Evil Cannot Comprehend Good/Playing With

Basic Trope: An evil character cannot understand the motivation of good characters and thus fails to predict their actions.

• Straight: Emperor Evulz does not believe in true altruism, so he is unprepared when Jesse sacrifices himself for a small village of people Jesse doesn't even know, and this leads to the Emperor's downfall.
• Exaggerated:
  • Emperor Evulz does not understand the concept of common courtesy to your inferiors, so he is unprepared when Jesse's use of "please" and "thank you" leads to mass Heel Face Turn actions on the part of his minions.
  • Emperor Evulz fails to comprehend why people would rebel against him if he keeps them working for him out of abject fear.
• Justified:
  • Emperor Evulz has a psychological disorder that makes it impossible to empathize with other points of view. He genuinely believes that underneath their goody-goody exteriors, everyone else is just as self-centered and greedy as he is.
  • Evulz is actually the avatar of an malevolent AI that literally was not programmed to understand altruism, only selfish motives.
• Inverted:
  • Good Cannot Comphrehend Evil. Jesse is killed because it never occurred to him that Emperor Evulz would cheerfully kill his own wife and children for a shot at Jesse.
  • Though himself unabashedly evil in private, Emperor Evulz is in charge of an organization of otherwise good people who he easily manipulates into becoming Well Intentioned Extremists and Knight Templars.
  • Evulz sets up a Batman Gambit counting on Jesse sacrificing himself to save the village, but is caught off-guard when Jesse selfishly decides to save himself instead.
  • Evulz without purpose does something that gains Jesse's appreciation and admiration but Evulz can't comprehend the idea of himself doing anything "good" or "nice"
  • Evulz' plans revolve around manipulating Jesse's good side
• Subverted:
  • Emperor Evulz appears to have believed that Jesse wouldn't sacrifice himself, but it was actually a Batman Gambit specifically designed to make Jesse take the Heroic Sacrifice route, so that the Emperor's next plan can continue without interference.
  • Alternately, Emperor Evulz is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who views 'Jesse' as a villain and doesn't believe that Jesse is capable of good.
• Double Subverted: But the Emperor didn't count on Jesse's sacrifice inspiring several ill-assorted villagers to take up the cause of freedom themselves and eventually defeat him. They were supposed to be permanently cowed by Jesse's horrible fate.
• Parodied:
  • Emperor Evulz is baffled by concepts like opening the door for people whose arms are full, not just throwing food wrappers on the sidewalk, petting small animals, and so forth.
  • Evulz has such difficulty comprehending good that he doesn't even understand the dictionary definition of "good".
• Deconstructed: Emperor Evulz's inability to understand the viewpoint of "good" also extends to other viewpoints as well, making him an incompetent ruler who only sustains his throne through violence and fear. He has to constantly expand his empire as his mismanagement has ruined the economy and impoverished the land.
• Reconstructed: While his narcissism and failure to understand selflessness is shown to make him a Bad Boss and a poor economist, he is still able to instigate a reign of terror productive enough to fund his evil schemes, and by appealing to people's selfish instincts he builds up a powerful (if not particularly loyal) network of lackeys.
• Zig Zagged: Evulz understands some good actions and doesn't understand others.
• Averted: Emperor Evulz has a normal understanding of how good people think, and has a good idea of how they'd act in any given situation.
• Enforced: The Dark Side Will Make You Forget, so Emperor Evulz has lost his understanding of good due to overuse of his corrosive powers.
• Lampshaded: "You just don't get it, do you, Emperor? Normal people don't think only of themselves, or of what personal gain they get from something."
• Invoked: Jesse sets up a Batman Gambit that relies on Emperor Evulz not thinking as a "good" person would.
• Defied: "I am aware of the concept of altruism. I find it useful in my enemies, fools that they are."
• Discussed: "I fear the master is setting himself up for a...disappointment, if he thinks that the rebels will not stick by their principles in a crisis."
• Conversed: "Yep, Emperor Evulz fell into the old 'assume the hero is just as evil as I am' trap.

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You can go Back to Evil Cannot Comprehend Good, though I can't imagine why you would want to. There's nothing in it for you, after all.