Line #59 ShootTheDog/LiveActionTV


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2	* ''Series/{{The 100}}'': Season 2 is built around taking Clarke, originally an ActualPacifist and AllLovingHero, and putting her in situations where she has to ShootTheDog. These include [[spoiler:executing her LoveInterest to secure an alliance with the Grounders, allowing hundreds of her allies to die to avoid blowing a double agent's cover, and ultimately committing full-on genocide against Mount Weather]], all in the name of protecting her people. By the season finale, she's shot the dog so much that she can no longer see herself as a good person, and instead views herself as someone who [[NecessarilyEvil commits evil so that others don't have to]].
3	* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Jack Bauer has been called upon to do this sort of thing numerous times during the series run, often to create plausible deniability for higher-ups during times when he's not officially on CTU's payroll. Examples include executing and beheading a witness in a criminal prosecution (to get undercover with the man he was to rat out); staging the execution of a captured terrorist's children (to get him to talk); breaking the ringleader of a drug cartel out of a maximum security prison (to intercept a bio-weapon his cartel was about to buy); threatening to expose a terrorist's innocent daughter to a fatal virus (to make him talk); threatening to kill a suspect whose lawyer had exempted him from questioning (again, to make him talk); invading the Chinese consulate and kidnapping a Chinese national, and sacrificing his lover's estranged husband (who [[TakingTheBullet took a bullet]] for Jack early in the day) to save said national, ultimately ending up in a Chinese prison for it (to insulate the US government from reprisal); and hijacking Marine One and ''holding the President hostage'' (to get a confession of the crimes he'd committed). He also does shoot a dog, but that was in self defence. His shooting dead of [[spoiler:Nina Myers]] in Season 3, on the other hand, was plain revenge-fuelled murder.
4	** Michelle Dessler shoots a civilian because he may be infected with a deadly virus and was trying to escape quarantine.
5	* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E3MakingFriendsAndInfluencingPeople "Making Friends and Influencing People"]], Skye is forced to shoot [[AnIcePerson Donnie Gill]] to save Hunter and May. Donnie, while certainly dangerous and unstable, only wanted to be left alone and was only a danger to the SHIELD as he had been [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] by HYDRA.
6	* ''Series/{{Andor}}'':
7	** Luthen arranges the Aldhani heist for the purpose of ''deliberately'' provoking the Empire into cracking down hard and committing atrocities and repression against the people of the galaxy. Why? Because it will get the nascent Rebel Alliance more recruits and resources, plus cause additional uprisings that will further divide and weaken the Empire. Does it suck that trillions of innocent people are going to suffer for his purposeful escalation of the war? Sure. But if means moving a step closer to ending the tyrannical Empire, then to Luthen it's justified.
8	** In the episode "One Way Out", Luthen does this again twofold, by letting 50 rebels die in an ISB ambush to prevent his deep cover agent within the ISB from being compromised. Said agent has recently become a father and has grown tired of the long years of living a double life and wanted to quit, but Luthen [[ResignationsNotAccepted forces him to continue working for him by not so subtly threatening his newborn child]], while pointing out the ISB would probably figure out he'd been the mole if he tried to quit anyway.
9	* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': The crew, consistently and awesomely due to this show being DarkerAndEdgier than its parent show. For example, Wesley torturing a female druggie, Angel allowing Darla and Drusilla to kill a lot of Wolfram & Hart employees, and anything the recurring villain Holtz ever does.
10	%%* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'': Season 2 sees Gene Hunt shoot the dog.
11	* ''Series/BabylonFive'': This show is full of this. Then again, every race and every individual in Babspace is a MagnificentBastard -- even the heroes are like this at times.
12	** Even one of the most sympathetic and innocent characters in the series, Vir Cotto, has done this. [[spoiler:He was the one who actually killed [[TheCaligula Emperor Cartagia]].]] A necessary action, if extreme, and no one ([[DirtyBusiness least of all him]]) wished that it had to be done.
13	** In the ExpandedUniverse, the Centauri's measures to keep Na'ka'leen Feeders from reaching an inhabitated world are positively murderous. As Feeders are a terrifying threat (as shown when a relatively ''tame'' one appeared in the show) and a single one reaching an inhabitated world could start a threat to the entire galaxy, it's the only reasonable thing to do.
14	* ''Bangkok Hilton'': In the backstory, Hal Stanton thwarted a plan by Allied soldiers to escape from a Japanese POW camp in Thailand, as he knew that their captors would execute two prisoners for every one that escaped, a factor that the escapees refused to take into account. As a result, eight escapees were executed. The worst part? The guards themselves escaped the very next day when it turned out that the war was effectively over.
15	* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'':
16	** Has made this an almost weekly theme. Laura Roslin and Saul Tigh are the show's unquestioned champions - the former going so far as to kidnap and fake the death of a newborn unbeknownst to her parents and the latter going so far as to poison his own wife in order to give her a peaceful death after she was caught collaborating with the Cylons. (Probably the kindest thing he could have done, seeing what happens to ''other'' collaborators in the very next episode.) [[spoiler:Reports of her death might have been exaggerated.]]
17	** Al-Queda-style suicide bombing and planned genocide via biological weapon!
18	** Canine execution via firearms starts up in the pilot miniseries and just keeps on going. Leaving behind ships that can't jump to FTL and Helo gunning down a man trying to jump onto an already-full Raptor are just two of the ugly decisions characters make. And [[FromBadToWorse things get worse as the series progresses.]]
19	** Things get pretty dark pretty fast on that show.
20	* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': In one episode, Vila orders a pro-Federation surgeon to operate on a fellow rebel at gunpoint, then says that Blake isn't the sort of person to do this. [[spoiler: Then a few minutes later, Blake subverts this trope by [[BewareTheNiceOnes threatening to cripple the surgeon's hands if he delays any longer]].]]
21	* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Played with in the episode "The Man in the Cell". Bad guy Epps goes over the balcony rail, Booth lunges and [[TakeMyHand catches his wrist]], there's a long moment (and some really creepy dialogue from Epps)...and then Epps is street pizza. Did Booth let go or not? This turns into a sub-arc over the next few episodes.
22	* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
23	** [[spoiler:Jesse is forced to kill Gale in order to prevent Walter's execution.]] When he tries to talk about his reaction to the incident at [[spoiler:rehab]], he even states that he was forced to put down a dog.
24	** Then in Season 5/Episode 5, [[spoiler:Todd shoots the boy on the dirt bike.]] Since he wasn't notably good or evil until this point, it also serves as an EstablishingCharacterMoment.
25	** [[spoiler: Walter White's last]] phone call to [[spoiler: his wife Skyler]] is full of intense verbal abuse, that absolves the latter from complicity in the former's crimes in the eyes of the police.
26	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
27	** Giles prevents the hellgoddess Glory from ever returning by [[spoiler: [[CoupDeGrace suffocating]] [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan her human vessel]] Ben. He specifies that he's doing this because...or so that...Buffy never would. (The page quote comes from earlier in that episode, where he foresees having to do such a thing with Dawn.)]]
28	** In a later season, the show having gotten a bit darker or at least grayer, Giles confronts Buffy about whether she would make the same choice again (Dawn vs. Saving the World) and she admits that life has taught her some dogs have to be shot and now she would sacrifice even Dawn if she had to in order to prevent the Apocalypse. She even outright tells Principal Wood she would be willing to let Spike kill him if Wood forces the issue, because Spike is the more useful soldier in the coming battle and she has to make the tough decisions if the world is going to survive.
29	** Buffy herself has had to shoot the dog. In "Becoming, Part II", [[spoiler:seconds after her vampire boyfriend Angel has his soul restored, the ritual he performed when he was the soulless Angelus kicks off and threatens to drag all of Earth into Hell. The only way Buffy can save the world is by killing Angel and consigning him to Hell instead...which she does]].
30	** Wesley tries to get the group to do this when the BigBad of Season 3 tries to bargain with them using Willow as a hostage. Wesley argues that the potential death of tens of thousands if they accept the deal far outweighs the certain death of one person if they refuse. [[spoiler: Willow's boyfriend Oz breaks the AppliedPhlebotinum that would be used to destroy the Box of Gavrok. The Scoobies give the BigBad the box in exchange for Willow, deciding to simply ignore Wesley from that point on. It's in stark contrast to the ''{{Series/Angel}}'' spin-off where Wesley's sort of advice tends to be the decision that's often much more likely to be taken.]]
31	** Heck this was started as far back as the second episode after Jesse, Willow and Xander's longtime friend, winds up turned into a vampire. Before the final confrontation with Luke, Giles makes it clear to the two that while he may look like their friend, it's really nothing more then a monster and that they ''will'' have to kill him. [[spoiler: When all said and done, Jesse winds up dispatched purely by accident.]]
32	** In Season 9, this is Whistler regarding his actions in season 8. His plan was to create a better world where good and evil were balanced even if it meant sacrificing billions of people's lives.
33	* ''Series/BurnNotice'':
34	** In the season 2 finale, [[spoiler:Michael has to kill Victor. It's partly a MercyKill, since Victor says that the people who're after them will take him apart if they get him, but it's mostly just an expedient move for Michael in order to get closer to the people who burned him. Considering Victor was trying to kill Michael up until about halfway through this episode]], it's a TearJerker. Especially since the good guys have gone out of their way to avoid directly killing ''anyone'' after ten minutes into the first episode.
35	** And in the season 3 episode "The Long Way Back", [[spoiler:Michael shoots his "partner" Strickler, upon finding out that he had arranged for Fiona to be kidnapped and handed over to any one of the various people who wanted her dead, simply because she was a potential red flag in Michael's file. Strickler had already pulled a gun on him at that point, and was not particularly inclined to let Michael do anything to prevent the plan from going through.]]
36	* ''Series/{{Charmed\|1998}}'':
37	** Happens quite a lot:
38	** The season 1 finale saw the sisters getting attacked by a demon who had a master of time on his side so that whenever the demon himself was killed by the sisters, [[GroundhogDayLoop the day would rewind and start over]]. The sisters discovered that the only way to stop this was to allow the day to end without vanquishing the demon. Prue cast a spell to fast forward the rest of the day but it meant letting Andy die as he had sacrificed himself to save the sisters in the third version of the day (Phoebe and Piper had died in the previous two versions instead).
39	** The episode "A Witch In Time" had Phoebe getting a premonition of her boyfriend dying in a robbery and she saved him, only for the [[BalancingDeathsBooks Angel of Death to keep trying to kill him]] that resulted in her and Paige being killed by demons. Piper went back in time and was forced to give Phoebe the wrong directions during the robbery so that her boyfriend would be killed this time.
40	** Phoebe's rebellious high school self eventually took over her and she busted an old school friend out of prison and he went on a rampage, using her powers to his advantage. Once the cops were after him again, he ordered her to change his appearance magically. She and Paige made him look like Chris who was being hunted by demons. The demons then appeared and killed the man, thinking him to be Chris.
41	* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': This happens quite literally. After Pripyat is evacuated, all the pets left behind must be put down by a group of soldiers, to avoid them starving to death, dying of radiation-related illnesses, or getting contaminated and spreading radiation outside the exclusion zone. The officer in charge has two rules: No [[RecklessGunUsage pointing the gun at him]], and no letting the animals suffer.
42	* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': Played for laughs in one episode. Morgan has to go undercover as a crime boss. To sell his story, when he enters a meeting, he is on a cellphone (pretending to ) convince/order his lackey to shoot a dog. The other crime bosses there look either confused or disgusted.
43	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor has often found himself taking this role.
44	** The stand-out moment for the Fourth Doctor doing this has got to be from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]], with him forcing Davros into ordering the destruction of the prototype Daleks by holding down his life support shutoff switch to torture him.
45	** In the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels set during his seventh incarnation, he would commit such morally questionable acts so often that he quickly turned into a KnightTemplar, and remained so for most of the series.
46	** It especially became a character trait in his ninth and tenth incarnations. Instances include, in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek "Dalek"]] sealing his companion in a bunker with a Dalek in order to prevent the Dalek from escaping, and drowning the ''children'' of a GiantSpider [[HiveQueen Empress]] in [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]] rather than letting them devour the Earth.
47	** He also [[spoiler:destroyed his entire species in order to end the Time War. Sure, the Time Lord authorities had gone OmnicidalManiac by that point, but he killed everyone on Gallifrey, which presumably included innocents.]]
48	*** In [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]], [[spoiler:Eleven meets the former self who actually shot this particular dog, as well as Ten, and together they manage to avert the trope by forcing Gallifrey to disappear intact, rather than destroying it.]]
49	** However, the Ninth Doctor gloriously subverts this trope in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]. Poised with a weapon capable of destroying the Dalek Emperor's fleet — along with all of Earth — he cannot pull the trigger. It's all the more satisfying (though [[{{Tearjerker}} heartbreaking]]) given his actions in "Dalek".
50	** Arguably the worst example shown so far is in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]], [[spoiler:causing the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, and the destruction of Pompeii, in order to save the rest of humanity from being turned into Pyroviles.]]
51	** In Eleventh Doctor episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E10TheGirlWhoWaited "The Girl Who Waited"]], [[spoiler:the Doctor tricks an older version of Amy into believing she can escape after thirty-six years imprisonment, so she'll help him save the younger Amy from being imprisoned and thus becoming her in the first place. [[ILied He's lying]] — the paradox cannot be maintained and one Amy must die. When she attempts a MeadowRun towards him, he slams the TARDIS doors closed, leaving her to die. And then he gives the gun for Rory to shoot with a SadisticChoice: Rory must pick which Amy he wants to save.]]
52	** The Doctor's not the only one who's had to do this.
53	*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E4TheRomans The Romans]]": Meet Tavius, Nero's major-domo and TokenGoodTeammate, and a kind-hearted FriendToAllLivingThings. Who finds himself in a position of having to aid in a plot to do away with Nero. If one believes in the hereafter, one suspects that were he real, he and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer]] would be fast friends.
54	*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E7Kerblam "Kerblam!"]]: [[spoiler:The Kerblam! computer system, in an attempt to keep BombThrowingAnarchist Charlie, who has been hacking it, from sending out packages with explosive bubble wrap to kill thousands of innocent customers, kills Charlie's crush Kira with one of the bombs to try and make him see what kind of pain he would be inflicting on others. It doesn't work, but it ''does'' make Charlie snap enough for him to be unmasked and stopped by the Doctor and company.]]
55	* ''Series/Evil2019'': Kristen tangles with Leland Townsend, a rival forensic psychologist planning to reverse her previous work for the D.A.'s office ForTheEvulz. She first tries to secretly record him admitting to his motives for getting a fifteen-year-old tried as an adult, but he anticipates her and jams most of the recording. [[spoiler:So she agrees with Ben's proposal to manufacture the recording with deep-fake software, and passes it off to the defense as the real thing, destroying Townsend's reputation. It's technically evidence-tampering, a felony, but in Kristen's defense Townsend did in fact say everything she told Ben he did.]]
56	* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
57	** Has Crais offering to execute Aeryn's mother (who was sent to hunt them down and kill them) after they capture her so Aeryn doesn't have to witness it. He doesn't actually 'shoot the dog', he fakes it and offers a proposal to Aeryn's mom where she returns to the Peacekeepers and says the job is done in exchange for her life. Technically averted...
58	** No, that's technically a DoubleSubversion. In a later episode, Crais DOES shoot Aeryn's mother to save Aeryn's life. Which is exactly the kinda material this trope is made of.
59	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
60	** [[TheHero Mal]] is the rare lead character who never needs a side character to shoot the dog for him. He's more than willing to [[GoodIsNotSoft kill]] someone to protect [[TrueCompanions his crew,]] and he does it on multiple occasions, even when killing them isn't strictly necessary.
61	** ''In regards to the following three examples, it should probably be said that every single time Mal Shoots The Dog he is doing so because his patience level has reached Zero. Each time you can almost hear him say; "I don't have time for your Húshuō bādào."''.
62	** In the pilot, he shoots Dobson (a federal agent) in the face without hesitation because he needed to get his crew off the planet as quickly as possible: Reavers were coming. He'd originally tried hard ''not'' to kill a fed because he didn't want that kind of heat, but the Reavers are a much more dangerous threat. Mal no longer has time to worry about the consequences. The fact that Dobson was threatening River at the time was, incredibly, incidental.
63	** In ''The Train Job'', he kicks the KingMook into Serenity's engines -- shredding the man into a mist of blood -- because he threatened to hunt them down over a deal gone bad. Mal didn't need that kind of annoyance on his daily life, and it certainly helps make the next guy he tries to deal with much more pliable.
64	** In ''The Message'', he shoots Tracy for trying to take [[TheHeart Kaylee]] hostage. Granted, he didn't explain ThePlan to Tracy before he was forced to start implementing it, but as soon as Tracy got aggressive and started threatening Mal's crew, Mal didn't hesitate to shoot to kill (slowly, painfully). Don't force Mal's hand.
65	** The culmination of Mal's "Shoot the Dog for the crew" mentality is shown in ''Ariel'' where he fully intends to [[ThrownOutTheAirlock space]] ''one of his own crew'' for trying to sell out two others to the Alliance for reward money. Jayne gets the message: for the rest of the series (and the movie), he never tries to double-cross Mal again.
66	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ned's killing of Sansa's direwolf Lady because, in his words: "The wolf is of the North. She deserves better than a butcher." It's worth noting that Ned refuses to ask or even let someone else take responsibility for Shooting The Dog, as shown with both Will the deserter ''and'' Lady. He even looks them in the eyes (and hears out their last words, in Will's case).
67	* During one particular moral conflict (of which he had no shortage in the ''{{Series/Gotham}}'') Jim Gordon faces his most difficult choice. Having disarmed Theo Galavan he prepares to arrest him again, when he realises that this man who already instigated a reign of terror once is too powerful and dangerous to live which prompts him to start considering the possibility of taking the law in his own hands. And as a fateful answer to his dilemma the Penguin suddenly appears and starts voicing all those questions that were slowly creeping in his mind all this time, about how men like him are beyond the law and about how he will condemn the citizenry to even more casualties including most likely his loved ones if he expects Galavan to be punished by the law. And Jim makes his choice and this choice involves not only saying DoWithHimAsYouWill but actually pulling the trigger that cut both Theo's life and his torture short.
68	* ''Series/{{House}}'': Had its doctors treat an Idi Amin-analogue called Dbala. Cameron says repeatedly that she hopes he dies, and makes moves toward convincing his second-in-command to seize power by killing him, but still treats him as best she can. [[spoiler: Then her husband Chase instinctively calls out a warning that thwarts an assassin. Later, he hears the assassin's backstory (and some of the dictator's genocidal rant), and decides he can't live with having saved this monster's life, so he fakes a test result, deliberately causing the dictator's death, which eventually causes Cameron to leave him and Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.]]
69	* The opening scene of the first episode of ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'' shows congressman Frank Underwood putting an off-camera dog out of its misery after its been hit by a car by choking it to death. He does this while [[BreakingTheFourthWall monologuing]] about doing what's necessary to end suffering.
70	* ''Series/JuliusCaesar2003'': During the Siege of Alesia, the Gauls are near starvation while waiting for relief from the other tribes. In a last-ditch attempt to buy more time and weaken the Romans, they force their wives and children out of the city and onto the Romans. Caesar refuses to take them either, so they simply end up starving and freezing to death outside the walls.
71	* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': In the episode "Rage," Olivia shoots the perp engaged in a [[ItsPersonal personal battle]] of wills and wits with Elliot because she knew he wanted Elliot to shoot him since IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim.
72	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
73	** Eko shoots a man to keep his little brother from having to do so.
74	** Later, a flashback shows Sayid killing a chicken on his father's order after his older brother refuses to do so.
75	** The time [[spoiler: Sayid shot 12-year-old Ben Linus]] to try and avert all kinds of bad stuff in the future.
76	* ''Series/{{Merlin1998}}'': In this series, Merlin helps Uther rape Igraine by deceit, reasoning that it will stop the war, save many lives, and result in Arthur's birth.
77	* ''Series/{{Merlin\|2008}}'': In the new BBC series, [[PragmaticHero Merlin]] is forced to [[spoiler: poison Morgana, who he has been lying to about her magic and hiding his own from, because she is the vessel for a curse that has caused all of Camelot to fall into a sleep they cannot awaken from. Admittedly, his hand was forced by Kilgharrah the dragon and Morgause only made things worse, but up until that point, he had viewed Morgana as a great friend and there was even a little bit of romance between them. He also betrayed the location of a Druid camp that he'd led Morgana to in hopes that she would learn more about her magic because Uther was hunting down innocent people and killing them to find her. This also kickstarted Mordred's hatred of Merlin.]]
78	* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Gibbs shooting through Agent [[spoiler: [[PromotionToParent Michelle Lee]] to take out the Weatherman. And she asked him to do it]]! Complete TearJerker, right there.
79	** And in another episode he [[GoodIsNotSoft murders]] a group of idiots that ''captured'' [[TrueCompanions the rest of his team.]]
80	* ''Series/NewTricks'': A literal example of this trope is demonstrated in the pilot's opening after Sandra Pullman shoots a dog in self-defense during a bust on an Asian cockfighting ring. This incident and the bad publicity that results leads to her being assigned to start the Unsolved Crimes and Open Cases Squad (UCOS), the premise of the series.
81	** "You shoot one dog in this country!"
82	* ''Series/PieInTheSky'': There's one episode where WPC Cambridge arrests an old police friend of Crabbe who's guilty of taking a bribe, to spare Crabbe from having to do so.
83	* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': In Season 2 Episode 9, one of the bad guys says this literally about Bear, the dog mascot of Team Machine.
84	* ''Series/{{Powers}}'': Happens no less than four times:
85	** Christian agrees with Johnny Royalle's plan to kill Wolfe, while intending to regain his own powers from Wolfe before killing him.
86	** After Conrad Moody destroys the evidence linking him to Retro Girl's murder, Christian throws him out of the window.
87	** Calista kills her abusive father after he robs a bank and asks her to help him escape.
88	** Deena kills Morrison with her newfound powers in retaliation for trying to kill her partner.
89	* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. The conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar try to kill Marc Antony as well, despite Brutus having forbid it. When Brutus call them out on this, they point out his HonorBeforeReason. As he doesn't know of their actions, his honor is not besmirched. Brutus replies that actually he's twice dishonored, because now he looks like a fool for not knowing what his own followers were up to.
90	* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'':
91	** To put it bluntly, one must perform this trope to survive in the post-blackout world.
92	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E2ChainedHeat episode 2]], [[spoiler: Rachel Matheson shot the Wiry Stranger to prevent him from stealing their food and because he put her little daughter Charlie in danger]].
93	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E8TiesThatBind episode 8]], [[spoiler: Tom Neville revealed to Monroe that Tom's friend Colonel John Faber's son was a rebel in order to prevent his son Jason from being executed and from being sent to California. In case you're wondering, Faber's son and his cohorts were shot on the spot off-screen, and the colonel is last seen being tortured on-screen because Monroe is not sure where the colonel's loyalties lie. Tom Neville had to have known that this would happen]].
94	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E9Kashmir episode 9]], [[spoiler:Rachel stabs Dr. Bradley Jaffe to death so Monroe won't kill her and her son [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness for no longer being of value to him]]]].
95	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E14TheNightTheLightsWentOutInGeorgia episode 14]], [[spoiler: Miles Matheson wants Charlie to kill some Georgian soldiers to get their uniforms. SubvertedTrope, because Alec Penner had already killed those Georgian soldiers]].
96	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E16TheLoveBoat episode 16]], [[spoiler: Rachel shot Curt Thompson because he was going to shoot her and Aaron for stealing his food]].
97	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E17TheLongestDay episode 17]], [[spoiler: Rachel knocks out Lee Blackmore and leaves Blackmore's son to die. DeconstructedTrope, because she reveals to Aaron that she's not doing any of this for the greater good, but because she wants revenge against Monroe for Danny's death. In other words, she's doing it not because it's necessary, but because it's easier]].
98	** In [[Recap/RevolutionS1E20TheDarkTower the first season finale]], [[spoiler: Rachel wanted to abandon the wounded Nora Clayton in order to get the power back on, and Nora even urged them to just leave her. Charlie makes this a DefiedTrope by pointing out that this is not an either-or situation. So, Rachel and Aaron go to get the power back on, while Charlie and Miles go to get Nora to the infirmary]].
99	* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'':
100	** [[TheLancer John]] kills the [[SerialKiller killer cabbie]] in [[Recap/SherlockS01E01AStudyInPink the first episode]] to stop [[HeterosexualLifePartners Sherlock]] from [[InsufferableGenius giving into his ego]] and eating a pill that has a 50/50 chance of killing him. [[JustifiedTrope Understandable]]; he ''did'' think [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Sherlock's life was threatened]].
101	** Sherlock killing Magnussen in the Series 3 finale, "[[Recap/SherlockS03E03HisLastVow His Last Vow]]", definitely qualifies, in a literal example (though more of a case of Shoot the Son of a Bitch). Sherlock blows Magnussen's brains out in front of John, Mycroft, and the police; since neither Sherlock nor John was under direct physical threat from Magnussen at the time, it's considered to be outright murder, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and Sherlock is promptly exiled for it]]. However, Magnussen was an AssholeVictim who ruined countless lives with his blackmailing schemes (including high-ranking figures in the government, likely the only reason Sherlock wasn't sent to prison), and was threatening to use his information about John's wife, Mary, to destroy both of their lives as well (and possibly even get them killed). Sherlock killed Magnussen in front of witnesses to protect them from this fate and to ensure that John was not blamed for the crime. And it's possible Sherlock wanted to make sure John was safe from Magnussen and was already pissed about the bonfire thing.
102	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
103	** [[AbusiveParents Lionel]] and Lex Luthor have both done this at some point, although in the most iconic cases of both, [[AdaptationalSelfDefense they were protecting someone else]].
104	** [[CreatorsPet Lana Lang]], Pete Ross, and [[AntiHero Oliver Queen]] also used this ideology as justification for attacking Lex with lethal intent while under the influence of mind-altering substances. It seemed like this was the case for Kara Kent as well, but that was simply [[spoiler:[[OmnicidalManiac Brainiac]] in disguise]].
105	* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
106	** Happens at least twice in ''Series/StargateSG1''. Both times, it's a member of SG-1 killing someone dear to Daniel and explaining "IDidWhatIHadToDo". The first time, Teal'c killed Daniel's wife Sha're to prevent her Goa'uld from killing Daniel. The second time, O'Neill shot the android Reese to stop her replicator army, even though Daniel believes he had already managed to talk her down so the shooting was unnecessary.
107	** In the first episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Shepherd has to kill [[spoiler: his CO]] after the latter has the life sucked out of him by a Wraith.
108	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
109	** Section 31 is a secret group in Starfleet, which [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans performs rather shady actions while giving Starfleet plausible deniability]]. Suspicious fans wondered if this was LampshadeHanging to explain how the on-screen portrayal of the Federation became less idealistic over time.
110	** "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E19InThePaleMoonlight In the Pale Moonlight]]": Garak and Sisko hatch a morally ambiguous plot to frame the Dominion for plotting an attack on the Romulan Empire, in order to get them to join in the war effort. This plot is recognized as a fake by a Romulan senator who is [[spoiler:promptly murdered by Garak]]. Though angry at first, Sisko eventually comes to grudgingly accept that it was a necessity. While some fans consider this to be one of the best episodes in the entire series, others interpret Sisko's attitude at the end of the episode as StupidGood; Garak did what Sisko's plan logically led to, but Sisko kept clinging to a vision of himself that was incompatible with what he actually wanted -- Romulan intervention in the war to save Earth and the Federation. Then again, Garak explicitly calls him on this ("That's why you brought me in, remember?") and points out that the self-respect of one Starfleet officer (plus a few not-so-innocent dogs getting shot) is well worth it as a cost for saving their entire region of the galaxy from the Dominion in the long-run.
111	* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': A few episodes in the third season display Archer's increasing reliance on the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. Archer tosses a man into an airlock and then drains the air to torture him for information. Another episode had them commit an act of piracy in desperation later in the season. These episodes were produced not too long after 9/11.
112	* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In the second pilot "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E3WhereNoManHasGoneBefore Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", [[NumberTwo Spock]] recommends that Gary Mitchell be killed before his [[AGodAmI growing power]] gets completely out of hand. [[TheCaptain Kirk]] initially rejects the suggestion in favor of merely marooning Mitchell, but [[OhCrap finally realizes]] that he has no choice (and almost gets killed himself because he hesitates the first time he has an opportunity to go through with it).
113	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS1E9PrimeFactors Prime Factors]]", Voyager's crew come across a race of aliens who have the technology to get them home, but who refuse to help them. A faction within their society agrees to covertly give them the technology in exchange for Voyager's library (stories being used as currency). However, the transaction is illegal, and Janeway refuses on principle. Some of the more militant crewmembers decide otherwise, only to be busted by Security Chief Tuvok, who then proceeds to make the exchange himself.
114	-->'''Janeway:''' I don't even know where to start. I want you to explain to me how you, of all people, could be involved in this.\
115	'''Tuvok:''' It is quite simple, Captain. You have made it clear on many occasions that your highest goal for the crew is to get them home. But in this instance, your standards would not allow you to violate Sikaran law. Someone had to spare you the ethical dilemma. I was the logical choice, and so I chose to act.
116	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
117	** More like "Shoot the Werewolf" in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS02E17Heart Heart]]". Madison is a sweet, engaging GirlOfTheWeek but also a danger to herself and everyone around her. She asks Sam (who's slightly in love) to do it as he's the only one she trusts, and she's [[ICannotSelfTerminate unable to do it herself]]. Dean offers to do it but instead we [[SoundOnlyDeath hear a shot offscreen]] and end on Dean looking miserable and flinching.
118	** This is Sam's character arc for season 4. Even with how badly it turned out, his intentions were good. This happens again in season 6 when [[SoullessShell Sam temporarily loses his soul]] and is [[OurSoulsAreDifferent willing to do anything]] (including letting his brother get turned into a vampire) to get the job done.
119	** A season five episode features a [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] child named Jesse, whom Castiel quickly determines is an [[TheAntichrist Antichrist]] who Lucifer can manipulate into destroying the entire angelic Host. [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel]]'s reaction to such a dangerous potential threat is to grab the nearest knife and move to [[WouldHurtAChild take Jesse out]] before his power can grow any further.
120	* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'':
121	** Finds a new dog to shoot in virtually every episode (as could be expected, given the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt consequences of failure]] and the presence of an emotionless android and a paranoid future soldier in the regular cast). For instance, in an early episode, the benign terminator Cameron prevents John from saving a suicidal girl, reasoning that he could draw attention to himself and risk getting exposed and drawing the attention of other terminators. The biggest example is Andy [[MeaningfulName Good]], an innocent computer engineer who will one day invent [=SkyNet=], who gets shot (though Sarah's pretty upset about it).
122	** In the episode "The Brothers of Nablus", Cameron guns down three thieves who stole from their house, simply because they knew where the Connors lived. [[spoiler: Sarah spares the last robber, who was hiding in the bathroom. Cromartie eventually comes along and susses the location of the Connor's house from him.]]
123	* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'':
124	** Jack Harkness has taken up this role quite a few times, starting with [[spoiler:giving a child to [[FairFolk evil fairies]] to keep them from murdering innocents in "[[Recap/TorchwoodS1E5SmallWorlds Small Worlds]]"]] and going up to [[spoiler:sacrificing his own grandson in order to save millions of other children in ''Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth'']].
125	** A couple of more literal examples in killing Suzie and Lisa. Jack is very Needs of the Many guy.
126	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The episode "The Lonely" involves a convicted murderer stranded on a barren asteroid, far from any settled worlds, slowly going mad from loneliness. A sympathetic cargo ship captain leaves him a robot companion, who the convict initially rejects but steadily comes to love. Then the ship comes back with news that the convict has received a pardon... but [[ColdEquation for reasons of fuel efficiency]], he can't take the robot with him. When the convict pleads for the captain to let him bring the robot, the captain ''shoots her in the face'', in a way that indicates he's had to do this exact thing before. He quietly assures the convict that all he's leaving behind is loneliness.
127	* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Ends season 3 with Bartlet reluctantly ordering the assassination of terrorist leader and foreign diplomat Abdul Shareef. Bartlet sees this as an absolute wrong, but flawed evidence gathering prevents them from putting him on trial, and Leo convinces him that it's the only way to prevent future terrorist attacks.
128	* ''Series/TheWire'': Done straight in Season Three where Cheese shoots his dog after taking it to a dog-fighting ring and the animal is wounded beyond recovery in the process. The police mistake it as code when he mentions it over the phone and question him if he committed any of the murders that have been happening.
129	* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'':
130	** Ironic reversal: had Gabrielle saving her potentially-future-demonic-minion infant daughter Hope by ''not'' killing her in secret. Later events strongly indicate she probably should have.
131	** Later events also give the impression that it might not have worked ([[spoiler:she came back from being poisoned and the body burned, after all]]) ''and'' that Gabrielle might have been correct all along: Hope clearly cared for her mother and was hurt about being abandoned. Perhaps being brought up by a loving parent to teach her right from wrong might have done some good. Or perhaps not. Regardless, secretly not-killing her clearly didn't help.
132

Context ShootTheDog / LiveActionTV