Take a Third Option: Difference between revisions

This can be the hidden solution to a [[Secret Test of Character]]. It's also one way to resolve a [[Debate and Switch]] and the only one of [[Cutting the Knot]]. If done poorly, it may fall victim to the [[Golden Mean Fallacy]]. Sometimes it's triggered by [[Heads-Tails-Edge]]. When the options are different sides in a conflict, taking a third option may lead to becoming [[Omnicidal Neutral]].

 

 

Not entirely related to [[Third Option Adaptation]], except by the fact that the producers decided to '''Take a Third Option''' in order to avoid neither of the previous options look correct.

 

Compare [[Loophole Abuse]] and [[Steal the Surroundings]], which can be used to utilize this trope.

{{examples}}

 

** The Chuunin exams in one of the first arcs plays this slightly differently: the point of the insanely-hard test is to force the student ninja to cheat, so either they get caught cheating and are kicked out, or they prove their ninja skills by cheating without getting caught. Naruto [[Too Dumb to Fool|turns in his test completely blank]], and [[The Smart Guy|Sakura]] [[Mundane Solution|works out the answers herself]]. Both of them pass because they were never caught cheating.

** After about 450 chapters of waiting, Naruto receives two love confessions in quick succession. One would think he would either accept or reject them, but instead he first takes a third option of ''forgetting'' the first one, and then a ''fourth'' option of saying, "You are lying. You don't mean it." to the second one.

* Examined as the subject of ⅓'s episode of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'', though focusing on everyday third options. You know, the ones where you cannot make up your mind in a choice between two desirable options, and ends up choosing a third, undesirable option instead, and then ends up regretting it later on... Everyone together now: I'M IN DESPAIR!! BEING TROUBLED WITH CHOOSING SOMETHING AND ENDING UP SELECTING A THIRD OPTION HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!!

* While ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' is fond of the heroes choosing difficult options, Episode 26 has a moment when {{spoiler|the Anti-Spiral re-explains the consequences of using the Spiral power, then asks Simon if he is willing to destroy the universe for a "fleeting emotion." Simon grips his controls, glares through his star-glasses and declares he will save them both: the girl and the universe. Then he destroys the enemy by blasting through space and time.}}

* This was a common tactic of Gon, the [[Kid Hero]] of ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]''. In particular, in the beginning, the three heroes find that [[Only Smart People May Pass]] through town on their way to the Hunter Exam, in the form of a purely hypothetical [[Sadistic Choice]] that must be answered immediately with an "A" or "B" response. {{spoiler|The two [[Kid Hero]]es figure out, by carefully examining the rules for loopholes and using their [[Super Senses]] to hear someone that got a "right" answer screaming in the distance, that silence is the ''real'' right answer, as no such decision should be taken so lightly.}} They then have to explain this to [[The Watson]], who {{spoiler|only passed because his moral outrage initially stunned him into silence for the duration of the time limit - outrage because no such decision should be taken so lightly.}} Later, in one of the official rounds of the tourna- I'm sorry, I mean [[Tournament Arc|Exam]], this trope is played much more straight. Having picked up another hero and a by-then-revealed [[Lovable Traitor]], and progressing down a timed dungeon of trials on a strictly all-or-none basis, they are told they must choose between leaving two people behind (presumably the [[Lovable Traitor]] and one close friend and take the short path to victory, or all run out of time together taking the long path. Gon, being [[The Messiah]], refuses either, and since the doors are right next to each-other, {{spoiler|[[Establishing Character Moment|he gets them to open the door to the long path, and work together with the LovableTraitor to dig through the wall to the short path]].}}

* In ''[[Rave Master]]'', the main character had to choose between killing his girlfriend or dooming the whole of time to destruction at the hands of her out-of-control powers. Haru instead elects to Take a Third Option, sealing Ellie's powers to stop the threat and spare her life; his [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] opponent, having failed to consider such an alternative due to his eagerness to [[Shoot the Dog]], is broken down in defeat. This trope also played a part in a [[Prophecy Twist]] that foresaw the scenario, but lacking appropriate context, implied that Haru really did [[Shoot the Dog]].

* Gash in ''[[Gash Bell]]'' is given the choice of either saving a friend and dooming the rest of the world or letting the friend die and save the world from the threat. Of course, he takes the third option of first saving his friend, then the world.

* Near the end of Case 6 of ''[[Ghost Hunt]]'', the main cast finds out that the haunting is being caused by a {{spoiler|a curse that the students of a school unknowingly put on the vice-principal.}} There are only two ways to end the haunting: {{spoiler|allow the curse to complete, thus killing the VP, or turn the curse back on the students, possibly killing all of them in the process.}} At first it seems like Naru is going to take the latter of those two options, but then he takes a third option: {{spoiler|he has Lin create effigies of all of the students, and those effigies are destroyed when the curse 'turns back on the students'.}}

* Al of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' does this when Kimblee asks him which option he and Edward will choose: getting their original bodies back or saving the world? Al asks why they can't do both, and goes on to explain that striving for what shouldn't be possible is the road to progress. Kimblee turns right around and [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructs]] the trope by suggesting that, if the third option exists, there must then be a fourth option: fail in both their goals.

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Setsuna is forced by Evangeline in a [[Secret Test of Character]] to either be a [[The Stoic|cold]], [[The Unfettered|limitless]] swordswoman to better serve her princess Konoka or take her happiness beside the girl and live her life in peace [[I Just Want to Be Normal|without protecting anything]]. [[Earn Your Happy Ending|She choose to have both]].

* In [[Mawaru Penguindrum]], {{spoiler|Masako}} is given a very odd [[Sadistic Choice]]: {{spoiler|she and Mario have to eat potentially poisoned food as a test from her grandfather Sanbei, who is possessing Mario's body. If she chooses the harmless dish, Mario will eat the harmful one and die; if she eats the poisoned food, Mario will win but end up as his grandfather's [[Soul Jar]] and puppet.}} How does this end? {{spoiler|With Masako ''eating both dishes''. She ends up in a coma, but saves Mario from Sanbei's soul's control.}}

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', during the Arlong arc, Nami asks Luffy and crew to leave the island and not interfere with her business. Luffy does not want to argue with Nami, but he does not want to leave the island either, so ''he goes to sleep in the middle of the road''.

 

* Ratchet in the 80s ''[[Transformers]]'' comic makes a direct reference:

{{quote|"Trusting Megatron doesn't seem a particularly wise course of action. And using this opportunity to escape is no alternative either - he still holds my comrades! I must think like a warrior, as Optimus Prime instructed me. I must think of a '''third''' option!"}}

* In a ''[[Suicide Squad]]'' arc, Amanda Waller was being blackmailed by a corrupt Senator into using the Squad for his private benefit. Rick Flag eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and went to kill the Senator, something Waller absolutely did not want (his death would draw too much attention). Waller ordered Deadshot to 'stop Flag from killing the Senator by ''any'' means necessary'. Since Deadshot neither wanted the Senator to live (he really didn't like him) ''or'' to shoot Flag (Deadshot has a hang-up about killing teammates), he followed the literal wording of his orders by killing the Senator himself.

 

* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'':

** Take A Third Option: Haruhi can't unbottle her feelings about the consequences of her powers because it will cause even more strain to others, and she can't ignore it either because she cares about the SOS Brigade. In order to prevent an [[Heroic BSOD]] she {{spoiler|runs a [[Memory Gambit]] on herself so she doesn't destroy the world on an accidental whim.}}

** {{spoiler|What do you do if you are part of a [[Harem]] but don't want anybody to lose? [[Tenchi Solution]].}}

* In ''[[Exoria]]'', Leonore wants Zelda to stay in her safe room during the Valentine invasion and wait for rescue teams to arrive. Zelda wants to [[Honor Before Reason|find her military and lead them as commander-in-chief, even if it means risking capture]]. They eventually reach a compromise; Zelda will go to Gerudo to cement an alliance with Ganondorf and command her forces from there.

 

* ''interstate 60'' has many examples of this trope, which is basically the subtext of the movie, until the point in which, iconically, the hero drives his car off the road instead of choosing one of two roads he doesn't want to go down.

* In ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'', Frank Abganale Jr. has to make a choice concerning whether he wants his mother or father to have custody over him: unable to choose, he runs away, thus beginning his trail of bank fraud and crime.

* In ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]] Forever'', the Riddler forces Bats to choose between his brand-new sidekick or the girl. Using his wits and a few of his many wonderful toys, he's able to save both, defeat both villains (Two-Face flips his last coin), and even secure his secret identity.

** In the [[Dark Knight Trilogy]], {{spoiler|this is both subverted and played straight. Batman saves Harvey Dent's life at the cost of Rachel's, since Commissioner Gordon would never make it in time to save her, with the added twist that the Joker purposely gave them the wrong addresses. Later on in the film, the civilians and the prisoners decide against sacrificing the other group in exchange for their lives like the Joker had originally planned.}}

* In ''Who Am I?'', [[Jackie Chan]]'s character is confronted by two thugs on the roof of a building, who give him two choices: "Give us the disk and jump off," said disk being the [[MacGuffin]] of the movie, or "We take the disk and throw you off." Instead, Jackie says, "I like the third choice: I keep the disk and throw you both off." ({{spoiler|During the ensuing fight scene, nobody actually gets thrown off.}})

* Subverted in ''[[The Rundown]]'', when Beck first confronts Travis. Beck offers Travis two choices: Option A (come quietly back to LA) or option B ("Pretty much the opposite of A. But I wouldn't recommend that one.") Travis decides to go with Option C, and attempts to beat up Beck and escape; considering that Beck is the hero of the movie, and is played by The Rock, while Travis is played by Stiffler from ''American Pie'', you can guess how that goes. Afterwards, Beck quips, "Like I said, there is no Option C."

* Subverted by ''[[The Proposition]]'', in which outlaw Charlie Burns is given [[The Sadistic Choice]]: find and kill his older brother Arthur, or his younger brother Mikey will hang. {{spoiler|He and Arthur attack the jail and rescue Mikey, but because of a meddling [[Smug Snake]], Mikey dies soon after. And then Charlie ends up killing Arthur anyway, but for a different reason.}}

* Spoofed somewhat at the end of the [[Peter Sellers]] comedy ''I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!'' Faced with the choice of confining-but-stable upper-middle-class marriage or free-spirited-but-superficial hippie life, Sellers' middle-aged hero runs away from his second attempt at marrying his fiance from the former group. When asked by a passerby where he's going, he admits he doesn't know, and he doesn't care. He is determined to ''find'' a third option - the one that will bring him happiness.

* In the 1985 version of ''[[Brewster's Millions|Brewsters Millions]]'' Brewster's "None of the Above" political campaign results in neither of the two candidates wining thus forcing another election.

* James P. "Sulley" Sullivan is left in charge of ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' with a dilemma: continue to operate the company harvesting the screams of small children, after [[Heel Realization|seeing how terrified it makes them]]? Or let the company collapse, leaving him in poverty and shame and Monstropolis in an eternal electrical blackout? {{spoiler|Sulley goes public with the discovery of laughter, a power source ten times more potent than screams, compatible with existing Monsters, Inc. technology, and entirely kid-friendly.}}

 

** Need to break the law to end a war? Break the law, end the war, and then write a new law that pardons you.

** Indefensible position, must hold it anyway? Convert the enemy to your side.

** Slaver demands that you replace the slave chains you broke or get off his ship? Offer him gold chains and demand that he only use those.

*** It's like Insanity Wolf, but it works!

** From the Summer and Winter Mothers: (paraphrased) "Which is more important, body or soul?" "Your question is stupid." "Yes."

** When Shagnasty has Thomas at the top of Demonreach Island, he demands that Harry turn over Morgan or it'll kill Thomas. Harry blasts Thomas out of his hands, into the hut. Subverted; Shagnasty had tortured Thomas so much that Thomas's succubus-demon had full reign, and so Shagnasty was considering throwing Thomas in there anyway for the evulz.

** In the first book: if Harry doesn't kill the warlock, he'll die. If he does, he'll be killed. Solution? {{spoiler|disrupt the curse and then free the demon that the warlock sends after him. The warlock was eaten by the demon.}}

* Subverted in one of the short novels in Andrew Sapkowsky's [[The Last Wish]] (prequel to the Witcher half-decameron), when Geralt has to choose between killing Renfri or Stregobor. He decides that both of them are evil and it's best to not take part, but {{spoiler|after hearing about Tridaam Ultimatum he kills Renfri fearing that innocents would be slaughtered. In the end, it shows up that ignoring everything would be the best option}} Let's just say that he didn't earned "Butcher from Blaviken" title for nothing.

{{quote|'''Sadie''' (narrating): Of course I knew the ''right'' answer. The heroine is supposed to refuse to sacrifice her father. Then she boldly goes off and saves her dad AND the world, right?}}

* A significant part of the plot of the Greek mythology parody ''Ye Gods!'' by Tom Holt is that the classical hero Jason Derry finds Third Options wherever he looks, interfering with how the gods think his story is supposed to go. A [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade is hung]] on this early on, when he is given the very symbolic choice between the Path of Virtue and the Path of Luxury, and a third road appears out of nowhere, marked "Diversion".

* William Horwood's novel ''Skallagrigg'' describes a computer game that begins with the player's daughter being born with severe disabilities (the game's creator has cerebral palsy). The player is asked whether to let the baby live or die, but both answers are dead ends. The hidden third option, which leads into the rest of the game, is "don't know".

** Later, Richard finds himself unable to fight Jagang with just D'hara or to unite the Midlands. Solution? {{spoiler|Conquer the Midlands before Jagang.}}

** How do you get someone through the Hall of the Betrayer and still have them have a mission? Give them two masters; they only have to betray one.

** He then proceeds to have a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] involving ''ramming'' a Covenant destroyer to knock out its shields, whilst manouvering so it hits itself with ''its own plasma torpedoes.''

*** Used in the games as well. [[Zombie Apocalypse|The Flood have been released]], and the apparent options are to either let them spread and consume everything in the galaxy, or activate the Halo, wiping out the Flood... along with any living thing large enough to support Flood infection. [[Mission Control|Cortana]] comes up with another plan; Chief destroys the Halo, eradicating the Flood and preventing galactic destruction.

* Used in Frederic Forsyth's novel ''The Devil's Alternative'', where a Ukrainian terrorist is holding an oil tanker hostage and threatens to dump its contents onto the shores of the Netherlands unless his compatriots are released from a German prison. The allied powers know, however, that if the terrorists are released {{spoiler|they will inform the media that they have assassinated the head of the KGB, news of which will cause the breakdown of the Russian political system and lead to a megalomaniac taking over the reigns of power and invading Western Europe. The goodies have the choice, allow massive environmental disruption or face the prospect of a Third World War. The hero comes up with the answer: allow the terrorists to be released for long enough that the oil tanker is released, but poison them with a slow acting poison that will kill them before they can release their news}}.

* [[Anita Blake]] is notorious for doing this.

* Towards the end of ''[[Conqueror|Lords of the Bow]]'', the Mongols are apparently faced with a choice of turning back or trying to break through the Great Wall of China and being slaughtered in the process by the Chin army waiting on the other side. Genghis Khan notices that the wall is contiguous with the mountains, and simply sends a portion of his army over the mountains to attack the Chin from behind.

* In what amounts to a prose [[Villain Song]], [[Big Bad|Ellsworth Toohey]] in ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' gloats that the contemporary world was fixated on the "choice" between the Nazis and the Communists, two brutal totalitarian ideologies. (The novel was written in the late 1930s when many people believed that freedom and individual rights had been discredited; in the world of ''The Fountainhead'', ''freedom'' is the Third Option.)

* In the story ''The Blacklist'', Ivan is forced by Gabe to make a [[Sadistic Choice]]: Gabe will shoot him and let his fellow assassin Hutley live, or he will detonate the bombs Hutley is strapped to and let Ivan live. What does Ivan do? [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|He kicks his right ankle holster with his left foot, does a jump kick that sends the gun into the air, catches it in midair, and shoots Gabe in the chest.]]

* Practically [[Deconstruction|deconstructed]] in ''[[Artemis Fowl]]: The Opal Deception'': {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|the titular Opal]] has Holly Short's commander held hostage in a [[Death Trap]] and is sending an attack at Artemis, and [[Sadistic Choice|Holly only has time to save one of them]]. Opal claims that, with good aiming skills, Holly can disable the trap to save her commander quickly. Holly takes that option, but the trap goes off, killing him and making it seem like she killed her own commander. Later, Opal reveals that [[I Lied|she lied]].}} Ouch.

* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Chaos|Fugitives of Chaos]]'', the question of whether to fight Echinda—risking their lives and thereby the universe—or run from her—abandoning people to their deaths—is tabled when Amelia interprets some information and realizes that she can appease her.

* Explicitly stated in Robert Jordan's ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' during Rand's military tutelage under Davram Bashere: "When an enemy offers you two targets, take a third."

* In ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', Katniss and Peeta are told by the Gamemakers that only one of them can be the victor, despite an earlier statement saying that if they are the last two alive, two tributes from the same district can survive. Rather than either of them killing the other, Katniss and Peeta bluff the Gamemakers by preparing to commit double suicide, expecting them to prefer two winners over no winner. It works, but the Capitol is furious that Katniss was able to find a third option.

* At the end of ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn]]'', the heroes find out that they have been the [[Unwitting Pawn]]s in the villain's {{spoiler|[[MacGuffin Delivery Service]]}} plot, and that nearly everything they've done has in some way contributed to the [[Big Bad]]'s victory. Faced with an enemy too powerful to fight, too vengeful to talk down, and with their own hatred literally feeding him strength, [[The Hero]] Simon discovers that the third option is {{spoiler|[[The Power of Love]] -- more specifically, [[Forgiveness]]}}.

* In Rumer Godden's novel ''The Diddakoi'' (published in the U.S. as ''Gypsy Girl'') a new girl at school named Kizzy is asked, "Does your mother wash?" If she says, "Yes", the other children would say, "Then she's a washerwoman." If she says, "No", the other children would say, "Then she's a dirty sow." Kizzy takes a third option. "My mother is dead." Justified, because it was true.

* Villain example in ''[[The Demon Princes]]'' series, in ''The Face'': Kirth Gersen has set up a situation where the villain Lens Larque must either personally appear in court to defend against charges, or forfeit his very valuable ship and its cargo. Lens Larque chooses {{spoiler|to blow the ship up and collect on the insurance.}}

* In [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[Apprentice Adept|The Blue Adept]],'' protagonist Stile has to face the local unicorn Herd Stallion in [[Trial by Combat]] so his friend, Neysa, is allowed to accompany him on his quest. The duel will take place within a unicorn circle, which will [[Anti-Magic|nullify Stile's magical power]], leaving him no match for the massive Stallion. But he's recently acquired use of [[God Mode Item|the Platinum Flute]] which will allow him to retain his magic. Stile is left with two unpalatable (to him) options: Play things straight, lose, and let the Stallion humiliate him or use the Flute and humiliate the Stallion, possibly making a powerful enemy in the process and definitely making life harder for Neysa, once the quest is over. After consulting with an elder vampire that his friend, Hulk, had helped out earlier, Stile comes up with a plan: At the start of the match, Stile puts on a display of power that showed his magic was intact, allowing the Stallion to bow out gracefully. When the Stallion [[Honor Before Reason|refused to back down]], Stile used the Flute to give himself the same physical power as the Stallion, making things a truly fair fight. The Stallion won, but was so impressed with Stile playing things fairly that he yielded the issue and allowed Neysa to accompany him.

* An interesting variation of this occurs in ''[[Animorphs]]''. David, the team's new [[Sixth Ranger]], finds himself caught between the heroes and the Yeerks and not trusting either. Instead, he goes [[Sixth Ranger Traitor]] and turns on them both.

* In one of the unofficial sequels to "The Lady and the Tiger", the prisoner exploits an engineering flaw in the arena by [[Moral Event Horizon|opening both doors and hiding in the space between them while the tiger eats the lady.]] Unfortunately for the prisoner, the king hands the prisoner over to his allies who have not promised not to simply [[Karmic Death|execute the prisoner.]]

 

* In ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', season five has Dean and Sam [[Screw Destiny|refusing]] to play along with [[Heaven]]'s will that Dean become [[Archangel Michael|Michael]]'s host and Sam [[Archangel Lucifer|Lucifer]]'s host so the angelic brothers can [[Because Destiny Says So|finish the final battle]] and fight each other to the death. Saying yes would thus raze the world either way, but result in paradise if Michael wins (as the [[Light Is Not Good|angels]] believe [[Destructive Savior|he will]]). Lucifer wants Sam to say 'yes' because he believes he'll win, at which point he'll kick the [[The End of the World as We Know It|Apocalypse]] into full gear and kill basically everyone. If the brothers both say 'no', Lucifer will use his present inadequate host to continue the Apocalypse at the current pace.

** There is no other option until {{spoiler|they find out how to open [[Sealed Evil in a Can|the Cage Lucifer was originally locked in]].}} Then, Sam comes up with a [[Self-Sacrifice Scheme]] {{spoiler|to say 'yes' to Lucifer so that [[Fighting From the Inside|when Lucifer possesses him]], [[Heroic Willpower|he can walk]] [[Heroic Sacrifice|into the Cage]] where he and a vengeful Lucifer will be [[Fate Worse Than Death|trapped for eternity]].}} It only works, saving the world from widespread destruction {{spoiler|and preserving it as it is, neither a paradise nor a hell (thus letting Free Will triumph),}} because of perfectly [[Humans Are Special|human]] [[Thicker Than Water|brotherly]] [[The Power of Love|love]].

* ''[[iCarly]]'': In one episode Carly and Sam get into an argument and force Freddie to decide who is correct. Freddie decides on an internet poll. After Freddie reveals who won out of the two girls, he reveals the third option which was both girls were being stupid and should make up. It won 200 times more votes than the other two options.

* In one episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', the titular doctor announces he's choosing a team leader from his four minions. Three of them promptly begin competing and are soon stuck in what amounts to a game show for House's amusement. Taub stays out of it an offers to split the pay raise with House; he is promptly made team leader.

{{quote|'''Oliver:''' ''These are the only two possible explanations, because if they're not as stupid as I believe them to be, they are really [[Precision F-Strike|f*cking]] evil.''

'''Cenac:''' ''And if they're not as evil as I think they are, they are STUPID.'' }}

 

* Occurs in the story of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abosua6bFpY "The Choice"], by [[Ben Weiner]]. {{spoiler|Or, parodied, rather. The two options are soup or salad, and the third option, eventually suggested by the impatient waiter, is soup ''and'' salad.}}

* "Weapon of Choice" by [[Fatboy Slim]].

{{quote|"You could go with this, or you could go with that... or you could go with us."}}

 

* Taking the Third Option is one of the central, if not even the single most important principle of Buddhism. Born as a prince and having lived all his life in a palace, Siddhartha Gautama lost all joy in the riches and pleasures of his life when he realized that all people will eventually become old, sick, and die. So he became a wandering ascetic, hoping to find spiritual happiness by ignoring everything material and only meditating all the time. But even though he tried harder than anyone else, it only made him starve and become sick, so he gave it up as well and started to eat again and take care of his health. Only when he tried to find a balance between comfort and living a simple life did he gain enightenment and became the Buddha. Teaching this Middle Way to the other ascetics that he was living with is regardid as the birth of the Buddhist community.

* When Kuchisake-onna asks you if you think she's pretty, especially after she reveals her [[Glasgow Grin]], honesty is just plain [[Too Dumb to Live|suicidal]]. Telling her she DOES look pretty isn't a good idea either (as "kirei", the word she uses for "pretty", also means "to cut with a knife"). However, you can tell she looks so-so, or give her candy, or throw candy in another direction, or ask her if '''she''' thinks '''you're''' pretty. Most of these will just confuse her. [[Sweet Tooth|Also she LOVES candy]]. Due to Japanese politeness, you can also tell her you're busy or need to get to an appointment, [[Anticlimax Boss|and she will apologise for her rudeness and leave]].

* There is a tale whose name I can't recall right now about an evil spirit and a small peasant village. One year during their harvest celebration, a visiting traveler revealed itself to be said evil spirit and chose to play its favorite game -- pick the most ostracized/unliked person in town and tell them that they get to pick one person attending the celebration for them to kill, and that if they refuse to pick it will curse the village so that nothing ever grows again. Due to its nature, the spirit is bound to keep this bargain once struck. The intent is to force a [[Sadistic Choice]]: either the victim chooses one of the many people they have a grudge against and enjoy a momentary vengeance, followed up by their death or exile at the hands of everyone else left behind (and the damnation of their soul as they have had someone murdered at least partly for spite), or else they choose to sacrifice themselves to save everyone else and leave behind an entire village either of ungrateful bastards or people newly remorseful that they owe their lives to someone they've always mistreated. Either way, the spirit gets to sow misery and chaos and encourage people to blacken their souls further in one way or another. Unfortunately, this year it selected a village whose designated chooser of the slain was particularly intelligent, and they pointed out a simple fact the spirit overlooked: the evil spirit is also attending the harvest celebration and by the [[Exact Words]] of its bargain, can be asked to kill itself.

 

* ''[[Adventures in Odyssey]]'' has an episode where Connie becomes the valedictorian. One of the things she has to do on stage however is say a prayer. So the principal of the college and her tutor let her write a prayer, only to find it makes references to Jesus which offends other members of the faculty. So the principal says she should pray the college's "acceptable" prayer. He adds that if she doesn't pray the "acceptable" prayer he'll stop her during her prayer and get her in more trouble. However, her tutor says if she wants to say her own prayer, she (and some other faculty members) will support her. On the day itself Connie makes the decision to...not pray at all!

** Cue the [[Slow Clap|Slow Doxology]].

 

* ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'': Launcelot has to decide between continuing to work for Shylock, whom he sees as "the devil", or running away...which would be committing a sin, thereby putting him in the service of the ''real'' devil. He gets out of the dilemma when his father shows up and helps him to lawfully switch jobs.

* ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' is an interesting example. Hermia has to decide between marrying Demetrius or being put to death, with the "third option" of becoming a nun. She takes a ''fourth'' option, running off with Lysander to get away from the laws of Athens.

{{quote|'''Kate''' Whose life sucks more, mine or Brian's?

'''Rod and Nicky''' OURS! }}

 

* Used in ''[[Zork]] Zero''. You're faced with being executed, along with several other people, and everyone gets to make a last request. If the executioner can do it, he hangs you. If he can't do it, he cuts your head off. When it's your turn, the correct command is to say "executioner, cut my head off." So he'd have to cut your head off, then hang you. [[Logic Bomb|But he's only supposed to cut your head off if he can't do it]], not to mention the fact you wouldn't have a head or neck anymore to be hanged from... The executioner eventually gets so confused and befuddled, he ends up letting you go.

** Doubly played with, in fact, as the pirate proves to [[I Am Not Left-Handed|be an exceptional banjoist.]] Instead of admitting defeat or being an even better player, Guybrush has to defeat him by picking up one of the aforementioned pistols and ''shooting'' the banjo, thus proving himself to be sneaky and dishonourable enough to be a pirate captain.

* In ''[[Myst]],'' you're presented at the start with brothers Sirrus and Achenar trapped in books, each accusing the other of destroying their father's books and being wrongfully imprisoned by said father. Additionally, Achenar claims that Sirrus killed their father, while Sirrus says that father went on a journey to discover the truth and was never seen again. Throughout the game, you collect pages that allow you to hear more of the brothers' stories. In the end, you're confronted with the choice between freeing Sirrus or Achenar. The correct answer: {{spoiler|They were both in on it, and you shouldn't free either or [[And I Must Scream|you'll be trapped yourself]]. Instead, you have to use the green book which both brothers warned you against, freeing their father to destroy the red and blue books. Oh, and make sure you take the ''right'' third option, i.e. get the white page before using the green book.}}

* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'', after {{spoiler|[[Another Side, Another Story|playing through the game as Riku]], Riku meets up with King Mickey, who suggests that he keep his dark powers, saying something to the effect of, "You chose a road I never even thought of; I want to see where that road leads." Later, when asked whether he'll take the road to light or the one to darkness, he takes the one in the middle... "the road to dawn."}}

* In ''[[Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time]]'', when the titular Bros. try to access the Star Shrine, the Sprite gives a test of purity. Examining Mario's spirit, the Sprite determines that he is pure enough (and mildly overweight, at that), but Luigi's past is dark enough (illiciting some horrified mutterings from the Sprite) to bar him from entering, and he must hit a special block in order to get in. After completing the puzzle to get the block to the door, Luigi is unable to hit it, and the Sprite asks who was responsible, giving you three choices: 1) Mario, 2) The Babies, 3) Luigi {{spoiler|the correct answer is 4)}}. After taking the test, the Sprite is dissatisfied with Luigi's dishonesty and agrees to only let Mario and the babies in, ignoring the point-out that {{spoiler|he only gave three answers, none of which were correct}}. Mario debates on Luigi's behalf to the outraged Sprite, and his selflessness is apparently strong enough for both of them. He ''then'' reveals that {{spoiler|the whole event was a test in and of itself, and they passed with flying colours.}}

** And of course, gamers.

* At the end of ''[[The Dark Meadow]],'' you are seemingly given a [[Sadistic Choice]] between triggering [[The Bad Guy Wins]] ending and triggering another boss battle that is followed by a [[Downer Ending]]. You don't have to choose either though, {{spoiler|just look behind you and touch the pit to unlock the much more positive [[Bittersweet Ending]].}}

* Add in ''[[Fallout 3]]'' as part of the [[Author's Saving Throw|Broken Steel]] Downloadable Content. Rather than sending either Sarah Lyons or you to commit a [[Senseless Sacrifice]] at the end, you can send the radiation-immune companions Fawkes, Charon or RL-3 in to do the job ([[Honor Before Reason|though the game still considers this a cowardly move]]).

** Somewhat of an aversion as well. Broken Steel gives you more options, but every option you have is non-canon, since Broken Steel retcons the ending to explain why the Lone Wanderer and Sarah are both incapacitated, but neither is dead.

* ''[[Twisted Metal]]: Head-On'' has one of these in Agent Shepard's ending. The winner of the Twisted Metal [[Car Fu]] tournament gets a wish from [[Literal Genie]] [[Big Bad]] Calypso; typically they get screwed over. Rather than fall for this, Shep decides to just arrest Calypso.

* At the end of ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'', you get demonized by mainstream vampire society and the sole helping hand you have left makes it clear that you're pretty much boned without aligning yourself to one of the various factions you've encountered throughout the game. This means going back to one of two different groups who've been using you as a dupe or a third that only cares about you for the power you could bring to their side. [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|Or you could single-handedly butcher every filthy son a bitch]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|who dared to play you in the first place]].

** The best part of which is [[Flipping the Bird]] to members of the third potential faction (after having killed the other two) as you walk off into the night.

* In ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', after Saber {{spoiler|nearly wipes her magical energy empty with the Excalibur}}, Shirou is initially faced with two options as to how to restore her energy: 1. transfer his energy to her, which is out of the question due to his poor magic skill. 2. Have her [[Moral Event Horizon|kill humans and steal their energy]]. {{spoiler|Later, however, Rin reveals that there is a third option: ''have sex with Saber''. Too weak as a magus to transfer magic, and too moral to slaughter the lives of innocents, Shirou [[Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest|hesitatingly]] [[Explicit Content|takes option three]].}}

** Subverted in Heaven's Feel. There is no third option at one point. Either betray your ideals, or lose a person Shirou loves. And there is no third option to redeem one innocent victim.

** Parodied in the fake 'dead-end', on Fate route, where Shirou tells Saber they will fast. Tiger and Illya turn him into a cyborg with gatling guns, and offer him a chance to 'join the Tigers willingly, or be brainwashed and turn into a machine.' His response? Turn on the gatling guns.

* ''[[Pokémon Platinum]]''. Cyrus tells you that no matter what you do, if you defeat Giratina, the world will end and let him recreate it. Capture it? No good. Beat it in battle? No good. Cynthia tells you (rightly) that it is a trick, but even she says that you have to fight Giratina. Thing is, if you choose Run, Giratina calms down and the rift closes. Yeah, guess you didn't think that a deity would let a ten-year-old run when it was pissed off at the adult, Cyrus.

** Cynthia [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|lampshades it]] if you do choose to flee, if I recall correctly. Arguably a subtle [[Take That]] to the kinds of players who feel they need to capture or defeat everything.

* In ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]] III'', at one point you're given a choice between kissing [[Wrench Wench|Rachel]] or Flint, which would make the one not chosen mad at you (and thus unavailable, leaving you to either fly short a wingman or configure your own ship loadout if you don't want to launch without missiles, respectively). However, you can choose to not kiss either of them, by bypassing the decision scene entirely, and have both still available. Both will be unhappy with you, but only for Flint does that really matter, as lowered morale makes her flying less effective.

*** Choosing Rachel is actually closest to canon - the novelizations of the games (WCIII and WCIV) imply that Blair did indeed spend some time in a relationship with Rachel, but that his bitterness over being grounded ultimately drove them apart. Ironically enough, it's also the "best" ending (for the most part), seeing as how taking Flint with you on your final mission almost certainly results in her death (unless you cheat).

* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' gives you a third option at Castle Redcliffe, where {{spoiler|the Arl's son Connor}} has been possessed by a desire demon, torturing the castle denizens and wreaking havoc on the village with frequent attacks from the undead. At first the choices are to {{spoiler|kill Connor or sacrifice his mother, Arlessa Isolde}}, in order for a mage to enter the Fade and slay the demon. But, if you ask about an alternative, you'll be presented with the option of having the mages of the Circle Tower assist in the ritual, sparing both. If you are a mage and choose to enter the Fade yourself, you're also presented with a fourth option by the desire demon herself: {{spoiler|Allow her to leave, temporarily relinquishing control over the boy, [[Deal with the Devil|in exchange for a reward of your choosing]].}}

** {{spoiler|The ending also provides a third option. Instead of sacrificing yourself, or a comrade warden, to the Archdemon, you can have Morrigan impregnated, either by a male PC, or Alistair or Loghain. Doing this lets the Archdemon's essence join with the unborn child.}}

** {{spoiler|There's a fourth option, instead of giving Morrigan a god-fetus, or sacrificing yourself or Alistair. When you take down Teyrn Loghain at the Joining, you can opt to recruit him for the Grey Wardens, and make him finish off the Archdemon.}}

** There's also an inversion in the early game where Logan [[Sadistic Choice|forces you to choose]] between killing a group of protesting commoners and killing your childhood friend/lover. If you take too long to make this choice, he orders all of them to be executed.

* Anders in ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' removes this option near the end of the game by {{spoiler|blowing up the Chantry}}, which forces the player's Hawke to [[With Us or Against Us|choose whether to side with the mages or side with the templars]].

* Examples in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'':

** A minor [[Game Breaker]] for ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]'', there is a quest for a [[Eldritch Abomination|daedra]] named [[Deal with the Devil|Clavicus Vile]] to retrieve for him a sword called [[Evil Weapon|Umbra]]. If you do get the sword, you can either give it to him, for the reward of a [[Dude, Where's My Reward?|crummy]] [[And Your Reward Is Clothes|mask]], or you can keep it. The only problem is, while it's almost certainly the [[Infinity+1 Sword|best sword in the game]], it's also quite heavy. There is a third option, of course... {{spoiler|Since quest items are weightless, Umbra has no weight value until you complete the quest. Therefore, by simply not ever finishing the quest, you make it into what is VERY DEFINITELY the best sword in the game: superpowerful and light as a feather- and [[Evil Weapon|capable of eating the souls of those it kills]].}}

* In the end of the first ''[[Dino Crisis]]'', Regina must choose between {{spoiler|helping a mortally wounded Gail (Regina's commanding officer) apprehend the renegade scientist Dr. Kirk, causing Gail to die in the process; or knock Gail out, forcing him to escape the island without capturing Dr. Kirk. The third option comes when the player chooses to knock out Gail, only to go after Dr. Kirk alone.}}

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' does this for the graphics. Instead of using cel shading like Wind Waker, or realism like Twilight Princess, Nintendo decided to combine the two to make a cel shaded but somewhat realistic looking adult Link. Many were pleased, [[Fan Dumb|but others hated how the style was not either cel shaded or realistic]].

** Meta-example: The series is famous for its [[Alternate Timeline]], but the older 2D games don't really fit anywhere on it. Instead of making a game to connect them to more recent entries, Nintendo opted to ''create a third branch'' in which Link died during ''Ocarina of Time''.

* ''[[Strange Journey]]'' presents you with a dilemma in Grus. A demon has sealed the path to Maya, the area's boss, and demands that you kill {{spoiler|the newly-pacified Jack's Squad}} before he'll let you through. However, {{spoiler|the newly-angelic Zelenin}} offers you another option: use her song to brainwash the demons and make them open the path. Killing {{spoiler|Jack's Squad}} is the Chaos option, while using {{spoiler|Zelenin's}} song is the Law option. There is, however, an unpresented Neutral third option: {{spoiler|Kill the demon that's sealing the path in the first place.}}

* In ''The Strange Leaflet Quest'' in [[Kingdom of Loathing]], a giant presents you with two goblets of potion; he says he'll reward you if you pick the right goblet, and the wrong goblet will poison you. {{spoiler|Both goblets are poison; the correct response is to use the ''CLEESH'' spell which [[Baleful Polymorph|turns the giant into a newt]]}}.

* Almost all the solutions in ''[[Star Trek: Borg]]'' are almost never either the two choices given to you, but an absolutely insane third option that nobody would try on their first time. {{spoiler|Thankfully Q gives you lots of tries...}}

 

* Near the end of the "Snowsong" arc of ''[[Dominic Deegan]], Oracle For Hire'', Snowsong turns herself into ice and orders Gregory (to whom she's frozen herself) to [[The Sadistic Choice|make a choice]] - save her life via magic and give her ice golem time to destroy the city of Barthis, or smash her to pieces and kill her so he can stop the golem. Gregory merely smiles, removes the spells on himself (which turns her back to normal) and uses another set of spells to turn them into a kinetic force powerful enough to shatter the golem on impact.

** This is Parson's MO. Faced with the decision between fighting a losing battle and surrendering the stronghold? {{spoiler|Parson orders his remaining casters to cast Animate Dead... on the ''volcano'' the stronghold is sitting on, blowing away the stronghold ''and'' the enemy.}} Parson later wonders if the titular [[RPG Mechanics Verse]] is designed to promote outside-the-box thinking.

** More stereotypically, in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0327.html #327] they are confronted with two guardians: [[Knights and Knaves|one always lies; the other always tells the truth]]. They both have said which is the "correct" path. The party is about to begin trying to ascertain whom to believe when Haley shoots one. The guards' instinctive reactions to this show who's telling the truth and who isn't.

** The guards [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0565.html have good memories.]

** When a Huecuva and a ninja sart fighting over which one of them will kill Hinjo, he suggests a compromise called [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0453.html 'giant dwarf with a hammer.']

* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', creator Chris Hastings chose a third option in regards to the question of whether or not to include shading in the strips. {{spoiler|He hired a colorist.}}

* In its [http://www.xkcd.com/566/ ten year anniversary of The Matrix comic], ''[[Xkcd]]'' manages to screw the red and blue pills and take the third option.

{{quote|'''R2D2:''' What was the third option again?}}

* In ''[[Freefall]]'', Florence is induced to take one [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1900/fc01803.htm when she flips a coin near Sam.]

* Emily [http://spacetrawler.com/2010/07/05/spacetrawler-55/ spells it out] in ''[[Spacetrawler]]''.

* In ''[[Ansem Retort]]'', Xemnas asks Axel how he plans on stopping Xemnas and saving Sora at the same time? Axel's response? {{spoiler|He's fine with one of two and kills Sora himself.}}

* In ''[[A Girl and Her Fed]]'', [http://www.agirlandherfed.com/1.358.html the Girl lists three unacceptable options for] {{spoiler|dealing with four hundred brainwashed human superweapons}} and wraps up the list with, "Sounds like the fourth choice is your only option."

 

* Fatebane frequently chooses a bizarre out-of-box-thinking way of getting out of seemingly impossible situations in ''[[Associated Space]]'', to the extent that his companion lampshades this tendency:

{{quote|"What?" David looked doubtful. "There's a third option? Crazy and daring?"}}

* On the Livejournal community ''Anthropomorphs Deserve Love Too!'', [http://community.livejournal.com/anthropomor_fic/50366.html#cutid1 Alienware does this to the Linux system.]

{{quote|Always delicious. Never complicated. Just cake.}}

* Played for [[Black Comedy]] by [[The Nostalgia Critic]]. When Spoony gives him the choice of watching the [[Reb Brown]] ''[[Captain America (comics)]]'' or blackmail pictures of roofie-induced crossdressing being posted everywhere, he decides to hang himself instead.

 

* Played with in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', where the extremely aged and hunchbacked King Bumi gives Aang a choice between two equally fearsome looking opponents. Feeling clever, Aang promptly picks Bumi himself, who turns out be one of the most powerful Earthbenders in the world and promptly kicks Aang around the arena like a football. The [[Secret Test of Character|whole point]] of this and the other exercises were trying to think outside-the-box, and Bumi made the third option so obvious by saying "choose your opponent" and standing right in front of him that taking the third wasn't really that creative.

** This trope crops up again in the series finale, where Aang is forced to decide whether to let Ozai live and carry out his genocide on the Earth Kingdom, or kill him outright. Aang manages to get around this by {{spoiler|learning how to Spiritbend by getting [[Touched by Vorlons]] and permanently disabling Ozai's ability fo firebend}}.

* In one episode of ''[[South Park]]'', Towelie was faced with either preventing the boys and their new game system from falling into a death trap, or getting high from a joint the evil towel was taunting him with. Towelie's response? "I choose.... BOTH!"

* In one episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter and his father-in-law sell Meg some marijuana, creating an implicit choice between the money and the pot, so Mr. Pewterschmidt hits Meg over the head and declares "Now we have the pot ''and'' the money!"

* In the ''[[X-Men (animation)|X-Men]]'' animated series, Bishop goes back in time to stop Apocalypse from causing a global plague. But in Cable's time (further into the future), Cable realizes that if Bishop saves the present, it would doom his future. The plague would allow humanity to develop antibodies that would help the people in Cable's time survive further plagues. So basically, if Cable wants to save his people, he has to help Apocalypse win. His third option? Expose [[Wolverine]] to the virus so his healing powers would create antibodies to counter the virus, thus giving it a cure. This allows Cable to save the future ''and'' the present.

* Utilized (rather unfairly from a viewer's POV) in the short-lived ''[[Dragon's Lair]]'' cartoon. The show would often go into commercial breaks with Dirk facing an A or B choice. In the original video game, one would mean safe passage the other, instant, hideous death. In the cartoon, ''both'' meant death. But, as the narration would smugly inform us, "Dirk saw there was a better way".

* The first ''[[Futurama]]'' [[Made for TV Movie|movie]] has the [[Big Bad|scammer aliens]] give the heroes {{spoiler|and [[La Résistance|their fleet of ships]] the option to either surrender unconditionally, or be destroyed. So Bender shoots a [[Doomsday Device]] at them}}.

{{quote|'''Nudar:''' You have two choices: unconditional surrender...

'''Leela:''' NEVER!!!! }}

* In the ''[[Space Ghost]]'' episode, "Zorak", Zorak kidnaps Space Ghost's teen sidekicks and forces him to fight his giant hornets without his power bands, or his sidekicks will die. After fighting the wasps for a few minutes, Space Ghost puts his power bands back on and defeats the hornets, saving his sidekicks shortly after. The third option, if you missed it, was "remember that all your enemies are idiots," or "both" for short.

** In the first season finale, Robin has to choose between serving as Slade's apprentice or letting a bunch of Slade's micro-probes kill his friends. His choice? {{spoiler|Infect ''himself'' with the probes so that he and his friends share the same fate; Slade's so obsessed with winning that he'd rather let the Titans live than "lose" by allowing his apprentice to die.}}

* When Homer shows Kang and Kodos are impersonating the 1996 presidential candidates on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', they note the revelation makes no difference.

'''Man 2''': Well, I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate.

'''Kang''': Go ahead, ''throw your vote away!'' }}

{{quote|'''Spacely:''' I could make you vice-president, or give you stock in the company, but I've come up with a better idea.

'''George:''' Oh, what's that, sir?

'''Spacely:''' I'm not going to dock your pay, for the time you were gone from your job!

'''George:''' Oh.....thank you, sir... }}

* The ''[[Adventure Time]]'' episode "Another Way" is pretty much all about this trope, with pretty much every conversation ending with Finn shouting "My way!" Most notably, when a tree stump (don't ask) tells him that he can only take the "smell bad forever" path or the "hair falls out forever" path, he kicks the signpost down and charges through the thorny bushes between the paths.

 

 

* In the 1920s, a British submarine captain in China once faced the Hobson's Choice of either allowing a hijacked river steamer to escape, or allowing the pirates to kill their hostages. He took the third option of sinking the ship. He fired a shot into the waterline, causing the ship to settle slowly, so that the passengers and crew could easily abandon ship, and in the confusion most of the pirates were killed. Since they had blended with the passengers, it was uncertain how many pirates had escaped and how many innocents had died, but the overall solution worked, and the captain was exonerated.

* Something similar happened in the English debates leading up to the Canadian parliamentary election in 2006. While future Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper tore then-PM Paul Martin's corrupt Liberal government to shreds, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jack Layton, took most of his time to remind Canadians that they "always have a third option," and to vote NDP. It backfired spectacularly, making Layton look like a kid in the back of a classroom, jumping up and down and yelling "pick me!" The media backlash was so large, and the third-option catchphrase repeated so often to tarnish Layton's reputation, that it's the closest thing to [[Memetic Mutation]] in the political journalism field.

* The [[False Dichotomy]] [[You Fail Logic Forever|fallacy]] is all about this - a problem is presented as having two solutions, when there might be more.

** The [[Golden Mean Fallacy]] is the ''inverse''...wherein the "third option" is not always the best option, and can actually be the ''worst''.

* When Anthrocon was debating whether or not a move from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh would affect whether or not people would attend, the ''majority'' of those polled [[Took a Third Option]]: they didn't care which city it was in because they lived so far away that the move wouldn't really affect travel.

* Psychologist Paul Watzlawick gives us a nice example with the Austrian Franzl Wokurka. He did this the first time when he saw a flower bed with a sign forbidding to rip out flowers; conflicted between obeying a law (he didn't like) and crossing it (which might've lead to consequences) he suddenly had an epiphany, thinking "those flowers are pretty nice" and deciding he wouldn't rip them off because ''he'' wanted it so. From then on, he lived his life following this philosophy; thus, he became neither a theist nor an atheist, but an agnosticist. Later, he had his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], when [[Those Wacky Nazis]] flooded Austria with posters stating "National Socialism or Bolshevist Chaos?", which he would comment with "Erdäpfel oder Kartoffeln?" (spuds or potatos?).

* Two Libyan pilots were recently given the choice between bombing civilian protesters or facing execution if they refused. Instead, they [http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g2bolqvIBp6SHMu8KrgOtJzEzVuQ?docId=6105362 flew to Malta and applied for asylum].

* One of the ideas from [[Aristotle]]'s philosophy is that every virtue can be represented as the sensible option when presented with two extremes. For example, 'Wittyness' is presented as the virtue of saying just the right amount in a conversation, between the extremes of saying too little and coming across as shy, or saying too much and being thought of as a bore.

* Immanuel Kant, the last Enlightenment philosopher, advocated the "categorical imperative" which, boiled down, meant that an act could be considered "moral" only if it would be reasonable for ''everyone'' to act the same way. French philosopher Benjamin Constant pointed out that under this system telling the truth was an imperative (since a society of habitual liars could not function), and a moral person would be forced to tell an inquiring murderer the location of his target. Kant responded in his next essay, pointing out that although it's still wrong to ''lie'' to the murderer, that doesn't mean you have to give him the information he wants, either. The system still has critics, but Kant definitely advocated the Third Option to seemingly unwinnable situations.

* More moderate/liberal Christian organizations and some churches often market themselves as such, as a third option for those who are not atheist or non-religious but also aren't very conservative or fundamentalist. Emergent churches often do this too as a third option for those unhappy and bored with traditional worship styles between that and not attending.

* The "Two-State Solution" to the [[Arab-Israeli Conflict]] is intended to be this, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|with both Israel and the Palestinians having their own independent states]].

** An actual, but lesser known, third option is the [[wikipedia:Three-state solution|"three-state solution"]] (this involves giving Jordan control of the West Bank and Egypt on Gaza).

* The origin behind the [http://chenisthebestkitty.tumblr.com/post/24417837407/afternoonsnoozebutton-time-you-know-whats Eduard "Mr. Trololo" Khil]'s famous Trololo song. The song he "sings" was actually a famous Russian folk song named “I Am So Happy to Finally Be Back Home”, which had been banned in the URSS due to its lyrics... so when faced with the choice of dropping it from his performances or not, Eduard Khil still sang it, but changed the lyrics to unreadable gibberish. [[Refuge in Audacity|And he got away with it.]]

 

 

{{reflist}}