History Main / WeWouldHaveToldYouBut

* ''Comicbook/{{Impulse}}'': In issue #39, Max Mercury and The Trickster pull off a plot like this to take down a pair of mob bosses. Bart is not happy to realise that his mentor was playing him, and Max apologises first for the deception, and then again for not realising how it would affect him.
* ''ComicBook/IronMan'': In ''ComicBook/IronMan1968'', the reason Tony Stark didn't tell [[Comicbook/WarMachine Jim Rhodes]] about [[FakingTheDead faking his death]] so he could undergo experimental reconstructive surgery was exactly because Stark wanted Rhodey's reactions to his "death" to be genuine, so Stark's opponents wouldn't come looking for him. Once Stark came back, Rhodey was pissed, and the incident left their friendship broken for a long time.

* In one ''ComicBook/BlackCanary'' miniseries, when Black Canary's adopted daughter Sin is kidnapped, ComicBook/GreenArrow makes it appear that the rescue attempt, badly bungled, killed Sin. He knows the kidnappers will watch Black Canary and note if she does not show grief, so he keeps her in the dark to make sure her reaction will be authentic, and he does not expect her to forgive him when he reveals the truth.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica:'' When John Walker steps down as Captain America, he's shot by an assassin at the press ceremony. A few issues later it turns out John's alive. The assassination was faked by a general on the Commission for Superhuman Activities (except for the bit where the assassin was then killed by ''another'' assassin), and he hadn't told the rest so their reactions would be genuine.
* In one issue of ''Comicbook/{{Impulse}}'', Max and The Trickster pull off a plot like this to take down a pair of mob bosses. Bart is not happy to realise that his mentor was playing him, and Max apologises first for the deception, and then again for not realising how it would affect him.
* ''ComicBook/IronMan''. The reason Tony Stark didn't tell [[Comicbook/WarMachine Jim Rhodes]] about [[FakingTheDead faking his death]] so he could undergo experimental reconstructive surgery was exactly because Stark wanted Rhodey's reactions to his "death" to be genuine, so Stark's opponents wouldn't come looking for him. Once Stark came back, Rhodey was pissed, and the incident left their friendship broken for a long time.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' episode "The Out to Pasture Syndrome", Zed decides to retire and puts K in charge of MIB. When Alpha returns more powerful than ever, he captures J and uses a MindProbe to discover Zed's location. After he leaves, Agent L rescues J and reveals Zed had not retired: every last one of J's fellow agents (and Frank the Pug) had been in on a scheme to capture Alpha, J being kept in the dark so that Alpha's probe wouldn't learn the truth. Downplayed in that it doesn't work. J was still savvy enough to notice that Zed didn't show the usual response to mind-wiping, which allowed Alpha to realize that there is a trap regardless.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay''. The Secretary of Defense decided not to tell the President of the U.S. about Area 51 (where the alien spaceship was being studied) because of "plausible deniability". It was established in his dealings with his family that the President was a bad liar, and if he had known about Area 51 he wouldn't have been able to effectively lie if questioned about it (e.g. by a reporter).

* ''ComicBook/TheFlash''. In one issue of ''Impulse'', Max and The Trickster pull off a plot like this to take down a pair of mob bosses.

*** In [[Radio/SherlockHolmesBBCRadio Bert Coules' radio adaptation]], Watson fails to accept Holmes's NoHardFeelings at the end, instead [[WhatTheHellHero calling him out]] not only for the deception, but for asking Watson to hide in the room as a witness, and then ''forgetting about him''.

* The LockedRoomMystery in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' was all set up by the organization. Koizumi ''could'' have told at least Kyon what was going on, but... In the novels, it's not Haruhi who figures it out but Kyon, who then tells Koizumi that [[ObfuscatingStupidity he's not as stupid as he acts]].

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch does this [[spoiler: to ''himself'' - he erases his own memory of making a plan and telling Suzaku how to follow it, so that Mao won't be able figure it out by reading Lelouch's mind]] in an episode in the middle of season 1.
** In the second season [[spoiler: he does it to the ''whole world'' so that his Zero Requiem would work out.]]
* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', the fact that [[spoiler: Akito is a woman]] is kept a secret not just from Tohru, but from [[spoiler: all the cursed Sohma save for the ones already present at the time she was born (Shigure, Ayame, Kureno and Hatori)]]. When Kureno tells this to Tohru, she has an HeroicBSOD.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon''. In the ''Sailor Stars'' anime, [[spoiler: Kakyuu was actually hiding in a small teapot that Usagi's "adoptive sister" Chibi-Chibi had all the time with her. After she finally appears [[BigDamnHeroes to save Usagi's life]], she apologizes to the Sailor Starlights and tells them that she was healing her injuries inside the teapot ''and'' wasn't able to just appear in front of them until it was time.]]

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', [[spoiler: Gordon fakes his death, ostensibly for his family's safety]], but the reveal happens so quickly and in the middle of the film's biggest escalation scene that you might miss his reasoning on the first viewing. Or the seventeenth.

* ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'': Done in ''When True Night Falls'', where [[spoiler: Tarrant's plan to gain an opportunity to try to kill the Undying Prince required Vryce's ignorance. His apology for the ruse at the end is sincere.]]

* In the last few pages of ''Literature/TheHungerGames: Catching Fire'', it turns out that Katniss' friends kept her in the dark about some pretty huge things, [[spoiler: including the fact that District 13 really exists,]] because Katniss' poor deception skills and ChronicHeroSyndrome would have ruined their plans if she had known. Also, in case the Capitol captured Katniss or Peeta ([[spoiler: and they did capture the latter]]), they wouldn't know anything about the plans.

* The entire plot of ''Mordant's Need'' (the first novel of which is ''Literature/TheMirrorOfHerDreams'') by Stephen R. Donaldson revolved around [[spoiler: a king pretending to be insane to drive away his allies. He needed to appear weak]].

* ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'': Zack and Ivy actually try to tell their [=AI=] Chief about something they're doing, but then Carmen brags about how she's hacked the Chief, and they realize they can't tell him [[spoiler: that Ivy is pretending to be "The Tigress", a rival thief to Carmen, as part of a plan to catch her once and for all...a plan that ''almost'' works.]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

** Happens a great deal in ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' actually, due to a combination of the UnspokenPlanGuarantee, in-character EnforcedMethodActing (as in the first episode, where the realism of Danny's reactions to the unfolding situation were vital. It was also a trick to test his loyalty, as in the next point) and, in some cases, the characters tricking each other (as in the Season 3 episode where Mickey and Danny get dumped naked in Trafalgar Square for a contest to determine the leadership of the crew).

*** "Crossroads": SG-1 is kept in the dark by the Tok'ra.

* ''Radio/StarWarsRadioDramas'': The radio drama of ''Return of the Jedi'' contains one of these, though it wasn't explained in the film. C-3PO was deliberately kept in the dark about Luke's complicated plan to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, so that when Jabba had Threepio's data files scanned and found no trace of the stratagem, he accepted the droid's story at face-value. (R2-D2, meanwhile, was in on the whole thing.) Leia later apologizes to Threepio for the deception.

** ''Literature/LuckyStarrAndTheRingsOfSaturn'': often dramatically accusing the wrong suspect on purpose and using people's reactions to gain proof against the real culprit. The worst instance is in ''Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn'', in which Lucky allows everyone to believe [[FakeDefector he is going to betray Earth]]--including his best friend, who thinks Lucky is turning traitor in exchange for the friend's life.

[[folder:Fan Works

* In ''WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries'', Tony does this twice. The first time, a fake marriage to Julia, is played for laughs. (Apparently it was important that Wanda's jealousy be realistic.) The second time, in which Tony fakes his ''death'', does NOT amuse the team -- they [[ReTool kick him out and relocate]]. The second season also treats the fake-marriage stunt a bit more seriously.

* In the '90s ''WesternAnimation/IronMan'' cartoon, Tony does this twice. The first time, a fake marriage to Julia, is played for laughs. (Apparently it was important that Wanda's jealousy be realistic.) The second time, in which Tony fakes his ''death'', does NOT amuse the team -- they [[ReTool kick him out and relocate]]. The second season also treats the fake-marriage stunt a bit more seriously.

* Raimundo pulls this off against [[BigBad Hannibal Roy Bean]] in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' [[spoiler: [[FakeDefector by pretending to join him]].]]

* The ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' cartoon. J is kept out of the loop on Zed's phony retirement, so that the alien frankenstein Alpha will read J's mind and believe the lie. Unfortunately for the MIB, J had his doubts, and Alpha saw through the deception.

When this is done to the actors, it is ActingInTheDark. Compare LockedOutOfTheLoop.