History Main / HospitalSurprise

* ''Series/{{Neverwhere}}'' ends this way.

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* ''Theatre/BatBoyTheMusical'': [[spoiler: Ruthie]]

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* In the animated ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie Street Fighter 2]]'' movie, Chun-Li is wounded in her fight against Vega roughly half-way through the movie. After Ryu and Ken defeat Bison in the climax, Guile goes to the hospital where she's staying, and talks to her unmoving body, which is covered in bandages. Suddenly Chun-Li pulls off the bandages and sits up - she's made a full recovery while off-screen, and was pretending to be seriously wounded and unable to leave the bed to prank him.

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* ''{{Gettysburg}}'': General Kemper.

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<<|DeathTropes|>>

** In the ExpandedUniverse ''XWingSeries'', Wraith Squadron pilot Garik "Face" Loran is injured pretty badly when his X-wing is screwed up beyond repair by enemy laser fire. His behavior and the little detail we're given as to the exact nature of his injuries lead us to believe he's dying, but then he wakes up in the hospital at the end.

* ''{{Futurama}}'' had an episode where Fry and Leela are stung by a giant alien killer bee. Fry dies and Leela is convinced that he is still speaking to her somehow from beyond the grave. It turns out she actually dreamed it all while in a coma thanks to the bee's venom, and Fry had been at her bedside the whole time, [[ConverseWithTheUnconscious begging her to]] PleaseWakeUp.

* Happens numerous times in''Franchise/StarWars''

* In ''CodeGeass'': [[spoiler: Euphie gets to say goodbye to rescuer Suzaku before she dies. On the other hand, Cornelia somehow survives being shot up ''twice''.]]
* People awake in hospital beds all the times in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' and ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''.
** ''An Unfamiliar Ceiling'' (because of the strong EVA association)
* In ''{{Kanon}}'', in a flashback, Ayu [[spoiler:falls from a tree and is presumably killed]]. Later, it is revealed that she's [[spoiler:been in a coma in the hospital the whole time, and she soon recovers]].
* In ''EdenOfTheEast'', a brief scene near the end shows [[spoiler:Panties in a hospital room, having evidently survived being run over by 1 and 10]].

* Happens numerous times in''StarWars''
** both Luke and Anakin end up stranded and injured, and are shuttled to a hospital.

* ''LordOfTheRings'': happens multiple times.

* ''{{Neverwhere}}'' ends this way.
* In ''{{Firefly}}'', in the episode ''Out of Gas'', Mal passes out from blood loss and oxygen deprivation just as he restarts the engine, but before he can give the signal for his crew to return to Serenity. He wakes up in the medical facility, with the rest of his crew around him, being treated by Simon. It turns out that Zoe, who had last been seen unconscious and severely injured from an explosion, ordered the crew to go back for Mal, without waiting for his signal.

* People awake in hospital beds all the times in ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' and ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''.

* In the first [[TheIcewindDaleTrilogy Icewind Dale]] novel, Drizzt is called to Bruenor's bedside after the final battle. He assures his mortally wounded friend that he will look for Bruenor's homeland in the spring. Bruenor then reveals that he isn't that badly hurt, he was just trying to force Drizzt to set a starting date for their perpetually delayed quest to find Mithral Hall in the presence of witnesses.

* Something like this happens in the original ''UltimaVII''. If the Avatar takes lethal damage, you wake up in the Fellowship Shelter in one of the cities. Everyone present lays it on ''real'' thick that it was a miracle you were rescued and survived. Or, if you have no companions and the Shelter keepers are dead, [[FridgeLogic you wake up in the bed anyway and get to continue on your merry way]].
** This is a classic trend in all ''{{Ultima}}'' games, which don't let death get in the way of continuing. In most games, you and your companions are simply teleported back to Lord British (there is, in fact, a specific spell - 'Kal Lor' - that does this, which Lord British uses) who uses his awesome healing magic to restore you. (Even in the fifth game, when Lord British has vanished, his ghostly form will do the job.) In ''Savage Empires'' and ''Martain Dreams'', passersby will drag your nearly dead bodies back to the shaman and ship's doctor respectively. In ''Serpent Isle'', the Xenkan monks will teleport you to them and raise you, and you can summon one to resurrect your friends at any time.

* In ''JurassicParkIII'', a character who went missing turns up in a makeshift hospital at the end.

* ''LordOfTheRings'': happens multiple multiple times.
** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'' Bilbo gets hit on the head during the climactic battle. He doesn't wake up in hospital, but he's found by a soldier and taken to where Thorin lies mortally wounded. Their final moments count for this troper as one of fiction's greatest {{TearJerker}}s.

** In ''TheHobbit'' Bilbo gets hit on the head during the climactic battle. He doesn't wake up in hospital, but he's found by a soldier and taken to where Thorin lies mortally wounded. Their final moments count for this troper as one of fiction's greatest {{TearJerker}}s.

<<|DeathTropes|>>

* In the animated ''StreetFighter 2'' movie, Chun-Li is wounded in her fight against Vega roughly half-way through the movie. After Ryu and Ken defeat Bison in the climax, Guile goes to the hospital where she's staying, and talks to her unmoving body, which is covered in bandages. Suddenly Chun-Li pulls off the bandages and sits up - she's made a full recovery while off-screen, and was pretending to be seriously wounded and unable to leave the bed to prank him.

* In the first [[ForgottenRealms Icewind Dale]] novel, Drizzt is called to Bruenor's bedside after the final battle. He assures his mortally wounded friend that he will look for Bruenor's homeland in the spring. Bruenor then reveals that he isn't that badly hurt, he was just trying to force Drizzt to set a starting date for their perpetually delayed quest to find Mithral Hall in the presence of witnesses.

* In ''{{Jurassic Park}} 3'', a character who went missing turns up in a makeshift hospital at the end.

Due to the RuleOfDrama, it's common for major characters in fiction to be LeftForDead or placed in a NoOneCouldSurviveThat scenario. However, as shown in the SortingAlgorithmOfDeadness, it's much less common for major characters to be KilledOffForReal this way. Sometimes the character just turns up later unharmed, sometimes it's {{lampshaded}} by an 'IGotBetter', but sometimes the writer wants to TakeAThirdOption. Usually the 'surviving' characters are told 'there's someone who wants to see you', and there they are, clinging to life. Sometimes the rescue is shown, often in flashback, to highlight the rescuer as well as the victim, while other times the character just turns up later this way. Having a character hospitalized after a dramatic moment gives writers additional options that can be PlayedForDrama, for example:

'''SPOILER ALERT: This is one of those rare tropes that, by its very nature, has the potential to spoil an ending simply by revealing it occurs within a certain media. Please read with caution.'''

Due to the RuleOfDrama, it's common for major charcaters in fiction to be LeftForDead or placed in a NoOneCouldSurviveThat scenario. However, as shown in the SortingAlgorithmOfDeadness, it's much less common for major characters to be KilledOffForReal this way. Sometimes the character just turns up later unharmed, sometimes it's {{lampshaded}} by an 'IGotBetter', but sometimes the writer wants to TakeAThirdOption. Usually the 'surviving' characters are told 'there's someone who wants to see you', and there they are, clinging to life. Sometimes the rescue is shown, often in flashback, to highlight the rescuer as well as the victim, while other times the character just turns up later this way. Having a character hospitalized after a dramatic moment gives writers additional options that can be PlayedForDrama, for example:

* Something like this happens in the original ''{{Ultima}} VII''. If the Avatar takes lethal damage, you wake up in the Fellowship Shelter in one of the cities. Everyone present lays it on ''real'' thick that it was a miracle you were rescued and survived. Or, if you have no companions and the Shelter keepers are dead, [[FridgeLogic you wake up in the bed anyway and get to continue on your merry way]].

* ''{{Futurama}}'' had an episode where Fry and leela are injured by giant alien insects. Fry dies and Leela is convinced he is still speaking to her somehow. It turns out she actually hallucinated his funeral while under the affects of the alien poison and Fry had been at her side the whole time.

* ''StarshipTroopers'': PlayedForLaughs when [[spoiler: Rico wakes up in a rejuvenation tank to see his buddies holding his death certificate.]]

* People awake in hospital beds all the times in ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' and ''MagicalGirlNanoha''.

* In the animated ''StreetFighter 2'' movie, Chun-Li is wounded in her fight against Vega roughly half-way through the movie. After Ryu and Ken defeat Bison in the climax, Guile goes to the hospital where she's staying, and talks to her unmoving body, which is covered in bandages. Suddenly Chun-Li pulls off the bandages and sits up - she's made a full recovery while off-screen, and was pretending to be seriously wounded and unable to leave the bed to prank him.

* ''StarshipTroopers'': PlayedForLaughs when [[spoiler: Rico wakes up in a rejuvination tank to see his buddies holding his death certificate.]]