The index of tropes about rescues: the types that exist, the ways they're enacted,
and the ways they can go awry.
You'll also see tropes about rescuers, those dashing heroic types doing all the hard saving work, as well as the bothersome rescuees (or their more grammatical equivalents) who got themselves
In Harm's Way in the first place.
For our purposes, a rescue is a situation in which
a character in danger is saved from it by another character. A
Badass in Distress who saves herself with no help doesn't count. Neither does the escape of a
Distressed Dude after the
Villains are
suddenly crushed by a
falling bridge—unless
The Hero deliberately toppled that bridge as a
Conveniently Timed Attack From Behind.
Often overlaps with
Just in Time, since the
Big Damn Heroes swooping in at the last minute is
dramatic. However, a rescue doesn't have to be last minute, and doom averted in the nick of time isn't always a rescue.
Examples:
Meta-Examples:
