History Main / TheCavalryArrivesLate

* ''{{Predator}} 2'': After Harrigan kills the Predator and the other Predators let him go, the rest of Keyes' team arrives in their helicopter.

* In ''TransformersPrime'' when [[spoiler: Cliffjumper was captured and killed by the Decepticons]], the Autobots arrive to late in his location.

* In the 2009 ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' film, 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.

* In ''TransformersPrime'' when [[spoilers: Cliffjumper was captured and killed by the Decepticons]], the Autobots arrive to late in his location.

* In ''{{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.

* Felix and the Marines show up just after [[JamesBond Bond]] beats the villains in ''GoldenEye''.
* The police usually shows up at the end of each ''FridayThe13th'' film to clean up the mess that Jason leaves behind.
* In the 2009 Film/SherlockHolmes film, 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.

When the police/military/other law enforcement arrive to the scene only after the hero has defeated the monster, killer or BigBad.

Contrast BigDamnHeroes, JustInTime and YouAreTooLate.

* In ''{{Holyland}}'', after [[spoiler: Yuu beats Shougo, the other thugs beat Yuu up and the police only arrive while the beatdown is already in progress.]]

* Issue #27 of ThePowerpuffGirls has the girls not allowed to go out for any reason--even crimefighting--until they clean their room. Each time they do, Him secretly makes it messy again.

* Subverted in the third ''LethalWeapon''; upon arriving a building with a car bomb in the garage, Riggs insists that he and Murtaugh have a look under the justification that "[[LampshadeHanging the bomb squad never gets here on time]]!" They go to the bomb, Riggs messes around with it, screws up the timer and it goes off -- and seconds after it does, the bomb squad shows up, having arrived in plenty of time to deal with the bomb had Riggs and Murtaugh not interfered.

* ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'': After [[FriendlyNeigborhoodVampire Con]] and [[BadassAbnormal Rae]] take down [[BigBad Bo]], the police turn up just in time to arrest them for being at the scene of the conflict.

* {{Invoked}} by the squad leader in a HoldTheLine mission in the new ''MedalOfHonor'' game, when he realizes that the reinforcements he has requested won't arrive in time to save TheSquad, and orders them called off to keep them from meeting a similar fate. [[spoiler: Then TheCavalry [[AvertedTrope arrives just in time]] in the form of a pair of Army Air Cavalry AH-64 Apache gunships liberally laying down [[MoreDakka 30mm cannon fire]] and [[MacrossMissileMassacre hydra rockets]].]]

* In the H-game/Conspiracy Game CriticalPoint one of the BadEnds is caused by you arriving at the FinalBattle.... And the BigBad just won.

* The Siege of Khartoum. By the time the relieving British Army arrived, the Siege just ended in favour of the Mahdist rebels, killing Chinese Gordon and much of the Egyptian garrison within. The British Army, realising their failure, withdraw.

* In ''AngelBeats'', [[spoiler: Otonashi died ''seconds'' before he and the rest of the survivors are rescued.]]

* In the H-game/Conspicracy Game CriticalPoint one of the BadEnds is caused by you arriving at the FinalBattle.... And the BigBad just won.

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

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* Mostly subverted in the first three ''DieHard'' films, in that the police show up early in the film, but cannot intervene due to terrorists threatening hostages/airports/cities, leaving John [=McClane=] the [[OneManArmy only man]] able to save the day.

* In ''{{Gremlins}} 2: The New Batch'', 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.
* The ''LethalWeapon'' films.
** Subverted in the third ''LethalWeapon''; upon arriving a building with a car bomb in the garage, Riggs insists that he and Murtaugh have a look under the justification that "[[LampshadeHanging the bomb squad never gets here on time]]!" They go to the bomb, Riggs messes around with it, screws up the timer and it goes off -- and seconds after it does, the bomb squad shows up, having arrived in plenty of time to deal with the bomb had Riggs and Murtaugh not interfered.

* ''IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom'': After Mola Ram is killed, a company of British-led Indian troops arrives to capture the remaining Thugee.
** Though they arrive when the main trio are trapped hanging from a bridge and the Thugee are about to shoot them full of arrows.

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* Fortinbras in {{Hamlet}} is one of the earliest examples of this, turning up at the head of a Norwegian army just after everyone's killed each other.
** Only Fortinbras never wanted to come to the aid of Hamlet or Claudius, he always wanted the Danish throne for himself and to avenge the death of his father, who had been killed in battle against Hamlet's father. So his army is not the cavalry arriving late, but an invading force able to pick up the pieces after the prospective opponents have conveniently slaughtered each other.

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* The Spartan relief force arrived at Marathon just in time to take a curious look at the [[ATopAMountainOfCorpses Athenian's work]].

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The Siege of Khartoum. By the time the relieving British Army arrived, the Siege just ended in favour of the Mahdist rebels, killing Chinese Gordon and much of the Egyptian garrison within. The British Army, realising their failure, withdraw.

->"The cavalry rode to the rescue! ...but they were a little too late."\\
--'''Daffy Duck''', ''TheScarletPumpernickel''

* In ''AngelBeats'', [[spoiler:Otonashi died ''seconds'' before he and the rest of the survivors are rescued.]]
* In the ''[[{{Anime/Pokemon}} Pokemon]]'' anime, if Officer Jenny shows up it's always after the villain (usually Team Rocket) has been defeated by Ash and his friends.

* Often happens in ''LuckyLuke'', as a subversion of the trope found in classic Westerns of the cavalry always arriving on time. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in one adventure (I think it was "The Great Duke") in which the cavalry arrives late, and the commanding officer has a nervous breakdown because of the breach of tradition.

* ''SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'': The British {{Airborne Aircraft Carrier}}s arrive to rescue Sky Captain and Polly Perkins (and presumably all of the animals) after [[spoiler:the rocket ship is destroyed]] and Dr. Totenkopf's scheme is foiled.
* Felix and the Marines show up just after [[JamesBond Bond]] beats the villains in ''{{GoldenEye}}''.

* In RobertEHoward's "The Phoenix on the Sword", {{Conan The Barbarian}} deals with both assassins and EldritchAbomination, and ''then'', his courtiers show up. One is, however, able to show it was not AllJustADream.

* ''[=~Monty Python's Flying Circus~=]'' had "The Bishop", in which the title character would always arrive ''just'' too late to prevent various members of the clergy from getting bumped off (by the Church Mafia?)

* 1960's ''{{Series/Batman}}'' series. The Gotham police always arrive after Batman and Robin have subdued the Guest Villain and his henchmen to take them into custody.
* A mid-90s adaptation of ''JoanOfArc'' had her army prepare a rescue outside the city walls, only to look up and see the smoke of her pyre rising above the rooftops.

* The first boss fight in ''BeyondGoodAndEvil'' ends with Jade and Pey'j defeating an alien monster and ''then'' the Alpha Sections who are supposed to protect them from the aliens arrive. Pey'j proceeds to chew out the "defenders" but is promptly told to shut up. [[spoiler:It is later revealed that Alphas are part of a GovernmentConspiracy and they were ''supposed'' to arrive late, wherease Pey'j is a high-ranking member of LaResistance.]]

* ''SwatKats'': "Looks like the Enforcers are here - late as usual."

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

* In ''Case39'', after Emily has climbed out of the water, we hear the sound of approaching police sirens right before the credits start rolling.

* In the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film, 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.
* ''[[{{Ptitlemo68jh26}} Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea]]''. Officer Jenny shows up to arrest the Phantom after Ash defeats him.