Line #60 Main/CaretakerReversal


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11	[[quoteright:307: [[Series/HowIMetYourMother https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/caretaker_reversal.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:307:"Give and take" in relationships isn't supposed to go this far.]]
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16
17	->''Someone you love might help take care of you. They might tuck you in or make you soup, and if they get sick one day, you can take care of them in the same special way.''
18	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood''
19
20	A character gets an illness or an injury and another character spends most of the episode nursing him back to health. By the end of the episode, the "patient" got over his illness, but realizes TheCaretaker has caught the illness from him. He decides to take care of the now "patient".
21
22	Another manifestation of the trope is when a parent/protector used to take care of the child and, a few years later, the child takes care of the aging parent/protector.
23
24	May also happen to the CloudcuckoolandersMinder if they take a blow to the head or visit {{Cloudcuckooland}}.
25
26	This can be TruthInTelevision in many families with small children and a stay-at-home parent. It is not rare for the stay-at-home parent to get an infection from the kids before the parent who works outside the house. Also, if a person gets an illness and accidentally spreads it to another member of their household, they might recover before the other person does, leading to this trope.
27
28	A typical ending of the SickEpisode (which may overlap with HereWeGoAgain). Compare to NowLetMeCarryYou. A subtrope of HourglassPlot.
29
30	----
31	!!Examples:
32
33	[[foldercontrol]]
34
35	[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
36	* One episode of ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' set in the Matazuresou Apartment arc have everyone in said apartment ''except'' the Nohara family catching a cold, and Misae have to be the caretaker to most of the apartment residents (with Shin-Chan getting dragged into the hijinks as usual). Come by the episode's end, Misae somehow had caught all their colds, and now Yonroh, Yuu, Susan Koyuki and Prince Omata are now Misae's caretakers (which ends up annoying her to no end).
37	* Subverted in ''Manga/HimoutoUmaruChan'': In one arc Umaru gets sick and expects her brother Taihei to baby her, but he has to work. When Taihei ends up catching Umaru's cold, she plots her revenge by subjecting him to nasty "cures" like [[AssShove shoving a leek up his butt]]...but then she feels genuinely guilty when she sees how sick he is and actually proper care of him.
38	* The minuscule mummy Mii-kun of ''Manga/HowToKeepAMummy'' is generally too small to be able to take care of Sora during the show's SickEpisode. He's still able to help by using his own body as a cool washcloth for Sora's forehead. It's all well and good, except by the next day it turns out Mii-kun has caught Sora's cold.
39	* In ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' Nanami is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who winds up with a LittleBitBeastly [[AsianFoxSpirit Kitsune]], Tomoe, as familiar. However, [[spoiler: when Nurakami uses a magical artefact that turns Tomoe into a child]] Nanami ends up caring for him. Also, when Nanami winds up playing around with time travel [[spoiler: she winds up rescuing a wounded Tomoe from a riverbank in the past and nursing him back to health.]]
40	* In an episode of ''Manga/MidoriDays'', Seiji accidentally drinks a bottle of sake, and Midori tries to take care of him (including scaring off door-to-door salesman by impersonating a zombie). When he wakes up, he feels great, but Midori is sick. However, in the manga, Midori gets sick first.
41	-->'''Seiji:''' My right hand caught a cold...?
42	* Invoked, then subverted in ''[[Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Kanna's Daily Life]]''. Kanna takes care of Saikawa when she comes down with a fever, then tries to catch a cold herself a few days later so Saikawa can take care of her. Being a dragon, she has IdealIllnessImmunity, so her attempts to get sick fail.
43	* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', [[NiceGuy Guy]] has spent most of his life attempting to take care of Kakashi, in regards to both his physical and mental well-being. However, after [[CareerEndingInjury permanently injuring his right leg]] against [[BigBad Madara]], it's shown in ''Kakashi Hiden'' that a large part of Kakashi's life is now spent at Guy's side, happily helping his crippled friend adapt to being confined to a wheelchair.
44	* A variant occurs in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY''. A flashback shows that Ash and Serena first met in a summer camp when Ash came upon an injured and lost Serena in the woods, bandaging her injured leg and leading her back to their camp. In the present time, during, coincidentally enough, another summer camp, Ash and Serena fall off a cliff, but this time around, Ash is the one who got an injured leg in the process, so Serena had to take care of him until help arrived.
45	* Happens in one episode of ''Anime/SailorMoon R'', when Minako plays nurse to her friends, but ends up sick herself by the end of the episode, when Usagi and Chibi-usa return the favor.
46	* In ''Mini VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', Motonari has a fever and Motochika insists on trying to cure him by strapping a fish to his head and cooking up some stew which looks...kinda like [[LethalChef the inside of a black hole]]. Later Motochika gets sick and receives a visit from Motonari, who [[EvilChef repays him in kind]].
47	* In ''Literature/TrinityBlood'', after Ion is shot by Tres, Sister Esther ends up caring for him (including replacing his bandages). A few episodes later, Esther is knocked unconscious and wakes up to find Ion at her bedside.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder: Fan Works]]
51	* DefiedTrope in ''Fanfic/AsFateWouldHaveIt'' during Yancy's SickEpisode. Nate, a movie actor awaiting the release of his next big project, fully knows that getting Yancy's cold and taking sick leave would give him problems down the line, so he refuses to touch his girlfriend directly during his visit to her place.
52	* In ''Fanfic/NurseJet'', Jet looks after Sean while he is sick. In its sequel, ''Patient Name: Propulsion'', Sean looks after Jet while he is sick.
53	* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Ash gets badly injured saving his Pikachu from a flock of Spearow, and Misty takes him to the Viridian City Pokémon Center. Later, Misty gets poisoned by Vileplume pollen, so Ash has to take her to a hospital in Cerulean City.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder: Film]]
57	* ''Film/TheAvengers1998''. After Steed is attacked by Mrs. Peel's clone, the real Mrs. Peel takes him to her home to recover and nurses him back to health. Later on, after Mrs. Peel is captured and brainwashed by Sir August, Steed rescues her and takes her to his home to recover.
58	* An emotional variation in ''Film/LittleWomen2019'': After [[spoiler: Beth's death]], Marmee's eternal strength crumbles and she breaks down [[CryIntoChest sobbing into Jo's chest.]] The script explicitly describes Jo as taking on the parental role in this moment while her mother is like a child in need of comforting.
59	* ''Film/MurderByDeath'': Happened during the backstory, where [[Literature/MissMarple Miss Marbles]] has a nurse but Miss Marbles takes care of the nurse, rather than the other way around.
60	* In the Creator/AkiraKurosawa film ''Film/RedBeard'', Dr. Yasumoto takes care of a feverish girl, abused to the point of madness, named Otayo. When the doctor himself falls ill, Otayo tends him, which helps her mental recovery. (In an amusing bit, she even tries reading his medical texts to stay awake.)
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder: Literature]]
64	* In ''Literature/EthanFrome'', this happens three times with Zeena: Before their marriage and life together in Starkfield, Zeena was healthy and knowledgeable about medicine, taking care of Ethan's mother. During the majority of Ethan's story, Zeena spends her time claiming that she's ill and having Ethan care for her. Then, after [[spoiler:Ethan and Mattie's BungledSuicide, when they both acquire crippling injuries, Zeena takes care of them, even 20 years after the accident]].
65	* In ''Literature/FrogAndToad'', Toad tries to cheer up Frog because he's sick. Frog gets better but then Toad gets sick and Frog takes care of him.
66	* In ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' Rebecca first acts as Ivanhoe's caretaker, then Ivanhoe acts as her champion.
67	* ''Literature/LittleWomen'' has an emotional variation: Marmee is usually a pillar of quiet strength, wisdom and comfort to her daughters, but in moments of extreme crisis, she reveals that she's NotSoStoic and her daughters comfort her:
68	** When they receive the news that Mr. March is dangerously ill in Washington, Marmee [[FaintInShock faints]], and then stretches out her arms to her daughters and begs them to help her, and they all gather around to comfort her.
69	** When the family realizes [[spoiler: that Beth is dying]], Marmee again stretches out her arms to Jo "as if for help," and Jo goes to comfort her mother. The film versions from [[Film/LittleWomen1933 1933]], [[Film/LittleWomen1994 1994]] and [[Film/LittleWomen2019 2019]] likewise all have Marmee [[CryIntoChest sobbing in Jo's arms]], as does the 2017 miniseries; the 1994 and 2017 versions before [[spoiler: Beth dies]] and the 1933 and 2019 versions afterwards.
70	* Flip-flopping through this trope is how Jaime and Brienne's friendship gets started in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Originally, Brienne is Jaime's guard, and has to protect him from all kinds of dangers (including some that he gets into on purpose to get on her nerves). Later on, when the two of them [[spoiler: are taken prisoner by the Bloody Mummers]], Jaime winds up spending a lot of time protecting her, [[spoiler: since of the two of them, he's the hostage who's too valuable to kill, and therefore has a little bit of leverage.]] By the time they're freed, they're pretty much protecting one another.
71	* The ending of ''Bear Feels Sick'' in Karma Wilson's ''Bear'' series has all the other animals catching Bear's cold and Bear taking care of them the way they took care of him.
72	* In ''Literature/OrangeCloudsBlueSky'', Skye's mom spends years taking care of Skye's autistic sister Starr, giving her whatever she wants and trying to "protect" her from any negative experiences or any kind of work. [[spoiler:When Mom becomes a drug-addicted SleepyDepressive, Starr is the only family member who sticks around. Starr feeds her, washes the dishes, and does chores to keep the house somewhat sanitary. She refers to her as "Baby Mommy."]]
73	* ''Literature/ASickDayForAmosMcGee'': It's usually Amos who wipes the rhino's nose, but the rhino wipes Amos's nose when he gets sick.
74	* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''[[Literature/{{Tarzan}} The Return of Tarzan]]''. William Clayton takes care of fellow castaway Monsieur Thuran after Thuran catches an unidentified jungle fever. When Clayton catches the same disease, Thuran [[KickTheDog leaves him to die]].
75	* ''Literature/LoveOverGold'': Early in the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic, Katrien catches the virus, and Diane takes care of her while she's too weak to do anything for herself. Then, just as Katrien is getting better, Diane starts coming down with the illness, and Katrien nurses her back to health.
76	* ''Literature/HayyIbnYaqzan'' is about a WildChild who is [[RaisedByWolves adopted by a gazelle]], who nurses him when he's an infant, and brings fruits and nuts for him when he's a little older. When the gazelle becomes old and infirm, Hayy cares for her and brings her food until she finally dies.
77	* In ''Literature/AreYouSeeingMe'' Justine has been TheCaretaker for her autistic twin brother Perry ever since their dad died of cancer. After Justine is injured in the earthquake, Perry takes care of her while she recovers.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder: Live Action TV]]
81	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': in Season 1, Sheldon gets sick and makes Penny take care of him. In Season 3, Penny gets injured and makes Sheldon take her to the hospital and take care of her afterward. What connects these two instances most solidly is the song "Soft Kitty." Sheldon teaches the song to Penny to sing to him ('cause that's what his mother did when he was sick as a youngster). Then when Penny is injured she makes him sing it to her.
82	-->'''Penny:''' Sing "Soft Kitty" to me.\
83	'''Sheldon:''' "Soft Kitty" is for when you're sick. You're not sick.\
84	'''Penny:''' Injured and drugged is a kind of sick.
85	* In the ''Series/ClarissaExplainsItAll'' episode "The Flu," the parents both get sick, and Clarissa and Ferguson have to [[ADayInHerApron take care of them and of the house.]] In the end, the siblings get sick just as their parents get well, and in the last scene the parents are shown bringing them [[SoupIsMedicine soup]] as they rest on the couch.
86	* PlayedForDrama in the second episode of ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'', Dr. Mike works herself to exhaustion during a deadly flu epidemic and must be cared for by Sully when she catches the disease herself.
87	* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'', "The Duchess and the Devil": While imprisoned in Spain, Horatio saves his suicidal, starving friend Archie and nurses him back to health. Later Horatio gets tortured (he is put in a small hole in the ground for a week) and then Archie helps him.
88	* In an episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Robin is sick and Ted takes care of her. When he goes to kiss her, she tries to refuse, but he goes ahead anyway. Immediately after, we see Ted in bed, Robin taking care of him.
89	-->'''Ted:''' [[WorthIt So worth it]].
90	* ''Series/KungFu1972'': in "Besieged: Cannon at the Gates", Caine is lying on the ground mortally wounded after he sabotages a cannon firing at the Shaolin Temple, and his GirlOfTheWeek is leaning over his body comforting him. Then the DragonWithAnAgenda stabs her; she becomes limp, and Caine reverses positions with her as she dies. Suddenly he's fine. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHAQBqzPzCA#t=3m55s See it here, starting at 3:55.]]
91	* The ''Series/{{MASH}}'' episode "Carry on, Hawkeye" is mostly about the majority of the camp (including three of its four doctors) falling ill, leaving Hawkeye and Margaret to run things. At the end, Hawkeye finally succumbs to the flu as the rest of the camp begins to recover. In the final scene, he's a) almost alone in the post-op and b) the recipient of the camp's gratitude.
92	* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': A Caretaker Reversal ''revolving door'', in "Old Age Plan."
93	** The story begins with Mrs. Davis having cared for her sister Angela, and falling ill from Angela's complaining. By the end of the episode, Mrs. Davis has recovered and Angela has again become ill from Mrs. Davis' complaining.
94	** ''Meanwhile'', Miss Brooks had spent the episode shilling Mrs. Davis and Angela's club's old age plan to Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin. The two men end up suffering psychosomatic symptoms of old age.
95	** Miss Brooks decides to invite them over to Mrs. Davis' house, and fake the symptoms of old age to distract Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin from their symptoms. The climax of the episode has Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton and Mr. Conklin rapidly experiencing illness and being placed on the sofa with a blanket and ice pack in turn.
96	* On an episode of ''Series/TheRifleman'' Lucas takes care of Mark who has the measles. At the end, Lucas has the measles while Mark takes care of him.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder: Music]]
100	* In the beginning chorus of Jamie O'Neal's "Somebody's Hero", the titular "hero" is a mother taking care of her young daughter. In the ending chorus, the roles have swapped, and now it's the daughter taking care of her aging mother.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder: Theatre]]
104	* The ''{{Theatre/Mrs Hawking}}'' play series: Before coming to work for Mrs. Hawking, Mary's sole occupation in life was to keep house for her father and take care of her unwell mother, causing her to see her only worth and purpose was her usefulness to others.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder: Visual Novels]]
108	* Early in the story, the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'' comes home drunk from the bar. Amanda invokes this trope while helping him into their apartment and into bed.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder: Western Animation]]
112	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "Storytelling", Jake gets sick and Finn takes care of him, obeying all of Jake's requests, including the one to find a true story to tell him. At the end of the episode, Finn gets sick as well, and Jake rushes to do everything for him as well...until he realises that Finn has just fallen asleep.
113	* ''WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood'': Discussed in the song in "Mom Tiger is Sick", which notes that someone might take care of you if you get sick, and if they get sick, you can take care of them.
114	* ''WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins'': In "Doctoring the Doc", Doc, who is usually TheMedic to her LivingToys, catches the flu. As such, her toys try to be the ones to take care of ''her'' for a change, helping her get water and trying to diagnose her.
115	* "Is There An Ed In The House" of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. At the beginning, Sarah has a cold, and Double-D, Ed, and Jimmy take care of her. Near the end of the episode, Double-D comes down with Sarah's cold, which leads to Jimmy rushing up to Double-D saying: "Jeepers! You sound sick, Double-D! You shouldn't be outside; you need some TLC, mister!" He leads Double-D back into his house to take care of him, much to Double-D's objections while Eddy just stands there.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/LittlePrincess'': In "I Don't Want a Cold", the Princess catches a cold. At the end of the episode, when [[AmbiguousEnding she thinks]] the adults have caught her cold, she gives them [[IllnessBlanket blankets]], [[FootBathTreatment foot baths]], and broth.
117	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'': The episode "Nurse Stimpy" has Stimpy tending to a sick Ren and trying to cure him in his own stupid ways. At the end, when Stimpy gets sick from all the grueling work, Ren is a little too eager to return the favor.
118	* Happens in the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode "Yarn Benders", which begins with Filburt getting sick after being caught in the rain and ends with Rocko and Heffer catching the illness after mangling a few fairy tales that they're reading to Filb.
119	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': "Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold'": The episode {{Bookends}} with Arthur bringing Tick soup in the opening and Tick returning the favor in the closing scene.
120	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CaretakerReversal