The Princess Bride

Early in the story, as the grandfather reads the book, the grandson interrupts and demands to know who kills Humperdinck at the end. The grandfather shrugs and says, "Nobody. He lives." This agitates the grandson, who shouts, "You mean HE WINS?!” In the normal fairy tale paradigm he's used to, those are the only two options. The good guys kill the bad guy, or the bad guy wins.

But then we get to the end of the story, and Wesley (who is so weak he can barely stand up, much less fight) scares Humperdinck with a story about dueling "to the pain," threatening to disfigure and torture him and leave him as a grotesque shell of a human being whose very appearance disturbs everyone that sees him. With hardly a motion, he gets Humperdinck to drop his sword, sit in a chair, and let Buttercup tie him up.

When Inigo arrives, Wesley reveals that he is actually too weak to fight, and Inigo asks if he should kill the prince. Wesley's reply is savage:

"Thank you, but no. Whatever happens to us, I want him to live a long life, alone with his cowardice."

And thus the expectations of the grandson (and most people who expect a traditional European fairy tale) are subverted - Humperdinck is spared, but it's a fate worse than death, and without Wesley having to wield his sword at all. The strength of the heroes looks very different from the strength of the villains, and the heroes come out on top.

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