History ChronicBackstabbingDisorder / LiveActionTV

* Baltar from the classic ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. He betrays his own people to the Cylons, then turns around and betrays them in the last episode ''The Hand of God’’.

** [[TheChessmaster Stringer Bell]] betrays [[RuleOfThree three]] people, all of the main characters, and all of them considering him trustworthy. They are, in order, [[spoiler:Wallace, D'Angelo (coming and going), and his [[BloodBrothers blood brother]] ''[[TheDon Avon Motherfucking Barksdale]]'']]. On top of that, Stringer frequently tries to cheat or set up the people he's bargaining with, regardless of whether they're enemies or people who supposed to be on his side.

* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': [[VillainProtagonist All five of the members of the Gang]] will not hesitate [[WithFriendsLikeThese to stab each other in the back]] the ''instant'' they sense profit in it. [[ForTheEvulz Or even just their own amusement]].

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', a requisite if you want to succeed in [[spoiler:Mordor]]":

* Dr. Smith on ''Series/LostInSpace2018'' appears to have a compulsion to betray people, as she will risk herself to double-cross someone even when there's little to no benefit for herself by doing so.

** The Daleks frequently betray any and all individuals/species that think the Daleks are working for them, almost always with a cry to "[[AC:Exterminate!]]" the betrayee.

* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', and by extension, ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', over the years, has had a number of these kinds. They'll inevitably contribute to [[EvilWillFail the villains failing by the end of the show]] and in some cases, an EnemyCivilWar:
** Darkonda from ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' actually got himself killed ([[UnexplainedRecovery more than once]]) because he just couldn't resist screwing over his "allies". His battles against [[NobleDemon Ecliptor]] (including a forced FusionDance into "Darkliptor") take up a fair chunk of the season, and ultimately Darkonda dies for good in trying to take out [[GreaterScopeVillain Dark Specter]], who winds up [[TakingYouWithMe taking Darkonda with him]]. Without that, the Rangers may not've had a chance to win.
*** There was also [[ThePsychoRangers Psycho Yellow]], who teamed up with Psycho Pink to hoard the Rangers' energy (and, it was implied, overthrow their creator Astronema), left Pink to die as soon as their plan backfired, and in general had a habit of leaving the battlefield when things went south.
** The [[SixthRanger White Ranger]], or rather the [[ArtifactOfDoom White Dino Gem]] from ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' fluctuated wildly in terms of alignment before he got his head together and joined the good guys for real.
** From ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'': Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, [[spoiler: work with Buredoran. He WILL royally screw you over in the end after YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. Even when Robogog decided to give him amnesia so he wouldn't do so, he later got his memories back and took him and his group down, along with Metal Alice who helped him take over, purely because he couldn't be bothered to fix her up after the Goseiger wounded her badly]].
** Basco Ta Jolokia from ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' will betray anyone he works with. Whether it's the Red Pirates, the Zangyack or [[spoiler:Sally, his own loyal companion.]] Suffice to say, he's one of the most dangerous and despicable villains in the series.

** For the Goa'uld, diplomacy between System Lords consists mostly of both sides trying to figure out how the other plans on betraying them. Any alliance lasts exactly as long as it's convenient, with each member waiting for the other to show a moment of weakness they can exploit. This is actually a side-effect of the sarcophagus technology they use to make their human hosts immortal. The Tok'Ra, who avoid using the tech, and act more like symbiotes than parasites to their hosts, get along with each other (and others) much better. They still seem to be secretive and paranoid by nature, though that might be due to being LaResistance.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', over the years, has had a number of these guys:
** Darkonda from ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' actually got himself killed ([[UnexplainedRecovery more than once]]) because he just couldn't resist screwing over his "allies".
*** There was also [[ThePsychoRangers Psycho Yellow]], who teamed up with Psycho Pink to horde the Rangers' energy (and, it was implied, overthrow their creator Astronema), left Pink to die as soon as their plan backfired, and in general had a habit of leaving the battlefield when things went south.

* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':

** Varys is a rare ''benevolent'' example. He worked for several regimes over the course of his life and has secretly worked to undermine them whenever they saw they were too oppressive or ineffective and in Season 7, he declares to Daenerys that he is is not loyal to her, or any ruler, but loyal to the people and the realm, and the reason why he backs her is because he believes she is ruler most dedicated to the people's well being.

** Varys is a rare ''benevolent'' example. He worked for several regimes over the course of his life and has secretly worked to undermine them whenever they saw they were too oppressive or ineffective and in Season 7, he declares to Daenerys that he is is not loyal to her, or any ruler, but loyal to the people and the realm and the reason why he backs her is because he believes she is the best ruler who looks after the people's well being.

** Varys is a rare ''benevolent'' example. He worked for several regimes over the course of his life and has secretly worked to undermine them whenever they saw they were too oppressive or ineffective and in Season 7, he declares to Daenerys that he is is not loyal to her, or any ruler, but loyal to the people and the realm and the reason why he backs her is because he believes she is the best ruler who looks after the people's wellbeing.

** Cersei politely insinuates that Brienne has this, seeing how she swore to serve Renly, then Catelyn, then Jaime. Brienne replies that she does not serve Jaime. And she only became Catelyn's sworn sword after the latter helped her escape after being [[NotWhatItLooksLike falsely accused of Renly's murder]].

** Cersei politely insinuates that Brienne has this, seeing how she swore to serve Renly, then Catelyn, then Jaime. Brienne replies that she does not serve Jaime.

*** Balon Greyjoy led a failed rebellion against the newly crowned Robert Baratheon in the backstory, causing his son Theon to be taken hostage by Ned Stark. With turmoil engulfing the realm once more after Robert's death, he rebels again the moment his son returns. And rejects the offer of alliance against the Lannisters that Theon brings from Robb Stark, even though it really would have been to his benefit.

*** Balon Greyjoy led a failed rebellion against Robert in the backstory, causing his son Theon to be taken hostage by Ned Stark. He rebels again the moment his son returns because turmoil engulfs the realm.

* ''Series/{{ADiscoveryOfWitches}}'' has Domenico, who constantly betrays and sells out his benefactors, to the point it becomes a RunningGag that he negotiates or re-negotiates his price in every other scene.

** ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', too. From ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'': Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, [[spoiler: work with Buredoran. He WILL royally screw you over in the end after YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. Even when someone decided to give him amnesia so he wouldn't do so, he later got his memories back and took that group down]].
** Basco Ta Jolokia from ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' will betray anyone he works with. Whether it's the Red Pirates, the Zangyack or [[spoiler: his own MoralityPet.]] Suffice to say, he's one of the most dangerous and despicable villains in the series.

** From ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', let's just say that [[MegaCorp Yggdrasil]] HRD has some... ''[[TheSocialDarwinist weird ideas]]'' about what quality is needed for its employees. Almost all of their New Generation Riders do some backstabbing at least once. Ryoma Sengoku is probably the biggest offender.

* ''Series/{{Oz}}''. Ryan O'Reilly is an excellent example, as he changes allegiances purely on his need to survive.

--->'''Xander:''' Spike's working for [[BigBad Adam!?]] After all, we've done — nah, I can't even act surprised.

* In the second-season paintball game on ''Series/{{Community}}'', Chang continually teams up with and betrays almost every pack of combatants who will take him, even if [[StupidEvil they're winning.]]

*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]] is an extreme example, where the inevitability of the Daleks' betrayal of Mavic Chen — the Daleks announce it to the audience and to each other every couple of episodes and even Chen seems to know they're going to do it — leads to much of the tension being "how long can Chen keep them convinced he's still useful?" Mavic Chen is already a traitor, being the most powerful man in the Solar System already but planning to gain more power by betraying humanity to the Daleks. This is pointed out by one of the Daleks' other allies, as none of them (the Daleks end up betraying them as well) sold out their own people.
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]] uses {{Plot Parallel}}s to make this just as extreme — the Daleks are obviously going to stab the resistance and Lesterson in the back, but the resistance is itself backstabbing the current Vulcan government, while all of the members are simultaneously trying to backstab each other.

** Sikozu was an embodiment of this trope, her only consistent trait (besides total arrogance) being her capacity for 'sudden and inevitable betrayal'. Close to the end of the fourth season, however, she looked to be outgrowing this character flaw- only for the Scarrans to employ her as a spy during TheMovie. Her comeuppance finally came at the hands of her current boyfriend Scorpius, who [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat her to a bloody pulp]] and left her to die.

** During season 4, Crichton believes that Scorpius suffers from this disorder after he joins the crew. Crichton has good reason to be suspicious of Scorpy, but seems to believe that Scorpius is going to try and backstab him at the most idiotic times: for example, in "I Shrink Therefore I Am" he gives Scorpius an empty rifle just in case any treachery occurs- while they're both stuck on Moya, with all their escape ships disabled, and being hunted by bounty hunters with no interest in negotiations. Lo and behold, Scorpius isn't that dumb. Eventually, Crichton decides that Scorpius can at least be trusted to a certain extent after several incidents where not only remains loyal but even puts his own life on the line to save the day at least twice. Unfortunately, after being used as bait for Talikaa, Scorpius decides he's had enough of his role as SixthRanger and backstabs Crichton so masterfully that it takes him two episodes to figure out who was ''really'' behind Aeryn's kidnapping.

** Jayne - who repeatedly try to sell out his own crew for money or to become the captain. Naturally, Mal repeatedly thwarts these plans and generally beats Jayne up or threatens to kill him... but he's a slow learner.

** Littlefinger, who has betrayed his patron Jon Arryn (who made him Master of Coin), Ned Stark to the Lannisters, the Lannisters to the Tyrells and Lysa Arryn - literally everyone he's ever allied with the moment it became more convenient for him. And yet still [[MagnificentBastard somehow keeps convincing people to work with him]].

** Ramsay murders several of his own men to gain Theon's trust, then turns on ''him''. He also ''habitually'' breaks promises of safe conduct to enemies who surrender to him - and instead horrifically tortures them by flaying men alive by the dozen and leaving their mutilated corpses on public display. His father has become increasingly frustrated at him for his sheer lack of future planning. In season six, it reaches its head when he murders his father, his stepmother, and his newborn brother, all to seize power for himself.

* Season one of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' recounts the Penguin's rise to the top of Gotham City's criminal underworld, almost entirely by means of this trope. In later seasons, this trope defines his relationship with most of the other villains, notably the Riddler and Jerome. Ironically, [[ALighterShadeOfBlack the more sympathetic villains]] on ''Gotham'' seem to be more prone to stabbing each other in the back during various [[VillainTeamup villain teamups]] than the [[AxCrazy more unhinged villains]] who just want to destroy everything or cause chaos [[ForTheEvulz for the fun of it.]] For example, while Jerome Valeska is prone to killing his mooks [[BadBoss for being annoying or even just for a laugh,]] he's not motivated by money or power and so doesn't have a reason to backstab any of the major villains he teams up with, unless they betray him first. His alliance with Tetch and Scarecrow doesn't fall apart due to betrayal, even though Tetch outright [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that they will all probably end up betraying each other eventually. Jeremiah later allies with Scarecrow, Tetch, and Ra's Al Ghul without having any problems, either, most likely for the same reasons: because they have the same goals and are not actually competing with each other. Oswald, on the other hand, who has quite a few {{pet the dog}} moments in the series despite being a ruthless mob boss with a {{hair trigger temper}}, continually betrays people for power, money, and even love. So does Barbara Kean, despite generally being {{a lighter shade of black}} when compared to people like the Valeska brothers and Scarecrow. Edward Nygma/The Riddler also frequently betrays people over things like love and revenge despite generally having more standards than other villains. While this is counterintuitive, it actually makes sense, as the saner villains are actually capable of forming genuine friendships with each other and therefore more vulnerable to being betrayed.

** In season 5, [[spoiler: Dragos]] holds this attitude toward Tekfur Yannis. [[spoiler: Tragically, the latter only begins to realize how vulnerable he is to Dragos once Lais (One of Dragos’ minions, posing as Yannis’ top official) proceeds to mortally strangle him, permitting Dragos to take ahold of the former Tekfur’s stronghold]].

** During season eight, [[spoiler: Chloe successfully manages to stab Clark, Jimmy (her fiance and then husband), and villain Davis in the back]] almost simultaneously. Then in Season 9, she implements Orwellian measures against Clark's will, ostensibly to "protect Metropolis." This includes putting up cameras in Clark's house and casually mentioning that she spends large chunks of the day surfing through everyone in Metropolis's cell phone conversations.
** Tess Mercer. By season nine, there's really no reason for anyone on any side to believe anything she says.

** Garak (whom Dr. Bashir is constantly trying to decipher) and Quark, whose alliances change based on his own benefit. Quark's family often have to play the same games - which Quark approves. Dukat is another good example, as he is even trusted by his allies even after a third betrayal.

--->'''Dean''': See, here's the thing when dealing with Crowley – he will ''always'' find a way to bone you.

* Done when funny in ''Series/TopGear'' - the three presenters take it in turns to team up two-against-one, before someone invariably switches allegiance and starts making fun of their former ally.
* Charles Brandon of ''Series/TheTudors'' may count as this. Season One he allies with the Boleyn faction against Wolsey, Season Two with Cromwell, Chapuys, and the Seymours against the Boleyns, and in Season Three with the Seymours (and Francis Bryan, whose motive never was explained) against Cromwell. Season Four he's finally sick of plotting, but he really doesn't like the Seymours. Cromwell also could count as this. He owed his career to Wolsey but still refused to help him in his time of need. He also owed much of his later rise to Anne Boleyn but still frames her for adultery and treason. But, actually, the only one he's truly loyal to is Henry, who he never betrays. This does not save him.

* Taken to its logical extreme with ''Series/Loki2021'', where multiple variants of Loki end up backstabbing each other into an all out brawl in under a minute.

* King Loth of ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'' provides the quote on top of the page. Let's see; Season 3:[[spoiler: he explains during the end of said season to Sir Dagonet how he associated with Lancelot when he seceded, and how he is the one financing him while trying to recruit Dagonet for a coup against Arthur]]. Season 4: [[spoiler: After openly backing Lancelot's rebellion up during the whole season, he betrays him in a ''dastardly'' way in the end (taking back his men; removing every evidence of his involvement) after Arthur rescued Guenièvre, when it is obvious that Lancelot will fail]]. Season 5: [[spoiler: Starts the season by coming all the way to Kaamelott to plead his cause to Arthur. Follows up by trying to unsheath Excalibur from the stone. Finishes the season by trying to ''zap Arthur with his magic lightning ring'']]. Even [[{{Prequel}} Season 6]], in addition to the page quote, showed he started plotting against Arthur during the latter's wedding and even went as far as ''trying to backstab his fellow britton kings while they were fighting the Romans''. No wonder he is hated by ''[[ZeroPercentApprovalRating everyone]]''.

* ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' is a {{satir|e}}ical {{Brit|Com}}ish GovernmentProcedural, featuring government and opposition politicians, spin doctors, policy advisors, and civil servants all jockeying for position in {{Whitehall}}. It's rather like ''Series/GameOfThrones'' but with much, much less honour.