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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The last two episodes of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', with the ''narrative'' arriving late and {{spoiler|Instrumentality}} being the party.▼
== [[Film]] ==
* In the movie ''[[28 Days Later]]'', main character Jim [[Abandoned Hospital Awakening|wakes up in a deserted hospital]] after England has been ravaged by the [[Hate Plague|Rage virus]]. This leads to a "last man on earth"-type scenario, at least until he stumbles upon some zombies and ends up being saved by survivors who actually know what happened.▼
* Ripley and the Colonial Marines in ''[[Aliens]]''.▼
{{quote|Sergeant Apone: Sir, this place is dead. Whatever happened here, I think we missed it.}}▼
* ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', with a literal party. Still, it's not ''quite'' over.▼
* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[The Thing (film)|The Thing]]'' got dug up by, and slaughtered, a <s>Scandinavian</s> Norwegian expedition team before it found its way into the American outpost in Antarctica.▼
== [[Literature]] ==
* In the book ''Prince Caspian'' from ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', the characters arrive at the ruins of the castle, and, over the course of the book, discover that Narnia has been overthrown by evil forces and they have been summoned to save it. Classic.▼
* ''[[Angels & Demons]]'' has the heroes reaching each of the four cardinals less late each time, but too late to save them nonetheless.▼
** Not entirely. If memory serves me correctly,{{verify}} Robert Langdon arrived early to where one of the cardinals was going to be executed, but was unable to keep the cardinal from drowning.▼
** Perhaps in the novel - in the film version, he actually saves the fourth cardinal.▼
* In ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'', all of the dying happens before the viewpoint characters arrive.▼
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Star Trek]]'': Can you say "Assemble an away team to explore the derelict/ruin"? How about "Jim, this man is dead!"?▼
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' begins ''quite'' a few episodes with the Doctor landing right in the middle of a national/planetary/universal crisis, spending about half of the episode working out what's going on and the second half either fixing it or getting the hell out of there.▼
** There are a few examples, though, which fit this trope especially well:▼
*** "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead:" the Doctor and companion (and an archaeological expedition) arrive a century after the "event"▼
*** "Blink:" as told from the perspective of Sally Sparrow, she is learning of actions the Doctor took decades earlier. [[Timey-Wimey Ball|Which he hasn't done yet]].▼
* ''[[Lost]]'' was partially inspired by games such as ''[[Myst]]'' in which the character finds himself in a strange place with little information, including the objectives of the game. As the characters have explored the island, they've found the abandoned Dharma stations, numerous skeletons, and what was once a large statue, which now has been reduced to a lone foot.▼
* ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'' begins with our heroes-to-be late for training yet again... thus missing the [[Big Bad]]'s initial sacking of their training hall.▼
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Space Quest]] I'' In the very beginning, Roger Wilco awakens in his closet from the sounds of gun fire and commotion as the ship he is on is taken over by the enemy Sariens. By the time he exits the closet, the crew is already dead, the self-destruction sequence is already engaged, and he has to find his way to the escape pod while avoiding the invaders who are still looking for any living souls who they might have missed.
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* The Golems of Amgarrak DLC for [[Dragon Age]] offers a double dose of this trope. Not only are you exploring the fantasy equivalent of an abandoned laboratory where the researchers [[Gone Horribly Right|were killed by their creation]], but you are following in the steps of a previous expedition that attempted to explore the place and were slaughtered.
* Every level in ''[[Killer7]]'' amounts to this - the titular assassin group arrives to perform a job, and Travis fills them in on why, exactly, someone has to be killed.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Taken to a ridiculous degree in ''[[8-
== Other examples ==
▲* The last two episodes of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', with the ''narrative'' arriving late and {{spoiler|Instrumentality}} being the party.
▲* In the book ''Prince Caspian'' from ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', the characters arrive at the ruins of the castle, and, over the course of the book, discover that Narnia has been overthrown by evil forces and they have been summoned to save it. Classic.
▲* In the movie ''[[28 Days Later]]'', main character Jim [[Abandoned Hospital Awakening|wakes up in a deserted hospital]] after England has been ravaged by the [[Hate Plague|Rage virus]]. This leads to a "last man on earth"-type scenario, at least until he stumbles upon some zombies and ends up being saved by survivors who actually know what happened.
▲* ''[[Star Trek]]'': Can you say "Assemble an away team to explore the derelict/ruin"? How about "Jim, this man is dead!"?
▲* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' begins ''quite'' a few episodes with the Doctor landing right in the middle of a national/planetary/universal crisis, spending about half of the episode working out what's going on and the second half either fixing it or getting the hell out of there.
▲** There are a few examples, though, which fit this trope especially well:
▲*** "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead:" the Doctor and companion (and an archaeological expedition) arrive a century after the "event"
▲*** "Blink:" as told from the perspective of Sally Sparrow, she is learning of actions the Doctor took decades earlier. [[Timey-Wimey Ball|Which he hasn't done yet]].
▲* ''[[Lost]]'' was partially inspired by games such as ''[[Myst]]'' in which the character finds himself in a strange place with little information, including the objectives of the game. As the characters have explored the island, they've found the abandoned Dharma stations, numerous skeletons, and what was once a large statue, which now has been reduced to a lone foot.
▲* Ripley and the Colonial Marines in ''[[Aliens]]''.
▲{{quote|Sergeant Apone: Sir, this place is dead. Whatever happened here, I think we missed it.}}
▲* ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', with a literal party. Still, it's not ''quite'' over.
▲* ''Angels & Demons'' has the heroes reaching each of the four cardinals less late each time, but too late to save them nonetheless.
▲** Not entirely. If memory serves me correctly, Robert Langdon arrived early to where one of the cardinals was going to be executed, but was unable to keep the cardinal from drowning.
▲** Perhaps in the novel - in the film version, he actually saves the fourth cardinal.
▲* ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'' begins with our heroes-to-be late for training yet again... thus missing the [[Big Bad]]'s initial sacking of their training hall.
▲* In ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'', all of the dying happens before the viewpoint characters arrive.
▲* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[The Thing (film)|The Thing]]'' got dug up by, and slaughtered, a <s>Scandinavian</s> Norwegian expedition team before it found its way into the American outpost in Antarctica.
▲* Taken to a ridiculous degree in ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' where the protagonists were late to {{spoiler|''the final villain's defeat'' when they briefly fled from him and a group composed mostly of characters ''we've never seen before'' killed him}}.
* Jay in ''[[Marble Hornets]]'' begins his investigation nearly three years after the events recorded in the tapes. Most of the cast has scattered or disappeared and several locations trashed by the time Jay looks for them.
** Averted at the same time though: As Jay starts going through the tapes, it becomes apparent that {{spoiler|he had much more to do with the party [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|than he remembered]]}}
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