Stockholm Syndrome: Difference between revisions

'''Reese''': My captors?! These guys saved my life, man!<br />

'''Malcolm''': Only because they decided not to kill you!<br />

[[Stockholm Syndrome]] is a [[Real Life]] phenomenon in which kidnap victims can develop loyalty, sympathy, or affection (sometimes even sexual attraction) for a captor. Especially if said captor provided them with a [[Pet the Dog]] moment that the captive, under extreme stress, exaggerates as a genuine sign of affection.

For more about this syndrome in Real Life, see [[Stockholm Syndrome/Analysis|Analysis]].

Where a villain intentionally attempts to induce [[Stockholm Syndrome]], it is most likely one of the subtropes such as [[More Than Mind Control]]. In the romantic version, [[Victim Falls For Rapist]]. If played for [[Fetish Fuel]], it becomes [[Romanticized Abuse]].

* [[Abduction Is Love]]

* [[Happiness in Slavery]]

* [[Love Martyr]]

* [[A Match Made in Stockholm]]

* In canon ''[[Bleach]]'' Orihime is taken captive by Aizen, but Ulquiorra is given the assignment to take care of her. It is a very popular view in fanon that she has Stockholm Syndrome for Ulquiorra, and in some cases, even Aizen.

* In a more cynical view of ''[[Vandread]]'' this could be the explanation why the male cast becomes so protective of their female captors.

* Berwald/Sweden and Tino/Finland's relationship of ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' may qualify for this trope, as Finland wasn't exactly the most willing partner at first (read: was downright terrified of Sweden), and despite [[Character Development|warming up to Sweden]] and acknowledging he's not a bad guy, he still [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|denies that they're married]]. Amusingly, Stockholm is the capital of Sweden... and in a subversion, Sweden is actually portrayed as a [[Gentle Giant]]-type nation-tan in the strips, instead of your typical captor.

** Considering how their relationship is shown in the comics, if Tino has [[Stockholm Syndrome]], then Berwald parallely has [[Lima Syndrome]]. He might have started thinking of Finland as a mere companion for his journey, then became genuinely fond and protective of him.

** In fanfiction, Hong Kong almost always has [[Stockholm Syndrome]] for England. Then again, England usually has [[Lima Syndrome]] and acts like a substitute father/older brother for Hong Kong.

** And what about Italy/Germany? Okay, they're allies for most of the series, but their first encounter was Germany taking Italy prisoner during WWI. And Italy was completely okay with it, more than usual.

* In ''[[Okane ga Nai]]'', Kanou buys Ayase as a to work his debt off, even though he's fully aware that rape is ''not'' something you do to the one you love ([[Victim Falls For Rapist|except in fiction]]). Ayase is understandably terrified of Kanou at first and views him as the one ruining his life, but becomes touched by Kanou's small moments of kindness and even defends him to his brother "because he's kind." Keep in mind that even ''after'' Kanou allows Ayase to do such things as going to school, he still pretty much controls every aspect of Ayase's life and continues to rape him just to remind him that he belongs to him and [[If I Can't Have You|will not give him up to anyone else]]. If that isn't Stockholm Syndrome, then nothing is.

* Komari from ''[[Gokujou Drops]]'' has to endure quite a bit of sexual abuse from all the girls at her dorm. This is especially the case with Yukio, who also adds an immense emotional element to this. Of course, this leads Komari to fall head over heels with Yukio over time. It ''seems'' to be mutual, but since Yukio has the habit of crushing Komari's feelings over and over, it's hard to tell for sure.

* In ''[[Loveless]]'', this could describe [[The Woobie|Ritsuka's]] [[Loving a Shadow|undying devotion to his]] [[Aloof Big Brother|psychotic, murderous]] [[Manipulative Bastard|elder brother]] [[Yandere|Seimei]].

** Somwhat deconstructed in the novels, though. {{spoiler|When the contract fails and the sort-of brainwashing fades, Saitou has an [[Heroic BSOD]] and immediately starts wishing to come back home.}}

* Michael Garret from ''[[Gun X Sword]]'' was at first kidnapped by The Claw against his will, but then he became enarmored on The Claw's methods and came to trust him and become one of his followers. He even inflicts the [[Lima Syndrome]] on The Claw's [[The Dragon|second-in-command]] [[Dark Action Girl|Fasalina]].

* This might be what causes {{spoiler|Hatchin}} to bond with {{spoiler|Michiko}} in ''[[Michiko to Hatchin]]''. Then again, she still treats her better than her [[Abusive Parents]].

* Hei and Suou in ''[[Darker Than Black]]''.

** Dearka also counts. He was a war prisoner, well treated, even when some of the crew would like to kill him. Finally, he is released, because the ''Archangel'' is no longer part of the Earth Alliance. {{spoiler|Just after this, he jumps into his cockpit to protect the ''Archangel''.}} At least he started to like them, at most he had a crush on Miriallia (probably if you consider the [[Terms of Endangerment|nice names]] he uses on her).

* In the beginning of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', Rock worries he might be developing [[Stockholm Syndrome]] as he begins to sympathize more with his kidnappers (the Lagoon crew) than his employer, who is ostensibly looking for him. He probably is, and the fact his employer is willing to write him off as dead rather than lift a finger to help him pretty much cements it. By the time the crisis is resolved and his employers say they'll take him back now, it's pretty well set and he tells them to shove it, he's sticking with the pirates (but keeping his white shirt and tie).

* [[Ho Yay|Guy on guy version]]: the feddie mechanic Heckle to the guerrilla Festo in ''[[Fang of the Sun Dougram]]''.

* Implied in ''[[Franken Fran]]''; when Veronica is introduced, she terrorized Fran and even kills one of her subjects. Then Fran catches her and starts conducting horrible experiments offscreen. By the next chapter, she's Fran's dotting little sis.

* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', [[Unholy Matrimony|Kriem ended up falling for Jake Martinez]] after he kidnapped her for ransom, largely because [[Because You Were Nice to Me|he was the first person to not]] [[Fantastic Racism|shun her for being a NEXT]].

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', {{spoiler|Gigi, White's prized Tepig actress, happily decides to go off with N. This right after he kidnapped both her and her handler, then dropped her to be strangled by a Servine. This made her realize that she indeed has potential as a fighter and she ended up quite proud of herself. White is [[Break the Cutie|understandably upset]]}}.

** It's more {{spoiler|White's}} lack of approval that pushes her to stay with {{spoiler|N}} than sympathy for him. When she realized her new skills, she turned happily to her handler, but {{spoiler|White}} was scared and thought only about escape. {{spoiler|Gigi}} was upset, when {{spoiler|White}} tried to jump with her out of Ferris Wheel and may have taken this as a signal she will never be let to fulfill her dreams.

== Fanfic ==

* Just about every single Joker/OC fanfic in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' section involves the Joker kidnapping some random woman and that woman ends up falling in love with him.

* The ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' fanfic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2910656/1/Checkmate Checkmate]'' focuses on a two-way, non-romantic example of this between {{spoiler|Vlad and Danny}}, the latter having been heavily abused by the former and even approaching a [[Face Heel Turn]]--until he realizes that the [[Dungeon Master]] placed him in this situation for the purpose of {{spoiler|winning Vlad over from hardcore villainy}} a la [[Lima Syndrome]].

* It's not ''romantic'' affection, but Scootaloo comes out of the "good" ending of ''[[Pattycakes (Fanfic)|Pattycakes]]'' viewing Fluttershy as a kind of mentor and [[Parental Substitute]]. Given that Fluttershy had hit her on the head and forced her to run a gauntlet of tests dotted with the risk of arbitrary [[Mind Rape]], either it's Stockholm syndrome, or Scoots had a ''really'' crappy home life. (I mean, say what you will about your parents - no matter how bad they were, at least they never tried to totally destroy your mind.)

* The getaway: a possible explanation for the behaviour of Fran... {{spoiler|though hardly enough to excuse her behaviour: she has sex with [[Complete Monster|Rudy]] , the man who kidnapped her and his husband [[Squick|while the latter is locked in the adiacent bathroom and forced to listen]], [[Driven to Suicide|which drives him to commit suicide.]]}}

* Elektra King in ''[[The World Is Not Enough (Film)|The World Is Not Enough]]'', maybe. Bond is doubting this by the end {{spoiler|and as it turns out, it's a reversal - Elektra actually seduced her captor, and he's still working for her.}}

* In the movie ''[[Saw]]'', the character of Amanda.

** This is apparently Jigsaw's preferred method of recruitment as his apprentices are either a survivor of one of his traps (Amanda) or someone he blackmailed who became a willing apprentice ({{spoiler|Hoffman}})

** The English-language remake, which came out a year later, was retitled ''[[Beauty and The Beast]]''.

* The TV Christmas movie ''Holiday In Handcuffs'' has this happen, with the kidnapper in question being [[Sabrina the Teenage Witch|Melissa Joan Hart.]]

** Interestingly, the psychiatrist, the author of a book on the subject, refers to it as Helsinki Syndrome, suggesting that he either [[Did Not Do the Research]] or is ripping off Stockholm Syndrome. Amusingly, the male newsreader tries to clarify to the viewers that he's referring to "Helsinki, Sweden," and is quickly corrected - Helsinki is in Finland.

* ''[[King Kong]]'' (2005): Ann Darrow and her captor Kong. Yeah... I call them as I see them.

* Played extremely darkly in ''The Poughkeepsie Tapes'' with the character of Cheryl Dempsey. [[Nightmare Fuel]] indeed.

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Ronnie about Ashley's feelings towards Turner in ''[[Disturbia]]''.

* In ''[[Dog Day Afternoon]]'', the bank employees clearly sympathize with the robbers/kidnappers by the end.

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and [[Averted Trope|subverted]] in ''[[Tucker and Dale Versus Evil]]''. Naomi believes that Allison is falling in love with her hillbilly captors due to Stockholm Syndrome, and Allison ''is'' slowly falling for Dale. The twist is that Tucker and Dale aren't her captors -- they rescued her when she almost drowned. And Allison is interested in Dale because he's a [[Nice Guy]].

* The woman John Wayne was trying to rescue in ''[[The Searchers]]''.

** It gets a little confusing, because at first she says "These are my people" - but then, when her stepbrother sneaks into the Comanche camp to rescue her, she is happy to see him and wants to leave immediately. Of course, that could be because the Wayne character now wants to kill her (believe her to have become [[Defiled Forever|"defiled" by Indians]]), and her stepbrother (who is one-eighth Indian himself) has sworn to protect her.

* ''[[The Bourne Identity]]'' - the book. The [[Film of the Book|movie]] didn't display any cases of [[Stockholm Syndrome]].

* Central to the concept of the Dick Francis thriller novel ''The Danger'', the author's clearly [[Shown Their Work|extensive research]] providing a more nuanced portrayal than usual of the syndrome.

* The [[Kim Newman]] short story ''Who Dares Wins'' refers to Stockholm Syndrome, but since the captors are vampires, they have faster and more reliable methods to get the hostages on their side.

* An unintentional example, as the term didn't even exist at the time, is ''[[The Sheik]]''. The heroine is abused and raped by the Sheik until she falls in love with him.

* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' has the damane. Women channelers (a.k.a. sorceresses) are captured by the Seanchan Empire, collared with a device that doesn't allow them to do any kind of channeling (and even anything) without their handler allowing it. It's a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] for the women channelers raised in cultures where they are allowed to roam free and are even admired and feared. But some captured do develop an attachment to it (attachment meaning completely assuming whatever identity the handler wants them to have, resisting capture, and being terrified and traumatized if set free). Although that is more a case of actively breaking the spirit of the captured women and turning them into obedient puppets, more like pets or tools than human beings. [[Fate Worse Than Death]] indeed. This trope is averted rather [[Moral Event Horizon|horribly]] with Rand's capture by the hands of Elaida's Tower embassy. There is not exactely identification or sympathy with his captors/tormenters on his part.

* Winnie from ''[[Tuck Everlasting]]'' was kidnapped by the Tucks, but grew to love them all the same. To be fair, they never intended to harm her and were very kind – they just needed to explain the situation to her properly, and were more than willing to take her home once they had done so. Could also be a case of [[Lima Syndrome]] for the Tucks, though they never saw her as a hostage in the first place.

* In ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'', decades before the Stockholm bank robbery occurred, Christine falls in love with Erik after he kidnaps her, drugs her, and locks her in his house for 2 weeks -- all this after 3 months of him acting as her [[Mailer Daemon]] and gradually growing more verbally abusive and aggressive. Raoul is saddened but not the least bit surprised that she loves a man she's (understandably) terrified of, and Christine comes to her senses long enough to tell Raoul to take her away from Erik once and for all [[No Matter How Much I Beg]].

* The hostages in ''Bel Canto'' develop this

* After [[Vorkosigan Saga|Cordelia]] gets back to Beta after being captured by the Barrayarans during the Betan/Barrayaran war, her commanding officers and family believe she has this, and she is totally unable to convince them otherwise. It's not that hard to see why they think so, since she has various scars which appear to be the result of torture (and one which actually is).

* Princess Irulan in [[Dune]] shows this to Paul.

* Referenced in Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam. The victims of the titular [[Mad Scientist]] try to stop this from happening to them, but end up still treating him "with this crazy kidnap-victim respect".

* Bella Swan in ''Twilight'' thinks Edward is great because he wants to kill her, but refrains from it.

* An episode of ''[[Numb3rs]]'' had a kidnapped heiress in a Patty-Hearst-like situation join up with the kidnappers' cause. Subverted in that it turned out she had been the mastermind all along and planned her own kidnapping.

* This was also a plot in an episode of ''[[Sledge Hammer]]''.

* ''[[NCIS]]'' did this twice in as many seasons. The first time involved a main character and a [[Magnificent Bastard]] and merely prevented the main character from stabbing him with a scalpel. The second time had the villain-of-the-week kidnap a woman and lock her in a room to be his wife every time he moved, and when the team rescued the latest one, she bashed her rescuer's head in with a plant.

** Regarding the first instance, it was just raised as a possibility why Kate didn't stab Ari when she had the chance. Kate replies that she couldn't have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome in the short time she was kept hostage. DiNozzo replies that it might have been like [[Foe Yay|love at first sight]].

'''Tony:''' Hm... I'm an acquired taste."<br />

'''McGee:''' Actually, it's more like the Stockholm Syndrome. }}

** A first season episode includes the following dialogue:

{{quote| '''Cameron''': [House's] crazy ideas are usually right. We've been here long enough to--<br />

'''Foreman''': We've been here long enough to have Stockholm Syndrome. }}

** Another episode had a prison warden hiring a hitman to 'escape' with the warden's wife and kill her. The man decided not to go through with the killing and kept the wife around. After a few years, she barely even remembered her old life.

* ''[[CSI]]'' explored this trope with the character of Tammy Felton in the episodes "Face Lift" and "And Then There Were None".

* ''''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''. Leoben appears to be trying to evoke this in Kara Thrace by keeping her imprisoned in his mock home on New Caprica, despite Kara's repeated attempts to subvert this trope by stabbing him to death, and by introducing a girl he claims is their daughter.

** Arguably, Felix Gaeta and {{spoiler|Sweet Eight, who seemed to be a rare sympathetic presence - with a friend's face, no less - during the brutal Cylon occupation of New Caprica}}.

* Oft-mentioned but rarely used on ''[[Criminal Minds]]''.

** In the season four episode "Bloodlines," a woman kidnapped when she was a small girl marries into the family who kidnapped her and goes on to kidnap other girls to marry her son.

** Arguably, {{spoiler|Audrey Henson}} in "The Crossing." {{spoiler|By the time she was in the picture, however, it had turned into battered spouse syndrome.}}

** Probably also explains, to some extent, why Reid keeps insisting that Tobias Hankel "saved his life" despite the fact that his life wouldn't have needed saving if Hankel hadn't been busy beating him to death. (Although the multiple personalities make this slightly more complicated). Reid seems to empathize with any unsub who is suffering from a severe mental illness. His mother's fight with Schizophrenia and his fears about his own mental health probably fuel this.

* In the mini series ''[[Kill Point]]'', Chloe, one of the hostages in a bank robbery, develops feelings for the bank robbers' leader to the point that she wishes to go with him when he escapes.

* In the ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' episode "Revelations 6:8", Methos tells Cassandra that she had Stockholm Syndrome when she was his slave. She denies having loved him but he points out that she expected him to protect her.

* [[Played for Laughs|Played extremely for laughs]] when Fran and her mother are hostages in a bank robbery on ''[[The Nanny]]'', because once they get to know the bank robber, they consider him [[Harmless Villain|(correctly, to all appearances) to be too nice a guy to ever actually shoot any of his hostages.]]

* Combined with [[Lima Syndrome]] in an episode of ''[[New Tricks]]'': Hannah Taylor was kidnapped by a young man with a grudge against her mother, a then-alcoholic doctor who he blamed for his mother's death. After Paul talked with Hannah for a while, he came to his senses and decided to release her and go on the run, not even bothering to collect the ransom he'd asked for. But Hannah, who hated her mother as much as Paul did, chose to come with him. 13 years later they're [[Happily Married]] with a child.

* In the first ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' game, Otacon is attracted to Sniper Wolf. Snake directly tells him he's probably suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

** It's not outside the realm of possibility that Stockholm Syndrome turned into genuine affection, or even skipped the Swedish bit. Otacon explicitly states that Sniper Wolf was the first person in a long time who felt he was worth treating decently, [[The Woobie|and given how]] [[Chew Toy|his life's gone]] up to the point that he tells Snake that, it's not unfeasible that Otacon might interpret a waitress actually bringing him his order as a gesture of undying love.

* ''[[Golden Sun]]: The Lost Age''. The villains from the original ''[[Golden Sun]]'' were killed at the end, yet their hostages continued the mission, and the heroes of the original eventually join up--leading to a [[Not Brainwashed]] scene at the end with the [[God|Wise One]]. Justified that the original mission is saving the world anyway (even though Saturos and Menardi are more concerned about their town than Weyard, the world's saved is still the side effect).

** Technically, {{spoiler|their parents lives were on the line as well}}

* Zip and Netta from ''[[DDG]]'' seem to be engaged in a two way [[Stockholm Syndrome]] at the moment. Whether Netta really does care about Zip or just sees [[Gender Bender|"her"]] as anything more than a ratings earner is up for debate, but Zip is definitely developing an attachment to her employer/owner.

* In the webcomic ''[[Marilith]]'', the titular assassin's apprentice, a young Japanese girl named Kimiko, started out as a serious case of [[Stockholm Syndrome]] before she managed to drag her captor into [[Lima Syndrome]] as well (in the prequel Krakow 2.0), after Marilith kidnapped the girl to ransom her back to her wealthy father. Her affections were somewhat nuanced by the fact that she's a [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|Japanese schoolgirl]], mind...

{{quote| '''Andy:''' Looks like the King of Sweden has joined his captors.<br />

'''Casey:''' Stockholm Syndrome. Now that's ironic. }}

* {{spoiler|Trina}} in ''[[Collar 6]]''.

* In [[The Kingfisher]], some of the middle generation of vampires have developed loyalty to monstrous masters. This is more apparent in some characters (Sarah) than others (Vitus).

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** There's also "A Clockwork Origin," in which Leela and Amy are kidnapped by two robot cavemen, for ''one day'', and both miss them afterwards.

{{quote| '''Captor:''' "He has developed Stockholm Syndrome. He has come to identify with his captors."}}

** That, or she was trying to indulge in a [[Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?|ravishment fantasy]].