Stating The Simple Solution / Western Animation

Stating the Simple Solution in Western Animation.

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• 101 Dalmatians: The Series:
  • In the episode "Mooove On Over", the two cows, Duchess and Princess, are arguing that the other is taking up too much room in their stall. Cadpig tries to help, by using her own style of therapy on them, which eventually leads to the entire Dearly Farm at each other's throats. Duchess and Princess then explain what their issue is and Spot suggests they just open the side of their stall up, which they agree would work. Hearing how easy the solution is makes all the other animals enraged at Cadpig.
  • In the episode "Film Fatale", the Dalmatians learn from a newspaper that the Thunderbolt movie is playing at the Cruellaplex Theater; however, said theater does not allow animals in. Spot suggests simply checking to see if the film is also playing at an animal-friendly theater, but Lucky’s impulsiveness interrupts her before she gets a chance to check. After their misadventures in the Cruellaplex, they find the other Dalmatians watching the film at a drive-in theater, with Pongo showing them that the newspaper also said it was playing there.
• The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In one episode, all of Jimmy Neutron's past villains have teamed up. They had just captured Jimmy on their spaceship and started shotgunning for ideas on how to kill him. Eventually, Finbar Calamitous starts to map out a ridiculously complicated and elaborate device that combined everyone's ideas, until Baby Eddie blurts out "Just blast him into deep space!"
• The Amazing World of Gumball: In the episode "The DVD," Gumball accidentally ruins a DVD he rented, and goes through all manner of elaborate Zany Schemes to either pay for or replace said DVD. Darwin suggests that they simply "face the consequences of their actions and tell Mom" every few minutes or so, but Gumball dismisses him every time. At the end, when Nicole does find out and simply pays for the DVD, Gumball hypocritically throws the same "face the consequences of their actions" line right back at Darwin; Darwin, justifiably pissed, promptly decks him for it.
• American Dad!: In "Daesong Heavy Industries II: Return to Innocence", Steve and Roger are on a raft in the middle of the ocean when Roger, as his survivalist character Buck Wettnap, claims that he once survived four days in a Del Taco parking lot living on puddles and bird droppings. Steve questions why he didn't just buy food from the Del Taco itself; after a long Beat, Roger reasons that he prefers Taco Bell.
• "Slappy Goes Walnuts", an Animaniacs skit where Slappy decides to steal walnuts from Doug the Dog to make lunch for her nephew, gives us this amazing dialogue when Skippy suggests just buying the walnuts they need:
  Skippy: I don't know, Aunt Slappy. I think we should just go to the store and buy some walnuts.
  Slappy: Ooh yeah! We'll have them in hysterics with that bit! Six minutes in the check-out aisle! Oooh, somebody stop me, I'm laughing!
• In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Sweet C", after shrinking Carl before he could think it over (because he really wanted a big-screen TV), Frylock asks Carl for a quick favor since Carl is tiny:
  Frylock: See, man? All my bees are dying! Which means I can't get any honey.
  Carl: Why don't you buy what you need? At the store? Like Americans do?
  Frylock: Yeah, but this is my hobby, man. You know, like drinking beer is for you or jerking off.
• Atomic Betty: Maximus IQ once disguised a robot to pose as a long lost galactic guardian and lure Betty to a trap. Since the robot had an explosive device, Minimus suggested they could simply detonate it and finish off Betty but Maximus wanted to make sure Betty knew he's the reason for her demise. Then, as he had her dangling over a pool with deadly fish, Minimus suggested they'd just cut the rope but Maximus wanted to taunt her.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Quite literally everyone has the same advice for how Aang should stop the Fire Lord: just kill him and end this war. Even his past selves agreed: Roku and Kuruk believed it was a Necessary Evil, while Kyoshi was so in favor of just killing him Aang actually regretted asking her. Even Zuko agrees killing him is the best bet. In the end he Took a Third Option and took away Ozai's bending instead.
  • Speaking of Ozai, he brings this up when Zuko confronts him to turn on him once and for all. He points out how he's powerless thanks to the eclipse and Zuko has his swords, and asks why not just deliver a lethal blow right then and there while he's helpless. Zuko, presumably being savvy enough to realize Ozai's clearly counting on his bending to return before that could happen, simply states it's the Avatar's job to stop him.
• In the Masters of Evil episode of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, after the Masters captured five of the Avengers, Abomination tells Baron Zemo to kill the ones they have captured, because the others will come. But Zemo ignores, and even berates him. He really should have listened.
  Abomination: It's a mistake to keep them alive, Zemo!
• Batman: The Animated Series
  • A comic-based episode had Joker poring over a variety of odd tortures to inflict on Batman; he flies into a rage after Harley Quinn matter-of-factly offers to just shoot him. Irony bites Harley in the ass after her own dramatic death trap nearly succeeds until Joker becomes angry at her for upstaging him and busts in to stop her. Even more ironic, the Joker then goes to shoot the restrained Batman anyway after he gets Harley out of the picture, as it's just too rare an opportunity to turn down. By this point, of course, Batman has freed himself. And then, Batman reveals that he knew that Joker wouldn't hesitate to stop anyone else killing him, meaning this whole thing was All According to Plan.
  • In the episode "The Trial", Batman's rogues gallery put him through a Joker Jury scenario. Two-Face makes the off-hand comment that he suggested "a quick slug between the eyes" instead of going through all the theatrics, but lost the coin toss.
  • One episode has Batgirl and Catwoman suspended over acid after being captured by Roland Dagget. Batgirl tries to taunt him into gloating, telling their master plan, or killing them in some ridiculously elaborate villain way (to buy time to be rescued), but Dagget points out the simple and smart thing to do is to just shoot them and use the acid to dispose of the bodies.
• The Batman does this to the entire Batman franchise with the villainous D.A.V.E, who manages to figure out Batman's Secret Identity and takes great pleasure in explaining how, rather than with an elaborate villainous scheme or by managing to best Batman in a fight and rip the mask off, he simply accessed publicly-available statistics and information about Gotham's citizens and systematically narrowed it down to the one person who could actually be Batman — something anyone who could play Guess Who could reasonably pull off:
  D.A.V.E: You probably want to know how I uncovered your secret. It was simple, really. Using information readily available to anyone, I began by narrowing down Gotham's population of 750,832 males. Those not falling inside the Batman's probable age range of 18 to 36 were eliminated (the number drops to 137,628). Medical records revealed body type matches (the number drops to 22,157). Tax records indicated those who possess the wealth and resources to create his technology (the number drops to 3). But the true key to the puzzle was deducing who of the remaining candidates had motive to become the Batman. After all, every great hero must have an origin. And once Gotham's ultimate criminal mastermind put it all together, the answer was obvious. Bruce Wayne, son of the late Thomas and Martha Wayne.
• When The Joker obtains godlike power in the "Emperor Joker" episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Harley Quinn suggests that, now that he's got Batman where he wants him, he should take his mask off and find out who he is. Note that he actually kills Batman. Repeatedly.
  Joker: And reduce my primal enemy to a mere man? Harley, my dear, I'm so disappointed in you. Where's the fun in that?
• Being Ian: When Cory is on an escalator that breaks down and everyone else is panicked by the fact that he’s ‘stuck’ Sandi repeatedly asks why he doesn’t just walk up.
• Big City Greens: In "Barry Cuda", an annoying singing fish plaque drives the Greens into insanity and when it gets destroyed nonstop, Cricket realizes his whole family was responsible for the sake of hating him. When Cricket realizes this, he "kills" Barry himself; when Bill asks him how he did, Cricket says he just took the batteries out, something the family never even thought of.
• It happens twice in a row on Captain Star during Day of the Zooties, where a massive Hive Mind sentient carpet that spreads like Alien Kudzu and takes over the planet by covering every surface and enslaving the minds of those who live there into feeding it by shampooing it. (Just go with it). Star decides that, since it was brought there by a salesman, the best way to deal with it is to simply return it to the manufacturer. When that fails (as the people who created it have been taken over by it), Scarlet decides the next best thing is to simply disobey the aftercare instructions printed on the tag. This works.
• Central Park:
  • In Season 1 "Rival Busker", when Birdie tries to rescue Owen & Cole from the tree, he suggests getting one of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloons (a Pikachu or Garfield) to cushion their fall. Owen just tells him to get a ladder from the park’s storage shed.
  • In Season 1 "Hot Oven", when Owen's oven catches on fire and wonders how he's going to heat his pizza, Birdie points out he could just buy a pizza but Owen refuses. When Owen and Birdie take the pizza to the forge so Jimmy can heat it, Jimmy also points out the same solution to Owen, but Owen counters he could buy a sword instead of forging one and Jimmy responds with Touché.
  • In Season 1 "Live It Up Tonight", when Bitsy wants to get warm, she tells Helen to use her knife to cut herself open so she can sleep inside her. Helen tells her she's going to use the knife to pry the hinge pins from the door off so they can leave the room.
• Chowder: In the episode "Gazpacho Moves In," Gazpacho, having been thrown out of his mother's house, stays at Mung Daal's catering company until he gets back on his feet, and quickly becomes The Thing That Would Not Leave. Mung Daal decides the best way to kick Gazpacho out is to use a Multi-Rye Sandwich to clone him, intending that Gazpacho would get so annoyed by his own behavior that he would leave. Truffles even lampshades it ("'Cause just asking him to leave makes so little sense."). The plan backfires when Gazpacho becomes friends with the clone, and when Chowder stupidly feeds him even more sandwiches and makes dozens of clones, it's only then that Mung decides to simply kick Gazpacho out.
• Danny Phantom: In "The Ultimate Enemy," Danny's evil future self traps Danny in the future while he goes back in time to make sure the events that lead to his existence still happen. Danny can't travel back to the past until he removes the time-traveling medallion his future self fused inside him. The only person he can go to for help is the future version of Vlad Masters, who's now become The Atoner, planning to have him use the Ghost Gauntlets to remove the medallion so he can return to the past and stop his future self. Vlad, however, points out that he could also just kill Danny on the spot and prevent the Bad Future from ever happening ("Didn't think of that, did you?"); fortunately, he doesn't go through with it.
• In one episode of Dave the Barbarian, the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy is trying to break into Udregoth Castle. When his nephew asks why he doesn't just use the Mystical Amulet of Hogswineboar to blow a hole in the wall, Chuckles tries to give a reason and after failing, mutters how much he hates his nephew before using the amulet to blast the wall.
• Dexter's Laboratory: In the Justice Friends minisode "Pain in the Mouth," Krunk suffers a toothache as a result of getting a tortilla chip stuck in his tooth, and Major Glory chooses to go through all manner of elaborate, overly complicated schemes to try to either remove the chip or the tooth; after every failure, Valhallen suggests that they simply take Krunk to the dentist, and every time, Major Glory blows him off on the grounds that he's The Leader, so they do what he says. Eventually, Krunk, recalling what his favorite TV show said to do when one has a toothache, goes to the dentist on his own, and said dentist is able to remove the chip quickly and painlessly. It's also revealed that Major Glory is overdue for some extensive (and presumably painful) dental work, which explains why he was so against the dentist in the first place.
• In Disenchantment, right after the king of the elves holds a secret meeting, he preemptively arrests Blabbo to prevent the humans from finding out. As Blabbo is being hauled away, he snaps that the king should just stop inviting him to secret meetings.
• Lampshaded in Earthworm Jim, when he sneaks up behind an Elite Mook with a towed howitzer, aims it, then sighs he can't do it since it's too easy. He then takes out the mook with a ridiculous ambush, like he did with the others. It should be noted that when it comes to shooting wildly with his raygun, Jim has little hesitation.
• Ed, Edd n Eddy:
  • In one episode, the Eds want to watch a monster movie at Ed's place, but Sarah keeps kicking them out.
    Edd: We could just go to my house, Eddy...
    Eddy: What? And ruin the plot?
  • And in "The Day the Ed Stood Still" when Eddy is trying to get into Kevin's house from the back to see the other kids' terrified reactions to Ed's monster form:
    Eddy: (tugging on a window latch with all his strength) WHAT'S WITH THESE STUPID WINDOWS?!
    Edd: (draws Eddy's attention, then calmly opens the backdoor, which was unlocked, and smirks.)
    Eddy: I hate it when you do that.
• The Fairly OddParents!:
  • In "Father Time!", Wanda constantly does this, only to be ignored. First, she suggests that Timmy wish all his chores done. Cosmo suggests that he melt it all with Heat Vision. Then, after this wish destroys Mr. Turner's prize trophy, she suggests Timmy apologize. Cosmo suggests Time Travel, and this wins. Then, as they go back in time to stop Mr. Turner from winning the trophy, Wanda points out he could just have gone back a few minutes and stopped himself from destroying the trophy in the first place.
  • The Villain Episode has Crocker becoming Norm's master. Finding they both hate Timmy, Norm grants Crocker's wishes with no catch... at first. However, throughout the show, Crocker insists on using elaborate Wile E. Coyote-like traps rather than easily teleporting him to Mars, as Norm keeps suggesting. It annoys Norm to no end. And it's used against him at the end after Norm agrees on a temporary truce with Timmy.
  • Another episode has Timmy needing to open a lemonade stand to make money (Da Rules prevent wishing for money and the tickets he wants to buy are finite, meaning he can't wish for them without stealing from someone), so he tries making tasty lemonade. As he tries the Cordon Bleugh Chef routine, Wanda wonders why he doesn't just wish for better lemonade.
• In the Family Guy episode, "Pilling Them Softly", Peter and Quagmire end up at odds over a cooking show they're working on. In the end, they both decide they don't want to lose their friendship over a TV show and decide the only way to get out of it is to say the one word that cost Paula Deen her show. ^note For those of you who don't know, it was the "N" word. Right before they're about to say it, it cuts to them at the Drunken Clam looking awkwardly at Cleveland, who angrily tells them they could have just quit the show.
• In "Momma's Gotta Hustle" from The Ghost and Molly McGee, Sharon needs to get a job to support the family and get the family van fixed. The family make a bunch of crazy suggestions as they go past a "HELP WANTED" sign at a diner, which Scratch sees, proceeding to hail himself a hero and tell Sharon to go cook. It doesn't go very well for him.

  Sharon: (voice gradually turns demonic) I have worked in my parents' restaurant growing up and that was enough kitchen work for a lifetime. NEVER SAY "GO COOK" AGAIN!

• Gravity Falls:
  • In one episode, Mabel was trying to rescue a merman named Mermando so he can get back to the ocean. But as soon as they arrive to the ocean, Dipper stops them for stealing lifeguard property. As soon as Mabel explains the whole situation, Mermando starts to suffocate from the lack of water. So Mabel tells Dipper to save him as he’s a lifeguard. So he gives Mermando reverse CPR by blowing water in his mouth. With luck, Mermando awakens, and thanks Dipper, but he questions why he didn’t just “toss him into the lake”. Dipper dope slaps himself after that.
  • Dipper and Mabel need to sneak into the Mystery Shack, which is being guarded by government agents. Mabel suggests beating up the guards and do an Unnecessary Combat Roll as they go through the front door. Dipper then outright states that there's a simpler solution. They then use a Grappling-Hook Pistol to zipline through the attic window.
  • This is actually the cause of the overarching Myth Arc. When Stan tried to burn the journal the Author had given to him rather than go through a Dangerous Device Disposal Debacle, he didn't want his research destroyed and flipped out, resulting in a skirmish that got the scientist sucked into the portal for thirty years.
• Grojband: Laney, with her role as Only Sane Woman of the band, tends to do this when it comes to her Cloud Cuckoolander bandmates' Zany Schemes.
  • In "Dreamreaver", after Grojband's new music video ends up putting Trina into a catatonic state, the following exchange ensues regarding what to do with the unconscious Trina.
    Kin: There's only one thing we can do!
    Laney: Get her to a doctor?
    Kin and Kon: Connect our minds using science helmets and enter her dream!
    Corey: Whew! Glad there's a simple logical solution.
  • In "Ahead of Our Own Tone", Corey learns afrom Kin and Kon about the electronic music band D-Keizer Zaps and how they were considered "ahead of their own time" for their futuristic-sounding music, leading to this exchange.
    Corey: Guys, we should totally be ahead of our time too!
    Laney: By creating a new and innovative sound?
    Corey: Pfft, that's way too hard. We'll just go one year into the future and see what music's like, then come back to unleash the trend before anyone else!
• In the Invader Zim Christmas Episode, Zim poses as Santa and throws Dib in "Jingle Jail." He breaks out easily, as the bars are made of candy cane. Then, when he's captured again:
  Zim: This time throw him in the actually strong Jingle Jail!
  Dib: (being dragged away) Why didn't you throw me in the strong one in the first place?
  Zim: You can never understand my amazing brain!
  • In "Door to Door," the skool holds a fundraiser to buy new desks. Dib points out that they could have just bought desks with the money they spent on candy bars and prizes for the fundraiser, only for Miss Bitters to dismiss it.
• In Johnny Test, the Butler of the villain, a cat (It Makes Sense in Context), asks him why his Doomsday Device that will turn everyone into cats has a countdown on it. The villain justifies this by pointing out it gives them enough time to get out of range since if the butler gets transformed, he won't be able to clean up after the former.
• Justice League (also part of the DC Animated Universe)
  • Justice League Unlimited: Several years later, it seems the Joker has learnt his lesson. After the Injustice Gang captures Batman, Luthor wants to keep Batman imprisoned so that he can interrogate him and learn the Justice League's weaknesses. Joker, who knows from experience that keeping Batman alive isn't going to end well, tells Luthor to Just Shoot Him. Luthor doesn't listen, and Bats go on to take the Injustice League apart from the inside. Ironically, there is never a suggestion made to remove Batman's mask.
  • Ex-actor-turned-shapeshifter Clayface makes the suggestion to Gorilla Grodd in another episode after capturing the heroes, specifically mentioning he's acted in enough movies to catch on that the heroes always think of a way out, and it would be better to just kill the subdued heroes immediately instead of trying to bring about a dramatic climax. Gorilla Grodd comments that he's not much for movies, and convinces him to go along with the dramatic approach by offering him an important center-stage role in the executions. Of course, it turns out "Clayface" is really the shapeshifting hero J'onn J'onzz masquerading as the villain.
• Kamp Koral: In "The Taste of Defeat", Plankton complains to Karen that Narlene stole all his customers away, and ends up doing various evil schemes to expose her restaurant. Karen points out that if he wants to get them back, he could just take cooking classes so his food is better and the campers actually want to eat there. Plankton ignores this and continues with his schemes.
• Kim Possible has a tradition of Genre Blind villains and savvy henchmen, so you'll see the Simple Solution getting stated a lot.
  • Señor Senior Sr. is a billionaire who has become a willfully genre-blind villain simply For the Lulz. His son, Señor Senior Jr., is not terribly bright but is at least capable of noticing that 'the traditions of villainy' are not very practical. His common-sense questions exasperate his father, who feels that his son "doesn't get it".
    Señor Senior Sr.: I will aim the laser so as to shoot the icicles, causing them to drop upon our foes.
    Señor Senior Jr.: Why do you not simply aim the laser at their bodies??
    Señor Senior Sr.: Junior, if you do not understand the traditions of villainy by now, I have failed as a parent.
  • Shego, the Hypercompetent Sidekick to the resident Mad Scientist Dr. Drakken, tends to state simple solutions too, but usually out of exasperation. Drakken's forever coming up with ways to seal Kim in a deathtrap or break her Heroic Willpower, while Shego feels that it would take a lot less effort and brainpower to, you know, shoot her.
    Shego: I prefer the 'direct approach', but you know Drakken....
• Legion of Super Heroes (2006): Brainiac 5 stops Bouncing Boy from using his communicator to alert Superman, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl about Dr. Londo's illicit experiments with the local wildlife (and possibly with other beings as well.) Brainiac points out that Dr. Londo would be monitoring communicator traffic and tried to think hard enough for Saturn Girl to contact them telepathically. Bouncing Boy states that he could call out to them seeing that they were within range to hear him; it worked. Just as well too as Saturn Girl was unconscious at the time.
• Looney Tunes:
  • In "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'', Dodgers shows the Space Cadet a needlessly complicated route for reaching Planet X, so complicated he doesn't even understand it himself. Cadet then suggests following a line of conveniently lettered planets, a suggestion Dodgers then takes as his own.
  • In "My Little Duckaroo", Daffy is a bounty hunter trying to bring in outlaw Nasty Canasta. After failing to subdue him with tough talk, sidekick Porky says "Why don't you just plain old arrest him?" Daffy does just that, although it turns out to be just as ineffective.
• In Mickey Mouse: Duck the Halls, Donald (who, for the purposes of this story, has never experienced Christmas before since he always goes south for the winter) wants to stay with Mickey and have a proper Christmas, even though the cold will probably kill him. Only after his friends have realised this and stolen Santa's sleigh to rush him to a more agreeable climate does Santa point out that you can, in fact, celebrate Christmas in the subtropics.
• Milo Murphy's Law: Most of the main characters have to get to outer space to save Milo, and the only space craft they have access to is missing its carburetor. They also have the matching carburetor, but touching it temporarily turns a person's bones into jelly (which they find soothing and enjoy doing for fun, but will delay the process and cost them some serious time). They set up a relay system where each person touches it for only a second before passing it on to the next person. After it's in place and they're all on the floor waiting for their bones to resolidify, Zack points out that they could have just used tongs to avoid touching it directly.
• Many an episode in Miraculous Ladybug has Marinette try to get closer to her crush Adrien by orchestrating this overly-romantic scenario via a Zany Scheme. And many times there is this one person who points out that instead of cooking up these ploys, Marinette could just tell Adrien how she feels and ask him out directly. Naturally, Marinette would rather go for the scheme, because she's too scared of him possibly rejecting her that she concocts her schemes as a delaying action.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
  • In "Horse Play," Applejack repeatedly tells Twilight that she should just be honest about how bad Princess Celestia's acting is, and admit that Celestia shouldn't act in the play. Twilight refuses to listen for the sake of Celestia's dream of starring in a play. Sure enough, everything comes crashing down when Twilight can't take how bad things are going anymore. Celestia even lampshades it, saying that she's not disappointed that Twilight doesn't like her acting, but that Twilight thought she could lie her way through it.
  • Mean Twilight Sparkle from "The Mean Six" realizes that Queen Chrysalis needed to get close enough to get hair and photos of the original Mane Six's cutie marks in order to cast the spell that made the clones. This, Mean Twilight asks Chrysalis why she didn't just kill them when she was up close and personal. Chrysalis snaps back that the Mane Six and their allies have defeated the entire changeling army in the past. Even if Chrysalis had the element of surprise, fighting the Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer alone was likely going to end badly.
  • Subverted with Grogar's Legion of Doom. He recruits Cozy Glow, Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and King Sombra while telling them about his plan to work together, shore up Grogar's power, and raze Equestria to the ground by defeating the Mane Six. Sombra states it would be much simpler to just take the Crystal Empire on his own and destroy anyone who stands in his way. To Sombra's credit, he does fairly well, conquering both the Crystal Empire and Equestria with almost laughable ease, until the Mane Six show up and graphically obliterate him on-screen with The Power of Friendship. Seeing this, the rest of the Legion quickly decides Grogar's plan is the way to go.
• The Patrick Star Show: In "The Wrath of Shmandor", the utopian society of Shmandor has TV brought to it by a scientist. But when the residents start imitating Patrick's destructive behavior on his show and ruin the city, the Shmandorian army is sent out to kill Patrick. At the end, Squidina runs into the scientist and offers him a solution: just turn the TV off if he doesn't want the residents watching Patrick's show.
• In the Phineas and Ferb episode "Picture This", Ferb had left his skateboard in Britain, and Phineas announces a plan to teleport it back home with "a highly intricate and sophisticated machine". Lawrence, their dad, suggests that they could just build a new skateboard instead. However, the boys suffer Complexity Addiction and ignore the easier option.
  • Dr. Doofenshmirtz tends to do this to himself. He could simply move his chair to avoid looking at a building he doesn't like, but that's inconvenient for him. It's easier to destroy the opposing building.
• The Powerpuff Girls episode "Fallen Arches" presents a heroic example. The girls run up against the Ministry of Pain, an elderly team of arch-criminals who have recently come out of retirement. Despite Bubbles and Buttercup pointing out that they easily take them, Blossom refuses to let them fight the Ministry of Pain on the grounds that they have to "respect their elders," and instead decides to talk the Ministry's equally elderly archenemies, Captain Righteous and Lefty, out of retirement to do the job for them. The end result: all five old men end up hospitalized, and the local news outright states that the entire mess could have been avoided if the Powerpuff Girls had just stepped in and stopped the Ministry of Pain in the first place.
• A Pup Named Scooby-Doo has this as a Running Gag where, after the episode's villain goes on their Motive Rant, Daphne asks them why they didn't go with the obvious solution to their problem, to which they say they didn't think of it. For example, in the episode, "Night of the Living Burger", a local restaurant, O'Greazy's Bucket O' Fun Restaurant, is being haunted by a giant sentient burger. In the end, the villain turns out to be the restaurant's most decorated employee. He was upset that for all of his years of service, Mr. O'Greazy never gave him what he really wanted: a raise. Daphne then asks him why he didn't just quit and find a better paying job. He never thought of that.
• Ready Jet Go!: In "What Goes Up", Mindy says that Mitchell should just directly ask Jet what he's building instead of spying on him, but Mitchell still thinks it's a good idea to spy on Jet because "that's what detectives do".
• In the Rocko's Modern Life episode "The Big Question", Filburt is trying to propose to Dr. Hutchinson, who is attending her high school reunion with an old friend named Tiger (who her mother keeps trying to push together and get her to leave Filburt). He and Heffer end up coming up with a plan based on a tradition where the homecoming king from Hutchinson's class (Tiger) goes to cut the cake, which they end up rigging with a bomb that's supposed to cover him with icing, giving Filburt enough time to pop the question. As they're explaining the plan, Rocko points out that Filburt could have just gotten to Hutchinson right then and ask her since she's alone. He initially refuses to break from the plan, only for Rocko to accuse him of stalling.
• The Simpsons:
  • In "Marge on the Lam" Ruth Powers stole her ex-husband's car since he wouldn't pay alimony. Marge's response:
    Marge: Didn't you realize all you had to do was report him to the police?
    Ruth: Marge, you're the levelheaded friend I never had.
  • In "Hungry Hungry Homer", Homer is on a hunger strike so Marge has the kids eat what would have been his portions of dinner to keep it from going to waste. Lisa points out that she could just make less food, to which Marge replies "That's not how I do things, Lisa" while glaring at her.
  • "I'm With Cupid" has Apu going to ludicrous lengths to impress Manjula for Valentine's Day, which annoys all the other men in Springfield because it's making them look bad to their wives by comparison. Homer and some friends conspire to foil Apu's final act to salvage themselves, spending hours following him around town waiting for an opportunity, which prompts Ned to point out that for all the effort they've put into trying to foil Apu so far it would have been no problem to have each done something fantastic for their wives. Naturally he gets thrown from the car for this and they continue stalking Apu, but at least he manages to grab a hunk of Moe's hair before being thrown out.
    Moe: AAAGH THAT REALLY SMARTS!!!
  • In "The Great Louse Detective" when Sideshow Bob is forced to help The Simpsons identify Homer's attempted murderer, Lenny, Carl, and Moe all question why Bob has had so much trouble killing Bart and say, rather than Bob's convoluted schemes to kill the kid, that he'd have a far easier time ambushing him with a knife and slitting his throat. Bob takes this to heart and actually tries this toward the end of the episode.
    Bob: Now I'm going to take some advice that was given to me by Lenny... and kill you without delay!
• In several episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) (as well as in some early issues of the Archie Sonic comic), Robotnik has Sonic at his mercy, and Sniveley asks why Robotnik doesn't just roboticize him. Snively also has a habit of questioning Robotnik's more elaborate plots.
• South Park:
  • Knowing Cartman's trapper keeper will take over the world, a robot from the future claiming to be Bill Cosby aims to just kill Cartman before it can. Stan and Kyle are okay with this since they don't like Cartman, but the robot starts to develop compassion, and instead suggests they go talk to Cartman's mother.
  • In "Grey Dawn", after the AARP take over the town and put most of the non- senior citizens in a prison camp, the boys realize that shutting down Country Kitchen Buffet will leave the senior citizens powerless. Cartman comes up with an elaborate plan where the boys will sneak into town at night and strap explosives to Kyle while he goes inside the restaurant and destroys it. Stan then points out that they could just lock the store from the inside so they can't get in. Cartman admits they could do just that but still keeps trying to push the idea of strapping the bombs to Kyle.
  • In "Handicar," Mimsy makes a surprisingly good point to Nathan that Nathan always comes up with plans to get out of going to summer camp, but they all inevitably backfire. Mimsy thus suggests that Nathan just tell his parents that he doesn't want to go to summer camp. Nathan seems to consider it for a moment, but then slaps Mimsy and tells him to shut up. He DOES try it at the end of the episode, but his mother pretends to be unable to understand him, as both parents enjoy the time off.
  • In "Dead Kids", Cartman has to pass a test or else he will be banned from playing Fortnite, and Token won't let him cheat off of him. He spends the entire episode stalking, spying on, and trying to blackmail Token over Black Panther (go with it) to force the kid into letting him cheat off of him. In the end, Token dryly criticizes him for doing all of this instead of using all that time and effort to study.
    Cartman: You saw Black Panther without your parents' permission. I typed up all my findings, Token. I made ten copies and put them in envelopes. If I don't pass this math quiz, the envelopes are all set to be sent to ten different news organizations.
    Token: You did all that instead of actually studying for the test?
• SpongeBob SquarePants: In "Krabs a la Mode", Plankton attempts to freeze the Krusty Krab out of business by turning down the thermostat, but Mr. Krabs turns it into an ice rink; Karen comments aside why he didn't just steal a krabby patty as usual in all this ruckus, prompting Plankton to return to his word.
• Star Trek: Lower Decks:
  • "Veritas":
    • After the confusion is resolved, Boimler asks why they went to the trouble of stealing the Romulan Bird of Prey when the Vulcans who owned it would probably have let them borrow it if asked.
    • Later when Dr. T'Ana comes up to the bridge, panicking and claiming that everyone in sickbay has been replaced by imposters who claim that they don't know her and that they might be trapped in a parallel dimension, the captain of the ship points out that she probably just got on the wrong ship.
      T'Ana: Uh... wait, is this... is this not the Cerritos?
      Captain: This is the Alhambra, did you get on the wrong ship?
      T'Ana: ...F*ck! They all look the same!
  • "Kayshon, His Eyes Open": When Hauze's security system activates, Mariner suggests heading down to the reactor through the various bobby-trapped galleries so they can deactivate it. Jet instead suggests that they go to the escape pods, which are half the distance and carry less risk of death. As he points out, it's not their job to fix the problem, just survive it. Carried even further when Tendi and Rutherford ultimately suggest taking the engineering ducts to avoid the booby-trapped galleries altogether.
• Steven Universe:
  • During the episode "Sworn to the Sword", Steven becomes concerned for his friend Connie but isn't quite sure how to tell her. He consults a book titled "How to Talk to People":
    Step 1: Think about what you want to say.
    Step 2: Say it.
  • In one episode, Steven has lost Ranger Guy, a toy that's really important to him. Onion has an identical one^note (it's actually Steven's, which Onion stole), so Steven trades him a magical Matter Replicator for it. Onion then uses the replicator to wreck the town. When the Crystal Gems get involved, Pearl points out how this could have been avoided:
    Pearl: Steven, why didn't you just replicate Ranger Guy?!
    (Beat)
    Steven: Dang it!
  • In the episode "Now We're Only Calling Apart", after the huge "Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond" bombshell has been dropped, and after Pearl explained how her Diamond fell in love with Earth and wanted to save the planet, an angry Sapphire asks her why Pink didn't stop the colonization herself without sparking the Rebellion. Pearl tells her that Pink tried to convince the the Diamonds to spare Earth, even outright dropping to her knees and begging at one point, but they ignored her, misinterpreted her wish by building the Human Zoo, or threatened to seize the colony from her and finish it themselves while making her Authority in Name Only. Eventually, Pink, fed up with having her pleas rejected, had no choice but to become Rose Quartz and start the Gem War.
• In Superman: The Animated Series, Mister Mxyzptlk's wife asks Mxyzptlk why he simply doesn't destroy Superman instead of playing games with him after Mxyzptlk expresses his annoyance with being repeatedly out-foxed by the Man of Steel. Mxyzptlk (who is a Reality Warper on level with a Physical God) decides to follow her advice... by building an overly complicated Humongous Mecha and trying to fight Superman with it. It works about as well as can be imagined. He did have a bit better luck when he just went with a kryptonite missile though; still failed but the attempt at being more direct was there.
• In the Timon & Pumbaa episode "The Pain in Spain", Timon and Pumbaa are in Spain where Pumbaa has been mistaken for a bull and is about to be forced into a bullfight he cannot win. While they wait for the fight to begin, Timon draws up an incredibly detailed escape plan involving maps, tunnels, and much more. When he finishes, Pumbaa simply says "... maybe we should just sneak out the back door." So they try to do that, only to find the back door leads to the arena, forcing them to come up with a different plan.
• A Villain of the Week in Totally Spies! is a former model who lost her leg in a photoshoot with a lion. She decides to take over the fashion industry using a machine to swap body parts between women (such as Clover's legs, Alex's hair, and Sam's teeth) and create an army of perfect models. Alex asks why she didn't just use the machine to get herself a new leg instead. The villain replies that she has a point, but her plan sounds a lot more fun.
• Transformers:
  • Two heroic examples appear in Beast Wars:
    • In the first episode when Dinobot defects from the Predacons and challenges Optimus to a duel for leadership of the Maximals, Optimus almost falls to his death only for Dinobot to pull him to safety to continue fighting. Optimus points out that he could have just let him fall for an easy victory, but Dinobot rebukes him in a way that perfectly showcases what kind of bot he is and earns him Optimus' respect:
      Dinobot: You slipped. To defeat you in such a way would be lacking in honour. I would have not earned the right to lead. I prefer to defeat my opponents the old-fashioned way: BRUTALLY!!!
    • After Optimus Primal took the Spark of Optimus Prime into his body to thwart Megatron's assassination attempt, Megatron came into the Ark with Inferno to finish the job. Despite Prime's spark giving Primal the size, as well as the physical and fire power of a large Autobot, he hesitates to attack since he might alter history. Regardless, after Megatron and Optimus argue a bit, Rattrap gets fed up and asks:
      Rattrap: Oh for bootin' up cold!! Will ya just shoot 'im?
  • People have been saying this about Megatron and Starscream for years due to Screamer's constant attempts to take leadership of the Decepticons in just about every continuity. In Transformers: Animated, it finally happens, only for Starscream to become immortal from a shard of the Allspark embedded in his head. Megatron proceeds to kill him about five more times in a single episode, to no avail.
• The Venture Bros.:
  • In the episode "The Lepidopterists", Jonah Venture Jr. is dumbfounded when he finds out that he must consult with both the OSI and the handbook of the Guild of Calamitous Intent on the rules of "arching" instead of just killing the Monarch after being attacked. He's told that as insane and stupid as the whole process is, it's better to play along than actually pissing off the Guild.
  • When 21 captures Hank and Dean to try and get them to confess killing 24, Rusty and Sergeant Hatred follow their trace back to the villain community of Malice where Doctor Ms. The Monarch suggests to Rusty "Didn't you try calling them?"
  • As silly as "Arching" is, it is the only thing stopping the Guild full of powerful, mentally unstable, and highly dangerous people from doing real crimes rather than acts of cartoonish super-villainy.
• On one episode of WordGirl, Dr. Two-Brains has been stealing gold — to turn into potato salad with his gold-to-potato-salad ray, which he then turns into cheese with his potato-salad-to-cheese ray. His henchman at one point actually ask if they can use some of the gold to pay rent, but he's reluctant to allow it because he has "a whole mouse thing going on here" and will be considered a boring villain if he just steals gold to use as gold. When WordGirl finally confronts him, she has some questions regarding his methods.
  WordGirl: So, you're stealing gold, then transforming it into potato salad?
  Dr. Two-Brains: Mmm-hmm!
  WordGirl: Then you're taking that potato salad and transforming it into cheese?
  Dr. Two-Brains: Right.
  WordGirl: Doesn't that seem a little unnecessarily difficult? I mean, why not steal potato salad instead of gold?
  Dr. Two-Brains: Huh?
  WordGirl: Or use the gold to buy the potato salad. Or, why not just steal cheese in the first place?
  Dr. Two-Brains: Oh... boy. Seems obvious when you say it that way, but... but I have my reasons!
• Work It Out Wombats!: In "Special Delivery," Malik wants to bring ice cream to Sammy. The ice cream keeps melting because Malik takes a long route to get to Sammy's house. Zadie states the simple solution by showing a much shorter route. Malik only took the long route because it was more fun.
• The Zeta Project, which is also part of the DCAU, actually went out of its way to explain why they didn't shoot Zeta. Apparently the writers were aware this trope was being overused, so the first episode of the series proper has Bennett explaining two things: firstly, he's a very expensive robot assassin they cannot afford to rebuild, and secondly, he's an assassin and too much violence could trigger violence in retaliation. The possibility of bystanders being hit by stray bullets is addressed later on, as is the general concept of civilian death and crossfire damage. It is also mentioned they want to bring him back as intact as possible to find out what terrorist group was able to change his programming (being unaware/unwilling to realize Zeta himself forsook being an assassin upon realizing he was ordered to kill an innocent man).

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