That's too much dramatic irony, the whole thing's corroded

Given the commonness of this whole trope where the narrator, and sometimes everyone else except one intelligent character, is so clueless that they are continually surprised by everything that happens in the most obnoxious way while the writer ensures that the reader is anything but surprised...

... It's just occurred to me, for the first time, that it's got to be knowingly and deliberately employed by the authors. Does that mean people like it? Are there readers who regard it as a cherished and even favorite device? Does it come off as funny rather then agonizing, sort of like those people who like secondhand embarrassment humor?