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Hostage MacGuffin

 Hostage MacGuffin
type
FeatureClass
 Hostage MacGuffin
label
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin
page
HostageMacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin
comment
When a character, very often a young girl, is sought after by various factions due to her background. They may be a rich heir held for ransom, royalty held hostage, or the President's daughter.
Those interested in them will want them not for who they are or what they can do, but who they are connected to or what they represent. It's distressingly common even for the good guy factions to want to rescue them not for their own good but for what they represent.
Usually, only The Hero will see them as a person and ask them what they want, and even then, it takes bonding through the course of the story. For Anti-Hero otherwise, shooting the MacGuffin is the quickest way for them to ease the trouble.
For more general kidnapping, see Damsel in Distress, which also links to related tropes, and especially Save the Princess, which is simply a Sub-Trope of this trope even though it is much more of a Discredited Trope than this larger concept. See also MacGuffin Turned Human, if the girl originally was an inanimate MacGuffin. Expect them to be kept in a Gilded Cage.
 Hostage MacGuffin
fetched
2024-02-03T17:15:10Z
 Hostage MacGuffin
parsed
2024-02-03T17:15:10Z
 Hostage MacGuffin
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Dropped link to ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Hostage MacGuffin
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Dropped link to MacGuffin: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Hostage MacGuffin
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Dropped link to MacGuffinSuperPerson: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Hostage MacGuffin
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Dropped link to SexSlave: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Hostage MacGuffin
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DBTropes
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_22d74b2e
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_22d74b2e
comment
Redwall: Gabool the Wild intends to use Mariel as a hostage to force her father Joseph to design and build a belltower for him. Things do not go quite according to plan.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_22d74b2e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_22d74b2e
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1.0
 Redwall
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_22d74b2e
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_30a5ebfd
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_30a5ebfd
comment
When Hyuga Hinata from Naruto was a little girl she was kidnapped. She's the heir to the Hyuga clan, one of Konoha's most elite and illustrious families. The trope is subverted: it wasn't because she was Hyuga Clan's heir, but because of her Byakugan eyes. Of course, since the Main Head is always expected to be the strongest, Hinata being his daughter was only an add-up, plus the fact she wasn't marked with the Bird Cage Seal.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_30a5ebfd
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 Hostage MacGuffin / int_30a5ebfd
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 Naruto (Manga)
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_30a5ebfd
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_428a472b
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_428a472b
comment
Air Force One has the villain use the President's daughter to force the President to do his dirty work; later, he tries to use his wife. Unfortunately for him, the President is not willing to let this slide.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_428a472b
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_428a472b
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1.0
 Air Force One
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_428a472b
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_5ada53ed
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_5ada53ed
comment
The James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough features Elektra King, the daughter of oil baron Sir Robert King, who was kidnapped five years earlier by the Big Bad, Renard. Let's just say that Stockholm Syndrome may have been involved somewhere.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_5ada53ed
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_5ada53ed
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 James Bond
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_5ada53ed
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_610a694a
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_610a694a
comment
Platinum from Pokémon Adventures is the daughter of the Berlitz family, the richest family in Sinnoh, so at one point Saturn hopes to kidnap her and hold her for ransom.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_610a694a
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_610a694a
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1.0
 Pokémon Adventures (Manga)
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_610a694a
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_6268c6e4
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_6268c6e4
comment
Mars Daybreak: Kenran Butohsai has this, very literally. Enora Taft is the daughter of the President of the Earth who plays a more than willing hostage and friend to the crew of Yoake-no Fune (Ship of Aurora).
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_6268c6e4
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_6268c6e4
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 Mars Daybreak
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_6268c6e4
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_84f3f987
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_84f3f987
comment
The final arc of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V reveals that Zuzu and her counterparts manage to cross this with Dismantled MacGuffin. Basically, they're living Soul Jars for Leo Akaba's daughter, and everyone else only targets them to either blackmail or hinder him.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_84f3f987
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_84f3f987
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 Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_84f3f987
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_97931756
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_97931756
comment
Rush Hour has the Chinese Consul's daughter, and a moment of Lampshade Hanging when Chris Tucker's character is on the phone discussing the ransom payment with the girl's kidnapper: "Fifty million dollars? Man, who do you think you kidnapped? Chelsea Clinton?"
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_97931756
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_97931756
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1.0
 Rush Hour
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_97931756
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_9dab421d
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_9dab421d
comment
When Elizabeth Swann is chased after in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, she thinks it's because she's the governor's daughter... but it turns out the men were just being "called" by a magical amulet she was wearing. She tries to avert this trope by claiming to be her own maid (she was in her undistinguished nightclothes, and the place is full of maids), using the family name of her crush — this leads them to take her for Bill Turner's child, the person they were looking for.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_9dab421d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_9dab421d
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1.0
 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
hasFeature
Hostage MacGuffin / int_9dab421d
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a32b6a64
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a32b6a64
comment
Zoey Bartlett of The West Wing being kidnapped was feared by characters since the beginning. Their fears were realized when she was kidnapped in the Season Four finale. She's rescued in the second episode of S5 with next to nothing revealed about who kidnapped her or why though.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a32b6a64
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a32b6a64
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1.0
 The West Wing
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_a32b6a64
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a4a6b86a
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a4a6b86a
comment
Nunnally from Code Geass gets a role as a living MacGuffin. This is partially because she's the protagonist's little sister, partially because she's so sweet and seemingly helpless that most characters want to protect her, and partially because she's a princess.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a4a6b86a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_a4a6b86a
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1.0
 Code Geass
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_a4a6b86a
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_b33a25c7
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_b33a25c7
comment
The Searchers: John Wayne & Co. spend years searching for his niece, abducted by Injuns.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_b33a25c7
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_b33a25c7
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1.0
 The Searchers
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_b33a25c7
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_bc1dc95a
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_bc1dc95a
comment
Pirates of the Caribbean:
When Elizabeth Swann is chased after in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, she thinks it's because she's the governor's daughter... but it turns out the men were just being "called" by a magical amulet she was wearing. She tries to avert this trope by claiming to be her own maid (she was in her undistinguished nightclothes, and the place is full of maids), using the family name of her crush — this leads them to take her for Bill Turner's child, the person they were looking for.
In the sequels, she comes into her own and is no longer fought over... until being mistaken for a god in At World's End, when a bargaining session is held on who gets to kidnap her. She manages to negotiate her way into being declared Pirate King as a result.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_bc1dc95a
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_bc1dc95a
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1.0
 Pirates of the Caribbean (Franchise)
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_bc1dc95a
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c226c6d7
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c226c6d7
comment
Rare gender reversal in The Wee Free Men where the Baron's son has been kidnapped. Though it's not clear the Queen of the Elves knew who he was, but his riding out on a horse—which only a Baron's son would do—is implied to have led to his capture. It is fairly clear that that was why the vigilantes who hounded Mrs. Snappery to her death were never held to account (though they would have been if the area had had a real witch).
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c226c6d7
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 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c226c6d7
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 The Wee Free Men
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_c226c6d7
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c4076b9e
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Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c4076b9e
comment
In one episode of Gunslinger Girl, the Republican Faction plans to kidnap a Senator's daughter and hold her hostage in exchange for some of their members who are in prison. Instead, the government gets wind of this and replaces the girl with Claes, who happens to look similar to the girl in question. Hilarity Ensues.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c4076b9e
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_c4076b9e
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1.0
 Gunslinger Girl (Manga)
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_c4076b9e
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_cac20f89
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Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_cac20f89
comment
JAG: In the second season episode "Washington Holiday", Harm escorts Princess Alexandra, the daughter of King Josif of Romania, while Josif is preparing to petition for admittance into NATO. A group of hard-line Communist extremists threaten Alexandra's life if he does so. During the climax, King Josif does not publically petition for NATO membership, but Alexandra, knowing that her father wanted this for the benefit of their country, makes the announcement herself, while Harm prevents an attempted assassination.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_cac20f89
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 Hostage MacGuffin / int_cac20f89
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1.0
 JAG
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_cac20f89
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_d8d79afa
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Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_d8d79afa
comment
Escape from L.A. had Snake Plissken sent to rescue the president's daughter who voluntarily stole the codes to an EMP satellite to give to her terrorist paramour. Snake is sent to kill her, but can't bring himself to do it after she has a Heel–Face Turn, and brings her with him.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_d8d79afa
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 Hostage MacGuffin / int_d8d79afa
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 Escape from L.A.
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_d8d79afa
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_f3e1f424
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Hostage MacGuffin
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_f3e1f424
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In an episode of Merlin Lady Morgana is ambushed and captured, knowing that she is the beloved ward of King Uther.
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_f3e1f424
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1.0
 Hostage MacGuffin / int_f3e1f424
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 Merlin (2008)
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Hostage MacGuffin / int_f3e1f424

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Hostage MacGuffin
processingCategory2
Characters as Device
 Hostage MacGuffin
processingCategory2
MacGuffin Snowclones
 Code Geass / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Mars Daybreak / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Fear No Evil (Fanfic) / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 There's a Fine Line (Fanfic) / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Air Force One / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Escape from L.A. / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Extraction / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Joy Ride / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Night Train to Munich / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Rush Hour / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 The World Is Not Enough / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Pirates of the Caribbean (Franchise) / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Executive Orders / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Redwall / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 The Wee Free Men / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 JAG / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 The West Wing / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! (Video Game) / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 Tangled / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin
 The Searchers / int_bb656150
type
Hostage MacGuffin