History Main / ThirdActMisunderstanding

To solve this, Bob [[GrandRomanticGesture will have to make a large, impressive and risky act of "contrition" to prove he's not the original liar anymore]]. Alternately, a third character (let's say Charlie) reveal to Alice that Bob really ''is'' a different person and likes her, and she [[RaceForYourLove runs to the airport to forgive him before she leaves]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has an example in the form of Prince Zuko. During his travels, he happens upon a village that is being menaced by earthbenders who are using the war his father started as an excuse to go around demanding food and supplies from people. He stays with a family in the village and befriends their young son, even going so far as to give him the knife Iroh gifted him as a child before heading off. Not long after, Zuko is stopped by the boy's mother, who explains that the earthbenders returned and kidnapped him. Zuko tries to fight the earthbenders without the use of firebending but ends up having to do so anyway. Though the earthbenders are defeated, the bystanders are shocked to learn that Zuko is a firebender. One of them steps forward and reveals that Zuko is also the Firelord's son. The village rejects him immediately. Undaunted by their reaction, he tries to give the knife to the small boy once again, prompting him to retort, "No. I hate you!"

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' Has an example in the form of Prince Zuko. During his travels, he happens upon a village that is being menaced by earthbenders who are using the war his father started as an excuse to go around demanding food and supplies from people. He stays with a family in the village and befriends their young son, even going so far as to give him the knife Iroh gifted him as a child before heading off. Not long after, Zuko is stopped by the boy's mother who explains that the earthbenders returned and kidnapped him. Zuko tries to fight the earthbenders without the use of firebending but ends up having to do so anyway. Though the earthbenders are defeated, the bystanders are shocked to learn that Zuko is a firebender. One of them steps forward and reveals that Zuko is also the Firelord's son. The village rejects him immediately. Undaunted by their reaction, he tries to give the knife to the small boy once again prompting him to retort "No. I hate you!"

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', the titular dog arrives back at the studio, only to find that he's been replaced with another dog, who Penny is telling their special phrase. Bolt runs off unseen, missing Penny turning away to cry moments later because she ''does'' miss him.

* Played straight as an arrow in ''Film/ItHappenedOneNight'', almost to the point of deconstruction. After Ellie [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove confesses love]] to Peter, he leaves [[ThirdActStupidity without telling her]] to make arrangements for them to get married (including trying to gather enough money to have her marriage annulled). Ellie misunderstands the situation, thinking he abandoned her and went to collect the reward money, and goes off to have a proper wedding with [[DisposableFiance King Westley]]. Meanwhile, the newspaper headlines [[OneSideOfTheStory have Peter believe]] Ellie changed her mind about him and thus he [[PoorCommunicationKills refrains from making an effort to explain the situation]] and win her back. Fortunately, Ellie's father comes to save the day, even though Ellie [[NotNowKiddo brushes him off]] the first time he tries to set things right.

* Creator/KevinTemmer created a follow-up to his viral Exposition video using the scrapped design for the Protagonist that [[
https://youtu.be/gH6-8DR2AyA?si=YQHbu0qYmCLuctNL is named after, explains, and criticizes this trope]]

[[/folder]]

https://youtu.be/gH6-8DR2AyA?si=YQHbu0qYmCLuctNL is named after, explains, and criticizes this trope]].

-->'''Max:''' You should've just let me stay home!\\

'''Max:''' Prison?! What are you talking about?\\

'''Max:''' I had to, you were destroying my life!\\

'''Max:''' I am ''not'' your little boy anymore, Dad! I've grown up now! I have my own life!\\

* This trope is {{invoked}} by a [[GreenEyedMonster seemingly-jealous]] Sidney Bliss in ''Film/CarryOnLoving''. His long-time job partner Sophie goes to meet up with Percival Snooper in his house, hoping that he will ask for her hand in marriage. Sidney is furious and seeks out the his address to gatecrash on the date, with the help of Esme Crowfoot, who he's had eyes on for months. Esme storms into the house and pretends to be a vulgar ex-girlfriend that wants Mr. Snooper back, and jumps on him just as Sophie marches into the room. Before they all know it, Gripper Burke, an angry wrestler (and Esme Crowfoot's ex-boyfriend) arrives at the front door after receiving a phone call from Sidney about his girlfriend. Sophie storms away in annoyance.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' when Finn, a former [[TheEmpire First Order]] stormtrooper who pulls a MookFaceTurn, lies to Rey that he is an important member of [[LaResistance The Resistance]]. After Han warns him that Rey will learn the truth eventually, Finn [[InternalReveal comes clean to her]] without it causing any conflict.

* ''DrKotoShinryojo'' (''Doctor Koto's Clinic''), both in the manga and in the drama (although that's even more egregious in the drama) : the hero is at first rejected, but after spending countless hours helping the villagers, he eventually become appreciated. And then a grudge-holding man with a dead little sister arrive and reveal that the eponymous Dr Koto made a mistake in the past. The villagers immediately turns against him, even tough he saved the life of almost everyone on the island. He never was actually a jerk (although he think he was one when he made the aforementioned mistake), but it nevertheless creates a "something from the past come back, friends abandon the character" situation.

* The first ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' movie has the eponymous ogre overhearing a conversation between Princess Fiona and Donkey about "who could ever love something so hideous." [[spoiler:She's talking about herself, as she turns into an ogre at nightfall, and changes back in the morning.]] Shrek, however, thinks she's talking about him, and he creates his own misunderstanding after telling Fiona he heard everything, even though he hadn't. [[spoiler:This makes Fiona believe that Shrek won't accept her for what she is, and she accepts Lord Farquaad's marriage proposal.]] It takes Donkey's unwanted return to the swamp to set things straight.
-->'''Donkey:''' You're so wrapped up in ''layers'', onion boy, you're afraid of your own feelings!\\
'''Shrek:''' ''(hiding from him in the outhouse)'' Go away!\\
'''Donkey:''' See? There you are, doing it again, just like you did to Fiona! All she ever did was like you, maybe even ''love'' you!\\
'''Shrek:''' ''Love'' me?! She said I was ''ugly!'' A hideous creature! I heard the two of you talking!\\
'''Donkey:''' [[spoiler:[[WhamLine She wasn't talking about you, okay? She was talking about...]] ''[[WhamLine (hesitates slightly)]]'' [[WhamLine someone else.]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', Woody is trapped in Sid's house and trying to escape. He manages to recontact his friends and convince them to toss him a line to climb back, but his broken ruse with Buzz's detached arm causes them to think he murdered him. He was already in trouble with Andy's toys for inadvertently knocking Buzz out the window, refusing to believe him when he insists it was an accident, but now it is clear they want nothing to do with him at all -- at least not until they discover for themselves that Buzz is alive and well.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar 3 Europes Most Wanted}}'', this occurs when after the London show the Zoosters are discovered for not being circus animals (courtesy of a flyer [=DuBois=] brought with her). [[TearJerker It was very heartbreaking.]]
* Towards the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', Mulan's true sex is revealed. Fortunately, Shang's life debt to her saves her life; but when she tries to tell her friends that there are Huns still alive and heading for the city, they disbelieve her both on account of her deception and her sex. Only when it's almost too late, when the Huns actually make their presence known and take the Emperor hostage, do her friends change their tune (literally, in fact, with [[MeaningfulEcho a reprise of "I'll Make a Man Out of You"]]).
* In ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'', enemies Bog and Marianne [[ItMakesSenseInContext form a tentative truce while trying to find an antidote to a love potion that's making her sister obsessed with him]], and then her ex attacks Bog's home and Bog thinks Marianne was in on it.

* Played straight as an arrow in ''Film/ItHappenedOneNight'', almost to the point of deconstruction. After Ellie [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove confesses love]] to Peter, he leaves [[ThirdActStupidity without telling her]] to make arrangements for them to get married (including trying to gather enough money to have her marriage annulled). Ellie misunderstands the situation, thinking he abandoned her and went to collect the reward money, and goes off to have a proper wedding with [[DisposableFiance King Westley]]. Meanwhile, the newspaper headlines [[OneSideOfTheStory have Peter believe]] Ellie changed her mind about him and thus he [[PoorCommunicationKills refrains from making an effort to explain the situation]] and win her back. Fortunately, Ellie's father comes to save the day, even though Ellie [[NotNowKiddo brushes him off]] the first time he tries to set things right.
* ''Film/MrDeeds'', the Adam Sandler remake of ''Film/MrDeedsGoesToTown'', features Deeds learning that his love interest Pam, to whom he's about to propose, is actually a reporter named Babe Bennett whose network was smearing his name. Babe initially wanted to help smear Deeds, but found he was so nice to her and generous with his money, she fell in love with him. She goes to try and explain... just as a report about the whole story is broadcast on TV. Not only does a heartbroken Deeds leave New York City, he signs away his $40 billion dollar fortune.
* Another Adam Sandler example: In ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'', after angering Julia by pointing out that she's only interested in Glenn because of his wealth, Robbie sees her play-acting different marriage introductions as either his or Glenn's wife through her bedroom window. He mistakes this for play-acting her marriage to Glenn and, out of devastation, gets drunk and temporarily returns to his previous love interest Linda.

* ''Film/ShesAllThat'' and ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' both use a variant where a bet is placed and after TheHero ends the bet or stops following it, the LoveInterest only then finds out and rejects him.

* The third act of ''Film/{{Hitch}}'' has Sara discover that Hitch is the Date Doctor she thought was responsible for breaking her friends heart, so she runs a scathing report that reveals his identity and destroys both his business and the burgeoning relationship of his latest client... all because of a misunderstanding of the independent actions of someone who Hitch ''refused'' to work with because he was a sleaze. Strangely zig-zagged when Sara goes to apologize to Hitch and ask for a second chance in the reversal of the usual roles. Hitch rebuffs her, but then for some reason ends up chasing her down and apologizing to her.

* ''Film/MadeaGoesToJail'' had this when the male main character's fiancé is exposed (and left) on the altar after he finds out that [[AmoralAttorney she's been padding cases with other crimes to bolster her conviction rating]].

* In ''Film/DaddysLittleGirls'', Monty is in a hearing for custody of his kids when the mother's lawyer brings up his prior conviction for raping a minor. That pretty much ends the hearing, and Monty's lawyer goes bananas - as his lawyer she's furious that he didn't tell her about this "surprise"; as his LoveInterest, well, RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil. She refuses to hear his explanations and simply asks "Did you [[ExactWords go to jail for rape]]?" to which he can only answer "yes." Shortly thereafter, [[CoincidentalBroadcast Monty winds up on the local news]], and the anchor almost casually mentions that viewers might remember him as a former high-school teacher who had been falsely accused of raping a student. Such a high-profile local case and subsequent exoneration seems like something that legal professionals, say, lawyers and judges, should already be aware of.
* This trope is {{invoked}} by a [[GreenEyedMonster seemingly-jealous]] Sidney Bliss in ''Film/CarryOnLoving''. His long-time job partner Sophie goes to meet up with Percival Snooper in his house, hoping that he will ask for her hand in marriage. Sidney is furious and seeks out the his address to gatecrash on the date, with the help of Esme Crowfoot, who he's had eyes on for months. Esme storms into the house and pretends to be a vulgar ex-girlfriend that wants Mr. Snooper back, and jumps on him just as Sophie marches into the room. Before they all know it, Gripper Burke, an angry wrestler (and Esme Crowfoot's ex-boyfriend) arrives at the front door after receiving a phone call from Sidney about his girlfriend. Sophie storms away in annoyance,
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' when Finn, a former [[TheEmpire First Order]] stormtrooper who pulls a MookFaceTurn, lies to Rey that he is an important member of [[LaResistance The Resistance]]. After Han warns him that Rey will learn the truth eventually, Finn [[InternalReveal comes clean to her]] without it causing any conflict.
* ''Film/GleahanAndTheKnavesOfIndustry:'' {{Defied}}. Once things start to get hairy between Mark and Gleahan, they step aside and have a much-needed argument, opening up to each other about their true backstories and motives. Because of this talk, they finally become TrueCompanions.
* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' has an {{Inverted}} case. When Tim and Pikachu see memories of Mewtwo supposedly causing Harry Goodman's car to crash, Pikachu (Harry's Pokémon partner) feels like [[ItsAllMyFault he himself is to blame]] for letting Mewtwo loose and causing Harry's "death" (it's later shown that [[spoiler:Howard Clifford sent Greninja to attack Harry's car, and Mewtwo was the one saving Harry]]). Tim feels that there's more to the story, but Pikachu refuses to listen, sadly saying that he might betray someone else, shocking Tim a bit to warn him away before leaving. Pikachu does return to help Tim, however, once he discovers the truth.

* Creator/CatherineAnderson is a bit too fond of this trope. She does avert it in a few of her later novels, however, where the climax of the story is something else entirely and driven by the antagonist. If it's not a Coulter or Harrigan novel, though, watch out, because this trope will probably be in play.

* In ''Theatre/{{Philoctetes}}'', Neoptolemus is persuaded by Odysseus to lie to Philoctetes in order to force him to come to Troy. Once he meets Philoctetes, he begins to feel genuine sympathy for him. As Neoptolemus begins to contemplate doing the right thing, Odysseus shows up, the lies are revealed and Philoctetes becomes very bitter and angry towards Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus does make it up to him in the end, even at the risk of UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar ending in failure for the Greeks.

* French playwright Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) on of the most prominent comedy writer of the 1600's, second only to Creator/Moliere, sums up his writing technique :

* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' plays this straight - the entire third act with the Drowning Doom could have been avoided had [[spoiler: Ophelia just told Eddie that ''he'' was Succhoria (or rather Succhoria's son) and not her. Or if Eddie, having promised to trust her no matter what, had ''trusted her no matter what.'']]

* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', thanks to the protagonist’s silence on the matter and Cecilia’s manipulations, Amanda thinks [[spoiler:her father let Lainie die so he could use her treatment money to start the diner. The protagonist has to break into Cecilia’s hotel room to allow Amanda to see the truth: that Lainie, who’d been cut off by her father, used an illness that she never told him about to convince her family to give her that money.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' had Terra experience this in the aptly named "Betrayal". Just as she's about to confess to Beast Boy, Slade shows up and reveals it instead, taunting and baiting him with the news that [[spoiler: not only was Terra working for him as TheMole, but his robots were attacking Titans Tower ''at that very moment'', while BB was distracted by their date]]. Naturally BB rejects Terra, which only pushes her closer to Slade.
* Defied in the 25th episode of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': [[spoiler: throughout the entire season, several members of the team were shown to have secrets that they wanted no one to know about. Superboy has been getting power upgrades from ComicBook/LexLuthor and actually [[HalfHumanHybrid has some of his DNA]]. Artemis's father is the Sportsmaster, an enemy, and her sister is Cheshire, another assassin. Miss Martian is really a White Martian, and her true form averts CuteMonsterGirl ''hard''. The villains had confronted each hero about those secrets in previous episodes, and now attempt to directly coerce them to betray the team. The three seem like they'll go along with the blackmail... only for a flashback to reveal they'd willingly revealed their secrets beforehand and the team accepted them, because they've proven themselves for the entire season. The meeting was really a trap for the villains. Though Robin and Batman did know of Artemis's secret, and Superboy learned Ms. Martian's when they mind melded.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': The penultimate episode of season one, "The Last Crash of the Sun Chaster!" hits this hard. [[spoiler:Stuck on the damaged eponymous aircraft, Scrooge finally reveals what happened to Della Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie's mother, and the Spear of Selene: as it turns out, the Spear of Selene was actually a spacecraft and Della took it ''without permission'' just before the triplets were due to hatch, and it had tragic results. Scrooge attempted to get Della back, but was literally dragged away by his executives after a decade of such efforts because it was draining his businesses towards bankruptcy. However, Scrooge is too proud to admit the incident affected him so heavily, leading everyone to assume that he didn't even try searching for her whatsoever, and thus abandoning Scrooge and leaving him alone just as Magica [=DeSpell=] prepares for her grand return.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' Has an example in the form of Prince Zuko. During his travels, he happens upon a village that is being menaced by earthbenders who are using the war his father started as an excuse to go around demanding food and supplies from people. He stays with a family in the village and befriends their young son, even going so far as to give him the knife Iroh gifted him as a child before heading off. Not long after, Zuko is stopped by the boy's mother who explains that the earthbenders returned and kidnapped him. Zuko tries to fight the earthbenders without the use of firebending but ends up having to do so anyway. Though the earthbenders are defeated, the bystanders are shocked to learn that Zuko is a firebender. One of them steps forward and reveals that Zuko is also the Firelord's son. The village rejects him immediately. Undaunted by their reaction, he tries to give the knife to the small boy once again prompting him to retort "No. I hate you!"

** They even {{discussed}} and {{lampshaded}} it in one episode where Phoebe asks Chandler which episode of [[Series/ThreesCompany]] he's watching. He says it's the one where they have a big misunderstanding and she says that means she's seen it already.