History Main / DramaticIrony

* This is showcased heavily in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games. Two series-spanning ones that cover the origin of Solid Snake and Metal Gear respectively are seen in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'':

* ''Comicbook/TwoThousandAD'': The story ''The Devil's Railroad'' is about a couple from a ColonyWorld making the difficult journey back to Earth so their child will be born with citizen rights. Their reflections on the welcoming utopia they expect Earth to be are juxtaposed with scenes making it clear that anti-immgration rhetoric is alive and well on the homeworld.

-->'''Peri:''' (''Conquest'') Hee hee, then let's gut these fools quickly and save our princess!
-->'''Peri:''' (''Birthright'') Which one of you did this to Lady Elise?! I'll gut you!

--> The interesting thing, though, is that the first recorded moment of a Wingless being executed happened years after the religious text outlined the existence of Wingless.\\

* Expect to flinch a little during ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' if you summon or run across someone in Story Mode that dies in the plot of their home game(s). The [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar World of Holy War]] Paralogue has possibly the biggest example, as after being freed from their contracts Sigurd promises Dierdre that [[StarCrossedLovers he won't leave her side again]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Concrete}}: The Human Dilemma'': Concrete is hired to be a spokesperson for a radical and controversial population control program on the basis that he is [[spoiler: "sterile, race-neutral, and childless."]] It was established back in ''An Armchair Stuffed With Dynamite'' that people can tell that Concrete wasn't [[spoiler: formerly of their race, and he [[BizarreAlienBiology somehow]] [[MisterSeahorse becomes pregnant]] literally the night before accepting the job, thus negating the other two reasons he was hired as well.]] Maureen suggests drilling into the [[spoiler: swelling on his back]]. Only the audience know it's [[spoiler: his offspring]], and for a few tense panels are left to worry about its fate.
* ''ComicBook/DarkWeb'' opens with Ben Reilly and Madelyn Pryor- corrupted clones of Peter Parker and Jean Grey- seeking to claim the memories of their templates. Madelyn is ultimately given the memories she wants by Jean, but Ben has resorted to so many amoral actions to steal Peter's memories (Ben having been corrupted by the Beyond Corporation and his memories erased to deprive him of the moral compass they provided) that even if he succeeded he [[MeaninglessVillainVictory probably wouldn't be any happier with himself]].

* Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheFallOfGondolin'': While Morgoth's forces are razing Gondolin to the ground, Tuor leads a host of survivors towards the hills. Suddenly, Tuor's young son Ëarendil notices Salgant -the Lord of the House of the Harp, who used to tell him tales and play with him- is missing. Everybody assumes Salgant is dead, and they greatly mourn his loss. And they will never know he was one of the traitors who betrayed his city to Morgoth and was probably killed by his own cowardice (since he rushed to his house and crawled into his bed when the battle began).

** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'': A ''reverse'' example when Petunia mentions "That ''horrible'' boy" telling Lily Evans (her younger sister / Harry's mother) about Dementors, he thinks she means James ... as we find out in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', she actually means [[spoiler: Severus Snape]].

* ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'' uses this both for building tension and making the reader cringe, as Nova - a DoubleAgent who's really the villain Nightmare - is often told that her actions as a hero make her a role model for the younger Renegades. Worse, near the end of the book Adrian asks her to help him track down Nightmare and make her pay for [[spoiler:hurting Max - something the reader knows Nova didn't actually do]].

** In ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'', after intervening at the Wall, King Stannis [[WhatCouldHaveBeen offers to legitimize]] [[HeroicBastard Jon Snow]], allowing him to inherit Winterfell, since Stannis needs a [[ArcWords Stark in Winterfell]] in order to win the loyalty of the North. Jon refuses, not knowing that his half-brother Robb, the lord of Winterfell, named Jon as his heir [[spoiler: shortly before his death]], since all his full siblings were either presumed dead, or in Lannister custody.

** This trope comes heavily into play in the eighth book, ''Blood of Tyrants''. For the entire first part and almost until the end of the second, [[spoiler:Captain Will Laurence has [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgotten the past 8 years of his life]] after getting swept off the dragon transport en route to China. This means he doesn't remember his time as an aviator in the British Aerial Corps, nor that he has a powerful bond with his dragon, Temeraire, or that even Temeraire exists. He still thinks he's the captain of the ''Reliant'' (and by extension not knowing that his best friend and former first lieutenant, Tom Riley, is dead). As Japan has closed its borders off to any foreigners, save for the trading port of Nagasaki, Laurence's presence in Japan is suspect, and the fact that he speaks perfect Chinese makes the authorities think he is a spy for China. Laurence denies this, of course lacking the memory that Britain essentially ''does'' have an alliance with China, just in a sort of unofficial way: in book 2, Laurence was adopted by the Emperor and became a prince of China.]] Definitely done for the tension, but in the second part [[spoiler:when Laurence is back with his fellow aviators and Temeraire]] it crosses into cringe territory: [[spoiler: he doesn't realize that he has only been just recently reinstated after having been discharged and transported to Australia following his treason that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero directly led to the (unsuccessful) invasion of Britain by France.]] The extent of his memory loss also means Laurence has lost all of the CharacterDevelopment that resulted from the experience, including his acceptance of his actions]]. Readers are armed with this knowledge, plus the fact that Temeraire's naivety causes him to think nothing of Laurence's condition. So when [[AmnesiaDanger the topic is brought to light once again]], the result [[HeroicBSOD isn't pretty]].

** The last verse completes it. Unlike the first three verses, which were addressed from Stan to Eminem, the last verse is Eminem's response to the letter in the second verse. He sees how unstable Stan is and says that he hopes the letter gets to him before it's too late and Stan ends up like the guy he saw on the news that killed himself and his pregnant girlfriend by driving them off a bridge. [[spoiler: It's only at the very end of the verse that Eminem pieces together that it ''is'' too late and the guy on the news ''was'' Stan]].
** On top of all that, the third verse is a drunken, angry audio recording of Stan's MotiveRant [[spoiler: while he's on his way to commit the murder-suicide]] about how Eminem supposedly ignored his letters, which even he seems to realize were cries for help at that point, and left Stan to get worse, even though, again, Eminem likely just hadn't read the letters yet. [[spoiler: Stan realizes just seconds too late that if he kills himself this way, the tape he's recording his last desperate and angry thoughts on will probably be destroyed in the water and Eminem will never hear it anyway]].

[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]

* ''Theatre/{{Arcadia}}'' is a heart-wrenching example of this, even though the play is pretty comedic. Due to it's narrative structure, the audience sees the events that happen in the 1800s that the modern-day researchers get wrong, and are also told by the modern-day characters what will ultimately happen to the characters in the 1800s. In the last scene of the play, the audience is already aware that Thomasina [[spoiler:will burn to death the night before her seventeenth birthday]] and that her tutor Septimus[[spoiler: will go insane and die a hermit, writing "reams of cabbalistic proofs that the world is coming to an end."]] Thomasina invites Septimus, who is in love with her, to come upstairs with her, but he declines, not wanting to ruin her reputation (he has just spent the play ruining lots of reputations and getting out of trouble on charm alone). Then, just to twist the knife a little bit deeper, Stoppard has Septimus hand Thomasina her essay on thermodynamics, light Thomasina's candle and tell her to be careful with the flame. Not a dry eye in the house.

--> '''Elphaba''': I'd be so happy I could melt!

* ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' implies through the pause menus for [[BigBad President Haltmann]] 2.0 and [[spoiler: Star Dream Soul OS]] that he created Star Dream [[spoiler: to grant his wish to see his daughter again, unaware that Star Dream sent her off to another dimension.]] However, it's been confirmed that the Susie we see is the real deal, something that Haltmann isn't aware of [[spoiler: due to his bond with Star Dream screwing up his mind.]] By the time Haltmann realizes that [[spoiler: Star Dream wasn't going to bring Susie back, his soul gets purged by the mad computer.]]
** Star Dream itself is a case of DramaticIrony. It only gains sentience once [[spoiler: it unwittingly absorbs Haltmann's soul into itself]] and decides to go and kill all life in the universe. It then [[spoiler:starts deleting Haltmann's soul from its system and effectively loses its sentience, having regressed back into a mindless killing machine near the end of the battle]].
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': Near the end of Terra's story, he [[spoiler: makes Riku his successor, and promises to show the worlds outside Destiny Islands to him someday.]] Ten years later, he makes good on his promise [[spoiler: in the worst, most tragic way possible. Long story short, his heart got hijacked by Master Xehanort and ended up becoming Riku's EvilMentor from the first game; Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'', Kain and the Warrior of Light learn ''some'' of the truth behind the [[GroundhogDayLoop cycles of war]]. [[spoiler: Though at that point they still don't know Cosmos only summoned all of them to die fighting Chaos in order to make him stronger]]. When Cosmos [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone tries to confess the truth]]. The Warrior interrupts her, [[{{Irony}} telling her that her task of keeping the world safe with her power is more important than the safety of her warriors]].

** Given the dual identity of Bruce Wayne and Batman, this occurs a lot. Harvey Dent is Bruce's best friend, but he despises Batman [[spoiler: if Batman abandons him to save Catwoman in Episode 2]]. Renee Montoya shows support for Bruce but doesn't like Batman. Penguin hates Bruce for [[spoiler: what Thomas Wayne did to his family]] but sees Batman as a kindred spirit.
** In Episode 4 when [[spoiler: Bruce Wayne is committed to Arkham]], Bruce is protected by an inmate who happily shows him around and even helps him escape. Trouble is, the player is well aware that [[spoiler: the inmate is '''the Joker''']].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' gets a little mileage out of this, depending on which route you play first. For example, on the ''Birthright'' path, the first Nohrians to stumble across Xander, Elise, and the Avatar after [[spoiler:Elise takes a death blow Xander intended for the Avatar]] are Peri and Laslow, Xander's retainers. Xander bluntly forbade them from joining this fight, but they did so anyway, expressing shock and dismay [[spoiler: at Elise's death. They immediately promise Xander that they'll help make her killer pay, [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging completely unaware of what actually happened to her]]]]. On the ''Conquest'' path, Peri and Laslow join the Avatar because Xander ''ordered'' them to, and they join on a map where Elise cannot be deployed because she's ill, and the objective must be completed within a time limit in order to save her life.
-->'''Peri''': (''Conquest'') Hee hee, then let's gut these fools quickly and save our princess!
-->'''Peri''': (''Birthright'') Which one of you did this to Lady Elise?! I'll gut you!

** Joshua Stephenson [[spoiler: was a death row inmate who had a HeelFaithTurn and wanted to become an InspirationalMartyr using a PassionPlay SnuffFilm. Since he's going to be put to death anyway he can't be talked out of it, but everyone in his life tells him he's going about it the wrong way; the woman who set him down this path in the first place tells him that he's hyperfocusing on Christ's death and not His message, V points out that he's just being used by [[EvilInc corpos who want to capitalize on his faith to market it]], and if pressed enough even the production company agent assigned to him reveals herself to be the "spiritual but not religious" type and [[{{hypocrite}} berates him for making a spectacle]] of his private relationship with God.]]
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': When Kratos and Atreus discover that [[spoiler:Atreus is called "Loki" by the giants]], they are, if anything, slightly confused. Players who know their Norse mythology however knows that it means [[spoiler: Atreus is fated to bring about the end of the gods, and the Norse world as we know it]].

** In Chapter 3, your party comes across a large statue in the Abyss, guard by a security robot. [[spoiler: It's Berserk, {{Taken for Granite}}, and sealed away.]]
** In Chapter 6, the infamous shovel scene from ''VideoGame/WildArms5'' is re-used. Only this time you get to see Jack cringing at Dean crying "No! Black Fenrir!" due to [[spoiler: Black Fenrir being the sword his late commanding officer used as a knight of Arctica.]]
** Then there is the infamous use of this trope regarding the [[spoiler: Rudy's betrayal plotline. Given Mother's taste for destruction and a quick moment in the animated introduction where the two are facing off against each other, the player is left with the idea that she is the force behind it. Then the betrayal happens but it is [[TheStarscream Siegfried]] who instigated it, in exchange for a team up against Mother. The dramatic irony comes from the fact the player ''should'' have seen this coming based on what happened in the Gate Generator in the first game and the fact Siegfried is clearly the [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader to Rudy's Luke Skywalker]] but may have missed it due to the game absolutely shredding their emotions.]]

* ''VideoGame/Fallout1'': When you find the audio diaries of a man named Richard Grey at the Mariposa Military Base from several decades before the present after his exposure to the virus within, he says that he assumes his companion, Harold, must be dead because he would have tried to help him. However, Harold is still alive by the game's time, and his inability to help Richard was because he passed out after being knocked unconscious. Likewise, Harold believes Richard to be dead since the last time he saw him was when he got thrown into a vat of an unknown substance. [[spoiler: Unbeknownst to Harold, Richard Grey was mutated instead of killed at Mariposa, and he became the dreaded [[BigBad Master]] who tried to take over the wasteland with an army of mutants. Even over a century later in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', Harold never found out what happened to his old friend, with no option at any point in the series for the player to tell him the truth, nor is there any way to tell the Master what happened to him.]]

** Case 3 of ''Investigations 2'' takes this up even further: you get to play as Gregory Edgeworth during his last case, going up against Manfred von Karma. By now, most players will know [[spoiler: [[DoomedByCanon just how this ends...]]]] It's made all the worse by the fact Gregory realizes von Karma is a monster the moment he meets him, [[spoiler: he just doesn't realize how much...]] Similar to the 4th game's example above, the final deduction you have to make in the past segment is one the player ''knows'' will have horrible consequences, but the game won't continue until you present it. In case it wasn't obvious by now, it's [[spoiler: "von Karma forged the autopsy report."]] And since von Karma still has his perfect record by the time of 1-4, you know Gregory won't be able to get the defendant cleared, and that the real killer will get away with it. [[spoiler: Fortunately, Miles manages to resolve everything when the case is re-opened in the present day.]]

->'''Scootaloo''': I thought you loved me!
->[[spoiler:'''RF Rainbow Dash''']]: I did love you! I tried so hard for you! In hopes you would pass your test! You had it in you, kid. It was up to you to save yourself!

* The whole ''Webcomic/DorkTower'' arc in which Matt takes an incredibly long bus trip home, while reflecting that he's not missing anything important back in Mud Bay ... unaware that Gilly has returned and [[spoiler: apparently]] announced that she's getting married. The ''most'' ironic bit comes when the others realise maybe they should let him know about his long-time crush's wedding, but they can't get through because he's [[http://www.dorktower.com/2015/05/04/one-word-plastics-dork-tower-04-05-15/ drained his phone]] watching ''Film/TheGraduate''.

** During a meeting with Goodman Rubber, Dwayne introduces Mr. Jones to Trent Terrell, Trudy's replacement as GPF's marketing professional. Mr. Jones, who's probably even worse than Nick in judging character, laments how Trudy fell in with the wrong crowd- she actually joined C.R.U.D.E. to become a supervillain, and planned on disposing of her colleagues once she achieved her goal. Even better, Mr. Jones then suggests that she and Trent might have made a good couple- [[UnholyMatrimony Trudy and Trent had been in a relationship]] until Trent betrayed Trudy in order to get a job.

--->'''Zola''': ''Surprised?''\\
'''Gil''': Er... more than you can ''possibly imagine''.

** Zeetha and Bangledesh [=DuPree=], being fellow {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s with a hatred of mind control, are FriendlyEnemies (when they're enemies at all -- since Bang works for the Baron ''and'' Gil, it depends which of them she currently feels like sticking with) who enjoy fighting each other because they're evenly matched, but don't take it seriously. Shame that [[spoiler: Zeetha seeks revenge on the pirate queen she never saw who masterminded her kidnapping -- and Bang seeks vengeance on the kidnap victim she never saw who killed her crew]].

*** For even further irony, Gamzee eventually ends up being the one who [[spoiler: ''kills'' Karkat]], and even by then, the rest of his former friends ''still'' don't know about his association with Lord English.

** Subverted in the ''Blood Runs In the Family'' arc, when the latest version of the Linear Guild heads to Girard's Pyramid to confront the Order. [[ManipulativeBastard General Tarquin]] has disguised himself as [[DumbMuscle Thog]], which makes it seem like this will come into play, with the audience knowing "Thog's" true identity while the Order remain unaware. Except that once the fighting actually begins, [[GeniusBruiser Roy]] figures out immediately that the helmeted figure isn't actually Thog, and while his attempt to unmask him appears to fail (due to Tarquin [[CrazyPrepared wearing a mask beneath his helmet]]), it turns out a few strips later that both Roy and Elan have surmised his true identity anyway-- Roy from [[SherlockScan a number of small clues]] (including, ironically, the presence of the backup mask), and Elan due to [[GenreSavvy his understanding of storytelling conventions]].
** Near the end of that same arc, [[spoiler: the vampire Malack kills Durkon and turns him into a vampiric thrall, before Malack's destruction leaves Durkon as a free-willed vampire.]] He assures the Order that he remains their ally, but the final page of the book gives the lie to this, as we see [[spoiler: inside Durkon's mind, where his actual personality is held hostage by a vampiric imposter.]] A significant portion of the following book elapses with the characters largely unaware of the traitor in their midst (except for Belkar who is suspicious); by the time the truth comes out, it's almost too late.

* ''Literature/{{The Winds of War|AndWarAndRemembrance}}'' is steeped in this for obvious reasons. However there is one particularly jarring example when Natalie is trying to remember the old name of the Polish town they're in, the name it had when it was ruled by the Austrians. Her uncle tells here: Auschwitz.

A character's HiddenDepths are often a source of Dramatic Irony. GaveUpTooSoon can also often overlap, in cases where the audience knows how close the character is to success before they give up. A favorite trick of time-travel or historical works; see ItWillNeverCatchOn. ForegoneConclusion or DoomedByCanon often result in this. May end with an InternalReveal. The opposite is TomatoSurprise, when the ''characters'' know something that the ''audience'' doesn't know. InnocentInaccurate is a sub-trope.

* On Day 5 of ''[[WebVideo/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'', while discussing how Scar stole the Enchanting Table the previous day and how he and his allies would have to find a way to get it from him, Martyn remarks, "There's no way he's not buried it in the Panda Sanctuary, by the way, it's just gonna be underneath a couple of, like, dirt blocks or something for sure." As it turns out, according to [[SwitchingPOV Scar's episode]] for Day 4, that's ''exactly'' what he did, and that's what the Red Lives (who want Scar dead) find when they start griefing the Panda Sanctuary.[[note]]While spying on the griefing of the Panda Sanctuary, Martyn lampshades that he called it.[[/note]]

* On Day 5 of ''[[LetsPlay/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'', while discussing how Scar stole the Enchanting Table the previous day and how he and his allies would have to find a way to get it from him, Martyn remarks, "There's no way he's not buried it in the Panda Sanctuary, by the way, it's just gonna be underneath a couple of, like, dirt blocks or something for sure." As it turns out, according to [[SwitchingPOV Scar's episode]] for Day 4, that's ''exactly'' what he did, and that's what the Red Lives (who want Scar dead) find when they start griefing the Panda Sanctuary.[[note]]While spying on the griefing of the Panda Sanctuary, Martyn lampshades that he called it.[[/note]]

* GoodbyeVolcanoHigh: If the title and premise didn't give it away, the first scene makes it explicitly clear that the game has an EverybodyDiesEnding. Despite this, characters still reassure each other for the first half of the game that the meteorological event and power outages are nothing to worry about.

* Basically any time a superhero keeps a secret identity, it will lead to this trope. Think of all the instances where someone judged Peter Parker for not being around when a supervillain attacked, not knowing he ''was'' present as the Amazing ComicBook/SpiderMan, the times people misconstrued ComicBook/{{Superman}} or ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s true identities, or the many times where someone badmouthed ComicBook/IronMan and said he was just a hired bodyguard, not realizing they were talking to the CEO of Stark Enterprises under the mask.
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': During this run, very few people realize the truth behind who is currently under the mask, despite Octavius barely even trying to hide it. Even when Spidey takes people badmouthing the (believed to be deceased) Doctor Octopus very personally, most of his allies think it's a result of DueToTheDead, or seeing Octavius as a WorthyOpponent. The readers alone realize that it's because he ''is'' Octavius.
* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' book ''ComicBook/HalJordanAndTheGreenLanternCorps'' has the next example: In the "Prism of Time" arc Kyle suggests he and Soranik watch Terminator because the of the time travel in the arc. The Big Bad of the arc, Sarko, is the child of Kyle and Soranik from the future, not unlike the time tangled Conner family of the Terminator franchise.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Weiss Schnee repeatedly refuses [[CasanovaWannabe Jaune Arc's]] advances, and later remarks that he's just like every other boy who wants to date her solely because she's a rich heiress of a company. However, Jaune later confides to his friends that Weiss is the most incredible girl he has ever met, lists all her positive qualities like her intelligence and singing ability, and honestly doesn't understand why she won't take him seriously. Pyrrha comments he should have just told Weiss that amazing speech instead of swaggering and using corny pickup lines. For extra irony, Jaune doesn't notice Pyrrha has feelings for ''him'', and thinks such a famous person like her has several dates, when it's actually [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon the opposite]].

** Cammie, bitter about being shipped off from Astro City to spend the summer in the countryside with relatives, resentfully thinks that they would not think so highly of their local superhero Roustabout if they could compare him to a real Astro City superhero -- like ''Crackerjack'', who not only (unlike Roustabout) has no superpowers but also is an arrogant GloryHound (also unlike Roustabout).
** Similarly, when Brian longs to be a hero for the respect, he sees Crackerjack in action and thinks he gets respect in spades -- unaware that his GloryHound ways mean he gets less than even his exploits would merit in the abstract.

* ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest 2'' has the antagonist mention that they are taking revenge for what happened to [[spoiler:their baby sister Lydia]]. This line means nothing to the other characters, but tells the player almost everything: [[spoiler:Julietta is the sister of Lydia Nolan from the first game and therefore an [[RealityWarper Observer]], which explains her ability to create all of the supernatural things that occur in the game]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Elliot calls Sarah to arrange a suitable place to talk about [[spoiler:breaking up with her]]. Sarah, having been thinking about meeting to talk about the same thing, recognizes the intention behind it based on the wording and the places suggested but jumps to the wrong conclusion as to the reason for doing so and so arrives at the agreed upon place with preconceived ideas.

* The ''WebOriginal/HamstersParadise'' post [[https://tribbetherium.tumblr.com/post/704392466790596608/the-middle-temperocene-150-million-years-1000 Hit or Myth]] is about a Plainmane elder telling some pups a story about the origins of meatmoss. There was once a beast called the All-Eater which walked on two legs, had sharp teeth, and a face similar to the 'hounds, that didn't respect the balance of nature and killed everything in its path. The suns and the moons tried to kill the All-Eater, but could only destroy its spirit, making it as mindless as a plant. The pups ask the elder if this story is true, and the elder says it could be. By this point, the readers have probably caught on that this is a distorted folk memory of the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil harmsters]], the planet's first sapient species, who killed things for fun until they all died of a transmissible cancer.

* In Jason Matthews's ''Literature/RedSparrow'', the majority of the story is about the CIA protecting their penetration of the SVR, and the Russians attempting to unmask the traitor among them. The novel starts by introducing the mole and the American case officer handling him.

** In the first book, Honor is pursuing a [[spoiler:Havenite Q-ship]] she believes is trying to summon an invasion force. They're actually trying to ''call off'' the invasion. Unfortunately, she doesn't know this, and given that she didn't, letting the ship get away would have been gross dereliction of duty.
*** The dramatic irony is noted in-story as the enemy captain himself states that he can't tell her he's trying to stop the attack and prevent a war because it would be admitting that there was a planned attack which would be evidence Haven was behind everything that was going on, and therefore likely lead to a war. He also admits that even were he to tell her, she wouldn't have any reason to believe him and let him go.
** Combined with TheCavalry in the second book.
--->[[spoiler:Dear God. She doesn't know we're here.]]

* ''Literature/StarWarsTatooineGhost'': Kitser steals the painting from the auction [[spoiler:to return it to Leia, his best friend's daughter, not realizing that Leia was also at the auction and he inadvertently kept her from getting the painting sooner.]]

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Luke asserts in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'' that FieryRedhead women aren’t his type. His eventual wife is Mara Jade, a definite example of the type, and their son Ben inherited a lot of his mom’s tendencies.

* In ''Theatre/TheGirlFromTheGoldenWest'', when the Girl is alone with Johnson for the first time and he voices concern for her security, she repeats to him what she told Ashby earlier, "I bet if a road-agent come in here, I could offer him a drink an' he'd treat me like a perfect lady," unaware that Johnson is none other than the road-agent Ramerrez whom Ashby and the other boys are out searching for.