Sort of a meta example. The storyline where Curtis Willard is found alive has taken a lot of flak from viewers, but a look at the time in which the series aired gives some context. When the storyline aired, the Vietnam War — in which over 58,000 Americans lost their lives — had ended just a few years before, and a common trope at the time involved allegedly-killed soldiers who turned up very much alive, perhaps reflecting a Wish-Fulfillment fantasy for grieving families. The Curt storyline deconstructs this idea by showing perhaps a best-case scenario regarding the kind of screwed-up person who would do that to his loved ones.
