About: The Not-So-Harmless Punishment   Sponge Permalink

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A type of Comedy Trope that, usually, introduces the Cool and Unusual Punishment to torment our characters. How it works is as follows: Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble. This could be something he said or did with good intentions that backfired when the local authorities took offense to it, it could be something that actually is heinous for which Bob should surely pay dearly, or it could be seen as something totally inconsequential. Not to be confused with Not-So-Harmless Villain. Examples of The Not-So-Harmless Punishment include:

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  • The Not-So-Harmless Punishment
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  • A type of Comedy Trope that, usually, introduces the Cool and Unusual Punishment to torment our characters. How it works is as follows: Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble. This could be something he said or did with good intentions that backfired when the local authorities took offense to it, it could be something that actually is heinous for which Bob should surely pay dearly, or it could be seen as something totally inconsequential. Not to be confused with Not-So-Harmless Villain. Examples of The Not-So-Harmless Punishment include:
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  • A type of Comedy Trope that, usually, introduces the Cool and Unusual Punishment to torment our characters. How it works is as follows: Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble. This could be something he said or did with good intentions that backfired when the local authorities took offense to it, it could be something that actually is heinous for which Bob should surely pay dearly, or it could be seen as something totally inconsequential. In any case, Bob's actions come with a price to pay, and Alice is about to dish out some serious retribution, except that when Alice tells Bob what his punishment is going to be, it sounds very minor and painless; it may not even sound like a punishment at all. However, just when Bob is beginning to think that he got off easy, it is revealed that his punishment is much more grave and dire than he has, for a brief moment, come to expect, and the circumstances are further beyond his control than he realizes. He's gone out of the frying pan and straight into the fire, and it's going to take everything Bob's got and more to get out of this mess. Typically, The Not-So-Harmless Punishment is introduced with a very misleading name or presentation which gives the character the idea that this is something he doesn't have to worry too much about but is quickly shown to be the opposite of what he was initially expecting. Other times, the punishment may be described in a way that, at first, sounds rather pedestrian, giving the protagonist the chance to give a cocky response about how he can handle something like that, only for subsequent details to describe how the punishment really is something truly horrible. Occasionally, a Gilligan Cut is used to sell the gag. One variant with an Idiot Hero or The Fool may have the character receive a very straight-forward punishment that is perfectly clear to the audience, but the character mistakes it to mean something entirely different. Outside of Comedy, this trope is rarely seen , but it does make a few appearances in more serious works from time to time. The one thing that is constant among all examples is that all punishments are always shown to be very undesirable and/or harmful for our characters after The Reveal. See also: Cool and Unusual Punishment, which is occasionally what these punishments turn out to be, as well as Killer Rabbit, Happy Fun Ball, Maximum Fun Chamber and Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom. The Reveal and Hope Spot are usually the most vital components that model the gag. Not to be confused with Not-So-Harmless Villain. Examples of The Not-So-Harmless Punishment include:
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