History Main / UndercoverWhenAlone

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Sauron as Halbrand, has many moment where he looks genuinely upset, detached and conflicted when he is alone, blurring even more the border between the moments he was deceiving or genuine.

* In ''Literature/TheStarsLikeDust'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov, Hinrik, the leader of Rhodia, appears to be a weak, feeble-minded puppet for his planet's overlords, the Tyranni. His brother, Gillbret, believes that there's a secret rebellion brewing, and longs to join it. At one point, Gillbret opines that he has to pretend to be loyal to the Tyranni, even when alone, so that he never slips up. Another character points out that Gillbret really isn't that good at TheMasquerade, and realizes that somebody who really played the part would act more like Hinrik. This leads him to the realization that Hinrik is, in fact, the leader of the rebellion, who's been playing the part of a loyal vassal for 20 years.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Tobi puts on the [[ObfuscatingStupidity happy-go-lucky Tobi persona]] even when he's far away from his partner Deidara when he's forced to flee.

Can be {{Justified|Trope}} if a character fears being watched at any moment (especially if [[ProperlyParanoid they're right]]). Also, the character may keep up the façade at all times just to stay in practice and reduce the risk of slipping up in front of witnesses. Can't be too prudent, after all. Another possibility is that the false persona is [[BecomingTheMask starting to affect the character's actual personality]]. In works with NoFourthWall, keeping their cover a secret ''from the audience'' is a legitimate excuse. Finally, sometimes the answer is simply that [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants the writers themselves didn't know that the character was the mole because they hadn't written that far ahead yet]] or [[ActingInTheDark the writers hadn't yet informed the actor]] that his character had HiddenDepths- in which case the twist is just an AssPull.

* Seemingly occurs in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' season 7, when Arya accuses Sansa of betraying her family and threatens her, only for them to be suddenly working together in the final episode. One explanation is that their fight was all a trick to lull Littlefinger into a false sense of security, even though he was clearly not watching that particular scene. However, it's never explained when and how Arya and Sansa teamed up, so it's possible Sansa only got her on side right before the trial. That itself would mean Arya did genuinely believe Sansa was evil and threatened to skin her, though, which is not any less silly. This is because their feud ''was'' real: Bran (by this point an omniscient seer) intervenes in a DeletedScene to tell them both the truth and plan their next move against Littlefinger.

'''NOTE: Since this trope deals with betrayals, this page will contain spoilers.'''

* In ''The Stars Like Dust'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov, Hinrik, the leader of Rhodia, appears to be a weak, feeble-minded puppet for his planet's overlords, the Tyranni. His brother, Gillbret, believes that there's a secret rebellion brewing, and longs to join it. At one point, Gillbret opines that he has to pretend to be loyal to the Tyranni, even when alone, so that he never slips up. Another character points out that Gillbret really isn't that good at TheMasquerade, and realizes that somebody who really played the part would act more like Hinrik. This leads him to the realization that Hinrik is, in fact, the leader of the rebellion, who's been playing the part of a loyal vassal for 20 years.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Flayn and Seteth pretend to be siblings rather than father and daughter [[spoiler:to conceal the fact that they are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld actually Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann.]]]] They keep this façade even when no-one else is around until their last support conversation when Flayn calls Seteth "father" and [[LampshadedTrope points out]] no one is around to hear them anyway. They also drop the act [[spoiler:if you end up killing them on the Crimson Flower route, with Flayn calling Seteth "father" In her dying moments, or if you kill Seteth first]]. This is a [[JustifiedTrope justified example]] because all of their conversations take place within Garreg Mach monastery where Seteth fears being overheard.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona3'', you can watch various security recordings of the inhabitants of the dorms' daily lives, including some particularly embarrassing moments. In Ikutsuki's recording, in which he writes up a report about the second Full Moon incident and gets sidetracked thinking up puns, he acts like the goofy, affable PungeonMaster you know him as, rather than a nihilistic madman who wants to bring about the end of the world.
* A {{Justified|Trope}} example occurs in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[spoiler:after [[PlayerCharacter Joker]] has seemingly been assassinated by [[SixthRangerTraitor Goro Akechi]] with his death being reported as a suicide. The protagonist's teammates react to the news report with silent shock and horror. It's revealed shortly afterward that they had actually known Akechi was going to betray them and came up with a plan to fake Joker's death and were thus pretending to act shocked when the news broke out even if they were by themselves just in case TheConspiracy Akechi works for was watching them.]]

* A {{Justified|Trope}} example occurs in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[spoiler:after [[PlayerCharacter Joker]] has seemingly been assassinated by [[SixthRangerMole Goro Akechi]] with his death being reported as a suicide. The protagonist's teammates react to the news report with silent shock and horror. It's revealed shortly afterward that they had actually known Akechi was going to betray them and came up with a plan to fake Joker's death and were thus pretending to act shocked when the news broke out even if they were by themselves just in case TheConspiracy Akechi works for was watching them.]]

* A {{Justified|Trope}} example occurs in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[spoiler:after [[PlayerCharacter Joker]] has seemingly been assassinated by [[SixthRangerMole Goro Akechi]] with his death being reported as a suicide. The protagonist's teammates react to the news report with silent shock and horror. It's soon revealed that they had actually known Akechi was going to betray them and came up with a plan to fake Joker's death and were thus pretending to act shocked when the news broke out even if they were by themselves just in case TheConspiracy Akechi works for was watching them.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': When Iroh and Zuko are hiding as refugees, Iroh comments he can't find any spark rocks to start a fire to make tea. As a Firebender and in the privacy of his own home, this shouldn't be an issue. He still goes to the neighbor and borrows a set, rather than bend the fire. Of course, given that he had suspiciously warm tea at the start of the episode and Zuko berated him for doing such, it could be that Iroh learned his lesson. Turns out he was ProperlyParanoid, as Jet was the one who stole the spark rocks, and was watching through the window, hoping to catch Iroh bending fire.

** At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'', "To Switch a Witch", a cemetery caretaker is working alone when he sees the MonsterOfTheWeek, screams, and runs away. It later turns out that he and the person in the monster costume are partners, raising the question of why he acted so terrified before there were any witnesses around.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'', "The Creepy Heap from the Deep", once the gang goes on their way, a character bolts his door to keep out the monster and then seems shocked and terrified when the monster appears behind him. This makes little sense once it turns out that he and the person in the monster costume are working together.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', the Green Goblin spends the second-to-last episode cackling to himself and reciting lines from ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' (and [[RhymesOnADime rhyming]] even when he isn't). This would make sense if the Goblin was insane, as in most continuities, or [[spoiler:Harry, who is mysteriously absent from his school play at this very moment]], but in the next episode, we learn that neither is the case here.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Flayn and Seteth pretend to be siblings rather than father and daughter [[spoiler:to conceal the fact that they are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld actually Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann.]]]] They keep this façade even when no-one else is around until their last support conversation when Flayn calls Seteth "father" and [[LampshadedTrope points out]] no one is around to hear them anyway. They also drop the act [[spoiler:if you end up killing them on the Crimson Flower route, with Flayn calling Seteth "father" In her dying moments, or if you kill Seteth first]]. This is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] because all of their conversations take place within Garreg Mach monastery where [[JustifiedTrope Seteth fears being overheard]].

* ''Film/{{Fantasy Island|2020}}'': Melanie admits at the end of the film all of her earlier actions were an act to get revenge, but in several of the scenes she was alone, panicking, and talking to herself about how to escape and survive. She also thought up an escape plan, which very nearly succeeded, by contacting a waiting plane in order to leave the island. None of this makes sense if she was only pretending the entire time.

* In ''Film/TropicThunder'', actor Kirk Lazarus (played by Creator/RobertDowneyJr), insists to stay in character, even when the cameras are not rolling, until "I do the DVD commentary.

* Seemingly occurs in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' season 7 when Arya accuses Sansa of betraying her family and threatens her, only for them to be suddenly working together in the final episode. One explanation is that their fight was all a trick to lull Littlefinger into a false sense of security, even though he was clearly not watching that particular scene. However, it's never explained when and how Arya and Sansa teamed up, so it's possible Sansa only got her on side right before the trial. That itself would mean Arya did genuinely believe Sansa was evil and threatened to skin her, though, which is not any less silly. This is because their feud ''was'' real: Bran (by this point an omniscient seer) intervenes in a DeletedScene to tell them both the truth and plan their next move against Littlefinger.

* In ''Series/JupitersLegacy'' Walter feigns ignorance of his own plans within psychic mindscapes he created and pretends to get caught off guard by things he put in place. One might expect this behavior is a protection against other telepaths learning what he's up to, except it doesn't do that.

* In ''The Stars Like Dust'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov,
Hinrik, the leader of Rhodia, appears to be a weak, feeble-minded puppet for his planet's overlords, the Tyranni. His brother, Gillbret, believes that there's a secret rebellion brewing, and longs to join it. At one point, Gillbret opines that he has to pretend to be loyal to the Tyranni, even when alone, so that he never slips up. Another character points out that Gillbret really isn't that good at TheMasquerade, and realizes that somebody who really played the part would act more like Hinrik. This leads him to the realization that Hinrik is, in fact, the leader of the rebellion, who's been playing the part of a loyal vassal for 20 years.

* In ''The Stars Like Dust'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov, Hinrik, the Director (king) of Rhodia, appears to be a weak, feeble-minded puppet for his planet's overlords, the Tyranni. At one point he's alone with his thoughts, and his internal dialogue seems to reflect this. However, the ending reveals that this is the result of self-conditioning -- he's actually the one who's been quietly organizing a rebellion against them for the last 20 years, and as he needs to maintain 100% Tyrannian trust to remain BeneathSuspicion, he cannot afford to break character.

Undercover When Alone is what happens when, in order to maintain the surprise for the audience, a character continues a façade of some sort even when there is no-one to see him. This frequently occurs when a character is TheMole, and finding out the mole's identity is a significant part of the plot.

Note that this doesn't necessarily have to involve a mole, but can be any situation where a character is hiding something from the rest of the cast. Maybe they simply have a secret, or are planning a birthday party, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick or are a serial killer]]. As long as the audience isn't supposed to know, and they acted like the secret wasn't the case when there was no-one to fool but the audience, it counts.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', this begins to happen to Lady Une when her Saint Une [[BitchInSheepsClothing persona]] seeps into her personal time, but is a sign that she is BecomingTheMask.

* Anthy from ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' turns out to have been [[spoiler:acting as Mamiya with Mikage]], tiring her out from the extra work. Not only does she fool Utena and the Student Council, but even Akio, whom she has absolutely nothing to hide from, gets fed up by her constant [[DissonantSerenity façade]] at one point. Every time she is shown alone she acts the exact same way. At some point she is in her bed wondering why she's been so tired lately and there was absolutely no-one with her, no Utena nor even Chu-chu.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': The Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask have an odd habit of calling each other by their disguised alias whenever they're ''in'' that form, even if no-one else is listening.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Hans smiles like he's quite taken with Anna, right after they first met. On the edge of a deserted market in the water, under a boat, when no-one is watching. It can possibly suggest that he felt ''some'' attraction to Anna, even if he was willing to let her die for the sake of his plans.

* In ''Film/TigerHouse'', Kelly finds Mark's stepfather tied up with a bag over his head in the back of the robber's van. However, it is later revealed that he is actually the [[InsideJob Inside man for the robbery]]. While making it appear he was a hostage would have useful during the getaway, one would think they would untie him once they got back to the house.

* ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'': Rainbird poses as a lowly janitor working for the Shop to gain Charlie's trust, and takes the role very seriously. He stays in character even if Charlie is not around, exchanges his luxurious car for a humbler one, and always uses the employee changeroom to get into his work uniform. His motivation for doing so is that he wants to fool not just Charlie, but also all Shop employees working directly with her, because he fears that otherwise rumors that he is not who he claims to be will eventually reach Charlie.

* In the first season of ''Series/TwentyFour'', Nina sniffs out a fake FBI agent at the hospital, tries to get his fingerprints but fails, and then takes Teri and Kim out of the hospital to a safehouse. In the finale, Nina is revealed to be a mole working for the bad guys. No-one else noticed the fake FBI agent, so there was no-one for her to impress.

* TheReveal that Boyd was the head of the Rossum Corporation in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' creates several examples of this. In an interesting variation, one example had him stay in character for a Doll in a FlashForward... whose mind he would soon wipe anyway. This is an example of the writers not having decided that he was TheMole yet, which led to internal inconsistencies with the flash forwards.
* Seemingly occurs in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' season 7 when Arya accuses Sansa of betraying her family and threatens her, only for them to be suddenly working together in the final episode. One explanation is that their fight was all a trick to lull Littlefinger into a false sense of security, even though he was clearly not watching that particular scene. However, it's never explained when and how Arya and Sansa teamed up, so it's possible Sansa only got her on side right before the trial. That itself would mean Arya did genuinely believe Sansa was evil and threaten to skin her, though, which is not any less silly. This is because their feud ''was'' real: Bran (by this point an omniscient seer) intervenes in a DeletedScene to tell them both the truth and plan their next move against Littlefinger.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Flayn and Seteth pretend to be siblings rather than father and daughter [[spoiler:to conceal the fact that they are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld actually Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann.]]]] They keep this façade even when no-one else is around until their last support conversation, when Flayn calls Seteth "father" and [[LampshadedTrope points out]] no-one is around to hear them anyway. They also drop the act [[spoiler:if you end up killing them on the Crimson Flower route, with Flayn calling Seteth "father" In her dying moments, or if you kill Seteth first]]. This is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] because all of their conversations take place within Garreg Mach monastery where [[JustifiedTrope Seteth fears being overheard]].

** The High Priest of Hel maintains the pretense that he is simply Durkon turned into a vampire, rather than [[DemonicPossession a separate character possessing Durkon's vampirized body]] (primarily by copying Durkon's accent) even when no-one can actually hear him. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0908.html Panel 5 of this strip, for example]]. Given [[MediumAwareness the nature of the comic]], maintaining his cover to ''the readers'' could be a valid in-universe motivation.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', the Green Goblin spends the second-to-last episode cackling to himself and reciting lines from ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' (and [[RhymesOnADime rhyming]] even when he isn't). This would make sense if the Goblin was insane, as in most continuities, or [[spoiler:Harry, who is mysteriously absent from his school play at this very moment]], but in the next episode we learn that neither is the case here.

Can be {{Justified|Trope}} if a character fears being watched at any moment (especially if [[ProperlyParanoid they're right]]). Also, the character may keep up the façade at all times just to stay in practice and reduce the risk of slipping up in front of witnesses. Can't be too prudent, after all. Another possibility is that the false persona is [[BecomingTheMask starting to affect the character's actual personality]]. In works with NoFourthWall, keeping their cover a secret ''from the audience'' is a legitimate excuse. Finally, sometimes the answer is simply that [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants the writers themselves didn't know that the character was the mole because they hadn't written that far ahead yet]] or [[ActingInTheDark the writers hadn't yet informed the actor]] that his character had HiddenDepths- which usually ends up turning the twist into an AssPull.

Can be {{Justified|Trope}} if a character fears being watched at any moment (especially if [[ProperlyParanoid they're right]]). Also, the character may keep up the façade at all times just to stay in practice and reduce the risk of slipping up in front of witnesses. Can't be too prudent, after all. Another possibility is that the false persona is [[BecomingTheMask starting to affect the character's actual personality]]. In works with NoFourthWall, keeping their cover a secret ''from the audience'' is a legitimate excuse. Finally, sometimes the answer is simply that [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants the writers themselves didn't know that the character was the mole because they hadn't written that far ahead yet]] or [[ActingInTheDark the writers hadn't yet informed the actor]] that his character had HiddenDepths.

Undercover When Alone is what happens when, in order to maintain the surprise for the audience, a character continues a façade of some sort even when there is no one to see him. This frequently occurs when a character is TheMole, and finding out the mole's identity is a significant part of the plot.

Can be {{Justified|Trope}} if a character fears being watched at any moment (especially if [[ProperlyParanoid they're right]]). Also, the character may keep up the facade at all times just to stay in practice and reduce the risk of slipping up in front of witnesses. Can't be too prudent, after all. Another possibility is that the false persona is [[BecomingTheMask starting to affect the character's actual personality]]. In works with NoFourthWall, keeping their cover a secret ''from the audience'' is a legitimate excuse. Finally, sometimes the answer is simply that [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants the writers themselves didn't know that the character was the mole because they hadn't written that far ahead yet]] or [[ActingInTheDark the writers hadn't yet informed the actor]] that his character had HiddenDepths.

Note that this doesn't necessarily have to involve a mole, but can be any situation where a character is hiding something from the rest of the cast. Maybe they simply have a secret, or are planning a birthday party, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick or are a serial killer]]. As long as the audience isn't supposed to know, and they acted like the secret wasn't the case when there was no one to fool but the audience, it counts.

* Finn from ''Manga/PhantomThiefJeanne'' does this. Especially jarring when she gives her monologues about the evil of Access and Sinbad while being TheMole all along.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', this begins to happen to Lady Une when her Saint Une [[BitchInSheepsClothing persona]] seeps into her personal time, but is a sign that she is BecomingTheMask.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': The Sailor Guardians and Tuxedo Mask have an odd habit of calling each other by their disguised alias whenever they're ''in'' that form, even if no one else is listening.

** Norman Osborn, when writing his [[InfoDump journal]] explaining what exactly he was up to during the saga, mentions Aunt May's death -- later, it's revealed he faked her death using a highly-trained actress, meaning he was lying in his own journals.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': While it's quite clear Champion was always intended to be ComicBook/{{Hercules|Unbound}} in disguise he maintains that disguise even when alone in the privacy of his own home.

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Hans smiles like he's quite taken with Anna, right after they first met. On the edge of a deserted market in the water, under a boat, when no-one is watching. It can possibly suggest that he felt ''some'' attraction to Anna, even if he was willing to let her die for the sake of his plans.

* ''Film/FantasyIsland2020'': Melanie admits at the the end of the film all of her earlier actions were an act to get revenge, but in several of the scenes she was alone, panicking, and talking to herself about how to escape and survive. She also thought up an escape plan, which very nearly succeeded, by contacting a waiting plane in order to leave the island. None of this makes sense if she was only pretending the entire time.

* ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}''. Rainbird poses as a lowly janitor working for the Shop to gain Charlie's trust, and takes the role very seriously. He stays in character even if Charlie is not around, exchanges his luxurious car for a more humble one, and always uses the employee changeroom to get into his work uniform. His motivation for doing so is that he wants to fool not just Charlie, but also all Shop employees working directly with her, because he fears that otherwise rumors that he is not who he claims to be will eventually reach Charlie.

* Likewise Literature/{{Burke}} recalls a prisoner who was [[ObfuscatingInsanity faking insanity]], who said the key was to keep up the pretense the whole time, even when you're alone in your cell.
* In one ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey'' story, Lord Peter goes undercover to infiltrate a criminal gang. He stays in his cover personality even when alone, to ensure he doesn't accidentally slip out of it when he isn't.
* In the Literature/NewJediOrder novel ''Rebel Dream'', two intelligence agents, Voort "Piggy" saBinring and Sharr Latt, both [[BadassCrew Wraiths]], argue about whether Jaina Solo should resort to this. (She's not TheMole, but she's pretending to be ''a goddess'' [[ItMakesSenseInContext because of reasons]]). Piggy believes she can drop the disguise when she's around those she trusts implicitly, whereas Sharr thinks she should keep it up all the time.

* TheReveal that Boyd was the head of the Rossum Corporation in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' creates several examples of this. In an interesting variation, one example had him stay in character for a Doll in a FlashForward... whose mind he would soon wipe anyway. This is an example of the writers not having decided that he was TheMole yet, which led to internal inconsistencies with the flash forwards.

* In the first season of ''Series/TwentyFour'', Nina sniffs out a fake FBI agent at the hospital, tries to get his fingerprints but fails, and then takes Teri and Kim out of the hospital to a safehouse. In the finale, Nina is revealed to be a mole working for the bad guys. No-one else noticed the fake FBI agent, so there was no-one for her to impress.
* Invoked and examined in-depth in the final season of ''Series/BurnNotice'', which revolves around Michael's attempt to infiltrate a terrorist organization. The trope is played completely straight, and the voice-over often points out the difficulties of being undercover 24/7 (illustrated as Michael slowly loses touch with his real self and priorities over the course of the season).

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E7TimeFlight Time-Flight]]", why the Master maintains his cover as Kalid, including the strange mystical chanting, while alone is anyone's guess.
* Seemingly occurs in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' season 7 when Arya accuses Sansa of betraying her family and threatens her, only for them to be suddenly working together in the final episode. One explanation is that their fight was all a trick to lull Littlefinger into a false sense of security, even though he was clearly not watching that particular scene. However, it's never explained when and how Arya and Sansa teamed up, so it's possible Sansa only got her on side right before the trial. That itself would mean Arya did genuinely believe Sansa was evil and threaten to skin her, though, which is not any less silly. This is because their feud ''was'' real: Bran (by this point an omniscient seer) intervenes in a DeletedScene to tell them both the truth and plan their next move against Littlefinger.
* In ''Series/JupitersLegacy'' Walter feigns ignorance of his own plans within psychic mindscapes he created and pretends to get caught off guard by things he put in place. One might expect this behavior is a protection against other telepaths learning what he's up to, except it doesn't do that.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Flayn and Seteth pretend to be siblings rather than father and daughter [[spoiler:to conceal the fact that they are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld actually Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann.]]]] They keep this facade even when no one else is around until their last support conversation, when Flayn calls Seteth "father" and [[LampshadedTrope points out]] no one is around to hear them anyway. They also drop the act [[spoiler:if you end up killing them on the Crimson Flower route, with Flayn calling Seteth "father" In her dying moments, or if you kill Seteth first]]. This is a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed example]] because all of their conversations take place within Garreg Mach monastery where [[JustifiedTrope Seteth fears being overheard]].
* One of the {{Player Character}}s in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' is so good at concealing said character's real intentions that you cannot guess them even if you ''overhear said character's private thoughts''.
** FridgeBrilliance kicks in once you realize on a second playthrough that most of his thoughts during key story moments can have a double meaning once you know his true identity.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':

** At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'' "To Switch a Witch", a cemetery caretaker is working alone when he sees the MonsterOfTheWeek, screams, and runs away. It later turns out that he and the person in the monster costume are partners, raising the question of why he acted so terrified before there were any witnesses around.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', ISIS is being infiltrated by an enemy agent going by Conway Stern. At one point when he believes himself to be alone, he mutters to himself, "Conway, what have you gotten yourself into?" His last line in the episode was, in fact, him saying that it was not his real name. Then he [[TheBusCameBack came back years later]], and it turns out "Conway" ''[[SubvertedTrope was]]'' [[RealNameAsAnAlias his real name]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': When Iroh and Zuko are hiding as refugees, Iroh comments he can't find any spark rocks to start a fire to make tea. As a Firebender and in the privacy of his own home, this shouldn't be an issue. He still goes to the neighbor and borrows a set, rather than bend the fire. Of course, given that he had suspiciously warm tea at the start of the episode and Zuko berated him for doing such, it could be that Iroh learned his lesson. Turns out he was ProperlyParanoid, as Jet was the one who stole the spark rocks, and was watching through the window, hoping to catch Iroh bending fire.

A form of RedHerring and the opposite of {{Foreshadowing}}. Often a sign of an AssPull. Compare IdentityConcealmentDisposal. Contrast TraitorShot when Bob reveals himself to the audience immediately after the other character has left the room and RevealingHug where Bob reveals himself even when there are other characters present, as well as ManchurianAgent, where the character does this because they themselves don't realize they are the mole. See also ThatMysteriousThing. If the ''entire cast'' is hiding something from the audience that they already know, it's a TomatoSurprise.

** Norman Osborn, when writing his [[InfoDump journal]] explaining what exactly he was up to during the saga, mentions Aunt May's death -- later, it's revealed he faked her death using a highly-trained actress, meaning he was lying on his own journals.

* Anthy from ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' turns out to have been [[spoiler:acting as Mamiya with Mikage]], tiring her out from the extra work. Not only does she fools Utena and the Student Council, but even Akio, whom she has absolutely nothing to hide from, gets fed up by her constant [[DissonantSerenity façade]] at one point. Every time she is shown alone she acts the exact same way. At some point she is in her bed wondering why she's been so tired lately and there was absolutely no-one with her, no Utena nor even Chu-chu.

** Richard and Mary keep up the pretense of being real humans even when alone - Richard goes as far as having flashbacks from his days as a political prisoner and nightmares. Funny, considered they're revealed to be ''robots''.
** Norman Osborn, when writing his [[InfoDump journal]] explaining what exactly he was up to during the saga, mentions Aunt May's death - later, it's revealed he faked her death using a highly-trained actress, meaning he was lying on his own journals.

** At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooShow'' "To Switch a Witch", a cemetery caretaker] is working alone when he sees the MonsterOfTheWeek, screams, and runs away. It later turns out that he and the person in the monster costume are partners, raising the question of why he acted so terrified before there were any witnesses around.