Recently, I was watching the latest season of Louie, and spoiler alert, he gets told, “Trust no one”, by the very people he shouldn’t put his trust. The same thing happened in I, Claudius, when the last thing Herod Agrippa tells the new Emperor Claudius is that he should trust no one, before he turns against him off screen. The whole thing is full of pathos, just telling someone to trust no one, before you back-stab him, should tip your hand, but in these instances, it doesn’t. I wondered what we’d call this trope, and I wonder if anyone has other examples, maybe to help me track it down better on TV Tropes.
Damn you for tempting me to go to TV Tropes!
Try the Betrayal Tropespage.
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy is hired by Walter Donovan to retrieve the Holy Grail. During their first meeting, Donovan tells Indy “Doctor Jones. Good luck. Be very careful. Don’t trust anybody.”
Later in the movie, when Indy finds out that Donovan has been working with the Nazis to find the grail and has doublecrossed him, Donovan tells him “Didn’t I warn you not to trust anybody, Doctor Jones?”
I don’t know if it’s a trope yet, but I’ve met a lot of New Age-y types who badger people about not being trusting enough…and then take advantage of them.
I’ve read I Claudius but thaven’t seen the movie/tv programme ?, and I believe that H.A. genuinlly likes Claudius and is giving him good advice.
But beiing a Sociopath H.A. can’t help but take advantage of anyone when he needs to, no matter how close to him they are, or how firendly he feels towrds them.
Somewhat similar, in Game of Thrones, Littlefinger warned Ned Stark not to trust him…and when he later betrays Stark, Littlefinger reminds Stark of the prior warning.
What film was it that had dialogue similar to this?
‘Trust no one.’
‘Not even you?’
‘Especially me.’
Isn’t that something that Garak says in Deep Space Nine?
This is the first one I remembered. I’m curious what pre-dates it.
Here’s what I was talking about from DS9:
Dr. Julian Bashir: Out of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren’t?
Elim Garak: My dear Doctor, they’re all true.
Dr. Julian Bashir: Even the lies?
Elim Garak: Especially the lies.
Certainly Herod the Great qualified as a sociopath, but I am not sure that Herod Agrippa did.
Discordian kōan:
Greater Poop: Is Eris true?
Malaclypse the Younger: Everything is true.
GP: Even false things?
M2: Even false things are true.
GP: How can that be?
M2: I don't know man, I didn't do it.
Memento has a pretty nifty example of this - a character telling himself not to trust anyone (and one person in particular) when the person he shouldn’t trust is himself (it makes more sense in the context of the movie).