What An Idiot / Western Animation G To L

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G

• G.I. Joe: Cobra Commander follows right on this trope in The Movie. After a failed battle with G.I. Joe, Serpentor insults them.
  You'd Expect: Cobra Commander to shut up and take his abuse as usual.
  Instead: Cobra Commander insults Serpentor.
  • Also, in that very same scene, literally all of Cobra Commander's lieutenants stand around berating him for being a coward, an idiot, and generally just a horrible leader. Then, there's an intruder alert, and the Cobra Commander orders everyone to follow him to stop the intruder.
    You'd Expect: Having just stood around enumerating his plethora of flaws in leadership, everyone would tell him to buzz off, or at least smack him once or twice.
    Instead: Everyone blindly falls in lockstep behind him, as if they weren't even listening to themselves not two minutes before.
  • In a way, the birth of Serpentor is also an idiot move by Cobra. Destro, the Baroness, and all the other main Cobra bad guys have had enough of Cobra Commander's inept leadership.
    You'd Expect: All of them of just get rid of the Commander and take over Cobra themselves. After all, all of them have command experience, and Destro and the Twins pretty much take care of the financial/weapons side of things already.
    Instead: They follow Dr. Mindbender's scheme to genetically create a new leader out of the genes of the world's greatest warlords. Yes, they decide to create someone to boss them about. And his plans are almost as awful as Cobra Commander's.
    But Wait! There's More! When they realized that they were stealing DNA, the leaders of G.I. Joe came up with a theory as to what Cobra was up to that would have made a lot more sense: creating an army of genetically enhanced super-soldiers. If Dr. Mindbender had used his skills to that, the Joes would have been in big trouble.
    Fortunately: It apparently never occurred to him.
  • In yet another example of rather questionable strategizing from the Commander, comes an episode where he has his Cobra agents seize an advanced laser guidance device from a G.I. Joe laboratory.
    You'd Expect: The Commander using the device to hold either America or the world ransom by threatening to blow up random monuments or capitals with his laser device augmented with the Joes' laser guidance technology, or, in a more sensible plan of strategy, attack the Joes' headquarters with the damn thing.
    Instead: Cobra Commander uses it to deface the moon by putting his image on it, stating that he's striking fear into the hearts of the world by putting his mug on the moon.
    If Anything: Destro was completely justified in calling out Cobra Commander for his insanity after that little scheme predictably blew up in their faces. "Cosmic Graffiti", indeed.
• Gigantosaurus:
  • In the Season 3 episode, "One Wise Dino", Marsh becomes a temporary member of the Council of Wise Dinos after he wins the raffle (which no one else entered) and, despite his age, has managed to figure out the solutions to 2 previous problems, the first one being the Raptors eating Bill's berries which he figured out after seeing their purple tongues and the second one being Rocky's trick-shots in Boneball being the result of a dragonfly flying inside the ball. Despite this, Mazu still remains skeptical that he should be on the Council, which is quite understandable given his age. However, the third problem takes the cake. The problem is that there's a tree about to fall onto Archie's nest, but said tree happens to be Rugo's food stash and she has tunnels leading to it from everywhere so she cannot be caught by the Raptors. Ayati asks Marsh what they should do to solve this problem.
    You'd Expect: Mazu would let Marsh explain himself so they can figure out what needs to be done.
    Instead: She doesn't let Marsh speak and tries to ask Giganto to help them, only to see him stop before he comes anywhere near the tree.
    Even worse: Ayati suggests coming up with a different way to solve the problem, but Mazu insists that she knows what needs to be done, even going so far as to blow off Marsh's warning that the ground isn't safe! Keep in mind that Marsh has shown a good amount of intelligence during the 2 problems mentioned above, so you'd think Mazu would heed his advice just this once!
    As a result: Mazu gets stuck in the ground due to the ground underneath the tree being empty from Rugo's tunnels.
• Goof Troop:
  • In the episode, "Tub Be or Not Tub Be", Pete manipulates PJ into being his spy and setting up booby traps for the Goofs by faking affection and convincing him the traps are safety features. Once PJ finds out what happened, he goes out of his way to disable the traps, at which point Max catches him in the act.
    You'd Expect: Max would remember that PJ is one of the nicest people he's ever met and would never dream of lying to him and that Pete is a huge jerk who is so controlling that PJ should be given the benefit of the doubt. Lacking that, he would notice PJ's obvious contrition and let him explain.
    Instead: He immediately accuses PJ of cheating, hits him, and breaks off their friendship.
  • In "Close Encounters of the Weird Mime", Max and PJ accidentally begin recording their science fiction video to a satellite dish instead of a VCR, thus making the whole town frightened of an alien invasion. Peg hears about it and believes that they need to leave town.
    You'd Expect: Given that she wanted her family to move, she would look for her son immediately and have everything cleared up when she finds him.
    Instead: Peg makes plans to leave town without even bothering to look for him.
• At the end of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Cousin Mel is about to successfully sue Santa Claus for running over Jake's grandma until he and Santa's elves come into court and reveal all of the bad things she's done.
  You'd expect: That Cousin Mel would do some quick ad-libbing to prevent her from being sentenced guilty. After all, all of that time she spent with I.M. Slime should've paid off.
  Instead: She's under enough apparent pressure to confess literally everything. Granted, she could've believed that she could've gotten off with a better sentence if she'd confessed, but she weaseled her way out before!
  • Earlier, Santa found Jake's grandma unconscious after accidentally running her over.
    You'd expect that Santa would go door to door finding out if anyone knows her in this neighborhood or bring her to the nearest hospital or just leave her be with a note
    Instead He took her to the North Pole where she's been missing nearly an entire year. He could have prevented the plot if he simply didn't take her to the North Pole and endangered her condition. Besides the whole world knows he exists after all.
• Green Eggs and Ham (2019)
  • Snerz had a pet flemur (flamingo/lemur hybrid) as a child, to whom he was very attached. But he played roughly with it inadvertently making the flemur miserable. His mother recognizes this and feels sorry for the flemur.
    Youd' Expect: She would tell Snerz that he's handling his pet too roughly and teach him to treat it more gently.
    Instead: She just lets the flemur leave the house without even taking a moment to tell Snerz about how he was making it feel. While she was doing the flemur a favor, she also ended up making Snerz miserable that his pet was gone.
    You'd Then Expect: That she would tell Snerz the truth and explain that she let the flemur go on purpose because of how miserable he was with Snerz.
    Instead: She tells Snerz that she accidentally left the door open and the flemur escaped.
    As a Result: Snerz begins to hate his mother so much that he never speaks to her again except for a prank call on Mother's Day. As an adult, he also collects tons of animals and treats them worse than he ever treated his flemur.
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series:
  • Centuries ago, the Guardians of Oa created the Manhunters to serve as an army of peacekeepers. The Manhunters decided that as crimes come from emotions, having emotions must be the real crime and tried to wipe out all life capable of feeling emotion, devastating a large area of the galaxy before being defeated. Embarrassed by the Manhunter's actions, the Guardians tried to cover their existence up by eliminating all mention of them from the records.
    You'd Expect: The Guardians would have gathered up every deactivated Manhunter they could find and had them melted down, destroying all traces of their existence.
    Instead: They just leave the deactivated Manhunters lying around, sometimes out in the open where anyone who happened by could see them.
    As a Result: The Anti-Monitor arrives and is able to reactivate the Manhunters, which causes serious issues for the Guardians as not only do they once again have the Manhunters rampaging throughout the galaxy, but the Red Lantern Corp (not without reason) views this as a cover-up and attempted sneak-attack by the Guardians which badly strains relations between the two factions right after a peace treaty had been signed.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: In the episode "Major Cheese" we meet the eccentric elderly bodybuilder Mighty Moe. Through blatant Loophole Abuse of the way a healthy lifestyle is graded, Mighty Moe has discovered a way to Immortality. As annoying as that is, it takes a turn for the worse when he plans to sell a book about the said loophole. Obviously, this is Grim's problem and so he plans to shorten Mighty Moe's life.
  You'd Expect: Grim to psychologically or psychically hurt Mighty Moe lethally which would render the healthy lifestyle moot. If he can't do that directly for legal reasons hire an assassin.
  Instead: Grim decides to feed him an unhealthy Cheese Puff.
  Result: Grim spends the majority of the episode being humiliated, as Mighty Moe is either too savvy or insane to fall for any scheme involving eating the Cheese Puff.
• "Western Animation/Grojband": Throughout the series, Corey has a speech at the end of an episode, with the rest of his bandmates (And himself in one episode) noting that he could've made lyrics out of those instead of getting inspiration from Trina's diary.
  You'd Expect: Corey would eventually try writing the lyrics down. It'd be less complicated than having to get Trina to write in her diary for Corey to get lyric inspiration.
  Instead: The thought never crosses his mind until after his speech in the finale.
  • In the episode "One Plant Band", Corey lures the episode's antagonist (An evil plant that can hypnotize people) into a kitchen in the restaurant they're at, where the rest of the band are carrying knives.
  • You'd Expect: The plant would hypnotize the band into not cutting him up.
    Instead: He simply stands there, saying "I'm in a lot of trouble, am I?", with the band proceeding to chop up the plant.
    

H

• Harley Quinn (2019): Early in season 2, Riddler almost escapes Harley's custody but chooses to remain her captive because running on the hamster wheel powering the hideout put him in good shape. He then goes on to admit to Harley and her crew that he intends to escape as soon as he's good and ready.
  You'd Expect: That Harley and her crew would tighten security and try to stay one step ahead of Riddler.
  They Could Also: Capture supervillain henchmen to shorten Riddler's running shifts and have more people powering the hideout. That way Riddler doesn't get too strong and become more of a problem if he escapes. If they're worried about Riddler conspiring with said henchmen, they could keep Riddler separated from the other prisoners.
  Instead: They do neither one of those things and just allow Riddler to continue his cardio, even though he made it clear he has a plan to escape.
  The Result: Doctor Psycho eventually makes a Face–Heel Turn, betrays the crew, and teams up with Riddler and they proceed to try and take over the world.
• Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats:
  • "Soap Box Derby": Heathcliff finishes building his soap box derby racer but Hector, Wordsworth, and Mungo sabotage it overnight. Hector and Spike ram into Heathcliff's car, causing it to fall apart during the race. On the sidelines, Mungo notices this and points it out to Wordsworth.
    You'd Expect: Wordsworth to keep quiet, lest they risk Heathcliff getting suspicious.
    Instead: He confesses what they did to the car...just as Heathcliff passes by. Needless to say, Heathcliff gets pissed off, wrecks Spike's and Hector's cars, and wins the race unopposed.
  • In "Junk Food", the Catillac Cats open up a restaurant that attracts the attention of a local food critic. The critic's visit prompts three separate instances, the last of which jeopardizes their status as a five-star eatery. First, Riff Raff advises the maître d', Hector, to let him in.
    You'd Expect: Hector to do just that, no questions asked.
    Instead: He asks the critic for a password, and he becomes audibly offended at providing one. This prompts Riff Raff to shove Hector aside and open the door.
    After That: The critic walks up to Cleo, the hostess, and asks to be seated.
    You'd Then Expect: Cleo to realize that her treatment of this critic can make or break the restaurant and to show him to his table.
    Instead: She thinks the critic is making a move on her and shoots back with "As long as your legs don't bend the wrong way, why not?". Riff Raff has to find the critic a table himself and is forced to lie that Cleo doesn't work there.
    Finally: The critic enjoys his meal and is prepared to give the restaurant five stars. However, he says that he is suspicious about being asked for a password. Unbeknownst to the critic, it's there because it prevents Leroy the junkyard dog from getting inside and shutting the restaurant down.
    You'd Then Expect: Riff Raff to remember this and not mention it to the critic. He could say the password is for discounts, or that it's a code for employees only.
    Instead: He spills the beans on Leroy which makes the critic deem the restaurant's location a security issue. He takes a star away from his review and tells the Catillac Cats that they can get it back once Leroy is out of their hair.
• Hilda:
  • Frida is the Sparrow Scout leader. She prides herself on being organized and on top of her schoolwork. She also has a ghost living in her room who tidies up after her as thanks for keeping his book safe.
    You'd Expect: Frida would have realized this was unusual.
    Instead: She accepts it as normal and doesn't explain to her friends properly that the ghost didn't make a mess in her room, she did, and the ghost cleaned it up, but said ghost has vanished.
    The Result: When Hilda and David tidy up Frida's room and set up a camera to find out who was messing it up, they are very surprised. And David laughs on realizing Frida thought all rooms cleaned themselves.
  • After this, Frida is upset that the ghost is gone, because now it means she has to do it herself, and she starts having an identity crisis about her perfect persona and if she really is The Ace if she's messy.
    You'd Expect: She would follow what David suggests and just keep her room tidy, or accept the mess. There's leaving stuff lying around, and there's getting up at night and deliberately mucking her things.
    Instead: When Hilda volunteers to find the ghost and ask him to come back, Frida goes along with it rather than take responsibility for her slovenly ways.
    The Result: Hilda tries her best, but the attempt goes south. Friday then lashes out at her and David, blaming Hilda for the failure. David shouts at her that she could just clean up her own room, Hilda agrees with David finally, and their friendship group is split.
  • "The Replacement": The committee back at Hilda's home disbelieves Alfur's reports on the various adventures. Just as they ask him to surrender his passport and return from Trolberg, Alfur has a Freak Out and runs away. The Lost Clan works to cover his escape but the committee has a headstart. Alfur heads into the farmer's market and hides among the vegetables.
    You'd Expect: They would discreetly work to contain Alfur. No one can see them, and the elves pride themselves on their secrecy.
    Instead: They chase Alfur through a farmer's market and toss produce around in an attempt to pin him down, including berries and lettuce.
    Predictably: Safety Patrol woman Gerda comes to the rescue of the innocent passerby, who claims they are being attacked by spirits. She traps the elves in the lighthouse.
  • "The Stone Forest": Frieda needs a spell ingredient from the troll ruins outside Trolberg. Hilda volunteers to go get it.
    You'd Expect: She would ask her mum to give her a ride. That would not only save time but also show she's abiding by their truce about No More Lies.
    Instead: Hilda lies about going to spend the day at Frieda's and doesn't reach home until nighttime. It turns out her mum prepared dinner and wanted some girl time.
    You'd Then Expect: Hilda would ask for the elves to send it over via pigeon courier.
    Instead: She argues with her mother and tries to take a shortcut through Nisse space. Her mother grabs her.
    The Result: Teleportation Misfire ensues; Hilda and her mother end up in a forest made of stone, surrounded by trolls. Their attempts to escape are thwarted when Twig is kidnapped. Meanwhile, Frida and David worry when they realize Hilda and her mother have vanished into thin air.
  • Hilda and the Mountain King: In this movie that properly ends season two, Hilda has switched species with a troll-baby named Baba, and is shocked on learning that Baba's mother Trylla did this. Her mother Johanna figures out by process of elimination where Hilda may be in the mountains as she drags the now-human and unintelligible Baba along with Alfur and Tontu, but hostile trolls guard the area where the cave opens. She explains what happened to Erik Ahlberg and asks for his help because he wants a way into the Troll Forest and has the firepower to protect her from the hostile trolls. Erik agrees, for the glory, and to test out a solar gun that is a One-Hit KO on trolls. Fortunately, Hilda happens to be outside the cave after freeing Trundle and leaps into her mother's arms. She can talk to humans and trolls now, explaining what happened and translating for Trylla, who reaches for Baba.
    You'd Expect: Considering that Erik knows Hilda and Johanna told him about the spell, given he used her essay to come up with the bells' campaign and went searching for her in the woods a few days ago, that he would hold his fire. Killing a child in front of its mother is a good way to spell suicide and kill your chances of Trollberg citizens liking you.
    Instead: He fires on Hilda and nearly makes the peaceful reunion violent, grabbing Baba before Trylla can pick up her daughter. As Johanna gives him a What the Hell, Hero? amid parental fears, Erik tries to say that Hilda may be bewitching and tricking them, even though Hilda just wants to be reunited with her mother.
    Fortunately: Trylla and Johanna tag-team as a Mama Bear duo; Johanna disarms Erik while Trylla grabs Baba and smashes the solar gun. This also switches the spell, just in time for Trylla to explain that Trundle the troll in the cave with the bells was not a wise magician, but the Mountain King that wants to destroy Trolberg and he lied to Hilda that he could make her human to get his freedom. When Trylla helps the group down the mountain, she has Erik in her fist so he can't try any monkey business.
• Huntik: Secrets & Seekers:
  • After failing several missions, Starter Villain DeFoe is assigned a Punishment Detail by his superiors and warned that this is his last chance to redeem himself. Said task is retrieving the Sword of Saint George from a secured dig site, a job DeFoe himself claims is so simple that any random Mook could do it. Just as he's ready to deliver the sword to Organization HQ, he gets a phone call from one of his spies, informing him that his Arch-Enemy Dante Vale, whom he has sworn vengeance upon, was spotted in Greece.
    You'd Expect: DeFoe to focus on completing the task at hand while ordering his spies to continue keeping tabs on Dante. He's already on thin ice with his bosses as it is and can't afford to throw away his last chance at redemption over a petty vendetta. Besides, he can get his revenge after he drops off the sword at Organization HQ.
    Or: If DeFoe finds the prospect of revenge too good to pass up, he would at least give the sword to one of his minions and have them deliver it in his stead.
    Instead: DeFoe, obsessed with destroying Dante, aborts his assigned mission and takes the sword with him to Greece as part of an unsanctioned attack on Dante's team.
    The Result: DeFoe predictably gets his ass kicked once again and loses the Sword of Saint George in the process. This proves to be the last straw for the Professor, who has DeFoe killed for his failures.
  • Zhalia has finally revealed herself to be the mole of the Organization. She beats the crap out of Lok and Sophie.
    You'd Expect: She finishes them off.
    Instead: She doesn't. What did she do? She just ties them down but still plans to finish them off once it's over.
    The Result: Lok and Sophie manage to escape from their restraints after she leaves.

I

• I ♡ Arlo:
  • "A Memory of Pizza": Ansel gives Arlo an urgent call that the mayor is coming to see Seaside, and if she's not impressed with the restoration, then Seaside will be condemned. He then proceeds to tell him what to do while awaiting another espresso from a rather loud espresso machine.
    You'd Expect: Ansel to move to a quieter location so he can tell Arlo what he's talking about.
    Instead: He stays right next to the station, and its loud noises end up blocking out most of his talk, and he hangs up right when Arlo can't hear anything. This causes Arlo to misinterpret Ansel's words and turn Seaside into a high-end town like him.
  • "Jeromio, Jeromio": Jeromio is in a bad mood and is somewhat flat like a pancake; Arlo tries to find out why.
    You'd Expect: Arlo to listen to Jeromio carefully so he can decipher why he's upset.
    Instead: Arlo keeps interrupting Jeromio and tries to find out by himself; his efforts all end up going wrong. It's only when he talks to a statue in Central Park does he finally listen to him.
• Infinity Train: A season one moment in retrospect. Amelia aka the False Conductor either wants "One" as she calls One-One destroyed or imprisoned indefinitely in one of the cars. To this end, she's been blackmailing the Cat into doing her bidding and using the Steward to hunt down One-One. Amelia encounters Tulip and Atticus, and the latter shows he will take on the Steward to protect his friends and his people. Eventually, Tulip's number hits 4, and in the most recent car, she's shown enough Character Development to let loose and relax while participating in an arcade area game. In short, she's going to be leaving soon.
  You'd Expect: Since Amelia is watching Tulip closely and has her profile up on the main computer that she would wait until Tulip's number hit zero to make her move. Tulip is only a girl but she is resourceful and an Action Survivor. Atticus can't win in a straight fight against the Steward, though he will try his hardest, and One-One aka "the ball" is virtually defenseless.
  Instead: The Steward and Conductor attack Tulip and her friends, turning Atticus into a Ghom for the crime of saving Tulip's life. Amelia follows this with a Hannibal Lecture towards Tulip, saying this is her fault for letting Atticus come with her. To add insult to injury, the Steward tosses One-One into the rubble but it turns out that they survived.
  The Result: As Tulip lampshades, "You made it personal when you attacked my friends." When allowed to head home, she forfeits it in favor of saving Atticus and confronting the Conductor head-on, succeeding in grabbing her gun to restore Atticus to Corgi form. Tulip's plan to reach the engine car also guarantees that One-One finds their "mum":  the Motherboard of the train, and resumes their rightful place as the real Conductor. Amelia herself lampshades in season 3 how stupid she was when recounting her story.
  • Speaking of Season 3, one of the duo protagonists is hit with this the hardest. Grace and Simon meet a little girl named Hazel and her motherly figure, a talking gorilla named Tuba. They then plan to bring her back with them to the Apex while finding a way to ditch the "Null" later. However, throughout their journey, Grace starts having second thoughts, seeing how close Hazel and Tuba are, and making her rethink about what they've been doing over the years and that there might be more to denizens than she thought. Later on, when Tuba is in danger Simon goes back for her.
    You'd Expect: Despite getting off to a rocky start, that Simon would also have the same Character Development, especially since he seemingly felt sorry for her after she revealed that she lost her own children.
    Instead: He flat-out murders Tuba by making her fall to the wheels, going so far as to tell Hazel about it.
    As A Result: Hazel is heartbroken and upset, and Grace is furious, much to Simon's confusion.
  • Later on, when they meet Amelia, they find out about a few things: the truth about the Train, the "Conductor", and that Hazel is also a denizen. Seeing how weird Grace has been acting, Simon borrows a tool from Samantha that allows him to see Grace's memories. Of course, he discovers that Grace found out before he did and kept it a secret from him.
    You'd Expect: Simon to realize it was all his fault since he's still so stubborn about denizens that Grace no longer trusts him.
    Instead: While it seemed that way at first, he got angry that Grace lied to him.
    The Result: Shortly after Hazel goes with Amelia, Simon traps Grace in her own memories and abandons her.
    Luckily: Grace manages to break free and return to the Apex. Unfortunately, she's too late: Simon has already taken over the Apex, deems her a "Void", and orders the other kids to wheel her.
  • Grace manages to get through to the other members and tell them the truth, despite Simon's protests. The couple then get into a fight but are forced to stop when a Ghom appears and attacks them. Grace, however, momentarily gains the upper hand by driving the Ghom away and saving both Simon and herself from falling off the railing.
    You'd Expect: For Simon to finally, FINALLY see the error of his ways and start having his own Heel–Face Turn.
    Instead: He kicks Grace off the rail so she'd fall to the tracks, only to be saved by some origami birds she helped earlier.
    The Result: He is now completely insane, his number covering his entire body.
    It Gets Worse: The Ghom returns, pounces on Simon, and sucks out his life force, at a distance where the others were unable to save him.
    Keep In Mind, Though: While Simon was responsible for his own actions, Grace and Samantha did have a small hand in his downfall, with the former lying about the purpose of the numbers and the latter never telling him herself and never coming back when they were chased by another Ghom years ago.
• Insektors:
  • When the antagonists, The Kruds/Yuks get shot by a color weapon used by a Verigreen/Joyce, Most of the villains go through a silly state and begin to do wacky things and dances as well.
    You'd Expect: The victim to find the nearest lake or pond and wash all the color out.
    Instead: They stay like this until after the episode or get sent to the Krud-o-Pod/The Dark Box.
  • In the climax of the first episode of the series, Flynn and Elmo receive the color guitar and are chased by Drumsturdy, Greeb, and Wasabi. But upon reaching the top, the 2 krud-mobiles run out of fuel and Flynn manages to fly off of it.
    You'd Expect: Drumsturdy, Greeb, and Wasabi to do the same thing, Flynn did.
    Instead: Since they don't know how to fly, they plummet into the ocean.
• Inspector Gadget, being an Idiot Hero, is often prone to these moments. One example is in the episode "Haunted Castle" when he and Penny fall into a pit of spikes with the walls closing in on them.
  You'd Expect: Gadget to yell "Go Go Gadget Copter!" and fly out of the pit with Penny.
  Instead: He tries stopping the wall by using his spring-loaded legs and arms to no avail. Brain eventually has to save them.
• The Invader Zim episode "Gaz, Taster of Pork" has Dib accidentally placing a curse on Gaz that forces her to taste nothing but pork. When their scientist dad discovers Gaz's condition, he quarantines her and reveals her new sense of taste to the public. Later, Dib visits Gaz in a scientific facility, where, keep in mind, she's imprisoned in a large tank. Gaz threatens to punish Dib horribly if he doesn't cure her.
  You'd Expect: Dib to realize that this is his chance for revenge. Before all this, Gaz mocked him, beat him up, verbally abused him, and even threatened to feed him to her robot dolls. Now, she's truly suffering, trapped where she won't be able to lay a finger on him for months, maybe even years, since all she can eat now without choking is hot dogs she'll grow enormously fat. Dib flips his bitch sister the bird, then leaves her to a well-deserved fate.
  Instead: He gives in to her bullying, and eventually frees her from the containment unit. From there, things only get worse.

J

• Jem:
  • To save her father's music production company and the Orphanage of Love it supports, Jerrica Benton uses the sophisticated hologram-projecting AI Synergy to create for herself the alternate identity of rock singer Jem, with her younger sister and two best friends as her band the Holograms and her longtime steady boyfriend Rio as their road and stage manager.
    You'd Expect that of all people Jerrica would trust her boyfriend with the secret of Jem's identity and enlist his help as her stage manager in maintaining the illusion of Jem and Jerrica as two different people.
    Instead Jerrica withholds the information from Rio, which forces upon herself and the Holograms the constant headache of keeping up the pretense in front of their own road manager, and prevents them from making use of most of Synergy's special effects capabilities because they can't explain to Rio where the effects would be coming from. To make matters worse, a few slips on Jerrica's part result in Rio developing romantic feelings for Jem. Only at this point does Jerrica consider bringing Rio in on the secret, but after her first attempt to do so is interrupted, she concludes that his pride will be so hurt by the deception that the only option is to keep him Locked Out of the Loop indefinitely, a hole she digs herself further and further into every time she perpetuates the lie.
  • In multiple episodes, the Misfits and Eric Raymond (and all their various cohorts) repeatedly put people in harm's way and attempt murder more than once. Heck, in the Five-Episode Pilot alone, the Misfits attempt to run over a wealthy benefactor with a bulldozer, and Eric Raymond flat out assaults Jerrica. And there are witnesses every time.
    You'd Expect: Someone to press charges and/or arrest the villains. Regardless of how good Eric Raymond's lawyers are, evidence is evidence.
    Instead: All the villains stay free to attempt murder another day.
  • In "A Father Should Be", the heroes try to find Ba Nee's father and find a sleazy man in Las Vegas who could be her father.
    You'd Expect: Them to ask some questions that Ba Nee's father should be able to answer, like the name of Ba Nee's mother.
    Instead: They bring this strange man to Starlight Mansion, introduce him to Ba Nee, and let him go for a drive with her alone.
    The Result: Ba Nee gets kidnapped and held for a one million dollar ransom.
  • "The Fan" has Jem in a creepy, almost bizarro world scenario of being inside of a replica of the Starlight Mansion where everyone insists that it's her birthday although it's not, that her sisters/bandmates have no idea of her true identity (or even how to play their instruments) and that Rio does know the truth.
    You'd Expect: That she'd just leave the mansion. It's not like she was being held hostage or anything.
    Instead: She stays put despite how increasingly harried she's becoming and eventually ends up injuring herself while there. Sure enough, it was all an elaborate hoax concocted by Eric Raymond and The Misfits to learn her true identity and to ruin her career/life (and a wealthy, obsessed fan who put an ad in the paper to learn her identity but was unaware of the band's true, sinister motives).
  • In "Britrock", Aja meets up with her boyfriend, Craig Phillips, in England and he informs her that he has something to tell her (that Mary Phillips, better known by her stage name of Stormer from the rival band The Misfits, is his sister). Knowing how she feels about the band and her overall attitude, he tries to play it cool and eventually brings her in to get to know each other on hopefully better terms.
    You'd Expect: That the normally level-headed Aja would hear him out.
    Instead: Upon seeing her, she assumes that she's his wife (despite being in love with her and bringing her around her bandmates as well) and angrily breaks up with him on the spot. His methods of breaking the news may not have been the best (which his own band told him as such), but her overreaction was uncalled for. Worse, since the club where they were just so happened to be bombed only moments after everyone saves for the Phillips siblings left and caused minor injuries for them, we never see the chance of Aja getting to know Stormer as Mary (although she did save her from the fire).
  • "Scandal" has Kimber sitting on a bench writing in her diary while at a public beach.
    You'd Expect: That since it is a diary, she would make sure that she keeps something that precious under lock and key (or at the very least in her bag when she gets up and leaves).
    Instead: She absent-mindedly leaves it on the bench where Jetta discovers it, her secrets get out and her name and reputation get dragged through the mud for a short time.
• The Jetsons: So Elroy, a straight-A student, gets a straight-A report card (or the futuristic equivalent). Another student gets a far less impressive report (including an F), so he pulls a "Look over there!"-type switcheroo — and Elroy doesn't notice until he brings the sub-par report to his father.
  First, You'd Expect: For the reports to be clearly labeled, to prevent this very thing from happening.
  Failing That, You'd Then Expect: For George to realize that if his straight-A son brought home such a bad report, something fishy must be afoot.
  Instead: He punishes Elroy, refusing to listen to his son's protests. It's not until the other student's father calls to tell him what happened that he realizes that Elroy was set up — and by this time, Elroy has run away from home to join the space mafia!!!
• In the "Porta Johnny" episode of Johnny Test, Johnny and Dukey had been transported to right outside an art museum as part of punishment by Johnny's sisters. They have been asked for help by guys wearing face hoods to put artwork in the truck. Johnny and Dukey have teleporting powers. Granted, the girls had messed with them, but still...
  You'd Expect: Johnny and Dukey to realize that these guys must be burglars, stand up against them or something which shouldn't be too hard because they have fought supervillains in the past, and if things took a turn for the worst, just teleport out of there even if the punishment the girls are dishing out would continue.
  Instead: They just help the burglars without thinking they are burglars. It only dawns on them when they're passing the Mona Lisa by, and by the time they are aware enough of this, the burglars already get away. They get on the World's Most Wanted for this.
• Jumanji: The Animated Series: "The Intruder" is one of the scariest episodes. While the kids are bickering because Judy wants Peter to play the game and help bust out Alan instead of watching a cop show, they find a robber named Jack is in the attic, who broke a window to get inside. He threatens them so there will be no witnesses. They immediately determine that they have a better chance of surviving in Jumanji and toss the dice. Jack ends up joining the ride and ending up in the jungle. He overhears them talking about Jumanji and realizes they know about this strange world where Everything Is Trying to Kill You.
  You'd Expect: Jack would propose an Enemy Mine: the kids explain the rules to him of this world, and he won't harm them. Or intimidate them into helping him survive.
  Instead: He captures and ties them up, at first planning to leave them for dead. Later, when Alan helps them out, he attempts to murder Alan, the only person who's been in Jumanji long enough to survive it, and who was nice enough to offer his expertise. ''Genius.'.
  The Result: The kids play him like a fiddle; Judy fakes a bathroom emergency to get Alan for help, and Peter lies that Van Pelt the hunter has emeralds for stealing and Peter is the only one small enough to get them. Alan also survives the murder attempt while cut up and says it wasn't one of the worst times Jumanji has tried to kill him. It turns out Peter went I Lied; he finds a random box in Van Pelt's house to bargain for Judy's life when Jack recaptures the kids, and the trio rolls their eyes at him when he attempts to stop their escape up a cliff by climbing ahead and tossing out the root they need to reach as a safety net. The box instead has a Juroceros horn, belonging to a species of dinosaur. Another of its kind appears and corners Jack for the horn, and it means the kids solved the clue of "The robber will be robbed and the hunter will be hunted". Oh, and by the time they return, Peter and Judy have the sense to run downstairs, where the local cop Officer Bentley comes because he saw the broken window and was concerned. When he sees a robber begging to go to jail, Bentley takes charge and saves the kids.
• Justice League Action: In "Luthor in Paradise", Circe had managed to turn Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman into trees, but not before finding out that Lex Luthor planned to betray her. Infuriated by this, she proceeds to take the oculus away from him.
  You'd expect: With Lex Luthor at her mercy, she would leave the heroes as they were and deal with Lex herself. After that, she could escape without ever having to worry about Wonder Woman again.
  Instead: Circe reverses her spell on all three heroes and lets them have their way with Lex while she tries to sneak off. Considering only one of them even needs to bother with catching Lex, she doesn't get far.

K

• An episode of Kaijudo has three of the duel masters searching for the kids in the Fire Civilization in a rush given how blatantly dangerous the Kaijudo Realm as a whole is, let alone a place full of carnivorous dragons and inhospitable climate with Hector summoning a dragon for them to ride to cover more ground, which is against their rules to touch, let alone ride their creatures, but this is clearly an emergency.
  You'd Think: If the other masters have such a problem with the rule, they'd bring ATVs or some kind of craft to cover more ground instead of just walk around like idiots in what's basically a living hell.
  Instead: Jaha writes him off as "picking up the children's bad habits" and reluctantly climbs aboard.
  Result: The masters still pull a Big Damn Heroes to save the kids, but had they blindly obeyed the rules or even just stood there debating, the kids would've been eaten or burned alive.
• Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Kipo's heart may be in the right place, but she makes a phenomenally awful decision in the last few episodes. When hunting down Dr. Emilia to stop her plan to eradicate all Mutes, Kipo ultimately decides not to resort to senseless violence with the help of her friends.
  You'd Expect: If she really wants to stop Emilia and her followers(who have already "cured" several of her Mute allies) without hurting anybody, Kipo could sneak onboard their ship and destroy the rest of the cure, since she's immune. Alternatively, she could bring her parents with her so they can tell the other humans of Emilia's crimes,(which include enslaving a mutated Song Oak and creating Scarlemagne) thus turning them against their leader's agenda.
  Instead: She lands on deck and...invites the sociopathic, Mute-hating scientist and her henchmen to a party to encourage better human-Mute relations.
  Result: Emilia feigns diplomacy, then launches an attack on "Prahm" that cures a few more Mutes. When Kipo saves most of the guests, Emila transforms herself into a Mute-monster, goes on a rampage that mortally wounds Scarlemagne, nearly beats Kipo to death, and after reverting to human form, gets sucked to her implied doom by Fun Gus. Meaning Kipo's diplomacy plan ironically got more people killed.
  • Speaking of Dr. Emilia, earlier she acquired Mega-Walrus DNA and decided to use it to create her own Mega-Mute to combat Kipo's Mega-Jaguar.
    You'd Expect: Emilia would use the serum on one of her more loyal subordinates(ie. Greta). It's not like she hasn't experimented on living things before and she's proven competent at handling giant creatures, so she can use the cure should her Mute-monster lose control.
    Instead: She eventually injects herself with the serum, transforming into the very thing she hates, while entrusting the aforementioned Greta with a sample of the cure. Unsurprisingly, Greta gets talked out of helping Emlia by Wolf, and Emilia almost loses her mind to the walrus beast. She's only lucky Kipo decided to save her out of innate compassion.
• Kung Fu Dino Posse: In "Loose Links", Skor plans to have the Links push a giant boulder down the mountain and into Megalopolis. But the Links quit because Skrap gave them tacos instead of taquitos for lunch, so Skor activates an Endstone crystal to replace them.
  • You'd Expect: Skor would change his plans and have the Endstoneasaurus attack Megalopolis.
  • Instead: Skor tries to get the Endstoneasaurus to push the boulder in place of the Links.

L

• An episode of The Land Before Time, "The Hidden Canyon", is one big idiot moment on the part of the adults. The basic premise is that between the Great Valley and the Mysterious Beyond, there is a canyon filled with fruits that taste sweet, but smell rancid to predators like Sharpteeth; if anyone eats enough of these fruits, the smell won't be as strong, thus making it easier for predators to get in.
  You'd Expect: The adults to tell the kids about the significance of the canyon as soon as possible; this is something they need to know since their lives and others' lives could potentially be on the line.
  Instead: The adults never say a word about the canyon, leaving the kids to discover it for themselves and learn the hard way why those fruits aren't meant to be eaten. And the adults are shocked that the kids ate the fruits, even though the kids didn't know any better.
• In Lazer Tag Academy, the Lazer Tag Academy staff revive a man who had been in suspended animation for over nine hundred years and knows he has a criminal background. They also know that he has the power to use Starlytes and Star Sensors for time travel.
  You'd Expect: they would call the equivalent of the Department of Social Services to help him integrate with modern society while asking for investigators to unobtrusively keep an eye on him in case he discovers his power on his own.
  Instead: They tell him that he can use the Starlytes and Star Sensors for time travel.
• The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold: It all began when a banshee by the name of Mag started pestering and bothering the leprechauns for their gold lest she turns back to tears, Blarney and the rest of the Kilakilarney Clan are smart enough to not give her anything but the O'Clogjiggers, who are Blarney's wife Fay and her family are not aware of this.
  You'd Expect: Blarney would warn Fay about Mag and explain the situation, especially the fact that Banshees cry nonstop, even when in disguise, and that if she gets gold before Christmas she will not stop terrorizing people.
  Instead: He didn't think of warning her at all.
  The Result: Mag shows up to Fay claiming to be her guardian angel and plants the idea in her head that Blarney is hoarding all the gold and that he should give it all away before it ruins the family. Fay tells this to her husband who correctly suspects what's really going on and an argument ensues, resulting in Blarney getting kicked out of the house.
  • After telling Dinty the story of the Banshee, Blarney sips his tea and then realizes Mag spiked it with a potion that makes the drinker generous but thankfully gives all the gold to Dinty at the last moment before the effects can fully take control. He also warns Dinty that Mag will take other forms in order to trick him and get the gold and that Banshees always cry perpetually no matter the appearance. Afterwards, Dinty finds a beautiful girl named Colleen crying on the beach, claiming to have been shipwrecked and is immediately smitten.
    You'd Expect: Dinty to find it really suspicious that a random crying girl just showed up on the island right after he was given the gold. Blarney just told him to be careful and this girl won't stop tearing up. He also should realize that "Colleen" offering to have a ship built and they go give the gold to the poor folks of Killarney if he gives all of it to her seems way too good to be true.
    Instead: He gives all the gold to "Colleen" without a second thought!
    The Result: Dinty doesn't realize his mistake until "Colleen" reveals herself as Mag in disguise. Dinty tries to take his words back but it's too late and Mag puts him under a spell to sleep for a hundred Christmases. Blarney, who has been watching the entire time in the uncut version of the special, expresses his disappointment at Dinty's complete stupidity.
• The Little Engine That Could: The birthday train is making progress towards the town over the mountain when the locomotive pulling it, Georgia, breaks down. Doc, the medic, states that she can't handle the train, and suggests that Rollo the Clown, the leader of the toys on the train, flag down another engine. He does just that, but the snooty passenger engine Farnsworth and the gruff freight engine Pete refuse to take the job. With both engines not willing to do it, Doc having to tend to the injured Georgia, and the as-yet-to-arrive Jebediah unable to take the train due to his advanced age, Tillie is the only engine left for the job. She then suggests to the Tower in charge of the rail yard that she takes the job.
  You’d Expect: The Tower, having no other engines able or willing to take the train, to allow Tillie to go pick up the train and take it over the mountain. He may not think she can do it, but she clearly wants to prove herself as an engine, and for a guy who's on a tight schedule, having a train fall behind wouldn't look good for him.
  Alternatively: If he still thinks that Tillie can't handle the job, he can order Pete or Farnsworth to do the job, even if they don't want to. He may not be the most likable boss around, but they clearly respect him enough on some level to obey him.
  Instead: He instead pulls a massive jerk moment and angrily yells at Tillie for even daring to ask him to pull the train, making it clear he's not going to let her pull that birthday train.
  Worse Yet: He doesn't even consider making Pete or Farnsworth take the train, leaving it sitting out on a siding with no one able to pull it, and falling further behind schedule by the minute!
  Fortunately: Tillie decides to sneak out of the yard and pull the train herself, getting it over the mountain despite the dangers she faces.
• The Littles has one episode, "The Little Babysitters" in which Henry is forced to babysit baby Oscar while his parents are away, and later, his friends come by the door to invite Henry to play football with them.
  You'd Expect: Henry to keep more responsibilities on babysitting and rather not go with them.
  Instead: He decides to go in with his friends, leaving the Littles to babysit Ocsar while he's out.
  But Even Worse: The Littles couldn't even handle it more like Henry and other humans do, which leaves Ocsar to almost wreck everything and cause a fire in Henry's room. Smooth move, Henry.
• Looney Tunes:
  • In the episode "Bosko's Soda Fountain", Honey is teaching her kitten pupil, Wilbur, how to play the piano, and he keeps demanding an ice cream cone. She calls Bosko at the titular location and asks him to bring one over right away.
    You'd Expect: She'd ask Wilbur what flavor he wants, and tell Bosko that it's for Wilbur.
    Instead: She doesn't, and Bosko prepares a vanilla ice cream cone and brings it over on his bike. He gives it to Honey, and Wilbur walks up and screams that it's his. He takes it, and after one lick, shouts, "I DON'T LIKE VANILLY!". He blows the ice cream into Bosko's face from the cone, and further shenanigans ensue.
  • In the short "Long Haired Hare", opera singer Giovanni Jones is trying to practice for an upcoming performance. However, he is distracted by an oblivious Bugs Bunny, who is outside singing and playing instruments on a nearby hill.
    You'd Expect: He would ask Bugs not to be so noisy and explain that he's trying to rehearse for a big show.
    Or: He would simply close his visibly open screen door.
    Instead: He repeatedly destroys Bugs' instruments and assaults him with them without saying a single word. Bugs eventually gets fed up with him and declares that This Means War!, before sabotaging Giovanni's show in a grand fashion later that night.
    ** Countless Times in different Looney Tunes Cartoons/Episodes/Shorts, Someone rigs a bomb to go off on a piano or xylophone when someone hits a certain note or key when they play the song Those Endearing Young Charms. The person they try to kill by blowing them up however never plays the deadly note/key either because they either can't play right or they know that the key/note would kill them if they played it.
    You'd Expect: That the person who set the bomb to wait a while to see if their target plays the note/key, but even if they don't at least remember not to play the "right note" because they set the bomb up in the first place.
    Instead: They get frustrated with how the other guy avoids playing the note they want them to hit and they show them what note they want to hit but they get themselves blown up in the process. And they set up the Bomb mere Seconds/Minutes ago too. Way to have short-term memory loss that is way worse than Dory from Finding Nemo.

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