History Main / MistakenForImprisonment

* In Season 5 of ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Angel tranquilizes a woman who's turned into a werewolf for the first time, then locks her in a cell until she reverts to human again - so she wakes up in alone and naked in a cell with no memory of what happened the night before. It takes a moment for Angel to convince her that she hasn't been kidnapped by a psychopath.

See also NotSupposedToBeAPunishment. Compare with StopDrowningAndStandUp. If somebody ''else'' mistakenly believes that a character is being imprisoned, they may launch an UnwantedRescue. Sub-trope of NotWhereTheyThought.

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': Ami's civilian population, since she's nominally an EvilOverlord, think they're imprisoned, but really she's keeping them safer, because they have injuries that only she can mitigate, and possibly heal, in a reasonable timeframe. Specifically, she is capable of undoing [[spoiler:[[EyeScream eye removal]]]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': In "Snowblind", Starfire, after nearly freezing to death in a snowstorm, wakes up in a room where a window separates her from Red Star. She immediately demands to be let out before Red Star explains that ''he's'' the one being imprisoned, and Starfire is actually free to leave.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS2E2MortynightRun Mortynight Run]]", Jerry is put inside a day care center for Jerrys from across the multiverse. He suggests to the other Jerrys that they escape, but they reveal that they can leave whenever they want, but they don't because "we're Jerrys". The main Jerry does end up leaving, but since he's on a terrifying alien planet with no idea how to get home, he goes straight back.
* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' when Entrapta is captured by the Horde, yet acts as if the cuffs and guards and threats are some sort of game or play-acting.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' has Spongebob and Patrick go on the run after they think they stole a balloon (on Free Balloon Day) and think that they'll be locked up forever. They confess to the police, get put in jail...and then two seconds later get let out.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': In the episode "Snowblind", Starfire, after nearly freezing to death in a snowstorm, wakes up in a room where a window separates her from Red Star. She immediately demands to be let out before Red Star explains that ''he's'' the one being imprisoned, and Starfire is actually free to leave.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' episode "Spanakopita!" Sgt. Hatred finds Dr. Venture being tied to a chair by the Greek Natives. He immediately kicks into action, but is [[UnwantedRescue stopped before he can kill anyone by Venture]]. It turns out this is all part of the Spanakopita celebration Venture attends every year. As the festival continues and it becomes clear the events are rigged in Rusty's favor, Hatred becomes suspicious that something sinister is afoot. He confronts the island leader Giorgios who reveals the truth: As a child, Rusty was kidnapped from the X-2 while Team Venture was at the wedding reception of Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis. Initially holding him for ransom, the natives felt bad when they were unable to contact his father or anyone else from his team.[[note]]In a rare example, Jonas Venture had a legitimate reason for not saving his son immediately. He was caught up in a ''different'' kidnapping as he had to save Jackie Kennedy-Onassis from Creator/LRonHubbard. Team Venture succeeds, but Hubbard destroys the X-2, delaying the response.[[/note]] So they lied and pretended the kidnapping, complete with being tied to a chair, was part of the fictional Spanakopita festival, which ended up being one of precious few happy memories of Rusty's traumatic childhood. Years later, after the sudden death of his father, Rusty returned for the non-existant festival and the natives obliged him both because they see how happy it makes the otherwise miserable super scientist and because of the money he spends on the economically poor island. Giorgios asks Hatred not to reveal the truth; seeing how genuinely happy Rusty is, Hatred keeps quiet.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': When Sprig goes to college in "Sprig Gets Schooled," the campus goes into lockdown at night. Sprig attempts a daring breakout while Hop Pop tries to break in to rescue him (while Anne and Polly are separately trying to break in [[WrongGenreSavvy to crash a wild college party]]). When the dean finds out, he calmly explains that the lockdown is to protect the ''students'' because the school is in a bad neighborhood, and Sprig is free to leave and/or drop out whenever he likes.

* ''Series/OneFootInTheGrave'': In ''One Foot In The Algarve'', Victor, Margaret and Mrs. Warboys go on holiday to Portugal, but get lost late at night while driving to their holiday villa, and are pulled over by the police. Since none of them can understand a word of Portuguese, and they had a major misunderstanding earlier in the evening when Mrs. Warboys was [[MistakenForProstitute mistaken for a prostitute]], they assume they're being arrested for pimping, and that the place the police take them to is a holding cell. In fact (as they finally realise after 36 hours spent banging on the doors shouting for someone to let them out), the police -- realising they were lost tourists -- had escorted them to their villa (Victor had showed them the address when they were pulled up). It's just that the villa is such a miserable fleapit that the bedroom ''looks'' like a cell (and its door got stuck closed when the cops were leaving).

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheAwakening The Awakening]]" begins with Aang waking up from his weeks-long coma aboard a Fire Nation warship. Assuming he's been captured, he tries to escape and makes his way to the ship's upper deck where he bumps into all his friends, then passes out from his wounds. When he comes to again later, it's explained to him that his friends had captured a Fire Nation ship while he was unconscious and were DressingAsTheEnemy in order to blend in while sailing through Fire Nation waters.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Pikmin 3]]'': A DummiedOut data file reveals that Louie had assumed this was the case after the Koppaites saved him from The Scornet Maestro. He was unconscious at the time and by the time he did wake up, the Koppaites had already gone to sleep as well. Ironically, he ends up imprisoned for real by them after he runs away with their food. They save him again, this time from the Quaggled Mireclops, but tie him up so he can't run away again.

See also NotSupposedToBeAPunishment. Compare with StopDrowningAndStandUp. If somebody ''else'' mistakenly believes that a character is being imprisoned, they may launch an UnwantedRescue.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' has Spongebob and Patrick go on the run after they think they stole a balloon (on Free Balloon Day) and think that they'll be locked up forever. They confess to the police, get put in jail...and then two seconds later get let out.