Great Escape: Difference between revisions
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I'm innocent—innocent I tells ya! They think they can keep me in this tin can forever? With all these plastic meal trays and soap that's just begging to be [[MacGyvering|whittled into a gun]]? And this [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|gang of jailbirds]] with nothing to lose? Give me enough time, and [[Determinator|I'm outta here]]. And the D.A.'s given me all the time in the world...
This is a trope about prison breaks, which may or may not be from [[The Alcatraz]], seeing as, [[Being Good Sucks| for some reason]], falsely accused prisoners are ''never'' sent to a [[Cardboard Prison]] and rarely have any avenue for legal acquittal and release.
The average prison break plot usually breaks down into a common series of elements, which have to happen more or less sequentially or the audience will [[Ass Pull|call shenanigans]]. The details are often conflated, depending on the time available to tell the story; but rarely are they skipped altogether.
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The '''Great Escape''' never goes as planned. Close calls abound, someone chickens out or dies, and the way out, inevitably if improbably, runs right through the big nasty antagonist. At very least, this sort of story will use the [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]], as anything known by the viewers beforehand will likely not be a factor in the actual event.
There are different flavors of escape, of course. There's the classic tunneling-under-the-wall-with-spoons, the hiding-in-the-laundry-cart, the diversionary [[Prison Riot]], and of course [[Dressing as the Enemy]] and the [[Air Vent Passageway]] escape.
{{examples}}
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* Subverted in ''[[The X-Files]]''; Mulder's escape from prison is a spur-of-the-moment decision on the part of his friends to escape execution and comprises only about five minutes of the two-hour series finale. It does feature a nice [[Heel Face Turn]] from former FBI archnemesis ADA Kersh.
* Parodied in [http://youtu.be/zVP_wdcYMQ4 a sketch] from the finnish sketch comedy show, ''[[Ketonen Ja Myllyrinne]]''. Two prisoners outline their escape plan, which includes things such as [[You Fail Geography Forever|flying a helicopter over the Gulf of Finland to Mexico]] and killing guards [[Improbable Weapon User|with a fork]]. Also, the guy who they're enlisting to pilot the helicopter has two days to learn to fly a helicopter from a book.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* This is the first goal for the PC party in the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' 5th edition epic adventure ''Out of the Abyss''. Using the [[You All Meet in a Cell]] trope as the hook, the campaign starts with the low-Level PCs captured by drow slavers, at the mercy (or rather, lack thereof) of [[Starter Villain| Mistress Illvarta]], a cruel woman whom they do not have a prayer to overpower or defeat in a fight at their current level. The entire first chapter is devoted to the party figuring out a way to escape the small outpost (the slavers forcing them to do labor while waiting for their superiors to come pick them up, giving the heroes a means to scope the place out), and there are other NPC prisoners they can befriend, each with many variables regarding who to befriend or trust. (One might be friendly and want to help, but have limited ability to do so, while another might have valuable information, but is likely to double cross them). When they do escape, the second chapter is spent [[Don't Celebrate Just Yet| evading Illvarta and her henchmen who are intent on recapturing them]], more out of pride than any idea of profit.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* ''[[The Babylon Project]]'': In one level of the Earth-Brakiri war, you escape a Brakiri prison, commandeer a Brakiri fighter and try to make it to the nearest jump gate, dodging fire from Brakiri cruisers and fighters.
* In ''[[The Game of the Ages]]'', you pick your way out of prison with a bit of wire and end up holding a sword to a guard's throat as you walk out the door.
* ''[[Dragon Age: Origins]]''; if the Warden chooses to surrender upon being confronted by Ser Cauthrien and her men, they - and Alistair, if he is with the party - are arrested and incarcerated. The player then has two options, try to escape on their own (enacting this Trope) or wait for rescue, in which case the player assumes control of the rest of the party.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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