Tropescilloscope: Damsel in Distress

A female character is kidnapped or otherwise in danger and in need of rescue. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Mystery and Detective Films Composite Character Brick Joke No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Jerkass Has a Point Due to the Dead The Great Depression Dropped a Bridge on Him Lighter and Softer Have a Gay Old Time Mooks Victoria's Secret Compartment A God Am I Meet Cute The Dog Bites Back Big Damn Heroes Framing Device Not What It Looks Like Be Careful What You Wish For Artistic License – Physics Despair Event Horizon Fiery Redhead Red Right Hand Taking the Bullet Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Cool Old Guy Put on a Bus Last-Name Basis She's Got Legs No Celebrities Were Harmed Rule of Three Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds The Ditz Faux Affably Evil From Bad to Worse Soundtrack Dissonance Ass Shove Real Life Writes the Plot Fatal Flaw Get Out! Manchild French Films British Films Final Girl Early-Bird Cameo Fourth Date Marriage Worthy Opponent Unspoken Plan Guarantee Christmas Movies Index The Lancer Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Creepy Child Catch-Phrase Freeze-Frame Bonus Casting Gag Dirty Coward Mr. Exposition Rich Bitch Almost Kiss Red Herring I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Honor Before Reason Canon Foreigner Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Dissonant Serenity Wicked Cultured Children Are Innocent Captain Obvious Stuff Blowing Up Mundane Made Awesome Drowning My Sorrows Kick the Dog Make It Look Like an Accident Evil Is Petty Improbable Aiming Skills Sole Survivor Karmic Death Fun with Acronyms Deadpan Snarker Naked People Are Funny BFG Tempting Fate I Did What I Had to Do Same Language Dub Only Known by Their Nickname Rule of Symbolism Disproportionate Retribution Double Entendre The Oner The '80s Femme Fatale Insane Troll Logic No OSHA Compliance Obstructive Bureaucrat Action Girl Unusual Euphemism Abhorrent Admirer Roger Ebert: Great Movies List The X of Y Superhero Annoying Younger Sibling Chiaroscuro Action Survivor Hope Spot You Killed My Father The Big Guy Bald of Evil Foil He Knows Too Much Face Death with Dignity Betty and Veronica Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Big Bad Duumvirate Hypocritical Humor Psycho for Hire Major Injury Underreaction Fingore Badass Boast Car Fu The Un-Reveal Death Glare Madness Mantra Kids Are Cruel Reality Has No Subtitles Plot Hole The Musical Failed a Spot Check Romantic Comedy Plucky Comic Relief Chekhov's Gun Action Genre Dramedy Rousing Speech Coming-of-Age Story Leitmotif The Stinger Animated Credits Opening Adults Are Useless The Atoner Death by Sex MacGuffin Reasonable Authority Figure Black Best Friend Beta Couple Big-Bad Ensemble Random Events Plot Reality Is Unrealistic Police are Useless Amoral Attorney Half the Man He Used to Be Comically Missing the Point Naïve Newcomer Hooker with a Heart of Gold Dirty Old Man Contrived Coincidence Posthumous Character Obviously Evil The Power of Love Black and Gray Morality Anti-Hero Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Chekhov's Gunman Epic Fail Big Fancy House Downer Ending Everyone Has Standards Bottomless Magazines Humiliation Conga Creative Closing Credits Serious Business Manipulative Bastard Badass in a Nice Suit Broken Aesop Agony of the Feet Obfuscating Stupidity Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Russian Films Jerk with a Heart of Gold Politically Incorrect Villain A Father to His Men Here We Go Again! In the Back Reality Ensues Not Quite Dead Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Funny Background Event Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Film Series Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane The Mole Oh, Crap! Martial Arts Movie Imagine Spot Does This Remind You of Anything? Overprotective Dad Exact Words Your Cheating Heart Retcon Mind Screw True Companions Twist Ending Red Shirt Call-Back Police Brutality Developing Doomed Characters Happily Married Beauty Is Never Tarnished Darkest Hour Defrosting Ice Queen Historical-Domain Character Continuity Nod Rape as Drama Silent Movie What Happened to the Mouse? Karma Houdini Book-Ends Bland-Name Product Fantastic Racism All Men Are Perverts Sealed Evil in a Can Bad Boss Enemy Mine Alas, Poor Villain Idiot Ball The Smurfette Principle The Place Dwindling Party Big Applesauce Did Not Get the Girl Hong Kong Films Shower Scene Badass Bookworm Adaptational Heroism Meaningful Background Event Noodle Incident Even Evil Has Standards Our Zombies Are Different Accidental Misnaming Let's Get Dangerous! Cruel and Unusual Death Taking You with Me Sassy Black Woman Scenery Gorn Throwing Your Sword Always Works A Date with Rosie Palms Earn Your Happy Ending Determinator aka: The Determinator Foreshadowing Central Theme Refuge in Audacity Flashback Bloodless Carnage Cool Guns No Antagonist Parental Incest Room Full of Crazy Chewing the Scenery Gorn Spiritual Successor Immune to Bullets The Hero Only a Flesh Wound Stock Footage Black Comedy Only Sane Man Curb-Stomp Battle Big Eater Video Credits Bound and Gagged How We Got Here Heterosexual Life-Partners Mr. Fanservice Catapult Nightmare Intrepid Reporter Smoking Is Cool The Mafia The Ghost Butt-Monkey Belligerent Sexual Tension Adaptation Name Change Index of Film Westerns Deliberate Values Dissonance Mythology Gag Evil Laugh Implacable Man Woman in White Japanese Films Super Strength As Himself Narrator Crazy-Prepared Horror Films Crucified Hero Shot Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Well-Intentioned Extremist Camera Abuse Deal with the Devil Improvised Weapon Psychopathic Manchild Early Installment Weirdness Fainting Fake Shemp Italian Films Anachronism Stew Overly Long Gag Blood from the Mouth Dutch Angle O.O.C. Is Serious Business Artistic License – Military My Greatest Failure Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie It's Personal Abusive Parents Very Loosely Based on a True Story Badass Normal Bond One-Liner Protagonist Title Small Name, Big Ego Knife Nut Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Lock and Load Montage Combat Pragmatist Training Montage Better to Die than Be Killed The Bully Science Fiction Films Scenery Porn Affably Evil Chase Scene Depraved Bisexual You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Establishing Character Moment Freudian Excuse Re-Cut Death by Irony Monumental Damage Loads and Loads of Characters The Quiet One "Shaggy Dog" Story Jitter Cam Anyone Can Die Cassandra Truth Punch-Clock Villain Hero Antagonist Covers Always Lie All Just a Dream After the End Deus ex Machina One-Word Title Redemption Equals Death One-Man Army Evil Sounds Deep The Dragon Accidental Murder Genre Shift Kick the Son of a Bitch Friend to All Children Even Evil Has Loved Ones Closed Circle Breaking the Fourth Wall Important Haircut B-Movie Apocalypse How Nice Hat An Arm and a Leg Line-of-Sight Name Adaptation Expansion Big "NO!" The '50s The Stoner Made of Iron Affectionate Parody Informed Ability Pretty Little Headshots And Starring Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Motor Mouth Would Hurt a Child Left the Background Music On In Name Only Body Horror Chekhov's Skill Logo Joke Meaningful Name Drugs Are Bad The Cameo Eiffel Tower Effect The Chick Gilligan Cut Berserk Button What the Hell, Hero? Token Minority Fan Disservice Anti-Villain Vacation Films German Films Arch-Enemy Blatant Lies The Ace Pet the Dog Dirty Cop Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Zombie Stories Those Two Guys Visual Pun Tranquil Fury Hair-Trigger Temper She Cleans Up Nicely Only One Name Documentary Neck Lift Music Stories This Is Gonna Suck Wrong Genre Savvy The Smart Guy Exactly What It Says on the Tin Decoy Protagonist Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Hoist by His Own Petard Skewed Priorities Humans Are Bastards Aside Glance Artistic License – History Ascended Extra Green-Eyed Monster Suspiciously Specific Denial Handicapped Badass La Résistance Man on Fire Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Market-Based Title Bittersweet Ending Henpecked Husband Age Lift Extremely Short Timespan Shipper on Deck Ripped from the Headlines The Sociopath I Have Your Wife Empathic Environment Deliberately Monochrome Laughing Mad The Vamp Cowboy Cop Ship Tease Animal Motifs Not So Above It All Disney Death Kill It with Fire Precision F-Strike Artistic License – Biology Made of Explodium Cool Car Evil Plan timeperiod Recycled IN SPACE! Sanity Slippage Dogged Nice Guy '80s Hair Mood Whiplash Hollywood Law "Well Done, Son!" Guy Crazy Jealous Guy Batman Gambit Star-Crossed Lovers Cloudcuckoolander Cat Scare The Casanova Offscreen Moment of Awesome More Dakka Bi the Way Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Corrupt Corporate Executive Stepford Smiler Sinister Minister Bowdlerise Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Smug Snake Dying Moment of Awesome Adaptational Villainy Guns Akimbo NO INDOOR VOICE Pragmatic Villainy Camp Gay Poor Communication Kills The Load Death Seeker Advertised Extra And I Must Scream Celebrity Paradox Never My Fault Papa Wolf Funny Foreigner Scary Black Man Broken Pedestal Older Than They Look Our Vampires Are Different Retirony Fanservice Bavarian Fire Drill Gone Horribly Right Wretched Hive The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Sexy Discretion Shot Bilingual Bonus Ambiguous Ending Mighty Whitey Silence Is Golden You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Those Two Bad Guys Author Appeal Didn't Think This Through Bare Your Midriff Canadian Movies Maybe Ever After Title Drop Anachronic Order Costume Porn Kubrick Stare Australian Movies Alliterative Name Red Eyes, Take Warning Woman Scorned Daylight Horror Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer The Stoic Thriller Setting Update The '90s Kill 'em All Outrun the Fireball Bloody Hilarious Good Is Not Nice Sequel Hook Gender Flip Parental Abandonment Fatal Family Photo Improbable Weapon User Authority Equals Asskicking Bad "Bad Acting" Expy Badass Grandpa Romantic False Lead May–December Romance Stealth Pun Translation Convention And the Adventure Continues Slasher Movie Actually Pretty Funny Parental Neglect Four-Temperament Ensemble Eye Scream Pretty in Mink What You Are in the Dark Self-Deprecation Race Against the Clock Rated M for Manly Rasputinian Death Drill Sergeant Nasty Diabolus ex Machina Ghost Fiction Brother–Sister Incest Vampire Fiction It's All About Me Reckless Gun Usage Race Lift The Voiceless Villain with Good Publicity Television Movie Index Mama Bear Beware the Nice Ones Curse Cut Short Break the Haughty Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Homage Bury Your Gays Hypocrite Cool Old Lady Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold War Is Hell Disappeared Dad Bullying a Dragon Big Brother Instinct Death of a Child Hero of Another Story Mercy Kill Pragmatic Adaptation Card-Carrying Villain "Awesome McCool" Name Aluminum Christmas Trees Whole Plot Reference Anguished Declaration of Love Show Within a Show Sports Stories Dark Is Not Evil Gold Digger Running Gag Took a Level in Jerkass Product Placement Fanservice Extra Asshole Victim Blackmail Intergenerational Friendship Corpsing Facial Horror Not So Different Heroic BSoD Big Bad Historical Hero Upgrade No Name Given Adaptational Attractiveness Black Comedy Rape Black Dude Dies First Bar Brawl No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Ungrateful Bastard Parental Substitute Too Dumb to Live Heroes Want Redheads Face–Heel Turn Boom, Headshot! Vomit Discretion Shot Beard of Evil Mugging the Monster Genre Throwback Leaning on the Fourth Wall Stalker with a Crush Gainax Ending Mad Scientist All Girls Want Bad Boys Credits Gag Unwitting Instigator of Doom Antagonist Title Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Spanner in the Works Roaring Rampage of Revenge Screw This, I'm Outta Here! The Starscream Call-Forward Fire-Forged Friends Adult Fear Slashed Throat Your Head A-Splode Greater-Scope Villain Badass Longcoat Revenge I Need a Freaking Drink Insistent Terminology Tagline Historical In-Joke Real Life My God, What Have I Done? Male Gaze Jerkass Dramatic Irony Shell-Shocked Veteran Cain and Abel Film Noir Captain Ersatz For the Evulz Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Nothing Is Scarier As You Know No Ending It Will Never Catch On Works Set in World War II Instant Death Bullet Dressing as the Enemy Straight Gay Attempted Rape Determinator Those Wacky Nazis Ambiguous Disorder Bloodier and Gorier Defiant to the End As the Good Book Says... There Is No Kill Like Overkill Armor-Piercing Question The Alcoholic Domestic Abuse Dual Wielding A Minor Kidroduction Took a Level in Badass Undying Loyalty Ax-Crazy Psychological Thriller Brainless Beauty Rule of Cool Rewatch Bonus Gory Discretion Shot Hate Sink It Can Think Word of God Danny Peary Cult Movies List Love Triangle Film Noir Index Bond Villain Stupidity Dark Reprise Not So Stoic Fate Worse than Death Arranged Marriage Never Found the Body The Remake Eyepatch of Power Flipping the Bird Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Retired Badass Adaptation Dye-Job Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism "The Reason You Suck" Speech Drives Like Crazy An Aesop World of Ham Once More, with Clarity! Calling the Old Man Out Up to Eleven Toplessness from the Back Arc Words Heel Realization Bait-and-Switch Stylistic Suck I'm a Humanitarian Never Trust a Trailer Epic Movie Eldritch Abomination Expository Hairstyle Change Vitriolic Best Buds Irony Laser-Guided Karma Punny Name Non-Indicative Name Lampshade Hanging Not Using the "Z" Word The Lost Lenore An Axe to Grind In Medias Res Becoming the Mask Villain Song Unreliable Narrator Cat Fight Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Hell Is That Noise Spell My Name with an "S" Getting Crap Past the Radar All There in the Manual Blood Knight Would Hit a Girl Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! All for Nothing Ironic Echo Heel–Face Turn The Brute "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue He Who Fights Monsters Disguised in Drag Villain Ball Character Development Slap-Slap-Kiss Spiteful Spit Shoot the Shaggy Dog Double-Meaning Title Sadistic Choice Adaptational Badass Department of Redundancy Department Historical Villain Upgrade Vomit Indiscretion Shot Killed Mid-Sentence Novelization Artistic License – Gun Safety Dull Surprise Large Ham Jerk Jock Easily Forgiven Guile Hero Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Pimped-Out Dress Creator Cameo Adorkable Five-Man Band Does Not Like Shoes Moment Killer Evil vs. Evil Grievous Bottley Harm Truth in Television Match Cut Manic Pixie Dream Girl I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Paper-Thin Disguise Country Matters Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Dark and Troubled Past Unusually Uninteresting Sight Manly Tears Author Avatar Award-Bait Song Playing Gertrude Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Names to Run Away from Really Fast Destination Defenestration Broken Bird Married to the Job The Dreaded Ms. Fanservice Malevolent Masked Men Light Is Not Good Adapted Out Air-Vent Passageway Stealth Hi/Bye The '60s Public Domain Feature Films N-Word Privileges Fish out of Water Cool Shades Needs Wiki Magic Love Dark Action Girl Evil Brit Serial Killer Off-into-the-Distance Ending Cluster F-Bomb Faking the Dead Awesome, but Impractical Peek-a-Boo Corpse Artistic License – Law Riddle for the Ages Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" The End... Or Is It? Dies Wide Open Mexican Standoff Tap on the Head The Hero Dies Take That! Yandere Cold-Blooded Torture Pay Evil unto Evil Offscreen Teleportation Trailers Always Spoil Sci-Fi Horror Pyrrhic Victory Only in It for the Money Artistic License – Geography Spared by the Adaptation Wounded Gazelle Gambit One Steve Limit Bolivian Army Ending Brutal Honesty Properly Paranoid Unresolved Sexual Tension Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Disney Villain Death Dumb Blonde folderlabel Grey and Gray Morality Suspiciously Similar Substitute Really Gets Around Horror Comedy Ambiguously Gay Hidden Depths The Chessmaster Sir Swears-a-Lot Evil Counterpart Redshirt Army Jump Scare Wham Line Villain Protagonist Daddy's Girl Crapsack World Driven to Suicide Pre-Mortem One-Liner Love at First Sight Dramatic Gun Cock Damsel in Distress Nice Guy Alpha Bitch Bring My Brown Pants As Long as It Sounds Foreign All There in the Script Insult Backfire The Alleged Car Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Wham Shot Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Genre Savvy Extreme Doormat Interrupted Suicide No-Sell Leave the Camera Running Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Evil Is Hammy The Reveal Amusing Injuries Darker and Edgier Adaptation Distillation Mistaken for Gay Actor Allusion Action Prologue Neck Snap Knight Templar Eagleland The Bad Guy Wins Gratuitous English Distracted by the Sexy Sequel Escalation Time Skip Shirtless Scene Deconstruction Auto Erotica 20 Minutes into the Future Totally Radical Based on a True Story Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Hollywood Darkness Storming the Castle Red Oni, Blue Oni Villainous Breakdown Biopic Foregone Conclusion Demoted to Extra Groin Attack Animal Title Index Fantasy Films Death by Adaptation Fat Bastard Back from the Dead Not Even Bothering with the Accent Men Are the Expendable Gender My Beloved Smother Heroic Sacrifice Military and Warfare Films Soft Glass Male Frontal Nudity For Want of a Nail The Faceless Shown Their Work Frame-Up Ominous Latin Chanting From Nobody to Nightmare Meaningful Echo Conspicuous CG Break the Cutie Scare Chord Demonic Possession Sacrificial Lion Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Villain Opening Scene Shut Up, Hannibal! Rule of Funny Say My Name The '70s Morality Pet Take a Third Option Off with His Head! Slasher Smile Evil-Detecting Dog You Have Failed Me Together in Death Loophole Abuse Missing Mom The Film of the Book Suddenly SHOUTING! Eureka Moment Bunny-Ears Lawyer A.I. Is a Crapshoot Famous Last Words The Cavalry Shout-Out Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Every Car Is a Pinto Babies Ever After