History EvilCannotComprehendGood / WesternAnimation

** In another episode, Sadira uses a magic sand to make everyone in the kingdom believe she's the princess and Jasmine is just a commoner (including Jasmine herself). Mirage believes this will make Aladdin love her. She's thrown when Aladdin is somehow able to recognize Jasmine and break the spell, not understanding it's the woman Aladdin loves, not her royal title.

** In another episode, Mirage uses a magic sand to make everyone in the kingdom believe she's the princess and Jasmine is just a commoner (including Jasmine herself). Mirage believes this will make Aladdin love her. She's thrown when Aladdin is somehow able to recognize Jasmine and break the spell, not understanding it's the woman Aladdin loves, not her royal title.

--> '''Skeletor''': "I don't get it. Don't you ever feel like doing something ''evil''?

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'', where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"

** When the Mad Hatter imprisons Batman in a [[LotusEaterMachine fake world]] where his parents were never killed and he's engaged to Selina Kyle, who isn't a criminal. It's practically a paradise. When The Mad Hatter asks him why he chose to escape, he responds with "Because it's not REAL."

*** The comics have this continue for her. In ''The Search'', Azula can't fathom why her mother would want her because of her long-standing cruel streak. Smoke and Shadow plays with this differently in that [[spoiler: She thinks like she did in the old ways, that of fear and terror being the only way to rule; yet hasn't pursued revenge against the friends that betrayed her or her brother who claimed the throne (going as far to say she supports him...in her own twisted way of support)]].

*** In episode "The Beach," Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, and Azula all take turns confessing their problems, and helping each other talk through their issues. When it's over, Zuko and Mai have reconciled over an argument they had and Ty Lee feels cleansed. Azula compliments them on their great "acting", treating the entire thing like it was a show.

** The Daughters of Aku in the 5th season have the same problem, owing to the [[TykeBomb abusive training and indoctrination]] they received from their mother from the get-go. They were indoctrinated in the belief that [[SocialDarwinist only the fittest survive]], rendering them incapable of understanding compassion or love. When they see a male deer approach his mate, they assume he's a minion of Aku that will devour the female deer, only to be utterly confused when the two start nuzzling with affection. This is also what ultimately gets [[spoiler: almost]] all of them killed; because they were taught "survival of the fittest" they do nothing to assist or defend each other during their assault on Jack[[note]]Entire armies and bounty hunters who coordinate down to a T can't even bring him down; the Daughters of Aku really didn't stand a chance.[[/note]], leaving him free to pick them off one by one. They only got as close as they did to killing him through sheer brute force and dumb luck. [[FridgeHorror Imagine if they ''had'' believed in teamwork.]]

* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is MadeOfEvil, and has a dim understanding of the concept of "good" (about the closest he can get is "Free beef jerky for everyone"). He thought that sending Jack to the future would crush his spirit, but Jack ended up being a rallying point for the abused masses of Aku's reign. Additionally, other things that are lost on him are "respect" and "teamwork", as he has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the highest degree and has actually screwed himself over time and again because he cannot help but betray his allies in some form or another, even when he's trying really hard not to. [[spoiler:His inability to comprehend hope and [[ThePowerOfLove love]] is ultimately his undoing, as the former results in his PublicExecution of Jack being derailed leading to the later allowing his [[TheAntiChrist daughter Ashi]] to [[AntiAntiChrist break free of his control]] and turn his own power against him, sending Jack back in time to kill Past-Aku once and for all.]]
** The Daughters of Aku in the 5th season have the same problem, owing to the [[TykeBomb abusive training and indoctrination]] they received from their mother from the get-go. They were indoctrinated in the belief that [[SocialDarwinist only the fittest survive]], rendering them incapable of understanding compassion or love. When they see a male deer approach his mate, they assume he's a minion of Aku that will devour the female deer, only to be utterly confused when the two start nuzzling with affection.
** Despite her claims of Aku's benevolence, it's painfully obvious that, much like her god, the leader of the Cult of Aku has no actual understanding of what real love, kindness, and justice are like.

** Ra's al Ghul doesn't understand why Batman is horrified by [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Ra's plan to bring about Utopia by murdering lots of people]]. Of course, it doesnt help that what Ghul wants isn't actually a Utopia but basically just a society-wide cult revolving around worshipping him, but it wouldnt have mattered if he truly did intend to make a real utopia.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"
* In ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSmash'': The Collector is unable to understand why the Hulks would rather have the real world than the LotusEaterMachine he put them in.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything" (based on a story from the comics), Mongul imagines that Superman's greatest desire being shown to him by the [[LotusEaterMachine Black Mercy]] is of him ruling the galaxy. Instead, he's living peacefully on a farm on Krypton, married to a woman who resembles both Lana and Lois, and has a son.
--> '''Mongul''': I wonder where he thinks he is? Sitting on a throne, ruling the universe... All you human garbage fawning at his feet. More honest, don't you think, than this pretense of being a "selfless hero"? (''Diana proceeds to bash Mongul's head in'')
** This is actually a change from the original comic, where in addition to the world conquest idea, Mongul wonders if he's dreaming of "whatever blissful backwater he was raised in". He was still wrong, but it's a bit closer to Superman's motivations.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** When the Mad Hatter imprisons Batman in a [[LotusEaterMachine fake world]] where his parents were never killed and he's engaged to Selina Kyle, who isn't a criminal. It's practically a paradise. When The Mad Hatter asks him why he chose to escape, he responds with "Because it's not REAL."
** Ra's al Ghul doesn't understand why Batman is horrified by [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Ra's plan to bring about Utopia by murdering lots of people]]. Of course, it doesnt help that what Ghul wants isn't actually a Utopia but basically just a society-wide cult revolving around worshipping him, but it wouldnt have mattered if he truly did intend to make a real utopia.
** After Harley is let out of Arkham, she is caught up in a misunderstanding, and almost [[ThenLetMeBeEvil throws away her chance to reform]]. Batman tries to defuse the situation while it's still salvagable. Back at Arkham (but with some hope of getting out again), Harley asks Batman why he would put himself at risk for "somebody who's never given you anything but trouble". He explains that he knows everybody has bad days, even him, and it seems to get through.

* Also played straight in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower''. [[EnemyMine Forced to work together]], She-Ra and Hordak get directions from a local in exchange for some fruit that's trivial for them to get, but impossible for the local to reach. Hordak starts to go the other way from the directions, saying the local had what he wanted, and thus no reason to genuinely help them.
-->'''She-Ra:''' Your problem, Hordak, is that you lie all the time, so you assume everyone else does the same, even though you depend on most people keeping their word.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': This is frequently where [[FlamingDevil Him's]] plans go wrong. Every time he creates a situation to exploit something like their anger or fear, he's shocked at how sisterly love helps them overcome it.
** When Blossom and Buttercup save Bubbles in "Octi-Evil" after he thought he'd broken them up: "But you're supposed to be fighting each other!"
** When they overcome [[YourWorstNightmare the fears he tortures them with in "Power-noia"]]: "You're supposed to be afraid!"
** When Bubbles thwarts his [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome otherwise awesome]] plan in "All Chalked Up': "You can't do that! [[RuleOfThree You're supposed to express your anger]]!"
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Smurfette meets a very greedy troll who has a hard time understanding why anyone would give something of theirs away; this happens on her birthday, when the other smurfs are giving her gifts (he proceeds to steal them all, and Smurfette herself). After being rescued, Smurfette proves to be a lot more generous (not to mention forgiving) than he is, and he starts to learn his lesson after she shares with him.

* Sometimes done on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Mr. Burns' moral compass is so far off kilter that even when he tries do something good, he's [[HeroWithAnFInGood actually more evil than he normally is]]. Lisa even lampshades it:
--->'''Lisa:''' You're evil... and when you try to be good, you're even ''more'' evil!
** In "Last Exit to Springfield", Mr. Burns cuts the power to the town during a strike, and is shocked that the union doesn't break.
** After learning about recycling from Lisa in "The Old Man and the Lisa", Mr. Burns takes it to its extreme by recycling living sea creatures into a multipurpose slurry. He doesn't understand why Lisa is horrified by this, since, as he sees it, he is giving people what they need without wasting a single sea creature.
** Happens with Jessica Lovejoy in "Bart's Girlfriend" after she was caught framing Bart Simpson and stealing the church collection plate money. When she saw Bart approach her while doing her punishment of washing the church steps, she assumed Bart was going to laugh at her. He instead confessed how their small relationship taught him not to be naive around girls. Jessica, however, confessed that she learned she could make boys do whatever she wanted and proves it by asking Bart to finish the job while she runs off with another boy. Bart claims he sees through her deception but then says "wait until she sees the second rate job I do on these stairs".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Part of Vicky's {{Flanderization}}, as shown in "Frenemy Mine", is she cannot understand love, to the point where she cannot comprehend her feelings after Timmy saves her.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"
* This shows up occasionally in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. For example:
-->'''Natasha:''' Boris, how could you let them sail away with [[MacGuffin the mooseberry bush]]?\\
'''Boris:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bush was disguised as old man.]] Did I know they would help old man into lifeboat? I wouldn't!
* In ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSmash'': The Collector is unable to understand why the Hulks would rather have the real world than the LotusEaterMachine he put them in.
* WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer, being an emotionless, violent sociopath, is completely caught off-guard when anyone shows him a form of kindness (such as a man giving him money when he finds out Kevin was a runaway). Kevin's eventual response to these situations is to violently attack the person, or just steal their money. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Allan himself is surprised by this,]] [[CuriosityCausesConversion and mused that the kindness of others could put his faith back in humanity.]]
* General Zhal from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' is left completely stunned after [[spoiler:he kills the ComicBook/DoomPatrol and the entire world chants "We are the Doom Patrol", showing that instead of making everyone see them as frauds, they see them as bigger heroes than before. Zhal is unable to even react to being arrested out of shock because he can't understand how a HeroicSacrifice increases people's faith in the sacrificer.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** The biggest weakness of Discord is his inability to truly understand how strong the bond between the mane cast truly is. He's taken completely off-guard when he discovers that they've reforged their friendship after he seemingly broke it apart [[spoiler:leading to his defeat]]. He also gets ''very'' frustrated when Fluttershy proves too kind and accepting of her own faults to fall for his [[MoreThanMindControl attempt to convince her her friends think she's weak and helpless and thus she should be mad at them.]] This makes sense when one considers he's the [[EvilCounterpart polar opposite]] of the Elements of Harmony, which run on the PowerOfFriendship. It may also be another of the apparent shout-outs to [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Him]], who shared this weakness as well.
** In Discord's second appearance, he seems to recognize the idea of friendship by the end of it, [[spoiler: in that doing whatever he wants doesn't actually make him any happier because he actually cared about Fluttershy thought about him.]] However, season 4 makes it pretty clear that Discord ''still'' didn't understand friendship, seeing it as something that made him happy. He did enjoy the company of others, but he still didn't understand camaraderie, and as far as he was concerned, it was [[ItsAllAboutMe all about him]]. This makes him easy prey for Lord Tirek in the season 4 finale, who plays on the same idea that friendship is all about what you get out of it. Discord shows some signs of loyalty to Fluttershy (and Fluttershy alone) but still doesn't understand friendship [[spoiler:until, after Discord betrays his friends, allowing Lord Tirek to steal their magic, Lord Tirek proves himself to be EvilerThanThou and drains Discord's magic as well. Only when Twilight Sparkle frees him despite all the things he did does he really understand friendship, giving Twilight the final key to unlock the chest and the full, unmitigated power of ThePowerOfFriendship.]]
** Queen Chrysalis, the BigBad of the second SeasonFinale, also has this problem. She's a sadistic, {{shapeshifting}}, [[HornyDevils succubus-like]] HiveQueen who stole Princess Cadance's identity to feed off the [[ThePowerOfLove love]] her husband to be had for her. In the end, she doesn't once think that this same power could be turned against her. To her, it was just food and she didn't truly understand its true power.
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1"]], during his BreakingSpeech to Discord, Tirek dismisses his brother's befriending ponies so many years ago as a sign of a weak mind. More generally, he considers friendship just another form of imprisonment.
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2"]], Tirek cannot understand friendship, and is confused when Twilight demands Discord's release after he betrayed them. It is this mistake that leads to his defeat and re-imprisonment for eternity.
** Starlight Glimmer, the villain from the season five premiere, has an interesting variation on this. It's not that she doesn't understand friendship at all, but she has a seeming inability to even ''consider'' any other idea of how friendship might work besides her own, which states that friendship is impossible if friends have different talents or different opinions, leading to her trying to make everypony "equal". When Twilight tries to explain that differences make friendships better, she dismisses it as "sentimental nonsense". This belief is the main reason why [[spoiler:Fluttershy's FakeDefector move works]], as she believed that the Mane Six's friendship would be easily broken due to their differences.
** Queen Chrysalis suffers even worse from this in the season six finale. [[spoiler:Chrysalis believes that love is something that you ''take'', not ''give''. When Thorax gives it freely, he attains a pure and powerful form, and practically every other changeling goes along. Chrysalis still fights back, and she then rejects Starlight's offer of peace, even though she's lost everything.]]
* In the Christian-based cartoon ''WesternAnimation/GodRocks'' a robot kept on trying to ruin the God Rocks concert to raise money for a good cause, and he didn't understand that even after he stole their instruments they still desired to play.
* In one episode of the ''[[Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse Battletech]]'' animated series, Mechwarrior Ciro forces a jumpship captain at gunpoint to record a message to Adam Steiner, saying that he knows where Adam's missing-in-action brother is, in an effort to lure Adam into a trap. [[BigBad Nicolai Malthus]] asks why Adam would respond to such a message, and Ciro replies that Adam would do anything to help his brother. It's a reaction Malthus finds impossible to understand. This is fully understandable, however, in that Clan Mechwarriors don't ''have'' families, they have sibkin--other Clan Mechwarriors who were created by scientists and incubated in artificial wombs. Though the bond between sibkin is stronger than the average bond between two different members of the same clan, they still view one another as only allies at best, and frequently as rivals competing for status and a limited number of choice assignments. To earn their status as Mechwarriors, they have to begin by emerging victorious in duels--and the losers get crap assignments or even demoted to a lesser caste! While many of them would ''understand'' the idea of complete and blind loyalty to another, few of them would ''feel'' it; and Nicolai is not exactly the most well-adjusted Clanner to begin with.
* Roger of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', due to his species practically being MadeOfEvil, is completely unfamiliar with the idea of feeling for anyone over himself. So much that actually feeling guilt over one of his acts was such a trauma to his state of mind, it created a split personality out of it just to cope. Hell, in one episode, when he tried to be nice for a change, it literally almost killed him.

** Also happens to the Light in the same episode. [[spoiler:They never thought that Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy would ''willingly'' reveal their {{Dark Secret}}s to the rest of the team, and that the team would ''fully accept them.'' Because of this, the Light gets OutGambitted.]]
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Nigel wakes up in a world where he's an adult and president and his teammates are all part of his cabinet. The Alternate Hoagie eventually realizes what's going on and agrees to send him home if he'll sign the bill that would destroy their world's Kids Next Door. Nigel refuses, even when threatened. Hoagie doesn't get why, since he'll never see the kids he's sacrificing again and it won't affect his world.
* On ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'', [[BigBad the Night Master]] accurately assesses that the titular trio have a lot of undesirable, un-heroic qualities. However, he scoffs at the idea that they could rise above them and become better people. He also clearly wasn't expecting [[spoiler: Coop to accept Yin's apology and turn on him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries:'' ''Quite'' a few members of Aladdin's RoguesGallery suffer from this:
** From the minute they first meet, Mozenrath is genuinely surprised that Aladdin would choose to help people for its own sake rather than for personal profit. [[SubvertedTrope He's smart enough to quickly learn from that encounter, and every attempt to manipulate Aladdin afterwards went much more smoothly]].
** And then there's Mirage. She's firmly convinced that she can ruin Aladdin and Jasmine's relationship by transforming Jasmine into a hideous snake woman and then destroying the only antidote. Aladdin's response is to transform ''himself'' into a hideous snake man in order to be with Jasmine, which was the ''last'' thing Mirage ever expected.
* Ragnar of ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' worshipped the Green Lantern of his planet. Believing himself to be worthy of a Green Lantern, he poisoned him and attempted to claim his ring. Instead, his sister, Queen Iolande, became the Green Lantern. His jealousy and feelings of betrayal lead him to become a Red Lantern. It never occurred to him that his murdering a Green Lantern and his desire to abuse the power of one were the very reasons he was rejected.
* Two animated incarnations of Dr. Doom have this as their FatalFlaw.
** ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'': Lampshaded and subverted in "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesDoomsWordIsLaw Doom's Word Is Law]]". Doctor Doom at first believes that kidnapping Reed and Susan will make defeating them easier as he believes Ben and Johnny to be too stupid to stop him without their help and is baffled that they are able to power through his defenses through luck and with Bruiser's help. But then he reveals he had a failsafe for Bruiser pulling a HeelFaceTurn.
--->'''Reed:''' Don't you understand, Victor? [Ben and Johnny] don't care how great your science is; they just care about rescuing us.\\
'''Dr. Doom:''' What are you blathering on about?\\
'''Susan:''' You'll never stop them, Doom, because you don't know ''how'' to fight them.
** In the ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' episode "Planet Doom", Doom's plan was to go back in time and stop the Avengers from forming by preventing the events that made each of them heroes, firmly believing that they only became heroes due to whatever fateful event that gave them their powers. However, while he rules the BadFuture with an iron fist, it also gave rise to new heroes who formed a team right under his nose with Thor's help. In other words, his inability to understand the fundamentally innate good and heroism within people [[JustForPun doomed]] his plan to failure before it even began.
** He further demonstrated this trope when he attempted to control Tony Stark and Bruce Banner by altering their backstories and preventing them from being superheroes, in addition to serving him with their scientific know how. However, their natural good natures resurfaced with a little outside assistance, proving deep down they were still heroes, something that completely blind-sided Doom (as well as ruined his plans).
* Bill Cipher from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' didn't believe Mabel [[JerkassRealization would feel remorse after treating Dipper]] like crap throughout the episode, ''Sock Opera''. Which is probably why his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech towards her not only fails, but [[HeelRealization backfires spectacularly]].
-->'''Bill Cipher:''' I mean, who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their dumb sibling?
-->'''Mabel:''' ...''Dipper'' would.
** [[spoiler:He's eventually done in by the classic 'can't comprehend a heroic sacrifice' mistake, when he's tricked into entering Stan's mind just before the others erase it with the memory gun. Bill spends quite a bit of time spluttering in confusion over Stan being willing to have his own mind erased, and then futilely tries to offer Stan money and power even after Stan's made it clear that his only concern is protecting his family.]]
* Plankton from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' often has trouble understanding basic concepts of goodness, such as having fun. In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'', not only does he struggle to understand the concept of teamwork, he can't even ''pronounce'' it properly ("Te-am work? Tie-am? Time bomb... work?"). He also believes that [=SpongeBob=] helping him is really a front for a plot to steal the formula for himself, and is shocked to learn he really doesn't know it.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', three criminals reveal their plan to use magic to dry up the Ganges River, allowing them to access treasures on the river bed. Jackie is appropriately horrified because millions of people would die of thirst without the river, but they don't understand why he would care.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'':
** In "Maternal Instincts" Vlad confesses his love for Maddie as well as admitting he hates Jack for "stealing" her. He asks her to dump Jack and be with him. She naturally refuses and spends the rest of the series having a rather sour opinion of him. Despite wanting to be loved, Vlad doesn't understand how it works.
** A case of Evil Forgetting How To Comprehend Good, in "The Ultimate Enemy". [[spoiler:Dark Danny mocks his younger self for wanting to prevent the deaths of his loved one, being an evil monster so long has rendered him unable to feel anything other than sadistic pleasure.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesWeirdMysteries'':
** Mega-Mall of Horrors: Mr. Avericci preys on teenage greed, but his plan failed because he didn't expect Jughead's loyalty to the Chocklit Shoppe was too strong.
** The Vampire Arc: Medlock fails to understand the concept of friendship when he betrays his most loyal servant, who ends up turning against him.
** Little Chocklit Shoppe of Horrors: An example of Logic Cannot Comprehend Emotion. The Stanley 9000 doesn't understand why Pop values personal attention and people's safety over efficiency. This leads to its StartOfDarkness, causing it to believe that humans are inefficient and must be destroyed.
* ''WesternAnimation/YogisGang'': After cheating Yogi out of his ark, Peter D. Cheater learns about the gang's treasure map and, believing it to be real, offers to trade the ark back to Yogi for the map. When Yogi tells Peter the map is fake, Peter assumes it's a trick to keep him away from the treasure and makes the trade anyway. [[InvokedTrope Yogi later states that people who cheat a lot end up expecting others to do the same]].
* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'':
** In the episode, "Mega Muriel the Magnificent", the Computer possesses Muriel's body and performs various dangerous stunts on live TV to show Courage and the world how brave he is compared to organics. When Courage repeatedly tries to stop him, the Computer is baffled by why Courage would constantly risk his life to stop him even though he is scared of everything. The Computer erroneously believes that courage means having no fear when in reality, courage is the ability to overcome one's fear.
** In the episode, "Cabaret Courage", Courage and the family are forced to be the entertainment for a creature's Hollywood cabaret, who promises them great prizes if he likes their performances. Muriel and Eustace quickly succumb to their greed and are nearly digested by the creature's stomach acid. But when it's Courage's turn to perform, the creature is stunned when Courage rejects his prizes and demands his family back. He's even more stunned when Courage nearly risks his life to save Eustace and Muriel. The creature had been surrounded by greed and avarice for so long, he never thought he would encounter an individual who was driven by more than their selfish desires. Ultimately, it's when Courage saves the creature himself from having a heart attack does he finally realize there are people who care for others and not just themselves.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "The Devil to Pay", the heroes were conned by a demon named Dib Devlin into competing in [[DeadlyGame a game show with their souls on the line.]] Dib clearly had no faith in human nature, and set up the final round as a DeathTrap that could be escaped if one of them admitted to doing something bad. He was dead ''wrong'', as they ''all'' thought of something bad they had done and confessed to it. (Although it took Ray--the intended one--the longest to admit it, that he [[spoiler:had eaten a cookie that Slimer had gotten slime all over, but he eventually did, [[EvenEvilHasStandards grossing out even the demonic studio audience]].]])
* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Jasper has this problem. She thinks of [[FusionDance fusion]] as strictly a combat maneuver meant to increase a gem's power, when the real way to get the best results is by treating it as the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification]] of the component gems' relationship with each other, and harnessing ThePowerOfLove between them. She's also unable to realize that Lapis Lazuli would value protecting Steven, her only friend, over revenge against the Crystal Gems. Combine both, and you get the mistake that took her out of action for over a season. [[spoiler: She decided to strong-arm Lapis Lazuli into fusing with her, creating Malachite. Lapis agreed, but instead of going along with Jasper's plans, took control of the fusion and dragged them both down to the bottom of the ocean.]]
** In the episode ''Earthlings'', when she's fighting [[spoiler: Steven and Amethyst's fusion, Smoky Quartz]], she still doesn't get that ThePowerOfFriendship is actually the reason she's getting her ass kicked, not the Crystal Gems having access to a special weapon that she doesn't. [[spoiler: Since she sees fusion as simply a weapon, she once more strong-arms the nearest free gem into one. In this case, the closest is a Corrupted Gem. [[ClippedWingAngel The fusion is nowhere near strong enough to face off with Smoky, the corrupted gem breaks and runs at the first chance it gets]], and it infects Jasper with TheCorruption. She then refuses Steven's genuine attempt to heal her, as she thought that it (and his mother Rose Quartz's reaching out to gems marginalized by Homeworld's FantasticCasteSystem) were attempts to manipulate gems into joining her army.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': [[BigBad Emperor Zarkon]] believes that Black Lion will still obey him, [[spoiler: the previous Paladin]], because they value power, dismissing Shiro stating that it's about trust between it and its Paladin. Shiro is immediately proven right, [[spoiler: the Black Lion immediately severs its link with Zarkon, starting his VillainousBreakdown]].
* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is MadeOfEvil, and has a dim understanding of the concept of "good" (about the closest he can get is "Free beef jerky for everyone"). He thought that sending Jack to the future would crush his spirit, but Jack ended up being a rallying point for the abused masses of Aku's reign. Additionally, other things that are lost on him are "respect" and "teamwork", as he has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the highest degree and has actually screwed himself over time and again because he cannot help but betray his allies in some form or another, even when he's trying really hard not to. [[spoiler:His inability to comprehend hope and [[ThePowerOfLove love]] is ultimately his undoing, as the former results in his PublicExecution of Jack being derailed leading to the later allowing his [[TheAntiChrist daughter Ashi]] to [[AntiAntiChrist break free of his control]] and turn his own power against him, sending Jack back in time to kill Past-Aku once and for all.]]
** The Daughters of Aku in the 5th season have the same problem, owing to the [[TykeBomb abusive training and indoctrination]] they received from their mother from the get-go. They were indoctrinated in the belief that [[SocialDarwinist only the fittest survive]], rendering them incapable of understanding compassion or love. When they see a male deer approach his mate, they assume he's a minion of Aku that will devour the female deer, only to be utterly confused when the two start nuzzling with affection.
** Despite her claims of Aku's benevolence, it's painfully obvious that, much like her god, the leader of the Cult of Aku has no actual understanding of what real love, kindness, and justice are like.
* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'', [[spoiler: Lord Dominator doesn't understand why [[SaveTheVillain Wander saves her]] when her ship exploded.]]

** Just like Azula, her daddy Fire Lord Ozai has this problem. He often scoffed or mocked at concepts such as morality, peace and kindness, [[VirtueIsWeakness thinking of them as weaknesses]], and despised those who followed moral principles. Being a sociopathic tyrant, these things don't register in his head. And during the final battle, he's baffled as to why Aang would hesitate to kill and takes every advantage of his mercy. [[spoiler:Same after Zuko tells him that Aang is the one who should kill Ozai, not him.]]

** The Daughters of Aku in the 5th season have the same problem, owing to the [[TykeBomb abusive training and indoctrination]] they received from their mother from the get-go. They were indoctrinated in the belief that [[SocialDarwinist only the fittest survive]], and this rendered them incapable of understanding compassion or love. When they see a male deer approach his mate, they assume he's a minion of Aku that will devour the female deer, only to be utterly confused when the two start nuzzling with affection.
** Despite her claims of Aku's benevolence, it's painfully obvious that, much like her god, leader of the Cult of Aku has no actual understanding of what real love, kindness, and justice are like.

-->'''Ozai''': Even with all the power in the world, '''you are still weak'''.

-->'''Ozai''': Even with all the power in the world, '''you are still weak'''.\\

** Just like Azula, her daddy Fire Lord Ozai has this problem. He often scoffed or mocked at concepts such as morality, peace and kindness, [[VirtueIsWeakness thinking of them as weaknesses]], and despised those who followed moral principles. Being a sociopathic tyrant, these things don't register in his head. And during the final battle, he fails to understand why Aang would hesitate to kill and takes every advantage of his mercy. [[spoiler:Same after Zuko tells him that Aang is the one who should kill Ozai, not him.]]

*** Subverted in ''The Promise'', where Ozai has a better understanding of Earth King Kuei, without ever even meeting the man, than the members of Team Avatar do just by knowing the politics involved. [[note]]In brief, the Earth Kingdom has been on the losing side of a war for decades, a war that is now over through victory they have no claim to. With a string of defeats and no accomplishments to balance them, Kuei is hungry for a way to salvage his dignity and taking a firm stance on the Harmony Restoration Movement will be his way of inflicting retribution on the Fire Nation.[[/note]]

-->'''Ozai''': Even with all the power in the world, '''you are still weak'''.

** The resident [[ManipulativeBastard "people person"]], and [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] Azula finds herself [[VillainousBreakdown completely bewildered]] when [[spoiler:her {{sidekick}} Mai risks her life to help the TurnCoat Zuko escape TheAlcatraz]].

** This moment of her inability to comprehend that love can trump self-preservation and loyalty born of intimidation has limits, flying in the face of her philosophy that "fear is the only reliable way" to control people, is actually the first step down the road towards her epic VillainousBreakdown. However, she's at least able to learn from this mistake and apply it to her strategy in the GrandFinale (while she was in the middle of said breakdown no less).

** In episode "The Beach," Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, and Azula all take turns confessing their problems, and helping each other talk through their issues. When it's over, Zuko and Mai have reconciled over an argument they had and Ty Lee feels cleansed. Azula compliments them on their great "acting", treating the entire thing like it was a show.

* Kuvira--BigBad of Season 4 of the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''--really should brush up on her history, as she makes the exact same mistake with Zhu Li that Azula made with Mai, instantly trusting the girl and easily believing she would turn on Varrick out of fear of her. She never questioned for a second whether Zhu Li's betrayal of Varrick and pledge of UndyingLoyalty to her was true or not--how could it be otherwise? She's not just upset when she finds out one of her most valuable scientists is a FakeDefector; she's genuinely ''shocked''. No one's ever dared try to double-cross her before! Zhu Li was able to fool her about her true loyalties because Kuvira never even considered that Zhu Li might love Varrick more than she feared her--like her predecessor, she miscalculated.

* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'', [[spoiler: Lord Dominator doesn't understand why [[SavingTheVillain Wander saves her]] when her ship exploded.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': This is frequently where [[FlamingDevil Him's]] plans go wrong on ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. Every time he creates a situation to exploit something like their anger or fear, he's shocked at how sisterly love helps them overcome it.

** [[spoiler:He's eventually done in by the classic 'can't comprehend a heroic sacrifice' mistake, when he's tricked into entering Stan's mind just before the others erase it with the memory gun. Bill spends quite a bit of time spluttering in confusion over Stan being willing to have his own mind erased, and then futility tries to offer Stan money and power even after Stan's made it clear that his only concern is protecting his family.]]

* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is MadeOfEvil, and has a dim understanding of the concept of "good" (about the closest he can get is "Free beef jerky for everyone"). He thought that sending Jack to the future would crush his spirit, but Jack ended up being a rallying point for the abused masses of Aku's reign. Additionally, other things that are lost on him are "respect" and "teamwork", as he has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the highest degree and has actually screwed himself over time and again because he cannot help but betray his allies in some form or another, even when he's trying really hard not to.