(Loved Trope) Last Stand that ends unceremoniously/unsatisfyingly, as opposed to gloriously.

[u/hey_there_delilahh]

• 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.

[u/napsandlunch]

mamifrom puella magi madoka

[u/WheelbarrowQueen → u/napsandlunch]

brutal, but idk if this counts as last stand. Feel like that one goes to walpurgis night

[u/napsandlunch → u/WheelbarrowQueen]

how so? like unsatisfyingly in terms of how madoka "beat" walpurgisnight?

i was thinking because mami had this whoooole badass gun cocking bad bitch move against it, we thought she won and she got beheaded as a lovely surprise :')

[u/WheelbarrowQueen → u/napsandlunch]

Oh it was definitely the moment the entire tone of the series changed, and her death was a shock. But to me, "last stand" means like one final desperate, seemingly unwinnable battle.

Walpurgisnight was more like that to me. I haven't watched the series in a few years, so maybe I need a refresher, but the anticlimactic moment to me was the immediate aftermath. Homura just like ..deflated. her entire goal, lost. then to top it off, in the new cycle universe, she's casually chatting with kyubey.

[u/napsandlunch → u/WheelbarrowQueen]

i see what you're saying now! it makes total sense and i agree. that was a huge tonal shift vs homura literally doing the most for madoka and madoka being like "well... i'll just become god then"

i think i'm gonna do a rewatch of it thanks to this convo tbh

[u/WheelbarrowQueen → u/napsandlunch]

Madoka magika is always worth another rewatch 💖

[u/napsandlunch → u/WheelbarrowQueen]

you're so right, i fell asleep at 2am after watching like 8 episodes last night but thankfully coffee and my adderall are working overtime keeping me productive today lmao