History EvilCannotComprehendGood / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E82OneMorePallbearer One More Pallbearer]]", Paul Radin sets up a fake nuclear war scenario and expects Mrs. Langsford, Reverend Hughes, and Colonel Hawthorne, who all of whom humiliated him in the past, to apologize to him in exchange for their lives. He seems mystified that they would rather spend their last moments with their loved ones than try to save themselves.

* In "Chosen", the First fails to consider that someone with Buffy's power would ''share'' that power, and inadvertently gives her the idea to [[spoiler:use the Scythe to activate all the Potential Slayers in the world]].

** In Season 6's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E20Villains Villains]]", after killing [[spoiler:Tara]] and nearly killing Buffy, Warren is informed that Willow is out for his blood... and honestly doesn't seem to understand ''why''. In total fairness, though, [[spoiler:Tara]]'s death was [[AccidentalMurder a complete accident]] that Warren wasn't even aware of at the time (as was everyone else aside from Willow) -- however, when Warren does learn why Willow is after him, [[LackOfEmpathy he remains unremorseful]].

'''Rack:''' She might, but somebody's stone cold. And that... is why the witch wants your head.

* In the second ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' {{pilot}}, he explains that because the killer [[LackOfEmpathy has no conscience]], she was incapable of [[WickedStepmother thinking her stepdaughter would demand money as a way to expose her]] as the murderer rather than for the selfish reasons her stepdaughter presented.

** Hunter Zolomon/Zoom kidnapped Caitlin, convinced he loves her and can get her to love him again through StockholmSyndrome. He doesn't understand that she fell in love with [[spoiler:Jay Garrick]], a good man with a heroic drive, not a SerialKiller.

* In the ''Series/{{Manifest}}'' episode "Ghost Plane", Eagan almost can't believe his mother would fall for a scam that exploited her love for him because it never occurred to him that either of his parents ''could'' love him after everything he's done.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
*** After thousands of years of running their corner of the galaxy virtually unopposed, the [[BigBad Dominion]] Founders cannot comprehend that there were people in the galaxy who did not want to submit to them. It leads the Female Changeling to order [[GenocideBackfire courses of action]] that only made the Alpha Quadrant nations fight even harder against them.

*** Another serious case of DeliberateValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation.

** It's hard to pin down where Boone fits morally (though he's clearly neither a paragon of virtue nor a CompleteMonster), but he's a literal NobleDemon, which is something Lilah doesn't understand.

*** In one episode, Pelant gives Hodgins a seemingly SadisticChoice: Shut down a computer server that is draining Hodgins' millions of dollars or keep it running to stop a drone that would blow up a school in the Middle East. Pelant assumes Hodgins will either shut it down or at least waste time trying to TakeAThirdOption, choosing money first and breaking Hodgins' relationship with the rest of the team. It never occurs to him that [[spoiler:Hodgins has always hated being rich and thus has no problem sacrificing his money to save innocent lives]]. This is essentially Pelant's FatalFlaw: he is so utterly self-absorbed that he can't comprehend the idea of acting to benefit someone else over yourself. [[spoiler:This ultimately gets him killed when he tries to pull PutDownYourGunAndStepAway on Booth while holding Bones hostage. Bones tells Booth to take the shot regardless of what Pelant does, which sends Pelant into a stunned shock that gives Booth time to kill him.]]

* In ''Series/BurnNotice'', [[TheCorrupter Larry]] has this problem with Michael in that he can't realize [[MoralityPet why]] Michael won't be more like him and enjoy his work as a PsychoForHire. Michael all but says it outright after yet another failed attempt by Larry to corrupt him before he leaves him to the police (with Sam on a nearby building ready to shoot him dead if he tries to run).
-->''"You know the difference between us? I really do understand you. You only'' think ''you understand me."''

** In one episode, hacker/killer Pelant gives Hodgins a seemingly SadisticChoice: Shut down a computer server that is draining Hodgins' millions of dollars or keep it running to stop a drone that would blow up a school in the Middle East. Pelant assumes Hodgins will either shut it down or at least waste time trying to TakeAThirdOption, choosing money first and breaking Hodgins' relationship with the rest of the team. It never occurs to him that [[spoiler:Hodgins has always hated being rich and thus has no problem sacrificing his money to save innocent lives]].

* The ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' episode "End Game" centers around Ryan Ferraro, a disgraced former Army captain, trying to set a trap for Clay Porter, the soldier who blew the whistle on him for torturing a POW to death, believing that the POW must have blabbed the secret to Porter before his death. It turns out that Porter knew nothing about the secret, nor did he give Ferraro any real reason to think he did; Ferraro simply couldn't comprehend any reason why Porter would turn him in other than Porter having something to gain by Ferraro's going to jail. It never occurs to him that Porter might have simply ''had a conscience''.

* The ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' episode "End Game" centers around Ryan Ferraro, a disgraced former Army captain, trying to set a trap for Clay Porter, the soldier who blew the whistle on him for torturing a POW to death. The reason? He believes Porter must know the secret that Ferraro was trying to torture out of the POW, because in his mind, the only reason for Porter to turn him in is if Porter had something to gain by Ferraro's going to jail. It never occurs to him that Porter might have simply ''had a conscience''.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** The Borg genuinely cannot understand why other species would rather die than join their "perfect" HiveMind. Depending on your point of view, this may be less an example of flat-out ''evil'' and more of a BlueAndOrangeMorality problem: individuality is such an alien concept to the Borg that they consider it less a valid lifestyle choice and more a mess that needs cleaning up. The Borg outlook borders on DeliberateValuesDissonance, as they see assimilation as a liberating act, and can't comprehend how anyone would reject the Collective.
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E14Conundrum Conundrum]]", the crew's memories were wiped and the ship infiltrated by an alien who adopted the identity of 'Commander [=MacDuff=]' and tried to convince the crew that the Federation was at war with the Lysians, who had been at war with [=MacDuff's=] race for some time. With the memory-wipe having erased the crew's personal memories while leaving their technical skills intact, [=MacDuff=] apparently assumed that the crew would follow the fake orders to attack a major Lysian outpost, but failed to consider that their pacifistic nature would lead them to question the morality of attacking a foe that was quickly established as being their technological inferior. Even his attempt to manipulate Worf into a mutiny failed, as Worf likewise refused to fire on a defenseless enemy.
** Another serious case of DeliberateValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation.
** General ''Trek'' backstory holds that the Ferengi, a race whose culture is [[ProudMerchantRace entirely based around personal gain]], delayed proper first contact with the Federation for as long as possible because they considered the Federation's commitment to altruism to be proof that the Federation were ''completely insane''.

* A crucial piece of the plot of the ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' episode "End Game". Ryan Ferraro, a disgraced former Army captain, captures the family of Clay Porter, the soldier who blew the whistle on him for torturing a POW to death, and holds them hostage to force Porter to come to him. At first the team suspects that he wants Porter in order to kill him, but when that theory starts to fall apart, they piece together the true motive: it all comes back to the POW. The POW had stolen over a million dollars in cash, and Ferraro had tortured him to find out where he hid it; the prisoner died before he could get the answer, but Ferraro believed that the prisoner had given it up to Porter. When the FBI questions Porter, it turns out the prisoner didn't tell him anything, nor did Porter give Ferraro a reason to think he did; Ferraro was just certain that the only reason Porter would report him was if Porter had something to gain by Ferraro's arrest.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', this is ultimately averted with the demons. As we learn a few seasons in, this is because [[spoiler:they were all human before being [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured for centuries in Hell]]]]. Ironically, this is ultimately played straight starting about the same time we learn that secret, with [[spoiler:Heaven's angels. They're all dicks and, having never been human, can't understand humans]].

* On the [[Characters/SurvivorSamoa Samoa]] and [[Characters/SurvivorHeroesVsVillains Heroes vs. Villains]] seasons of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', this was a huge source of contention for fans of Russell Hantz. Through all of his bragging, double-crossing, and generally making game life a living hell for foe and ally alike, he honestly hasn’t considered that the jury is made up of real people playing for real money -- in fact, the exact same very real purse for which he would go on to qualify. He [[RealityShowGenreBlindness assumed]] that they would think and vote according to how he -- and the Hantz Nation -- believed they were supposed to vote. On Samoa, Natalie used this line of reasoning to shape her strategy (and get the big bucks). And on [=HvV=], it kept up especially after the jury –- including an original ally who also had to make her own case to her own jury –- went to great pains to spell out exactly why ignoring their sensible warnings was a ''moronic'' idea. There is a valid reason that, out of the 18 jury votes he was up for, he received only two.

* On the [[Characters/SurvivorSamoa Samoa]] and [[Characters/SurvivorHeroesVsVillains Heroes vs. Villains]] seasons of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', this was a huge source of contention for fans of Russell Hantz. Through all of his bragging, double-crossing, and generally making game life a living hell for foe and ally alike, he honestly hasn’t considered that the jury is made up of real people playing for real money -- in fact, the exact same very real purse for which he would go on to qualify. He [[RealityShowGenreBlindness assumed]] that they would think and vote according to how he –- and the Hantz Nation –- believed they were supposed to vote. On Samoa, Natalie used this line of reasoning to shape her strategy (and get the big bucks). And on [=HvV=], it kept up especially after the jury –- including an original ally who also had to make her own case to her own jury –- went to great pains to spell out exactly why ignoring their sensible warnings was a ''moronic'' idea. There is a valid reason that, out of the 18 jury votes he was up for, he received only two.

** This is Littlefinger's fatal flaw in Season 7. He spends his time trying to turn Sansa and Arya against one another, playing on the idea of their jealousy and giving "clues" and "advice" to Sansa on how Arya wants to kill her and take over Winterfell. But Littlefinger has failed to realize three things. First, after so long apart, the sisters are too eager to reconnect to be split apart. Second, they never had the deep-set jealousy that would enable his scheme to work. Third, and most importantly, he thinks Arya is like Sansa in wanting to be Lady of Winterfell. In truth, Arya (a lifelong tomboy having spent years training to be an assassin) could care less about becoming Lady -- and Sansa ''knows'' Arya doesn't want it. Thus, any attempt to make it look like a "coup" is being planned is for naught and as it happens the sisters [[spoiler:use this to trick Littlefinger into his own demise]].

* ''Series/KungFu'': In "The Nature of Evil", when Kwai Chang Caine confronts the unnamed murderer at the end, the villain assumes Caine is after him for the bounty on his head. Caine explains he's not interested in the bounty; he wants to bring him to justice for killing a little boy and beating an old man, and stop him from hurting anyone else. The villain says he doesn't understand why Caine would care, as the little boy and old man had nothing to do with him.

** This is also the reason that the Circle of the Black Thorn [[spoiler:make Angel sign away his role in the Shanshu Prophecy after he joins them, in an effort to prevent him betraying them for his divine reward.]] It never occurs to them that he would do good without the prospect of a divine reward, and that brings about their downfall.
** Marcus Hamilton also demands to know why Angel continues fighting the Senior Partners despite having [[spoiler:signed away his rights to the Shanshu Prophecy]], to which Angel tells, "[[ForGreatJustice the people who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do]]." Hamilton [[ShutUpKirk retorts that they]] ''[[ShutUpKirk won't]]'' [[ShutUpKirk care]].
** Angelus is completely unable to understand why Angel does what he does or the "human condition," firmly believing that humans only exist to suffer and die.

-->'''Boone''': I've known Angel since Juarez in the twenties. We had a little disagreement over a senorita. I called him out. We fought for three and a half hours.
-->'''Lilah''': How did it end?
-->'''Boone''': The sun came up - I let him go.
-->'''Lilah''': You let him go? Why?
-->'''Boone''': The sun came up. Would have been too easy? You people know anything about honor?
* In ''Series/{{Batwoman}}'', Alice expected Kate to share her joy that Catherine was dead and Jacob framed for it, as revenge for the latter two fabricating evidence of the former's death and calling off the search for her, respectively. What Alice failed to understand was that, no matter how Kate felt about Catherine, she didn't want her stepmother dead because Catherine was still a person and Mary's mother. Kate, while a little bitter about Jacob giving up on finding Beth too soon, also didn't want anything bad to happen to him, not only because Jacob is her father but because he's a good person who didn't do anything wrong. Even Mouse calls Alice out on still believing that Kate will join her after everything she's done.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive'' the Shadows brought Sheridan to Z'Ha'Dum figuring they could convert him, either willingly or forcibly. It never occurred to them until it was too late that he might [[spoiler: crash a ship loaded with nuclear bombs into the city he was currently inside]] just to slow or stop them.
* One of Cavil's major miscalculations in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' was the naïve assumption that just living as humans would convince the Final Five Cylons that human life was crap. He didn't even bother to give them abusive parents in their fabricated backstories. Compounded by his inability to comprehend that killing off people would cause the Final Five to mourn them, not stop loving them.

** In one episode, hacker/killer Pelant gives Hodgins a seemingly SadisticChoice: Shut down a computer server that is draining Hodgins' millions of dollars or keep it running to stop a drone that would blow up a school in the Middle East. Pelant assumes Hodgins will either shut it down or at least waste time trying to TakeAThirdOption, choosing money first and breaking Hodgins' relationship with the rest of the team. It never occurs to him that [[spoiler: Hodgins has always hated being rich and thus has no problem sacrificing his money to save innocent lives.]]

** In Season 4's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E20TheYokoFactor The Yoko Factor]]", Spike shows that he knows what ThePowerOfFriendship ''is'' ..., but also shows that he doesn't understand it yet. He identifies Buffy's friends as strong assets ... but is absurdly confident that ''he of all people'' can cause a permanent falling out between Buffy and the Scoobies on the eve before their big fight with [[BigBad Adam]]. Spike's sowing of discord causes a semi-dramatic quarrel that angers the Scoobies for all of a half episode. Then they rally about and unleash epic ass-kicking. Friends fight, but friends apologize and make up too. Adam, being evil, is also waayyyy too eager to imagine that a squabble will be enough to cause a serious rift between the Slayer and her friends.

** This becomes inverted when Spike says that he won't let Buffy turn herself in because he loves her. Buffy responds by savagely beating Spike, [[RageAgainstTheReflection implying that she's the evil thing]] who can't comprehend Spike's selfless actions.
** Much earlier, The Master waffles with this trope. In the Pilot, The Master understands a heroic slayer well enough to know she'll risk life and limb to save Jesse, and baits his first trap for her accordingly. Twelve episodes later, the Master never pauses to consider that the Slayer herself has her own friends who will risk life and limb for her... and is blindsided accordingly. In his defense, he thought he'd already finished her off.
*** It also has to mentioned that the Council thought similarly. It's been mentioned several times that Buffy is the only Slayer in recorded history to survive longer than a few years, and it can only be attributed to her friends and allies. Seen in a certain light, it might not be that evil can't comprehend a Slayer having people willing to risk their lives but that evil not expecting something that has never happened before.
** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E22TheGift The Gift]]", [[JerkassGod Glory]] reveals to Dawn that the ritual to activate the Key can only be stopped if Dawn herself dies, so even if Buffy ''does'' show up, it may very well be to kill her rather than save her. Glory couldn't be more wrong; Buffy adamantly ''refuses'' to even consider killing her own sister, even to save the world.
** In Season 6's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E20Villains Villains]]", after killing [[spoiler:Tara]] and nearly killing Buffy, Warren is informed that Willow is out for his blood... and honestly doesn't seem to understand ''why''.
--->'''Rack''': She's gonna blow this town apart... starting with you.\\
'''Warren''': Me? What did I... What did I do to her? {{beat}} Okay, okay. I-I shot her friend.\\
'''Rack''': I feel death.\\
'''Warren''': But the Slayer's alive! And she [[HealingFactor heals]]!\\
'''Rack''': She might, but somebody's stone cold. And that... is why the witch wants your head.
* On ''Series/BurnNotice'' [[TheCorrupter Larry]] has this problem with Michael in that he can't realize [[MoralityPet why]] Michael won't be more like him and enjoy his work as a PsychoForHire. Michael all but says it outright after yet another failed attempt by Larry to corrupt him before he leaves him to the police (with Sam on a nearby building ready to shoot him dead if he tries to run).

* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''
** When Cole is possessed by the Source, the rest of the demons assume he is only keeping Phoebe around because he needs someone to give birth to his son and that he only wants an heir. His secretary Julie suggests casting a spell to allow her to carry Phoebe's baby and says he would be free to rule without her love holding him back. She and the others don't seem to realise that Cole ''loves'' Phoebe and that he doesn't just want to have an heir, he's excited about being a father. Unfortunately for them, the Seer can comprehend good and uses this to her advantage.
** The Seer in Season 7 (played by Charisma Carpenter) is a Demon and therefore can't feel human emotion. But she knows of it through her visions -- which is why she strikes a deal with the sisters to become human. This trope is arguably inverted as the sisters initially wonder why a Demon would willingly give up their powers for the things they themselves take for granted.

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'', Cornelius’ will states that Pierce and seven of his closest friends must participate in a video game contest with the prize being Pierce’s inheritance. He assumed that they would all fight each other for the money, and Pierce would be left either with no inheritance or having lost all his friends. It never occurred to him that the study group would work together to help Pierce win, which is what they all decide to do immediately.
* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Zoe's Reprise", the [=UnSub=] says that he is a big fan of Rossi's books, but doesn't understand what he means when Rossi says that he fundamentally doesn't understand why people choose to kill. The [=UnSub=] states that the urge to kill is normal for him; he doesn't understand why everyone else doesn't have that urge.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons "The Dæmons"]], when Jo Grant [[HeroicSacrifice throws herself in front of the Doctor]], the idea of this actually destroys Azal.
** The Doctor ends up in a MexicanStandoff with the Daleks in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks "Destiny of the Daleks"]]: he is threatening to destroy [[spoiler:Davros]] with a bomb unless they let him leave with his captive, but the Daleks respond by bringing in several human captives and exterminating them one by one until the Doctor surrenders. He threatens to set off the bomb right on the spot, but the Daleks argue that such an action would be irrational and impossible because it would kill the Doctor as well. [[spoiler:Davros]] tells them that the Doctor is actually willing to do just that since "his logic is impaired by irrational sentiment".
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]]: The Beast underestimates the Doctor's drive to save the universe, particularly when it believes the Doctor won't risk losing Rose to do so.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]], the Cybermen stage an invasion of Earth, and the Cyberleader demands a complete surrender from humanity, telling them that they will be converted into Cybermen and have their emotions, fears, and differences taken away. When humanity forms a resistance and tries to fight off the Cybermen, the Cyber-Leader reacts with confusion; the Doctor informs it that humans aren't going to willingly surrender the very things that make them human.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]]: The Tenth Doctor's entire plan for defeating the Master hinges on [[spoiler:making the Master believe that he sent his companion Martha around the globe to collect the pieces of a special gun designed to completely kill a Time Lord, when her actual purpose is something far less simple and violent.]] And, even though the Master had fought the Doctor many times before, it works perfectly.
** Played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]]. They have given a robot the memories of a real human, to use as an infiltrator, and reveal that said robot is actually a bomb capable of destroying the world. They activate him, knowing the Doctor will let them flee to go save the Earth. The Doctor tries to disarm the robot by reminding him of his human emotions -- feelings of loss, pain, and misery. Unfortunately the Daleks are perfectly familiar with this kind of emotion and it doesn't work. Amy, however, reminds him of love, something Daleks could never comprehend. The robot's essential humanity asserts itself and the bomb is disarmed.
** Inverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]]. The Dalek presumes that since River Song is an associate of the Doctor, she won't shoot it while it's vulnerable.

'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy?]]\\

'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy!?]]\\

'''Dalek:''' [[AC:[[HilarityEnsues MERCYYYY!!!]]]]
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"]], the Doctor finds an ark containing the last of the dinosaurs that survived the cataclysm that wiped them out 65 million years earlier, and Solomon, a BountyHunter [[{{Greed}} intent on selling the dinosaurs to the highest bidder]]. When Solomon assumes that the Doctor's interest in the dinosaurs is purely financial, like his, the Doctor berates him for assuming that everyone in the universe shares his values.
** Reiterated in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]], when the Cybermen's first wave is defeated on floor 507: they assumed they were doing the unconverted humans a ''favour'', and aren't prepared when the humans don't see it that way.

%% ** The end of the special [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], while the Second, Third and Fifth Doctors are trying to stop [[spoiler:Borusa]] from becoming immortal, the First Doctor helps him achieve his goal, resulting in the villain [[spoiler:turning into stone]].

** John Crichton was this in several episodes involving alien mind control and/or drugs. Part of it is an acquired immunity; since it happens to him so often he's quick to SpotTheThread. He's also of highly questionable sanity at the best of times, for more or less the same reason.

** Averted in the case of the ''real'' Scorpius, who correctly guessed that Crichton would trade his wormhole knowledge for Aeryn's safety, and quietly [[TheChessmaster engineered a situation in which his help would be required to rescue Aeryn.]] Even Crichton was impressed -- and more than a little bit embarrassed, since he'd claimed that Scorpius didn't understand him two episodes ago:

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': When Captain Mal catches up to [[spoiler: Saffron]], she claims that the reason she plays mind games and acts like a manipulative, murderous FemmeFatale is because, she believes, that's just how people are. Mal begs to differ.

'''Mal:''' You got all kinds a learnin’ and you made me look the fool without even trying, and yet here I am with a gun to your head. That’s 'cause I've got people with me, people who trust each other, who do for each other, and ain't always looking for the advantage.

** In Season 4, the Thinker is brilliant at predicting so much of what the Flash will do without fail. However, he's utterly thrown when a confrontation between him, Flash, and Siren-X fails as Barry doesn't stop her. That's because Thinker had mocked Barry on [[spoiler: his failure to save Ralph Dibny]] and Barry froze. [=DeVoe=] honestly cannot grasp how Barry could have been affected by such a trauma. It shows how his growing intellect is robbing him of understanding human emotions and sets up his eventual defeat.

** Joffrey seems genuinely baffled but intrigued when Margaery stops to donate some toys and spend time with the children in an orphanage of Flea Bottom in "Valar Dohaeris". During dinner, we hear Joffrey speak of her work (in a positive light, mind you) as if charity were some strange and obscure, but totally alien concept. When Jack Gleeson was asked in an interview what sort of thing Joffrey would ''never'' do, he has to think hard before responding with "charity work" instead of something vile.
--->'''Joffrey:''' Well as Ser Loras said, Lady Margaery has done this sort of, uh... ''charitable'' work before.

*** In "Kissed by Fire", he expresses confusion and annoyance over Tyrion's protests over his ''reward'' of a forced marriage to Sansa Stark, remarking that she's both beautiful and the remaining heir to Winterfell once Robb's dealt with. Thus, in Tywin's eyes, Tyrion is ungratefully complaining about becoming one of the most powerful men in Westeros, rather than forcing a child who's suffered at Joffrey's hands to have to marry him and essentially ordered to exert MaritalRapeLicense.
*** In "Mhysa", they once again have a clash of opinions over the Red Wedding. Tywin attempts to point out that it's no different than a victory on the battlefield, even sparing lives in the long run. However, Tyrion, despite not being adverse to cheating in war, believes that such an action crosses a line that will ''never'' be forgotten and may only serve to fuel a future conflict.
*** Even when Tyrion has him at crossbowpoint on the privy and has made it very evident how he felt for Shae, Tywin continually dismisses her as "just a whore" when trying to compliment and reassure Tyrion of his esteem for him, not thinking Tyrion would be offended by such a callous dismissal of the woman he loved. Tyrion proves him dead wrong.

** This is Littlefinger's fatal flaw in Season 7. He spends his time trying to turn Sansa and Arya against one another, playing on the idea of their jealousy and giving "clues" and "advice" to Sansa on how Arya wants to kill her and take over Winterfell. But Littlefinger has failed to realize three things. First, after so long apart, the sisters are too eager to reconnect to be split apart. Second, they never had the deep-set jealousy that would enable his scheme to work. Third, and most importantly, he thinks Arya is like Sansa in wanting to be Lady of Winterfell. In truth, Arya (a lifelong tomboy having spent years training to be an assassin) could care less about becoming Lady -- and Sansa ''knows'' Arya doesn't want it. Thus, any attempt to make it look like a "coup" is being planned is for naught and as it happens the sisters [[spoiler: use this to trick Littlefinger into his own demise.]]

** Season 1 ends with the revelation that [[spoiler: the main four have been in the Bad Place all along and Michael is a demon. Season 2 has Michael trying to help the gang out but focuses on how a demon naturally has a very difficult time understanding such simple concepts as killing people is wrong and how morals work.]]

** In Season 3, [[spoiler: the main four are sent back to Earth to live new lives. Not happy with this, demon Trevor, a former foe, is sent to put them back on their wicked tracks. Trevor imagines himself coming off as a good friend and master manipulator to pit the group against one another. In reality, because he doesn't understand human behavior, Trevor just comes off as an obnoxious jerk so the gang barely pay attention to any of his "subtle" manipulations.]]
* A key character trait of Dr. ''Series/{{House}}'' is his unshakable belief that people only do good things for selfish reasons. He even states that people who value others' lives more than their own are [[GoodIsDumb idiots]] who should just kill themselves to free up their organs. Which doesn't stop him from risking his life to save Wilson's girlfriend Amber. [[spoiler: He fails.]]
* In the second series of the British version of ''[[Series/HouseOfCardsUK House of Cards]]'', the VillainProtagonist, Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, simply cannot understand why the King of England repeatedly speaks out against his government's cruel social policies when none of these policies have affected the King directly. When the King personally explains his reasons to Urquhart, namely that he wants to see all of his subjects prosper and be happy, Urquhart laughs off the notion and simply believes the King is attempting to make a power play.
--->'''Urquhart:''' Why are you doing this? What can possibly be in it for you?\\

** Inverted in the first episode, Tom Jackman is very careful to keep Hyde from discovering that he has a wife and children; when Hyde actually finds out and pays a visit to the Jackman household, Tom fears the worst... only to find that [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu Hyde has spent a happy evening playing with the kids and chatting with his wife, Claire.]]

** Jekyll's a subversion of this in general since, in the end, it turns out that the source of Jackman's transformations isn't malice, it's a profound sense of true love and the need to be loved in return. Hyde's sadism is destructive because it's undirected until he knows that he has a wife and children to protect.

* [[EldritchAbomination The Devil With Yellow Eyes]] from ''{{Series/Legion}}'' doesn’t really understand human emotions like love and altruism, nor does he understand why humans bother with things like friendship. He can convincingly fake such things, but they carry no real meaning to him, and he discards the charade the second it stops being useful. His attitude towards goodness is summed up in this chilling monologue:
-->”Do you know what love is? A chemical. Electrons in your brain sending signals. Are you familiar with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis? It's a fungus that infects ants. It's amazing, really. The spores take over their central nervous systems and force them to climb to a high point, and then the fungus begins to grow up, bursting from the tops of their heads like a branch. And it kills them, of course. All so it can spray new spores over the jungle, infecting more ants. When people say love, that's what I think of.”
* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the BigBad of Season 3 is this. He genuinely cannot understand why the protagonists are targeting him. He fails to realize that it might just be because he deserves it.

** The first season finale has the team going after Blackthorne, the CEO of the insurance company who refused to help Nate treat his dying son to a possible cure because it wasn't "cost-effective". It's one thing for Blackthorne to be amazed Nate is going to such lengths to go after him. It's another that he appears honestly shocked that Nate's ex-wife Maggie (the boy's ''mother'') can't accept this was just a business decision. He really goes to her to ask for help only for her to punch him in the face and Blackthorne acts like ''he's'' the one betrayed.
** The two-part premiere of the revival series ''Series/LeverageRedemption'' invokes this as Sophie tells new member Brenna "People like Ryan who... who are greedy and-and use people, they have a blind spot. They can't imagine anyone who's not like them."
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'', "Everybody Loves Hugo":

* Happens a few times on ''Series/MadamSecretary'' as politicians (both foreign and American) assume Liz is acting out to get her name out there and push her political career rather than actually wanting to help the U.S. and the world.
** Liz and Henry confront a rich donor on how he hired a guy to stalk them to get Liz to resign. The man thinks that Liz's "progressive views" are hurting President Dalton and arrogantly says Dalton needs him far more than Liz. He then smugly tells Dalton that if he wants funding for re-election, he'll fire Liz. The donor takes it for granted that Dalton will put his own political survival over any loyalty. He's thus struck speechless when Dalton introduces the Attorney General who has lots of questions over the man's illegal activities.

** Overlapping with MeaningfulEcho, but Mando repeats BigBad Imperial Officer Moff Gideon’s words about The Child [[spoiler: aka Grogu]] being more vital than the other party can comprehend in Season 1. Except when Mando says it, he changes [[ItIsDehumanizing “it” to “he”]] and his BadassBoast is more powerful because Gideon will never truly understand how [[PapaWolf important]] [[spoiler: Grogu]] is to Mando.
-->'''Moff Gideon''' (Season 1): You have something I want. You may think you have some idea what you are in possession of. But you do not. And in a few moments, it will be mine. It means more to me than you will ever know.
-->'''Mando''' (Season 2): You have something I want. You may think you have some idea of what you have in your possession, but you do not. Soon, ''he'' will be back with me. ''He'' means more to me than you will ever know.
** In Chapter 6 “The Prisoner”, Mayfeld, Xi'an, and Burg are baffled at why a supposedly stone-cold BountyHunter like Mando would keep The Child and look after it, Mayfield assumes Mando keeps him as a pet and Xi'an is legitimately surprised that Mando has a soft side.
** Played with in Chapter 15: “The Believer” Mayfield continuing his {{Jerkass}} attitude claims he sees no difference between the Empire and other factions like the New Republic, saying everyone [[TheSocialDarwinist only cares about looking after themselves and surviving]]. Mayfield even says he and Mando are alike, even though the latter displays selflessness which the former lacks. [[spoiler: Turned on its head later in the episode, as when Mayfield is face to face with his former superior Imperial Officer Valin Hess who happily gloats about sacrificing his own men to complete his mission, [[HypocriticalHeartwarming Mayfield despite all his talk about self-preservation shoots the bastard down]] showing [[EveryoneHasStandards he actually does comprehend distinction]] between the Empire and decent human beings after all.]]
** TheEmpire in general frequently display this trope. The Client is surprised when Mando asks what they’ll do with The Child after Mando hands him over to them, saying it’s “uncharacteristic” for someone of his reputation to care or ask once the job is finished. The Client also believes “It is good to restore the natural order of things” i.e have complete supremacy and considers the freedom the galaxy has now, as nothing but “barbaric” disarray. Valin Hess is no better, he genuinely believes what people really want is order and that once they realise that, the galaxy will welcome the Empire back “with open arms”.
* ''Series/{{Monty Python|sFlyingCircus}}'s'' [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hwql1 merchant banker sketch]] involves a banker who is utterly unable to grasp the concept of charity until he realizes what giving gifts is really about: [[ComicallyMissingThePoint getting a tax write-off]].

** Regina, [[Literature/SnowWhite The Evil Queen]], seems incapable of understanding good, like how Snow White's childhood mistake (that resulted in the death of Regina's lover) was not meant maliciously and how she honestly thought that [[TheChosenOne Emma]] would leave her to die in a fire. This and her GenreBlindness are why she doesn't understand how her power in Storybrooke is weakening, nor why Gold (Rumplestiltskin), who seems to understand good quite well, is rather confident that Emma will break the [[IdentityAmnesia curse]] on the town.

* Happens sometimes with the villains in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':

* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', invoked in the final confrontation with the Evil Leaper project; while Sam is trying to help Alia escape a prison with the aid of one of the guards, Alia asks the guard to explain why she's helping them because she wants to understand ''why'' someone would risk their life for someone else.
* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', "Warriors of Kudlak": Mistress is incapable of understanding why peace is worthwhile or desirable to anyone, seeing it only as an end to the usefulness of soldiers and generals. [[spoiler: She's a computer created by a race that was caught in a war they never expected to end -- she was never programmed with any understanding of peace, and actively covered up that the Uvodni -- the race that created her -- had been at peace for ''ten years'' by the time of the serial. The eponymous Kudlak -- an AntiVillain who does not share her outlook at all -- is ''pissed'' when he finds out.]]
* A downplayed example in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''; Elaine can't understand why her religious boyfriend isn't pressuring her to convert and concludes that he must not really care about her. The idea that he merely respects her right to choose never occurs to her.
-->''(earlier in the episode)''\\

** ''Hydro'', [[EvilCounterpart Linda]] doesn't understand why [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Chloe]] would not seize the chance to publish [[SecretKeeper all she knew]] about [[{{Franchise/Superman}} Clark Kent]].
** ''Sacrifice'', Zod doesn't understand why Oliver doesn't kill him when he has the chance.
** [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Tess]] also thought Chloe would leave her to die.
** Mentioned in ''Hostage'':

* In the ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror Mirror, Mirror]]", Kirk and friends manage to infiltrate the evil mirror ''Enterprise'' easily, but their mirror counterparts stand out like evil sore thumbs in our universe.

** The Borg genuinely cannot understand why other species would rather die than join their "perfect" HiveMind. Depending on your point of view, this may be less an example of flat-out ''evil'' and more of a BlueAndOrangeMorality problem: individuality is such an alien concept to the Borg that they consider it less a valid lifestyle choice and more a mess that needs cleaning up. The Borg outlook borders on ValuesDissonance, as they see assimilation as a liberating act, and can't comprehend how anyone would reject the Collective.

** Another serious case of in-universe ValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation.
** General Trek backstory holds that the Ferengi, a race whose culture is entirely based around personal gain, delayed proper first contact with the Federation for as long as possible because they considered the Federation's commitment to altruism to be proof that the Federation were ''completely insane''.
* Many examples from ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'':
** Like Lex Luthor, Maxwell Lord has a hard time accepting Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} is sincere in wanting to help people and not having an ulterior motive of some sort. His attempts to prove she's not a true hero involve exposing Kara to Red Kryptonite which ironically turns her into the very menace Max feared.

** James Harper is convinced J'onn J'onzz must be playing a "long game" to conquer Earth as there's no other reason for an alien with shapeshifting and telepathic powers to pretend to be a normal human and help another planet.

*** When Cat is unsure of publishing a story of Supergirl going rogue, Siobhan tries to sell it to the ''Daily Planet'', assuming they'll jump at the chance to out-scoop a rival. It never occurs to Siobhan that Perry White would have the integrity to call up Cat and tell her about the offer first.

*** Lillian works with Supergirl to rescue Lena from the Daxamites but double-crosses her to keep her daughter safe. Lillian intends to destroy the ship with Supergirl on it and when Lena protests, Lillian can't understand why her daughter cares about the people who helped save her life.

---->'''Lillian''': Do you know of any mother that would kill for her daughter?\\
'''Lena''': No, I don't. That's probably a ''good'' thing for society.
*** Just like her son, Lex, and Max Lord, Lillian refuses to believe Superman and Supergirl are sincere about wanting to help others, convinced every act they do is to "prove" how superior they are to mankind. Lillian also refuses to accept there can be good aliens, believing all to be evil invaders polluting Earth.

*** Off of that, Rhea believes that by killing Kara, Mon-El will just naturally come back to Daxam...ignoring the tiny fact that she'd have ''murdered his girlfriend.'' Lar finally understands Mon-El wants to stay and lets his son choose his path, telling his wife they need to let him grow and live his own life. Rhea's response is to murder her husband and continue to "save" Daxam.
** Reign can't seem to grasp why Kara or the public would have a problem with her brutally killing criminals at a whim or those who try to defend them as she's a tool of "justice."
** Ben Lockwood was once a decent man but a horrible series of bad breaks have turned him into the alien-hating Agent Liberty. He basically takes to the tenth level the mentality that ''all'' aliens are monsters who want to wipe out humanity. That the majority of aliens want to fit in on Earth and Supergirl is sincere caring about humanity is impossible for Lockwood to accept.
*** At one point, Lockwood tries to recruit Jimmy Olsen to his campaign, assuming it's only natural that, as a human, James will join him. That James will side with aliens against these bigots leaves Lockwood baffled why someone would "betray his own kind."

*** Lena warns Lex that Kara has proof of his activities and will publish it. Lex scoffs that it doesn't matter since people are weak and easily led, so nothing Kara says can stop his plans, as he believes that the truth is meaningless and using "spin" to manipulate the people will gain him their everlasting trust. Even as he's talking, Kara's expose of Lex's entire evil plot (including how the President of the United States is his puppet) is going viral and folks are turning on him big time. In the end, Lex is brought down and the President also goes to jail thanks to the "stupid sheep" Lex assumed would never be smart enough to fight back.

*** In "Deus Lex Machina", he genuinely didn't consider that arranging for the death of Jeremiah Danvers would cause Lena to have sympathy for Kara, and lead her to try and mend fences.
*** Lex again during the Season 5 finale. He knew that Lena's project was going to fail, but he wanted to her to see it for herself. Why? Because that way, she would be swayed to his idea of thinking that he needed to take over the world. Lena rejecting his philosophy and [[spoiler: returning to Supergirl's side]] floors him.

* As well as in its parent franchise ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
** Perhaps the most notable example is Enter in the last arc of [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters Go-Busters]], whose immortality is assured by the backup of himself kept inside Hiromu. His plan is essentially flawless, the only mistake he ever makes being that he can't comprehend the idea that someone would willingly sacrifice their life for someone else.

** In ''Children of Earth'', this is the attitude of the 456. Since humanity was [[spoiler:willing to trade 12 orphans to prevent a viral pandemic]] in 1965, the aliens believe that Earth will give up [[spoiler: ''millions'' of children]] the second time around, even after the authorities learn it would doom them to a FateWorseThanDeath. When Jack Harkness claims that most of humanity would risk genocide rather than accede to the 456's demands, the aliens flat out refuse to believe him.

** [[spoiler: In a parallel plotline, the PM seems to think that Frobisher will be able to sacrifice his own daughters. Frobisher isn't and does indeed commit his own private genocide.]]

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'': In episode 3, Jade is paired with Tori for a stage fighting lesson and pretends to be hit in order to get Tori in trouble, and sentenced to clean the messy auditorium after a play with a nasty food fight. When an accidental splash of water on Jade's black eye makeup reveals the truth to Andre, Tori chooses to remain silent to avoid inflaming further conflict with Jade, reasoning that "going to school isn't going to be very fun for either of (them) if (they're) fighting all the time." When Jade confronts Tori on this, she is immediately confused.

* ''Literature/TheWorstWitch'': While Ethel Hallow was just extremely arrogant and self-centred in the original novels, adaptations make her significantly more ruthless; in the 2017 series in particular, she repeatedly shows an inability to understand why she is hated for her constant vendetta against Mildred, to the point that the Season 3 finale sees Ethel [[spoiler:create a threat against Cackle's solely so that she can stop it and be the 'hero', incapable of understanding the difference between her creating a situation and Mildred's genuine efforts to help others even before her plans fail when she finds herself unable to vanquish the threat she created]].

** And ''again'' in the third episode: when Tom wakes up one morning, soaked in blood, with a few hazy memories of meeting Claire the previous evening, he assumes that Hyde has murdered her: in fact, Hyde got soaked with blood while cutting [[SmugSnake Benjamin Lennox's]] throat -- [[WhatAnIdiot after he threatened Claire and her children.]]

** In Season 4's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E20TheYokoFactor The Yoko Factor]]", Spike shows that he knows what ThePowerOfFriendship ''is'' ..., but also shows that he doesn't understand it yet. He identifies Buffy's friends as strong assets ... but is absurdly confident that ''he of all people'' can cause a permanent falling out between Buffy and the Scoobies on the eve before their big fight with [[BigBad Adam]]. Spike's sowing of discord causes a semi-dramatic quarrel that angers the Scoobies for all of a half episode. Then they rally about, and unleash epic ass-kicking. Friends fight, but friends apologize and make up too. Adam, being evil, is also waayyyy too eager to imagine that a squabble will be enough to cause a serious rift between the Slayer and her friends.
** In Season 6's "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E13DeadThings Dead Things]]" Buffy thinks she's accidentally killed an innocent bystander. Spike wants to dispose of the evidence and sweep the matter under the rug, and can't understand why Buffy wants to turn herself into the police.

** Much earlier, The Master waffles with this trope. In the Pilot, The Master understands a heroic slayer well enough to know she'll risk life and limb to save Jesse, and baits his first trap for her accordingly. Twelve episodes later, the Master never pauses to consider that the Slayer herself has her own friends who will risk life and limb for her... and is blindsided accordingly. In his defense, he though he'd already finished her off.

* On ''Series/BurnNotice'' [[TheCorrupter Larry]] has this problem with Michael in that he can't realize [[MoralityPet why]] Michael won't be more like him and enjoy his work as a PsychoForHire. Michael but says it outright after yet another failed attempt by Larry to corrupt him before he leaves him to the police (with Sam on a nearby building ready to shoot him dead if he tries to run).

** Played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]]. They have given a robot the memories of a real human, to use as an infiltrator, and reveal that said robot is actually a bomb capable of destroying the world. They activate him, knowing the Doctor will let them flee to go save the Earth. The Doctor tries to disarm the robot by reminding him of his human emotions -- feelings of loss, pain and misery. Unfortunately the Daleks are perfectly familiar with this kind of emotion and it doesn't work. Amy, however, reminds him of love, something Daleks could never comprehend. The robot's essential humanity asserts itself and the bomb is disarmed.

** In Season 4, the Thinker is brilliant at predicting so much of what the Flash will do without fail. However, he's utterly thrown when a confonfrontation between him, Flash and Siren-X fails as Barry doesn't stop her. That's because Thinker had mocked Barry on [[spoiler: his failure to save Ralph Dibny]] and Barry froze. [=DeVoe=] honestly cannot grasp how Barry could have been affected by such a trauma. It shows how his growing intellect is robbing him of understanding human emotions and sets up his eventual defeat.

*** In "Kissed by Fire", he expresses confusion and annoyance over Tyrion's protests over his ''reward'' of a forced marriage to Sansa Stark, remarking that she's both beautiful and the remaining heir to Winterfell once Robb's dealt with. Thus, in Tywin's eyes Tyrion is ungratefully complaining about becoming one of the most powerful men in Westeros, rather than forcing a child who's suffered at Joffrey's hands to have to marry him and essentially ordered to exert MaritalRapeLicense.

** Well, "Evil" is pushing it, but Bronn cannot wrap his head around the Unsullied fighting for Daenerys on their own free will because they believe in her and what she is trying to build. For a sellsword that fights for money, fame, and women, which are things that the Unsullied have no use for, their motivations are quite alien to him.

** [[spoiler:Michael's entire Season 1 plan fails because he didn't grasp that people can change and grow. His assumption was that Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason would be the exact same people for eternity, thus making them predictable. Eleanor actually ''learning'' from Chidi's ethics lessons blows his plan out of the water, and leads to her figuring out the actual nature of the "Good Place".]]
** In Season 3, [[spoiler: the main four are sent back to Earth to live new lives. Not happy with this, demon Trevor, a former foe, is sent to put them back on their wicked tracks. Trevor imagines himself coming off as a good friend and master manipulator to pit the group against one another. In reality, because he doesn't understand human behavior, Trevor just comes off an obnoxious jerk so the gang barely pay attention to any of his "subtle" manipulations.]]

* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney details the aftermath of his hooking up with Wendy, the waitress at [[LocalHangout McLaren's]] (the main cast's favorite bar). It ends badly when notorious-womanizer Barney can't pick up women in [=McLaren=]'s without Wendy's disapproval. Wendy eventually recognizes that their hookup and quasi-attachment was a bad idea and lets Barney have his bimbos back, but Barney continues to throw out every drink she serves him because he can't comprehend that she isn't plotting some kind of revenge.

** Jekyll's a subversion of this in general, since in the end it turns out that the source of Jackman's transformations isn't malice, it's a profound sense of true love and the need to be loved in return. Hyde's sadism is destructive because it's undirected until he knows that he has a wife and children to protect.
* In ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', tell Diend about a treasure greater than the cool weapon he's trying to steal, and he assumes you're talking about some kind of better weapon. Though sometimes, mainly in the later part of series, he does get it. And on one occasion he gets that the greater treasure is friendship and tries to take it away anyway just to be a dick.

** In Chapter 6 “The Prisoner” Mayfeld, Xi'an and Burg are baffled at why a supposedly stone cold BountyHunter like Mando would keep The Child and look after it, Mayfield assumes Mando keeps him as a pet and Xi'an is legitimately surprised that Mando has a soft side.

* ''Series/{{Monty Python|sFlyingCircus}}'s'' [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hwql1 merchant banker sketch]] involves a banker who is utterly unable to grasp the concept of charity, until he realizes what giving gifts is really about: [[ComicallyMissingThePoint getting a tax write-off]].

* A downplayed example in ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''; Elaine can't understand why her religious boyfriend isn't pressuring her to convert, and concludes that he must not really care about her. The idea that he merely respects her right to choose never occurs to her.
->''(earlier in the episode)''\\

** Another serious case of in-universe ValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison-colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation.
** General Trek backstory holds that the Ferengi, a race whose culture is entirely based around personal gain, delayed proper first contact with the Federation for as long as possible, because they considered the Federation's commitment to altruism to be proof that the Federation were ''completely insane''.

*** When he engages his ultimate plan to take over the minds of everyone on Earth, Non makes it clear he truly believes he's doing humanity a favor by "freeing" them of such distractions as emotions and individuality so they can focus on the problems of Earth. Kara, Cat and even Max all argue that saving the planet means nothing if the people aren't free to enjoy it but Non doesn't grasp what he's doing is wrong.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E82OneMorePallbearer One More Pallbearer]]", Paul Radin sets up a fake nuclear war scenario and expects Mrs. Langsford, Reverend Hughes and Colonel Hawthorne, who all of whom humiliated him in the past, to apologize to him in exchange for their lives. He seems mystified that they would rather spend their last moments with their loved ones than try to save themselves.