History Main / TryAndFollow

Compare BriarPatching and SuicidalGotcha. Rarely, if ever, works on the ImplacableMan or TheJuggernaut. Is very likely to be pulled of at least once by the AcePilot.

* In RudyardKipling's ''[[TheJungleBook Second Jungle Book]]'' story "Red Dog", Mowgli is fleeing the rampaging dogs and jumps off a cliff into a raging river. This is a deliberate subversion, though - he knows they'll follow him, but is setting a trap for them.

* Find yourself a victim of an IncrediblyObviousTail? Experts suggest the best way to shake your stalker is to jump into traffic. The confusion ensures everyone is paying attention to you, and your stalker won't act with witnesses abound. Plus, if you really cause enough trouble, police might take you into (protective) custody.

''Follow they will not dare.''"

First Rule of being followed: do what your pursuer is unwilling to do. Of course, part of this is to what extent the prey does not want to be caught.

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* ''{{Rambo}}'' (In First Blood, he was being chased through the woods and actually jumped from a small cliff into trees to escape.)

* ''ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid'' jumped off the cliff into the river below to avoid being caught. But that wasn't enough and they learned later that their pursuers would keep after them until they were captured or dead.

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* In RudyardKipling's ''[[TheJungleBook Second Jungle Book]]'' story "Red Dog", Mowgli is fleeing the rampaging dogs and jumps off a cliff into a raging river. This is a deliberate subversion, though - he knows they'll follow him, but is setting a trap for them.

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* In ''InvaderZim'', when Dib and Zim are driving the planets Mercury and Mars, Zim attempts this with Dib by challenging him to follow him through the [[AsteroidThicket asteroid belt]]. Dib is smart enough not to take on the challenge.

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-->-- Michael Westen, ''BurnNotice''

* ''ThePrincessBride'', when Wesley and Buttercup escape into The Fire Swamp to evade their pursuers.

*** Incorrect. They did follow him, en masse and quite closely. If he had reversed instead of going over that median, he would have crushed at least two, possibly five police cars. To me, this is the police taking insane risks. He stole the tank from a national gaurd depot, he should have never gotten that far and the response shouldnt have been police.

-->--"The Skye Boat Song", traditional Scottish lullabye

* ''TheFugitive'' and the famous dam jump. They made this into a perfect moment between hunted and hunter, and showed what extreme Richard Kimble was willing to go to prove his innocence.

** And in the sequel USMarshals, where the fugitive jumps off the roof of a building, uses a rope to swing over to a train station on the other side of the street, then jumps onto the roof of the departing train in order to evade Gerard.

*** The cruisers helped get the attention of other drivers and pedestrians to get them out of the way, served as a rolling road block behind the tank, and made sure that as soon as the tank was somehow immobilized, officers could immediately swarm it and break open the hatch. A military response would probably have occurred if the chase lasted much longer than the 23 minutes it did; the delivery of an anti-tank unit would require the declaration of marital law (since it has to be operated by trained military members, not civilian law enforcement) and for good reason that can't be done with just a call to the nearest National Guard base.

-->"''But in the end, sometimes making an escape is just about being willing to do what the guy chasing you won't. Like jump off a building.''"

-->"''Baffled, our foes stand by the shore'' \\

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<<|ChaseScene|>>

** Another episode had a robber do the same thing. After he got away, Joe went through a HeroicBSOD and quit the force, but at the end crossed paths with the robber again, who tried the same thing, only for Joe to find a way to fling himself over the fence and land on the guy [[spoiler:which ended up breaking his spine...]] [[supersecretspoiler: killing him]].

* On CaseClosed, Shinichi's mother once hung around too long at an intersection and then pulled away at the last possible minute to evade a car that had been surrepticiously following them.

* In Mel Gibson's ''{{Apocalypto}}'', Jaguar Paw's jump from a waterfall is a turning point for the character and story. When his pursuers actually ''do'' follow and survive, he realizes that he can't just outrun them. After all, he is Jaguar Paw. He is a hunter. And this is ''his'' forest.

* ''TheFugitive'' and the famous dam jump. They made this into a perfect moment between hunted and hunter, and what extreme Richard Kimball was willing to prove his innocence.

** The videogame ''PathOfNeo'' allows you to pursue the first option and see what could have happened. They might catch you anyway, but if you're good enough to escape them, Trinity is waiting outside on her motorcycle and will instantly take you to Morpheus.

** Another episode had a robber do the same thing. After he got away, Joe went through a HeroicBSOD and quit the force, but at the end crossed paths with the robber again, who tried the same thing, only for Joe to find a way to fling himself over the fence and land on the guy [[spoiler:which ended up breaking his spine, killing him]].

* In an episode of ''{{Firefly}}'', Wash attempts to lose the Feds on their tail by saying "Let's see them follow us through here!" and ducking and weaving through a narrow canyon. The camera pulls back to show the Feds are simply flying above the canyon and watching them from there. "Oh! I didn't think of that." Then they start with the [[NoKillLikeOverkill bombing]].

** The videogame ''PathOfNeo'' allows you to pursue the first option and see what could have happened. Which is pretty much the same thing, he still gets captured by agents, but it's on his way out of the building.
*** Not if you're good enough. This troper has played the game and made the escape. To clarify what happens next if you aren't caught by the agents, Trinity is waiting outside on her motorcycle and will instantly take you to Morpheus.

* Explained in ''BurnNotice'' in the top quote. The show has a "Spy Work for Dummies" narration and in trying to escape some pursuers, Michael jumped down two stories and ran home on a twisted ankle.