History Main / PretendToBeBrainwashed

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' has the spelltouched feat "False Pretenses" in the ''Unearthed Arcana'', which works the same way. Even if the subject resisted a Domination effect involving telepathic commands, the character still receive them -- he's just not obligated to follow the instructions.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[spoiler: After having been busted for trying to sabotage Emperor Belos' plans from the inside, Raine Whispers is suddenly shown to be fervently pro-Belos and claims not to have seen Eda is in years despite having been with her recently. It was strongly implied to be a result of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia a mind-wiping drink]] brewed by [[GreenThumb Terra Snapdragon]], as she is shown giving it to them whenever they complain of "migraines" (resurfacing memories). However, at the end of "Them's the Breaks, Kid", we find out that Raine had actually been faking their memory-wipe the whole time; they'd been using a Bard spell, under the guise of simply blowing on the hot drink, to change its chemistry before drinking it. They're still planning to put an end to Belos' ultimate plan, and it's something that [[LockedOutOfTheLoop she doesn't want Eda]] [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim risking her life to be a part of.]]]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3.5 has the spelltouched feat "False Pretenses" in the ''Unearthed Arcana'', which works the same way. Even if the subject resisted a Domination effect involving telepathic commands, the character still receive them -- he's just not obligated to follow the instructions.

* One of the puzzles in ''Videogame/{{INSIDE}}'' (pictured) requires you to blend in with an inspection line of controlled humans, and mimic their movements. Fail to do so, and you're toast.

* In ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' Sibuna did this in season 2. They had managed not to be brainwashed simply by knowing what Vera and Victor were planning to do, and pretended the brainwashing worked so Victor would use them as pawns for the Senet game, believing he'd win the game for them and they could free Nina/Get the mask before the three days are up.

* ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'': Yuuko tries to hypnotize Mio with the cliched HypnoPendulum. Mio isn't affected, but she's so annoyed with what Yuuko is doing that she decides to play along and then pretend that she's "stuck" when Yuuko tries to break the hypnosis. She ends up being [[GoneHorriblyRight a bit too convincing]], however, as the subsequent rush to get her to a hospital to snap her out of it results in the principal getting injured and ''actually'' needing to go to the hospital.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': half-subverted; The Drifter is forced to wear a working Narmer Veil in order to infiltrate the Spaceport, struggling to fight the visions it gives until they cannot handle it anymore and continues to finish the objective afterwards.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' has five Actives wake up without the base programming. When they meet other Actives and see what they're like, they try to act like the others; one fails and has programming restored, but the other four are able to fake it long enough to make a getaway. [[spoiler:As it turns out, [=DeWitt=] and the others were aware that the Actives weren't normal, and had deliberately caused the event in hopes of fixing their glitchiness. All four are recovered and returned to Active duty by the end of the episode.]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has a variation in one episode. The Mayor hires a dark shaman to remove Angel's soul, reverting him to his villainous alter ego Angelus. After that happens, he and Slayer-turned-evil Faith capture Buffy and take her to their hideout. But it turns out that the shaman hired to remove Angel's soul was secretly in league with Giles, to whom he owed a favor for introducing him to his wife, and had alerted the Scoobies to the plot and only pretended to remove Angel's soul, allowing Angel and Buffy to trick Faith into going on a MotiveRant and revealing what she knows about the Mayor's EvilPlan. The ruse is revealed here:

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has a variation in one episode. The Mayor hires a dark shaman to remove Angel's soul, reverting him to his villainous alter ego Angelus. After that happens, he and Slayer-turned-evil Faith capture Buffy and take her to their hideout. But it turns out that the shaman hired to remove Angel's soul was secretly in league with Giles, to whom he owed a favor for introducing him to his wife, and had alerted the Scoobies to the plot and only pretended to remove Angel's soul. The ruse is revealed here:

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has a variation in one episode. The Mayor hires someone to remove Angel's soul, reverting him to his villainous alter ego Angelus. After that happens, he and slayer-turned-evil Faith capture Buffy and take her to their hideout. But it turns out that the demon hired to remove Angel's soul was secretly in league with Giles and only pretended to remove Angel's soul. This is revealed here:

* An episode of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has Lord Zed kidnap Kimberly and try to brainwash her to act like Rita. The brainwashing fails, but Kimberly plays along: she acts like Rita and starts bullying Zed's henchmen.

** Zigzagged in the pilot episode. A captured American agent in the 1970's has been brainwashed into becoming a ManchurianAgent, even killing three fellow agents for his DeadlyGraduation. The East German scientist doing this tells the American that he was originally sent to assassinate him, and [[TooDumbToLive right after saying this]] the American ''does'' kill him and then escapes, showing the brainwashing hasn't been as effective as they think.

* An episode of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has Lord Zed kidnap Kimberly and brainwash her to act like Rita. The brainwashing fails, but Kimberly plays along: she acts like Rita and starts bullying Zed's henchmen.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''. This is attempted in the Season One finale, but the villains aren't fooled because the MindControl technology doesn't reprogram the victim; it enables the villains to control them remotely, so they know instantly when that control is broken.

* ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', the BigBad Alameda Slim has an ability to hypnotize bovines with his [[MindControlMusic yodeling]]. While two of the three main characters Maggie and Mrs. Calloway are susceptible to his powers. the third cow, Grace, is too [[ImmuneToMindControl tone-deaf to be affected]]. When they infiltrate Slim's lair, Grace puts ear pieces on her friends to avoid getting hypnotized again. When Slim finds Grace and Calloway and yodels to them, they pretend to be affected as a distraction.

* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'': After brainwashing Branch into a "Rock Zombie", [[EvilDiva Barb]] attempts to brainwash Poppy using her rock guitar. She seems to succeed in brainwashing her, until Poppy destroys her guitar (which was given by Barb) and reveals that she has plugged gumdrops into her ears and pretend to be brainwashed into a Rock Zombie.

* In ''Film/{{Cypher}}'', a bunch of sales people are drugged from served drinks and then brainwashed. Amongst them, the protagonist manages to stay ''sober'' by means of an antidote. He then continues to act like everyone else while observing what is being done to the group.

* [[spoiler: Prosecutor Sae Niijima]] from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' pretends to have had a [[HeelFaceBrainwashing Change of Heart]] at a critical time, buying time for the [[PhantomThief Phantom Thieves]] to pull a [[HeelFaceBrainwashing Change of Heart]] on the BigBad. [[spoiler: She]] did indeed receive a CallingCard, but never had a chance of heart, instead coming to the side of the Phantom Thieves during the time [[spoiler: she spend interrogating the PlayerCharacter and learning exactly what kind of GovernmentConspiracy the Phantom Thieves have been dealing with]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'', Lydia uses her flute on Liana and Alexa and commands them to drown in the whirlpool. When it seems they are mind controlled, they are really faking it -- they are hiding their heart stone necklaces (which protect them from the spell) behind their backs, and instead of jumping into the whirlpool, they steal their flute instead.

For whatever reason, a character is able to avoid being {{Brainwashed}} or {{Mind Control}}led, whether it be PsychicBlockDefense, DisabilityImmunity, BungledHypnotism, SleptThroughTheApocalypse, or not being in a situation to be affected. However, instead of immediately escaping or retaliating, our hero(ine) merely bides their time for an opportune moment to act. Maybe there are too many other people who are hypnotized in the vicinity that would outnumber the character should they act suspiciously, or there's a chance where they can undo the mind control while continuing the charade.

* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades''. In one episode, most of the team gets hypnotized (except for Tunnel Rat due to being ProperlyParanoid to not get captured and brainwashed in the first place), but while Snake Eyes is captured, he merely pretends to be brainwashed.

* ''ResidentEvil7Biohazard'': [[spoiler:Lucas Baker]] broke free from Eveline's control long ago, but keeps up the facade in order to keep her from realizing it. It doesn't hurt that [[spoiler:Lucas]] revels in the opportunity to be a complete asshole to people and commit brutal murders without fear of consequences, which is what Eveline is asking for.

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', the big twist of the war between [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] and [[TheChessmaster Demon Lord Clayman]] is that [[spoiler:[[WorldsStrongestWoman Milim Nava]], who Clayman apparently brought under his control via a powerful MindControl device, was in fact playing this trope. Unknown to Clayman and nearly everyone else aside from her co-conspirator Frey and her old friend Guy Crimson, Milim is ImmuneToMindControl due to the fact she has an Ultimate Skill and in fact had to lower her own mental defenses just to properly fake being taken control of. She did this because she wanted to [[PrideBeforeAFall make Clayman cocky and reveal his manipulations]] so she could humiliate and get rid of him for antagonizing her "bestie" Rimuru. Guy in fact [[DramaticIrony reveals this fact to the audience in his private thoughts long before Rimuru and Clayman realize this themselves]].]]

* [[spoiler: Prosecutor Sae Niijima]] from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' pretends to have had a [[HeelFaceBrainwashing Change of Heart]] at a critical time, buying time for the [[PhantomThief Phantom Thieves]] to pull a [[HeelFaceBrainwashing Change of Heart]] on the BigBad. [[spoiler: She]] did indeed receive a CallingCard, but never had a chance of heart, instead coming to the side of the Phantom Tieves during the time [[spoiler: she spend interrogating the PlayerCharacter and learning exactly what kind of GovernmentConspiracy the Phantom Thieves have been dealing with]].

* A stretch of ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'' sees Gou Shijima pretend to be brainwashed by the mind-controlling abilities of the Freeze Roidmude, which he has a rare genetic immunity to, in order to steal an important MacGuffin that the villains are using. RealityEnsues when the stress from his actions as part of this gambit leaves him even more bitter and jaded than he was before.