Line #31 Main/TheWindowOrTheStairs


1	->''"The easy way is always mined."''
2	-->-- From ''[[MurphysLaw Murphy's Laws]] of Combat''
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4	This occurs when a character is given two choices; one of which sounds much easier/safer/more pleasant than the other option. When the "better" option is chosen, it is subsequently revealed that they've actually picked the ''worse'' option without realizing it until it's too late.
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6	Named after a RunningGag in the film ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka''. Creator/DamonWayans and Creator/KadeemHardison play EvilMinions who are always being told by other characters that they can leave the building via "[[DestinationDefenestration the window]] or the stairs". Each time, they choose the stairs and each time they get thrown painfully down a long flight of stairs.
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8	For people ''actually'' leaving via the window, see DestinationDefenestration and SuperWindowJump. See also TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay. Contrast SadisticChoice. When someone is ''baited'' into this folly, it's usually SchmuckBait; see also OriginalPositionFallacy, which tends to be how said bait is set up. If the two bad options turn out to be the same, that's MortonsFork. In video games, this is related to PathOfMostResistance.
9	----
10	!!Examples:
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13	[[folder:Comic Books]]
14	* In the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' comic miniseries ''The Sargasso Pirates'', some RuthlessModernPirates take Indy prisoner and say they will only spare his life if he passes either "the wet challenge" or "the dry challenge." Indy assumes that the wet challenge is some ocean-themed life-or-death struggle and takes the dry challenge. The wet challenge turns out to be a drinking contest, while the dry challenge entails ''staying'' dry by not falling into a pit with a hungry kraken inside.
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17	[[folder:Fan Works]]
18	* In ''FanFic/FateRevelationOnline'', [[spoiler:"dead" players]] are given the choice of working as beta-testers for upcoming content or death. Kayaba is too stingy to actually kill anyone who chooses the latter option, instead using them as [[FateWorseThanDeath test subjects for direct soul modification]]. The one seen after such a procedure was [[EmptyShell catatonic]].
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21	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
22	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', Cera and the other dinosaurs refuse to follow Littlefoot's instructions on where to go to find the Great Valley, instead taking an easier path. Their "easier path" winds up trapping them all in a deadly lava flow and nearly gets them killed until Littlefoot saves them.
23	* In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', our heroes come across a chasm. Dory was told that they had to go through it, and she tries to tell Marlin, who ignores her and then tricks her into swimming over it, since it seems much safer. They end up in a huge swarm of jellyfish, and they both almost die because of the stings.
24	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish\|2023}}'', Everyone in Rosa is led to believe Magnifico's method may be the easier way to grant their wish, even though no one has any idea whose wish Magnifico will grant or when, with Sabino waiting for decades. Meanwhile, the Star methods are harder as while Star does help you, you still have to put the work into it, but ultimately the wish does get granted.
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27	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
28	* ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka'', as described above. The trope is subverted at the end of the film when the protagonist says "There's two ways outta here..." at which point Wayans screams and jumps out the window. This prompts one of the heroes to say, "Didn't he know about the elevator?"
29	* Subverted and then completely lampshaded in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''. Captain Taggert sees the path between himself and the Berylium Sphere he needed for his ship is clear. [[GenreSavvy Suspecting this trope is in play]], he begins taking the 'window' by dodging from boulder to boulder and [[UnnecessaryCombatRoll rolling behind cover]]. Meanwhile the other characters simply stroll unmolested up the path. Gwen [=DeMarco=] looks over at him as they do and comments, "Does the rolling help, actually?" Capt. Taggerty stands up and dusts himself off. Unwilling to admit defeat, he says, "Uh huh. It helps." Then she points out that during his somersaults he actually dropped his raygun.
30	* In ''Film/{{Frequency}}'', the main character's father died in a burning building because he found himself in this situation (one corridor in fire, another with just smoke) and picked the easy way. When the main character tells him he has to go the other way, the father goes through the fire, which leads to a faster way out of the building.
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33	[[folder:Jokes]]
34	* Many, many jokes about people going to Hell and getting to choose between a traditional torment or another that seems harmless or even desirable, only for the second choice to turn out to be TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment.
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37	[[folder:Literature]]
38	* Literature/{{Discworld}}:
39	** Played with in the novel ''Literature/GoingPostal''. Main character Moist von Lipwig is given a choice by Vetinari: He can take over the job of Postmaster General, or walk out a door in Vetinari's office, and Vetinari would never bother him again. Being a GenreSavvy sort of chap, Moist goes to the door, carefully peeks through it, and finds [[PitTrap a deep pit]] where the floor should be. He drops a spoon into the pit, and it doesn't make a sound for a rather long time. He takes the job. [[spoiler:At the end of the book, the BigBad is offered [[{{Bookends}} the same choice]] with a job at the Mint. It isn't stated whether he [[TooDumbToLive walks straight out the door without pausing to look]] or [[IDieFree purposefully did not consent to Vetinari's bargain]], but it seems we will not be hearing from him again.]]
40	---> '''Vetinari:''' [[spoiler:You have to admire a man who ''really'' believes in freedom of choice. Sadly, he did not believe in angels.]]
41	** Further played with in ''Literature/MakingMoney'': Moist is given the same choice, and referred to the same door, on being offered a new job. Having ostentatiously repeated his previous actions, [[ParanoiaGambit he discovers the room now has a perfectly normal floor]]. When he asks what happened to it, Vetinari claims to have no idea what he's talking about.
42	* One of the main RunningGags in ''Literature/CiaphasCain''. Every time Cain makes a decision that looks like he chose the easy way out at the risk of damaging his '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''' reputation, he always stumbles on some unsuspected danger or vital clue that reveals the greater enemy. In one he doesn't go on the frontline to fight orks and thus discovers they're on a Necron tomb world, in another he joins a recon group only to find out the rebel factions are actually genestealers, or takes a squad with him away from a battle on a hunch and ends up disturbing a daemonic summoning ritual. It's so consistent that Jurgen, who fought next to him for more than a century, is convinced that Cain's doing it on purpose.
43	** Cain does see this coming, sometimes. On many occasions, he has stood his ground or done something brave rather than take what many would consider the easier or cowardly way because he already realized the latter would ''definitely'' get him killed, while the other way at least stood a chance of survival.
44	* One ''[[Literature/TheBerenstainBears Berenstain Bears]]'' book had the kids go camping à la [[ScoutOut cub scouts]]. At one point their map tells them to take a long and winding mountain path around a deadly culvert, while their leader insists on taking the shortcut right over said culvert (ignoring the blank spot on the map). He takes the shortcut and promptly falls into the culvert because the bridge was out.
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47	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
48	* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E1TheRibosOperation "The Ribos Operation"]], the Doctor is given a mission by the White Guardian, and told that "nothing" would happen to him if he refused. The Doctor responds, "What? Nothing? You mean nothing will happen to me?", and the Guardian replies "Nothing at all. (pause) [[ExactWords Ever.]]"
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51	[[folder:Video Games]]
52	* In many a 2D AdventureGame and PlatformGame, the screen will have a set amount of space it can display. If there are 2 paths to take and one has more {{Mooks}} or [[SpikesOfDoom Spikes]], it will be much easier in the long run.
53	* In Mitra's palace in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', there are several areas where you have three hallways to choose from. On the floor in front of them, you find a message saying, "Take the long road". The shorter hallways either have a trapdoor that will drop you to the floor below or are lined with damaging floors.
54	* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo: [[spoiler:Episode 3 ends with your group wandering through a horde of zombies, using the classic zombie disguise. However, some zombies see through it, and one woman in your group gets bitten on the hand. You then have two choices; kill the zombie with your hatchet, or chop the woman's arm off. Over 80% of players chopped it off, because they had recently found out that chopping off the infected area just after someone is bitten can stop the infection spreading. Unfortunately, doing so results in said woman letting out a scream that attracts several zombies which kill her immediately.]]
55	* In the packed-in adventure ''Rivers of Light'' in the classic 8-bit computer game Adventure Construction Set, you face an area called Hell on your trip through the afterlife. Two paths are visible, one which is blank and the other which is on fire. Adventure Construction Set allows you to make any tile have any appearance; in this case, the "fire" tiles do minor damage that you can survive if you rest frequently or use healing items, while the "blank" tiles do horrific damage. The clue was found much earlier in the game -- an inscription saying that [[ExactWords nothing]] is worse than the fires of Hell.
56	* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' has a critical plot choice where [[PlayerCharacter Alphonse]] has to choose whether or not to go along with Cybil's plan of torturing a mermaid for information. However, if you admit to her that you have no other ideas, a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] of rescuing a mermaid from other hostile humans presents itself. If you refuse, this doesn't happen, and you end up fighting the mermaid instead.
57	* ''{{VideoGame/Bloodborne}}'': The player has two options for where to send the various survivors they help throughout the game. The first is Iosefka's clinic, which is run by a friendly doctor who helps you early in the game. The second is Oedon Chapel, a desecrated old church who's sole remaining inhabitant is a creepy, deformed man who giggles and talks to himself, and seems all too eager for the player to send him some company. [[spoiler: The twist is that shortly after you meet her, Iosefka is kidnapped and replaced by an imposter, who experiments on her -and any others who are sent to her clinic- turning them into horrible aberrations. The Chapel Dweller, on the other hand, turns out to be harmless, and depending on the player's choices, he and any other survivors at the Chapel actually have a chance of making it through the night]].
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60	[[folder:Webcomics]]
61	* [[Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja Dr. McNinja]] [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/28p21/ encounters]] a choice in the White House Negazone. It turns out the Negazone [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/28p22/ likes to play tricks]].
62	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Petey mentions that by all indications, the operation should be as easy as calling up some people performing a dangerous experiment and telling them to stop. Kevyn is less impressed, and when they do call it turns out that not only are they not believed, but [[YouAreTooLate the experiment is already well underway]].
63	-->'''Kevyn:''' You do know the easy way is usually mined.\
64	'''Petey:''' You're being optimistic. The shared experiences of ground troops throughout history is that the easy way is ''always'' mined.
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67	[[/folder]]
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69	[[folder:Web Original]]
70	* Used straight in a '''Diceman''' game comic - In one story if you chose to descend the stairs you'd meet a bunch of demons on the way up and get torn to pieces. The other option involved escaping through the window onto clotheslines.
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73	[[folder:Western Animation]]
74	* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheKingOfOmashu "The King of Omashu"]], the eponymous King is putting Aang through a series of tests. For the last one, he tells Aang to choose one of two warriors to fight. [[spoiler:Aang tries to TakeAThirdOption and choose the old, crazy King himself - but he was expecting this, informing Aang that he's an incredibly powerful earthbender and tougher opponent than both of the warriors presented. In fact, he's one of the two strongest earthbenders in the entire series, the other one being Toph Beifong.]]
75	-->'''His Majesty:''' Heh heh, ''wrong'' choice!
76	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'', Sheen is challenged to a gladiatorial duel to the death. When given a choice of weapon, he's told that he can use either a trident or a "huggy bunny". He picks the trident, which turns out to be essentially a fork, while his opponent picked the huggy bunny, which is actually a five-headed fire-spitting staff.
77	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/VivaPinata'' has Fergie and Paulie try to guide a sleepwalking Ella through dangerous territory, at one point having to choose between "Certain Doom Avenue" or "Fluffy Pillow Cul-de-sac". It's only after they pick the latter does Paulie remember that a cul-de-sac is closed at one end, leading to them crashing through some Dead End signs and tumbling down a hill.
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80	[[folder:Real Life]]
81	* The page quote accurately sums up military movements, especially in third and fourth generation warfare. Easy paths, such as staying on a road or crossing an open field, are deadly. Even movement within the immediate area can be like this. It can be very tedious to approach an objective properly and stick to good movement, then clear the objective properly, but failing to do so can get soldiers killed.
82	** Troops under fire are trained to use a variety of movement techniques which can involve crawling without lifting your head or body up, springing to your feet and running for three seconds before sprawling to the ground, and so on. In a modern army, a soldier might be expected to do this with about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of load. Of course, they could just walk normally - and be picked off much more easily.
83	** Continually varying patrol routes and keeping an unpredictable schedule can be murderously taxing on the troops, but any pattern or routine which would make a troop's life easier also allows a watchful enemy to ambush them.
84	** Many military accomplishments amount to someone taking the hard path no one expected them to, from Hannibal's crossing the Alps and Arno to Deng Ai crossing 'impassable' mountains to invade Shu.
85	** Flying "nap of the earth" is a dangerous flying technique of staying low to the ground and using the topography to conceal one's location. According to Pakistan, this sort of flying allowed four US helicopters to make it to Osama bin Laden's hiding place in 2011 without Pakistani radar detection. This type of flying, whether done with helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, is much more difficult than simply flying high above the terrain - but it does result in the aircraft not being as likely to be detected and shot down.
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