History Main / PrisonerExchange

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', where, back during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, Stan is being traded for a Soviet agent. As they pass each other, he takes the opportunity to extol the virtues of America, and all the things the Soviet is leaving behind. In response, the Soviet puts his arm around Stan and starts talking about GloriousMotherRussia, while leading him back to the Soviet side where he is promptly grabbed by the Soviets again, as the Americans can only FacePalm as they watch.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' featured the attempt to make a trade of King Bumi for the Fire Nation governor's infant son. It did not go well.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' had the main group exchange the Toilenator for a fellow operative. Said operative is Numbuh 13, a complete idiot and a WalkingDisasterArea who contributes nothing to the episode's mission, but is unintentionally recaptured by the adults at the end of the episode. [[PityTheKidnapper To their incredible regret.]]

* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Crepes of Wrath", Albanian child spy Adil Hoxha is exchanged for an American child spy.

* In February 2022 American WNBA player Britney Griner was arrested and detained for attempting to bring [[TheStoner hash oil]] into Russia after accidentally packing it into her luggage[[note]]Women's basketball is far more popular (and therefore far higher paying) in eastern Europe and Russia, so many WNBA players play overseas during the WNBA offseason[[/note]], and in July would plead guilty to the charges and later be sentenced to 9 years in prison. ''[[TheGulag In Russia.]]'' That December she would be [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Bout%E2%80%93Brittney_Griner_prisoner_exchange swapped]] for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout ([[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory said to be the inspiration]] for the protagonist of the film ''Film/LordOfWar''), who had been in U.S. custody since 2012.

* ''LetsPlay/EmpiresSMP'' Season 1: After Joey kidnaps Lizzie's axolotl knight Sir Strawberry and Lizzie fails to find him in the Lost Empire, Lizzie kidnaps and imprisons the Tiger Blood Prince in return and arranges one such exchange in the desert west of the Ocean Empire, near Pixandria. [[spoiler:''Both'' sides then proceed to sabotage the exchange by secretly hiring Sausage, a fellow third-party ruler, as an assassin to kill the other ruler. Sausage indeed kills them both.]] The incident is re-iterated in the RevengeBallad "The Stand-Off" in Lizzie's official musical adaptation.

* In February 2022 American WNBA player Britney Griner was arrested and detained for attempting to bring [[TheStoner hash oil]] into Russia after accidentally packing it into her luggage[[note]]Women's basketball is far more popular (and therefore far higher paying) in eastern Europe and Russia, so many WNBA players play overseas during the WNBA offseason[[/note]], and in July would plead guilty to the charges and later be sentenced to 9 years in prison. ''[[TheGulag In Russia.]]'' That December she would be [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Bout%E2%80%93Brittney_Griner_prisoner_exchange swapped]] for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout (said to be the inspiration for the protagonist of the film ''Film/LordOfWar''), who had been in U.S. custody since 2012.

** ''Film/RioLobo'', the loose remake to the above-film also has one of these. At the climax [[spoiler: Cardona]] has been captured to trade for Ketchum. The two of them both walk across an empty space between buildings. [[spoiler: Cardona dives into a stream at the half way point where Phillips is waiting with guns, removing him from the line of fire, while [=McNally=] then tells Hendricks how Ketchum signed over all of the deeds they'd stolen, getting him shot by his own men]].

* ''Literature/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' sees the Circus agreeing to exchange the highly-placed mole that Smiley has uncovered for their remaining agents in the Soviet bloc that haven't been shot. However, it falls through when [[spoiler: the mole Haydon is killed, presumably by Jim Prideaux, his friend who he betrayed in an attempt to preserve his cover]].

* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' Mulder performs such a trade between Scully and [[spoiler: an alien clone he believes is]] his sister Samantha. In this case, though, it's the good guys who aren't playing fair and have a sniper standing by to shoot the kidnapper once both hostages are clear.

* Subverted in an early episode of ''Series/TheSandbaggers''. The hero's girlfriend has been captured in East Germany and everyone agrees to a trade. [[spoiler: He has a sniper [[ShootTheHostage shoot her down]] when she's halfway across so that the trade cannot take place.]]

* ''AudioPlay/WereAlive'' has a case where "both sides try to screw each other" when Saul tries to coax the Mallers into exchanging [[spoiler: Lizzy]] by offering to kidnap and hand over Pegs. But when the exchange goes down the Tower folk are using Riley as a decoy and planning to ambush the Mallers, who are also using a decoy [[spoiler: who they promptly shoot to cause confusion]] and planning an ambush, [[spoiler:so they can attack the Tower while its best fighters are at the exchange.]]

* In ''A Study in Murder'' by Robert Ryan, Dr. Watson is being held in a prisoner of war camp in Germany during the First World War, but is told he'll be released because of his advanced age. He doesn't know that Franchise/SherlockHolmes has agreed to [[HeroicSacrifice give himself up in exchange]]. This causes a MassOhCrap on the Allied side because the Germans will seek to use Holmes for propaganda purposes, so arrangements are made to intercept (or failing that, to kill) Holmes.

* In ''A Study in Murder'' by Robert Ryan, Dr. Watson is being held in a prisoner of war camp in Germany during the First World War, but is told he'll be exchanged for someone else because of his advanced age. He doesn't know that Franchise/SherlockHolmes has agreed to [[HeroicSacrifice give himself up in exchange]]. This causes a MassOhCrap on the Allied side because the Germans will seek to use Holmes for propaganda purposes, so arrangements are made to intercept (or failing that, to kill) Holmes before he makes the exchange.