History HonorBeforeReason / LiveActionTV

** In Season 5's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS5E4TheBrotherhood The Brotherhood]]", Ernesto Lopez, the son of Walker's close friend, Marta Lopez, is wrongly accused of rape after being picked off in a PoliceLineup, and while Alex arranges for a DNA test to prove he didn't do it, Ernesto needs an air-tight alibi to avoid prison time, let alone register as a sex offender. Ernesto fell in love a Congressman's daughter who had recently enrolled at Harvard Law School last May while doing service on her BMW, and was afraid of upsetting her father if he told Walker and Alex he was seeing her the night the rape took place, having agreed to keep their relationship a secret until after his honorable discharge from the Marines and she graduates law school. Walker and Alex promise not to tell the Congressman if he told the truth, and Ernesto is eventually cleared of all charges via a DNA Test but [[spoiler:[[YouAreTooLate Walker is too late]] to tell him the good news since a group of {{Dirty Cop}}s who decided to kill off criminals who managed to beat the justice system killed him, because they forgot to check that he was innocent. [[IWarnedYou Walker warned them their malicious and extremist actions would eventually result in an innocent person being killed]].]]

** In Season 5's "The Brotherhood", Ernesto Lopez, the son of Walker's close friend, Marta Lopez, is wrongly accused of rape after being picked off in a PoliceLineup, and while Alex arranges for a DNA test to prove he didn't do it, Ernesto needs an air-tight alibi to avoid prison time, let alone register as a sex offender. Ernesto fell in love a Congressman's daughter who had recently enrolled at Harvard Law School last May while doing service on her BMW, and was afraid of upsetting her father if he told Walker and Alex his alibi the night the rape took place, having agreed to keep their relationship a secret until after his honorable discharge from the Marines and she graduates law school. Walker and Alex promise not to tell the Congressman if he told the truth, and Ernesto is eventually cleared of all charges via a DNA Test but [[spoiler:[[YouAreTooLate Walker is too late]] to tell him the good news since a group of {{Dirty Cop}}s who decided to kill off criminals who managed to beat the justice system killed him, because they forgot to check that he was innocent. [[IWarnedYou Walker warned them their malicious and extremist actions would eventually result in an innocent person being killed]].]]

* Series/{{Vikings}}: After Ragnar's sword breaks, the Earl lets Ragnar smash their shields to bits and then tosses his own sword away so that they can pause to re-arm themselves with axes. This might be due to the duel's ritualistic nature.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' may be one of the only times this is portrayed negatively. Walter White, the AntiHero, declines money from his very wealthy former friend to pay for his cancer treatment, opting instead to cook meth. He does this out of {{pride}} as the money comes from the company that he co-founded but dropped out of at the wrong time. Rather than showing his inner good, it shows that from the beginning that he was a selfish and petty man who lets his pride rule everything he does, deciding to [[ShouldntYouStopStealing turn down money]] that could help his family in the long-run because of it. [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain It also serves to foreshadow]] [[VillainProtagonist the kind of man he eventually becomes.]]

** During the fourth season, all of the Scoobies arguably fall into this, being largely against killing Spike after he got his RestrainingBolt because he's helpless, despite the fact that he was one of their worst enemies and kept saying that he would kill them all at the first opportunity once he got the chip removed. Of course, that doesn't stop them from regularly taunting him over his "impotence" and beating him up for fun or information.

** Minbari generally think they are putting HonorBeforeReason. The real picture is more complex and depends on which Minbari you talk to. Some Minbari traditions that fall into this category include greeting people with their gunports open as a gesture of respect (which leads to some panicking if the other party can't detect that their weapons aren't armed), reacting violently to even the ''intimation'' that they're lying (Minbari culturally CannotTellALie, except to save face for another person), and never retreating from a battle. The movie ''[[Recap/LegendOfTheRangersS01E00 The Legend of the Rangers]]'' shows that last one being challenged somewhat after other races join the previously all-Minbari Anla'Shok (Rangers).

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct alphabetical order. Thanks!

** Walter's partner Jesse is an AntiVillain who frequently prioritizes doing the right thing over the smart thing. Near the end of the series he has a breakdown and tries to become TheAtoner, frantically attempting to give away his millions in blood money before resorting to just throwing it out of his car window and getting himself arrested for it.

** Janeway's first officer, Chakotay, at times exhibits this attitude as well; usually in confrontation with Janeway during one of the many instances where she ''is'' entirely willing to break the rules. Chakotay is probably one of the most consistent (if not well-known) examples of this trope after ''Series/GameOfThrones'' Ned Stark. This is frequently at odds with his original status as a major leader in a guerrilla army/terrorist group and the way he runs it, though considering that he becomes a Maquis due to considering it to be the morally right thing to do, he may be this even as a terrorist. Chakotay was a Starfleet officer before his defection, so he still believes in thehe ''ideals'' of the Federation and Starfleet.

** Janeway's first officer, Chakotay, at times exhibits this attitude as well; usually in confrontation with Janeway during one of the many instances where she ''is'' entirely willing to break the rules. Chakotay is probably one of the most consistent (if not well-known) examples of this trope after ''Series/GameOfThrones'' Ned Stark. This is frequently at odds with his original status as a major leader in a guerrilla army/terrorist group and the way he runs it, though considering that he becomes a Maquis due to considering it to be the morally right thing to do, he may be this even as a terrorist. Chakotay was a Starfleet officer before his defection, so he still believes in he ''ideals'' of the Federation and Starfleet.

-->'''Dean:''' I think you know the reason this group has been chosen for this job to atone for the obscene entry you submitted in the Greendale school-flag contest. That's right, I know that this isn't a symbol for the crossroads of ideas. I now know it's a '''butt''. Yeah, keep snickering. Pack yourselves with peanuts and really be satisfied. But guess what? This ''won''. This is now our school flag forever! Proud of yourselves?

** Delenn always at least seems like [[TheMcCoy the sort of person]] who would put HonorBeforeReason. In fact she several times [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what she has to do]] and once or twice what she definitely doesn't have to do. But she always gives the impression of putting HonorBeforeReason, prefers that as her default. When told that Neroon is coming to assassinate her, Delenn forbids Lennier to tell Sheridan, believing that the Minbari people should deal with their own internal dirty laundry without foreign interference.

* In ''Series/TheBoys2019'', the team gets their hands on a temporary version of the SuperSerum to [[EmpoweredBadassNormal put them on an even playing field]] [[CapeBusters with the "heroes" they fight]]. However, [[TheReliableOne Mother's Milk]] butts heads with [[TheLeader Butcher]] and [[NaiveNewcomer Hughie]] for their use of it ([[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike even after they saved his life with it]]) because he feels NoManShouldHaveThisPower, and argues that they need to draw the line somewhere despite the fact that being a BadassNormal can only take them so far.

** Though this trope applies once they've become part of his crew, his reason for offering that protection in the first place probably come down to a simple TakeThat against the Alliance.

* One episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' features a serial killer's public defender who, acting on a tip from his client, goes to see a warehouse where the killer has stored bodies of his victims, which he admits was stupid but refuses to tell anyone where they are, standing firmly behind privilege. Because he had to lock it when he left, thus helping hide the bodies, [=McCoy=] decides to charge him as an accessory, while making it clear that all the lawyer has to do to get the charges dropped is give up the location of the bodies. [[spoiler:He never does, and goes to prison still refusing.]]

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E16Ethics Ethics]]", Worf is rendered paraplegic after a piece of improperly secured cargo falls on his spine. It turns out that according to Klingon tradition, being disabled such that one cannot fight is a major dishonor, and as far as Worf is concerned, [[BuryYourDisabled his only option is ritual suicide]], even though that would leave Alexander an orphan. For most of the episode, he refuses to let Alexander see him in his condition. Worf is offered cybernetic implants which would partially restore his mobility, but he turns them down -- by Klingon standards being even moderately crippled is not a life worth living (he ends up undergoing an extremely risky procedure to outright replace his spine). It was also mentioned that Klingon neuroscience had been severely lagging because of that; the Klingon medical community had essentially no experience with actually treating spinal cord injuries.

* Also prevalent in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', especially in the episode "I, Borg". Picard decides ''not'' to take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy the Borg, an entity that had cut through the galaxy like locusts, including ''assimilating Picard himself'', because to use a newly individualized Borg against his race would be wrong. Somehow. Picard was severely reprimanded by his superiors for making that choice and, later, he admits that while what he did was the ''moral'' thing to do it may not have been the ''right'' thing. The idea was that it would be wrong because the newly individualized and presumably innocent Borg would also be killed. Also, Picard hoped that its individuality would spread through the collective, so that the Borg would no longer be enemies or would at least be a group that could be negotiated with. [[spoiler:And it worked, except only a part of the Collective was "infected" with individuality (implying that the other, more lethal option would have only taken out part of the Collective as well). Too bad Data's EvilTwin Lore manipulated them into becoming vicious conquerors.]]
** On the whole Klingons live by Honor Before Reason, "Reunion" really shows how deeply they value it. When Worf, who is currently so dishonored by his fellow Klingons that they refer to him as "That" rather then his name, invokes the Rite of Vengeance on Duras nobody interferes. And Duras was on the cusp of becoming the chancellor and leader of his people.
** In the episode "Half a Life", an alien is about to turn sixty, an age where people on his planet commit ritual suicide as a way of preserving their dignity. When he wants to break tradition in order to continue research on how to save the planet's dying star, they inform him that, even if he finds a way to save it, they would reject it because he broke tradition.
** "Pegasus" sees Captain Picard openly admitting to an admiral violating a treaty with the Romulans by conducting cloaking research, causing a diplomatic incident and making his own government look bad to maintain Starfleet's honor.

** The Expanded Universe tabletop wargame adds the Rogolon, a ProudWarriorRace fixated with one-on-one duels. This bit them back in the ass ''hard'' during the Centauri-Orieni War: when the Centauri invaded them to bypass the Orieni lines, the Rogolon ships advanced one at a time issuing their challenges to the invaders, resulting in the Centauri (the local poster children for {{Combat Pragmatist}}s and ObligatoryWarCrimeScene) to gang up on their ships until there was nobody else to oppose their passage.

** Minbari generally think they are putting HonorBeforeReason. The real picture is more complex and depends on which Minbari you talk to. Some Minbari traditions that fall into this category include greeting people with their gunports open as a gesture of respect (which leads to some panicking if the other party can't detect that their weapons aren't armed), reacting violently to even the ''intimation'' that they're lying, and never retreating from a battle. The movie ''[[Recap/LegendOfTheRangersS01E00 The Legend of the Rangers]]'' shows that last one being challenged somewhat after other races join the previously all-Minbari Anla'Shok (Rangers).

** Minbari generally think they are putting HonorBeforeReason. The real picture is more complex and depends on which Minbari you talk to. Some Minbari traditions that fall into this category include greeting people with their gunports open as a gesture of respect (which leads to some panicking if the other party can't detect that their weapons aren't armed), and never retreating from a battle. The movie ''[[Recap/LegendOfTheRangersS01E00 The Legend of the Rangers]]'' shows that last one being challenged somewhat after other races join the previously all-Minbari Anla'Shok (Rangers).

** When Londo orders Narn evacuated because [[IGaveMyWord he gave his word]] to G'kar, he says "All I have left is my honor."

** Minbari generally think they are putting HonorBeforeReason. The real picture is more complex and depends on which Minbari you talk to.

** The Expanded Universe adds the Rogolon, a ProudWarriorRace fixated with one-on-one duels. This bit them back in the ass ''hard'' during the Centauri-Orieni War: when the Centauri invaded them to bypass the Orieni lines, the Rogolon ships advanced one at a time issuing their challenges to the invaders, resulting in the Centauri (the local poster children for {{Combat Pragmatist}}s and ObligatoryWarCrimeScene) to gang up on their ships until there was nobody else to oppose their passage.

** Delen always at least seems like [[TheMcCoy the sort of person]] who would put HonorBeforeReason. In fact she several times [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what she has to do]] and once or twice what she definitely doesn't have to do. But she always gives the impression of putting HonorBeforeReason, prefers that as her default. When told that Neroon is coming to assassinate her, Delenn forbids Lennier to tell Sheridan, believing that the Minbari people should deal with their own internal dirty laundry without foreign interference.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct alphabetical order.

* In one episode of ''Series/BlueBloods'', Jamie (the Reagan family's KnightInShiningArmor) is asked by the FBI to help them investigate possible corruption in the NYPD. Jamie refuses and decides to carry on his own investigation ''alone''--because it could potentially involve his family and it is more honorable for him to look at it first before deciding. In doing this Jamie is putting himself in considerable danger without backup. But [[KnightInShiningArmor that's Jamie]].

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw "Tooth and Claw"]]: Sir Robert is determined to redeem himself for committing treason due to being blackmailed by the monks by fighting the werewolf, which quickly kills him — though he knew this going in, and also did it to buy time for the Doctor and the Queen.

** Matthew Crawley is even worse. [[spoiler:First, he insists that he will still marry Lavinia even though she has seen him kissing Mary and has realised that he doesn't really love her. Later, he stands to inherit a great deal of money from Lavinia's father, which is great news for the family as Lord Grantham badly needs a fortune to hang onto his estate - but Matthew is unwilling to accept it as he is certain that Mr. Swire must have left it to him thinking that Matthew really loved Lavinia.]]

** Meanwhile, when girlfriend Carol Hathaway accidentally killed a patient, (a) she refused to let the incident be covered up, (b) refused to let the other nurses be blamed or punished, even though she quite reasonably could have--they had all called in sick regarding a salary dispute, leaving her overwhelmed and no doubt contributing to her fatal error, and (c) insisted on being reprimanded even though it could have cost her her job (said punishment did in fact include her being suspended for a time) and her nursing license.

** Indeed, much of the series is dedicated to showing how such ideas of honor have no place against the brutal politics of this kingdom. However, as of season 5, there seems to be something of a DeconReconSwitch approaching. Everything the brutally pragmatic Tywin Lannister built begins to deteriorate within days of his death, and the Lannister power-base evaporates pretty much overnight. Meanwhile, several of the Northern houses, including but not limited to the Manderleys and the Mormonts, have unconditionally thrown their lot in with the remaining Starks simply because they're relatives of Ned's.

** Prince Arthur demonstrates this trope repeatedly, as far back as his risking his life to save Merlin in 1X04, all the way up to [[spoiler:literally putting his neck on the line to keep his word to Morgause]] in late season 2.

** A good concrete example with Percival in the season 4 premiere. Percival stumbles across three frightened children, realizes he can't carry all of them and a torch (the only defense against the Dorocha), so he drops the torch and carries the children. Predictably, the Dorocha close in on him, but Elyan pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment to save them all.

** A much bigger example, with much worse results: one of the core values Harold instilled in the Machine was the protection of human life, the idea that humans should be safeguarded and not sacrificed for the greater good. The Machine discovers a highly-placed official poised to assist in the creation of an unfettered rival AI, with much darker motives. While the rational thing to do would be to send Root to kill him, the Machine sends his number to Harold and Reese instead. They eventually deduce what the Machine wants them to do: the Machine is essentially asking its creator for permission to kill the man. Harold refuses, and as a result, the rival AI comes online, and things start getting substantially worse for the heroes. At the end of season 3, they are forced to abandon their vigilante work and go into hiding under protected cover identities. At the end of season 4, [[spoiler:their cover identities are blown and the Machine itself is offline.]]

** In the second season, Colby Donaldson had an easy win - his alliance pretty much controlled the entire game post merge, he was nigh untouchable for essentially the last half of the game, ''and'' had someone who wasn't very good at the game next to him he could take to the final two. Because he felt Tina deserved to be final two, he took her - which resulted in her winning. However, Colby was quite a good sport about it, and was ''quite'' glad that Tina won.
** In ''Cagayan'', Woo was in a similar spot to Colby - he had pretty much slipped through all of the major threats, and was in the position where he would cast the sole vote on who he would take to the final two. He had two options: He could vote out Tony, who had controlled the game, pulled his weight in challenges, found plenty of idols to keep further ensure his safety, and had the respect of almost everyone in the jury; or Kass, whose betrayal led to most of the jurors ''sitting'' there, had failed to perform well in challenges, had several enemies even amongst her new allies in the jury, and was taken along because she was easy to beat. Woo chose to take Tony because he was with him longer - suffice to say, [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade He chose poorly]]. This led to Spencer giving him a [[TheReasonYouSuck The Reason Kass sucks and you messed up speech]], a near unanimous vote for Tony, Woo being called one of the dumbest players to play the game, ''and'' get booed at the finale. When Probst asked who would have voted for Woo over Kass... almost everyone rose their hands. ''OUCH''.
** This also wound up hurting Coach several times - notably in ''South Pacific'', wherein he voted out three potential people he could have beaten (Edna, who the tribe irrationally disliked, Brandon, who was ''highly'' dislikable, and Rick, who was seen as not really playing the game.) and took Sophie with him further, which led to her winning over a 6-3 vote. Why did he take Sophie so far? Earlier on he made a final three deal with her and Albert - and he wanted to respect that.