History Main / WatchingTroyBurn

* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', directly cutting off a cheery song to show us the burnt ruins of a village and an entire army.
** This can be heard in the soundtrack - where the final note just fades with a kind of horrified confusion.

*** This one backfires, as it gives Bruce the motivation to escape and stop Bane. Which is exactly what he does.

-->''"I have dreamed a dream. But now that dream is gone from me."'' - Morpheus

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'''s UsefulNotes/PlayStation remake opens with the four protagonists, Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon, fleeing from their burning hometown after the Emperor's forces have set torch to it. The cinema ends with them watching the conflagration from a nearby hilltop.

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* The end of ''Film/JurassicPark'' has Hammond grieving over the fall of his dinosaur theme park when the dinosaurs were let loose and ate his own staff.

* One of Akus' preferred methods for dealing with strong opponents in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', as was shown with both Jacks' Father and later talked of by a Viking Chieftain: watching as their cities were destroyed by the master of Darkness [[ForcedToWatch while they were bound in place.]] While Jack's father was able to break out of his imprisonment to seal away Aku and save his wife and newborn son, the Viking wasn't as fortunate due to Aku learning from his previous mistake and instead of anchoring him to a tree, the Viking was sealed in crystal and later buried beneath the earth after seeing his home and entire family destroyed.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', an episode has the Emperor, Jack's father, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unintentionally restoring Aku to his full power]]. The demon binds him to trees and forces him to watch him lay waste upon his beloved kingdom.

Often preceded by AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs. See also AMillionIsAStatistic. Contrast WhileRomeBurns, for cases where the characters show a nonchalant attitude about the destruction.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', Ariel can watch helplessly in horror as her father King Triton [[TrashTheSet destroys her secret grotto]] [[UnstoppableRage by obliterating all her human treasures with his trident]] after she confessed her love for the human Prince Eric and her desperate pleas to stop only fall on deaf ears. Even Sebastian is visibly horrified and covers his eyes at one point.

Watching Troy Burn is what the heroes do as they see a home or place they care about being attacked and possibly even [[LateToTheTragedy having already been destroyed]]. And the thing that makes it so heart-wrenching to them is that for some reason, there's nothing that they can do about it. This trope is often paired with a camera technique to personalize this and drive it home to the viewers, who (let's face it) have likely been desensitized to this sort of thing. The camera will show the heroes approach a cliff/window and get a ReactionShot of each, then turn and take a good, long look at the burning/ruined panorama, zooming from behind the heroes to a bird's eye view. They'll likely stand agape, TheChick will likely [[SecurityCling cling]] to TheHero and turn away from the carnage, and at least one hero will [[SkywardScream fall to their knees and/or scream to the heavens.]]

** In her different origin stories -''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton1959'', ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', ''ComicBook/TheLastDaughterOfKrypton''...-, as well as different [[ComicBook/Injustice2 alternate universes]], ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is the one who watches helplessly as her hometown Argo City gets destroyed and/or Krypton blows up while she gets blasted into space.

* Pejite in ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind''.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** In the Pre-Crisis, [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Post-Crisis]] and [[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-]][[ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth Flashpoint]] eras, as well as different [[ComicBook/Injustice2 alternate universes]], ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is the one who watches helplessly as her hometown Argo City gets destroyed and/or Krypton blows up while she gets blasted into space.

%%* Mickey's mom's trailer in ''Film/{{Snatch}}''.

* The film ''Film/{{Troy}}'' has a pretty heart wracking shot with [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/priam1.jpg Priam watching]] as the Greeks pillage his city. Functions as a big KickTheDog moment for Agamemnon and the Greeks as a whole.

* Book II of Virgil's ''[[Literature/TheAeneid Aeneid]]'' depicts the fall of Troy from Aeneas' point of view, replete with descriptions of fire and the destruction. TropeNamer.

%%* Wyatt's Torch in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''.
* In ''Literature/TheBible'', Lot and his family were told not to look back as they fled from Sodom before its destruction by the Lord through fire and brimstone. Lot's wife, however, was the only one who looked back at the devastation, and was turned into a pillar of salt for it.
* In the AfterTheEnd novel ''Literature/BoneDance'', the protagonist, Sparrow, has lovingly assembled a large collection of pre-war music and video. Halfway through the book, the BigBad sets Sparrow's entire building ablaze, out of sheer cruelty. Sparrow has to be physically restrained from running inside.

* In the ''[[Literature/DeptfordMice Deptford Histories]]'' book ''The Oaken Throne'', the squirrel princess Ysabelle (chosen to be the next [[TheHighQueen Starwife]]) is forced to flee her home, Coll Regalis, with guards to protect her. The bat army is to attack at nightfall. Her parents and many inhabitants of the realm have stayed behind [[HeroicSacrifice as a diversion]] and it is certain that they will be killed. When the battle begins, Ysabelle and her entourage pause and sadly watch the destruction of their home in the distance behind them.

* In "The Scouring of the Shire" in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the hobbits return to their home to find Saruman has taken control and done his best to ruin it (However, it's not utterly destroyed and Sam's gift from Galadriel repairs a lot of the damage afterwards).

* In the second book of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Theon watches Winterfell go up in flames ([[spoiler:on his own orders]]), and Bran surveys the destruction afterward.
* In one of the ''Track'' action-adventure novels by Jerry Ahern, Dan Track and his girlfriend Desiree Goth go hiking up the mountain above their house, and so have a prime viewpoint when it suddenly explodes because a hit squad have attacked it thinking they're inside.
* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', the forces of the reactionary [[KnightTemplar Confederation]] systematically burn and destroy the capital of Azania's LadyLand as they invade it, in order to convince the Amazons that their female society has failed, and that they must now submit to the [[NoWomansLand proper natural order]] proved stronger by trial of war.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]''. Clark Kent and [[PlatonicLifePartners Chloe Sullivan]] watches as Metropolis burns in the chaos brought by ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}'s virus that heralds the arrival of [[DiscOneFinalBoss Zod]]. Leads to a massively heartwarming moment as Chloe convinces Clark to leave her and the city to confront Zod, Clark complies but not before they share a powerful NowOrNeverKiss.

* A lot of the miniseries for ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' and the mirror version ''The Plan'' showed the devastation of the Cylon attack, and the emotional devastation it wrought.
** The iconic photo of the soldier, fallen to his knees, in front of the burning skyline of the capitol city on Aerilon jumps to mind as a perfect example.

* In the WhamEpisode of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', this happens to the Section Six HQ.

* The titular character of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' returns to his beloved village... to find it has been crushed into a rubble-filled crater with hundreds, if not thousands, dead. While the deaths were reversed, this made the actual objective of Akatsuki painfully clear.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' begins with the nation of Japan being attacked and occupied by Britannian forces as Lelouch and Suzaku, who are residing there, helplessly watch.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' starts with Shingashina falling to the Titans after a hundred years. As Armin, Eren, and Mikasa sail away on a boat they hear the cries of fear and see the smoke rising from several places. Bonus points for Shingashina actually being surrounded by walls thought to be impregnable.

* Issue 175 of ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' had Eggman invade and raze Knothole to the ground. Sonic made it back after being attacked by Snively with enough time to watch Castle Acorn be obliterated.
* When the Sentry brought Asgard to the ground in ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'', this was the universal reaction.
* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage'' has the Foot, led by a resurrected Shredder, attack the Turtles while they're living with April in her fathers old junk shop, with the store being burned to the ground in the process, leading to the Turtles, April and Casey Jones going into exile in Massachusetts for a year, before kicking off the "Return To New York" storyarc. This storyline has been adapted in different ways, most notably in the 1990 movie and the 2003 cartoon.
* In ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story "The Smurf Menace", the original Smurfs watched helplessly while being carried off in chains as the Gray Smurfs burned the Smurf Village to the ground.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'' opens with a young Cade Skywalker watching helplessly as the Jedi Temple on Ossus is sacked by the One Sith, culminating in his father Kol [[LastStand being cut down while trying to protect the survivors' retreat]]. The experience scars Cade for life, serving as the CynicismCatalyst that turns him from a hopeful padawan with great potential to a bitter, drug-addicted AntiHero

---> ''"When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die."''

* ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' has the titular protagonist in an escape pod fleeing Cybertron on his way to Earth and he watches his planet ablaze in flames because of the war, and he looks aghast at this.
* In the final scene of ''Film/SodomAndGomorrah'', Ildith cannot resist taking one final look at the fire and brimstone consuming her former hometown, despite her husband Lot's warnings that [[DontLookBack Jehovah will smite anyone who looks back]] for doing so out of regret for the city's wicked ways. Sure enough, she is promptly [[TakenForGranite turned into a pillar of salt]].

* Happens ''thrice'' in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV''. The first occurs after the coup, a major PlayerPunch accompanied by a real sense of loss even if it's sort of a ForegoneConclusion. The second is Lelcar being set ablaze, driving home just how far the enemy is willing to go since it's one of their own cities they're torching. The ''third'' is the attack on Beaver Lodge, which [[MoralEventHorizon pushes the enemy]] from any argument of WellIntentionedExtremist to monsters openly planning ''genocide'' to "purify Falena." In all cases, the target is the hometown of several of the 108 Stars of Destiny, and attention is always given to their reaction.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'': [[spoiler:Washington, D.C. Especially prominent in the beginning of "Of Their Own Accord", where the first thing the player sees upon exiting the makeshift bunker is the Washington Monument with several chunks blown out of it.]]
* The ending of ''VideoGame/{{Vietcong}}''.
* The beginning of ''VideoGame/WingCommander III'': Heart of the Tiger, when Luke Skywalker and Gimli view the wreckage of the TCS Concordia.

** Played especially straight at the opening cutscene of the "Exodus" level, when Noble Six crests a hill, only to see the "crown jewel" city of New Alexandria being razed and glassed by the Covenant. Includes a drawn-out camera reveal over the hill and a brief pause as Six surveys the damage, poignantly [[spoiler:holding Jorge's dogtags.]]
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has several; namely the [[spoiler: Citadel]] at the end of the first game, the [[spoiler: Normandy [=SR1=]]] at the beginning of the second, and [[spoiler: Earth itself]], [[spoiler:Palaven, the turian homeworld - at one point Garrus points out the biggest area that's on fire and says he was born there -]] and [[spoiler:Thessia, the asari homeworld]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'': [[DoomedHometown Kharak]] in Mission 3. The burning planet serves as a backdrop as your forces rush to save the last 600,000 civilian survivors.
* Done in both ''VideoGame/FreeSpace'' and the Silent Threat expansion. In the original, you have to try to fend of high-speed fighters in a bomber before an invincible superdestroyer finishes of the GTD Galatea, your homebase for the first half of the campaign. In the expansion, you can't keep the [[spoiler: GTI insurgency]] from destroying the GTD Krios, your homebase for the first part of the campaign. The emotional impact is helped by the fact that the main menu is the interior of the ship you are based on, so when they are destroyed and you have to relocate to another destroyer, the graphic changes.
* In ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', several locations that you travel to where survivors are gathered up get attacked and overtaken by zombies after certain quests are completed.

* The beginning of the ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' module. The Princess witnesses the destruction and slaughter that's taking place in her castle as she flees from the invading Dhorn. Later on, when she becomes a rogue and part of the Family criminal guild, the Dhorn again storm into their headquarters and kill almost everyone, with the Princess being unable to stop them.
* In ''VideoGame/HyruleTotalWar'', this happens to Princess Zelda I when she witnesses the razing of Hyrule Castle at the hands of Ganon.
* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', Tiz watches his hometown of Norende collapse into a chasm. As if that weren't bad enough, his brother also falls to his death right in front of him.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden (2003)'''s [[ForcedTutorial tutorial chapter]], Ryu witnesses his [[DoomedHometown home village]] being attacked and burned by Doku and his minions.
* In ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', if you choose to save Chloe at the end, the two of you hold hands while watching Arcadia Bay getting destroyed by the tornado.
* In the prologue of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the Sole Survivor watches the Commonwealth get nuked as they and their spouse and son descend into Vault 111 to take part in its HumanPopsicle experiment.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/Haven2020'', the islet where Yu and Kay have stationed the Nest is fractured in two by an earthquake, causing the Nest to roll downhill and lose several vital parts as the couple helplessly watch. In the bad ending, a squad of Hornets descend on the Nest and capture Yu and Kay for [[{{Brainwashing}} recalibration]] into their {{arranged marriage}}s, reducing their former love nest to a smoking ruin in the process.

* Sarah and her son Jim Hawkins in ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' look back at their home, the Benbow inn (torched by pirates led by Long John Silver), as they're sped away to safety. [[spoiler:Don't worry, it gets better and Jim gets enough treasure to get it rebuilt much bigger and grander.]]

** ''Film/RogueOne'': The Rogues can't do a thing other than watch when Tarkin uses the Death Star to nuke the Holy City as a test. Later, [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll the last survivors are caught in the blast when the Death Star is used again at their location.]] Andor and Jyn just hug, knowing death's coming.]]

* Lots of examples in ''Literature/WorldWarZ''. One particularly memorable one is the evacuation of Kyiv, where the city burns as the Ukrainian Army tries to sort out the infected refugees from the uninfected. Eventually, [[spoiler:the city and all the bridges leading out of it are bombed with nerve gas to KillEmAll, since the leadership thinks it's impossible to sort out the zombies otherwise]].

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''[[Recap/SmallvilleS05E22Vessel Vessel]]''. [[{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] and [[PlatonicLifePartners Chloe Sullivan]] watches as Metropolis burns in the chaos brought by ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}'s virus that heralds the arrival of [[DiscOneFinalBoss Zod]]. Leads to a massively heartwarming moment as Chloe convinces Clark to leave her and the city to confront Zod, Clark complies but not before they share a powerful NowOrNeverKiss.

* Lots of examples in ''Literature/WorldWarZ''. One particularly memorable one is the evacuation of Kiev, where the city burns as the Ukrainian Army tries to sort out the infected refugees from the uninfected. Eventually, [[spoiler:the city and all the bridges leading out of it are bombed with nerve gas to KillEmAll, since the leadership thinks it's impossible to sort out the zombies otherwise]].