History Main / ThirdTimesTheCharm

* OceanGate's "Titan" Submersible went for a total of 3 voyages to the sunken Titanic. It imploded on it's 3rd and final voyage, killing the CEO and four other paying passengers on board.

* Dante has this with his twin brother Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening''. Dante [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose loses the first fight]]. The BigBad reveal interrupts the second fight. After they take care of the BigBad, they have one more fight to the finish, with Dante defeating Vergil.

* Ichigo in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' makes regular use of this trope. He confronts Byakuya three times total during story: once near the end of the first arc, where he's effortlessly defeated; another time on the bridge leading to the Senzaikyu in the Soul Society, where Yoruichi takes him away, and even though he put up a better showing it was all but outright stated he would be destroyed; and finally fought him atop Sokyoku Hill, where he managed to pull a victory. He even invoked this trope again in his three confrontations with Grimmjow, and one can argue this case for Ulquiorra as well, having their first confrontation shortly before Ichigo's last fight with Grimmjow, which Ulquiorra easily dispatched Ichigo by stabbing a hole in his throat (luckily Orihime was there to heal him), then again in the hall in which even his Visored form couldn't do anything, and finally [[spoiler:defeating him when his SuperpoweredEvilSide takes over and assumes a stronger form before Ulquiorra could kill Uryu and Orihime.]]
** Count Aizen in. Ichigo loses to him in Soul Society (first), then in fake Karakura town where he suffered {{heroic BSOD}} (second), and finally the 3rd round when [[spoiler:Ichigo unleashes his newly found powers which shock and scares Aizen off beyond belief.]]
** Speaking off Grimmjow, he was interrupted twice before he could use his release on Ichigo during their third fight.

* It is common for bosses in video games to take three hits to kill, specially in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' and ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games.

* Bowser is fought/encountered exactly three times in many ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games, with him being fought as a level boss in the Dark World, Fire Sea and Sky in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', and in three different reactors in both ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', with the last fight being the final boss battle. This also applies to the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series (he's fought in the intro, part way through the game and in a possessed form as part of the final boss battle) and likely quite a few others, too.

* [[spoiler:Kratos]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is fought three times. The first two times, winning is optional, but Lloyd suspects he was holding back in those fights. The third is a DuelBoss, which Lloyd must win.
** You also fight [[spoiler:Yggdrasil]] three times. First it's a HopelessBossFight, second time it's a fight that you have to survive but can't win, and finally it's a regular fight you have to win.

* In ''Anime/MyOtome'', Arika and Nina have three battles after Nina's FaceHeelTurn. The first two end with no clear winner, but Arika is victorious in the third.

* Subverted in the Creator/FritzLang film ''Film/{{Destiny}}'': a young bride is given three chances to save her husband from Death. She fails the first and second times, [[spoiler: and the third time as well, even though she's better equipped and gets a headstart.]] Notable in that it specifically invokes this trope as an allusion to European fairy tales.

* Subverted in the Creator/FritzLang film ''Destiny'': a young bride is given three chances to save her husband from Death. She fails the first and second times, [[spoiler: and the third time as well, even though she's better equipped and gets a headstart.]] Notable in that it specifically invokes this trope as an allusion to European fairy tales.

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* Po vs. Lord Shen in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' is an interesting case. It's actually implied that Po could've easily won the first two times, but between his HeroicBSOD and Shen's [[CombatPragmatist Combat Pragmatism]], he only emerges victorious in the third encounter.

However, then comes the third confrontation, which sometimes takes place after a few or even several [[TrainingFromHell little boosts to make the match more even]], and now the [[IAmNotLeftHanded gloves are off]]. This time, for sure, the hero will finally be able to defeat his foe, [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya no matter how much damage he takes in the process]]. And then by the end of their third confrontation, this time for sure, the hero will stand triumphant.

This trope is often invoked in order to stress to the audience just how difficult it is to overcome this particular obstacle without dragging it on to the point of madness. The magic sweet spot for this formula, [[RuleofThree as is almost natural]], appears to be over the course of three confrontations. Sometimes this trope can also be invoked in the same battle, if [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya the hero all but loses yet still manages to get up on sheer willpower]] twice over the course of the fight, though generally it almost always happens over the course of three separate battles.

* Ichigo in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' practically lives by this trope. He confronts Byakuya three times total during story: once near the end of the first arc, where he's effortlessly defeated; another time on the bridge leading to the Senzaikyu in the Soul Society, where Yoruichi takes him away, and even though he put up a better showing it was all but outright stated he would be destroyed; and finally fought him atop Sokyoku Hill, where he managed to pull a victory. He even invoked this trope again in his three confrontations with Grimmjow, and one can argue this case for Ulquiorra as well, having their first confrontation shortly before Ichigo's last fight with Grimmjow, which Ulquiorra easily dispatched Ichigo by stabbing a hole in his throat (luckily Orihime was there to heal him), then again in the hall in which even his Visored form couldn't do anything, and finally [[spoiler:defeating him when his SuperpoweredEvilSide takes over and assumes a stronger form before Ulquiorra could kill Uryu and Orihime.]]

* Ichigo in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' practically lives by this trope. He confronts Byakuya three times total during the Soul Society arc, once in the beginning, where he's effortlessly defeated, another time on the bridge, where Yoruichi takes him away, and even though he put up a better showing it was all but outright stated he would be destroyed, and finally fought him atop Sokyoku Hill, where he managed to pull a victory. He even invoked this trope again in his three confrontations with Grimmjow, and one can argue this case for Ulquiorra as well, having their first confrontation shortly before Ichigo's last fight with Grimmjow, which Ulquiorra easily dispatched Ichigo by stabbing a hole in his throat (luckily Orihime was there to heal him), then again in the hall in which even his Vizard form couldn't do anything, and finally [[spoiler: defeating him when his SuperpoweredEvilSide takes a stronger form before Ulquiorra could kill Uryu and Orihime.]]
** Count Aizen in. Ichigo loses to him in Soul Society (first), then in fake Karakura town where he suffered {{heroic BSOD}} (second), and finally 3rd round when [[spoiler: Ichigo unleashes his newly found powers which shock and scares Aizen off beyond belief.]]

** It takes Jimbei three times before he was able to officially join the Straw Hats. Luffy asked him at the end of the Fishmen Island arc, which Jimbei then declines because he had to break ties to Big Mom first. Jimbei returns in the Whole Cake Island arc, resolves his business with Big Mom, and declares his loyalty to Luffy but chooses to remain behind to protect his former crew. Finally, he reappears in the Wano arc and finally joins the crew.

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* It is common for bosses in video games to take three hits to kill. (e.g. Big Boo from ''Franchise/SuperMarioWorld'', many ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' bosses etc.)

* Dante has this with his twin brother Vergil in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3''. Dante [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose loses the first fight]]. The BigBad reveal interrupts the second fight. After they take care of the BigBad, they have one more fight to the finish, with Dante defeating Vergil.

* Joe Biden ran unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008 before finally being elected in 2020.

* Similar to the ''StarWars'' film example, the player has three encounters with Darth Sion in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II''. The first time, Kreia holds him off and loses a hand. The second time, the player fights him for a while in the Sith Academy before managing to escape. The third time, just before the final battle, the player must break his will in order to be able to kill him.

** It takes Jimbei three times before he was able to officially join the Straw Hats. Luffy asked him at the end of the Fishmen Island arc, which Jimbei then declines because he had to break ties to Big Mom first. Jimbei returns in the Whole Cake Island arc, resolves his business with Big Mom and declares his loyalty to Luffy but chooses to remain behind to protect his former crew. Finally, he reappears in the Wano arc and finally joins the crew.
* Shinn Asuka's initial confrontations against Kira in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny'' play out like this. The first time Kira effortlessly disables him in one slash, the second Shinn freaks him out by dodging a few of his attacks (Kira had up until that point flawlessly one shotted everyone who crossed his path thus far) before Athrun takes over, although it was clear Shinn would have still lost, and finally in their third battle Shinn has prepared extensively and exploiting a flaw in Kira's fighting style, takes him down although Kira survives. They actually fight a few more times after this but always to a draw as Shinn's new machine is unable to exploit the earlier flaw but he's still grown in skill to the point where Kira can't get a hit on him.
* Happens twice in ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', with the main characters' attempts to get a popular manga that will allow Mashiro's fiancee Miho Azuki to get a lead role. Their first series gets canceled and they quit their second under the condition that if they can't get something serialized by the time their contract ends, they can no longer write for Jump. They have three chances to do so, and fail the first two, but their final manga, ''Perfect Crime Party'', manages to get serialized [[spoiler:but this gets subverted when it turns out that PCP won't be able to get a sponsor for an anime]].
* [[Manga/MuhyoAndRoji Muhyo]] has three separate encounters with Enchu. In the first at the MLS, Enchu leaves after Muhyo sentences the ghosts he sent. In the second [[spoiler:at the Arcanum]], he escapes with [[spoiler:Rio, before her traitor's mark can be removed]]. In the third, Muhyo [[spoiler:is able to bring Enchu to his senses and convince him to drive out Teeki from his body]].
* Between ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', and ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', it took Fate three tries to pass her Enforcer exam. It is implied that some of her difficulty came from taking the test during the period in which Nanoha was recovering from her wounds (thus causing Fate emotional distress), and it is pointed out that as the pass rate is 15%, and Chrono also failed the test once, this is still fairly good, especially considering Fate passed "with flying colors" the third time.
* In ''Anime/MyOtome'', Arika and Nina have three battles after Nina's FaceHeelTurn. The first two end with no clear winner, but Arika is victorious in the third.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Goku wins [[TournamentArc the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament]] on his third try (against Piccolo), after losing his first two. Notably, this was the only one of these tournaments where the world was at stake.

* Combining ''[[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]]'' and ''[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]'', Luke Skywalker directly encounters Darth Vader three times: the first time in Cloud City, the second time on Endor (where Luke fails to redeem Vader and is instead taken to the Emperor), and the third in the Emperor's throne room. The two never get close enough in ''Film/ANewHope'' for it to count.
* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels it goes the other way around: Darth Sidious goes through three apprentices before he's able to defeat the Jedi: Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader.
* Subverted in the Creator/FritzLang film ''Destiny'': a young bride is given three chances to save her husband from Death. She fails the first and second times, [[spoiler: and the third time as well, even though she's better equipped and gets a headstart.]] Notable in that it specifically invokes this trope as an allusion to European fairy tales.

* One of the G.U.I.L.T. strains is fought like this in ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter''.
* [[spoiler:Kratos]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is fought three times. The first two times, winning is optional, but Lloyd suspects he was holding back in those fights. The third is a DuelBoss, which Lloyd must win.
** You also fight [[spoiler:Yggdrasil]] three times. First it's a HopelessBossFight, second time it's a fight that you have to survive but can't win, and finally it's a regular fight you have to win.
* Similar to the StarWars film example, the player has three encounters with Darth Sion in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II''. The first time, Kreia holds him off and loses a hand. The second time, the player fights him for a while in the Sith Academy before managing to escape. The third time, just before the final battle, the player must break his will in order to be able to kill him.
* Kyosuke's battles against Axel in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration 2'' might or might not be this. First round Axel is clearly winning before he's ordered to retreat, the next round might not really count since although both are eventually present Axel spends most of the battle dueling Lamia, and then Sanger, Kyosuke only showing up with the reinforcements that drive him off. Their third encounter (and 2nd duel) has Axel soundly defeating him and only stopped from delivering the killing blow by Kyosuke's allies. In their 4th encounter and 3rd duel Kyosuke successfully backs Axel into a corner with his upgraded mech (and essentially winning) but Axel is bailed out by an ally. Finally their 5th and final encounter and 4th duel has Kyosuke defeating him, destroying his mech and taking him out of the war.

* Bowser is fought/encountered exactly three times in many ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games, with him being fought as a level boss in the Dark World, Fire Sea and Sky in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', and in three different reactors in both ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', with the last fight being the final boss battle. This also applies to the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series (he's fought in the intro, part way through the game and in a posessed form as part of the final boss battle) and likely quite a few others too.
* ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' features [[InnBetweenTheWorlds the Oceanview Motel and Casino as a recurring locale between dimensions]], and it has this rule as a means to navigate through it. You enter and exit it by pulling a light switch three times, and several puzzles in between involve interacting with something (ringing a bell, switching a radio, etc.) the same amount of times.

* In ''Anime/MaiOtome'', Arika and Nina have three battles after Nina's FaceHeelTurn. The first two end with no clear winner, but Arika is victorious in the third.

* JoeBiden ran unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008 before finally being elected in 2020.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'' had Luffy confronting Crocodile a total of three times, doing better but still getting defeated upon the first two, before finally pulling a victory the last time in the ruins.

* OnePiece had Luffy confronting Crocodile a total of three times, doing better but still getting defeated upon the first two, before finally pulling a victory the last time in the ruins.

* In ''Anime/DragonBall'', Goku wins [[TournamentArc the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament]] on his third try (against Piccolo), after losing his first two. Notably, this was the only one of these tournaments where the world was at stake.

* Ike battles the BlackKnight three times throughout ''FireEmblem: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Path of Radiance]]''. The first time, after the BlackKnight mortally wounds his father, Ike attacks him in a rage and is nearly killed himself. Much later, he encounters the knight a second time and challenges him again. He is again defeated, but impressed by his sudden increase in skill, the Black Knight reveals his armor's weakness so that the next time they meet they can have a fair duel. The third duel can be won, lost, or left unfinished, and is essentially a LuckBasedMission. The sequel, ''Radiant Dawn'', goes with Ike having won, but only because the Black Knight [[ILetYouWin let him]].