Chris Csont looks how a little deception makes heroes feel more genuine:
As the audience, we have an important advantage over the other people in a character’s world: We can see a character when they think nobody’s watching.
When we see the contradiction between a character’s presented self and their internal self, it helps to make a fictional person feel dimensional and real. We relate to that feeling of having a part of yourself cordoned off from the rest of the world, and we also recognize the discomfort of having that barrier breached.
It’s a great piece with lots of examples.