History Main / TheCavalryArrivesLate

!!Examples

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* In ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', Guts and Casca are attacked by over 100 enemy soldiers. Guts manages to create an opening for Caska to escape, and she runs to get the rest of the Band of the Hawk. Eventually, the Cavalry arrives to bail out Guts, only to find the battlefield quiet, with corpses littered all over it. They find Guts still and unmoving against a tree, and immediately assume the worst. And then Guts wakes up from the nap he took after single-handedly winning a battle where he was outnumbered by over a hundred to one.

* In ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', Guts and Caska are attacked by over 100 enemy soldiers. Guts manages to create an opening for Caska to escape, and she runs to get the rest of the Band of the Hawk. Eventually, the Cavalry arrives to bail out Guts, only to find the battlefield quiet, with corpses littered all over it. They find Guts still and unmoving against a tree, and immediately assume the worst. And then Guts wakes up from the nap he took after single-handedly winning a battle where he was outnumbered by over a hundred to one.

* ''Film/TheKiller'' has the police showing up in ''droves''... AFTER the titular hero and his partner had killed at least 80 enemy gangsters, save for the main villain, in a lengthy shootout. What's even worse is that the villain decides to [[LoopholeAbuse surrender himself to the police to avoid getting himself killed]].

* [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] in any Neutral Ending of ''VideoGame/Undertale'' where Toriel is left alive. She arrives just after the climactic battles with Asgore[[spoiler: and Photoshop Flowey]], and is left to pick up the pieces.

* In ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'', Clamp and his SWAT team enter the building just in time to see the gigantic mushy puddle that's left after all the gremlins get electrocuted.

* It is a common complaint by other characters in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' that the law enforcement organizations Judgment and Anti-Skill always arrive late. The [[MadBomber Graviton Bomber]] reveals that part of the reason that he's blowing everything up is revenge for everyone always showing up too late to save him from bullies.
* PlayedForLaughs in episode 12 of ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' where Alciel got there just after Maou had finished off Sariel because he went home to get his BadassCape first. The same thing happened in episode 5, but he managed to get there before the battle really took off.

* In ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka'', the police arrive after our {{Heroes}} have killed Mr. Big (and most of his {{Mooks}}).

** Happens again in the King Piccolo Saga. Only Tenshinhan was around to witness Piccolo Daimao's defeat.

* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' the elves arrive late to help the dwarves of Erebor against Smaug. Thranduil then has his army turn around and march back, unwilling to risk their lives for a battle that's already lost. (And certainly not to help [[ElvesVsDwarves dwarves]]). Thorin holds a lifetime grudge against Thranduil for refusing to help at that crucial moment.

** Princess Luna is well known for her [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome vanishingly small amount of screen time]], and comments from the fans along the lines of "Wow, it would sure be nice if the ''second most powerful character in the show'' [[spoiler:would notice that the villain is about to take over the world]]" are canonised when she turns up at the ''end'' of "A Canterlot Wedding" and asks if she's missed anything.

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the kids spend the ''whole series'' waiting for the Andalite military to come help defeat the Yeerks. The closest they get to help is a token force of four Andalites who are actually there on a secret mission, and who promptly leave at the end of that book (#38). They finally show up in the last book, just after [[spoiler:the Animorphs have defeated the Yeerks and taken the Visser prisoner]].

Contrast BigDamnHeroes and JustInTime for when reinforcements arrive before the villain is defeated, and YouAreTooLate for when the ''good guys'' are defeated before reinforcements arrive. For moments when it's the ''hero'' coming to someone's aid, only to find ''they've'' got it taken care of, see NonProtagonistResolver. For when they never arrive at all, it might be NoHelpIsComing.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': If Officer Jenny shows up, it's always after the villain (usually Team Rocket) has been defeated by Ash and his friends.

* This occurs in ''Film/ABridgeTooFar.'' [[TheWorfBarrage Sadly, because of this fact, the poorly equipped paratroopers are defeated horribly]].

* ''Film/{{Commando}}'': The United States Army arrives only after [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger John Matrix]] has defeated every enemy soldier on the island, including the BigBad and his [[TheDragon Dragon]]. LampShaded when [[BigGood General Kirby]] asks Matrix if left any for them. "Just bodies."

* In ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka'', the police arrive after our {{Heroes}} have killed Mr. Big (and most of his {{Mook}}s).

--> '''Bond:''' Is this what you call "coming through in the clinch?"

* In ''Film/TheTerminator'', the police come to save Sarah Connor and zip up Kyle Reese in a body bag only after the Terminator is defeated. [[ShootingSuperman Not that they did much against him earlier.]]

* ''Film/TheMask''... The Mask has ''just'' finished flushing out Dorian Tyrell, leaving his goons as a threat, when the police burst in with his best bud in tow, to 'arrest those men!'
* The military arrives after ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'' succeeds in banishing Dracula and the other monsters into Limbo.
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': The police arrive right after the weasels {{die laughing}} and Judge Doom is liquidated.

* ''Film/RelativeFear'': Detective Dennison and several police cars arrive seconds after [[spoiler:Adam shoots Gary.]]

* The police usually show up at the end of a ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film to clean up the trail of bodies that Jason has left behind. Just as well, as when they ''do'' show up, they're no more effective than Jason's other victims.
* At the start of ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'', Inspector Lestrade and the police arrive in time to arrest the villain and his mooks, after Holmes and Watson have defeated the mooks and unmasked the villain.
-->'''Inspector Lestrade:''' You were told to wait for my orders.
-->'''Sherlock Holmes:''' If I had, you'd be cleaning up a corpse and chasing a rumor. Besides, the girl's family hired me, not the Yard. [[SarcasmMode Why they thought you needed any assistance is beyond me]].
* This is so prevalent in Filipino action movies that seeing the police actually arrive in time to aid in the inevitable [[AbandonedWarehouse warehouse]] shootout ''counts as a twist''.

* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' the elves arrive late to help the dwarves of Erebor against Smaug. Thranduil then has his army turn around and march back, unwilling to risk their lives for a battle that's already lost. (And certainly not to help [[ElvesVsDwarves dwarves]]). Thorin holds a lifetime grudge against Thranduil for refusing to help at that crucial moment.

* In ''Film/RoadToRio'' (1947) Jerry Colonna leads a cavalry charge that races, and races, and races, and races to the rescue. Then it's all over and they never get there. At that point they all stop and Colonna breaks the fourth wall to say to the audience "But it was exciting, wasn't it?"
* Just after the killer in ''Film/TheSlumberPartyMassacre'' is defeated and before the end credits roll, police sirens can be heard in the distance. The [[Film/SlumberPartyMassacreII two]] [[Film/SlumberPartyMassacreIII sequels]] for the film also have authorities arriving on the scene right after the climax.
* At the end of ''Film/RushHour3'', the French police show up right after Carter and Lee have taken down the triads and the BigBad.
-->'''Chief''': Congratulations! It seems we finally managed to bring down the triads!
-->'''Lee''': ''We?!''
-->'''Carter''': You didn't do shit!
* At the end of ''Film/Firestorm1998'', the rest of the smokejumpers parachute drop into Jesse's location: after Shaye has been killed and the fire has been extinguished by a combination of the firestorm sucking out all the oxygen and the subsequent rain.
* In ''Film/RedHill'', Shane eventually manages to call for police back-up from the next town [[spoiler:by using Gleason's satellite phone]]. However, by the time they get to Red Hill, all they can do is [[spoiler:facilitate Jimmy's SuicideByCop]]. Which just adds to the tragedy of the situation.
* At the climax of ''Film/TheOutlawsIsComing'', the cavalry arrives after the heroes have defeated and captured the BigBad Radon and TheDragon Trigger. Lampshaped when the Colonel boldly states that "[[MediumAwareness the cavalry has never arrived late in the history of American motion pictures]]".
* ''Film/UlzanasRaid:'' In the climax, [=DeBuin=] and his detachment [[spoiler:only arrive after Mcintosh, Sergeant Burns, and the other men serving as TheBait have all been killed or mortally wounded, and their bugling nearly allows Ulzana to escape.]]

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''Legion of the Damned'', the titular Legion's only surviving spaceship (a "Star Fort") appears out of nowhere at the last minute to [[spoiler:[[BigDamnHeroes destroy the Keeler Comet and obliterate the Chaos armada]] while the Legionnaires [[CurbStompBattle wipe out the planetside Chaos crusaders right on the verge of their victory]].]] Granted, the Legion in question ''does'' only arrive when things seem to be at their bleakest.

* Played with in the ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries''. Grandpa Smedry's "Talent" is [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway always arriving late]]. This does have many handy applications (like allowing him to arrive "late" to being injured or killed), it means he's practically useless as TheCavalry since he's never there in time. Until Alcatraz realizes that the talent only requires Grandpa to ''think'' he will be late. When told he had to be there by a certain time, Grandpa Smedry is able to arrive earlier than would have otherwise been possible because he still thinks he's late.

** In the episode "Give 'Em the Axe", Chief O'Hara and several GCPD officers arrive after the Dynamic Duo have captured the Riddler and his henchmen in a historical museum. O'Hara explains that when Commissioner Gordon told him to go to the museum, he thought Gordon meant the wax museum where the Riddler's previous crime had occured.

* A common trope, where the heel -- often, a monster heel -- will deliver [[CurbStompBattle a merciless beating]] to a face wrestler he's looking to feud with, only to declare that he's completed his job just as a horde of good guys run in to save their friend. This might be done to merely have the face wrestler (after a "recovery period") appear in a promo questioning the loyalty of his friends, or to play the heel up as an unstoppable force that everyone fears -- except, of course, the lead babyface or (a then-face) Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, who are physically capable of dealing with this dastardly heel ... and that, naturally, leads to ticket sales to see the bad guy get his comeuppance.

* Wrestling/AndreTheGiant was on the wrong end of a beatdown where there was a delayed run-in by good guys. Longtime enemies Bundy and Studd were involved with this one, too; as Andre was finishing off Studd during a match and about to slam him once again, Bundy spared Studd any more humiliation by running in and attacking Andre from behind. Bundy then repeatedly delivered his "Avalanche" splash on a prone Andre as Studd (who had recovered enough) held Andre's legs down so he couldn't move. Only after Bundy had used at least five "Avalanches" did anyone run into the ring to run off Bundy and Studd. [[note]](This match is better known for Andre and Studd wrestling over a pair of '''''real scissors''''', which Studd had brought into the ring, having been handed them by manager Wrestling/BobbyHeenan, to try to cut Andre's hair (as he did once before), and Andre biting Studd's wrist to get him to drop the scissors ... unaware the blades were [[TemptingFate precariously close to his eyes]]! [[DoNotTryThisAtHome Very dangerous, kids]], as Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon pointed out.)[[/note]]

* A {{Justified}} example occurs at the end of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'''s fourth season, when a pair of Mistral airships arrives specifically ''because'' the [[spoiler:smoke from the Nuckelavee's [[NoBodyLeftBehind disintegrating corpse]]]], coming from a long-abandoned region, attracted their attention. Nonetheless, they still get to do ''some'' cavalry work, namely getting [[spoiler:Uncle Qrow]] to some much-needed medical attention.

* In ''WebComic/BlueYonder'', TheCavalry did arrive, but [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1399001/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-46/ a second group arrives after.]] [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1404300/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-47/ To get complaints]].

** Happens again in the Piccolo Saga. Only Tenshinhan was around to witness Piccolo's defeat.

** Happens again in the Piccolo Saga. Only Tien was around to witness Piccolo's defeat.

* 1960's ''Series/Batman1966'' series. The Gotham police always arrive after Batman and Robin have subdued the Guest Villain and his henchmen to take them into custody.

-->'''Robin''': What took you so long? I phoned you before I came in here over an hour ago.
-->'''Chief O'Hara''': We took a wrong turn off Route 49.

* 1960's ''Series/Batman1966'' series. The Gotham police always arrive after Batman and Robin have subdued the Guest Villain and his henchmen to take them into custody. From the episode "Rats Like Cheese":

* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]]'', the titular squadron is leading a small enemy fleet into a trap, because they secretly infiltrated that enemy fleet using a captured ship. But they manage to take out the enemy fleet ''by themselves'' before their allies can get into firing range.

* When the RMS ''[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic Titanic]]'' foundered in the North Atlantic on the night of 14 April 1912, the closest ship to respond to the distress call, the Cunard Line's RMS ''Carpathia'', immediately turned around, pushing her engines [[HeroicRROD beyond their rated capacity]] to get to ''Titanic'' as fast as possible. Sadly, ''Carpathia'' was almost sixty miles away, and though among the undisputed heroes of the night, the brave little liner didn't arrive until hours after ''Titanic'' had gone down. (She was, however, in time to pick up the survivors in the lifeboats and save God only knows how many lives from hypothermia.)