History Main / WelcomeBackTraitor

* Utterly and beautifully subverted on ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as season 2 has Ward honestly thinking that the team will be willing to take him back after he turned out to be a HYDRA agent who had killed a few people. Instead, it's made abundantly clear the team are ''never'' going to forgive Ward.

** A later episode has the team forced to work with Ward against a mutual foe. He gives them a warm speech on how he knows it'll be hard to win back their trust but is willing to try. Over the course of the episode, the others openly tell Ward they consider him absolute scum and would gladly shoot him.

** Quark gets this treatment frequently over the course of the early seasons (before his "heart of latinum" status was clearly established)

* In ''Franchise/StarWars VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' one of the later level bosses is [[spoiler: Proxy, who snuck out of the ship so he could assassinate you and fulfill his program as a [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Cato-]]like training droid.]] After you beat him, at the end of the level [[spoiler: you pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky using the force. The shockwave fries Proxy's processor. He's essentially the same but his "primary programming" has been erased. He's welcomed back, no problems]]

*** It's pretty much outright stated Starkiller knew this (and hinted this has happen more than once) plus he's more annoyed by this being a bad time than anything else.

** Although it was later revealed that the League would have forgiven her immediately (they took a vote and majority was to overlook it) had said traitor not run off anyway.
** Superman himself had to go through this, as a result of his brainwashing at the hands of Darkseid. This is possibly why he was the one who cast the deciding vote in [[spoiler:Hawkgirl's]] favor.

* Raimundo betrayed the team in the first season of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown,'' but saw the error of his ways and went back to join the heroes, who welcomed him back with a minimum of fuss. The incident was not totally forgotten, though, and later episodes occasionally alluded to it.
** In a later season, it is not only alluded to but [[spoiler:becomes the basis of the BatmanGambit made by Master Monk Guan and himself to trick Hannibal Roy Bean into losing a powerful artifact he had stolen earlier in the series]].

'''Rygel:''' I don't do it every chance!

** Leon's case is brought up in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2''. Keep in mind this was before Leon's death was a HeroicSacrifice. The current party is shocked when they find out [[spoiler: Judas is Leon Magnus]] but in the end, decide his later actions meant more than his past. Perhaps Justified as none of his crimes were against the current party specifically, and through a LotusEaterMachine they saw he didn't at all enjoy what he'd done.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' subverts the trend with [[spoiler:Alvin]]. [[spoiler:He]] betrays the party ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder repeatedly]]'' and is let back in every time...but EasilyForgiven is not in effect here. Milla at one point of the game pretty much admits that the only reason [[spoiler:Alvin]] is kept around is because [[spoiler: he]] is a loose cannon that would follow them either way and its safer for all of them when [[spoiler:he]] is right where they can see [[spoiler:him]]. At the same time though, it's worth noting that this trope plays a huge part in [[spoiler:Alvin's]] motivation to really redeem [[spoiler:himself]].

* ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}'', as an AffectionateParody of other [=RPGs=] in which this is rampant, had [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Killer Evil Death Spybot 5000]]. [[spoiler:Secretly, or [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20020326.html not-so-secretly]] spying on the team the whole time, he finally turned when [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20020404.html Cody entered his override command]], but then everything went back to normal in ''[[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20020405.html the very next strip]]'']].

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
** [[BigBad Megatron]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' welcomes the treacherous Tarantulas back into his forces ''repeatedly'' in spite of the fact the spider is never not actively plotting against him in secret. It's simply Megatron being {{Pragmatic|Villainy}}, however, as he's confident he can out-gambit Tarantulas in the end ([[spoiler:he does]]) and he simply needs the spider's [[BunnyEarsLawyer unarguable expertise in spite of his many shortcomings]]. Megatron makes it very clear in one episode that the only reason Tarantulas is still alive is because he's useful to him:
---> '''Megatron:''' I can suffer your treachery, Lieutenant, but ''not'' your incompetence!!!
** Starscream deserts from the Decepticons towards the end of the first season of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. Throughout the second season he proceeds to work on his own, align with the Autobots out of convenience, and launch assassination attempts against Megatron until setbacks and defeats lead him to return to his former comrades and beg forgiveness. It should be noted that his return is smoothed over by some extremely important artifacts that he brings to the negotiation table.
*** Of course, these artifacts only convince Megatron not to just kill him outright, so he also has to undergo a psychic interrogation that can't be fooled. It takes the form of a clip show, overlaid with snarky commentary from Megatron. While the footage doesn't make Starscream look particularly good, it also shows that his intentions for returning to the Decepticons weren't a lie. Megatron accepts him back, on the basis that Starscream could be useful, if not particularly loyal. After this, though, Starscream does indeed act legitimately loyal to Megatron.

* [[spoiler: Theresa]] was forgiven pretty quickly at the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Class of the Titans}}''.
* Raimundo betrayed the team in the first season of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown,'' but saw the error of his ways and went back to join the heroes, who welcomed him back with a minimum of fuss. The incident was not totally forgotten, though, and later episodes occasionally alluded to it.
** In a later season, it is not only alluded to but [[spoiler: becomes the basis of the BatmanGambit made by Master Monk Guan and himself to trick Hannibal Roy Bean into losing a powerful artifact he had stolen earlier in the series.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': [[spoiler: Cassandra]] getting EasilyForgiven at the end of the third season was [[BrokenBase divisive]] with fans, especially given Varian ''[[DoubleStandard wasn't]]'' easily forgiven and was actually jailed for his crimes (though he did get subject to this in smaller form when he broke out of prison and they let him stay out). It's unknown where the rest of Corona stands with regards to [[spoiler: her]], but Rapunzel and Eugene certainly seem more than glad to forgive [[spoiler: her]] despite all the trouble and heartache [[spoiler: she]] put them through.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* ''Anime/WolfsRain'': [[spoiler:Hige, sort of.]], He wasn't exactly ''welcomed'' back after being brainwashed into leading the heroes into a trap, but was tolerated as long as no further stunts were pulled. (It was near the end of the series by then anyway.)
* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' Xellos is tolerated as a team member in spite of the fact that everybody knows that he follows his own agenda, and will betray the party at the drop of a hat if it suits his purposes. And they allow him to come back every time that happens, since he's too useful to leave out, and indeed it's impossible to stop him from coming along if he wants to, which is pointed out in the manga. It's also brought to attention in ''Slayers Revolution'', where Lina warns Pokota not to pick a fight with Xellos, because she's not sure they could take him. A few episodes later, it's shown that she's right: he can easily take down the entire team.
** Although, it is shown in the anime that Lina will dish out some physical abuse if she survives one of Xellos' betrayals, and he is sort of obligated to take it if his betrayal didn't net him his intended objective.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Not yet, but the remainder of Team Kakashi have made it very clear to Sasuke that this door is always open and, as of Chapter 698, [[spoiler: it's finally happened]].
** At least it was until [[spoiler:Danzo was made the Sixth Hokage candidate, and his first act was to make Sasuke a missing-nin, which means he's a criminal with a bounty on his head. However, he is dead now.]]
** Most of the rest of the Rookie 11 have also more or less slammed this door in Sasuke's face in light of [[spoiler:him joining Akatsuki and potentially starting a war with the Cloud village by kidnapping Killer Bee]], with Shikamaru resolving that they can't leave this issue hanging out anymore and they will deal with Sasuke themselves.
** To some degree this also happened with Sai, who is initially revealed as passing classified information on to Orochimaru, supposedly to help Danzo destroy Konoha so he can rebuild it as he sees fit (they don't know he wants to assassinate Sasuke), after he pulls a HeelFaceTurn. Yamato doesn't seem to mention that he let an unconscious Sakura almost fall to her death while going to meet with Orochimaru.
** Taken to a fairly bizarre extreme in ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'', with both [[spoiler:Kabuto]] and [[spoiler:''Orochimaru himself'']] now on friendly terms with Konoha.

* In ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', after everything that's happened between them, Miaka finds it in herself to forgive Yui, possibly because of Yui's decision to [[spoiler:essentially sacrifice herself to save the world, although she does come back]], and the two go back to being best friends.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', Athrun and Dearka defect from ZAFT to Orb; by the time of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny the sequel]], Dearka's back with ZAFT, though he did get demoted for his defection. Athrun, on the other hand, not only gets into the best-of-the-best FAITH Squadron but the fifth SuperPrototype Gundam, entirely because Chairman Durandal [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem was the one trying to get him to rejoin]].
* In the second season of ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'', [[spoiler:Buzam A. Calessa]] is eventually revealed to have been a spy and a high-ranking officer from Taraak (male planet), who has undergone a complete sex change to infiltrate the female-only crew of ''Nirvana''. However, within an episode of TheReveal, s/he ends up betraying Taraak and rescuing her/his TrueCompanions from imprisonment, so TheCaptain allows her/him to remain on the ship under a single condition--that s/he [[BecomingTheMask reverts back completely]] to the ''she'' from before the reveal (it helps that she never technically betrayed ''Nirvana'' and only revealed her true colors to save the ship and the crew).
* Subversion: In ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'', every time Hokuto Kaneshiro has appeared, Tsukune has welcomed him with open arms. Even when Moka has an eyewitness account of Hokuto with a monstrel. Even after Hokuto went OneWingedAngel on him. ''Even when he strangled him with a hand made of tentacles and taunted him that he couldn't protect Moka''. However, Tsukune is the only one who does this; everyone else in the [[UnwantedHarem Unwanted]] BattleHarem isn't fooled.

* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', this happens with Louise although it's played with in that while Demetrio and Eljuia are willing to grant her [[EasilyForgiven easy forgiveness]], Mischa and Felix explicitly aren't, and Louise's [[TheAtoner guilty conscience]] is somewhat eased by someone holding her accountable for what she's done.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* Chase Stein once betrayed the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} in a bid to resurrect his dead girlfriend that nearly resulted in Nico Minoru getting sacrificed to the Gibborim. He was welcomed back with more or less open arms, despite the fact that this stunt resulted in the Runaways losing the Hostel (ComicBook/IronMan raided it while the team was busy trying to save Chase from his own terrible decisions, and by the time they got back, they were too exhausted to fight Stark and his army of "cape-killers".)
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and exploited by Mycroft Holmes in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. He says of the double-agent Campion Bond, "Nothing at all [will happen to him]. It is often useful to have employees whom you ''know'' to be treacherous."

[[folder: Fan Fiction]]
* In ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'', an extended retelling of the 2nd season finale of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Twilight Sparkle disowns her friends, mentor, and brother for [[MadeOutToBeAJerkass abandoning her at the wedding rehearsal]] and leaves them to be apprehended. Later on, she discovers that the BigBad [[spoiler: Jewelius has been [[CorruptTheCutie manipulating her into giving up on her loved ones]], trying to kill Cadence, and is [[EvilAllAlong the true mastermind]] behind the invasion of Canterlot]]. This causes her to have a massive JerkassRealization, and she flees to Ponyville with the Elements of Harmony to [[MustMakeAmends reconcile with her loved ones and bring the villain down]]. Much to Twilight's surprise, the other heroes forgive her instantly and welcome her back with open arms because they acknowledge that they share a part of the blame in leaving her susceptible to [[spoiler:Jewelius']] manipulations and because they're just glad to have her back.
* In the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' [=/=] ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SoldiersOfLove'', after Yukabacera's betrayal, the heroes decide to keep him in the party for pragmatic reasons (but deprive him of weapons). But soon afterwards he is accidentally left behind as they flee from Kiron, and they have to decide whether to go back for him, which would involve risking their lives. Since it's on this page, you can guess what they decide. Incidentally, he later repays them by [[spoiler:saving all their lives and helping to defeat TheDragon Iosa for them]].

--> '''The Emprah:''' Suzaku not only are you Japanese and the son of Japan's last emperor but you have also betrayed us a bunch of times. For that i am making you a Knight of the Round.\\

'''The Emprah:'''[[InsaneTrollLogic Exactly! It is the last thing our enemies will expect]]

[[folder: Film]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars''
** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': [[spoiler: Lando. Justified, to a point, as it was explicit from the beginning that he was acting under duress.]]
** The (most recent) ending of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' indicates that force ghost Anakin gets a similar pass for his atrocities as Darth Vader.

%%* The UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} epic ''Film/{{Lagaan}}'': [[spoiler:Lakha]].
* [[spoiler:Clint Barton/Hawkeye]] for Nick Fury in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', mostly because Fury realizes he was BrainwashedAndCrazy thanks to Loki. The director's commentary even points out that the CreepyBlueEyes effect given to victims of the brainwashing was added late in production to make it more obvious when characters were and were not under its effects and to make their use of this trope more understandable.
* ''Brink!'': Andy "Brink" Brinker. [[spoiler:When he's offered a job to work with Val, his nemesis. Goes far as to injure his friends with the ''WeUsedToBeFriends'' trope, later on he learns his lesson and reforms.]]
* ''Film/TheExpendables'': After everything that's happened, Gunnar is back with everyone at the end of the film. It is outright stated that many of his issues were substance abuse-related, and in the sequels, he appears to be cleaned up, although still not entirely sane.

[[folder: Literature]]
* [[spoiler:Laura]] from the [[Literature/HIVESeries HIVE series]] is welcomed back in book eight by the rest of squad four, although the remaining members of the Alpha stream [[spoiler:and Penny]] are nowhere near ready to forgive [[spoiler:her.]] Justified in that [[spoiler:the Alphas don't know she was forced to betray them against her will, and Penny blames her for Tom's death.]] Also, the main characters feel for her because [[spoiler:she was [[MindRape mind raped]] by Zero and is even offered the opportunity to go home.]]

* This happens numerous times in the Franchise/StarWarsLegends.

* Edmund in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''. Granted he is their brother, and none of them are that cold yet. Also, it's pretty much shown outright that he was enchanted by the Witch at the first meeting with her. It's a fairly strong argument against taking candy from strangers, even if they ''are'' androgynously sexy.
* The ''Literature/{{Emperor}}'' has this happen with Brutus after he betrays Caesar during the civil war. Which is pretty much how it went down in real life, so...
* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':
** Morgoth-- basically [[SatanExpy Satan]]-- makes a really pretty pouty face after the Valar (extremely powerful archangels; basically gods) kicked his ass all over Arda in the backstory, so [[TopGod Manwë]] gives him time off for good behavior. The narration explicitly says that it's because GoodCannotComprehendEvil and he ''really'' wants to believe that Morgoth, basically his brother, has pulled a for-real HeelFaceTurn. It ends badly and the next time Morgy tries pleading for mercy, Manwë opens up a cosmic airlock into the primordial void and drop-kicks him out of it.
** On a more positive note, Ossë betrays the other Ainur and joins [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] for a while, but they drag him back and convince him to HeelFaceTurn and rejoin the good guys. He stays relatively loyal after that, but occasionally throws a temper tantrum that creates storms at sea. The rebellious Noldor who gave up the rebellion and returned under Prince Finarfin got a rather colder welcome home.

* Doctor Skinner in ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' has some conscience left and while drunk attempts to help the protagonist and her friends to escape, twice, and is caught, twice. Each time his boss, the titular island-owning doctor, chides him mildly and forgives him, and has him keep working for him. Doctor Franklin knew Skinner well enough to anticipate what he'd try to do each time, wanted to see what would happen each time, has enough help to be able to keep him from doing serious harm, and there aren't many people with his qualifications willing to work on [[PlayingWithSyringes what they're working on]].

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

-->'''Rygel:''' I don't do it every chance!
* Dr. Zachary Smith on ''Series/LostInSpace'' should be the poster child. Every other episode he's trying to sell out or betray the Robinsons to the latest MonsterOfTheWeek, and yet everyone forgets his betrayal by the end of the episode.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': [[spoiler:Teal'c]] was once brainwashed by [[spoiler:Apophis]] into loyalty, but was reverted by a near-death ritual, and could return to duty immediately. This is despite him successfully tricking almost everyone prior to the ritual.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** After [[spoiler:Garibaldi]] betrays [[spoiler:Sheridan]] to [[spoiler:Clark's forces]]. The betrayer had been [[spoiler:{{Mind Control}}led]], and soon afterwards, decided to rescue the betrayed. When he goes to [[spoiler:the Mars resistance]] for help, there's a lot of tension until [[spoiler:telepath Lyta Alexander confirms that he was mind-controlled and isn't anymore]], and during the actual rescue attempt, the betrayed turns out to be sufficiently out of it that he can't remember why he's mad at the betrayer.
** Subverted with [[spoiler: Lennier]], who regrets the betrayal moments after making it, only to be caught when trying to make good. He leaves rather than face the shame and accusation [[spoiler: that isn't coming, as Delenn remembered his bravery before the betrayal, and realizes that Lennier's moment of weakness lasted only a moment before he tried to do right. There's a bit of subtext; Delenn too had once had a MomentOfWeakness (with far ''worse'' results) that she regretted afterward, and that's the very reason she forgives Lennier.]]

* Alan A Dale in the [[{{Series/Robin Hood}} BBC's Robin Hood]] betrays the merry men throughout series 2. Makes a HeelFaceTurn in the penultimate episode and turns against Gisbourne and the Sheriff. [[spoiler:Just in time to die at the end of series 3 due to the gang not trusting him]].
** Roy in the first season led the Merry Men on a wild goose chase to find the mother of a baby they found, even though he himself actually knew who the mother was. Then he tried to kill Robin and almost succeeded. Then Robin quickly decided to forgive Roy. Though to be fair, he only betrayed them because he was presented a SadisticChoice by the Sheriff and it is obvious that he betrayed them reluctantly.
* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' has a justified example: the computer Mr. Smith was an enemy spy but could continue to act like he did before he was unmasked because, after all, he's a computer and can be reprogrammed.
* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley gets there eventually, although things between them are pretty cold for a while, even when they're working together.
-->'''Gunn''': Why do you keep coming back here after everything you've done?
-->'''Wesley''': Because you keep needing my help.
* Utterly and beautifully subverted on ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as season 2 has Ward honestly thinking that the team will be willing to take him back after he turned out to be a HYDRA agent who had killed a few people. Instead, it's made abundantly clear the team are ''never'' going to forgive Ward.
** It's shown when a captive Ward is giving info to Coulson and openly stating that he wants to help as "this is still my team" which stuns Coulson.
--->'''Coulson''': My team? Y-you... You are not, nor will you ever be, on my team! You dropped Fitzsimmons out of a plane. You murdered Victoria Hand and Eric Koenig. You betrayed every one of us, you deluded son of a bitch!
** A later episode has the team forced to work with Ward against a mutual foe. He gives them a warm speech on how he knows it'll be hard to win back their trust but is willing to try. Over the course of the episode, the others openly tell Ward they consider him absolute scum and would gladly shoot him.

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[folder:Tabletop games]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': [[spoiler:Jessica]]. To be fair, [[spoiler:it wasn't really her fault, she was possessed by the real BigBad.]]

* In ''Franchise/StarWars VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' one of the later level bosses is [[spoiler: Proxy, who snuck out of the ship so he could assassinate you and fulfill his program as a [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Cato-]]like training droid.]] After you beat him, at the end of the level [[spoiler: you pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky using the force. The shockwave fries Proxy's processor. He's essentially the same but his "primary programming" has been erased. He's welcomed back, no problems]]
** The Apprentice knew he was trying to kill him though, as is shown in the opening scenes. He was a training aid.
*** It's pretty much outright stated Starkiller knew this (and hinted this has happen more than once) plus he's more annoyed by this being a bad time than anything else.
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'': [[spoiler:Kalas]].
* Averted in ''Battletech: The Crescent Hawks' Inception''. When you find the traitor in the party, he's summarily executed. There's a war on, after all.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/OverlordI'': [[spoiler:Gnarl, shortly after betraying you, says he'll welcome you back, if you can defeat the old Overlord]].
** He brings it in a funny but also justified way, considering his [[spoiler: 'advisory' role]] up to then.
---> [[spoiler:'''Gnarl:''' If you beat him I'll glady have you bac.. I mean, serve you again.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ExitFate'', the hero is declared a traitor by his home country at the beginning of the game and joins the other side to try to bring the war to a close with as little loss of life as possible. However, [[spoiler:the fact that an enemy [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] is immediately accepted into the highest ranks of the military does not sit well with the corrupt politicians in charge, and they eventually fabricate an excuse to charge him with treason in a KangarooCourt]]. As a result, Daniel has to switch sides again; he's welcomed back with a lack of distrust that would be more surprising if it wasn't for the fact that the Kirgard leadership was in deep, ''deep'' trouble, and nothing he could do could possibly make their situation any worse.
* In ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', partway through it is revealed that [[spoiler: the player character is an [[HeelFaceMindScrew amnesiac Darth Revan]]]]. Only one member of the party seems to have a problem with this; several characters are actually ''pleased'' - though admittedly that's in character.
** Also, in the light side playthrough, [[spoiler:Bastila]] is welcomed back with open arms after turning away from the dark side, despite previously [[spoiler:causing massive casualties to the Republic fleet with her Battle Meditation]]. Also an example of ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
* In the Sith Warrior storyline of ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', [[spoiler:Malavai Quinn]] eventually betrays you under [[spoiler:Darth Baras']] orders. Upon his defeat, you can either forgive him or angrily tell him that [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou you're only letting him back in because he's useful]]; there's no real option to actually execute him. Considering that [[spoiler:he's the healer of your group]]. Bioware had planned to allow players to kill or lose their companions but decided that losing them would be a big issue [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplay-wise]].
** In the original post-game content, [[spoiler: Darth Malgus attempted to break away from the Sith and form his own empire before being defeated. Several years later, he returns on Ossus, once again serving the Sith--though it's later revealed that the Empire implanted [[ExplosiveLeash explosives]] inside him to ensure that he doesn't try to rebel again.]]
* ''Videogame/JaysJourney'' has this with [[spoiler:Frost]]. Jay Lampshades it a bit by saying that everyone always comes back to the team in games like these, except for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII that one flower girl]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' has [[spoiler: Pahn]] and [[spoiler: Sanchez]]. After you meet [[spoiler: Pahn]] again later in the game, he joins [[spoiler: after helping you out in a hostage situation. Sanchez is a spy for the Scarlet Moon Empire and because of him both Odessa and Mathiu Silverberg had to die]]. After the war, [[spoiler: Lepant]] pardoned [[spoiler: Sanchez]] for his crimes due to the fact that punishing him in any way would be a shock too great for the new republic to handle. [[spoiler: Sanchez]] was forced to swear that he would not associate with any of the officials of the Toran Republic in the future. He then entered Qlon Temple.
* [[spoiler:Jowy]] in the [[spoiler:best]] ending of ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
* In the Seijyun ending of ''[[VideoGame/RivalSchools Project Justice]]'', [[spoiler:Yurika]] is revealed to be TheMole Kurow planted in that school as part of his plans, so when she has her HeelFaceTurn due to him viewing her as an expendable pawn [[spoiler:(and she's his sister!)]] and her BecomingTheMask, she disappears following his defeat. When she gathers the courage to return, Akira welcomes her with open arms.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Your party members will leave if their approval is low enough. A few will attack you before they leave, and beating them will instantly earn back their loyalty.
** In a more straightforward example, the player has a chance to recruit [[spoiler: Loghain,]] a WellIntentionedExtremist who [[spoiler: left the King to die, tried to have you and your party assassinated, and almost caused the entire nation to erupt in civil war.]] Not everyone is happy about it, and [[spoiler: Alistair]] point-blank refuses to work with [[spoiler:him]], leaving your party [[spoiler: and the Grey Wardens]] in disgust.
** If you are kind enough to [[spoiler:Isabela]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', [[spoiler: she]] will come back after [[spoiler:making off with the Tome of Koslun]]. This is a more realistic example, however, as it takes three years of separation for Hawke & Co. to forgive [[spoiler:her]].
*** In the finale, there are different ways you can handle [[spoiler: Anders]], depending on whose side you take in [[spoiler: the mage-templar war. If you side with the templars, you can either convince him to join you (which requires full rivalry) or kill him - telling him to leave just means you kill him later when he tries to stop you. If you side with the mages, you can kill him, have him join you, or tell him to leave. He'll find you at the Gallows and offer to help, giving you another leave / join choice.]]
* Ratbeard from ''VideoGame/{{Pirate101}}'' betrays the player and the other member of the crew sent to find Captain Gunn's treasure in order to claim it for himself. While he's running from the player he even poisons his own crew for a larger share. [[spoiler: The killing his own crew part was an accident, someone had replaced his knockout drops with poison.]] But once the player saves his hide after his new allies betray him, he begs for forgiveness and the player lets him join their crew.
* In ''Videogame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'', the former SHIELD agent Frank Payne defected to villainy and became Constrictor; he returned to SHIELD after becoming financially secure and realizing that he still wasn't happy.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

* In ''ComicBook/XMen'', Colossus, driven by grief over the death of his sister, betrayed the team and joined Magneto's Acolytes. He later left the Acolytes (mainly just because the Acolytes had disbanded) and visited the X-Men's England-based sister team ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}, where he beat up Pete Wisdom for no good reason (Pete was dating Colossus' ex-girlfriend at the time). Despite all this, Excalibur welcomed him into their team, and he later rejoined the X-Men after Excalibur broke up. Justified as Colossus' earlier actions were caused by an injury that [[PowerIncontinence trapped him in his steel form.]] Once he was freed from it, he was forgiven for his actions and only stayed with the Acolytes to make sure they don't try anything shifty.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' Brainiac 5 set up Ultra Boy for a woman's murder, nearly killed Chameleon Boy, was planning to destroy the entire universe, and resolved the universe-destruction in a way that sent a former teammate hopelessly insane for years--but he was crazy, spent five issues in an insane asylum, was cured and welcomed back to the team with open arms. (This included their ignoring the murder he'd framed Ultra Boy for; a few years later a story was written establishing that someone else ''entirely'' had been responsible for the actual killing. Because just because you want to destroy the universe doesn't mean that you're so lost to morality as to commit one murder!)

* Entrapta from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is a complete WildCard for most of the series, joining the Rebellion not because she particularly cares about their cause, but because they're offering her a chance to [[ForScience further her research]]. This makes it very easy for Catra to lure her over to the Horde late in the first season. However, for Entrapta, it's really NothingPersonal, and she has people on both sides of the war whom she genuinely considers friends... but while she's working for the Horde, she'll build robots that almost blow the Rebellion to smithereens. [[spoiler:After Catra betrays her and sends her to die on Beast Island, she's rescued by Adora and Bow, and joins the Rebellion again. The trope is downplayed in that the fifth season shows that most members of the Rebellion -- while glad she's alive -- are still ''pissed'' at her, because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she kept building robots that almost blew them to smithereens]]. She's taken aback when her friends [[WhatTheHellHero give her a major]] TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for this, wondering if she even cares about them at all. For the rest of the season, she buckles down on ''really'' being a team player and actually helping the Rebellion, proving she really is loyal this time around.]]

* ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Star Trek: DS9]]'': Garak tortures Odo almost to death to try getting back in his old mentor's [[spoiler: and father's]] good books. In the episode's final scene, Odo suggests he and Garak start having breakfast together. This friendly gesture hinged on a NotSoDifferent revelation during the interrogation which saw Garak mentally torturing himself as much as he was physically torturing Odo over what he was doing to Odo (both of them desperately wanted to return home to their own people).

** Really, all of France got this at the Congress of Vienna. Considering that the French Revolution betrayed all the principles of Europe (religion, monarchy, aristocracy), the fact that they were accepted back into regular Europe so easily is amazing.

** [[BigBad Megatron]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' welcomes the treacherous Tarantulas back into his forces ''repeatedly'' in spite of the fact the spider is never not actively plotting against him in secret. It's simply Megatron being {{Pragmatic|Villainy}}, however, as he's competent he can out-gambit Tarantulas in the end ([[spoiler:he does]]) and he simply needs the spider's [[BunnyEarsLawyer unarguable expertise in spite of his many shortcomings]]. Megatron makes it very clear in one episode that the only reason Tarantulas is still alive is because he's useful to him:

* Subversion: In ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', every time Hokuto Kaneshiro has appeared, Tsukune has welcomed him with open arms. Even when Moka has an eyewitness account of Hokuto with a monstrel. Even after Hokuto went OneWingedAngel on him. ''Even when he strangled him with a hand made of tentacles and taunted him that he couldn't protect Moka''. However, Tsukune is the only one who does this; everyone else in the [[UnwantedHarem Unwanted]] BattleHarem isn't fooled.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

In a sudden and shocking betrayal, TheMole reveals himself, screws over the rest of the team, and runs off to go change sides. Except... he doesn't really run off. Maybe he was under MindControl, and comes to his senses soon after. Or maybe he was just temporarily misguided, and once the team either [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight talks him down]] or [[DefeatMeansFriendship beats some sense into him]], he reverts. Or maybe he has a change of heart shortly after the betrayal, and has a HeelFaceTurn for real. No matter the circumstances, the guy who just backstabbed the party five minutes ago is welcomed back with open arms, and the whole incident is quickly put behind them. Yay for party unity!

* Happens several times with [[TurnCoat Kai]] in ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'', following his seemingly endless walk through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. The most notable occurrence is near the conclusion of the third season, when Kai makes his return to the G-Revolutions after running around on different sides for the entirety of the season. Takao literally forgives him with three simple words and completely forgets about Kai's ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, appointing him TheLancer once again.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' Xellos is tolerated as a team member in spite of the fact that everybody knows that he follows his own agenda, and will betray the party at the drop of a hat, if it suits his purposes. And they allow him to come back every time that happens, since he's too useful to leave out, and indeed it's impossible to stop him from coming along if he wants to, which is pointed out in the manga. It's also brought to attention in ''Slayers Revolution'', where Lina warns Pokota not to pick a fight with Xellos, because she's not sure they could take him. A few episodes later, it's shown that she's right: he can easily take down the entire team.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', Athrun and Dearka defect from ZAFT to Orb; by the time of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny the sequel]], Dearka's back with ZAFT, though he did get demoted for his defection. Athrun, on the other hand, not only gets into the best-of-the-best FAITH Squadron, but the fifth SuperPrototype Gundam, entirely because Chairman Durandal [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem was the one trying to get him to rejoin]].

* ''Film/TheExpendables'': After everything that's happened, Gunnar is back with everyone at the end of the film. It is outright stated that many of his issues were substance abuse related, and in the sequels he appears to be cleaned up, although still not entirely sane.

** The most blatant example is Luke's apprentice [[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy Kyp Durron]], a former slave who turns to the dark side, destroys [[strike:a star system]] a handful star systems including a major populated one, comes back, and eventually becomes a Jedi Master. Subverted in the paraquel ''I, Jedi'', where the protagonist repeatedly and with great alarm calls KarmaHoudini.

** In the ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'' comics, AcePilot Soontir Fel, the best Imperial pilot since Vader's death, [[DefectorFromDecadence defects]] to the Rebel Alliance, where his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles welcomes him. Not long after the comic ended Fel vanished; in the ''Literature/XWingSeries'' novels ''Iron Fist'' and ''Solo Command'' he seemed to be working with an Imperial offshoot, but this was an actor. What happened to him has been written but is in DevelopmentHell. In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology it's seen that the Empire of the Hand, a pragmatic but good Imperial offshoot, kidnapped him and persuaded him to join. The same duology has that fairer, more cautious offshoot of the Empire try to recruit Mara Jade, who had been forced away from the Empire by treachery. Unfortunately the way they did this involved violence when she refused, even if they weren't shooting to kill, and so of course it didn't work.

** In ''Omen of the Stars'', Hollyleaf returns to the Clan after having murdered Ashfur, gone into hiding for over a year, and experienced a change of heart about her birth mother and adopted mother. Upon her return her family covers for her - Brambleclaw claims that he saw Ashfur attack her, and Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Leafpool, who know the truth, keep quiet - and the Clan welcomes her back pretty much with no questions asked.

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Jayne. Though somewhat justified, as Mal holds that fact over his head to keep him in line, and Simon dismisses a grudge between them because they're all supposed to be on the same side, and holding a grudge would be counter productive to things like survival. Also, as a surgeon he is Jayne's only real hope in case of serious injury, something Simon leaves as a vague but unsubtle threat. Meanwhile River is capable of killing him with her brain. Lastly, the rest of the crew don't actually know the extent of Jayne's treachery.
* ''Series/HappyDays'': Zig-zagged in an episode where Richie encounters his friends after a night of being blackout drunk and apparently insulting or irritating each one of them. Even Fonzie wants to beat him up. In the end he's so penitent everyone agrees to let it go and never mention it again.

** After [[spoiler:Garibaldi]] betrays [[spoiler:Sheridan]] to [[spoiler:Clark's forces]]. The betrayer had been [[spoiler:{{Mind Control}}led]], and soon afterwards, decided to rescue the betrayee. When he goes to [[spoiler:the Mars resistance]] for help, there's a lot of tension until [[spoiler:telepath Lyta Alexander confirms that he was mind-controlled and isn't anymore]], and during the actual rescue attempt, the betrayee turns out to be sufficiently out of it that he can't remember why he's mad at the betrayer.

* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley gets there eventually, although things between them are pretty cold for awhile, even when they're working together.

* Utterly and beautifully subverted on ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as season 2 has Ward honestly thinking that the team will be willing to take him back after he turned out to be a HYDRA agent who killed a few people. Instead, it's made abundantly clear the team are ''never'' going to forgive Ward.

-->'''Coulson''': My team? Y-you... You are not, nor will you ever be, on my team! You dropped Fitzsimmons out of a plane. You murdered Victoria Hand and Eric Koenig. You betrayed every one of us, you deluded son of a bitch!

** There's also that [[spoiler:Mossman]]'s HeelFaceTurn is the only reason Alyx and her father didn't end up tossed headfirst through a Combine portal to be brainsucked by Advisors. At this point Alyx probably felt that [[spoiler:Mossman]]'s sincerity had been sufficiently proven.

** Leon's case is brought up in ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny2''. Keep in mind this was before Leon's death was a HeroicSacrifice. The current party is shocked when they find out [[spoiler: Judas is Leon Magnus]], but in the end decide his later actions meant more than his past. Perhaps Justified as none of his crimes were against the current party specifically, and through a LotusEaterMachine they saw he didn't at all enjoy what he'd done.

*** Well, really, [[spoiler:Judith]] more or less had a noble cause for crippling their ship. [[spoiler:Her]] ''crime'' is trying to act on [[spoiler:her]] noble goal alone, rather than with [[spoiler:her]] friends. As for [[spoiler:Raven, he]] was actually not really trying to kill them as much as [[spoiler:he]] planned on dying there, wether it was by the party's hand or the location crumbling down on [[spoiler:him]]. This was made evident when [[spoiler:while clashing blades with Yuri, Raven suddenly halted his attacks, allowing a rather surprised Yuri to slash him through the chest. He never really planned on killing them as much as he was more than ready for his own life to end; he even allows them all to escape immediately after the fight.]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Although it was later revealed that the League would have forgiven her immediately (they took a vote and majority was to overlook it) had said traitor not ran off anyway.

** In a later season, it is not only alluded to, but [[spoiler: becomes the basis of the BatmanGambit made by Master Monk Guan and himself to trick Hannibal Roy Bean into losing a powerful artifact he had stolen earlier in the series.]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

** Another view is that Talleyrand was just an extremely skillfull diplomat who worked to advance French interests whenever possible, no matter which political orientation French government had at the moment.

* Hieronim Radziejowski, a nobleman of the UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth, came into conflict with King John II Casimir when he found out that his wife was the King's mistress. He started to conspire against the King with the Ottoman Empire, and as a result was sentenced to infamy and banishment (exile). He left Poland for Sweden, and convinced the Swedish King, Charles X Gustav, to attack the Commonwealth. In 1655, Radziejowski accompanied the Swedish forces during their invasion of Poland (later to be known as the Deluge). After the Deluge in 1662 he has been pardoned by the Sejm (Polish parliament). Deputies ''forgave him all the insults'' and Radziejowski regained all his former possessions and estates in Poland (he did not regain his ranks and titles, though).

* Entrapta from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is a complete WildCard for most of the series, joining the Rebellion not because she particularly cares about their cause, but because they're offering her a chance to [[ForScience further her research]]. This makes it very easy for Catra to lure her over to the Horde late in the first season. However, for Entrapta, it's really NothingPersonal, and she has people on both sides of the war whom she genuinely considers friends... but while she's working for the Horde, she'll build robots that almost blow the Rebellion to smithereens. [[spoiler:After Catra betrays her and sends her to die on Beast Island, she's rescued by Adora and Bow, and joins the Rebellion again. The trope is downplayed in that the fifth season shows that most members of the Rebellion -- while glad she's alive -- are still ''pissed'' at her, because [[RealityEnsues she kept building robots that almost blew them to smithereens]]. She's taken aback when her friends [[WhatTheHellHero give her a major]] TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for this, wondering if she even cares about them at all. For the rest of the season, she buckles down on ''really'' being a team player and actually helping the Rebellion, proving she really is loyal this time around.]]

* Exactly why the TrueCompanions still lets [[Anime/YuGiOh Bakura]] approach within 100 feet of them, given that his evil side continuously takes over without warning, and all attempts to defeat it have been proven to work only for a short time or not at all, is unclear.

* In the ''Comicbook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' Brainiac 5 set up Ultra Boy for a woman's murder, nearly killed Chameleon Boy, was planning to destroy the entire universe, and resolved the universe-destruction in a way that sent a former teammate hopelessly insane for years--but he was crazy, spent five issues in an insane asylum, was cured and welcomed back to the team with open arms. (This included their ignoring the murder he'd framed Ultra Boy for; a few years later a story was written establishing that someone else ''entirely'' had been responsible for the actual killing. Because just because you want to destroy the universe doesn't mean that you're so lost to morality as to commit one murder!)

* Happens in ''FanFic/CodeGeassAwesomeOfTheRebellion'':

%%* The Bollywood epic ''Bollywood/{{Lagaan}}'': [[spoiler:Lakha]].

* [[BigBad Megatron]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' welcomes the treacherous Tarantulas back into his forces ''repeatedly'' in spite of the fact the spider is never not actively plotting against him in secret. It's simply Megatron being {{Pragmatic|Villainy}}, however, as he's competent he can out-gambit Tarantulas in the end ([[spoiler:he does]]) and he simply needs the spider's [[BunnyEarsLawyer unarguable expertise in spite of his many shortcomings]]. Megatron makes it very clear in one episode that the only reason Tarantulas is still alive is because he's useful to him:
--> '''Megatron:''' I can suffer your treachery, Lieutenant, but ''not'' your incompetence!!!

* Starscream deserts from the Decepticons towards the end of the first season of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. Throughout the second season he proceeds to work on his own, align with the Autobots out of convenience, and launch assassination attempts against Megatron until setbacks and defeats lead him to return to his former comrades and beg forgiveness. It should be noted that his return is smoothed over by some extremely important artifacts that he brings to the negotiation table.
** Of course, these artifacts only convince Megatron not to just kill him outright, so he also has to undergo a psychic interrogation that can't be fooled. It takes the form of a clip show, overlaid with snarky commentary from Megatron. While the footage doesn't make Starscream look particularly good, it also shows that his intentions for returning to the Decepticons weren't a lie. Megatron accepts him back, on the basis that Starscream could be useful, if not particularly loyal. After this, though, Starscream does indeed act legitimately loyal to Megatron.

* Benedict Arnold, from the perspective of the British.

* ''Webcomic/DemonFist'': [[spoiler: Capen]] realizes that having faith may have saved him when Jacob risks his life to save him even after betraying the hookshot pirates.Then gets [[RedemptionEqualsDeath killed]], leading to a BerserkButton sequence.

** In the ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'' comics, AcePilot Soontir Fel, the best Imperial pilot since Vader's death, [[DefectorFromDecadence defects]] to the Rebel Alliance, where his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles welcomes him. Not long after the comic ended Fel vanished; in ''Iron Fist'' and ''Solo Command'' he seemed to be working with an Imperial offshoot, but this was an actor. What happened to him has been written but is in DevelopmentHell. In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology it's seen that the Empire of the Hand, a pragmatic but good Imperial offshoot, kidnapped him and persuaded him to join. The same duology has that fairer, more cautious offshoot of the Empire try to recruit Mara Jade, who had been forced away from the Empire by treachery. Unfortunately the way they did this involved violence when she refused, even if they weren't shooting to kill, and so of course it didn't work.

** In the ComicBook/XWingSeries comics, AcePilot Soontir Fel, the best Imperial pilot since Vader's death, [[DefectorFromDecadence defects]] to the Rebel Alliance, where his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles welcomes him. Not long after the comic ended Fel vanished; in ''Iron Fist'' and ''Solo Command'' he seemed to be working with an Imperial offshoot, but this was an actor. What happened to him has been written but is in DevelopmentHell. In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology it's seen that the Empire of the Hand, a pragmatic but good Imperial offshoot, kidnapped him and persuaded him to join. The same duology has that fairer, more cautious offshoot of the Empire try to recruit Mara Jade, who had been forced away from the Empire by treachery. Unfortunately the way they did this involved violence when she refused, even if they weren't shooting to kill, and so of course it didn't work.

** In the original post-game content, [[spoiler: Darth Malgus attempted to break away from the Sith and form his own empire before being defeated. Several years later, he returns on Ossus, once again serving the Sith--though it's implied that ''[[RestrainingBolt something]]'' has been done to him to ensure that he doesn't try to rebel again.]]

** Celestia welcomes back her little sister Luna after she's defeated as Nightmare Moon after Luna sincerely apologizes. Justified as Luna wasn't entirely well in her head when she tried to overthrow her sister, having become a {{Mad God}}dess until the Elements restored her. And even then, while Celestia forgave her, it takes time for their subjects to do so.
** In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom Part 2]]'':\\\
Discord betrays all of ponykind to the most titanically dangerous threat it has ever faced...and yet Twilight rescues him with the rest of her friends.\\\
Towards the end when the Mane Six are having a GroupHug and Discord is nervously waving from off to the side, Twilight uses her magic to pull him into the group, making this trope literal.

* Happens several times with [[TurnCoat Kai]] in ''Anime/{{Beyblade}}'', following his seemingly endless walk through the [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Heel Face Revolving Door]]. Most notable occurrence is near the conclusion of the Third Season, when Kai makes his return to the G-Revolutions after running around on different sides for the entirety of the series. Tyson literally forgives him with three simple words and completely forgets about Kai's [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]], appointing him [[TheLancer The Lancer]] once again.
** And it's not just Tyson who's so ready to forgive him. The Blitzgrieg Boys are more than happy to welcome Kai back to their rankings - ''and'' appoint him [[TheCaptain Team Captain]] - at the start of G-Revolution, even after he so blatantly deserted them for the Bladebreakers in the first season.