History Main / Turncoat

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Waldreg turns mid season against his own people to assist the Orcs conquering his own home, and convinces almost half of the Southlanders with him that is better to serve their enemies and be alive, than to fight them and die.

Compare OpportunisticBastard and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Not to be confused with ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/TurnCoat''.

** Ben often is in a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, depending on who's side he's on at that moment and what his present goal is. [[spoiler: He undergoes a final HeelFaceTurn in the final episode, after Hurley offers him a second chance at redepemption, as his NumberTwo while he settles into the role as new protector of the Island]].

* ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords]]'': Vio ([[spoiler:FakeDefector]]) and [[spoiler: Shadow (HeelFaceTurn)]].

* ''Manga/InuYasha'': [[DarkActionGirl Kagura]] [[IJustWantToBeFree desired her freedom]] from her enslavement to [[BigBad Naraku]]. As the story develops, she helps [[ImpliedLoveInterest Sesshoumaru]] against Naraku more and more and begins to aid Inuyasha's group against him, too. [[spoiler:When she takes active measures to save [[DesignatedVictim Kohaku]]'s life, Naraku [[HeroicSacrifice finally ends hers]].]]

* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Chessmen of Mars]]'', the ancient I-Gos is perpetually praising his days. So thorough is his admiration that he changes his loyalties on realizing who is TheHero.

* Not that Kallor made the most trustworthy impression beforehand, but his betrayal still comes as a bit of a shock to his superiors in ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen''. Nobody thought that he would willingly [[spoiler: join the Crippled God just to get a shot at Silverfox]].
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Turncoat'', obviously. [[spoiler: But not in the way that most people think in the story. The true traitor isn't exposed until the end.]]
* Lieutenant-Governor Asa Bowen in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}''. Though he was loyal to Governor Adams personally during the civil war, he comes to disagree with the newly independent Confederation's increasingly reactionary politics, as well as the growing power of the military clique around Chief of Staff [[PuttingOnTheReich John Rumford]] and shadowy elder statesman [[TheChessmaster William Kraft]]. Eventually, under the influence of his LadyMacbeth-like mistress, he joins the mutinous "Deep Green" faction and leads a coup attempt against the constitutional government.
* ''Literature/TheBible'': In [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2nd Samuel]], Ishbosheth's military captain Abner, who supported him when he became king of most of Israel after his father King Saul had died, decided to defect and turn over the entire kingdom to its rightful God-anointed ruler David (who ruled over Judah at the time) when Ishbosheth accused him of [[SleepingWithTheBosssWife sleeping with his father's concubine]] and Abner took offense to that.

* AD Walter Skinner in ''Series/TheXFiles''. He started a bit shady and it looked like he was working with the Cancer Man. He turned out to be one of the few good guys at the FBI and trusted ally for Mulder and Scully. Episode "S.R. 819" paints him as a turncoat who seeks benefits for himself. He has a touching scene in hospital where he tells Scully he wishes to be helpful. Yet at the end of the episode, he refuses to support Mulder and Scully's quest.

* In the final episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the Cardassian ships turn on their Dominion allies and aid the Federation Alliance fleet. Though the fact that one of their major cities on their homeworld had been wiped from the face of the planet might have had something to do with it. Gul Dukat fits this trope alone, when he realizes that the military is going to be overthrown he switches to back the civilians ("Way of the Warrior")
* [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is a Turn Coat to Heaven when he rebels. Ironically, this puts him on the side of good because [[spoiler:the angels want to bring on the apocalypse.]]

---> '''Marcus:''' You have a great driver; you're just holding her back because she's not named [=McKane=].\\

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
** Many recruitable characters start out on the enemy side, but can either be persuaded to join by your Lord character persuading them that their cause is wrong, your Lord character giving them a fat sack of cash, or a friend/relative/lover asking them to switch sides. Some examples include Beowulf from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'', who will turn against his employers if someone carrying 10,000 gold talks to him, and Tharja from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', a Plegian Dark Mage who finds herself disillusioned with her home nation and can join up with the Shepherds if Chrom talks to her.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': In Creator/BenCounter's ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' novel ''Galaxy In Flames'', [[spoiler:Lucius]] motivated by [[GreenEyedMonster envy]] of how [[spoiler:Tarvitz]] took command, betrays [[spoiler:the last survivors of Horus's treacherous attack]].

** Treason in the heroes' home country or allies is also common. ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Binding Blade]]'' is particularly rife with this. Several lords in the so-called Lycian League throw in with [[TheEmpire Bern]] when it invades. A huge chunk of Ostia's army also betrays their land after Marquess Hector is killed and plot to kill his daughter Lilina. (They fail.)

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* Terra from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' manages to be both this and the mole. She starts off on the Titans side but is swayed over to Slade at the promise of him helping her control her powers, she then comes back and joins the team as TheMole.

If they're discovered to have been bad the whole time, they're TheMole. If they're a bad guy who's been secretly ''good'', they're TheMole. If they're faking their switch, they're a FakeDefector. If they switch back and forth, they're going through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.

Compare OpportunisticBastard, AmbiguousAllegiance and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Not to be confused with ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/TurnCoat''.

If they're discovered to have been bad the whole time, they're TheMole. If they're a bad guy who's been secretly ''good'', they're TheMole. If they're faking their switch, they're a FakeDefector or HeelFaceMole. If they switch back and forth, they're going through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.

Compare AmbiguousAllegiance and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Not to be confused with ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/TurnCoat''.

Compare AmbiguousAllegiance. Not to be confused with ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/TurnCoat''.