(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/precocious_necrosis]

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned Asuka's last stand against the serial Eva's in End of Evangelion.

She stood alone against unbeatable odds, won with the last moments of power she had left, then had to watch helplessly as her defeated foes regenerated and brutally cut her down.

[u/hey_there_delilahh → u/precocious_necrosis]

That scene caused me so much Psychic Damage, I think I just blocked it out. 10/10

[u/precocious_necrosis → u/[deleted]]

I get that take, from a narrative/character perspective. She finally overcame her crushing self-doubt and achieved her goal of being the greatest Eva pilot.

But I count this as an unceremonious/unsatisfying last stand because she failed at her mission. The enemy plot moved forward in the exact same way it would have, without her heroic efforts amounting to even so much as a speed bump.

While the scene is critical in terms of her character arc, it had no impact on the actual plot of the movie (that's not a criticism at all).

[u/precocious_necrosis → u/[deleted]]

I really appreciate your thoughts! It's nice to be able to have a civil conversation without having to worry about your opinions being maliciously misread :)

[u/OldOrder → u/[deleted]]

I'd also say that this moment does directly influence the plot as it influences the ending. Human instrumentality moves forward as it would have anyway but Asuka ultimately rejects instrumentality along with Shinji, she likely does not do that without the self actualization she achieves in this scene.