History Main / TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay

-->-- '''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'''

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. Avon puts it succinctly in "Star One". "You can talk, or scream".

** From "Seeing Red"

** In "Enemies" after the requisite [[FoeYay tongue-fest and attempted murder]] Faith finally gets Angelus pinned beneath her.

** In "All The Way" Giles says this to a vampire who's holding Dawn hostage. Suddenly lights come on to reveal they're surrounded by vampires.

** Riley threatening Spike in "As You Were".

** In "Bad Girls", [[EvilIsHammy Balthazar]] has captured Wesley and Giles. Wesley suggests a HostageForMacGuffin deal. Giles suggests TakeMeInstead. Balthazar is not impressed.

** Xander delivers the line straight in "Never Leave Me", then worries after that it was too cliche, as he's playing GoodCopBadCop at the time.

* Inverted in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII''. Biff's {{Mooks}} say this to Marty -- "the easy way" is being [[TapOnTheHead knocked on the head]].

-->'''Priest:''' Oh, I so prefer the hard way. '''*stabs the Familiar*'''

* ''Film/{{Priest|2011}}'': The title character is giving a Familiar this speech when the latter interrupted by spitting in his face.
-->'''Priest:''' Oh, I so prefer the hard way.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', as Judy is investigating the disappearance of Mr. Otterton, she tries to talk to Nick, since he was the last one to see Otterton before he went missing. When Nick outright refuses to cooperate in anyway, Judy says "alright, the hard way," and puts a boot on his ice cream cart, and tells him that if he doesn't cooperate, she'll arrest him on tax evasion. When he says she has no proof that he confessed to tax evasion, she takes out her pen/voice recorder and plays back the confession.

* In ''Webcomic/TooMuchInformation'', when Ace is [[http://tmi-comic.com/comic/mojo/ talking to Death]], she says "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. And lucky for you, the easy way would ruin my manicure."

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/DragonBallKai'' episode #26. Vegeta confronts Krillin and Bulma, who have one of the Dragon Balls he wants. He threatens them by saying they they can do this the easy way or the hard way, meaning that they can either give him the Dragon Ball or be killed.
[[/folder]]

--> '''Blossom''' *Preparing to battle a monster* We can do this the easy way or the hard way. \\
* Gets knocked into a building by said monster* \\
'''Blossom''' Why do they always pick the hard way?

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

-->“Alright, Catwoman... we can do this the easy way... or the hard way.”
-->“Why Batman, [[Main/DistractedByTheSexy how hard do you want it to get?”]]

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

* In ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', as Judy is investigating the disappearance of Mr. Otterton, she tries to talk to Nick, since he was the last one to see Otterton before he went missing. When Nick outright refuses to cooperate in anyway, Judy says "alright, the hard way," and puts a boot on his ice cream cart, and tells him that if he doesn't cooperate, she'll arrest him on tax evasion. When he says she has no proof that he confessed to tax evasion, she takes out her pen/voice recorder and plays back the confession.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers "The Sun Makers"]]: The Doctor is threatened by a revolutionary who suspects him of being a spy.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]: Two soon-to-be-brainwashed UNIT soldiers use the phrase when informing two already-brainwashed factory workers of their options.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** In ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'', somebody trying to sneak into a town will corner a guard and mention that this can be done the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is for the guard to ignore them, the hard way... is for the person to leave and try to find another way in.

** A more serious instance, from ''Discworld/SmallGods'':

** Another serious example, from ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', about the nature of good and evil:

** And another in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' when Cosmo offers Moist a bribe to give up. After Moist refuses, he explains that giving him the opportunity to surrender was, for Cosmo, doing it the hard way.

* A fancy-sounding version in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' from Saruman.

* In the ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'' episode "The Crimpers," Jason interrogates the titular kidnappers for information about his brothers' whereabouts by saying, "Either you tell me with your teeth, or without."

[[quoteright:350:[[Magazine/TheNewYorker https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_easy_way.jpg]]

* ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Given that the title character is a BountyHunter hunting people who are Wanted: Dead or Alive, this is an ObligatoryTrope.

* "WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015" This line from Bulkhead

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Literature/ProvostsDog'': Jokingly used by the friend of Beka (both of them are Provost's Guards, or protopolice) to get her to come to a breakfast. Quickly followed by IAlwaysWantedToSayThat.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "The Sun Makers", the Doctor is threatened by a revolutionary who suspects him of being a spy.
-->'''Mandrel:''' Now listen, Doctor. We can either do this the easy way--\\

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'':
-->'''Ward:''' There are two ways we can do this.\\
'''Skye:''' Oh. [[SarcasmMode Is one of them the easy way?]]\\
'''Ward:''' [[BrutalHonesty No.]]\\
'''Skye:''' [[OhCrap Oh.]]

** In "Booked Solid," Reese has been captured by a government hitman who wants to know who he's working for.

-->"Because I asked nicely. I can be more emphatic, but people tend to get hurt when that happens."

-->'''Reese:''' Just want a quick conversation with him. The rest of you can... leave. Nobody gets hurt.
-->'''Gangster:''' Nobody gets hurt? How about you, ''pendejo?''
-->'''Reese:''' I was kinda hoping you'd pick the hard way.

* ''Series/AgentCarter''. After a crooked Roxxon employee is nabbed, Agent Dooley lays a [[LiteralMetaphor carrot and a stick]] on the table and offers him a deal where he gets a lighter sentence in exchange for naming his superior. When he refuses, Dooley says, "Remember, I offered you the easy way." He takes the carrot and leaves him with Agent Thompson, who starts using the stick to good effect.
* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. A [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior teenage Octavian]] asks HowWouldYouLikeToDie to a man suspected of adultery, then makes it clear he's offering a choice of confessing and dying quickly, or dying after hours of agonizing torture.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. Avon puts it succinctly in "Star One". "You can talk, or scream".
* ''Series/PlanetOfTheApes'': In "The Interrogation", Wanda tells Burke that his interrogation can be either pleasant or unpleasant, depending on his cooperation.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In Creator/TheBBC's 1980's sci-fi drama ''Earthsearch'', the KillerRobot Fagor is rampaging through the spaceship, searching for those who killed his master.

** In "Bad Girls", NoIndoorVoice villain [[EvilIsHammy Balthazar]] has captured Wesley and Giles. Wesley suggests a HostageForMacGuffin deal. Giles suggests TakeMeInstead. Balthazar is not impressed.
--->'''Balthazar:''' THERE IS ONE DEAL! YOU WILL DIE QUICKLY, OR YOU WILL DIE SLOWLY!

* Used in one of those dialogue redub commercials for WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls on Creator/KidsWB.