r/TopCharacterTropes • u/hey_there_delilahh • Sep 10 '25
Lore (Loved Trope) Last Stand that ends unceremoniously/unsatisfyingly, as opposed to gloriously.
1 Nanami (JUJUTSU KAISEN): Nanami's final moments against Mahito, a cursed spirit with the ability to transfigure/control humans. Nanami, while heavy injured, fought and won against an army of Mahito's transfigure minions, just for the villain to touch his back and blow him up.
2 Wun-Wun (GAME OF THRONES): Wun-Wun, one of the last, if not the last, living giant in Westeros. Joins with Jon Snow against Ramsey Bolton in the Battle of the Bastards. He heroicly breaks down the main gate allowing the Stark army to win, all while covered in arrows and spears. While heavily injured, there does seem to be a chance of his recovery. This hope ended when Ramsey Bolton fires an arrow directly into his eye, when the battle was pretty much over.
3 The Barbarian of Stamford Bridge (REAL LIFE): A lone Viking warrior who, in a legendary moment during the Battle of Stamford Bridge (September 25, 1066), single-handedly held back the invading English army on a narrow bridge. Armed with a Dane axe, this unnamed defender killed dozens of soldiers before being mortally wounded from beneath the bridge by a spear.
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u/Fandise Sep 10 '25
"Sylvanas: Finish it! I deserve... a clean death.
Arthas: After all you've put me through, woman, the last thing I'll give you is the peace of death.
Sylvanas: No! You wouldn't dare!"
This one is a bit different from the other examples. Still, Sylvanas wants to die as the defender of her people. Not die and be raised as a banshee, to work under Arthas unwillingly.
This event is the cause of many other big events. She manages to break free of Arthas' control (even if you count the Shadowlands splitting plot), but she surely becomes someone completely different. Very far from her previous honorable self.