The idea of expectations/suprise/incongruity, must be more precise here.

When we see a comedy a second time, we still can laugh about some scenes. Not all, but some. So the old suprised expectation can still be suprised again, even when you encountered a different solution. Because our brain is not a computer. We still associate with the same old stuff, maybe weaker but the old expectations are still there, or should we say, archived. Not always, but in some cases. Some expectations are getting shifted and you cant laugh again about the same joke. Or not as much.

So it hink its possible to remember a suprise and still laugh about it, because it is still so unimaginable and unexpected.

And expectations and suprise is not restricted to verbal things.

And not everybody got the same expectations! So some jokes must be seen in a more specified subcultural context to understand the suprise or non-suprise.

So the concept of "incongruity" seems elastic, only because our knowledge about it isnt very precise. Its a pretty complex phenomena and so on, we need a lot psychology here, to understand it fully. So i wouldnt give it up.