Conflicting Loyalty: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"So many vows...they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or the other.”''|'''Jaime Lannister''', ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''}}

Many people have more than one thing they consider worthy of [[Undying Loyalty]]: [[Good Shepherd|religion]], [[Patriotic Fervour|country]], [[Thicker Than Water|family]] and [[True Companions|friends]], [[I Gave My Word|promises]], perhaps [[We Help the Helpless|a cause]] or whatever the author imagines. If a character is lucky these differing claims can actually reinforce one another. But what happens if they conflict? Then we have Conflicting Loyalty.

Whichever the character chooses, he may regard it as [[Dirty Business]].

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* ''[[Naruto]]''. {{spoiler|Itachi, anyone? I mean, the guy killed his family to protect his village, despite the fact they were being accused of trying to destroy the village without any proof other than some not-so-long-dead leader of the clan could do it (the same not-so-long-dead leader who actually HELPS HIM KILL THEM ALL). Someone here really has screwed up loyalties.}}

** {{spoiler|Uh there was proof. Itachi had no choice but to execute the clan after the negotiations with the Third Hokage failed. Only Madara-the [[Complete Monster]] [[Big Bad]] claims the Uchiha were oppressed.}}

** Actually {{spoiler|This was affirmed by Danzo, who tried to [[Hannibal Lecture]] Sasuke for "wasting" Itachi sacrifice, from being a failure as a Ninja (who are [[Hypocrite|selfless, replaceable tools]]) and declaring that without the Uchiha genocide there would have been a 4th Ninja war. [[Shut UP, Hannibal|It didn't stick]] and that the Nidaime Hokage ''did'' snub the Uchiha Clan because [[Feuding Families|Senju prejudice]]. The entire [[Complete Monster]], Villany of the Uchiha is in fact [[Fanon]] from haters of the Uchihas (especially Sasuke)}}. This show also in Sasuke, who had the loyalty of his brother wishes against his Clan desire. [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|He]] [[My Master, Right or Wrong|chose]] [[It's Personal|the latter]].

* A major part of the second-season arc of ''[[Saiunkoku Monogatari]]'' centers around Ran Shuuei being caught in a conflict of loyalty -- between his loyalty to his Emperor (who has shown him absolute trust) and his [[Big Screwed-Up Family|Big Screwed Up]] [[The Clan|Clan]], the Rans, who dislike the emperor and only care about their own people and lands. Getting it resolved takes a lot of work (and, ultimately, intentionally getting himself disowned so that he can freely swear his unconditional loyalty to Ryuuki).

* ''[[Le Chevalier d'Eon]]'' has this as a ''major'' theme. Events really start unravelling around the topic of loyalty to an individual versus loyalty to a cause, or when loyalty to "king and country" ends up as two conflicting loyalties. {{spoiler|The first event to really drive this home is when Durand - an unconditionally loyal secret agent - is ordered by his king to kill his friends to protect a state secret. This screws him up enough to nearly get him killed. In the end, he insists on protecting his friends while still trying to have it both ways. A villain later tries to persuade Durand to join him by calling him out on it, asking why Durand would serve a king who would give him such an order. Even then, Durand doesn't give in.}}

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== [[Literature]] ==

* Lancelot is torn viciously between his place as Arthur's general and Guinevere's knight, to say the least of the romantic involvement. The original [[Chrétien de Troyes|Chrétien]] version makes little of this, as Arthur is mostly an inept and impotent king, but from ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur|Le Morte Darthur]]'' onwards it tends to be one of the driving forces of the tragedy. ''[[Literature/Idylls Of The King|Idylls Of The King]]'' cranks it up to the point where the conflict inside him prematurely ages Lancelot, and the longest book of The Once and Future King is dedicated to Lancelot's story, at which this struggle is the focal point.

* ''[[The Chosen]]'': Danny must choose between his father and friendship with Reuven.

* In the ''[[1632]]'' series, [[Badass Spaniard]] Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz is torn between loyalty to his new American wife, and to Spain.

* The ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' makes this at least Older Than Feudalism. Arjuna's family has usurped his crown with the only hope of getting it back being to fight them for it, and he is stuck between two conflicting dharmas (duties): his duty to his family and his duty as a soldier and a king. Eventually, Krishna sorts him out and tells him that he should suck it up and fight the battle.

* [[The Bible]]: The Israelite Prince Jonathan was caught by his insane father's paranoia of Jonathan's [[Heterosexual Life Partners|comrade]] David. He chose David.

* ''[[Temeraire]]'': At the end of ''Empire of Ivory'', {{spoiler|the British government has sent a dragon infected with a highly contagious disease to France, where it will infect Napoleon's dragons -- and from where the disease will likely spread and kill off most of the dragons in the world. [[Officer and a Gentleman|Laurence]] and Temeraire bring Napoleon the cure, an act of treason against Great Britain. Then Laurence [[Honor Before Reason|goes back to England, fully intending to let them hang him for it.]]}}

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[NCIS]]'': Ziva is torn between her father and Gibbs in the last few episodes of season six.

** She choses {{spoiler|her father, after Tony kills Michael and she believes Gibbs no longer trusts her. When her father promptly throws her under a bus when a mission goes south, it's Gibbs and his team who save her, prompting her to revise her earlier decision.}}

* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]''

** "Amok Time": Captain Kirk must choose between obeying Star Fleet orders and going to Altair VI or taking Spock to Vulcan to save his life, which could result in Kirk being court-martialed.

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** He also chose her over a [[Noble Profession|calling]] he loved which may have been even harder.

** Also, in "War Stories", Mal admits that he was initially against Zoe's marriage to Wash, concerned that it would split loyalties amongst the crew.

* [[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]] is often conflicted this. Should he protect Arthur or reveal himself as a wizard, where he would be executed?

** [[Fridge Logic|Though one has to ask if there's any way anybody could arrest him against his will, if he had no qualms about revealing his true powers.]]

* Wesley had this big time in season 3 of ''[[Angel]]'', during the baby Connor storyline. He was struggling over whether to stay loyal to the team and Angel or help the baby even if made the team hate him-which is ultimately what happened. Lampshaded in That Old Gang of Mine. Wes was addressing his speech to Gunn, but it's really easy to tell it was being pointed at Wes himself as well.

** And Gunn, between his own vamp hunting team and Angel's group, in the same episode.

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* The ancient play ''[[Antigone]]'' is about a woman choosing between law and loyalty to her brother. She chooses {{spoiler|[[Due to the Dead|burying her brother]] though it is against the law}}, forcing {{spoiler|her uncle to choose between her and the law. He chooses the law}}.

* Pierre Corneille's plays are full of this. In ''Horace'', Camille has to choose between her Roman brother and her lover, who is fighting against Rome. In ''Polyeucte'', Polyeucte chooses his (banned and persecuted) Christian faith over his wife and country.

* What about Becket? His loyalty is most definitely torn between king and church.

* Billy Elliot the Musical; When Billy's dad (who has been on strike for almost a year) becomes desperate to afford Billy a future, he must choose between breaking strike and betraying the community and his son Tony, or staying on strike and betraying Billy.

== [[Video Games]] ==

* The ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series has Axel. Although he apparently suffers from [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]] and has no issues with being a [[Double Reverse Quadruple Agent]] when necessary, he's shown some capacity to be conflicted in which side to stick with:

** In ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358 Days ~~Over 2~~|Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2]]'', Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion conflicts with {{spoiler|his orders by the Organization to [[Let's You and Him Fight|"let things run their natural course"]] }}. Even his {{spoiler|friendship with the pair suffers from this trope, as he comes to realize that only one of them can survive, and one of them has to perish to ensure the survival of the other}}.

** In ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days|Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2]]'', Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion conflicts with {{spoiler|his orders by the Organization to [[Let's You and Him Fight|"let things run their natural course"]] }}. Even his {{spoiler|friendship with the pair suffers from this trope, as he comes to realize that only one of them can survive, and one of them has to perish to ensure the survival of the other}}.

** In ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', his friendship with Roxas is again the driving factor of his [[Conflicting Loyalty]]. While he has no qualms with his orders to bring Roxas back, he starts to grow disgruntled with his superiors when he is tasked to {{spoiler|eliminate Roxas}}. He eventually {{spoiler|screws over the Organization, and starts working independently}}, leading to a [[Tear Jerker]] when he {{spoiler|dies at Sora's side, lamenting the fact that he never got to revive Roxas}}.

* In ''[[Yggdra Union]]'', Nessiah's first prerogative may be to ensure the safety and growth of the Gran Centurio, but he's also implied to care fairly deeply for the Imperial Army. When forced to choose between {{spoiler|protecting the Imperial Army by killing the player's army, thus ensuring that the sword's current wielder will die, or joining up with the player to rescue Yggdra and oversee the Gran Centurio's growth personally, he decides to [[Take a Third Option]] and kills himself to let things play out as naturally as possible. (Which isn't as extreme as it sounds, because Nessiah's pretty nonchalant about dying [[Immortality|for obvious reasons]].)}} This is probably also done to preserve the balance of the game, but Nessiah having conflicted loyalties is the most reasonable explanation in-plot.

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* In ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (2003), Karai's loyalty to the Foot and her father will often clash with her loyalty to the turtles, who helped her restore the Foot when she asked for their aid.

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' has a slight example of this in the third season. {{spoiler|Mai has to choose between her love of Zuko and her fear of Azula in "Boiling Rock," and chooses her love of Zuko. When Azula goes to kill her for this, Ty Lee makes a quick choice between her friendship-based love of Mai and ''her'' fear of Azula, and she ''also'' chooses the love. Either Azula isn't really that scary ([[Magnificent Bastard|which, let's be honest, isn't completely true]]), or both of her friends are much more loyal (to other people) than Azula previously thought.}}

** {{spoiler|Lampshaded in Mai's case, since she outright confirms which side of this trope she was on in the exact same scene}}

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* The Thespians at Thermopylae were a curious clash between one interpretation of [[Patriotic Fervor]] and another. The Thespians were all exiles, yet stood and fought beside the 300 Spartans. In other words they put the [[Honor Before Reason|honor]] of their city ahead of the [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right|laws]] of their city.

* George Washington in the Whiskey Rebellion. As the hero of the American Revolution, he had a certain sympathy for people revolting against being taxed: as the President of the United States he had a duty to uphold the Constitution and the laws made under it, including the tax laws. He resolved the conflict by exercising the office of President: as President, he led an army that captured the rebels; as President, he put them on trial for treason; and when they were convicted, as President he [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|pardoned every one of them.]]

* In his social history ''A History of Honor'' James Bowman suggests that Western Civilization is based on an uneasy tension between Christian values, old fashioned tribal/aristocratic values (and though he doesn't mention it, or not much, Greco-Roman Civic values) that formed something of a yin-yang which was ultimately quite fortunate. In his opinion the "Victorian Gentleman" was an attempt at compromising between these.

* Many soldiers and sailors fighting for both the Federals and Confederates during the [[American Civil War]].

** Sam Houston, considered one of the founding fathers of Texas and the 1st and 3rd president of the Republic of Texas (and many other things as well), was forced to resign as governor of Texas when he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. When the US Army offered him a commission to lead an army and stop the rebellion in Texas, he refused. He was very pro-union, but he could not bring himself to cause misery to the people of Texas.