History Main / UnexpectedKindness

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]]", the others have been avoiding Pinkie Pie, causing the latter to mistakenly believe they don't want to be her friend anymore [[SanitySlippage and she loses her sanity]]. She sees that they've set up a party and is furious, thinking that they're setting up a going-away party for her. They reveal to her that it's really a [[SurpriseParty surprise birthday party]]. Since Pinkie has [[ForgotTheirOwnBirthday forgotten that today's her birthday]], she becomes happy again and realizes they do want her around after all.

** "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" gives us a huge on from Diamond Tiara, who undergoes a HeelFaceTurn after being shown kindness by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whom she'd done nothing but torment up to that point. But the CMC discover her FreudianExcuse, her demanding, abusive mother, and treat her with kindness. She, in turn, defends the CMC to her mother after she calls them [[FantasticSlur "blank flanks"]], a slur Diamond Tiara had used herself in the past, but now acknowledges as hurtful and mean. She is also the first to tell the CMC that their cutie marks are beautiful.

* In ''Three Girls'' by Elena Vereyskaya, the doctor is a GrumpyBear who is extremely socially awkward on his best days and a jerk on his worst ones. Therefore, when Natasha's little brother Totik comes to the house for the first time (having been away getting medical treatment), everybody is amazed when the doctor is very kind to him and even agrees to take part in his games. Thanks to Totik, the doctor gradually opens up to everyone else.

** In "Stall Monitor", Lincoln thinks Mrs. Johnson is going to tell his parents he's a bad student, but she actually tells them he's a ''good'' student.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'': Woody and Buzz mistake Sid's disfigured toys for [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals]]. They grab Buzz and Woody fears the worst, but then it's revealed [[CreepyGood that they were just reattaching Buzz's arm]].

There are many potential reasons why the character was surprised-- maybe they're used to being mistreated, whether due to an abusive childhood, living in a CrapsackWorld, or having a bad work environment. Perhaps they have a negative association with the other person's profession, nationality, etc (e.g. someone who had {{Sadist Teacher}}s in school expects a teacher to be mean). Then again, maybe they're just a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter, someone who HatesEveryoneEqually, TheCynic, or think that HopeIsScary. They might also be [[SaveTheVillain evil]] or [[SaveTheJerk obnoxious]] and thus don't expect a person to help them (if evil, this can overlap with EvilCannotComprehendGood).

** Gunhead is a muscular, combat-oriented hero with a mask and gloves that look like gun-muzzles. When Uraraka interned with him, she expected him to be tough and mean. Instead, he was quite warm to her when teaching her self-defense and patrolling techniques, earning a surprised reaction from her.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', [[spoiler: when Stoick discovers his long-lost wife Valka was not only alive the whole time, but off living with dragons, Valka expects Stoick to shout at her for abandoning him to raise Hiccup alone. Instead, he touches her cheek and says, "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you," rekindling their relationship.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Charlotte pays Tiana to make a batch of her famous beignets for a masquerade ball she's hosting at her mansion. During the party, an accident ends spoiling the pastries and making a huge mess, and Tiana, who was working during the ball, expects Charlotte to be angry or at the very least demand a refund. Instead, Charlotte immediately realizes that it was a mistake, whisks Tiana upstairs to clean up, and lends her one of her own expensive dresses (complete with accessories) so she can enjoy the party as a guest. She may be a customer, but she's Tiana's best friend first and foremost.

* In ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', after Scrooge's redemption, Bob Cratchit comes into work eighteen-and-a-half minutes late the day after Christmas. Scrooge pretends to be his miserly old self and punish Bob, before revealing he instead wants to give him proper appreciation and help him with his struggling family.

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', after returning from the Chamber (which involved breaking several school rules), Harry and Ron are faced with Dumbledore. After promising he would punish them if they broke anymore school rules at the beginning of the year (due to the flying car incident), Dumbledore says, "Sometimes the best of us must eat our words." He promptly awards them for Special Services to the School and gives 200 points to Gryffindor.
** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'', when Dumbledore visits the trio in the Hospital Wing, they fully expect he won't believe them about Sirius being innocent. Instead, Dumbledore not only believes them, but gives them a chance to save Sirius and Buckbeak.

* In ''Tyupa Is Little'' by Yevgeny Charushin, Tyupa is a kitten who is shunned by his mother Nepunka after she starts expecting a new litter, so he becomes wary of her. However, when her newborn kittens are taken away from her, she mistakes Tyupa from one of them and suddenly showers him with love again. Tyupa is very surprised and happy when she feeds him and sings him to sleep, but much less happy when she continues to treat him [[MyBelovedSmother as a helpless newborn]] rather than the several-month-old he is.

* One of the chief draws of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' was the constant debates and arguments between NobleBigot Archie and Mike "Meathead" Stivic, his WideEyedIdealist son-in-law. The two butted heads on every possible topic from the serious (civil rights, women's liberation, and Richard Nixon, just to name a few) to the silly (how to best put on pants or arrange food on a plate), and it often seemed like there was no love between them. However, Archie occasionally had moments of kindness toward Mike--in one instance, he secretly pays for the younger man's emergency appendectomy, telling his daughter Gloria (Mike's wife) that "he's the only Meathead you got."
** Similarly, Archie's treatment of his wife Edith--or, to use his favorite nickname for her, "Dingbat"--could be quite abrasive at times, but it was clear that he [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther truly loved her deep down.]] If anyone ever dared to insult Edith, he was the first to defend her; similarly, whenever she got dressed up for a special occasion, Archie would be flabbergasted by her beauty and barely able to speak.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': In "The Comic Book Store Regeneration", [[spoiler: Howard gets the news that his mom passed away unexpectedly while in Florida.]] When [[{{Jerkass}} Sheldon]] wants to says something, Leonard expects him to say something inappropriate and tries to stop him, but Howard lets him go ahead, prepared for the worst. Instead, Sheldon sincerely comments, [[spoiler: "When I lost my own father, I didn't have any friends to help me through it. You do."]]

* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' [[SitcomArchNemesis the Janitor]] is normally nothing but antagonistic toward JD but [[spoiler: after JD's dad dies]] he leaves him alone and even offers a little wordless sympathy.

** In one Ernie & Bert skit, an intimidating boy named Tough Eddie knocks over Bert's sandcastle and claims to "have something for" Bert. Bert is very scared at what Eddie will do to him, but Eddie just gives him an ice cream (since he actually knocked over the sandcastle by accident and wanted to apologise).

* In ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'' the titular character butts heads with StrawMisogynist Fran Dodd, culminating in her breaking his hand. The next time he sees her, he frantically claims to have never met her before. The third time they interact after this is when she finds out that Fran stole credit for a book she wrote. However, instead of being an unrepentant jerk towards Kimmy, he apologizes and talks to her in a surprisingly polite manner.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': Bernadetta is a NervousWreck thanks to her [[AbusiveParents abusive father]]. A recurring feature of her [[OptionalCharacterScene support conversations]] is her thinking that an approaching character means to do her harm, only for them to do some small act of kindness, like returning a lost item, instead. Though even then, she has a tendency to misinterpret the other character's kindness as ploy to gain her trust so that they can betray her later (when she hasn't fled, fainted, or gotten too wrapped in her hysterics to notice in it first place).

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' episode "No Strings Attached," [[AlphaBitch the Ashleys]] offer Spinelli six front-row tickets to a major wrestling event in town. Spinelli and the rest of the Recess Gang suspect a trick and spend the whole day trying to figure out what the Ashleys are plotting. Eventually, Mikey and Gus decide that it's just them being nice and take the tickets, while Spinelli, T.J., Vince, and Gretchen continue their investigation. Unfortunately, after breaking into the Ashleys' secret clubhouse, the four discover that the girls genuinely ''did'' want to give Spinelli the tickets, as their "official code" declares that any gifts they don't want must be shared with someone else named Ashley--which is Spinelli's first name. The quartet ends up trapped in the clubhouse while Mikey, Gus, Miss Finster, and some kindergarteners have a blast at the wrestling show.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction" has a ChristmasEpisode where Solomon Grundy, concerned that he'd frightened a little girl on Christmas, went out of his way to give her a teddy bear that he'd been given at the Justice League Christmas party.

* In ''Literature/MyPosthumousAdventures'', Anna and the Big-Eared One, on their way to the outer CirclesOfHell, meet three other souls who demand they give them their bread. The three strangers fully expect them to fight back furiously, which is how the souls in Hell usually treat each other and are absolutely dumbfounded when Anna (admittedly, after thinking of starting a fight) gives them three loaves of bread as a gift.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'': In "[[Recap/PokemonS11E1TearsForFears Tears for Fears!]]", Chimchar keeps having flashbacks of the times Paul berated him for losing battles, as well as when Paul abandoned him for failing to live up to his standards. When he loses a practice round to Buizel and Ash picks him up, he's [[ThisIsGonnaSuck visibly anticipating the worst]] and clearly expects Ash to tell him off. To his surprise, Ash praises him for being so good at battling. Chimchar is so touched that he breaks down in TearsOfJoy.

* ''Series/BigTimeRush'': In "Green Time Rush", the band's class is split into several groups for an Earth Day project. SmartGuy Logan gets paired with the large, aggressive, and BookDumb Ozzie. He's against every project Logan pitches and refuses to help with it. He intimidates Logan... until Logan catches him remaking the model after it gets damaged, and then admitting that he's not very good with school and doesn't think he can do anything to help with the project. Seeing this, Logan asks their teacher for an extension so they can work on it as partners.

* In fact, Unexpected Kindness could be said to be the behaviour expected by God of Christians. Much of the Sermon on the Mount is instructing those who would be Christ's followers to treat even enemies with kindness and love, rather than returning hostility for hostility.

* In ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'' by Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart, Pasha Selim sentences the four main characters to death, because they have been trying to whisk his beloved Konstanze away from his harem (and Konstanze, also being among the sentenced, has agreed to be whisked away) and because Konstanze's fiance Belmonte is the son of Selim's bitterest enemy. However, at the last moment, Selim changes his mind and lets the entire group go. Amazed, they say heartfelt farewells to him and join in a celebratory final chorus praising Selim and wishing him a long life.

-->--'''Willy Wonka''', ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' [[note]]Wonka is quoting ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'', but Creator/WilliamShakespeare's original words were "a naughty world."[[/note]]

* ''Literature/LesMiserables'': Former convict Jean Valjean is abused and untrusted even after serving all his sentence, so he becomes distrustful of anyone else. When a Bishop provides him food and shelter at his church, Jean steals the church's silverware and flees but is caught by the police. He is brought back and expects to be turned in by the Bishop, but instead the priest claims he gave the silverware to Jean and gifts him a pair of silver candlesticks for good measure. Jean is so moved by the Bishop covering for his theft that he resolves to become a better man from then on.

-->--''Willy Wonka'', '''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''' [[note]]Wonka is quoting ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'', but Creator/WilliamShakespeare's original words were "a naughty world."[[/note]]

* ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons2000'': A deleted scene has [[LoveableRogue Ridley]] reveal [{TragicBigot the reason for his bigotry against Mages]], which is intense even by Commoner standards: his inventor father had created a flying carriage, and jealous mages had {{Mind Rape}}d him and taken the credit, ultimately leading to the man's death. Marina, an aristocratic Mage who had been talking down to Ridley and Snails every chance she had up to this point, is left [[EveryoneHasStandards nearly speechless with horror]] at Ridley's tale, and stammers out an "I'm sorry...", much to Ridley's clear surprise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheEpicTalesOfCaptainUnderpants'': In "Captain Underpants and the Costly Conundrum of the Calamitous Claylossus", Bo Hweemuth is rumored to be a terrifying bully. When George and Harold make a comic with him in it, he appears to be in a state of TranquilFury after he reads it. The frightened boys think Bo wants to beat them up and they run from him. When he finally catches up to them, he reveals that he just wanted to tell them that he loved their comic. He then shows them that he made a clay figurine out of Captain Underpants because he's a big fan of George and Harold's ''Captain Underpants'' series.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticecLeague'' has the episode "Comfort and Joy". After a fight with the Ultra Humanite trashes a toy that Flash had procured for a group of orphans, Ultra Humanite knocks out the Flash after he tells him he may as well use his ray gun on him. Flash wakes to find Ultra Humanite repairing the toy, saying that trite as the Flash's sentiments were, he appreciated the sentiment behind them. He even comes with the Flash to deliver the toy, and willingly goes back to his cell. Flash reciprocates with the kindness by arranging for an AluminimChristmasTree to be waiting in the Humanite's cell. Humanite briefly goes maudlin, saying he had one like it as a child.

* ''ComicStrip/Peanuts'' has one notable strip that has Charlie Brown demonstrate that [[http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1967/2/19 he'll even show kindness to his staunchest nemesis.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', [[spoiler: when Stoick discovers his long-lost wife Valka was not only alive the whole time, but off living with dragons, Valka expects Stoick to shout at her for abandoning him to raise Hiccup alone. Instead, he touches her cheek and says, "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."]]

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'':
** In "The Fancy and the Fooled", [[spoiler: the Mighty Nein corner their ally Essek, who they recently discovered was the one who handed two of the Dynasty's beacons to the Cerberus Assembly, triggering the war between the Dynasty and the Dwendalian Empire. He explains he never meant for war to break out over his act, expresses how regretful he is, and expects to be turned in by them. But the group relates to Essek getting in over his head, and not only keep his secret but essentially accept him as one of their own.]]

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', Harry is caught by [=McGonagall=] using his broomstick without Madam Hooch present, and Harry is sure she will expel him. He even thinks "Wood" is the stick she will beat him with. It turns out "Wood" is Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain - [=McGonagall=] thinks Harry would make a perfect seeker.

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', Harry is caught by McGonagall using his broomstick without Madam Hooch present, and Harry is sure she will expel him. He even thinks "Wood" is the stick she will beat him with. It turns out "Wood" is Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain - McGonagall thinks Harry would make a perfect seeker.