Basic Trope: Character is best buds with their in-law.
- Straight: Billy is Heterosexual Life-Partners with Joe, who ends up marrying Billy’s sister Sarah, making them brothers-in-law.
- Exaggerated: Billy also marries Joe’s sister Megan...and Megan and Sarah are also Heterosexual Life-Partners and are now in-laws too.
- Downplayed: Billy and Joe hadn’t met before Joe and Sarah got engaged, and whilst they get on okay, they’re not best friends.
- Justified: Billy, Sarah and Joe have all been friends for many years, and Joe is a Victorious Childhood Friend to Sarah and has earned Billy's unconditional trust.
- Inverted:
- Sarah marries Joe...who is Billy’s Arch-Enemy.
- Billy and Joe are best buds, but Billy is quite protective of Sarah and doesn’t want Joe getting romantically involved with his sister.
- Subverted:
- Billy and Joe are best friends, the latter is seemingly Happily Married to Sarah…then he’s caught cheating on her and all hell breaks loose...
- Billy and Joe are actually more than friends, but because their families wouldn't approve, Joe marries Sarah to stay close to Billy whilst maintaining appearances.
- Double Subverted: After some marriage counselling, a remorseful Joe is forgiven by Sarah and he and Billy mend their friendship.
- Averted:
- Sarah is an only child.
- Joe and Sarah don’t get married.
- Invoked: Knowing what a great guy Joe is and that they like each other but Cannot Spit It Out, Billy deliberately sets Joe and Sarah up as a couple.
- Deconstructed:
- When Joe and Sarah have a falling out and separate, they both demand that Billy choose a side. However, Billy loves them both dearly and is torn between them, causing a lot of resentment and Angst.
- Billy and Joe are such good friends, it starts to seem to Sarah that they might be more than that, causing Sarah to become very jealous and paranoid, and to try and break them apart.
- Reconstructed:
- Joe and Sarah both realize its not fair to force Billy to chose between them, so they try to be Amicable Exes for his sake.
Back to Best Friends-in-Law.
