Line #241 Main/WelcomeBackTraitor


1	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!
2
3	Not a FakeDefector (that's someone who never really changed sides but pretended to do so as part of a deep undercover operation). We're talking about people who really did turn on the heroes, but then turned back or explained the incident away fairly quickly, and everyone is surprisingly okay with this.
4	Probably preceded by {{We Used To Be Friends}}.
5
6	A specific instance of EasilyForgiven where the unmasked traitor remains a contributing part of the team.
7
8	'''Multiple spoilers below.'''
9	----
10	!!Examples
11
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
15	* 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.
16	** And it's not just Takao who's so ready to forgive him. Neoborg is more than happy to welcome Kai back to their rankings - ''and'' appoint him [[TheCaptain Team Captain]] - at the start of the third season, even after he so abruptly deserted them for the BBA in the first season.
17	** And while Kai never returned to his original team, the Shell Killers, the [[Manga/BakutenShootBeyblade manga]] makes it very clear he'd so much as have to sneeze in their direction and it'd be all good again.
18	* 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.
19	* 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.
20	* 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]].
21	* [[spoiler:Rio Kurotori]] in ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'' briefly angsts about everything that she's done after realizing that [[spoiler:while she joined Ark to avenge her mother's death, Teeki was responsible for sending the ghost that killed her]], but [[spoiler:her student Biko]] delivers a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan punch, and despite acknowledging the crimes committed, says everyone wants [[spoiler:her]] back.
22	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': The remainder of Team Kakashi have made it very clear to Sasuke that they're willing to welcome him back, despite his numerous crimes, and, as of Chapter 698, [[spoiler:it's finally happened]].
23	** The possibility of this was shut down for awhile when [[spoiler:Danzo was made the acting Sixth Hokage, and his first act was to make Sasuke a missing-nin, which means he's a criminal with a bounty on his head. While he was later killed (at Sasuke's hand, no less), the missing-nin status remained, until the very end]].
24	** 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.
25	** 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.
26	** Taken to a fairly bizarre extreme in ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'', with both [[spoiler:Kabuto]] and [[spoiler:''Orochimaru himself'']] now on friendly terms with Konoha.
27	* Double subverted in ''Manga/OnePiece''. [[spoiler:An argument between Luffy and Usopp over getting a new ship results in Usopp challenging Luffy to a duel and leaving the Straw Hats, with the winner getting to decide what happens with the Going Merry. Luffy wins, but gives Merry over to Usopp and says they're getting a new ship, and that's final.]] Later in the arc, the traitor wishes to come back to the Straw Hats, to which Luffy is enthusiastic, but Zoro tells Luffy to back off. The traitor not only left, but undermined Luffy's authority as captain of the ship. Zoro argues that regardless of how Luffy personally feels about his crewmates, he can't have his crew questioning his decisions or trying to subvert his will, because that will mean trouble down the line. [[JerkassHasAPoint Luffy can't find fault with Zoro's argument, even if Zoro is being harsh about it]]. It's only after the traitor formally apologizes and admits they made a mistake that they're allowed back onto the crew.
28	* 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''. Even ''Hokuto himself'' tells Tsukune they're not friends and that he shouldn't be trusted when they [[EnemyMine team up against another villain]] later on. However, Tsukune is the only one who does this; everyone else in the [[UnwantedHarem Unwanted]] BattleHarem isn't fooled.
29	* In ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', Xellos is tolerated as a team member even though 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.
30	* 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).
31	* ''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.)
32	* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Exactly why the TrueCompanions still let 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.
33	** Because in the manga, while the group had initially been outraged at Bakura's apparent betrayal, they eventually saw good Bakura struggling to regain control, causing the evil side to fumble at a few points that saved their lives, and even joining them to defeat Zorc, and realized that Bakura's real personality was truly their friend. Little of this comes through very well in the anime, though.
34	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', in the sense that Mitarai is a traitor to the whole damn human race. Kurama welcomes him with a smile, and Yusuke even turns down Yana's offer to "copy" Mitarai's memories to be sure. Hiei is the only one who openly questions just why they're trusting him.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* In the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' 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!)
39	* In the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' it was discovered that the Human Torch's wife was actually a Skrull disguised as Alicia Masters. She agreed to help them get back the real Alicia & was believed killed on the mission. However her Skrull superior decided to give her superpowers so she could help him get revenge on the Fantastic Four, which she did until her HeelFaceTurn & was allowed to stay with the FF & apparently had free run of their headquarters despite her untrustworthy history.
40	* Thoroughly averted with Hal Jordan. He becomes Parallax, wrecks the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, then dies and comes back good. Most of the Corps takes a ''long'' time to trust him again, despite his resurrection establishing that Hal's evil phase was due to being BrainwashedAndCrazy. The Lost Lanterns, who he had previously attacked and left stranded, tried to kill him ''when he had just rescued them from {{A Fate Worse Than Death}}''.
41	* [[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."
42	* 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".)
43	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
44	** Luke joins the Empire in ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire''. That was initially a [[FakeDefector plan to kill Palpatine]], but Luke ended up falling to the Dark Side for real until his sister's love saved him and he went back to the New Republic. Who never brought up his defection and time as a Sith Apprentice again, mainly because none of the novel writers liked Dark Empire.
45	** 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. 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. There was a novel planned that would've gone into more detail about all this, but it languished in DevelopmentHell before eventually being cancelled. 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.
46	* 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 Kitty Pryde, 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.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Fan Works]]
50	* Parodied in ''Fanfic/CodeGeassAwesomeOfTheRebellion'':
51	-->'''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.\
52	'''Zaber:''' [[OnlySaneMan What? But that makes no sense!]]\
53	'''The Emprah:'''[[InsaneTrollLogic Exactly! It is the last thing our enemies will expect!]]
54	* 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.
55	* 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]].
56	[[/folder]]
57	[[folder:Film - Animated]]
58	* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'': Zigzagged with RJ. While he saves everyone after having a HeelRealization, most of the cast is still pissed at him for putting them in danger in the first place, and try to drive him away. The only one who's actually happy to see RJ is [[TheLeader Verne]], who'd spent most of the movie distrusting him, but now can see that he's genuinely repentant. When Verne explains why he's willing to welcome RJ back, the rest of the cast quickly drops their anger.
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60
61	[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
62	* [[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.
63	* ''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.]]
64	* ''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.
65	%%* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'': [[spoiler:Hoggle]].
66	%%* The UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} epic ''Film/{{Lagaan}}'': [[spoiler:Lakha]].
67	* ''Film/MirrorMask'': [[spoiler:Valentine]], although he [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight completely redeems himself]].
68	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
69	** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': [[spoiler: Lando. Justified, to a point, as it was explicit from the beginning that he was acting under duress.]]
70	** The (most recent) ending of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' indicates that force ghost Anakin gets a similar pass for his atrocities as Darth Vader.
71	* Subverted in ''Film/SuperTroopers'' with [[spoiler:Farva]], who betrays the Highway Patrol to the local Sudbury Police. He becomes a hero long before the others and his actions in the finale would have made him a hero in the precinct. [[spoiler:It's clear the former Highway Patrol still want nothing to do with him, less than ever in fact, but they simply have no choice but to work with him once more.]]
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Literature]]
75	* 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]].
76	* ''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...
77	* This happens in the ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series to Jack in ''Hunger''.
78	* [[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]].
79	* 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.
80	* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':
81	** Morgoth-- basically [[SatanicArchetype 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.
82	** 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.
83	* This happens numerous times in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''.
84	** ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': Luke's apprentice Kyp Durron turns to the dark side, destroys a handful of star systems including a major populated one, comes back, and eventually becomes a Jedi Master. [[SalvagedStory This did not go unnoticed in the rest of the continuity]]: in ''Literature/IJedi'', the protagonist repeatedly and with great alarm calls KarmaHoudini and {{Rage Quit}}s the Jedi Order over it. Other characters in future books also frequently call out Kyp, and he himself is usually written as TheAtoner.
85	** The Empire of the Hand makes another, much better offer to her in ''Literature/SurvivorsQuest'' when she, Luke, one of Fel's sons, and [[BadassCrew four incredibly badass Hand stormtroopers]] are sent to visit the ruins of Literature/OutboundFlight. But while Mara sees that this Empire has virtually everything she loved about the one she served [[Literature/StarWarsAllegiance way back when]] and virtually none of the things she found reprehensible, she doesn't go to them, because that idea was DoomedByCanon.
86	** And in ''Literature/StarWarsAllegiance''--note how many of these were written by Creator/TimothyZahn--five stormtroopers [[HeelRealization realize that they can't support what the Empire has become]], leave, and wander about in a stolen ship, [[GoodFeelsGood trying to do good]]. They don't join the Rebellion, since they see the Rebels as basically neo-Seperatists and terrorists. But they do leave, which is unheard of for stormtroopers, and they get in the way of a lot of local Imperial plans. In [[Literature/ChoicesOfOne the sequel]], Thrawn eventually catches them, and persuades them to join the Empire of the Hand.
87	* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
88	** Graystripe leaves [=ThunderClan=] in the first series so that he can raise his kits in their mother's Clan, [=RiverClan=]. Once he's exiled from [=RiverClan=] for saving his best friend, Fireheart, during a battle, he rejoins [=ThunderClan=]. The Clan has divided opinions on him upon his return; half view him as a traitor for joining another Clan (something that is almost never done), while half are welcoming and happy to see him back.
89	** 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.
90	** Also in ''Omen of the Stars'', Ivypool is lured into joining the Dark Forest, and even helps guide the Clan into an unnecessary battle that results in a [=ShadowClan=] death and Firestar losing [[CatsHaveNineLives one of his nine leader's lives]]. However, once she realizes that they're actually plotting to destroy the Clans and repents, she is welcomed back to the side of the heroes.
91	* After being outed as the mole, Skitter from ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is welcomed back by the Undersiders, though it took Bitch and Grue a long time to forgive her.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
95	* 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 many innocent people, including several SHIELD agents. Instead, it's made abundantly clear the team are ''never'' going to forgive Ward, especially since [[NeverMyFault he keeps deflecting responsibility about why the team is so angry at him in the first place]].
96	** 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.
97	--->'''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!
98	** 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 kill him if given the choice [[spoiler:and Simmons soon attempts to do exactly that, although she fails]].
99	** Happens for real after [[spoiler:Daisy]] betrays the team for [[spoiler:Hive]] in season 3, mainly because everyone knows from the start that the traitor was BrainwashedAndCrazy.
100	* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Wesley gets there eventually, although things between them are pretty cold for a while, even when they're working together.
101	-->'''Gunn''': Why do you keep coming back here after everything you've done?\
102	'''Wesley''': Because you keep needing my help.
103	* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
104	** 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.
105	** 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.]]
106	* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'' has Rygel, who betrayed the crew at the end of the first season before coming back when he realized he couldn't benefit from it. It wasn't the last time he betrayed them in some way. At least the characters don't seem to completely forget it:
107	-->'''John:''' Shut up, you miserable excuse for a life! I'm sick of having you sell us out every chance you get!
108	-->'''Rygel:''' I don't do it every chance!
109	* ''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 counterproductive 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.
110	* ''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.
111	* ''{{Series/Heroes}}'': A little attempted genocide won't stop the Petrellis from having family brunch together.
112	* In a season finale of ''Series/{{Numb3rs}}'', [[spoiler: Colby Granger]] is revealed to be a spy for the Chinese in the FBI. While next season's premiere reveals it wasn't quite true, he IS and always has been a plant by the Department of Justice.
113	* 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.
114	* 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]].
115	** 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.
116	* ''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.
117	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
118	** ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'':
119	*** In one season finale of Data, having been fed negative emotions, sides with evil brother Lore against the Federation and proceeds to help capture a number of his friends, then experiment on and torture Geordi. The crew eventually manage to turn his ethical subroutine back on and pretty much literally welcome him back with open arms after Lore is defeated.
120	*** Starfleet Ensign Stefan [=DeSeve=] defected to the Romulans in the 2340s. He returns to the Federation in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E13FaceOfTheEnemy Face of the Enemy]]" at the behest of Ambassador Spock to help the reunification movement establish a pipeline for dissidents looking to escape to the Federation. [=DeSeve=] also had come to realize that the [[GrassIsGreener grass was not greener in the Empire]]. Still, no one on the ''Enterprise'' is exactly thrilled that he's there, even though he provides a lot of assistance to Picard and the crew.
121	** ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Star Trek: DS9]]'':
122	*** 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 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).
123	*** Quark gets this treatment frequently over the course of the early seasons (before his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold "heart of latinum"]] status was clearly established)
124	* ''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.
125	* ''Series/TedLasso'': Season 2 ends with Nate Shelley betraying Ted's trust by leaking his panic attacks to the media, tearing the "Believe" sign, and becoming head coach of rival team West Ham United under BigBad Rupert Mannion. Season 3 shows Nate [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a level in jerkass]], but also feeling guilty about hurting Ted and being emotionally manipulated by Rupert. While the team (minus Ted) was pissed off at Nate for most of the season, after Nate leaves West Ham and makes amends with Will the kitman, showing he TookALevelInKindness, the rest of the team offer him a place back at Richmond. It actually takes Beard (Nate's biggest critic) reassuring Nate of his and Ted's forgiveness for Nate to accept the offer.
126
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
130	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
131	** Ahkmou managed to pull this off twice. First, he betrayed his people to the Dark Hunters but was later forced into working together with the heroes. He later went back to work and his deal with the Hunters never came up afterwards as he, along with the rest of his people, were forced into a coma by the [[BigBad the Makuta]]. Then, with his memories gone, he was brainwashed by Makuta who planted him back into society as his servant. Ahkmou helped Makuta cause an epidemic by selling infected sport balls but was soon found out. Following a period of hiding, he was accepted back into his village where he continued to work as a trader, though under close watch. The story didn't touch upon what became of him after he betrayed everyone for the ''third'' time, again due to Makuta's influence.
132	** Vakama had a brief FaceHeelTurn during his time as a mutant half-beast. Just when the bad guys are about to win, he finally comes to his senses and saves everyone, though in the process unwittingly setting the Makuta free, who they'd managed to seal away in the previous arc. Not only is he welcomed back, he becomes the leader and one of the most respected individuals of his people. The fact that he had been under the influence of Hordika venom at the time of his betrayal gave him some leeway (and they chose to keep their past a secret from the villagers).
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Music]]
136	* Music/{{Apocalyptica}}'s piece [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Betrayal/Forgiveness"]] manages to exemplify this trope without any lyrics.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
140	* Far too many to list. The FaceHeelTurn and vice versa are very common. The past is forgiven, if not forgotten.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
144	* Promo cards for the hidden traitor game ''The Resistance: Avalon'' introduced the Lancelot role, before being transferred into the expansion for the base game. The pair of players with this role may switch sides during the game. Rarely, they may switch sides twice and return to their original team - but it's still disruptive on whom can be trusted even after the return to normal play.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Theatre]]
148	* In ''Theatre/HenryVIPart3'', George, Duke of Clarence, is angered by his brother Edward's decision to marry Elizabeth Woodville (a minor English noble) instead of the French princess he was supposed to and gets into a blazing row by saying that Elizabeth would have been a better match for himself. Fed up with not being listened to, George takes up with the Lancastrian cause and marries Warwick's daughter to seal the deal. Edward nonetheless chooses to make an emotional appeal before Tewkesbury, which convinces George to turn back. (However, this betrayal does contribute to how easily Edward believes that the traitorous 'G' in a prophecy refers to '''G'''eorge and not his brother the Duke of '''G'''loucester in [[Theatre/RichardIII the next play]].)
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Video Games]]
152	* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'': [[spoiler:Kalas]].
153	* 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.
154	* ''Franchise/BreathOfFire'':
155	** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'': [[spoiler:Garr]], although the entire second half of the game is devoted to [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Garr making amends for trying to kill you on orders and trying to get to the bottom of why he was given those orders,]] even leading to him challenging his own [[WellIntentionedExtremist goddess]]]].
156	** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'': [[spoiler:Scias]].
157	* ''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.
158	** 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.
159	** 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]].
160	*** 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]].
161	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': [[spoiler:Jessica]]. To be fair, [[spoiler:it wasn't really her fault, she was possessed by the real BigBad]].
162	* 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.
163	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has several examples:
164	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': [[spoiler:Leon, the Dark Knight]]
165	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': [[spoiler:Yang]], [[spoiler:Kain turned and came back ''twice'' - although the second time, Edge refused to trust him and Kain outright asked to be killed if he was brainwashed again]].
166	*** [[spoiler:Yang had amnesia and was being manipulated by Baron while he lost his memory. The only party member who holds this against him is BrattyHalfPint Palom]].
167	*** In Palom's defense, when someone repeatedly kicks you in the head when you first meet them, it's probably not conducive to offering your total trust and respect right away.
168	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': [[spoiler:Yuffie]], [[spoiler:Cait Sith]]. In the latter's case, the moment of turning is just a short chase segment and brief cutscene in which you don't have access to the party command, and thus, it's entirely possible that the time before [[spoiler:Cait]]'s WelcomeBackTraitor moment is so brief that [[spoiler:he]] literally never even left.
169	*** Though at least [[spoiler:Cait Sith]]'s is justified in that he reluctantly threatens to kill a hostage if the heroes don't let him keep tagging along. His full forgiveness doesn't come until much later, after he's repeatedly proven his loyalty.
170	*** Averted in the Remake continuity [[spoiler:where Cait does not take a hostage and the party rightfully tells him to screw off and boots him from the party afterwards when they go to the Temple. It's only after he returns and sacrifices himself on his own violtion that they allow him to rejoin again.]]
171	*** [[spoiler:Yuffie]], on the other hand, forces [[spoiler:herself]] back into the group.
172	*** A Mind Control example of this happens when [[spoiler: Cloud gives the Black Materia to Sephiroth.]]
173	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'': [[spoiler:Dr. Judith Mossman]]. Two seconds after the HeelFaceTurn, [[spoiler:she]] and Alyx (who had been frosty towards each other the whole game, even before the initial betrayal,) are hugging and on first name terms.
174	** It's not quite clear, but one interpretation is that [[spoiler:Dr. Mossman]] was a double agent from the start, so this was not as outrageous as some examples of the trope.
175	** 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.
176	* ''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]].
177	* 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.
178	** 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.
179	* [[spoiler:Nash]] in ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete]]'' and all subsequent versions. Different in the original ''Lunar: The Silver Star'', where he was a FakeDefector instead.
180	* 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.
181	* Inverted in ''VideoGame/OverlordI'': [[spoiler:Gnarl, shortly after betraying you, says he'll welcome you back, if you can defeat the old Overlord]].
182	** He brings it in a funny but also justified way, considering his [[spoiler:'advisory' role]] up to then.
183	--->[[spoiler:'''Gnarl:''' If you beat him I'll gladly have you bac-- I mean, serve you again.]]
184	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Persona5''. The Phantom Thieves offer to take back the Traitor/Black Mask/[[spoiler:Goro Akechi]], but then they suffer a HeelFaceDoorSlam. It's double subverted in the ''Royal'' UpdatedRerelease, where they turn up NotQuiteDead and do rejoin you to investigate the new events of the third term.
185	* 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.
186	* 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.
187	* 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]]
188	** The Apprentice knew he was trying to kill him though, as is shown in the opening scenes. He was a training aid.
189	*** 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.
190	* ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'':
191	** In the Sith Warrior storyline, [[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]]. [[spoiler:Later updates gave players the ability to switch any companion to any spec at will, and the Iokath storyline [[AuthorsSavingThrow belatedly does provide the option to kill him]], what with all [=PCs=] by now having plenty of other options.]]
192	** 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. It doesn't work: he slips his leash and has to be recaptured during ''Legacy of the Sith'', and at time of writing is still imprisoned.]]
193	* ''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.
194	* [[spoiler:Jowy]] in the [[spoiler:best]] ending of ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
195	* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'': [[spoiler:Axel Almer (only in Advance)]], [[spoiler:Lamia Loveless (both versions)]].
196	* Happens twice in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'':
197	** [[spoiler:Judith betrays the party by destroying the blastia core of their ship and abandoning them. After she reveals she had a good reason for destroying it, she's welcomed back.]]
198	** [[spoiler:Raven is revealed to be Captain Schwann of the Imperial Knights, who, under the order of Alexei, kidnaps Estelle and hands her over to him. After being confronted by the party in the temple, it begins to collapse, causing Raven to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save the party, though he later turns out fine, at which point the party welcomes him back... [[MyFistForgivesYou but not before giving him a smack or two]] and Yuri telling Raven [[YouOweMe his life now belongs to Brave Vesperia.]]]]
199	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': Exaggerated with Alvin, who betrays the party [[spoiler:''five times'']] and is let back in every time, with Jude even giving Alvin speeches about how much he trusts him. However, Milla, the secondary protagonist, [[SubvertedTrope says she doesn't trust him but wants to keep an eye on him.]] It's worth noting that the party's seeming blind trust in Alvin plays a huge part in his motivation to actually redeem himself after [[spoiler:he critically wounds Leia.]]
200	* ''VideoGame/TrailsOfColdSteel:'' During the second and third games, several members and allies of Class VII turn out to be traitors. The remaining members usually react to this by saying "We will welcome you back, whether you like it or not."
201	* ''VideoGame/WildArmsMillionMemories'': [[spoiler: Rudy re-activates the Yggdrasil System on Siegfried's orders, which causes Filgaia to become a ball of fire. Nonetheless the rest of the party welcomes him back into the fold at the end. In fairness this is because (1) this version of Siegfried is powerful enough to wallop your entire party without breaking a sweat so there would have been no way Rudy could have fought him and won, (2) the betrayal was in exchange for both the Tear Drop and [[EnemyMine Siegfried's help in taking Mother down]], and (3) Rudy did being everyone BackFromTheDead with his ARM powers.]]
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Webcomics]]
205	* ''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]]'']].
206	* ''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 he gets [[RedemptionEqualsDeath killed]], leading to a BerserkButton sequence.
207	* Tiren from ''Webcomic/DubiousCompany'' has a brief stint in [[ArchEnemy Kreedor's elite guard]]. It plays out much like [[Literature/TheBible The Prodigal Son]], with the pirates [[TrueCompanions unquestioningly]] welcoming her back.
208	[[/folder]]
209
210	[[folder:Web Original]]
211	* Creator/AchievementHunter had an "arc" like this - Creator/GavinFree had been costing Team Lads a number of victories in ''[[LetsPlay/AchievementHunterGrandTheftAutoSeries Let's Play Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' "Cops n' Crooks III" and told leader Creator/MichaelJones and member Ray Narvaez, Jr., that he was trying to spice things up because they kept winning against Team Gents [[VictoryIsBoring and he felt things were getting stale]]. during the following episode "Cannon Ball Run". Michael is so incensed at this, he kicks Gavin off of Team Lads. When Gavin helps Team Lads win [[LetsPlay/AchievementHunterMinecraftSeries Let's Play Minecraft]] "Lava Wall", Michael brings him back in, proclaiming that "it was only temporary."
212	* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', Gaea has a summoner main avatar and an archer second avatar. In Season 4, she pulls a FaceHeelTurn on her guild using her main avatar. Some time after this, her (original) guild gets disbanded. When one of her ex-guildmates decides to rebuild it in the fourth novel, Gaea applies for membership as her archer avatar and gets taken back after promising to behave despite her known ManipulativeBastard tendencies.
213	[[/folder]]
214
215	[[folder:Western Animation]]
216	* [[spoiler:Theresa]] was forgiven pretty quickly at the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Class of the Titans}}''.
217	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'':
218	** [[spoiler: Hawkgirl]] is allowed back onto the team after [[spoiler:she voluntarily quit back in WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague over having sold out Earth to the Thanagarians]]. Despite [[spoiler: also betraying the Thanagarians back to stop them from destroying Earth]], the initial betrayal means much of the public and a good chunk of the League still don't fully trust [[spoiler: her]].
219	** Superman himself had to go through this, as a result of his brainwashing at the hands of Darkseid at the end of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. This is possibly why he was the one who cast the deciding vote in [[spoiler:Hawkgirl]]'s favor.
220	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
221	** 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 ([[TheAtoner and Luna herself]]) to do so.
222	** 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.
223	* Downplayed with Entrapta from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', who is a complete WildCard for most of the series thanks to her ForScience mentality. This makes it very easy for Catra to lure her over from the Rebellion to the Horde late in the first season. Said mindset also means that, for Entrapta, it's really NothingPersonal: she has people on both sides of the war whom she genuinely considers friends, and it doesn't fully register to her that she's switched sides and is now building robots that regularly threaten to murder the princesses. She's back as a Rebellion member in the final season after [[spoiler:Adora and Bow find her on Beast Island, due to Catra betraying her and sending her to die there (which, thanks to all the old technology there, doesn't completely register as a punishment either)]], but most members of the Rebellion -- while glad she's alive -- are still ''pissed'' at her, precisely because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she kept building robots that almost blew them to smithereens]]. She's taken aback when they [[WhatTheHellHero call her]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech out for this]], and from then on buckles down on ''really'' being a team player and actually helping the Rebellion, proving she really is loyal this time around.
224	* ''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.
225	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
226	** [[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:
227	--->'''Megatron:''' I can suffer your treachery, Lieutenant, but ''not'' your incompetence!!!
228	** 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.
229	*** 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.
230	* Raimundo betrayed the team towards the end of the first season of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown,'' but eventually saw the error of his ways and went back to join the heroes, who welcomed him back with a minimum of fuss. It helps that Raimundo's return was the main factor allowing the good guys to overturn a NearVillainVictory. The incident was not totally forgotten, though, and later episodes occasionally alluded to it.
231	** In season 3, 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]].
232	[[/folder]]
233
234	[[folder:Real Life]]
235	* Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who, having betrayed [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder King Louis XVI., the Revolution, Napoleon, ''etc., etc.'']], was asked by the restored King Louis XVIII how many governments he had belonged to, replied imperturbably, «Hé! sire, c'est le treizième» ("Well, sire, this is the thirteenth!")
236	** Another view is that Talleyrand was just an extremely skillful diplomat who worked to advance French interests whenever possible, no matter which political orientation the French government had at the moment.
237	* During the Peloponnesian War Alcibiades, who was facing charges of defacing religious statues at the time, defected to Sparta and advised them how to defeat the Athenian expedition to Sicily. Thanks to his efforts, the expedition was a disaster, with over ''10,000'' Athenian soldiers killed or enslaved. He was later recalled to Athens... and appointed to the rank of general.
238	** Well, in his case, the states did their share of betraying first... so who was welcoming whom back?
239	** Alcibiades was the FourStarBadass that every other FourStarBadass of City-state era Greece aspired to emulate, the Alexander of his day, if you will. The Athenian Navy was made of win with him in command, and when he returned, he did so in magnificent fashion by whipping them back into shape, scoring magnificent victory after magnificent victory, and saving the Athenian war effort. Had he not had ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, he likely would have won Athens the war, he was ''that'' good. Athens, consequently, was a bit [[{{Tsundere}} Hot And Cold]] for him.
240	* 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).
241	* Benedict Arnold, from the perspective of the British. To the United States, he's considered a modern-day Judas, the icon of treason. But to the British, it was joining the rebellion in the first place that was the act of treason, while selling the rebels out and becoming a British general was returning to the fold. (Not that the British treated him particularly well — despite receiving a brigadier generalship and a generous pension, he was widely disliked in Canada and by Whigs in Britain and was able to leave only a small estate to his survivors.)
242	[[/folder]]
243

Context Main / WelcomeBackTraitor