Line #142 Main/TakeAThirdOption


1	[[quoteright:186:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_6431.PNG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:186:[-[[https://web.archive.org/web/20180405060756/http://hilarity.chickennation.com/index.php?start=15 If you'd pee on everything, then who's gonna clean it up? YOU!]]-]]]
3
4	->''"There's always a third way, and it's not a combination of the other two ways. It's a '''different''' way."''
5	-->-- '''Creator/DavidCarradine'''
6
7	Sometimes a hero faces an agonizing decision where [[MortonsFork the apparent two choices are terrible]], such as a FriendOrIdolDecision or a SadisticChoice. Typically, the hero chooses the lesser of two evils.
8
9	However, sometimes the hero can respond with "I don't like those choices; I'm taking a third option!" It is usually something completely unorthodox or seemingly suicidal. Yet this typically turns out to be the best choice after all, EverybodyLives, and the day is saved completely.
10
11	In general, a Third Option has [[RuleOfThree three basic requirements]] needed to seem plausible: time, resources, and knowledge. A Third Option is useless if you don't have time to implement it, don't have (usable) resources/power, or don't have knowledge of it. Depending on how well that rule is followed, the solution will usually either be [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome incredibly awesome]] or [[AssPull incredibly stupid.]] Deciding which examples are which is an exercise left to the reader, although {{Foreshadowing}} possible answers can help win them over.
12
13	This can be the hidden solution to a SecretTestOfCharacter. It's also one way to resolve a DebateAndSwitch or of turning a MortonsFork to your advantage. CuttingTheKnot is almost always an example. If done poorly, it may fall victim to the GoldenMeanFallacy. Sometimes it's triggered by HeadsTailsEdge. When the options are different sides in a conflict, taking a third option may lead to becoming OmnicidalNeutral.
14
15	In most PowerTrio scenarios, when TheSpock advocates one course of action and TheMcCoy insists upon the other, TheKirk will be particularly fond of using this method as a solution to the problem of the week. This is also the best way to deal with a XanatosGambit. A true MagnificentBastard will have [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow anticipated that]], though.
16
17	Taking another option (be it third or fourth or so on) can also be the basis for a hidden or secret ending, particularly in interactive mediums like video games. Usually the third option is more hidden or difficult to obtain, requiring some lateral thinking or dedication to achieve. These endings can range from silly joke endings to either the GoldenEnding, but are rarely ever a DownerEnding just because the authors actually want to reward the audience for going to such lengths.
18
19	Compare:
20	* FalseDichotomy, when someone insists there are only 2 options to something when there actually are many others.
21	* ThirdOptionAdaptation, where an interactive work is adapted to another medium and the producers decide to Take a Third Option in order to avoid endorsing one of the original options over others.
22	* MakingTheChoiceForYou where someone is unable to decide and someone or something else decides for you, [[MetaphoricallyTrue which is a different type of third option]].
23	* LoopholeAbuse and StealTheSurroundings, which can be used to utilize this trope.
24	* ThirdOptionLoveInterest is when this trope applies to romance.
25	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs, when the third option is just a combination of the other two.
26
27	----
28	!!Example subpages:
29
30	[[index]]
31	* TakeAThirdOption/{{Advertising}}
32	* TakeAThirdOption/AnimeAndManga
33	* TakeAThirdOption/ComicBooks
34	* TakeAThirdOption/FanWorks
35	* [[TakeAThirdOption/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
36	* [[TakeAThirdOption/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
37	* TakeAThirdOption/{{Literature}}
38	* TakeAThirdOption/LiveActionTV
39	* TakeAThirdOption/MythologyAndReligion
40	* TakeAThirdOption/VideoGames
41	* TakeAThirdOption/{{Webcomics}}
42	* TakeAThirdOption/WesternAnimation
43	* TakeAThirdOption/RealLife
44	[[/index]]
45
46	----
47	!!Examples
48
49	[[foldercontrol]]
50
51	[[folder:Comedy]]
52	* In an Creator/EddieIzzard routine people is asked if they would like "Cake or death?" Everyone responds "Cake" and eventually the cake runs out. To which the next person replies "So my choices are... or death?? I'll take the chicken."
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
56	* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'':
57	** Averted when [[http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1996-06-02/ he is visited by Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light.]] Phil offers him two options as punishment for his sins, one where he will have a meaningless job, but will be paid highly, and one where he will have an important job, but be paid badly. You do not see which he chooses, but Dilbert is delighted, because both are better than his current position (where he is paid badly for meaningless work).
58	** In a one-off strip, Dogbert asks Dilbert: "Do you see 'time' as a sequence of discrete events or simply a line of perception through infinite possibilities?" Dilbert answers that he sees it as more of a [[Magazine/TimeMagazine magazine]].
59	* Played for laughs in one ''Drabble'' strip. That week, Ralph had been harassed by the new water inspector trying to encourage him to use less water. One day, the inspector admonishes him for using a glass to get some water since it would take two more glasses to clean it. He tells him to use paper cups instead. Norman then points out that using paper cups would mean cutting down more trees to make more cups. Ralph's solution doesn't sit well with his wife.
60	-->'''Honeybunch:''' For goodness sakes, Ralph! Don't drink right from the faucet!
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
64	* It's really more of a ''sixth'' option, but in "The Five Sons" the titular group have rescued a princess, and each has an equal right to marry her. After much argument and rumination, the king decides to marry the princess off to their ''father'', since he'd technically had the biggest role in her rescue (by fathering the kids and urging them to [[PlotTailoredToTheParty go find useful trades]]).
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Flash Games]]
68	''Castlevania: Priest Battle'': Simon Belmont confronts a priest who originally healed him. Simon demands to be healed again, but the priest refuses the demand. After some threats and insults, Jesus suddenly appears in the church. He transports all of them to the woods. Simon and the priest engage in battle. Simon is victorious and asks Jesus to grant him a wish. Annoyed, Jesus rebukes Simon. Insulted, he threatens Jesus. Suddenly, Jesus transfers himself and Simon to platforms above water. Jesus reappears and tells Simon to ask for forgiveness or else be murdered. Simon suggests a third option: he defeats Jesus in a battle. [[spoiler:They engage in battle and Simon defeats Jesus, who is then confronted by none other than God. Annoyed, God zaps Jesus into dust. He offers a mysterious bag to Simon before leaving to kill kids who are starving. Opening the bag, Simon is greeted by a Pikachu. He whips it into the distance and is left thinking that God apparently has a sick sense of humor.]]
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Jokes]]
72	* A man stumbles into a big fight. He's questioned at gunpoint: "Are you <insert your local loons 1 here> or <insert your local loons 2 here>?" Unfortunately, it's not evident whether the gun belongs to 1 or 2, so his answer is: "I'm a tourist!"
73	** A variant of the joke, when even the options are only implicit: "What is your political opinion?" "Oh, as chance will, exactly the same as the gentleman over there with the tommy gun."
74	** One variant is set in Belfast during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles. The man is asked "Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He replies, "Neither, I'm Jewish". The gunman grins and says, "Gee, I must be the luckiest Palestinian in all of Ireland!"
75	* The glass with water in half of it. Half full, or half empty? A joke says that an engineer will answer, "The glass is twice as large as it needs to be."
76	** It's just 100% margin of safety.
77	** Other people would just [[Series/NCISLosAngeles ponder why it should be glass, break the glass when they lay their feet on the table, or drink straight out of the bottle]]
78	** It's completely full. Half full with water and half full with ''air''.
79	** It depends on whether you're drinking it or pouring it.
80	** It is neither half-full, nor half-empty; it is simply ''half a glass of water''.
81	** Drink the water. Now it's empty.
82	** One person on Dear Blank Please Blank said that the glass was half full... of rat poison.
83	** [[{{Squick}} Pee in the glass till it's full.]]
84	** "Dear optimist, pessimist and realist, while you were arguing about the water in the glass, I drank it." - The opportunist
85	** Mad Magazine had a gag where a man refreshes his alcoholic beverage after declaring it's "at the halfway point." One man mentions the "optimist/pessimist" dichotomy, and says since the guy said neither, what does it make him? The response? "A drunk."
86	** Physicists will say it is a superposition of the "full" and "empty" states.
87	** [[WebVideo/CGPGrey Why must judgement be passed? The glass is this full.]]
88	** A comic from ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' has people discussing a glass that has water in half of it. One says, "The glass is half full!" One says, "The glass is half empty!" One says, "Half full... no, wait, half empty... no, wait..." And the last guy is shouting, "Hey! I ordered a cheeseburger!"
89	** One ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip had Paige asking Peter whether a glass of soda in front of her is half-full or half-empty. Peter simply takes the glass, drinks it, and says "empty."
90	** According to ''Literature/TheTruth'', the world belongs to the people who say "Is this my glass? I don't think so! ''My'' glass was ''full''. ''And'' it was a bigger glass!"
91	** There are two ''Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces'' strips in which [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]] tries it on [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Lt. Data]] ([[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/abigb.htm before]] and [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/abihb.htm after]] he gets [[Film/StarTrekGenerations his emotion chip]]), and Data comes up with a third option both times.
92	** The ''Series/RedDwarf'' spin off ''The Space Corps Survival Manual'' includes this question in the crew psychological tests. Not one of them answers with one of the two options.
93	* [[YourMom Yo momma]] is so stupid, she took the Pepsi Challenge and chose Jif. [[labelnote:explanation]] The Pepsi Challenge was a famous taste test between two unlabeled sodas, Coke and Pepsi. Around that time, Jif ran a similar taste test against another peanut butter brand. [[/labelnote]]
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Manhwa]]
97	* In ''Manhwa/TheBreaker'', [[BadassTeacher Chun-Woo Nine-dragons]] makes one, when [[spoiler: the [[BigBad Alliance Chief]] takes [[TheApprentice Shi-Woon]] as a hostage in order to extort Nine-Dragon's [[SecretArt "Black Heaven and Earth technique"]]]]. Here he's presented the [[SadisticChoice sadistic choices]] of either [[spoiler:saving Shi-Woon by handing over the secret technique or either doing a HeroicSacrifice, like his own master Unwol did for him in a similar situation and started his RoaringRampageOfRevenge. To avert this from happening to Shi-Woon too, he takes a third option of killing the Chief and [[GiveHimANormalLife destroying the ki-center]] of his [[TheApprentice apprentice]] in the process]].
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Music]]
101	* In the story of "Music/AlicesRestaurant", Arlo Guthrie, upon being summoned to the police station over a matter of a pile of trash, surmises that the police officer will either commend Arlo and his friends for their honesty (which even Arlo says is ''highly'' improbable) or verbally chew them out. Instead of either of those possibilities, they get arrested.
102	--> ''... but when we got to the police officer station, it turned out there was a '''third''' possibility that we hadn't even counted upon.''
103	* Occurs in the story of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abosua6bFpY "The Choice,"]] by BenWeiner. [[spoiler:Or, parodied, rather. The two options are soup or salad, and the third option, eventually suggested by the impatient waiter, is soup ''and'' salad.]]
104	* Said lyric is taken from "The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep.
105	* "Weapon of Choice" by Music/FatboySlim.
106	-->"You could go with this, or you could go with that... or you could go with us."
107	* "I'd Rather Miss You" by Little Texas:
108	-->And if I had to choose between living without you\
109	And learning to love someone new\
110	I'd rather miss you
111	* In "Luigi's Ballad" by {{Music/Starbomb}}, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach]] is presented with choosing between the somewhat-risque Mario, or the more emotional Luigi. [[spoiler: She ends up choosing Toad, because "his whole body is shaped like a dick", to which both Mario and Luigi concur.]]
112	* In Music/PoetsOfTheFall's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfvtPTvuFTA "Drama for Life,"]] when [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind battling]] with his EnemyWithin, an out-of-control creative impulse compared to a rampaging bull, the singer elects to stop fighting a win-or-lose struggle and take a chance on riding it out, seeing where it takes him.
113	-->Just one chance to kill it dead\
114	But I will embrace it\
115	Into the darkness on we ride\
116	To gamble is all
117	* In the folk ballad, "Thomas the Rhymer" the Queen of Elfland notes the road to Heaven is overgrown with briers and the road to Hell is broad and even. On the other hand there is the narrow, winding, and/or hidden (depending on the version of the ballad) that goes to fair Elfland .... which is where the Queen of Elfland takes Thomas.
118	* The lyric "who'd you rather be: Music/TheBeatles or Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}?" from Music/{{Metric}}'s "Gimme Sympathy" is a question Music/LouReed asked Emily Haines. Her response: Music/TheVelvetUnderground.
119	** Music/SteveAlbini was asked which of the two he prefers in an online forum some years earlier. His response was Music/TheStooges.
120	* ''Music/SchweigtStillePlaudertNicht'': Lieschen agrees to give up [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee]] in exchange for her father finding her a husband, but secretly pulls a LysistrataGambit to make sure whoever she eventually marries allows her to drink it.
121	* The song "Two Gunslingers" by [[Music/TomPetty Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]] is about two wild west fighters who were about to face each other in a duel in the town square for spectators' amusement (and money most likely) but when it came down to it they took a third option and neither of them was shot nor killed. A rare example of the trope because the third option in this case was basically just stating loud and clear what one wants and then getting mutual consent - and that is not to fight. As simple as it might seem, it is still a rather rare outcome and is, oh well, also a third option.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Pinball]]
125	* ''Pinball/RickAndMorty'' has one mode where various shots on the playfield represent positive and negative choices made throughout a (virtual) person's life. However, there's also a hidden ''[[MadScientist Rick]]'' option that (in addition to giving more points) leads said person to make insane but impressive decisions (culminating in ''making himself immortal'' if said choice is made at the final juncture).
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Podcasts]]
129	* ''Podcast/InterstitialActualPlay'': When having to choose between wielding her Keyblade and steering the Bugatti in a fight against Heartless, Roxanne instead jumps out of the car and into the car-heartless to take control of it instead.
130	* In ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'''s climax, there are two options presented, both disastrous-- [[spoiler: Davenport's plan to run from the Hunger and leave the world and most of their friends to die, or Lucretia's plan to put up a barrier to cut off the world from all other planes, and, thus, the Hunger, which would almost definitely doom it as well. They take a third option, to lure the Hunger to a separate plane and cut that one off, trapping it there forever. This, happily, saves the world, as well as reality as a whole.]]
131	* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'': If you work for the Archives, you will probably die a gruesome death at some point. If you try to quit, the Eye will torture you by making you terribly ill until you return. [[spoiler: Melanie]] finds a way out of this by [[spoiler: blinding herself; the Ceaseless Watcher has no use for people who can't see]].
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
135	* At [[Wrestling/HerbAbramsUWF Herb Abrams' UWF]]'s last chance at a supercard, ''UWF Blackjack Brawl I'', September 23, 1994, there was a [[GimmickMatches Lumberjack Match]][[note]]Meaning wrestlers are standing around the ring to throw wrestlers back in if they get sent to the floor.[[/note]] between [[Wrestling/MickFoley Cactus Jack]] and Wrestling/JimmySnuka. According to Mick Foley's [[{{Biography}} autobiography]] ''Literature/HaveANiceDayATaleOfBloodAndSweatsocks'', Herb didn't want him to lose "and there was no way I was going to let Jimmy lie down for me." So, they did exactly what Lumberjack Matches are designed to ''prevent'': They fought to a double-countout. When the other wrestlers said they couldn't do that, Cactus replied, "Hey, it's Herb's show, we can do anything."
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Radio]]
139	* ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' has an episode where Connie becomes the valedictorian. One of the things she has to do on stage however is say a prayer. So the principal of the high school and her tutor let her write a prayer, only to find it makes references to Jesus which offends other members of the faculty. So the principal says she should pray the high school's "acceptable" prayer. He adds that if she doesn't pray the "acceptable" prayer he'll stop her during her prayer and get her in more trouble. However, her tutor says if she wants to say her own prayer, she (and some other faculty members) will support her. On the day itself Connie makes the decision to...not pray at all!
140	** Cue the [[SlowClap Slow Doxology]].
141	** A much earlier episode has the parents of Odyssey banning Halloween because it's a Pagan holiday. Two kids are skeptical and go to Whit for help. After confirming that the adults are correct, the kids briefly are torn between going along with the non-Christian crowd but disappointing their parents or missing out on the fun parts of Halloween but ultimately they get the idea to host a Bible character dress up party in celebration of All Saints' Day at Whit's End, which Whit personally caters meaning that the menu features items from Whit's End including ice cream.
142	* ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'': At one point, Humphrey reads out the response to the "Mornington Crescent Survey", gauging how viewers rated their Mornington Crescent experience, with the choices of "good", "supremely good", "excellent" or "merely well above average". Somehow, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Mrs. Trellis of North Wales]] has sent in the response of "neither good nor bad", as well as "poor", "supremely poor", "buttock-''clenchingly'' poor" and "words begin to escape quite how poor". Mainly because she's accidentally sent in a response to [[TakeThat Virgin Rail's customer survey]] instead.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Roleplay]]
146	* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'': Late in the game, the players [[spoiler: come across Jay, who's trapped in the water filtration system ''by hooks stuck in his body''. Weaver expected that they'd either leave him or MercyKill him, but the players chose to ''save'' him and take him with them when they exit the facility.]]
147	* A meta example in ''Roleplay/WarhammerFantasyDividedLoyalties'' during the expedition to Karag Dum, after the characters discover the Chaos God Slaanesh is using the power of the leylines to keep [[spoiler:Karak Vlag]] suspended in the Aether. The QM, Boney, presented vote options that would have either scuttled the Karag Dum Expedition and gather tons of experts to try and save [[spoiler:Vlag]], or to abandon [[spoiler:Vlag]] to its fate and continue to Dum. The players voted instead to the next waystone upstream on the layline and [[CutTheJuice turn it off]], resulting in [[spoiler:Karak Vlag]] popping out of the Aether in a few days rather than the months the first option would have required.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
151	* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' verse, the Literature/SoulDrinkers Astartes Chapter [[DefectorFromDecadence are this]]. Instead of working with a corrupt Imperium or serving the forces of Chaos, [[AFatherToHisMen Sarpedon]] leads his chapter to do the all but unheard of and form their own side under nobody but the [[GodEmperor Emperor]] [[ThePatriarch Himself]]. And it is ''[[EverythingTryingToKillYou not]]'' [[HeroicWillpower easy]].
152	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'', Dr. Darius Hellstrome is pretty adept at taking the third option. During the Great Rail Wars, all the good rail routes got taken around the Rocky Mountains, meaning he'd either have to fight one of the other Rail Barons for territory, or commit financial suicide by trying to build track through the Rocky Mountains. Instead, he takes a third option by [[spoiler: creating an invention that allows him to dig ''underneath'' the Rocky Mountains]], which had the added benefit of hiding his progress from his competitors.
153	** He did it again in ''The Last Sons'' Plot Point Campaign where he exploited a loophole where the Sioux forbid any outsiders from laying track on their lands. After all, [[spoiler: they didn't say anything about laying track ''under'' their lands]]. Surprisingly, nobody suspected that he'd take the same third option he previously took.
154	** Realizing that his life would eventually end in one way or another, Hellstrome could either plan to take all his work with him to the grave or find a successor. Instead, [[spoiler: he created an automated process that could indefinitely preserve his mind in the event that he died, thus allowing him to live well into the ''Hell on Earth'' era two centuries later]].
155	* Averted in the ''Deadlands: Hell on Earth'' adventure ''Unity'' (which also was the intro to ''Deadlands: Lost Colony''). At the end of the scenario, [[spoiler: a mad computer controlling the starship forces the characters to choose one of them to voluntarily sacrifice themsleves, or it will kill everyone on board the ship. The authors of the scenario went to great lengths to assure that ''there is no third option''. The only way to save everyone on board is to do as it commands and have someone sacrifice themselves for TheNeedsOfTheMany.]]
156	* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'' universe, Clan Nova Cat decided to fight on the side of the Second Star League, since to them the entire point of the Clan Invasion was to rebuild the Star League in the first place. This was generally seen as treasonous by the other Clans, which told them in something called a Trial of Abjuration to get out of Clan space or be destroyed. This left them with no particularly good options: they could either effectively refuse the Abjuration, which would get it upgraded to a Trial of Annihilation (which is exactly what it sounds like) or they could go to the Inner Sphere and conquer a new homeland, where they would get absolutely destroyed by the Second Star League they had just effectively joined. The Draconis Combine actually offered them a third option in taking over the Irece Prefecture (and thus becoming an effective buffer state against the Clans), but just accepting this would be against Clan honor and Clan Nova Cat would lose all of its face and suffer internal revolt. The Nova Cats came up with a ''fourth'' option by goading the Combine into a series of Trials of Absorption that the Nova Cats rigged to ''lose''.
157	** Notable examples include having a wire-thin Aerospace Pilot phenotype arm-wrestling the biggest infantryman the Combine could find, calling "Edge!" on a coin flip, a soccer match the Nova Cats lost 4-3 after penalties, an "aerospace simulator duel" that was actually who could get the highest score on shoot-'em-up arcade game, and a "contest of stamina" that saw another small Clan aerospace pilot hospitalized with severe alcohol poisoning.
158	** How this rules-lawyering still managed to be honorable as far as the Clans were concerned can be explained by the explanation given by the Clanner who called the previous coin-flip. His reasoning is along the lines of: "What if it had landed on its edge? Think of the ''glory''." Meaning the glory of a win against such odds.
159	** A much more serious example involved the Red Corsair incident--an attempt by Crusader elements of Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon to break the Truce of Tukayyid. Conal Ward, the architect of the plan, points out to his political rival Khan Phelan Kell that even in defeat, he wins, as his trial will either make the Warden leaders of the Wolves look weak, pushing to replacing them with Crusaders, or it will make the Truce look like a paper treaty, too weak to hold the Clans at bay with anything other than honor. Having already committed a variety of treasons and deceits, Conal knows full well there are elements in both Clans that would take advantage of the Inner Sphere's demonstrated weakness, honorable or not. Upon hearing of these outcomes, Phelan's solution is to prevent the treason trial from happening. Phelan is Khan of Clan Wolf, and has executive judicial authority over members of their army...emphasis on 'execute,' as Phelan shoots Conal to end his scheming once and for all.
160	* ''UsefulNotes/{{Fate}}'' puts this in the game's mechanics in the ''Fate Horror Tookit.'' The GM has the option of giving the players a "Climactic Dilemma" where they have to choose between two unpalatable options to resolve the horror. If the group attempts a third option to avoid both bad choices, the difficulty is automatically raised by three to four points and failure brings much greater consequences than normal.
161	* One ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' module has you breaking into a warehouse in Riddle Port in order to question the the guards. After accomplishing this and taking out all of the guards, you can then loot the warehouse and find several potions and weapons. Far more than you could ever carry. Upon leaving the warehouse, a group of thugs will threaten to kill you if you don't give them what you stole. You can either fight them off, or hand over the goods and they will leave you alone. Or you can simply point out to them that they could just rob the currently unguarded warehouse, which would take less effort while being more profitable. They're pretty stupid, though, so it is actually possible to fail the diplomacy check.
162	* This keeps happening to Wager Master in ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'' lore.
163	** His first appearance had him confront Tachyon with a conundrum: she had to deal with some bombs that would go off if she reduced speed. If she went fast enough to get to the bombs in time, she'd be going too fast to disarm them. So she dumped them all in Wager Master's lap and set them off.
164	** Simultaneously, the Wraith was trapped in an ever-shifting rat maze in pursuit of a cheeseball. By setting off her smoke bombs, she caught a really big cheeseball...Wager Master himself, who went into the maze to find where she went and ended up in a chokehold.
165	** A subsequent encounter had him trap multiple heroes in a deck of cards and challenge the Southwest Sentinels to free them. When the Sentinels proved less than gifted at dealing with Wager Master's usual nonsense, they opted to get the deck off him by challenging him to a game of poker and cleaning him out instead.
166	** Guise once bested him in a challenge to locate certain items by pulling junk out of his BagOfHolding that technically met the requirements by ExactWords logic: an outdated subway token for a "rune of transportation", for example.
167	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': At the end of the War of the Spark lore arc, Ugin tells Jace that killing [[MultiversalConqueror Nicol Bolas]] would be futile-- in the ''MTG'' universe, having a contingency to bring you back from your own death is fairly simple for even moderately-powerful wizards. What Bolas doesn't have is a contingency for being incarcerated alive in a PrisonDimension for the rest of his days.
168	** ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' #200 had a debate over who was ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''' [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny greatest wizard]]: [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Elminster]] (argued for by Creator/EdGreenwood) or [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Raistlin]] (argued for by Creator/TracyHickman). At the end of the article, it was revealed that [[LetsYouAndHimFight the fight was being set up by]] [[TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}} Mordenkainen]].
169	* One of the scenarios in the original ''TableTopGame/HeroQuest'' starts with the heroes being led into a room with three doors by a treacherous guide who flees under the cover of darkness. Each of the three doors leads into a room with nothing but monsters, not even secret doors. The right way out of is to search for a secret door within the first room rather than opening any of the doors.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Theatre]]
173	* In the ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' song "It Sucks To Be Me"
174	-->'''Kate''': Whose life sucks more, Brian's or mine?\
175	'''Rod and Nicky''': OURS!
176	* ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'': Launcelot has to decide between continuing to work for Shylock, whom he sees as "the devil", or running away...which would be committing a sin, thereby putting him in the service of the ''real'' devil. He gets out of the dilemma when his father shows up and helps him to lawfully switch jobs.
177	* ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' is an interesting example. Hermia has to decide between marrying Demetrius or being put to death, with the "third option" of becoming a nun. She takes a ''fourth'' option, running off with Lysander to get away from the laws of Athens.
178	* When the titular character in ''{{Theatre/Giselle}}'' is forced to choose between [[spoiler: dancing Albrecht to death]] or [[spoiler: definitely dying]] by [[spoiler: Myrtha the Queen of the Willis]], her decision is... [[spoiler: dancing slowly enough for Albrecht to keep up and reviving him when he's exhausted and near death. That way, Albrecht survives and Giselle manages to free herself from the willis, passing on in peace.]]
179	* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', Alexander takes the third option when Burr refuses to promise to keep his silence about Alexander's affair with Maria Reynolds. Instead of letting Burr hold it over him or letting himself fall to the treason accusations, Alexander instead decides to publically announce the affair, thus allowing himself to explain himself on his own terms. It ... doesn't go well.
180	* In ''Theatre/AnyoneCanWhistle'', [[SeeminglyProfoundFool Hapgood]], tasked with separating the sane townspeople from the inmates of the local Cookie Jar who have mingled indistinguishably among them, first goes about assigning each of them to one of two groups, labeled "Group A" and "Group One," based on their responses to often abstruse and philosophical questions. When everyone, onstage and off, is thoroughly confused but still demanding to know which is which, Hapgood takes a moment and points at the group he knows to be insane: [[spoiler:the audience. No, really]].
181	* ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'': In Act 3, Scene 1, the Prince of Verona listens to the Montagues and the Capulets after Romeo fatally stabs Tybalt. Lady Capulet demands that Romeo be executed because he committed cold-blooded murder. Lord Montague professes that Romeo should not be punished because Tybalt previously killed Mercuito. The prince's third option is subjecting Romeo to exile from Verona with the threat of a death penalty if he comes back.
182	* In ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', when asked by Adams if Thomson stands with him (the pro-independence movement), or with Dickinson (the anti-independence movement), Thomson's response is he stands with General Washington, who just wants ''something'' done.
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
186	* ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'':
187	** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': [[spoiler: Sakura Ogami]] took one. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed at the end of case 4's trial that the reason Monokuma was able to persuade Sakura to be TheMole was because Monokuma was holding the Ogami dojo hostage. Sakura either had to kill someone and thus lose her moral integrity, which would emotionally destroy her (and cause her to be ''bloodily executed'' if she can't get away with it), or lose her family's beloved dojo, which is the other important thing in her life... And what does she do? [[HeroicSuicide She kills herself]], which simultaneously satisfies the dojo-saving requirement of killing someone (Monokuma [[ExactWords never specified]] that she had to kill someone ''else''), preserves Sakura's moral integrity by not actually killing any of the others, and atones for her being TheMole]].
188	** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': [[spoiler: Option A: Everyone leaves the Neo World Program simulation, including the Junko AI, who will take over the bodies of the students whose virtual selves died while in the program. Option B: Stay in the simulation indefinitely, which will both bring back their friends and trap Junko inside. Then [[TheCavalry Naegi, Kirigiri, and Togami]] come through in the clutch and propose Option C: Force the simulation to shut down, which will prevent the Junko's escape but the surviving students will both lose all their memories of their time in the simulation and regain the memories the simulation took away from them, meaning they will [[TomatoInTheMirror revert back to their previous Ultimate Despair selves]], while the dead students' real bodies will remain comatose]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: even after choosing Option C, it seems the surviving students managed to keep their new memories in addition to their old ones, and did not revert back to Ultimate Despair. ''Anime/{{Danganronpa 3\|TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool}}'' later revealed that Hajime managed to revive the comatose students as well]].
189	** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': [[spoiler:After learning that the killing game is actually a reality TV show based on the ''Danganronpa'' franchise, where the students who willingly signed up to take part were subject to EnforcedMethodActing by having their minds wiped and implanted with the personalities and memories of fictional characters, Shuichi decides not to side with hope ''or'' despair, figuring that if either one wins, the fans watching will be happy with that ending and the show will continue for more seasons. Instead, he talks everyone into committing suicide by abstaining from voting (which is against the rules and punished with death), in order to piss the fans off with an unsatisfying ending and make them give up watching the show forever, causing it to be cancelled.]]
190	* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', [[spoiler:when Heidi tells the protagonist that he has to choose between Kathy and herself, he can say he’s choosing someone completely different instead.]]
191	* The gameplay of ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' [[WorseWithContext doesn't usually allow this]], but one scene has Yuri and Natsuki arguing over who's writing style is better, eventually asking the protagonist to settle the issue. The player can choose to side with one girl or the other, or they can ask Sayori for help.
192	* Subverted when the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' has to make a final decision on whether to choose Johanna and Tamara, or another girl in his former summer school class. He can ask the other girl to share him with Johanna and Tamara, but she ends up getting grossed out and breaking up with him instead, leaving him in his sisters’ arms.
193	* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'':
194	** After Saber [[spoiler:nearly wipes her magical energy empty with the Excalibur]], Shirou is initially faced with two options as to how to restore her energy: 1. transfer his energy to her, which is out of the question due to his poor magic skill. 2. Have her [[MoralEventHorizon kill humans and steal their energy]], which he doesn't want to do for obvious reasons. [[spoiler:Later, however, Rin reveals that there is a third option: ''[[IntimateHealing have sex with Saber]]''. Too weak as a magus to transfer magic, and too moral to slaughter the lives of innocents, Shirou [[ExplicitContent takes option three]].]]
195	** Parodied in the fake 'dead-end', on Fate route, where Shirou tells Saber they will fast. Tiger and Illya turn him into a cyborg with gatling guns, and offer him a chance to 'join the Tigers willingly, or be brainwashed and turn into a machine.' His response? Turn on the gatling guns.
196	* ''VisualNovel/JunipersKnot'': The demon girl is trapped within a magic circle. At least one life form must be inside the circle at all times, so someone has to take her place in order for her to escape from her prison. The boy has to either exchange places with her or leave her to her fate. He chooses to instead [[spoiler:plant a tree within the circle, thereby substituting the life of the tree for hers. It works]].
197	* To get to the secret [[spoiler:Music Test]] in ''VisualNovel/RadicalDreamers'' you have to choose an invisible third option at one point in the game.
198	* Taking one of these forms the crux of the [[spoiler: True]] Ending of ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate''. Okabe is faced with two equally awful timelines: the Alpha timeline, where [[spoiler: Mayuri dies and SERN completes their time machine and turns the world into a dystopia]], or the Beta timeline, where [[spoiler: Kurisu is stabbed to death and her father plagiarizes her paper on time travel, sparking World War III]]. Obviously, Okabe doesn't want either of these timelines to come to pass. However, none other than [[spoiler: his future self, driven by his failure to change the Beta timeline,]] provides the third option: [[spoiler: the [[TitleDrop Steins;Gate]] timeline, where Okabe TrickedOutTime to save Kurisu and the time travel paper burns in a plane fire]].
199	* In ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', Q ends up in a MexicanStandOff with his two teammates and is forced to make a decision. Option A: Shoot Mira. [[spoiler:Eric jumps in the way and sacrifices himself to save Mira, who murders Q for destroying Eric's heart and escapes alone.]] Option B: Shoot Eric. [[spoiler:Mira rips out his heart and exposits on her backstory, then escapes with Q.]] Or, Option C: Put down your crossbow. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Eric shoots Q and escapes with Mira, only for her to murder him a few days later.]]]] [[spoiler:''Or'', Option D: [[DoubleSubversion Shoot Delta]], who you the player should not know is there at the time. This leads to the other members of Q-Team staring dumbfounded at Q and [[{{Foreshadowing}} Eric referring to him as Sean]].]]
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:Web Animation]]
203	* ''WebAnimation/TohoKingdomToons'' has one in one of their earlier cartoons, where Gabara offers Little Godzilla a potion that could kill him. You have the option of saying "'''YES'''" OR "'''NO'''", but regardless of which choice you pick you ultimately get the 3rd option of "'''He should resist this peddler of peculiar potions @ all costs!'''"
204	* ''WebAnimation/DarkMatter2525'': {{Discussed\|Trope}} in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrcfQ1SRQAE&t=0s Worse than the Wolf]]'' in relation to the "choice" between {{Heaven}} and {{Hell}}, which in this context is simply a glorified MortonsFork.
205	--> The fish would be better off if never caught. The wheat would be better off if never harvested. And the sheep would be better off to escape from the Sheperd and take their chances with the wolf.
206	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': The flashback in "A Curse or a Blessing" reveals that Pita was actually a curse Melinda placed on Dylan in the past that would take on the form of a creature to try and kill him. Even if it is killed, it comes back as a stronger form the next day based on how Dylan feels before he falls asleep. After some close-calls with more of the curse's forms, Dylan decides if he can't beat the curse, then reasoning with it is the next best thing. Thus he thinks about it taking a form with enough sapience that he can convince it to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and it works. Present-day Melinda even notes that she never figured someone would discover that loophole.
207	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Volume 8 has a trifecta of Third Options. [[spoiler:Ironwood has turned against the heroes for refusing to sacrifice Mantle for Atlas's salvation, to the point of shooting down civilian ships evacuating Mantle citizens and threatening to blow up Mantle if Penny doesn't surrender herself to him so he can access the Staff of Creation. Meanwhile, Penny is afflicted with a virus that will force her to open the Vault and then self-destruct, prompting her to ask Ruby to kill her so that she can avoid this and pass the Maiden powers onto Ruby]]. Their third options? [[spoiler:Use the [[HeelFaceTurn recently-defected]] Emerald's illusion powers to deceive and disable Ironwood, allow Penny to open the Vault so they can use the Staff of Creation to create a new robot body to transfer Penny's infected components to, and then use the Staff of Creation to create a portal network to evacuate the citizens of both Atlas and Mantle from the doomed cities.]]
208	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
209	** ''[[Recap/HomestarRunnerTheHouseThatGaveSuckyTreats The House That Gave Sucky Treats]]'':
210	*** You're given a fourth option variant for the Poopsmith and Pom Pom. Your normal choices are Mary Janes, a Chick-O-Stick and an Astropop. There is also a pumpkin on the doorstep which can be clicked. Giving that to the Poopsmith and Pom Pom unlocks [[SecretCharacter Homsar]].
211	*** Every character is introduced via knocking or the doorbell ringing. Strong Bad does neither; he shouts "Open the freakin' door!"
212	** ''[[Recap/HomestarRunner3TimesHalloweenFunjob 3 Times Halloween Funjob]]'' revisits giving three possible treats for one scene. You can give Swedish Fish, Delicious "Bag" or Zagnut to Coach Z and Bubs. You could also give them neither, and they will leave. [[SecretCharacter Stinkoman]] will then show up at your doorstep.
213	[[/folder]]
214
215	[[folder:Web Originals]]
216	* Fatebane frequently chooses a bizarre out-of-box-thinking way of getting out of seemingly impossible situations in ''Literature/AssociatedSpace'', to the extent that his companion lampshades this tendency:
217	--> "What?" David looked doubtful. "There's a third option? Crazy and daring?"
218	* On the Website/LiveJournal community ''Anthropomorphs Deserve Love Too!'', [[http://community.livejournal.com/anthropomor_fic/50366.html#cutid1 Alienware does this to the Linux system.]]
219	* Website/{{Uncyclopedia}} insists that in a dilemma of two options, there is always a third option... [[http://uncyclopedia.ca/wiki/Cake cake.]]
220	--> Always delicious. Never complicated. Just cake.
221	* In ''WebSite/SFDebris'':
222	** In the review of ''Film/TheMatrix'', during the Red Pill/Blue Pill scene:
223	--->'''Neo:''' Do you have a green pill?\
224	'''Morpheus:''' No. You must choose: Blue or red.\
225	'''Neo:''' Orange?\
226	'''Morpheus:''' Let me explain the pills again.\
227	'''Neo:''' Yellow?\
228	'''Morpheus:''' Listen, you take-\
229	'''Neo:''' Can I take both?\
230	'''Morpheus:''' No.\
231	'''Neo:''' Uh... orange then,\
232	'''Morpheus:''' Here's the orange one.\
233	'''Neo:''' That looks red.\
234	'''Morpheus:''' Uh, [[BlatantLies that's the Matrix trying to trick you]], now swallow the damn thing!
235	** In a review of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' Neelix offers the advice that when facing a crossroads, sometimes you should take the third path. Chuck points out that following this metaphor, the third path would be back the way you came.
236	* ''Literature/AGiantSuckingSound'': The premise of the story is Ross Perot winning the 1992 election. Unfortunately, he has trouble getting much of his agenda through Congress, so he forms the populist Freedom Party, made mostly of moderate Republicans, conservative Democrats, mavericks, political fringes, and forever dismantles the two party system.
237	* ''Website/NobodyHere'': "[[https://nobodyhere.com/justme/pet.here Pet]]" has a chicken and a frog fighting to see which one Jogchem will get as a pet. Regardless of who wins, Jogchem will decide to get a plant instead.
238	[[/folder]]
239
240	[[folder:Web Videos]]
241	* Accomplished by Jesse Cox of ''WebVideo/OMFGCata'' during a Let's Play of the DLC of ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution.'' Rather than give in to a SadisticChoice of rescuing a crucial witness or several innocents, he successfully [[spoiler: reasons out where the poison gas threatening them is and destroys ''it'' instead]].
242	* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'':
243	** Played for BlackComedy by the Critic. When Spoony gives him the choice of watching the Creator/RebBrown ''Film/CaptainAmerica1979'' or blackmail pictures of roofie-induced crossdressing being posted everywhere, he decides to hang himself instead.
244	** Invoked again when Critic and Hyper Fangirl have a tie in their Old Vs. New debate on Disney's classic animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' vs. [[Film/Cinderella2015 the 2015 live-action remake]]. When they ask Devil Boner and Benny the Assassin to break the tie as to which ''Cinderella'' movie is best, they both give the same answer: ''Film/EverAfter''.
245	* In ''WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange'' parody of ''Film/TheMatrix'', there's a third green pill. It tastes like boogers, so he doesn't take it.
246	* In ''Website/ScrewAttack'''s TopTenList for greatest SpaceMarine, Stuttering Craig and Nick argue whether the #1 spot should belong to Luke Skywalker of ''Franchise/StarWars'' or Christopher Blair from ''VideoGame/WingCommander''. After arguing for a bit, they agree on Creator/MarkHamill. (Mark played both roles.)
247	* In ''WebVideo/{{Paint}}'s'' video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw57SNAvrC4 Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump (feat. Ken Bone)]]", Ken Bone ends the video shocked by both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and votes Third Party (and Gary Johnson appears, asking what Aleppo is).
248	* In ''Series/{{Noob}}'', Gaea ended up taking an option that turned out to be just as bad, if not worse than the other offered to her: [[spoiler:pay her new guild's debts out of her own pocket despite being TheScrooge as Guild Master responsibility, have her incompetent guildmates come up with the money or be thrown in jail. She choose leaving the guild so she's no longer Guild Master, only to have her debtor basically reply "You know this keeps you from joining any of our faction's guilds until you pay up, right ?"]].
249	* WebVideo/MatthewSantoro:
250	** {{Discussed}} in ''Franchise/StarWars in 3-D!!!''. Matt mentions [=iTunes=] as a third option to Blockbuster and Netflix.
251	** In ''Psychic Octopus & Oil Spills'', Matt takes a third option between calling the octopus an octopus and calling the octopus an octopi:
252	--->'''Matt:''' This octopus -- is it "octopus", or "octopi"? ''[{{beat}}]'' This octo is named Paul, and he was born in England, but he lives in Germany.
253	* Video game reviewer ''WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}}'' has a system where he "slaughters" a bad game by shooting it, or "salvages" it by beaming it up with a transporter. In his review of ''Destruction Derby 2'', he declares that the game isn't quite bad enough to slaughter since he got some enjoyment out of it, but not quite good enough to salvage. He instead opts to "slauvage" it by beaming it up halfway, then shooting it. A few games since have gotten the "slauvage" too.
254	* In ''WebVideo/JourneyQuest'', Sir Glorian does this all the time. In the Temple of All Dooms (technically the Temple of Some Dooms, or as the Orcs call it, the Temple of Select Dooms), there's the classic puzzle with two gargoyles guard two doors. One can only speak the truth, the other can only lie. One of the doors is the correct way, the other leads to certain death. The normal solution to this dilemma is to ask the right questions and think before making a decision... Unless you're an ObliviouslyEvil BloodKnight with a love for fighting, in which case the solution is to ''kill one of the gargoyles'', throw the other down one of the halls and if he survives, that must be the right way.
255	* A skit for Creator/{{MTV}}'s website had Creator/AnthonyMackie and Creator/PaulBettany both trying to convince Josh Horowitz to buy an action figure of the respective [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avenger]] they portray in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse movies]] (Comicbook/TheFalcon for Mackie and Comicbook/TheVision for Bettany) for his nephew. After several minutes of both actors arguing and taking shots at each other's careers, Josh buys an Comicbook/IronMan figure instead. This causes Mackie and Bettany to angrily yell "[[Creator/RobertDowneyJr Downey!]]" in unison.
256	* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euvD1UNFugs this instructional video]] on orbital mechanics, the creator faces a dilemma: Give distances in kilometers and alienate his American viewers, or give distances in miles and be a scientific Neanderthal. His solution? Give the distances in ''furlongs,'' thereby confusing everyone.
257	* WebVideo/TheUnluckyTug:
258	** When he reaches the #2 spot in "EVERY Thomas Movie Ranked", he builds up suspense about which order ''WesternAnimation/BlueMountainMystery'' and ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure'' will go in... then says they both share the #1 spot.
259	** In the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' season 7 retrospective, he says he couldn't get through either English dub, so he watched it in Japanese instead.
260	* ''Authentic Animations'' on Platform/YouTube does Let's Plays of various video games wherein he tries to complete the game without breaking any of the Ten Commandments. For example, the character must do nothing but rest on the Sabbath. In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', he went with Sunday, the modern standard. This had some people complaining that technically the proper Sabbath is Saturday. So for ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', he rested on Saturday. This had other people complaining in the other direction. So for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', he settles on ''Tuesday''.
261	-->''"I decided it's better to please none of you than just one of you."''
262	* ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'': Despite most wars involving factions taking either the side of the Bay or the Empire, Newfoundland considers both of them its enemies.
263	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TakeAThirdOption