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