors'' where a father attempts to keep his two kids inside their house, fearing any contact with the outside might land them with the virus (which they have not yet come into contact with). The daughter refuses to stay in this existence, though, and escapes, to be shut out by her dad. Eventually it boils down to a choice, posed by two of the main characters who take the daughter temporarily under their wing: either risk leaving the effective imprisonment in their own home and risk exposure to the virus, or stay inside and eventually starve to death when all the food runs out.