History Main / RestrainedResistanceRecklessRebellion

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': Luthen's work is actually to invoke the second part: to get some big, dramatic, damaging attacks against the Empire going, so that the Empire will bring the boot down even harder -- convincing more people that the Empire ''must'' be resisted, and they have to band together and strike back. It's an interesting ploy, and he does have a point, but his gung-ho (and general use of patsies to do the dangerous work ''for'' him) shocks and horrifies the relatively Restrained Mon Mothma.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In the Film/XMenFilmSeries, much like the [[ComicBook/XMen comic books]], the humans fear that [[BewareTheSuperman mutants will use their powers to subjugate them]] and [[SuperRegistrationAct either want to control]] or even [[FinalSolution outright exterminate them]]. Charles Xavier and the X-Men team want to show everyone that humans and mutants can peacefully live together, but trust has to be earned on both sides. Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants, however, are willing to do what is necessary to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters at the very least have the human governments leave them alone]], although they clearly [[SuperSupremacist see themselves as the superior beings that deserve to rule the world]].

* In ''Film/{{Reds}}'', there are divisions among the Leftists, both in America and in Russia, between the gradualists and the outright revolutionaries.

* This is the theme of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Krotons", which deconstructs many tropes associated with OccupiersOutOfOurCountry and especially TheQuisling. The Doctor and friends arrive on a planet where a small group of aliens in a crashed spaceship have duped the local sentients into believing that they are benevolent, while actually using them for HumanResources. When the local leader is alerted to this by the Doctor, his reluctance to fight the aliens is depicted as entirely sensible given their technological superiority. By contrast, his political rival who wants to attack the aliens immediately is depicted as an irresponsible power-hungry villain who will get everyone killed.

* By the time of ''VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron'', it's clear that the Autobots have lost the war, with the game revolving around their preparations to flee the planet aboard their gigantic starship the Ark. Optimus Prime represents the Restrained side of this trope, intending to leave their dying planet of Cybertron behind so as to muster their forces elsewhere while also giving the planet time to heal [[note]] in [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron the previous game]] the planet's living core was poisoned by the Decepticons. This means the planet cannot sustain life until the poison is purged, a process expected to take [[TimeAbyss several thousand years]] [[/note]]. Grimlock meanwhile represents the Reckless side, even outright calling Optimus a coward for running when he should fight despite Optimus pointing out there's ''nothing'' left to fight for. He likewise ignores that him leading his team into abandoning their post without telling anyone leaves a hole in the Autobot defense line, which leads to the devastating attack in the first chapter.
* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'': The Kreisau Circle have been reduced to Restrained Resistance by 1961, as General Deathshead's technology have allowed the Nazi regime to smash any overt resistance. As a result, the remnants of the Circle, led by a paralyzed Caroline Becker, have been forced to restrain their activities to the point that their headquarters are right in the middle of Berlin with no one the wiser, and any action they're able to take being chalked up to lone radicals or "subversives". Once B.J Blazkowicz wakes from his coma and finds them, his OneManArmy skills allow them to switch to Reckless Rebellion, performing several extremely daring operations, including shutting down a major death camp, freeing prisoners, stealing priceless resources and hardware, assassinating high-ranked Nazi officials, destroying infrastructure, and infiltrating and sabotaging important facilities... with the result being that the regime puts their full attention on destroying the Resistance and making Blazkowicz public enemy number 1, leading to the loss of their original headquarters and the deaths of many of the resistance members, including Caroline in the sequel.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}: Luthen's work is actually to invoke the second part: to get some big, dramatic, damaging attacks against the Empire going, so that the Empire will bring the boot down even harder -- convincing more people that the Empire ''must'' be resisted, and they have to band together and strike back. It's an interesting ploy, and he does have a point, but his gung-ho (and general use of patsies to do the dangerous work ''for'' him) shocks and horrifies the relatively Restrained Mon Mothma.

** The Academy is the most restrained resistance. They start out hoping for peaceful cooperation with the alien newcomers, but quickly realize the aliens have other ideas and [[MartialPacifist reluctantly go to war to prevent them from enslaving Earth]]. Even so, they do their best to avoid more bloodshed then necessary, and their long-term goal is to find a pro-peace faction among the aliens to negotiate with after doing enough damage to prove humanity is worthy of respect.

** The Resistance are concerned with protecting human life. Fighting the aliens and eventually [[spoiler:closing the wormhole they're using to reach Earth]] is their only goal, with everything else they do being a means to that end. Their victory condition is notably unaffected by the political situation on Earth, beyond requiring that the aliens not ''directly'' control any territory. Even if pro-alien factions are popular, as long as they don't have the space-faring firepower needed to actually stop the Resistance achieving their goals, they can be left alone.
** Humanity First is focused on destroying the aliens ''and'' their collaborators, by any means necessary. Unlike the Resistance, they have to manage the political situation on Earth to win. Actively arresting and purging members of pro-alien factions in any positions of power is a central part of their game plan. They also have a different victory condition than the Resistance: [[spoiler:rather than just close the wormhole, they use it to deliver a bioweapon with genocidal intent]].

** The Resistance are centrally concerned with protecting human life. Fighting the aliens and eventually [[spoiler:closing the wormhole they're using to reach Earth]] is their only goal, with everything else they do being a means to that end. Their victory condition is notably unaffected by the political situation on Earth, beyond requiring that the aliens not ''directly'' control any territory. Even if pro-alien factions are popular, as long as they don't have the space-faring firepower needed to actually stop the Resistance achieving their goals, they can be left alone.
** Humanity First is focused on destroying the aliens and their collaborators, by any means necessary. Their AI is infamously nuke-happy, and unlike the Resistance, they have to manage the political situation on Earth to win. Actively arresting and purging members of pro-alien factions is a central part of their game plan. They also have a different victory condition than the Resistance: [[spoiler:rather than just close the wormhole, they use it to deliver a bioweapon with genocidal intent]].

** Ancillary material in both the old Legends continuity and the current Disney canon show that the Rebel Alliance is an example of the Restrained Resistance, an alliance of various groups that recognised there was no way for them to oppose the Empire on their own and that direct confrontation wouldn't be possible due to the vast difference in resources. Other, more reckless groups sometimes feature (e.g. in the ''[[VillainProtagonist Tarkin]]'' novel), but they're normally destroyed once the Empire brings its full might to bear against them [[note]] This is why in ''Film/StarWarsTheEmpireStrikesBack'' the Rebels scatter following the Empire's attack on their base on Hoth: the only way they can survive (and have survived) is to scatter and avoid gathering their forces in one place until it's time for an attack [[/note]]. The Rebellion is actually viewed as the Reckless in-universe by the larger galaxy, especially the InternalReformist senators who oppose the Empire via the Senate and think that armed resistance is futile. [[KillEmAll It doesn't end well for the senators]].

* This is the conflict between Barry Al-Fayed and Ihab Rashid at the start of ''Series/{{Tyrant}}''. They both want to overthrow Barry's dictator brother Jamal, but Barry seeks to do it through proper channels, convincing the military and judiciary that Jamal is unfit for office, whereas Ihab wants to do away with the government altogether, and isn't afraid to resort to terrorism in order to accomplish it.

->'''Kolivan''': We need to abort the mission immediately.
->'''Allura''': Abort? No! We cannot back away now.
->'''Antok''': The Blade of Marmora does not take chances. It's how we've survived for so long.
->'''Allura''': It's held you back. Your caution is the reason Zarkon is still in power.

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

* {{Literature/Animorphs}}:

** The [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch Tok'ra]] are the quintessential cautious resistance. For thousands of years, they've operated as spies and saboteurs within the Goa'uld ranks, and have accomplished diddly squat. Their stance is [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as the Tok'ra have no means of reproducing, [[DyingRace which means that every Tok'ra operative who dies is one less Tok'ra in existence, permanently.]] A major bone of contention between the SGC and the Tok'ra is that the SGC sometimes feels like the Tok'ra view them as [[RedShirt convenient bodies to throw at more dangerous operations without risking Tok'ra lives.]]

* In ''ComicBook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica'', the Bombshells were introduced to the series as a demonstration of the "wrong" way to go about protesting injustice through civil disobedience and violence, whereas Sam Wilson's work as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica was supposed to be seen as the "right" way. This led to a heap of UnfortunateImplications, as Wilson was portrayed as a black man who answered to white authority figures, whereas the protesters were mostly people of color who were independent of any government authority.

* In ''Film/Reds'', there are divisions among the Leftists, both in America and in Russia, between the gradualists and the outright revolutionaries.

* In the Film/XMenFilmSeries, much like the [[ComicBook/XMen comic books]], the humans fear that [[BewareTheSuperman mutants will use their powers to subjugate them]] and [[SuperRegistrationAct either want to control]] or even [[TheFinalSolution outright exterminate them]]. Charles Xavier and the X-Men team want to show everyone that humans and mutants can peacefully live together, but trust has to be earned on both sides. Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants, however, are willing to do what is necessary to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters at the very least have the human governments leave them alone]], although they clearly [[SuperSupremacist see themselves as the superior beings that deserve to rule the world]].

*** Saw Gerrera and his supporters are extremely aggressive and violent in their resistance, and that turned off a lot of even relatively active resistors because he was seen as reckless, heedless of casualties (his own, the enemy's, or noncombatants), and thus little better than the Empire itself. There was a justified fear that if the Alliance went all in on his methods that it would have fallen apart.

*** The final faction is the loosely engaged malcontents, who are more than happy to talking about how Palpatine was bad than actually doing anything about it, if they care at all. Main character Jyn Erso fell under this category until events of the film convince her to take an active stand.
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'': Admiral Holdo orders her Resistance fleet to remain calm and stay at their stations, seemingly not doing anything about the First Order ships chasing them and their dwindling fuel reserves meaning it's only a matter of time before they're destroyed. Not down with this, Poe hatches a daring secret plan that will let them escape the First Order's hyperspace tracking, and as that is taking too long, finally mutinies against Holdo to attempt ''something'' to save what's left of the Resistance. It's revealed that Holdo ''did'' have a plan (prepared in advance by General Leia) and Poe's attempt actually results in several shuttles filled with Resistance members being shot down with all hands. In an example of PoorCommunicationKills, once he's actually told the plan he actually agrees with it: the problem was even went outright asked if there '''was''' a plan Holdo refused to say anything, leading him (and a good chunk of the crew) to believe she had no idea what she was doing.
* In the Film/XMenFilmSeries, much like the [[ComicBook/XMen comic books]], the humans fear that [[BewareTheSuperman mutants will use their powers to subjugate them]] and [[SuperRegistrationAct either want to control]] or even [[TheFinalSolution outright exterminate them]]. Charles Xavier and the X-Men team want to show everyone that both humans and mutants can peacefully live together, but trust has to be earned on both sides. Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants however are willing to do what is necessary to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters at the very least have the human governments leave the alone]], although they clearly [[SuperSupremacist see themselves as the superior beings that deserve to rule the world]].

** Same with ''Film/MichaelCollins'' also about the Irish Rebellion. Both films are (roughly) based on true events.
* ''Film/Reds'' there are divisions among the Leftists both in America and in Russia between the gradualists and the outright revolutionaries.[[/folder]]

** One of the problems faced by the team is that they can't declare the existence of Yeerks to the world at large because the Yeerks are currently forced to use slow and silent infiltration tactics, and revealing their existence would mean they would then unleash their massive firepower and spaceships, which the cast can't do anything against [[note]] their morphing abilities were actually developed for espionage purposes, and in a direct fight there's no animal on Earth that can stand against Yeerk military-grade weaponry[[/note]], and Earth's armies would have difficulty as well (once the Yeerks actually do go public, it takes [[spoiler:the betrayal of Visser Three's NumberTwo and the intervention of the Andalite fleet to defeat them]]). [[StatusQuoIsGod So they have to settle for countering the Yeerk's plans whenever they hear about them]], and the apparent lack of progress takes its toll on them as the series goes on.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': The Rebel Alliance was all over the place with this. While the protagonists of the films were firmly on the "risky" side, expanded materials showed many different Rebel cells, ranging from the ones so cautious they might as well not have existed at all, to ones so reckless the Empire just had to shoot them when they showed up. By the time of ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', the Rebel Alliance has become the New Republic, and is growing steadily more risk-averse and bound by bureaucratic inertia and political infighting (something Thrawn takes merciless advantage of). When the New Republic tries to fool Thrawn into thinking they're falling for his trap at Tangrene, while actually intending to hit the heavily-defended Bilbringi shipyards, Thrawn actually [[VillainRespect applauds it]] as a return to the bold strategies that allowed the Rebellion to defeat the Empire in the first place. By the time of the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'', the New Repbulic has grown '''so''' bureaucratically and politically deadlocked that entire fleets are kept back to protect valuable Core worlds, in absolutely no danger of Yuuzhan Vong invasion, while Outer and Mid Rim worlds drop like nine pins. Finally, General Wedge Antilles has had enough, and forms a resistance to the Yuuzhan Vong within the crumbling New Republic military and government, using any tactics and strategies that will earn victory. This includes the stand-up straight-fight doctrines of the New Republic, the asymmetric warfare strategies from the Rebellion, and even a dash of TheresNoKillLikeOverkill from the Empire.

* This is the theme of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Krotons", which deconstructs many tropes associated with OccupiersOutOfOurCountry and especially TheQuisling. The Doctor and friends arrive on a planet where a small group of aliens in a crashed spaceship have duped the local sentients into believing that they are benevolent, while actually using them for HumanResources. When the local leader is alerted to this by the Doctor his reluctance to fight the aliens is depicted as entirely sensible given their technological superiority. By contrast, his political rival who wants to attack the aliens immediately is depicted as an irresponsible power-hungry villain who will get everyone killed.
* Explored in the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' "A Woman's Place is in the War Effort!", where the team ends up in a WWII-era factory and Astra (who is a modern Black woman) gets so frustrated by the racism and sexism in the management that she takes over the factory and decrees that the factory will now become integrated, causing most of the white employees to quit in protest. This ends up getting her backlash from the Black employees, many of whom had been keeping their heads down and hoping that loyal service to the war efforts would lead to more rights and recognition after the war, and who now fear that Astra's actions will cause the factory to miss its deadline and get shut down, which would result in them all losing their jobs and status. Thankfully, the Legends manage to figure out work-arounds to the staffing shortage, enabling the factory to meet its deadline, and as luck would have it, Eleanor Roosevelt shows up and is so impressed with the factory's efficiency that she declares that she will have all factories integrated by the end of the year. [[note]] The show doesn't explore what will happen at those other factories where the Legends aren't there to pick up the slack. [[/note]]

* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': The Paladins of Voltron pretty much operate on a very simple level. Step One: See Galra. Step Two: Form Voltron. Step Three: Apply Blue Lion To Enemy Posterior At High Velocity. Meanwhile, the Galra resistance, The Blade of Marmora, are working quietly and behind the scenes, gathering information and intelligence, so good at staying hidden we only get a hint to their existence in the final episode of the first season. When something goes wrong with ThePlan, the Blades first reaction is to abort immediately, because they do not take risks. The Paladins' reaction. . . well, they rarely even have a plan to begin with, and just keep reacting until they find a way to win. They learn their lesson when [[PyrrhicVictory their "tactics" lead to the defeat of Emperor Zarkon... at the apparent cost of their leader Shiro]]. They spend part of the following season asking WasItReallyWorthIt, because not only does the Galra Empire not immediately collapse after Zarkon's apparent death, but now they don't have a way to form Voltron anymore.

** Same with ''Film/MichaelCollins'' also about the Irish Rebellion. Both films are (roughly) based on true events.[[/folder]]

** Same with ''Film/MichaelCollins''also about the Irish Rebellion. Both films are (roughly) based on true events.[[/folder]]

* In ''Film/TheWindThatShakesTheDarley'' the Irish revolution is divided into two warring factions, one that wants to compromise with the British and one that wants to continue the struggle.

[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona5}}'': The Phantom Thieves represent the Reckless side, rebelling against the corrupt adults in power by using their ability to Traverse Mementos to outright steal the distorted desires of authority figures. [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]] is the Caution side, and [[spoiler:is the bastard son of Shido, whom he holds a grudge against]]. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:he was a just foster kid vs a politician]], so when [[spoiler:Akechi gained access to Mementos]] he became [[spoiler:Shido's hitman to slowly gain his trust, with the intent to reveal everything to the public and kill Shido when he reached the height of his power]]. [[spoiler:He fails and the Thieves take Shido's heart, instead]].

Of course, it's also possible for the protagonists to be part of the risk-averse group (the Restrained side) and for another group to be the Reckless, in which case the Reckless group may be portrayed as being hotheads who don't think things through and instead simply keep lashing out at the Empire. Another variation is to have the protagonists be a combination of both, being dynamic enough to take action but also wise enough to know how to pick their fights. OOCIsSeriousBusiness can be invoked when either side takes up the methods of the other (e.g. the Restrained Resistance goes all in on a DeathOrGloryAttack or the Reckless Rebellion chooses ''not'' to carry out a high-risk operation).

Note that this doesn't necessarily have to involve an opposition to an actual Empire or EvilOverlord: it could be something as simple as workers trying to get concessions from their employer (e.g. some want to negotiate and compromise, some want to go on strike to force the employer to comply) to opposition to something systemic (e.g. the US Civil Rights movement was split between Martin Luther King's calls for peaceful demonstration versus Malcom X's more violent methods).