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[[redirect:FalseFriend]]

One of the cruelest forms of betrayal, this trope is about a manipulative villain (a ManipulativeBastard, a [=~Bitch In Sheep's Clothing~=], TheLibby, a TreacherousAdvisor, etc.) who gets close to a character and pretends to be their ally, friend or even lover, earning the character's trust, and then, when they least expect it, betraying the other character and revealing that they've simply been playing them the entire time, that they were only pretending to like them and never had any real feelings for them. This is the scenario where, when the betrayed character asks "{{Was It All A Lie}}?" the answer will be a cold-blooded yes, sometimes coupled with a KickTheDog speech on how the character was a fool ever to have trusted the villain. In any case, if the other character survives the betrayal, [[EtTuBrute their trust in other people will likely suffer as a result]].

TheMole is a textbook practitioner of this type of betrayal, infiltrating a group of heroes or otherwise pretending to be a good guy with the intent of ultimately betraying them.

For situations where the manipulative character starts developing real feelings for the person they originally set out to betray, see BecomingTheMask.

Because this is a {{Betrayal Trope|s}}, '''expect spoilers'''.
----
!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''ElfenLied'': During Lucy's childhood at the orphanage, she made friends with another girl who promised to keep the fact that Lucy was taking care of a puppy a secret from a group of boys who frequently bullied her. Eventually, the boys found out about the puppy [[MoralEventHorizon and beat it to death in front of Lucy while making her watch]]. Turns out the girl Lucy made friends with had deliberately told the boys about the puppy and while she's pretending to cry about it and feel bad about what she did, we see her smile through her tears. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Lucy then snaps and kills her along with the bullies]].
** In Lucy's nightmare , [[spoiler:Kouta]] says that he liked her because he likes strange animals.
* Sae to Momo in ''{{Peach Girl}}'' for the first couple of volumes before the two genuinely become friends.
* ''{{Gankutsuou}}'': In the beginning The Count seems to like Albert when in reality he only views him as a tool for his revenge. However,[[spoiler:as time goes on, he finds himself developing real feelings for Albert which cause him lots of angst and heartbreak, but ultimately save him in the end]].
** Also, Peppo to Albert. Though she/he (?) eventually develops actual feelings for Albert.
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', Kabuto usually presents himself as this harmless, bumbling oaf with NerdGlasses, but is in fact the subordinate of the BigBad Orochimaru, and Naruto seems clearly angry and upset when he realizes this because he had originally believed Kabuto was on their side since he helped them by giving them information and the like.
** Shiranami to Hotaru in the Six-Tailed Beast arc.
* ''{{Bleach}}'': Aizen does this [[spoiler:when stabbing Hinamori while hugging and praising her, as well as betraying everyone in Soul Society (who adored him) after revealing the fact that he has always been against them]].
* The first time you properly see Izaya Orihara in the ''{{Durarara}}'' anime, he spends most of the episode having a girl, that he pretended to sympathize with and be friends with online, kidnapped and then orchestrating her rescue, only to hold her over the side of a building, toy with her desire (or lack thereof) to actually commit suicide, and then wander off to watch from a distance as the girl decides to jump anyway. Luckily for her, Celty was a little more worried about her safety and saves her.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''{{The Mask}}''. Intrepid Reporter Peggy Brandt, who pretends to be Stanley Ipkiss' friend so she can get the $50,000 bounty for betraying him to Dorian Tyrell. When Tyrell prepares to kill Ipkiss she says "[[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo You said you wouldn't hurt him!]]" to Tyrell, who smugly replies "ILied."
* ''IndianaJones And The Last Crusade'': Elsa Schneider is ordered to seduce both Jones men to steal the Grail but ends up falling in love with Indy.

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]
* In ''{{Oz}}'', Schillinger arranges for Chris Keller to meet Tobias Beecher, Schillinger's former sex slave, with the intent of gaining his trust and seducing him. A mutual attraction instantly forms between them, and the two eventually exchange confessions of love. Unfortunately for Beecher he finds out that the man he fell in love with was working with his archenemy all along (and informs him that he never loved him right before breaking Beecher's arms and legs). Keller clearly enjoys the beating, but is briefly seen experiencing a moment of regret when he returns to his empty cell and eventually realizes that he has fallen in love with Beecher.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''NineteenEightyFour'': O'Brien tricks Winston into thinking he's his friend and gets him to trust him, and then reveals that he's actually with the government and ends up being responsible for Winston's torture and brainwashing.
* In one of the ''Southern Vampire Mysteries'' novels, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Bill]] was ordered by his queen to seduce Sookie, as part of a plan to use her telepathy for whatever it is a vampire queen needs a telepath for.
* Subverted in ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. The locket horcrux creates a fake Harry and Hermione, who tell Ron that they both hated him and didn't want his friendship, in order to drive Ron mad/break his spirit. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Ron doesn't buy it.]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]
* Mithos to Genis in ''TalesOfSymphonia''.
* There's an odd version of this in the ''PhoenixWright'' series. Dahlia Hawthorne tricks Phoenix into thinking she's in love with him, just so she can get a piece of evidence back that incriminates her for a previous murder. She tries to kill him when it doesn't work. It's somewhat subverted when Dahlia has her sister impersonate her for a while, and her sister actually does fall in love with Phoenix.
* After dominating a player in ''{{Team Fortress 2}}'', one of the Spy's {{Bond One Liner}}s is "I never really was on your side."
* A variation occurs in Specter's ending in ''TwistedMetal Black'' - [[spoiler:The man of her dreams has been forced to marry her by way of some brain surgery]], but he's still able to tell her "I...will...never...love...you."
* [[spoiler:Reece to poor Sakuri]] near the end of ''{{Demonophobia}}''.
* In MegaManX: Command Mission, just before the final fight, the BigBad reveals himself to be [[spoiler: Spider]] a companion of the heroes who earlier seemingly died in a HeroicSacrifice. He taunts them and praises himself for his acting talent in how he fooled them into thinking he was one of their friends, which he did, among other things, with afromentioned HeroicSacrifice and one case of TakingTheBullet, which made even ''Zero'' respect him. However, this case is a bit special since the villain in question has sort-of shapeshifting abilities and therefore, although, once TheReveal is past, it actually gets quite obvious, many fans still are not quite sure whether he was that character from the get-go or if he killed him at some point and took his place.

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]
* Terra in ''TeenTitans''. This story was an adaptation of the "Judas Contract" arc from the comics, where she is even ''crueler''.
* Plankton in ''{{Spongebob}}'''s F.U.N. episode.
* In ''{{Disney/Hercules}}'' the BigBad Hades is unable to defeat his enemy Hercules because he is unaware of his weakness. So he instructs Megara to get close to Hercules and they both end up falling in love. However, before she can tell Hercules the truth, Hades ends up telling Hercules about how Meg was working for him all along [[KickTheDog in the most cruel manner possible]].

[[AC:{{Web Comic}}]]
* ''{{Megatokyo}}''. Miho did this to Piro some time before the start of the series.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* "I Was Only Kidding" by WeirdAlYankovic is this.

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]
* TruthInTelevision, especially during the Cold War. A good example would be Gunter Guillaume: he was a close aide and friend of the German Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 70s until it was revealed that he was an East German spy working for the Communist Party. Oops.
----

to:

[[redirect:FalseFriend]]

One of the cruelest forms of betrayal, this trope is about a manipulative villain (a ManipulativeBastard, a [=~Bitch In Sheep's Clothing~=], TheLibby, a TreacherousAdvisor, etc.) who gets close to a character and pretends to be their ally, friend or even lover, earning the character's trust, and then, when they least expect it, betraying the other character and revealing that they've simply been playing them the entire time, that they were only pretending to like them and never had any real feelings for them. This is the scenario where, when the betrayed character asks "{{Was It All A Lie}}?" the answer will be a cold-blooded yes, sometimes coupled with a KickTheDog speech on how the character was a fool ever to have trusted the villain. In any case, if the other character survives the betrayal, [[EtTuBrute their trust in other people will likely suffer as a result]].

TheMole is a textbook practitioner of this type of betrayal, infiltrating a group of heroes or otherwise pretending to be a good guy with the intent of ultimately betraying them.

For situations where the manipulative character starts developing real feelings for the person they originally set out to betray, see BecomingTheMask.

Because this is a {{Betrayal Trope|s}}, '''expect spoilers'''.
----
!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''ElfenLied'': During Lucy's childhood at the orphanage, she made friends with another girl who promised to keep the fact that Lucy was taking care of a puppy a secret from a group of boys who frequently bullied her. Eventually, the boys found out about the puppy [[MoralEventHorizon and beat it to death in front of Lucy while making her watch]]. Turns out the girl Lucy made friends with had deliberately told the boys about the puppy and while she's pretending to cry about it and feel bad about what she did, we see her smile through her tears. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Lucy then snaps and kills her along with the bullies]].
** In Lucy's nightmare , [[spoiler:Kouta]] says that he liked her because he likes strange animals.
* Sae to Momo in ''{{Peach Girl}}'' for the first couple of volumes before the two genuinely become friends.
* ''{{Gankutsuou}}'': In the beginning The Count seems to like Albert when in reality he only views him as a tool for his revenge. However,[[spoiler:as time goes on, he finds himself developing real feelings for Albert which cause him lots of angst and heartbreak, but ultimately save him in the end]].
** Also, Peppo to Albert. Though she/he (?) eventually develops actual feelings for Albert.
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', Kabuto usually presents himself as this harmless, bumbling oaf with NerdGlasses, but is in fact the subordinate of the BigBad Orochimaru, and Naruto seems clearly angry and upset when he realizes this because he had originally believed Kabuto was on their side since he helped them by giving them information and the like.
** Shiranami to Hotaru in the Six-Tailed Beast arc.
* ''{{Bleach}}'': Aizen does this [[spoiler:when stabbing Hinamori while hugging and praising her, as well as betraying everyone in Soul Society (who adored him) after revealing the fact that he has always been against them]].
* The first time you properly see Izaya Orihara in the ''{{Durarara}}'' anime, he spends most of the episode having a girl, that he pretended to sympathize with and be friends with online, kidnapped and then orchestrating her rescue, only to hold her over the side of a building, toy with her desire (or lack thereof) to actually commit suicide, and then wander off to watch from a distance as the girl decides to jump anyway. Luckily for her, Celty was a little more worried about her safety and saves her.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''{{The Mask}}''. Intrepid Reporter Peggy Brandt, who pretends to be Stanley Ipkiss' friend so she can get the $50,000 bounty for betraying him to Dorian Tyrell. When Tyrell prepares to kill Ipkiss she says "[[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo You said you wouldn't hurt him!]]" to Tyrell, who smugly replies "ILied."
* ''IndianaJones And The Last Crusade'': Elsa Schneider is ordered to seduce both Jones men to steal the Grail but ends up falling in love with Indy.

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]
* In ''{{Oz}}'', Schillinger arranges for Chris Keller to meet Tobias Beecher, Schillinger's former sex slave, with the intent of gaining his trust and seducing him. A mutual attraction instantly forms between them, and the two eventually exchange confessions of love. Unfortunately for Beecher he finds out that the man he fell in love with was working with his archenemy all along (and informs him that he never loved him right before breaking Beecher's arms and legs). Keller clearly enjoys the beating, but is briefly seen experiencing a moment of regret when he returns to his empty cell and eventually realizes that he has fallen in love with Beecher.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''NineteenEightyFour'': O'Brien tricks Winston into thinking he's his friend and gets him to trust him, and then reveals that he's actually with the government and ends up being responsible for Winston's torture and brainwashing.
* In one of the ''Southern Vampire Mysteries'' novels, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Bill]] was ordered by his queen to seduce Sookie, as part of a plan to use her telepathy for whatever it is a vampire queen needs a telepath for.
* Subverted in ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. The locket horcrux creates a fake Harry and Hermione, who tell Ron that they both hated him and didn't want his friendship, in order to drive Ron mad/break his spirit. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Ron doesn't buy it.]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]
* Mithos to Genis in ''TalesOfSymphonia''.
* There's an odd version of this in the ''PhoenixWright'' series. Dahlia Hawthorne tricks Phoenix into thinking she's in love with him, just so she can get a piece of evidence back that incriminates her for a previous murder. She tries to kill him when it doesn't work. It's somewhat subverted when Dahlia has her sister impersonate her for a while, and her sister actually does fall in love with Phoenix.
* After dominating a player in ''{{Team Fortress 2}}'', one of the Spy's {{Bond One Liner}}s is "I never really was on your side."
* A variation occurs in Specter's ending in ''TwistedMetal Black'' - [[spoiler:The man of her dreams has been forced to marry her by way of some brain surgery]], but he's still able to tell her "I...will...never...love...you."
* [[spoiler:Reece to poor Sakuri]] near the end of ''{{Demonophobia}}''.
* In MegaManX: Command Mission, just before the final fight, the BigBad reveals himself to be [[spoiler: Spider]] a companion of the heroes who earlier seemingly died in a HeroicSacrifice. He taunts them and praises himself for his acting talent in how he fooled them into thinking he was one of their friends, which he did, among other things, with afromentioned HeroicSacrifice and one case of TakingTheBullet, which made even ''Zero'' respect him. However, this case is a bit special since the villain in question has sort-of shapeshifting abilities and therefore, although, once TheReveal is past, it actually gets quite obvious, many fans still are not quite sure whether he was that character from the get-go or if he killed him at some point and took his place.

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]
* Terra in ''TeenTitans''. This story was an adaptation of the "Judas Contract" arc from the comics, where she is even ''crueler''.
* Plankton in ''{{Spongebob}}'''s F.U.N. episode.
* In ''{{Disney/Hercules}}'' the BigBad Hades is unable to defeat his enemy Hercules because he is unaware of his weakness. So he instructs Megara to get close to Hercules and they both end up falling in love. However, before she can tell Hercules the truth, Hades ends up telling Hercules about how Meg was working for him all along [[KickTheDog in the most cruel manner possible]].

[[AC:{{Web Comic}}]]
* ''{{Megatokyo}}''. Miho did this to Piro some time before the start of the series.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* "I Was Only Kidding" by WeirdAlYankovic is this.

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]
* TruthInTelevision, especially during the Cold War. A good example would be Gunter Guillaume: he was a close aide and friend of the German Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 70s until it was revealed that he was an East German spy working for the Communist Party. Oops.
----
[[redirect:FalseFriend]]
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[[redirect:FalseFriend]]

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* ''{{Elfen Lied}}'': During Lucy's childhood at the orphanage, she made friends with another girl who promised to keep the fact that Lucy was taking care of a puppy a secret from a group of boys who frequently bullied her. Eventually, the boys found out about the puppy [[MoralEventHorizon and beat it to death in front of Lucy while making her watch]]. Turns out the girl Lucy made friends with had deliberately told the boys about the puppy and while she's pretending to cry about it and feel bad about what she did, we see her smile through her tears. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Lucy then snaps and kills her along with the bullies]].

to:

* ''{{Elfen Lied}}'': ''ElfenLied'': During Lucy's childhood at the orphanage, she made friends with another girl who promised to keep the fact that Lucy was taking care of a puppy a secret from a group of boys who frequently bullied her. Eventually, the boys found out about the puppy [[MoralEventHorizon and beat it to death in front of Lucy while making her watch]]. Turns out the girl Lucy made friends with had deliberately told the boys about the puppy and while she's pretending to cry about it and feel bad about what she did, we see her smile through her tears. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Lucy then snaps and kills her along with the bullies]].bullies]].
** In Lucy's nightmare , [[spoiler:Kouta]] says that he liked her because he likes strange animals.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

* Subverted in ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. The locket horcrux creates a fake Harry and Hermione, who tell Ron that they both hated him and didn't want his friendship, in order to drive Ron mad/break his spirit. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Ron doesn't buy it.]]
Willbyr MOD

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Examples:

to:

Examples:
!!Examples:
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to:

* In MegaManX: Command Mission, just before the final fight, the BigBad reveals himself to be [[spoiler: Spider]] a companion of the heroes who earlier seemingly died in a HeroicSacrifice. He taunts them and praises himself for his acting talent in how he fooled them into thinking he was one of their friends, which he did, among other things, with afromentioned HeroicSacrifice and one case of TakingTheBullet, which made even ''Zero'' respect him. However, this case is a bit special since the villain in question has sort-of shapeshifting abilities and therefore, although, once TheReveal is past, it actually gets quite obvious, many fans still are not quite sure whether he was that character from the get-go or if he killed him at some point and took his place.

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