Locked Out of the Loop: Difference between revisions

{{quote|'''Harry:''' You've known that all this time, and you pick ''now'' to tell me?

'''Butler:''' I thought this would be the best time to tell you the truth.

 

Most heroes have a Deep [[Dark Secret]] of some kind hidden somewhere in their past. It seems to be something of a job prerequisite, as well as providing an easy jump-off point for character development. Reveal the secret, and hey presto! Suddenly everyone looks at you a little differently.

 

See [[Tell Me About My Father]]. Compare [[Metaphorically True]], a common method of obscuring the loop. Can lead to [[It Seemed Trivial]], when someone who knows something is '''Locked Out of the Loop''', and doesn't know the importance of his knowledge.

 

* ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' has an alien, a time-traveller, an esper, [[My Friends and Zoidberg|and]] [[Ordinary High School Student|Kyon]] trying to prevent the titular character from realizing that {{spoiler|[[Physical God|she's omnipotent]], in fear of [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|what she'd do with the power]]. Note that she's a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]], not a [[Complete Monster]] -- they're mostly worried that she'd get ''too bored'' with the world and instantly recreate it as something more "fun". Which she already subconsciously does on a smaller scale out of boredom rather frequently.}}

** In fact, all of that is just what they ''think'' Haruhi's secret is. Or rather, it's what Kyon and [[Fanon|most of the readers]] think, thanks to [[Consummate Liar|Itsuki "Completely Trustworthy" Koizumi]]. Yuki and Mikuru's factions have their own theories. They're keeping watch on her because none of them are entirely sure what she is or what she's capable of, but they're all pretty confident that letting her find out about and/or overuse her powers would be [[The End of the World as We Know It|very dangerous]].

* ''[[Naruto]]'' had the entire adult population of the village concealing the fact that the eponymous main character had the nine-tailed demon fox that nearly destroyed the village sealed inside him, so he could live a 'normal' life. It didn't work. He just thought they hated him for no good reason instead.

** Of course, the point of them being ordered to not talk about was because the Third Hokage figured he might get treated even ''worse'' if they could (see Gaara).

*** The loop pretty much no longer exists as the adults and Naruto speak openly about the Kyubi now, including around some of Naruto's friends.

*** Another loop they tried to keep Naruto out of was the fact that Tobi/Madara and Kabuto decided to declare a fourth world war. Justified in that they kept it from him to protect him, as Tobi's goal was to capture the Hachibi and Kyubi.

* Nikora in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' '''wants''' to keep Lucia Locked Out of the Loop about many things—her [[Rags to Royalty|lineage]], [[Saving the World]], her boyfriend's disappearance—but it never seems to work out. Also, {{spoiler|it appears that the ''entire mermaid world'' is being misled so that they don't interact with humans, thinking that they'll turn into foam.}}

* Lillia of ''[[Allison and Lillia]]'' is a shining example: she is the ''only'' member of the main cast unaware that her childhood friend Treize is {{spoiler|a bona-fide Prince}}, and that her dead father is {{spoiler|still alive under an assumed identity, and a spy... oh, and dating her mother}}. Considering the fact that both of these things make her a potential assassination/kidnapping target, you'd think someone would be nice enough to clue her in, but instead, they actively keep this information from her.

* In Elemental Gelade, Coud was informed that Edel Garden, the place Ren was planning to head to, was a very dangerous place and warned never to bring her there at the end of vol 8. Coud decided to go ahead anyway without telling Ren.

* In ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'', Onizuka was informed by the hospital doctor that he would really die if his head suffered any further serious blow. He ended up not telling anyone about it in order not to cause any worry, but some students found out anyway through the doctor.

* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has a couple. The existence of the Kishin to everyone who isn't Shinigami or Asura himself. Everyone else gets a watered down version they can deal with - Spirit's early version of the meister who gave normal souls to his Weapon fits neatly as a warning tale to students to follow the rules and be brave. The Death Scythes get their initial instructions on the basis of Asura being a potentially dangerous monster in hiding. The truth, for the moment, appears to be a good deal more [[Backstory|complicated]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|deranged]]. Kid gets a personal lockout regarding his origins. Shinigami's Weapon seems to know more about Kid than the boy himself does.

* Kozue, from ''[[Mahoraba]]''. Every single person at Narutakisou knows about her disease. Except for her.

* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', Kotetsu's daughter Kaede is the only member of his family that's unaware that he's a superhero. [[Word of God]] says it's an attempt on his part to protect and not worry her. While the secretiveness is a [[Fatal Flaw]] on his part, he might have something of a point as {{spoiler|the very first thing that [[Plucky Girl|Kaede]] does after discovering her father is Wild Tiger is run off to Sternbild alone to try to save him}}.

* The sisters in ''[[Magikano]]'' are quite persistent in making sure Haruo doesn't use any magic or realize they're witches.

 

* Comic book example: Flycatcher in ''[[Fables]]'' is constantly searching for a way to return to the Homelands to find his wife and children. Everyone else in the Fabletown office knows, from his ramblings whenever he's drunk (which he forgets completely afterwards) that his wife and children were tortured, his wife and daughters in fact raped in front of him, and killed when his kingdom was invaded, but they let him believe they're still alive for his peace of mind. There's some evidence that magic is being used to keep his memories suppressed.

* Early on, Zoot the shrew was so nearsighted that he didn't realize he was sharing the margins of ''Cricket'' magazine with insects and other invertebrates. [[Unusual Euphemism|Everybuggy]] else carefully nurtured his belief that he was hanging out with moles, rabbits and other small mammals, because shrews normally eat bugs. (Zoot later got some glasses and learned the truth, fortunately ''after'' he became a vegetarian.)

 

* After breaking the loop from [[Haruhi Suzumiya|the original series]], ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'' creates another one... locking Koizumi and Kyon out. For now. {{spoiler|The girls aren't letting them know about their plans for a [[Tenchi Solution]] with Kyon.}}

* The title of ''[[Better Off Not Knowing]]'' refers as much to Hakini's [[Happily Adopted|adoptive]] [[Good Parents|parents]] as to Hakini herself: Their daughter being {{spoiler|the biological child of [[Arc Villain|Zaheer]] [[Unholy Matrimony|and]] [[The Brute|P'Li]]}} was deliberately withheld from them.

 

* ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', in which it is prophesied that Lyra will change the fate of the worlds (plural)--but ''only'' if she doesn't know about her destiny and what she will have to do to fulfill it. Naturally, every adult in her life knows and is busy trying to manipulate her to their own ends.

* ''[[Ender's Game]]''.

** Harry was told his parents were mundane muggles who died in a car accident and he never even heard of the wizarding world until his Hogwarts letter comes on his eleventh birthday. It's explained later on that Dumbledore wanted it this way. He was afraid Harry would grow up to be a spoiled and useless boy if he was raised by wizards who constantly reminded him of his status as "the chosen one."

*** Although the Dursleys' [[Abusive Parents/Literature|mistreatment of Harry]] is not remotely Dumbledore intended. He gives them a very strong [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|dressing down on this]] in the sixth book.

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', the Earth King Kuei is being kept in the dark by his "cultural authority" the Dai Li as to the fact that there's been a hundred-year war between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. The Dai Li is mostly engaging in this to maintain power and to "prevent chaos." They also maintain an oppressive control over the city itself; people who disrupt the city or talk about the war are either terrified into silence or hauled off for "reeducation" into Dai Li [[Manchurian Agent|sleeper agents.]]

* In the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode ''Parasites Lost'', the crew has to make sure Fry doesn't know their plans to rid him of the worms. If he finds out, the worms will know too and can mount a defense.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==