History XanatosGambit / LiveActionTV

* Subverted in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. Throughout the first two seasons, we are constantly told that the Cylons "have a plan", and the way the Cylon characters meets every defeat with a smirk and a cryptic remark about worse things to come makes it all too believable. However, as the series goes on, the supposed plan seems more and more bizarre, and finally [[Recap/BattlestarGalactica2003ThePlan the movie]] spells it out: there never was a master plan beyond "exterminate all the humans... somehow," and all the times the Cylons appeared to lose, they did in fact lose. They're just ''really good'' at looking enigmatically smug while losing.

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad [[TheChessmaster Swartz]] turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he tries to steal Ohma Zi-O's powers...[[TooSpicyForYogSogoth only to get hurt and learn they can never be stolen]]. Then he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo earlier, triggering the latter's motivation to become Oma Zi-O and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who literally backstabbed him as he tried to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death]], forcing Swartz's world to merge into Sougo's and Swartz to painfully disintegrate from existence.]]

* ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'': The Cabal. They [[spoiler:engineered a plague that would wipe out abnormals so that Magnus and her buddies would get vampire blood to cure it]]. They take Magnus' daughter hostage in the middle to [[spoiler:brainwash her and activate her inherited teleportation powers to steal said blood once it's been retrieved]].

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' plays this straight, then ends up double subverting it in the same manner. Moff Gideon, leader of an Imperial remnant and wielder of [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], ends up coming face-to-face with Din Djarin over the freedom of The Child, [[spoiler: Grogu]]. Knowing Din would be determined to reclaim his young charge, and that he would have backup in the form of [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]], he engages in a duel with [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], as whoever holds possession of it can [[spoiler: claim leadership to Mandalore itself]]. If Gideon wins, he not only keeps his prize, but effectively rids himself of his enemy and can claim The Child for himself without anyone bothering to come get him. If Din wins, ergo claiming [[spoiler: the Darksaber]] by right, he not only has something that [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]] desperately wants back, but he puts a strain on their alliance knowing that the only way it will be settled is with a trial-by-combat. Then, his Dark Troopers are able to attack the heroes, leaving him smug that they will all fall anyway. Then, this trope ends up subverted when something happens to completely throw his plans out the window. That something? [[spoiler: ''[[BigDamnHeroes Luke Skywalker]]'']]. His arrival upends Gideon's machinations, leaves all the Dark Troopers destroyed, his cruiser claimed as Mandalorian spoils, and a desperate attempt at killing Bo-Katan, the Child, and himself is thwarted. It becomes subverted again, however, as the issue of the [[spoiler:Darksaber]]'s ownership still remains by the end of it all.

* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'': Emily manages to maneuver her way into one, after [[spoiler: being shot by Daniel and left for dead in the ocean]], by lying and publicly declaring Lydia as her shooter instead of [[spoiler: Daniel]]. From here on if the Graysons try to force her out of their lives, she'll recant her testimony against Lydia and send Daniel to prison. If Daniel confesses to get rid of Emily, he'll go to prison. If Victoria confesses to protect Daniel, she'll go to prison. If the Graysons kill Emily to silence her, they -- prime suspects in her high-profile shooting -- will be found out and go to prison. If Lydia is caught by the police, she -- an enemy of Emily -- will go to prison and possibly rat out the Graysons for the David Clarke conspiracy. If Lydia isn't caught, she will be forced to spend the rest of her life on the run. And if the Graysons give into Emily's blackmail and let her stay, she will continue to dismantle their family from the inside out. [[spoiler: The Graysons are only let out of their stalemate when Emily intentionally leaks medical records discrediting herself.]]

* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' movie "[[Recap/BabylonFiveTheLostTales01 The Lost Tales]]", Asmodeus runs one of these by presenting Father Cassidy with a MortonsFork: let human religion continue to decline, or allow an innocent man to suffer for weeks when he could be cured in minutes? Either thought pleases Asmodeus. [[spoiler:And the temptation presented by the fork is itself a distraction, since Asmodeus' true goal is to escape, and he does that no matter ''when'' Cassidy holds the exorcism... so long as they do it in space, and why would they go through the effort to move him all the way back to Earth first?]]

## He never considered that his goon Mr. Austin would try going down to level 12 on his own, which happened in episode [[Recap/RevolutionS1E16TheLoveBoat episode 16]];

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' plays this straight, then ends up double subverting it in the same manner. Moff Gideon, leader of an Imperial remnant and wielder of [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], ends up coming face-to-face with Din Djarin over the freedom of The Child, [[spoiler: Grogu]]. Knowing Din would be determined to reclaim his young charge, and that he would have backup in the form of [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]], he engages in a duel with [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], as whoever holds possession of it can [[spoiler: claim leadership to Mandalore itself]]. If Gideon wins, he not only keeps his prize, but effectively rids himself of his enemy and can claim The Child for himself without anyone bothering to come get him. If Din wins, ergo claiming [[spoiler: the Darksaber]] by right, he not only has something that [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]] desperately wants back, but he puts a strain on their alliance knowing that the only way it will be settled is with a trial-by-combat. Then, his Dark Troopers are able to attack the heroes, leaving him smug that they will all fall anyway. Then, this trope ends up subverted when something happens to completely throw his plans out the window. That something? [[spoiler: ''[[BigDamnHeroes Luke Skywalker]]'']]. His arrival upends Gideon's machinations, leaves all the Dark Troopers destroyed, his cruiser claimed as Mandalorian spoils, and a desperate attempt at killing Bo-katan, the Child, and himself is thwarted. It becomes subverted again, however, as the issue of the [[spoiler:Darksaber]]'s ownership still remains by the end of it all.

* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' movie "The Lost Tales", Asmodeus runs one of these by presenting Father Cassidy with a MortonsFork: let human religion continue to decline, or allow an innocent man to suffer for weeks when he could be cured in minutes? Either thought pleases Asmodeus. [[spoiler:And the temptation presented by the fork is itself a distraction, since Asmodeus' true goal is to escape, and he does that no matter ''when'' Cassidy holds the exorcism... so long as they do it in space, and why would they go through the effort to move him all the way back to Earth first?]]

* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Zig Zag", the eponymous Cyber-terrorist Zig Zag lives in a world where everything is controlled by about eight super-servers. People are identified by DNA-reading chips implanted in their hands. Zig Zag fakes his death and reprograms his chip to set himself up as a pro-establishment guy working for the company that maintains the servers, even working under the very guy that was trying to catch him. Four years later it reverts to the proper setting, and the opportunity is used to steal Zig Zag's files. Zig Zag rejoins the movement (no one had ever seen his real face) and holds the building hostage, threatening to blow it up. At the end, it looks as if he's foiled. His explosives are disarmed, his boss takes the detonator, and he's surrounded by armed men. He reveals that [[spoiler:by downloading his chip data into the servers, they will overload and explode, blowing up the city, as soon as his former boss uses the detonator "in his hand." Naturally the boss swipes his DNA chip to prevent this. Turns out Zig Zag was being a bit more literal than they thought. His chip is the detonator. Cue OhCrap moment.]]

** In "Soldiers of the Empire" General Martok, commanding the IKS ''Rotarran'', is displaying great reluctance to fight the Jem'Hadar, having been their prisoner in a brutal POWCamp for at least two years. Crew morale is suffering badly and completion of their mission is in danger, so Worf, serving on the ''Rotarran'' as first officer, challenges Martok for command. He knows that either A) [[KlingonPromotion he will defeat Martok, take command of the ship, and complete the mission]], or B) Martok will beat him and probably get his fighting spirit back. [[spoiler:Martok wins, spares Worf, and goes on the offensive against the Jem'Hadar.]]
** In the episode "In The Pale Moonlight," Garak convinces Captain Sisko to invite a Romulan Senator to stop at the station en route to a diplomatic meeting with the Dominion in a plan to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War on the Federation side. ThePlan, as far as Sisko knew, was to make a brilliant forgery of a record of a meeting in which the Dominion plots to invade the Romulans and convince the Senator to enter the war. This was one part of the plan, but Garak also had a Xanatos Gambit going on. Had the Romulan Senator believed the forgery, that course would have been pursued. However, Garak planted Dominion-style explosives on the Romulan's ship. If the Romulan Senator found an imperfection and thus discovered the forgery was fake, Garak could detonate the explosives. This would both kill the Romulan Senator and create a believable reason for imperfections in the forged record. That contingency plan turned out to be necessary and was used. At first Sisko was angry, but Garak pointed out that DirtyBusiness like this was the reason Sisko had enlisted him in the first place, and that two lives lost (the Senator and the forger) were a small price to pay for saving the entire Alpha Quadrant, Romulans included, from Dominion domination.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': The Governor successfully executes this gambit during the final siege of the prison, in an effort to exact revenge on Rick's group. Armed with a military tank, he offers Rick an ultimatum whereby Rick and his group can either flee their fortified shelter or stand their ground and fight, which would subsequently result in the destruction of the most vital defenses surrounding the prison; the fences. Regardless of Rick's choice, or the result of the looming battle, their home will be lost. [[spoiler: Ultimately, the battle results in a PyrrhicVictory for Rick's group. Many of them are killed and the rest are scattered. Even though the Governor is slain, Rick and his group lost the only real shelter they had.]]

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' had ''Charles Boyle'' of all people pull one off in Season 4's "Skyfire Cycle." Gina's mother married into Boyle's family, so she was being dragged on the Boyle family vacation to Iowa. Gina wants to go to Aruba instead, and spends the episode ingratiating herself to all the Boyle cousins to swing swing the vote her way. Turns out, the only thing Charles wanted more than to go to Aruba was for her to get closer to the family, meaning he was happy whatever the outcome was.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' had ''Charles Boyle'' of all people pull one off in Season 4's "Skyfire Cycle." The Boyle family usually vacations in Iowa, but Gina (whose mother recently married into the family) wants to go to Aruba. Charles informs her that "the cousins" have already decided and thus a full Council of Cousins would need to agree to change. Gina goes after the cousins one by one to make personal appeals to change the vote...which Charles is fine with since connecting closely with the cousins and Boyle family as a whole is something else he wants Gina to do. And if she failed then the vacation would stay in Iowa like he wanted so he got a win either way. This also turns going to Aruba into a PyrrhicVictory for Gina as she's horrified to realize she did get closer to the family in her efforts.

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': In Season 2’s finale, “Mr. Monk Goes to Jail,” Monk’s nemesis Dale Beiderbeck pulls off one of these. He had been sent to prison because of Monk in the previous season and a bizarre murder case brings Monk to the jail, though the detective is initially unwilling to pursue the case to to the prison’s atmosphere. However, Dale—who is a suspect—tempts Monk with the one thing he would do anything to get: information on his wife’s murderer. If Monk fails, his nemesis is out of the way. And if he succeeds…suspicion is off of Dale and he gets to continue improving his LuxuryPrisonSuite.

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad [[TheChessmaster Swartz]] turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he tries to steal Ohma Zi-O's powers...[[TooSpicyForYogSogoth only to get hurt and learn they can never be stolen]]. Then he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo earlier, triggering the latter's motivation to become Oma Zi-O and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tried to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death]], forcing Swartz's world to merge into Sougo's and Swartz to painfully disintegrate from existence.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he learns that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth can never be stolen]] the hard way. Second, he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo earlier, triggering the latter's motivation to become Oma Zi-O and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tries to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death]], forcing Swartz's world to merge into Sougo's and Swartz to fade from existence. And then Sougo relinquishes his new powers to break Swartz's StableTimeLoop and undo the damage done to rub salt to the wound.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he learns that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth can never be stolen]] the hard way. Second, he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tries to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death and nonexistence]]. And finally, to add insult to injury, Sougo relinquishes Oma Zi-O's powers to break the StableTimeLoop after Swartz is killed.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he learns that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth can never be stolen]] the hard way. Second, he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tries to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death]]. And finally, to add insult to injury, Sougo relinquishes Oma Zi-O's powers to break the StableTimeLoop after Swartz is killed.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he learns that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth can never be stolen]] the hard way. Second, he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tries to escape. This causes Sougo to go on a massive RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kick him to death]]. And finally, to add insult to injury, he relinquishes Oma Zi-O's powers to break the StableTimeLoop after Swartz is killed.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if [[TheHero Sougo]] kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins, leaving him to be free to kill Tsukuyomi and become king. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Swartz ends up foiling his own plan with a case of both BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and HoistByHisOwnPetard. First, he learns that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth can never be stolen]] the hard way. Second, he killed nearly all of his closest friends; Geiz who TookTheBullet for Sougo and Tsukuyomi/Alpina, his own sister, who backstabbed him as he tries to escape. This causes Sougo goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge for his dead friends and [[KarmicDeath Rider Kicks him to death in retaliation]], ending his plans and his life forever. And finally, to add insult to injury, he relinquishes Oma Zi-O's powers to break the StableTimeLoop after Swartz is killed.]]

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' plays this straight, then ends up double subverting it in the same manner. Moff Gideon, leader of an Imperial remnant and wielder of [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], ends up coming face-to-face with Din Djarin over the freedom of The Child, [[spoiler: Grogu]]. Knowing Din would be determined to reclaim his young charge, and that he would have backup in the form of [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]], he engages in a duel with [[spoiler: the Darksaber]], as whoever holds possession of it can [[spoiler: claim leadership to Mandalore itself]]. If Gideon wins, he not only keeps his prize, but effectively rids himself of his enemy and can claim The Child for himself without anyone bothering to come get him. If Din wins, ergo claiming [[spoiler: the Darksaber]] by right, he not only has something that [[spoiler: Bo-Katan]] desperately wants back, but he puts a strain on their alliance knowing that the only way it will be settled is with a trial-by-combat. Then, his Dark Troopers are able to attack the heroes, leaving him smug that they will all fall anyway. Then, this trope ends up subverted when something happens to completely throw his plans out the window. That something? [[spoiler: [[BigDamnHeroes LUKE SKYWALKER]]]]. His arrival upends Gideon's machinations, leaves all the Dark Troopers destroyed, his cruiser claimed as Mandalorian spoils, and a desperate attempt at killing Bo-katan, the Child, and himself is thwarted. It becomes subverted again, however, as the issue of the [[spoiler:Darksaber]]'s ownership still remains by the end of it all.

* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' presents a particularly elaborate example, as BigBad Swartz turns out to be the one backing every faction within the confines of a StableTimeLoop that he's established in such a way that he can't lose: if Sougo kills Swartz, the loop comes undone in a way that erases Sougo's only friends from existence. If Sougo lets Swartz kill him, then Swartz wins. If Sougo completes the loop by [[BadFuture becoming Oma Zi-O]], then on top of using Oma as his PuppetKing, which is the next best thing to being king himself, Swartz can just try again in the next iteration of the loop. If Sougo somehow doesn't do ''any'' of those, then a TimeCrash destroys all timelines except Swartz's, so he wins. [[spoiler: Thankfully, he gets OutGambitted by [[TheHero Sougo]]. First, by demonstrating that the power of Oma Zi-O [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth cannot be taken in anyway]] before sacrificing said power to break the established StableTimeLoop.]]