Brother-Sister Incest/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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* The British [[Soap Opera]] ''[[Brookside]]'' had a storyline about a brother and sister who engaged in consensual incest and later split up without any direct or karmic punishment. They later got back together and were written out of the show by establishing that they'd moved to where no-one knew them and were living as a married couple.
* On ''[[Lost]]'', Boone and Shannon are stepsiblings who {{spoiler|have slept together. Boone was also in love with Shannon.}}
* One episode of ''[[House MD(TV series)|House]]'' had {{spoiler|a young married couple whose similar illnesses were thought to be from exposure to the same environmental factor but turned out to be genetic; they were half-siblings through the husband's (white) father's affair with the wife's (black) mother, and had become attracted to each other as teenagers. The father's determined attempts to keep them apart were misinterpreted as disapproval of interracial romance, and the young couple ran away together before finding out they were related. It is intimated their relationship did not survive the revelation.}}
* In the fourth season finale of ''[[Lewis]]'', {{spoiler|a young married couple who have suffered three miscarriages discover through testing that they are fraternal twin siblings who were given up for adoption to separate families at birth and who happened to cross paths later in life. As they also discover that they have inherited a rare, incurable, fatal genetic neurological disorder from their father (who committed suicide rather than face a slow, painful death from the condition), they begin a series of murders intended to culminate with the woman they believe is their birth mother. (Except that their birth mother registered under a false name at the hospital where they were born, and she ended up being their first victim rather than the last one.)}}
* A major plot thread in ''[[Carnivale]]'' involves the obsessive, sadomasochism-tinged relationship between preacher-slash-Antichrist Justin Crowe and his sister Iris.
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* When Charlie from ''[[Two and A Half Men]]'' finds out the girl he's currently bedding might be his half-sister, he immediately stops, saying, "Turns out I draw the line at incest." Since the episode takes place during the holidays, supporting characters call it "a Christmas miracle."
* ''[[Cold Case]]'': A rising young senator's aide/girlfriend is killed {{spoiler|when she learns that her boyfriend's childhood wasn't just "rough", it was "make your sister look and act like your wife-rough". To the senator's credit, it ''was'' an accident and the coverup was his sister's idea.}}
* ''[[Law and& Order: SVUSpecial Victims Unit]]'': Similar to the ''House'' example, the children of two unequally wealthy families mistake their parents' disapproval of their relationship as having to do with their respective social status. In fact, they're half-siblings through the father's infidelity. {{spoiler|The SVU is called in when the girl is accidentally killed by her father after she learned the truth. When the boy learns of it later, he immediately throws up, crying, "I had sex with my sister?!" Stabler assures him that it's not his fault (since he had no idea) and encourages him to keep it together for the sake of the girl's younger brother, who is his half-brother, as both the mothers involved were going to jail for separate incidents in the case and their father is dead. Poor guy.}}
** There is another episode with a Con Couple turn out to be brother and sister. Worse of all they are even twins who justify their relationship by stating "they share the same soul".
* ''[[CSI: Miami]]'': Trailers indicate that an upcoming episode is going to play like the ''Law and Order'' episode above mixed with ''[[Marmalade Boy]]'': a man has two families and his son and daughter fall in love. {{spoiler|The [[Squick]] comes in after they learn they're half-siblings and ''stay in the relationship anyway''.}}
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* ''[[Wiseguy]]''. International arms/drug dealers Mel and Susan Profitt. This causes problems when [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxEPOEIav1c Susan becomes attracted to the protagonist Vinnie Terranova].
* An episode of ''[[Private Practice]]'' had a married couple who found out they were half-brother and sister (same sperm donor as a father), and then wanted to stay together and have the sister's tubes tied. The writers then pulled a ''[[Debate and Switch]]'' when it turned out the brother knew before the couple got married.
* The founding and series naming story arc of 1980s Australian prime-time soap, ''[[Sons Andand Daughters]]'', had two non-identical twins, separated at birth and moved to different cities, fall in love. It's only revealed that they are siblings after the engagement. Squicked a generation of Australian soapie viewers as it had been implied their relationship was not platonic by any means.
* ''On ''[[Passions]]'', sisters Whitney and Simone were both in love with Chad, who viewers were led to suspect was their half-brother, as the girls' mother, Eve, had a child with Julian Crane, but the child was kidnapped. Eventually, Chad and Whitney started a relationship (and Simone [[Suddenly Sexuality|became a lesbian]]) and Whitney got pregnant. Immediately thereafter, she and Chad learned that they were, in fact, brother and sister because Chad was Eve and Julian's missing child. After about two years of angst, they found out that Chad was actually the child of Julian's father and Eve's adopted sister, meaning that Chad and Whitney were [[Not Blood Siblings]] after all. As if to show that the trope had been averted only because the writers thought they could push the envelope further, they then brought on Eve and Julian's actual child, a [[Villainous Crossdresser|psychopathic hermaphrodite]] named Vincent (who had been living in Harmony as the established character Valerie for several years), who proceeded to have an affair with his uncle Chad (both as Valerie and as Vincent, at separate times), rape his half-sister Fancy, and seduce and become pregnant by his own father.
* In the BBC series of ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]''...it's complicated. Technically no actual incest actually ''occurs'', but with the introduction of ''two'' [[Long Lost Sibling|long lost siblings]], things get rather awkward. Robin starts a relationship with Isabella, and although the two of them aren't related by blood, it's later revealed they share a half-brother, and that Robin's father planned to marry Isabella's mother, meaning they were almost step-siblings. Furthermore, when the time comes for this long lost brother to introduce himself to his half-sister, the writers instantly make the relationship explicit in the hopes of sinking any incestual vibes. It doesn't work. Also, at one stage (during a heat wave) Isabella bathes Prince John's head with a cold pack, cooing the words "hot, hot, ''hot''." whilst smirking at Guy, her ''full'' brother, over John's head. In a later episode, Isabella drugs and gags Guy before tying him to her bed, and even later, Guy strokes her hair in a surprisingly intimate gesture.
* In "The Killings at Badger's Drift", an episode of the British television series ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'', {{spoiler|an old woman discovers a brother and sister in an incestuous relationship and they murder her to keep her quiet}}. Later, {{spoiler|a busybody and her son, who likes to know everyone's secrets and is not averse to a spot of blackmail, end up dying as well}}. In the end, {{spoiler|the brother and sister end up committing a double suicide.}}
* "''[[The Brady Bunch"]]'': Let's talk about context. Three boys living with three girls, and no blood relation between the sexes. At least four of them are in puberty when they meet. Truly, when you're a Brady, you always have a date.
* One of the main plots on ''Kinderen Geen Bezwaar'' ("''No Objections from the Kids''"). It's of the step-sibling variety, which isn't too clear if you didn't see the first few episodes...
* The whole [[Xanatos Roulette]] that ''[[Harper's Island]]'' calls a plot turns out to just be a ploy for this.
** To elaborate, {{spoiler|Abby's mother is also Henry's mother. His father is her ex-boyfriend John Wakefield, who later becomes [[Ax Crazy]] and kills her after a 17 year prison stretch for something he didn't do. Henry and Abby were introduced as children but never told they were half-siblings. Henry fell for Abby, later found out his true parentage and decided the only way to be together would be to live alone on the titular island and be believed dead. He [[Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat|kinda ruins things]] by murdering 30 people in the process. Of course, Abby isn't happy with the arrangement and stabs him to death with his own knife}}. Ouch.
* On ''[[Casualty]]'', nurse Anna falls for someone only to discover that he's actually her long lost half-brother (given up for adoption). She tries to break up with him, but they eventually end up back together, leading to a pregnancy which they suspect is a very bad idea... {{spoiler|Then she dies horribly, neatly getting rid of both the abortion and incest moral dilemmas}}.
* In an episode of ''[[The Bill]]'', a sergeant and a constable (who is struggling with his own sexual repression) happen upon an apparent couple while searching for a kidnapped child. Turns out that the nervous couple have nothing to do with the missing girl, but are skittish for an entirely different reason. The constable is disgusted and wants to bring the two in, but the sergeant points out that they should be left in peace, as the siblings are miserable enough as they are- hiding from the world and taking care of their senile mother, who berates them and their relationship every chance she gets - and they're not doing any harm to anyone else.
* Very strongly hinted by Tubbs and Edward in ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', to the point where Edward mentioned "''their'' mother".
* The soap opera ''Brookside'' had a controversial storyline in which brother and sister Nat and Georgia were revealed to have been lovers for years. They eventually moved to start a set up life together where no one knew they were related
* Steph Stokes was sexually abused as a child by her brother in ''[[Emmerdale]]''.
* The soap opera ''[[Hollyoaks]]'' featured a storyline where Rhys met and started dating new-in-town girl Beth, only to find out after the death of his 'uncle' Noel (who was actually his father) that they were half-siblings. They stopped the relationship for a while, and Beth even became engaged to Rhys' best friend, Gilly. However, during this time it is strongly implied that the two still have feelings for one another and they eventually restarted their relationship in secret. After the relationship was discovered, {{spoiler|Rhys and Beth ran away, but they were in a car accident and Beth was killed, neatly dealing with that storyline.}}
* Declan and Fiona on ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' are twins with an oddly high level of sexual tension, to the point where in a jealous rage Fiona makes out with him.
* This Italian series is... uh, "[[Sarcasm Mode|proud]]" to give you an example from his country: the live-action series "''[[I Cesaroni"]]''. Made somewhat less [[squick]]y by the fact [[Not Blood Siblings|the siblings are actually]] ''[[Not Blood Siblings|step-]]''[[Not Blood Siblings|siblings]].
* Narrowly avoided on ''[[All My Children]]'' when Erica Kane was engaged to Mark. Her mother stepped in [[Just in Time]] to prevent them from going any farther, and dropped the bomb that they were half-siblings through one of Erica's father's many liaisons.
** This also happened with Erica's eldest daughter, Kendall Hart-Slater, not once, but twice! First with her half-brother Trey Kenyon whom she felt an instant connection and attraction to but didn't know why, and who came to town specifically looking for his family, fell in lust with her and almost slept with her before it was revealed that she was his sister. The second time was with her other half-brother Joshua Madden, who looked exactly like her but male, and who spent the majority of his time shamelessly flirting with her. His adopted father knew he was her brother, was keeping it a secret because Josh's adoption was far from legal as he was literally stolen from Erica's womb and implanted by Dr. Madden into his barren wife, and became increasingly concerned and unhinged as he realized that Kendall and Josh were becoming closer and closer and heading from friend territory into sexual partner land.
* One of ''[[Masterpiece Mystery!]]''{{'}}s excellent dramas based on the stories of Miss Marple had her helping a young woman who was starting to believe she was either being haunted or being tormented by memories of a previous life. Her mother died when she was very young and her family history was convaluted at best, but she was trying to move ahead and had even reconnected with her long-lost uncle, her mother's brother. {{spoiler|Turns out that the young woman's mother had moved to India to get away from her brother because he had an unhealthy obsession with her. When she returned to England under an assumed name to be with her husband and daughter, he found her, and when she spurned him again he murdered her.}}
* The Finale of ''[[Smallville]]'' averts any chance of it having happened between Tess Mercer and her half-brother {{spoiler|Lex Luthor. Given her line a few seasons back, "I loved you, you son of a bitch." one wondered just what sort of relationship they had. However Lex reveals in the finale that he knew all along that Lionel was her father.}}
** The Earth Two example belongs to [[Not Blood Siblings]].
* ''[[Kingdom Hospital]]''. Hinted with Abel and Christa. ("We're all brothers." "We're all sisters.")
* An early episode of ''[[Heartbeat]]'' saw the police investigating a schoolgirl who had had an illegal abortion. They assumed the father was a boy from her class, even though it was obvious to the viewers that he was just a harmless loser with a crush on her. In the last five minutes, as she left town, the girl told the lead policeman's doctor wife in confidence that the actual father was her brother. Most viewers probably guessed this, since he was the only other person in the episode. (If the episode wasn't disturbing enough already, the schoolgirl was played by series star Nick Berry's real-life wife. The conversations at home during fimingfilming must have been interesting to say the least.)
* ''[[Pretty Little Liars]]'' has this between [[Not Blood Siblings|step siblings]] Toby and Jenna Cavanaugh. Oddly, {{spoiler|Jenna was the one pressuring Toby into sleeping with her, and he wanted it to stop. Unfortunately, nobody is willing to listen to his side of the story, and everyone assumes that he is the abusive one.}}
* In ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', the McPoyles are an entire family that participates in incest. The brothers "bang each other", and both are seen making out with their sister passionately in public.
** In the episode "Who got Dee pregnant?", Dennis is squicked by the possibility that he might have accidentally had sex with Dee through a convoluted series of events at a Halloween party. His concerns turn out to be unfounded, however.
* A bizarre example in ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'': The show started out heavily [[Ship Tease|hinting]] at a Morgana/Arthur pairing in series 1. Then as series 2 started, all of the build-up was dropped and the pairing was completely ignored. Then in series 3, Arthur and Morgana were revealed to be half-brother and sister. [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|Which makes all their interaction in series 1 look]] [[Squick|rather strange]] in retrospect.
* In an episode of ''[[Criminal Minds]]'', a town's mysterious arsonist turns out to have been beaten and driven out by the townsfolk years prior because a rumor was spread that he was romantically involved with his sister. {{spoiler|The twist ending, though, is that the rumors are completely true}}.
** In a more recent episode, a couple of brother and sister are poisoning women they think to be the Devil's wives. The brother is extremely protective of her, not letting her go out or live a normal life… {{spoiler|When the brother ends up thinking his little sister is one of the Devil's wives as well, he poisons her… but not before giving her a kiss on her lips. Prior to that, he'd also danced with her to a romantic song in a prom ball he threw exclusively for her, since he wouldn't allow her to go out to her actual prom.}}
* In ''[[The Borgias]]'', Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia are prime examples of this trope. Though neither have "gone there" physically and it's more [[Incest Subtext]] at the moment, it's fairly obvious that they do not have a typical sibling relationship. He's threatened to murder her husband, compared themselves to the star-crossed lovers Abelard and Heloise, stated that he would die if anything happened to her, and when asked by Lucrezia if he loves God, replied, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|"More than I love you?"]]. She's stated that she could never love a husband as much as she loves [[Big Brother Attraction|him]], once said that she, um, [[Not What It Looks Like|missed his hands]] spies on him having sex, and, like him, cannot keep to her personal space. They often spend time bumping noses and cuddling and dancing while discussing terms of romantic endearment. According to [[Word of God]], it's pretty much canon, but unintentionally so on their parts—they're "ideal spouses" and are emotionally in love, but not physically together.
** Of course, this is almost [[Foregone Conclusion]], because in real life, it's hard to know whether they had this kind of relationship — let's just say that the Borgias' ''enemies'' claim they had.
* Almost happened with a story arc in ''[[Ugly Betty]]''. When Amanda finds out that her biological mother was Feye Sommers who had a long standing affair with Daniel's father, both she and Daniel are squicked out by the fact that they could be half-siblings because they had previously had a sexual relationship.