History Main / GoodCannotComprehendEvil

* In the RoleSwapAU ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133218/chapters/53943610 Kitty Noir and Vedalia]]'', Rose thinks that Lila's behavior (such as lying about her famous connections or physically harassing Adrien even though he is visibly uncomfortable and is dating Marinette) has some sort of FreudianExcuse and isn't just evil for the sake of it, and once the others realize the truth Lila will have a HeelFaceTurn. That is until Lila not only lies about being best friends with Vedalia (Juleka's hero identity) but that Vedalia is experimenting her sexuality with Kitty Noir (AKA Rose) before she will confess to Lila. At that point, [[BewareTheNiceOnes Rose wants to use Vedalia's yo-yo to strangle Lila to death]] [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend for making her girlfriend sound like a sexual deviant]].

* ''Fanfic/LostToDust'': Melanie and Miltia Malachite are more amoral than evil, but Blake Belladonnna is shocked when they say unlike her, they do not feel an urge to help people.

* Brought up by Tobias in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/937977 A Splash of Blue]]'' when the Literature/{{Animorphs}} are being pursued by Visser Three underwater. Jake suggests that the group try to ensure that at least half of them get away by ordering Tobias, Cassie and Ax to go for the shore while he, Rachel and Marco try to draw Visser Three's attention by going into deeper water, Jake reasoning that Visser Three will chase the group that looks like they have a plan over those that look like they're running away. However, Tobias muses that this plan would only work if they were dealing someone noble like Jake who would try to stop the threat, whereas Visser Three is basically a bully who would always go for the weaker target.

* Hiccup in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' is insistent on trying to reason with [[BigBad Drago]] despite his father's warnings. Later events transpire to teach him that, unfortunately, some people just ''can't'' be reasoned with. Specifically, Hiccup is at first optimistic that he can talk Drago out of his warmongering, but upon meeting Drago, hearing his story and, witnessing his conviction/insanity, he rapidly realizes that there is no reasoning with him. Drago's actions are not based on ignorance or fear like so many Hiccup has encountered before, but rather a deeply dark and warped view of the world.

* In Disney's live-action ''Film/{{Cinderella|2015}}'', when Cinderella can no longer take anymore from Lady Tremaine, she breaks down, asking her "Why? Why are you so cruel? I don't understand it. I've tried to be kind to you."

* Marge expresses this in ''Film/{{Fargo}}'', as seen in the quote below. Marge, a NiceGirl ByTheBookCop, has just [[spoiler:arrested Grimsrud after she caught him stuffing his partner's corpse into a wood chipper]]. She simply can't believe that the crime spree that ended with five people dead, lives ruined and families destroyed, was all for money.

* ''Film/GoldenEye'': James Bond can hardly believe that the leader of Janus was none other than [[spoiler:his former friend and ex-00 agent turned [[RogueAgent terrorist]] Alec Trevelyan, who was presumed dead in a mission gone awry]]. Bond's attempts to reason with Janus go nowhere when the latter reveals his plan to use the titular KillSat to wreck Britain's economy in [[spoiler:revenge for the repatriation of his people, the Lienz Cossacks, back to the Soviets at the end of WWII. While most of the Cossacks were executed, Trevelyan's own parents killed themselves out of SurvivorsGuilt. Ironically, being employed by the same country who was responsible for these events enabled Trevelyan to craft his revenge scheme from within]]. Ultimately, Bond realizes Janus is a [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse madman who needs to be stopped]] even if he has legitimate grievances.

* ''Film/RichieRich'': It's obvious to most everyone Laurence Van Dough is jealous of the Rich family and wants the business for himself, but even after Lawrence tries to kill them and leaves them marooned on a desert island, Mr. Rich can't grasp how bad Laurence is. Of course, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Lawrence himself misunderstands the Richs just as much]].

* UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi in the Creator/HarryTurtledove alternate history short story ''The Last Article''. Despite repeated run-ins with an unrepentantly ruthless ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Walter Model, the military governor of India after a victorious Germany seizes it from the British and an ardent Nazi, Gandhi believes that the Germans are no worse than the British, and like them can be shamed into giving Indians rights through non-resistance. The warnings of [[PragmaticHero Jawaharlal Nehru]] and Simon Wiesenthal fail to convince him that the Nazis are of an entirely different moral and ethical character to the British, that [[SuicidalPacifism he's only dooming India]] by pushing through with ''satyagraha'', and that Germany's government was in fact deranged enough to [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust exterminate the Jews]]. When Model's troops massacre Gandhi's followers, Gandhi assumes Model to have gone insane and predicts that he will be censured harshly by Berlin; he's absolutely baffled when he finds out that Model has not only gotten away with it, but has been ''rewarded''. Gandhi only realizes that there are some people and regimes who simply don't have a conscience for his methods to appeal to just before his execution, after Model outright ''hands him a file about the Kristallnacht'' (amidst which Gandhi urged the German Jews to adopt his method) just to disprove, once and for all, Gandhi's approach.

* This plays an important part in the resolution of the Franchise/SherlockHolmes spin-off novel ''Master of Lies'' by Philip Purser-Hallard, where Holmes and Watson are tracking a group of counterfeiters and forgers. The last quarter of the novel reveals that [[TomatoInTheMirror what was read before that point]] was actually written by one of the forgers as part of an elaborate plan to frame Sherlock and his brother Mycroft for Watson's murder, which depicts a modified version of the case the two are investigating. One of the main clues that helps Holmes identify the real mastermind is that the manuscript places emphasis on the skill of the forger and Watson's own admiration of the literary skills of the man who turned out to be the real forger. Holmes observes that the man is such an egotist that he simply couldn't give himself a smaller role in his own story, even when it might have helped him avoid suspicion, where Watson is a more self-effacing author who often downplays his own role in Holmes's cases.

** Partially deconstructed when it is later shown that many of the principles the Starks trusted in others are strongly reinforced by the practical destructive consequences for those who violate them: [[spoiler:Cersei's open disregard for Robert's will immediately destabilizes the Crown's authority, the War of the Five Kings is set off by Joffrey's impulsive decision to execute Ned Stark sheerly for entertainment value, the Freys' betrayal of Robb Stark and of sacred hospitality costs them all social respect in Westeros and eventually leads to their destruction, Joffrey's sadism, instability and violence as a ruler gets him poisoned at his own wedding, and Tywin Lannister's willingness to use and abandon anyone and everyone to preserve House Lannister's power winds up getting him shot by his own son]]. In Westeros, it may be less a matter ofGood Cannot Comprehend Evil and more a matter of Sensible Cannot Comprehend Stupid; the Starks' mistake was not so much trusting their enemies' benevolence as assuming their self-interest was enlightened enough to keep them playing by the same rules.

* ''Series/TheExpanse'': This trope sometimes causes problems for the protagonists when they try to deal with Protogen and the people experimenting with the protomolecule. This is especially on display when [[TheHero Holden]] and [[TheAtoner Fred]] [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Johnson]] try to talk to Cortázar, the last scientist from the team of [[MadScientist Doctor Dresden]], one of the lead scientists who was in charge of the protomolecule research. Unknown to Holden and Johnson, prior to beginning work on the protomolecule project, Cortázar's brain was surgically altered to make him [[LackOfEmpathy incapable of empathy]], and now he has nothing but obsession and cold intellectual curiosity about the scientific project he was working on. Holden's attempt to bond with Cortázar over the disease that killed his mother goes nowhere, and Holden's assumption that Dresden [[ForcedIntoEvil forced Cortázar into evil]] runs right into a wall. While Amos, the group's TokenEvilTeammate, who is essentially a (mostly) high functioning sociopath is much more successful at understanding and drawing out Cortázar, even he is thrown by Cortázar's coldness, he just adjusts to it much better than Holden does.

** This, combined with HonorBeforeReason, is the key flaw of the Starks. Eddard is the worst, assuming the royal court must hold to ideals of honor and fair play; he is totally unprepared for how ruthless they can be, and he pays the price. Robb follows in his footsteps with the mistake of assuming anyone entering into a treaty will naturally hold to it and not, say, get paid off by his enemies to lure him in. Jon Snow also emulates his father and half-brother, believing that everyone will just set aside their differences and work together against a common threat, but he overestimates even the notion of self-preservation people have in the face of pride or spite like Alliser Thorne or Cersei Lannister.

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': Bayliss struggles to understand why the killers he apprehends commit horrific acts of brutality [[EvilIsPetty for the pettiest of reasons]], [[ForTheEvulz and sometimes no reason at all]]. Pembleton repeatedly calls him out, and insinuates that it's the result of Bayliss deeply suppressing his own dark side.

-->'''Sam:''' No, I don't believe that there's some force leaping her around, ruining people's live for the pleasure of it.\\

* ''Radio/OldHarrysGame'': One episode has Satan and the Professor embarking on a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind to see why Thomas is the way he is. At one point, the Professor comes across a hidden-away memory which is marked with tons of warnings not to open it, which shows Thomas as a child being bullied by his classmates. The Professor assumes that this is a FreudianExcuse that Thomas locked away because it was painful for him to remember, but when he tries to offer Thomas consolation, [[spoiler:Thomas reveals that the memory was actually of an unspecified crime (presumably involving killing the bullies) and he had hidden it away to avoid accidentally incriminating himself.]]

* In ''VideoGame/HogwartsLegacy'', Ominus and his aunt Noctua were both WhiteSheep of the EvilSorcerer Gaunt family, and descendants of one of the most evil wizards to walk the Earth, Salazar Slytherin. Noctua was determined to prove Slytherin was not an evil man and that there was more to him than BlackMagic. While attempting to reach his secret office within Hogwarts, she ended up in an inescapable trap as she came by herself and the trap required at least 2 people to escape, causing her to starve to death. And even if she had been with someone else, the only way to escape the trap is for one person to cast the AgonyBeam [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Cruciatus Curse]] on the other, proving that Slytherin really was as sadistic and evil as the Gaunt family lauded him for being. And that's not even counting the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets giant snake he hid in the school for the express purpose of murdering children]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' this trope crosses over with ChildrenAreInnocent in the case of Nanako Dojima, the protagonist's young cousin. During one of her Social Link events, she asks why people do bad things, and responds most favorably if you say you don't know, either.

* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', Alfyn cannot understand how someone could be so twisted as to willingly [[TheFarmerAndTheViper betray those who help them]]. He is traumatized by [[spoiler:Miguel kidnapping and nearly killing an innocent child after Alfyn saved the former's life]], and nearly loses his passion as a physician because of it.

** According to now-non-canon sources, this is what happened with Sargeras, the creator and leader of the Burning Legion. Originally belonging to a race of god-like beings called the Titans, he and his kind traveled throughout the cosmos to bring order to worlds; they were so powerful they defeated the Old Gods, the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s of Azeroth, and created the dragons to become the world's stewards. While defeating and imprisoning the demons of the Twisting Nether, their evil caused Sargeras to question the Titans' quest for order. He was driven into depression after witnessing the chaos wrought by the demons, especially after defeating the vampiric Nathrezim, whose manipulative bastardry on various worlds affected him deeply. Eventually, he went completely off the rails with the belief that the Titans' quest for order was essentially ''wrong'', given that he saw the Universe as intrinsically chaotic and evil. The last the Titans saw him, Sargeras had freed the demons he had personally previously imprisoned, made them a part of his army, and sent his Burning Legion to bring war upon the Universe, putting into action the corruption of the Draenei and Orcs, the birth of the Lich King, and the multiple near-destruction of Azeroth itself.

* ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon''; the BigBad of the game a CorruptPolitician named Ryo Aoki [[spoiler: who is actually Ichiban's old childhood friend Masato Arakawa having faked his death]]. As the game progresses, Ichiban gets more and more frustrated by the depths Aoki sinks to in his pursuit of power, [[spoiler: until the climax when he snaps and lays out a massive TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for Masato, demanding he explain why he gave up the loving family and wealth he had before in pursuit of fleeting power and approval of assholes that never know the true him]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', with Elliot this is routinely shown in the way of naivete, such as when he doesn't understand either the idea that [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2017-05-22 a person would trick a superhero into revealing themselves by preying on their heroic idealism]], or that [[http://egscomics.com/comic/party-033 a cop would go into law enforcement for any reason other than to help people]].

** In the episode "The Wicked", Darwin repeatedly insists that Mrs. Robinson ''must'' have some redeeming quality or FreudianExcuse and tries to find it, despite all evidence that to the contrary. He only realizes he's wrong and Mrs. Robinson is just pure evil when she sees him choking and does nothing but give a PsychoticSmirk and watch. From there on out, his motive changes from trying to prove that she has some good in her to simply trying to get her locked up.

** The title character is so upbeat and selfless he assumes that anything "mean" is a simple misunderstanding. The following quote refers to an alien invader who has already tried to kill him and is currently en route to Earth in order to defeat the crystal gems.

* [[DumbIsGood Hego]] from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' insists on believing that his sister [[BlackSheep Shego]] still has good in her, even after she directly backstabs him. However, it's implied that Hego was right about there being ''some'' good: she won't be doing a HeelFaceTurn anytime soon, but for all her evil, Shego couldn't fight her brothers. As Dr. Drakken pointed out, they defeated her suspiciously easily after she stole all their powers.

'''Tom:''' ...[[spoiler:[[GetOut Get. Out.]]]]]

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma Kamijou says he just doesn't get why people are assholes who grab power at the expense of others, constantly asking them [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood why they don't use their abilities to make the world a happier place]]. However, this doesn't diminish his effectiveness at all. Just because he doesn't know why people do bad things, doesn't mean he's unaware that they do, or that he can't beat the tar out of them for it.

* Franchise/{{Batman}} has a recurring problem with ComicBook/TheJoker because of this. He can understand {{Greed}} or lust for power, he can understand [[{{Pride}} Vanity]] and the urge to show off, he can understand {{Revenge}} on a very deep and personal level and he can probably understand the sadism of a weak man who wants to feel strong by picking on people even weaker than himself. But Joker? He frequently doesn't seem to ''have'' a motive he can articulate beyond [[ItAmusedMe It Amused Him]] and/or ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime. He's as close to an AnthropomorphicPersonification of ChaoticEvil as you can get while still being a corporeal, mortal([[JokerImmunity ...ish]]) human being. And that makes it really hard to be CrazyPrepared for dealing with him.

* ''Fanfic/TheSeaShadow'': Being a devoted older brother to Luigi, Mario struggles to understand why [[spoiler:Beldam would do what she did to Vivian (which, in this story, included an attempted ''SiblingMurder'')]].

* ''Fanfic/TheSeaShadow'': Being a devoted older brother to Luigi, Mario struggles to understand why [[spoiler:Beldam would do what she did to Vivian]].

* UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi in the Creator/HarryTurtledove alternate history short story ''The Last Article''. Despite repeated run-ins with an unrepentantly ruthless ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Walter Model, the military governor of India after a victorious Germany seizes it from the British and an ardent Nazi, Gandhi believes tgat the Germans are no worse than the British, and like them can be shamed into giving Indians rights through non-resistance. The warnings of [[PragmaticHero Jawaharlal Nehru]] and Simon Wiesenthal fail to convince him that the Nazis are of an entirely different moral and ethical character to the British, that [[SuicidalPacifism he's only dooming India]] by pushing through with ''satyagraha'', and that Germany's government was in fact deranged enough to [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust exterminate the Jews]]. When Model's troops massacre Gandhi's followers, Gandhi assumes Model to have gone insane and predicts that he will be censured harshly by Berlin; he's absolutely baffled when he finds out that Model has not only gotten away with it, but has been ''rewarded''. Gandhi only realizes that there are some people and regimes who simply don't have a conscience for his methods to appeal to just before his execution, after Model outright ''hands him a file about the Kristallnacht'' (amidst which Gandhi urged the German Jews to adopt his method) just to disprove, once and for all, Gandhi's approach.

* Mahatma Gandhi in the Harry Turtledove alternate history short story ''The Last Article,'' where he leads his nonviolent resistance movement against the Nazis, who have conquered India from the British as a result of winning World War II. He assumes a moral equivalence between the Nazi and British imperialists, naively dismissing reports otherwise (including a warning from Simon Wiesenthal, who managed to flee to India from occupied Poland). Gandhi realizes too late that his moral and ethical assumptions are not shared among all human groups, as the remorselessly violent Nazis lack the ideals of freedom, justice, and equality for all citizens that are at the root of the British and American political systems and, perhaps more importantly, their religion and national self-image. Unlike the British, against whom Gandhi's non-violent strategy worked by shaming them with the hypocrisy of their actions, the Nazis view themselves as a master race and have no moral qualms about killing those who resist non-violently [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (or even those who do not resist at all, if they are of certain groups)]].

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': This is revealed to be the FatalFlaw of AntiVillain [[spoiler:Kirschtaria Wodime]], thanks to always believing in the innate goodness in every human. [[spoiler:His plans to aid humanity involves turning them into gods, believing that they will unite and strive for a better future. Sherlock Holmes quickly points out that humans had always fought among themselves, so Wodime's plan would just give them more power to do so. Kirschtaria also has strong faith in his teammates, who he thought would be happy with his plan. This meant he is completely blindsided by [[TokenEvilTeammate Beryl Gut's]] betrayl, who stabbed him in the back because he loves to kill humans and can't do that if they were immortal gods]].

This trope is, in its essence, a character who believes that RousseauWasRight in a setting where it is ''not'' in effect. This character refuses to believe that someone could simply be evil [[ForTheEvulz for its own sake]]. If this character can just talk things out with the villain, then surely their motive will come out and together they can find a better solution ([[DefeatMeansFriendship perhaps after pounding them into submission]]). It doesn't occur to them that there might not ''be'' a motive to discover. This character may also spare a villain, thinking that there's still some good in him, or that he can change for the better... [[PacifismBackfire only for the villain to commit more crimes]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing'': This is Mufasa's FatalFlaw. Despite their disputes, he [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter underestimates]] his younger brother Scar's jealousy of him and desire for the throne, believing in the [[ThickerThanWater importance of family]] and that Scar couldn't do something heinous as fratricide. Mufasa only learned in the ''moment'' before his death that this is ''NOT'' the case, as Scar [[TheFarmerAndTheViper pays]] his kindness back by tossing him off a gorge. To twist the knife even further, Scar even rubs it in his brother's face, sadistically gloating "long live the king" with a SlasherSmile and making sure that his brother fully realizes what [[CainAndAbel his true nature]] is.

* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'': In the short story "Swan Song," taking place in the future, Radical, who had become Leonardo's LoveInterest by that time, is attacked by her ArchEnemy Complete Carnage, who [[NeckSnap snaps her neck]] right in front of Leo. Many years later, Leo, having become a Buddhist monk, tracks Carnage down to Hong Kong, where he has kidnapped several people, intending to forgive him for Radical's murder and free the hostages. During the ensuing fight, Leo tries to persuade Carnage to give up his evil ways and learn to understand the true value of life... but when Carnage gleefully kills one of his hostages and mocks Radical's death to Leo's face, Leo snaps, declares that Carnage has long since passed the MoralEventHorizon, and [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe slices him clean in two]] in a MomentOfWeakness.
-->'''Leo''': You... You killed her... Like it was nothing... Like you did Radical. I really ''did'' come here to forgive you. But you... [[ThisIsUnforgivable you're not worthy of forgiveness!]]

* True to the [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse show]], Steven in ''Fanfic/ATriangleInTheStars'' can't grasp the fact that someone can be truly, thoroughly evil, and believes there's a reason behind everything. [[spoiler: He's right.]]
* [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]] in ''[[Fanfic/TheNuptialverse Post Nuptials]]'' could not understand why a creature like Discord could be so cruel and sadistic. [[spoiler:Of course, the [[HilariousInHindsight fanfic was written before Season 3.]]]]
* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost:''
** Princess Celestia is shocked to discover that [[spoiler: her nephew, Prince Jewelius, [[BitchInSheepsClothing whom she had always known as a mild-mannered stallion, is actually a cruel, manipulative sociopath]] who [[GreenEyedMonster wants to kill his aunt and cousin Cadence out of petty jealousy]] and set the Changeling invasion in motion to steal Equestria's throne]].
** Fluttershy is unable to fathom why Jewelius is going to great lengths to torment not only the rest of the dishonored heroes but also [[spoiler:Ponyville's inhabitants]] for something the Mane Five did, even though [[spoiler: his primary targets are the princesses]].

** By the sequel, however, thanks to encounters with HYDRA and the Red Room [[spoiler: and one brief period as the Dark Phoenix]], he's entirely capable of understanding why people are evil. He doesn't like it very much.

* In the ''Film/{{Maleficent}}''/ ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' crossover [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13414681/1/Maleficent-and-Descendants-A-mother-s-love "A mother's love,"]] Ben expresses incredulity when he sees what Stefan did to Maleficent in her world, unable to comprehend how he could do that to Maleficent given their past history.
* In ''FanFic/BuildYourWingsOnTheWayDown'' Hughes as a man who loves his family cannot understand [[spoiler: why Tucker would do such a horrible thing like turning his own family into chimeras.]]
* ''Fanfic/LostInCamelot'' plays with this when Merlin has trouble initially comprehending the idea that anyone would fake a crisis just to get money despite Kenzi’s explanation of Aredian's agenda.

* ''FanFic/FireEmblemFatesAftermath'': Corrin agrees to a duel with Jiro in chapter 14, expecting him to adhere to Hoshidan honor and accept his defeat. He's proven wrong when, after he wins, Jiro [[spoiler:impales Corrin with a wyrmsbane lance the second he turns his back, sending him into a coma for two months and nearly killing him. When he awakens in Chapter 15,]] Azura calls him out on it, stating he ''has'' to accept that [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids not everyone is as good-hearted as he thinks]].
* ''FanFic/FireEmblemAwakeningInvisibleTies'': Emmeryn ''gravely'' underestimates Gangrel's insanity and bloodlust, thinking that he'll eventually see reason if she keeps trying diplomacy. It isn't until Gangrel kidnaps Maribelle and tries to ransom her for the Fire Emblem that Emmeryn is forced to acknowledge that there's ''no'' reasoning with him.
* In the ''Film/Titanic1997'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11953189/1/Onward-and-Upwards Onwards and Upwards]]", depicting an AU where Jack survived the sinking and reunited with Rose, he and Rose return to Chippewa Falls to make a life for themselves. When Cal and Ruth track them down, one of Rose's new friends attempts to help Ruth reunite with Rose in the belief that Rose will be pleased to see her mother, only to be taken aback when the subsequent confrontation sees Rose reveal exactly why she never contacted her mother herself, including her admission that she nearly killed herself.
* Brought up by Tobias in "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/937977 A Splash of Blue]]" when the Literature/{{Animorphs}} are being pursued by Visser Three underwater. Jake suggests that the group try to ensure that at least half of them get away by ordering Tobias, Cassie and Ax to go for the shore while he, Rachel and Marco try to draw Visser Three's attention by going into deeper water, Jake reasoning that Visser Three will chase the group that looks like they have a plan over those that look like they're running away. However, Tobias muses that this plan would only work if they were dealing someone noble like Jake who would try to stop the threat, whereas Visser Three is basically a bully who would always go for the weaker target.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13241536/1/Frozen-Forgive-me Forgive Me]]'': In this ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' fanfic, when Hans reveals the goings-on of his family and [[EvilOverlord his father's]] power-hungry plans to dominate Scandinavia, the other characters (Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Rapunzel, Eugene]]) are left struggling to understand the dysfunctional nature of [[DysfunctionalFamily Hans' family]] and why the King of the Southern Isles would ill-treat his sons.
* ''[[FanFic/KingdomHearts3FinalStand Kingdom Hearts 4: New Light]]'': Ryo is a MartialPacifist who is firmly convinced that ''everyone'' can be reasoned with and hates having to resort to violence. It takes getting near-fatally stabbed by Jazzy's WolverineClaws, followed by TrainingFromHell from Vanitas, for Ryo to finally accept that some people just ''can't'' be reasoned with and sometimes ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption.
* [[GrayAndGrayMorality While it's hard to tell the good guys and bad guys apart]] in ''FanFic/TheConversionBureau: A Beacon of Hope'' the main reason why the political situation between Equestria and New Athens is so complicated and tends to work in the latter's favor is that both the Princesses and the leader of the New Athens [[DarkMessiah Socrates]] take for granted that the Equestrians all think alike, think whatever Celestia tells them to and couldn't possibly [[RootingForTheEmpire like Socrates and his nation or want to work for him]] because Socrates [[FantasticRacism openly hates ponykind]]. Fortunately for Socrates, his advisors are savvier and when immigrants from Equestria start showing up they tell him sending them away is a bad idea.
* More like Good Cannot Comprehend Good but in [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/359387/figuring-out-fluffle-puff Figuring Out Fluffle Puff]] Twilight Sparkle is confused as to why [[Blog/AskFlufflePuff Fluffle Puff]] likes Queen Chrysalis.
* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku can't wrap his head around [[spoiler:the Ultra-Humanite's]] desire to destroy the Tokyo National Museum over having an exhibit of [[NominalHero Endeavor]] erected there. It's [[EvilIsPetty extremely arbitrary and petty]] on top of being callous to anyone who doesn't share the Villain's viewpoint.
-->'''Izuku:''' Y-You're going to destroy the TNM? Just because they're getting rid of some good-looking art? That-That's so stupid!
* In ''FanFic/FadedBlue'', the Crystal Gems (or at least Rose and Garnet) understand by Chapter 11 that Steven is probably not Blue Diamond -- however, they are having trouble understanding [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes why Blue Diamond would fall in love with a human, or have a son at all]].

* ''Fanfic/LostToDust'': Melanie and Miltia Malachite are more amoral than evil, but Blake Belladonnna is shocked when they say unlike her, they do not feel an urge to help people.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23269387/chapters/57261766 The Crashing of the Waves]]'', FBI Agent Derek Morgan saw the worst of humanity by virtue of catching serial killers, but he knows he won't ever forget the case with the cult taking their young kids to watch a teenager and a little girl be burned alive for their affiliation with the Devil.
-->Morgan was never going to understand a mind like that, on any level deeper than the profiler’s clinical gauge of behaviour. He was never going to understand how any parent could sit there in the pews as if this were just a normal Sunday service and watch somebody else’s little girl burning alive, and call that ''righteous''.
* In ''Academy of Disconent'' from the ''Fanfic/DanganronpaTheImmersiveLearningProgram'' series, [[GentleGiant Gonta Gokuhara]] is shocked and confused that Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu and Peko Pekoyama [[spoiler:would kill two of their classmates just to escape the academy]]. However, [[spoiler:his belief that a bad deed doesn't make one a bad person leads him to befriend Peko after is she left behind while Fuyuhiko is forced to leave the academy and the other students ostracize her for her actions]].
* ''Fanfic/BondsBeyondTheBoundary'': After hearing about all the horrible things that [[Franchise/BlazBlue Terumi]] did (destroying Ragna's life, manipulating countless people to their deaths, creating a genocidal world-killing demon for fun), [[Manga/FairyTail Lucy]] can't process how someone that despicable can even ''exist''.
* ''[[Fanfic/{{CONSEQUENCES|MiraculousLadybug}} THREATENING A TSURUGI]]'': While Kagami is fully aware of how nasty Lila can be towards the people she targets, she assumes that she'll only be coming after ''her''. It never occurs to her that Lila might target her aging, blind mother instead, and is numb with shock when Lila [[EvilGloating gloats about]] causing her accident.
* ''Fanfic/TheSeaShadow'': Being a devoted older brother to Luigi, Mario struggles to understand why [[spoiler:Beldam would do what she did to Vivian.]]
* In the RoleSwapAU ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133218/chapters/53943610 Kitty Noir and Vedalia]]'', Rose thinks that Lila's behavior (such as lying about her famous connections or physically harassing Adrien even though he is visibly uncomfortable and is dating Marinette) has some sort of FreudianExcuse and isn't just evil for the sake of it, and once the others realize the truth Lila will have a HeelFaceTurn. That is until Lila not only lies about being best friends with Vedalia (Juleka's hero identity) but that Vedalia is experimenting her sexuality with Kitty Noir (AKA Rose) before she will confess to Lila. At that point, [[BewareTheNiceOnes Rose wants to use Vedalia's yo-yo to strangle Lila to death]] [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend for making her girlfriend sound like a sexual deviant]].

** Partially deconstructed when it is later shown that many of the principles the Starks trusted in others are strongly reinforced by the practical destructive consequences for those who violate them: [[spoiler:Cersei's open disregard for Robert's will immediately destabilizes the Crown's authority, the War of the Five Kings is set off by Joffrey's impulsive decision to execute Ned Stark sheerly for entertainment value, the Freys' betrayal of Robb Stark and of sacred hospitality costs them all social respect in Westeros and eventually leads to their destruction, Joffrey's sadism, instability and violence as a ruler gets him poisoned at his own wedding, and Tywin Lannister's willingness to use and abandon anyone and everyone to preserve House Lannister's power winds up getting him shot by his own son]]. In Westeros, it may be less a matter of GoodCannotComprehendEvil and more a matter of Sensible Cannot Comprehend Stupid; the Starks' mistake was not so much trusting their enemies' benevolence as assuming their self-interest was enlightened enough to keep them playing by the same rules.

* In ''FanFic/BuildYourWingsOnTheWayDown'' [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist Hughes]] as a man who loves his family cannot understand [[spoiler: why Tucker would do such a horrible thing like turning his own family into chimeras.]]

* In the ''Film/Titanic1997'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11953189/1/Onward-and-Upwards Onwards and Upwards]]", depicting an AU where Jack survived the sinking and reunited with Rose, he and Rose return to Chippewa Falls to make a life for themselves. When Cal and Ruth track them down, one of Rose's new friends attempts to help Ruth reunite with Rose in the beleif that she will be pleased to see her mother, only to be taken aback when the subsequent confrontation sees Rose reveal exactly why she never contacted her mother herself, including her admission that she nearly killed herself.

* ''Film/GoldenEye'': James Bond is absolutely shocked that the leader of Janus was none other than [[spoiler:his former friend and ex-00 agent turned [[RogueAgent terrorist]] Alec Trevelyan, who was presumed dead in a mission gone awry]].

* There's a minor example in ''Manga/OnePiece''. When Sanji's father Vinsmoke Judge has an EvilCannotComprehendGood rant about how Luffy likes Sanji despite his compassion, humility, and selflessness, Luffy gets confused about why Judge is listing off all Sanji's good points. It never occurs to him that Judge might think VirtueIsWeakness, but then again Luffy is an IdiotHero who really doesn't ''care'' much about understanding villains.