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* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsTheNineRealms'': When ExBigBad Buzzsaw asks the riders for help saying his dragons was seriously injured by BigBad Jörmungandr, the riders, excluding D'Angelo. don't believe him thinking he's lying in order to lure them into a trap. However, upon D'Angelo's urging on the off-chance he is telling the truth, they follow him - and cannot believe their eyes when they see he was telling the truth.
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* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' with Tom Demming. When it's revealed that a suspect might be from Demming's precinct (and Esposito's old precinct), Castle and ThoseTwoGuys do everything to try and confirm Demming as the bad guy... but it turns out he's not only not the bad guy, he's a sickeningly sweet, almost [[MartyStu Stu]]-ish, clean-cut good guy.
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* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' with Tom Demming. When it's revealed that a suspect might be from Demming's precinct (and Esposito's old precinct), Castle and ThoseTwoGuys do everything to try and confirm Demming as the bad guy... but it turns out he's not only not the bad guy, he's a sickeningly sweet, almost [[MartyStu Stu]]-ish, clean-cut good guy.
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[[caption-width-right:350:The elements of suspicion]]suspicion: any one of these can make protagonists suspect a character they meet.]]
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* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "The Honest Burglar" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of the radio episode "The Burglar"), Miss Brooks and her landlady Mrs. Davis meets a burglar raiding their refrigerator. The burglar, Joe Phillips, is stealing food, but as he is out of work, Miss Brooks gets him a job substituting for the ill school custodian. Soon items all over the school go missing; Mr. Conklin's pen and watch, Mr. Boynton's desk, a sewing machine from the home economics room, and even ''all'' the silverware in the school cafeteria. It turns out that Phillips was either repairing or polishing the items, or, in the case of Mr. Conklin's watch, Conklin's daughter Harriet had merely placed it inside his desk. Miss Brooks apologizes for being suspicious, but she's readily forgiven due to her earlier kindness and best intentions.
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** The third season of combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
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** The third season of combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
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For the characters who tend to be the target of this kind of suspicion, see GoodAllAlong (and its subtrope WasActuallyFriendly), MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, SheepInSheepsClothing, and ReformedButRejected villains. Also compare with ParanoiaGambit, another trope about a character who seems suspicious but ultimately isn't planning anything directly--only in this case, the character deliberately makes themselves appear suspicious, in a bid to trick their enemies into harming themselves through their own paranoia.
to:
For the characters who tend to be the target of this kind of suspicion, see GoodAllAlong (and its subtrope WasActuallyFriendly), GoodAllAlong, MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, SheepInSheepsClothing, and ReformedButRejected villains. Also compare with ParanoiaGambit, another trope about a character who seems suspicious but ultimately isn't planning anything directly--only in this case, the character deliberately makes themselves appear suspicious, in a bid to trick their enemies into harming themselves through their own paranoia.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'': "Girlfriend or Foe?" has Kitty Katswell suspect Dudley's new girlfriend Daisy of being a spy for Snaptrap. She later learns that Daisy is innocent and that Snaptrap was one step ahead of T.U.F.F. due to eavesdropping their conversations after Kitty neglected to hang up the phone.
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The Lost Woods has been split between a video game setting of the same name and Enchanted Forest. Cutting non-examples, zero-context potholes and ZCEs.
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* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip "Bridle Gossip"]], the entire town of Ponyville is terrified of the mysterious, cloaked Zecora: she looks odd, [[RhymesOnADime talks odd]], acts odd, and lives alone in the spooky and mysterious [[LostWoods Everfree Forest]], leading the ponies to think she must be some kind of "evil enchantress". Twilight Sparkle, the newcomer and [[OnlySaneMan only sane mare]] this episode, remains skeptical--but circumstantial evidence eventually [[NotSoAboveItAll convinces even her]] that Zecora's up to no good. Of course, when the ponies burst into Zecora's home to confront her, they discover she's completely innocent. They spend the remainder of the episode convincing the rest of town that Zecora is harmless and actually friendly.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip "Bridle Gossip"]], the entire town of Ponyville is terrified of the mysterious, cloaked Zecora: she looks odd, [[RhymesOnADime talks odd]], acts odd, and lives alone in the spooky and mysterious [[LostWoods Everfree Forest]], Forest, leading the ponies to think she must be some kind of "evil enchantress". Twilight Sparkle, the newcomer and [[OnlySaneMan only sane mare]] this episode, remains skeptical--but circumstantial evidence eventually [[NotSoAboveItAll convinces even her]] that Zecora's up to no good. Of course, when the ponies burst into Zecora's home to confront her, they discover she's completely innocent. They spend the remainder of the episode convincing the rest of town that Zecora is harmless and actually friendly.
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* The third season of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
** Also, in Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
** Also, in Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
to:
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** In Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
** The third season of''Anime/SailorMoon'' combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
** Also, in Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.group.
** In Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
** The third season of
** Also, in Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
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* In ''ComicBook/SupermanSmashesTheKlan'', Superman is widely popular among the majority of Metropolis' citizens. But Mr. Lee is terrified of Superman's superhuman abilities, believing that [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower no one man should have that much power]] and that [[BewareTheSuperman Metropolis should fear him if he ever turns on them.]] [[spoiler:His new job involves experimenting on the kryptonite retrieved from the Atom Man to develop weaponry capable of harming or even killing Superman.]] But he changes his tune after Superman saves Tommy from otherwise certain death. This feeling of suspicion later applies to all of Metropolis after [[spoiler:Superman descends from the sky and reveals his alien origins, horrifying all of the adults except for Lois and Henderson. The kids then [[WhatTheHellTownspeople call out their parents]] for doubting Superman on the basis of xenophobia after he's saved the city and risked his life for them time and time again.]]
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** Also, in Ami's debut episode, Usagi and Luna start to believe that she could be working for the Dark Kingdom based upon her actions. When it turns out that Ami isn't the episode's MonsterOfTheWeek and Luna discovers that she is, in fact, Sailor Mercury, they’re quick to apologize and accept her as a teammate.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Horseland}}'': When Sarah first arrives at Horseland, the other girls reject her attempts at making friends because they expect her to be stuck-up like Chloe and Zoey due to being rich. In the end, they realize they were wrong about Sarah and become good friends, as seen throughout the series.
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This stock plot is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] enough that the completely straight version most commonly shows up in stories for children. Media for older audiences tend to play with this trope in various ways. One specific subversion is common enough to be considered a trope in its own right, the SubvertedSuspicionAesop: after the protagonist apologizes for his misguided suspicion, a final twist reveals the other character really was up to no good, and the protagonist's distrust was correct all along. Another possible subversion that's less of a BrokenAesop is when there really is a sinister plot going on--but the sinister plotter is someone else entirely, while the specific person the protagonist suspected is completely innocent.
to:
This stock plot is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] enough that the completely straight version most commonly shows up in stories for children. Media for older audiences tend to play with this trope in various ways. One specific subversion is common enough to be considered a trope in its own right, the SubvertedSuspicionAesop: after the protagonist apologizes for his misguided suspicion, a final twist reveals the other character really was up to no good, and the protagonist's distrust was correct all along. Another possible subversion that's less of a BrokenAesop is when there really is a sinister plot going on--but the sinister plotter is someone else entirely, while the specific person the protagonist suspected [[RedHerring is completely innocent.
innocent]].
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[Recap/FuturamaS2E6TheLesserOfTwoEvils "The Lesser Of Two Evils"]] has the Planet Express crew hire a new crew mate named Flexo to help guard a valuable atom they're transporting. Flexo, as it turns out, is a bending robot of the same model as Bender, only with [[BeardOfEvil a metallic goatee]]. Fry immediately suspects Flexo is up to no good, and his suspicions are seemingly confirmed when the atom is stolen and Flexo disappears. A confrontation at the end of the episode reveals that the thief was actually Bender, and Flexo had witnessed the act and was trying to get the police. Not that any of this helps as Flexo is still [[KarmicMisfire mistaken for Bender and ultimately charged with the crime]].
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[Recap/FuturamaS2E6TheLesserOfTwoEvils "The Lesser Of Two Evils"]] has the Planet Express crew hire a new crew mate named Flexo to help guard a valuable atom they're transporting. Flexo, as it turns out, is a bending robot of the same model as Bender, only with [[BeardOfEvil a metallic goatee]]. goatee]]. Fry immediately suspects Flexo is up to no good, and his suspicions are seemingly confirmed when the atom is stolen and Flexo disappears. disappears. A confrontation at the end of the episode reveals that the thief was actually Bender, and Flexo had witnessed the act and was trying to get the police. police. Not that any of this helps as Flexo is still [[KarmicMisfire mistaken for Bender and ultimately charged with the crime]].
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* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': In "Substitute Creature", Mr. Green fills in for Ms. Keane. Because he's a monster, the Girls fear that [[ImAHumanitarian he's eaten Ms. Keane]] and that he wants to [[WouldHurtAChild poison the students]], so they attempt to attack him. The kids stop the girls and Mr. Green [[FriendToAllChildren says he really does love the students]]. The Girls apologize and say they've learned not to judge a book by its cover.
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* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': In "Substitute Creature", Mr. Green fills in for Ms. Keane. Because he's a monster, the Girls fear that [[ImAHumanitarian he's eaten Ms. Keane]] and that he wants to [[WouldHurtAChild poison the students]], so they attempt to attack him. The kids stop the girls and Mr. Green [[FriendToAllChildren says he really does love the students]]. The Girls apologize and say they've learned not to judge a book by its cover.
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----cover.
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A new character joins the setting, but one of the protagonists thinks there's something ''off'' about them. Or a villain announces he's reformed and trying to make amends for past misdeeds, but the protagonist suspects [[FalselyReformedVillain this is just a ruse to set up a new evil scheme]].
But the protagonist is wrong. The new character who seems suspiciously nice, [[SheepInSheepsClothing isn't putting on an act, and really is that nice]]. The former villain commits an act of UnexpectedKindness, which proves [[HeelFaceTurn he really has turned over a new leaf]]. Whatever evidence made the protagonist suspicious turns out to have a completely innocent explanation--or perhaps there was no evidence, and the protagonist was just paranoid. Either way, [[JerkassRealization the protagonist admits their distrust was wrong]], and [[AnAesop learns a valuable lesson]] about not suspecting others based on snap judgements or spurious evidence. If the writer wants to go [[ClicheStorm full cliche]], expect to hear some variation of the aphorism "Don't judge a book by its cover."
This stock plot is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] enough that the completely straight version most commonly shows up in stories for children. Media for older audiences tend to play with this trope in various ways. One specific subversion is common enough to be considered a trope in its own right, the SubvertedSuspicionAesop: after the protagonist apologizes for his misguided suspicion, a final twist reveals the other character really was up to no good, and the protagonist's distrust was correct all along. Another possible subversion that's less of a BrokenAesop is when there really is a sinister plot going on--but the sinister plotter is someone else entirely, while the specific person the protagonist suspected is completely innocent.
This easily overlaps with other plot tropes, including:
* ApopheniaPlot: If the evidence against the suspected character is just a bunch of coincidences that the protagonist read too much into.
* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: If the suspicious protagonist is the only person in their peer group with those suspicions.
* TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight: On the other hand, sometimes ''everyone'' in the protagonist's peer group is suspicious, except for one skeptic who proves to be right.
* PrejudiceAesop: If the suspected character is from some marginalized group, then the protagonist's distrust may stem from bigotry.
For the characters who tend to be the target of this kind of suspicion, see GoodAllAlong (and its subtrope WasActuallyFriendly), MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, SheepInSheepsClothing, and ReformedButRejected villains. Also compare with ParanoiaGambit, another trope about a character who seems suspicious but ultimately isn't planning anything directly--only in this case, the character deliberately makes themselves appear suspicious, in a bid to trick their enemies into harming themselves through their own paranoia.
'''WARNING:''' The suspected character's innocence is often the twist ending in these kinds of stories. '''Expect unmarked spoilers.'''
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The third season of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The first issue of the ''[[Film/WhoFramedRogerrabbit Roger Rabbit]]'' comic book had him becoming paranoid about his new [[AlwaysChaoticEvil weasel]] neighbor. Naturally, the weasel is harmless and just wants to be left alone.
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[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'': When the heroes meet Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, they're all suspicious of her intentions, believing her to be evil, even when she's singing about [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain how evil she isn't]]--though she is able to win them over with gifts. Eventually, only Wyldstyle still believes she's evil. In the end, it's revealed that she isn't evil, just [[PoorCommunicationKills bad at communicating]]. She and the other Systarians only wanted to be friends with the heroes, and thought that playing tough and mean was the way to do it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In the kids' book ''Who's Inside That Hat?'', a girl named Anika has a new neighbour Amelia, who she thinks is a witch because she wears a pointy hat, has a lump on her nose, owns a black cat, and buys a broom from the store. She also buys vegetables, making Anika think that Amelia wants to make "children stew". However, Amelia is just a normal woman.
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* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': In [[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS7E02CaptainKim "Captain Kim"]], the titular captain takes over the nine-nine after Holt's latest demotion. Although she appears to be a perfectly nice person and capable replacement, Jake and Holt are suspicious due to the precinct's horrible experiences with past replacement captains, and spend the entire episode trying to dig up dirt on her. It turns out that Kim is [[SheepInSheepsClothing exactly as nice as she seems to be]], and she's so upset by their unfounded suspicions that she quits at the end of the episode.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' with Tom Demming. When it's revealed that a suspect might be from Demming's precinct (and Esposito's old precinct), Castle and ThoseTwoGuys do everything to try and confirm Demming as the bad guy... but it turns out he's not only not the bad guy, he's a sickeningly sweet, almost [[MartyStu Stu]]-ish, clean-cut good guy.
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': The episode [[Recap/ThirtyRockS2E6SomebodyToLove "Somebody to Love"]] plays this for some very BlackComedy. The episode's B-plot revolves around Liz growing suspicious that her new neighbor, Raheem, [[MistakenForTerrorist might be a terrorist plotting an attack]] after catching him and his brother in the middle of very militant-looking actions. Eventually, she calls the Department of Homeland Security on him and gets him arrested... only to learn at the end that he was actually training to audition for ''Series/TheAmazingRace''. And [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook because of his treatment in custody]], it's implied that he'll ''actually'' turn to terrorism [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thanks to Liz's actions]].
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' episode "[[Recap/AmphibiaS2E11MarcyAtTheGates Marcy at the Gates]]", Sprig is suspicious of Marcy when she first appears, as Anne's other friend Sasha was a notoriously toxic influence--and the fact that Marcy's high status with the King seems too good to be true doesn't help. By the end of the episode, when Marcy saves the Plantars from Barbari-ants and leads them straight to Newtopia, Sprig realizes his suspicions are unwarranted.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs:'' In "Dan Vs. The Neighbors", Dan finds his new neighbors suspiciously nice, decides they must be hiding something, then jumps to the conclusion they must be cannibals and spends the whole episode trying to prove it. Ultimately, the neighbors turn out to be [[SheepInSheepsClothing perfectly normal and nice]]--and they're so disturbed by Dan's paranoid behavior that they pack up and move away. (Almost every other episode of the show uses the SubvertedSuspicionAesop instead, where the subject of Dan's ire turns out to actually deserve whatever retribution they get, sometimes just by coincidence. This episode is an InternalDeconstruction, showing how Dan is incapable of interacting with normal, innocent people--and how said people would react to Dan's usual behavior.)
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[Recap/FuturamaS2E6TheLesserOfTwoEvils "The Lesser Of Two Evils"]] has the Planet Express crew hire a new crew mate named Flexo to help guard a valuable atom they're transporting. Flexo, as it turns out, is a bending robot of the same model as Bender, only with [[BeardOfEvil a metallic goatee]]. Fry immediately suspects Flexo is up to no good, and his suspicions are seemingly confirmed when the atom is stolen and Flexo disappears. A confrontation at the end of the episode reveals that the thief was actually Bender, and Flexo had witnessed the act and was trying to get the police. Not that any of this helps as Flexo is still [[KarmicMisfire mistaken for Bender and ultimately charged with the crime]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In [[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E10FedUpShellShocked "Shell Shock"]], Lincoln and Ronnie Anne are tasked to [[EggSitting look after an egg]]. Lincoln fears that Ronnie Anne will break the egg on purpose because of her usual recklessness, but then he finds that [[BruiserWithASoftCenter she's not as rough as she seems]] when she removes a splinter from Bobby's finger, makes dinner, and cleans Bobby's uniforms for him. Realizing he shouldn't have judged her, Lincoln decides to let her look after the egg. (Although [[ShaggyDogStory the egg does get cracked]] afterwards--[[{{Irony}} by Lincoln himself]].)
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip "Bridle Gossip"]], the entire town of Ponyville is terrified of the mysterious, cloaked Zecora: she looks odd, [[RhymesOnADime talks odd]], acts odd, and lives alone in the spooky and mysterious [[LostWoods Everfree Forest]], leading the ponies to think she must be some kind of "evil enchantress". Twilight Sparkle, the newcomer and [[OnlySaneMan only sane mare]] this episode, remains skeptical--but circumstantial evidence eventually [[NotSoAboveItAll convinces even her]] that Zecora's up to no good. Of course, when the ponies burst into Zecora's home to confront her, they discover she's completely innocent. They spend the remainder of the episode convincing the rest of town that Zecora is harmless and actually friendly.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': In "Substitute Creature", Mr. Green fills in for Ms. Keane. Because he's a monster, the Girls fear that [[ImAHumanitarian he's eaten Ms. Keane]] and that he wants to [[WouldHurtAChild poison the students]], so they attempt to attack him. The kids stop the girls and Mr. Green [[FriendToAllChildren says he really does love the students]]. The Girls apologize and say they've learned not to judge a book by its cover.
[[/folder]]
----
But the protagonist is wrong. The new character who seems suspiciously nice, [[SheepInSheepsClothing isn't putting on an act, and really is that nice]]. The former villain commits an act of UnexpectedKindness, which proves [[HeelFaceTurn he really has turned over a new leaf]]. Whatever evidence made the protagonist suspicious turns out to have a completely innocent explanation--or perhaps there was no evidence, and the protagonist was just paranoid. Either way, [[JerkassRealization the protagonist admits their distrust was wrong]], and [[AnAesop learns a valuable lesson]] about not suspecting others based on snap judgements or spurious evidence. If the writer wants to go [[ClicheStorm full cliche]], expect to hear some variation of the aphorism "Don't judge a book by its cover."
This stock plot is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealistic]] enough that the completely straight version most commonly shows up in stories for children. Media for older audiences tend to play with this trope in various ways. One specific subversion is common enough to be considered a trope in its own right, the SubvertedSuspicionAesop: after the protagonist apologizes for his misguided suspicion, a final twist reveals the other character really was up to no good, and the protagonist's distrust was correct all along. Another possible subversion that's less of a BrokenAesop is when there really is a sinister plot going on--but the sinister plotter is someone else entirely, while the specific person the protagonist suspected is completely innocent.
This easily overlaps with other plot tropes, including:
* ApopheniaPlot: If the evidence against the suspected character is just a bunch of coincidences that the protagonist read too much into.
* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: If the suspicious protagonist is the only person in their peer group with those suspicions.
* TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight: On the other hand, sometimes ''everyone'' in the protagonist's peer group is suspicious, except for one skeptic who proves to be right.
* PrejudiceAesop: If the suspected character is from some marginalized group, then the protagonist's distrust may stem from bigotry.
For the characters who tend to be the target of this kind of suspicion, see GoodAllAlong (and its subtrope WasActuallyFriendly), MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold, SheepInSheepsClothing, and ReformedButRejected villains. Also compare with ParanoiaGambit, another trope about a character who seems suspicious but ultimately isn't planning anything directly--only in this case, the character deliberately makes themselves appear suspicious, in a bid to trick their enemies into harming themselves through their own paranoia.
'''WARNING:''' The suspected character's innocence is often the twist ending in these kinds of stories. '''Expect unmarked spoilers.'''
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The third season of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' combines this with TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Many of Usagi's senshi allies tell her that she should regard Uranus and Neptune as enemies. Of course, Usagi doesn't do so, and she turns out to have the right idea: Uranus and Neptune eventually become part of the normal senshi group.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The first issue of the ''[[Film/WhoFramedRogerrabbit Roger Rabbit]]'' comic book had him becoming paranoid about his new [[AlwaysChaoticEvil weasel]] neighbor. Naturally, the weasel is harmless and just wants to be left alone.
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[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'': When the heroes meet Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, they're all suspicious of her intentions, believing her to be evil, even when she's singing about [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain how evil she isn't]]--though she is able to win them over with gifts. Eventually, only Wyldstyle still believes she's evil. In the end, it's revealed that she isn't evil, just [[PoorCommunicationKills bad at communicating]]. She and the other Systarians only wanted to be friends with the heroes, and thought that playing tough and mean was the way to do it.
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[[folder:Literature]]
* In the kids' book ''Who's Inside That Hat?'', a girl named Anika has a new neighbour Amelia, who she thinks is a witch because she wears a pointy hat, has a lump on her nose, owns a black cat, and buys a broom from the store. She also buys vegetables, making Anika think that Amelia wants to make "children stew". However, Amelia is just a normal woman.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': In [[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS7E02CaptainKim "Captain Kim"]], the titular captain takes over the nine-nine after Holt's latest demotion. Although she appears to be a perfectly nice person and capable replacement, Jake and Holt are suspicious due to the precinct's horrible experiences with past replacement captains, and spend the entire episode trying to dig up dirt on her. It turns out that Kim is [[SheepInSheepsClothing exactly as nice as she seems to be]], and she's so upset by their unfounded suspicions that she quits at the end of the episode.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' with Tom Demming. When it's revealed that a suspect might be from Demming's precinct (and Esposito's old precinct), Castle and ThoseTwoGuys do everything to try and confirm Demming as the bad guy... but it turns out he's not only not the bad guy, he's a sickeningly sweet, almost [[MartyStu Stu]]-ish, clean-cut good guy.
* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': The episode [[Recap/ThirtyRockS2E6SomebodyToLove "Somebody to Love"]] plays this for some very BlackComedy. The episode's B-plot revolves around Liz growing suspicious that her new neighbor, Raheem, [[MistakenForTerrorist might be a terrorist plotting an attack]] after catching him and his brother in the middle of very militant-looking actions. Eventually, she calls the Department of Homeland Security on him and gets him arrested... only to learn at the end that he was actually training to audition for ''Series/TheAmazingRace''. And [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook because of his treatment in custody]], it's implied that he'll ''actually'' turn to terrorism [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thanks to Liz's actions]].
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' episode "[[Recap/AmphibiaS2E11MarcyAtTheGates Marcy at the Gates]]", Sprig is suspicious of Marcy when she first appears, as Anne's other friend Sasha was a notoriously toxic influence--and the fact that Marcy's high status with the King seems too good to be true doesn't help. By the end of the episode, when Marcy saves the Plantars from Barbari-ants and leads them straight to Newtopia, Sprig realizes his suspicions are unwarranted.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs:'' In "Dan Vs. The Neighbors", Dan finds his new neighbors suspiciously nice, decides they must be hiding something, then jumps to the conclusion they must be cannibals and spends the whole episode trying to prove it. Ultimately, the neighbors turn out to be [[SheepInSheepsClothing perfectly normal and nice]]--and they're so disturbed by Dan's paranoid behavior that they pack up and move away. (Almost every other episode of the show uses the SubvertedSuspicionAesop instead, where the subject of Dan's ire turns out to actually deserve whatever retribution they get, sometimes just by coincidence. This episode is an InternalDeconstruction, showing how Dan is incapable of interacting with normal, innocent people--and how said people would react to Dan's usual behavior.)
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[Recap/FuturamaS2E6TheLesserOfTwoEvils "The Lesser Of Two Evils"]] has the Planet Express crew hire a new crew mate named Flexo to help guard a valuable atom they're transporting. Flexo, as it turns out, is a bending robot of the same model as Bender, only with [[BeardOfEvil a metallic goatee]]. Fry immediately suspects Flexo is up to no good, and his suspicions are seemingly confirmed when the atom is stolen and Flexo disappears. A confrontation at the end of the episode reveals that the thief was actually Bender, and Flexo had witnessed the act and was trying to get the police. Not that any of this helps as Flexo is still [[KarmicMisfire mistaken for Bender and ultimately charged with the crime]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In [[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E10FedUpShellShocked "Shell Shock"]], Lincoln and Ronnie Anne are tasked to [[EggSitting look after an egg]]. Lincoln fears that Ronnie Anne will break the egg on purpose because of her usual recklessness, but then he finds that [[BruiserWithASoftCenter she's not as rough as she seems]] when she removes a splinter from Bobby's finger, makes dinner, and cleans Bobby's uniforms for him. Realizing he shouldn't have judged her, Lincoln decides to let her look after the egg. (Although [[ShaggyDogStory the egg does get cracked]] afterwards--[[{{Irony}} by Lincoln himself]].)
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E9BridleGossip "Bridle Gossip"]], the entire town of Ponyville is terrified of the mysterious, cloaked Zecora: she looks odd, [[RhymesOnADime talks odd]], acts odd, and lives alone in the spooky and mysterious [[LostWoods Everfree Forest]], leading the ponies to think she must be some kind of "evil enchantress". Twilight Sparkle, the newcomer and [[OnlySaneMan only sane mare]] this episode, remains skeptical--but circumstantial evidence eventually [[NotSoAboveItAll convinces even her]] that Zecora's up to no good. Of course, when the ponies burst into Zecora's home to confront her, they discover she's completely innocent. They spend the remainder of the episode convincing the rest of town that Zecora is harmless and actually friendly.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': In "Substitute Creature", Mr. Green fills in for Ms. Keane. Because he's a monster, the Girls fear that [[ImAHumanitarian he's eaten Ms. Keane]] and that he wants to [[WouldHurtAChild poison the students]], so they attempt to attack him. The kids stop the girls and Mr. Green [[FriendToAllChildren says he really does love the students]]. The Girls apologize and say they've learned not to judge a book by its cover.
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