Pity the Kidnapper: Difference between revisions

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Not to be confused with [[Stockholm Syndrome]], in which it is the kidnappee who develops pity/amicability with the kidnapper.

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== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', Germany, America, England, and France have ALL, on separate occasions, tried to hold Italy prisoner. It never works out.

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* In the ''[[Narnia]]'' book ''Voyage of the Dawn Treader'', Eustace is such a miserable person to be around that the slave-dealers who kidnap the crew cannot sell him and try, without success, to give him away for free.

* Happend in the novel ''Jimmy The Kid'' (a sequel to ''[[The Hot Rock]]'') by Donald Westlake, and the movie based on the book.

* In [[P. G. ~~Wodehouse|PG~~ Wodehouse]]'s short story ''Helping Freddie'' (later rewritten for the ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' series as "Fixing It for Freddie"), a young [[Upper Class Twit]] comes up with a [[Zany Scheme]] to [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|help his friend Freddie]], whose fianceé has broken up with him. He kidnaps a small boy who he thinks is the fianceé's cousin, intending for Freddie to bring the kid home and play the hero. Then the boy turns out to be unrelated to the fianceé, and [[Comedic Hero|our hero]] is stuck with him for the rest of the story.

* In [[P. G. Wodehouse]]'s short story ''Helping Freddie'' (later rewritten for the ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' series as "Fixing It for Freddie"), a young [[Upper Class Twit]] comes up with a [[Zany Scheme]] to [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|help his friend Freddie]], whose fianceé has broken up with him. He kidnaps a small boy who he thinks is the fianceé's cousin, intending for Freddie to bring the kid home and play the hero. Then the boy turns out to be unrelated to the fianceé, and [[Comedic Hero|our hero]] is stuck with him for the rest of the story.

{{quote|''By Jove, you know, till I started to tramp the place with this infernal kid, I never had a notion it would have been so deuced difficult to restore a child to its anxious parents. It's a mystery to me how kidnappers ever get caught.''}}

* ''Snatch'' by Rennie Airth, published in 1969, is about kidnapping the infant son of a millionaire. Alas, not only is the baby an unpleasant handful, but as a tactic to delay the realization that he'd been abducted, the kidnappers substituted an orphan they'd picked up. The unscrupulous tycoon feels the cheerful little orphan is a '''much''' more satisfying son than his actual offspring, so [[You Can Keep Her|he has no intention of paying the hapless crooks '''anything''']].

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== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[Angel]]'' combines this one with [[Enfante Terrible]]: after discovering a young boy is [[Demonic Possession|possessed by a demon]], Angel Investigations exorcises it and then tracks its physical form down to kill it... a fate the demon welcomes, as the little boy was so evil by himself that the demon found himself trapped in a [[Happy Place|hellish mindscape]] for years.

* In ''[[~~MASH~~]]'', a pair of North Korean infiltrators drop Major Burns off on the road. In the brief conversation that ensues, they explain that they don't need a hostage anymore, he's driving them crazy, they're not in the mood to torture him, and he should go back to the 4077th because [[With Friends Like These...|it's the best thing he can do "to help our side."]]

* In ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|M*A*S*H]]'', a pair of North Korean infiltrators drop Major Burns off on the road. In the brief conversation that ensues, they explain that they don't need a hostage anymore, he's driving them crazy, they're not in the mood to torture him, and he should go back to the 4077th because [[With Friends Like These...|it's the best thing he can do "to help our side."]]

** A few seasons later, Major Winchester hires a North Korean spy as a houseboy. In one of his last communications to his people, the spy replies "And in regard to kidnapping Major Winchester for questioning, forget it. He is one big jerk."

* On ''[[True Blood]]'', Bill is forced to turn a terrified Christian woman as punishment for protecting Sookie. It is implied that the vampires think this will be agonizing torture to the girl, but as soon as she realizes that she's no longer under her father's thumb, she becomes insufferable. Bill and Eric pass her back and forth to get rid of her.