History Main / TheWindowOrTheStairs

* Played with in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/GoingPostal''. Main character Moist von Lipwig is given a choice by Vetinari: He can take over the job of Postmaster General, or walk out a door in Vetinari's office, and Vetinari would never bother him again. Being a GenreSavvy sort of chap, Moist goes to the door, carefully peeks through it, and finds a deep pit where the floor should be. He drops a spoon into the pit, and it doesn't make a sound for a rather long time. He takes the job. [[spoiler:At the end of the book, the BigBad is offered the same choice with a job at the Mint. It isn't stated whether he [[TooDumbToLive walks straight out the door without pausing to look]] or [[IDieFree purposefully did not consent to Vetinari's bargain]], but it seems we will not be hearing from him again.]]

* Subverted and then completely lampshaded in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''. Captain Taggert sees the path between himself and the Berylium Sphere he needed for his ship is clear. Suspecting the Window or the Stairs, he begins taking the 'window' by dodging from boulder to boulder and rolling behind cover. Meanwhile the other characters simply stroll unmolested up the path. Gwen DeMarco looks over at him as they do and comments, "Does the rolling help actually?" Capt. Taggerty stands up and dusts himself off. unwilling to admit defeat he says, "Uh huh. It helps."

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]
* The page quote accurately sums up military movements, especially in third and fourth generation warfare. Easy paths, such as staying on a road or crossing an open field, are deadly. Even movement within the immediate area can be like this. It can be very tedious to approach an objective properly and stick to good movement, then clear the objective properly, but failing to do so can get soldiers killed.
** Troops under fire are trained to use a variety of movement techniques which can involve crawling without lifting your head or body up, springing to your feet and running for three seconds before sprawling to the ground, and so on. In a modern army, a soldier might be expected to do this with about a hundred pounds or forty five kilograms of load. Of course, they could just walk normally - and be picked off much more easily.
** Continually varying patrol routes and keeping an unpredictable schedule can be murderously taxing on the troops, but any pattern or routine which would make a troop's life easier also allows a watchful enemy to ambush them.
** Many military accomplishments amount to someone taking the hard path no one expected them to, from Hannibal's crossing the Alps and Arno to Deng Ai crossing impassable mountains to invade Shu.
** Flying "nap of the earth" is a dangerous flying technique of staying low to the ground and using the topography to conceal one's location. According to Pakistan, this sort of flying allowed four US helicopters to make it to Osama bin Laden's hiding place in 2011 without Pakistani radar detection. This type of flying, whether done with helicoptors or fixed-wing aircraft, is much more difficult than simply flying high above the terrain - but it does result in the aircraft not being as likely to be detected and shot down.

* This is part of [[StarWars Jedi]] philosophy. The DarkSide is the quick and easy path to power, [[BeingEvilSucks but it will exact a terrible price from you and everyone you care about in the long run.]] Unless you're okay with that. [[WebVideo/CinemaSins And I am not okay with that.]]

Named after a running gag in the film ''ImGonnaGitYouSucka''. Damon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison play EvilMinions who are always being told by other characters that they can leave the building via "[[DestinationDefenestration the window]] or the stairs". Each time, they choose the stairs and each time they get thrown painfully down a long flight of stairs.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', Cera and the other dinosaurs refuse to follow Littlefoot's instructions on where to go to find the Great Valley, instead taking an easier path. Their "easier path" winds up trapping them all in a deadly lava flow.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', our heroes come across a chasm. Dory was told that they had to go through it, and she tries to tell Marlin, who ignores her and then tricks her into swimming over it, since it seems much safer. They end up in a huge swarm of jellyfish, and they both almost die because of the stings.

* ''ImGonnaGitYouSucka'', as described above. The trope is subverted at the end of the film when the protagonist says "There's two ways you can leave this place..." at which point Wayans screams and jumps out the window. This prompts one of the heroes to say, "Didn't he know about the elevator?"

* In ''TheLandBeforeTime'', Cera and the other dinosaurs refuse to follow Littlefoot's instructions on where to go to find the Great Valley, instead taking an easier path. Their "easier path" winds up trapping them all in a deadly lava flow.

* One of the main RunningGags in ''Literature/CiaphasCain''. Every time Cain makes a decision that looks like he chose the easy way out at the risk of damaging his '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''' reputation, he always stumbles on some unsuspected danger or vital clue that reveals the greater enemy. In one he doesn't go on the frontline to fight orks and thus discovers they're on a Necron tomb world, in another he joins a recon group only to find out the rebel factions are actually genestealers, or takes a squad with him away from a battle on a hunch and ends up disturbing a daemonic summoning ritual.

-->-- From ''Murphy's Laws of Combat''

-> ''The easy way is always mined.''
-->-- from '''Murphy's Laws of Combat'''

* This is part of [[StarWars Jedi]] philosophy. The DarkSide is the quick and easy path to power, but it will exact a terrible price from you and everyone you care about in the long run. Unless you're okay with that. [[WebVideo/CinemaSins And I am not okay with that.]]
* Subverted and then completely lampshaded in 'Galaxy Quest'. Captain Taggert sees the path between himself and the Berylium Sphere he needed for his ship is clear. Suspecting the Window or the Stairs, he begins taking the 'window' by dodging from boulder to boulder and rolling behind cover. Meanwhile the other characters simply stroll unmolested up the path. Gwen DeMarco looks over at him as they do and comments, "Does the rolling help actually?" Capt. Taggerty stands up and dusts himself off. unwilling to admit defeat he says, "Uh huh. It helps."
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Dr Crane, a.k.a Scarecrow, ends up running a KangarooCourt. The accused gets to choose between death or exile. It turns out "exile" requires crossing the frozen ocean around Gotham, which nearly always results in falling through the ice to one's death. A later group that chooses death saying "do you think we're going to go out onto that ice willingly?" gets sentenced to "death... by exile."

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

* Episode 3 of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead: Season Two'' ends with your group wandering through a horde of zombies, using the classic zombie disguise. However, some zombies see through it, and one woman in your gets bitten on the hand. You then have two choices; chop the zombies head in two with your hatchet, or chop the woman's arm off. Over 80% of players chopped it off, because they had recently found out that chopping off the infected area just after someone is bitten can stop the infection spreading. Unfortunately, doing so results in said woman [[spoiler:Letting out a scream that attracted several zombies which killed her immediately.]]

-> -- from '''Murphy's Laws of Combat'''

* In the ''DoctorWho'' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E1TheRibosOperation "The Ribos Operation"]], the Doctor is given a mission by the White Guardian, and told that "nothing" would happen to him if he refused. The Doctor responds, "What? Nothing? You mean nothing will happen to me?", and the Guardian replies "Nothing at all. (pause) Ever."

* There is a famous joke where three men have been caught by a tribe of natives and get to choose their sentences. The two options are "Death" and "Nugoba". The first man says "Nugoba", thinking that whatever it is has to be better than death. He is immediately raped by all of the men in the village, then released. The second man chooses the same fate, knowing he will at least live after it is over. The third man, too proud to subject himself to such treatment, chooses death. The chief then says "Death...by Nugoba!".

* This is part of [[StarWars Jedi]] philosophy. The DarkSide is the quick and easy path to power, but it will exact a terrible price from you and everyone you care about in the long run. Unless you're okay with that.

For people ''actually'' leaving via the window, see DestinationDefenestration and SuperWindowJump. See also TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay. Contrast SadisticChoice. When someone is ''baited'' into this folly, it's usually SchmuckBait. If the two bad options turn out to be the same, that's MortonsFork.

For people ''actually'' leaving via the window, see DestinationDefenestration and SuperWindowJump. See also TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay. Contrast SadisticChoice. When someone is ''baited'' into this folly, it's usually SchmuckBait.

[[AC:Live Action TV ]]
* In the DoctorWho story "The Ribos Operation", the Doctor is given a mission by the White Guardian, and told that "nothing" would happen to him if he refused. The Doctor responds, "What? Nothing? You mean nothing will happen to me?", and the Guardian replies "Nothing at all. (pause) Ever."

For people ''actually'' leaving via the window, see DestinationDefenestration and SuperWindowJump. See also TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay. When someone is ''baited'' into this folly, it's usually SchmuckBait.

!!Examples

* Played with in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/GoingPostal''. Main character Moist von Lipwig is given a choice by Vetinari: He can take over the job of Postmaster General, or walk out a door in Vetinari's office, and Vetinari would never bother him again. Being a GenreSavvy sort of chap, Moist goes to the door, carefully peeks through it, and finds a deep pit where the floor should be. He drops a spoon into the pit, and it doesn't make a sound for a rather long time. He takes the job. [[spoiler:At the end of the book, the BigBad is offered the same choice with a job at the Mint. He took the door, but it isn't clear if he looked or not and Vetinari mentions that he clearly ''really'' believed in freedom of choice.]]
** Further played with in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'': Moist is given the same choice, and referred to the same door, on being offered a new job. Having ostentatiously repeated his previous actions he discovers the room now has a perfectly normal floor. (Playing With PlayingWithATrope? Where will it end?!!)

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "The King of Omashu", the eponymous King is putting Aang through a series of tests. For the last one, he tells Aang to choose one of two warriors to fight. [[spoiler:Aang tries to TakeAThirdOption and choose the old, crazy King himself - but he was expecting this, informing Aang that he's an incredibly powerful earthbender and tougher opponent than both of the warriors presented. In fact, he's the strongest in the entire series until Toph comes along, and even then it's debatable.]]

* This trope is subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Another Way." Throughout the episode, Finn keeps being presented with situations that seem to only have one (or two equally bad) options; he insists on finding another way each time, generally resulting in much more distress than necessary.

* In Mitra's palace in ''Strange Journey'', there are several areas where you have three hallways to choose from. On the floor in front of them, you find a message saying, "Take the long road". The shorter hallways either have a trapdoor that will drop you to the floor below or are lined with damaging floors.