History Main / LongLastLook

* In the final episode of ''Series/BattlestarGalactica'', Admiral Adama takes one last look around the launch bay before departing on his Viper.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_duomo_monreale_moglie_di_lot.png]]

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[[caption-width-right:300:Goodbye cruel world! Goodbye cruel lamp! Goodbye cruel velvet drapes with the cute little curtain-pull cords, cruel though they may be I... [[note]] *Robot gives up waiting and knocks him out*[[/note]]]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In episode "Closing Time", the Doctor believes he is going to his death. Before he goes, he stops and says goodbye to a group of random children.
** In the episode "The Wedding of River Song", the Doctor glances around the TARDIS as he resolves himself to face his death.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** In the episode "The One Where Mr. Heckles Dies", Chandler learns a lesson while going through the titular character's belongings. Once the apartment is empty, Chandler is the last one to leave. He takes a moment of silence, looks at the place and says a farewell to Mr. Heckles before closing the door.
** In the finale, the gang tearfully look around Monica and Chandler's apartment. It has been their base and hanging out place for most of their twenties and early to mid-thirties. Now Monica and Chandler decided to buy a house and move to suburbs with their twins.

* In the final episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'', the various characters say goodbye as their home for so long is being dismantled around them. The only character who does not look back is Colonel Potter, a veteran of three wars, who rides his horse off into the sunset in a manner reminiscent of old-time cowboys. Hawkeye Pierce, almost the last man to leave, looks down from his helicopter seat at an arrangement of white stones which spell out the word "GOODBYE".
* ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'', TropeMaker for the StockSitcomGrandFinale: After their dismissal from the radio station, the characters sing as they file out of the studio for the last time. Mary Tyler Moore pauses in the doorway, looks around with a bittersweet smile, and turns off the lights.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Snow White returns to her devastated castle and shows her (now grown) daughter the nursery she'd prepared for her. When they leave, Snow can't resist one last tearful look at the room, representing the life they should have had.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheJeffersons'', Louise goes back to the small apartment she grew up in; after having some {{Flashback}}s, she takes one final glance around before leaving.
* In the final episode of ''Series/GrowingPains'', the family is splitting up; Maggie's new job is relocating her, Jason, Ben, and Chrissy to Washington, DC, while Mike and Carol are staying in the New York area. With their furniture on the moving truck, they have a picnic on the floor of the living room to indulge in a BottleEpisode before leaving. As they make their final exit from the house, Carol looks back at the empty rooms and calls, "...goodbye."
* This is a factor in one episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' when Blanche learns that her grandmother's old house is slated for demolition. She goes back and breaks in, originally intending to prevent the demolition, but ultimately contents herself with taking a forgotten wind chime which had belonged to "Grammy." She takes one last look around the downstairs before making her exit.

* ''Series/{{Sisters}}''. The women glance around at the end of the series finale, walking out of their now deceased mother's home.

* ''Series/TheITCrowd'' finale ends with Roy, Moss, and Jen heading out the room, Roy giving his signature line one last time ("Oh, just turn it off and on again") and Moss giving one last glance around the room before flicking the light switch.
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': When Sophia breaks up with Jake, he brings a box of her stuff to her work. He expects her to give him one last look to express her possible regrets. She doesn't look at him though, and Jake doesn't turn to have a final glance at her either.
-->'''Jake:''' ''[to a receptionist]'' Tell me if she turns back for one last look. ''[rapid-fire]'' She turning? Did she turn? Did she turn?
* ''Series/BreakingBad'' ends with Walt taking a long last look over [[spoiler:the meth lab that his enemies, a gang of neo-Nazis he joined killed off, made to force his old partner, Jesse, to make their blue meth in. He admires the instruments and the quality cook that had been made with them before succumbing to his wounds.]]

* Parodied by GenreSavvy MetaGuy Abed in ''Series/{{Community}}''. He spends part of the first season finale practicing this trope, deciding on what's the best one-liner to end the season and honing his "look meaningfully around the setting and walk out the door and turn off the light to signify it's over" act.

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Sometimes people will say goodbye to someone as well with one last look, especially [[DisappearedDad Dads who are disappearing]] or your loved ones who leave you. May be blended with AffectionateGestureToTheHead and other BodyLanguage tropes, especially if the moment is shared by friends or family.

* During the first arc of ''LightNovel/SundayWithoutGod'', after her village has been massacred and burying all the dead as per her duty as a gravekeeper, Ai gives her now-empty village once last look before following Hampnie as he disregards his duel with Julie.

* This is invoked by Carl in ''{{WesternAnimation/Up}}'' when he asks the nursing home workers to let him "say one last goodbye to the old place." They feel sorry for him, so of course they agree. In reality, he's stalling so he can launch the balloons to fly his house to South America.

* Mentioned at the end of a couple of the {{Literature/Gor}} books. Tarl looks back to see the terrain, because his Friend of the Book has taught him that a native looks back on his journey every once in a while to see what it will look like on his return journey - even though Tarl knows that he won't be coming back there.

** Anne, pensive and solitary, spends some time looking around an empty drawing room at Uppercross mansion house where she spent her autumn, visiting her married sister and her in-laws. And moments later she looks at the house and the village as she leaves to stay with her friend Lady Russell. Her former fiance was frequenting the place as well, but is still angry at her and likely to marry someone else.

** In episode "The Wedding of River Song", the Doctor glances around the TARDIS as he resolves himself to face his death.

** In the finale, the gang tearfully look around Monica and Chandler's apartment. It has been their base and hanging out place for most of their twenties and early to mid thirties. Now Monica and Chandler decided to buy a house and move to suburbs with their twins.

* This is a factor in one episode of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', when Blanche learns that her grandmother's old house is slated for demolition. She goes back and breaks in, originally intending to prevent the demolition, but ultimately contents herself with taking a forgotten wind chime which had belonged to "Grammy." She takes one last look around the downstairs before making her exit.

* ''Series/TheITCrowd'' finale ends with Roy, Moss and Jen heading out the room, Roy giving his signature line one last time ("Oh, just turn it off and on again") and Moss giving one last glance around the room before flicking the light switch.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', before Yuna and company leave Besaid for their pilgrimage, they stop at the top of a cliff to look over the village for one last time. Tidus wants to keep moving, but Wakka shuts him up, telling him to give them a moment. [[spoiler:What Tidus doesn't know is that Yuna doesn't believe she will ever see this sight again, as becoming a High Summoner like she intends inevitably involves the summoner dying.]]

* In the episode "A Necessary Bond" of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Hondo and his pirate gang are forced off their planet by General Grievous. Hondo is the last of the evacuating pirates to get off his bike, and makes sure to shut it down properly before making his way to the ship. Ends up being a subversion, though. His next appearance in the [[AnachronicOrder show's chronology]] has them back at their base.

--> '''Billy:''' Goodbye inch-and-a-quarter molding. You framed the room ever-so-nicely. *slurp*
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Home Sweet Pineapple", [=SpongeBob=] says goodbye to the spot where his pineapple house once stood before it was eaten by nematodes. Subverted, as a tear that he sheds upon doing so allows a pineapple seed that he unknowingly planted to sprout and [[StatusQuoIsGod grow a new pineapple for him.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Missandei's only memory of her home is the view of her burning village as the boat she was on sailed away.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'' ends with Walt taking a long last look over the meth lab that his enemies, a gang of neo-Nazis he joined killed off, made to force his old partner, Jesse, to make their blue meth in. He admires the instruments and the quality cook that had been made with them before succumbing to his wounds.

** When the Elliots must retrench and let their ancestral house Kellynch Hall, Anne Elliot wishes they settle in the country in the same neighbourhood, but her father and sister Elizabeth choose a house in Bath (which Anne especially dislikes). She tells her sister Mary that her neighbours asked her to visit them to say goodbye.

** Anne spends the autumn with her married sister Mary. It was bittersweet because her former fiancee was frequenting the place as well and she hoped they could be reunited, but he courted Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove, and seems to have chosen Louisa. With Anne's help and encouragement, everybody in the family leaves Uppercross for Lyme Regis to tend to the injured Louisa. Anne is solitary, pensive and sad as she looks around the silent, empty drawing room of the Uppercross House. And then again she looks at the place as she herself leaves to stay with her friend Lady Russell.

This trope very often plays a vital role in StockSitcomGrandFinale.

* A very old Hazel from ''Literature/WatershipDown'' is visited by the spirit of Elahrairah, the Prince of Rabbits. Hazel is invited to join Elahrairah's inner circle, which means Hazel has come to the end of his life. Hazel takes one good look at the warren and its many rabbits, whereupon Elahrairah assures him: "They'll be fine. They, and thousands like them." Hazel then lays on the morning grass and breathes his last.¨

** When the Elliots must retrench and let their ancestral house Kellynch Hall, Anne Elliot wishes they settle in the country in the same neighbourhood, but her father and sister Elizabeth choose a house in Bath. Anne who is very fond of Kellynch, dislikes Bath. She tells her sister Mary that her neighbours asked her to visit them to say goodbye.

--->[A]nd yet, though desirous to be gone, she could not quit the Mansion House, or look an adieu to the Cottage, with its black, dripping and comfortless veranda, or even notice through the misty glasses the last humble tenements of the village, without a saddened heart. Scenes had passed in Uppercross which made it precious. It stood the record of many sensations of pain, once severe, but now softened.

* After being rescued by the protagonist of ''[[Literature/TheNightLand The Night Land]]'', Naani returns to the [[CitadelCity Last Redoubt]] with him. Before beginning to ascend the gorge which separates the land of the Lesser Redoubt (where Naani grew up and which is now utterly destroyed, along with everyone she has ever known) from the area between it and the Last Redoubt she takes a Long Last Look back. The narrator observes to himself that no other human being, through "all the quiet eternity," will ever see the place again.
* A very old Hazel from ''Literature/WatershipDown'' is visited by the spirit of Elahrairah, the Prince of Rabbits. Hazel is invited to join Elahrairah's inner circle, which means Hazel has come to the end of his life. Hazel takes one good look at the warren and its many rabbits, whereupon Elahrairah assures him: "They'll be fine. They, and thousands like them." Hazel then lays on the morning grass and breathes his last.

May be followed by WatchingTroyBurn. Sometimes people will say goodbye to someone as well, especially with [[DisappearedDad Dads who are disappearing]]. May be blended with AffectionateGestureToTheHead and other BodyLanguage tropes, especially if the moment is shared by friends or family.

* Cathy does this in ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' before she and her mother and siblings flee her childhood home, which is being taken by debt collectors, to go to Virginia to live with her grandparents. She gazes sadly around her peppermint-striped bedroom before her mother tells her they have to go.
* After being rescued by the protagonist of [[Literature/TheNightLand The Night Land]], Naani returns to the [[CitadelCity Last Redoubt]] with him. Before beginning to ascend the gorge which separates the land of the Lesser Redoubt (where Naani grew up and which is now utterly destroyed, along with everyone she has ever known) from the area between it and the Last Redoubt she takes a Long Last Look back. The narrator observes to himself that no other human being, through "all the quiet eternity," will ever see the place again.

-->But, somewhere back there in the dust\\
That same small town in each of us\\
I need to remember this\\
So baby give me just one kiss\\
And let me take a long last look\\
Before we say goodbye

* Seen in the Dalish Elf Origin of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. The {{player character}}, who has been infected with the Blight sickness, has no choice but to become a Grey Warden in order to survive. Before s/he leaves with Warden-Commander Duncan, s/he takes a sad look back at the loving clan s/he must leave.
** Similarly, the camera angle in the Human Noble Origin suggests that young Lord/Lady Cousland is taking a long last look at his/her dying parents while escaping per their orders.

* In the episode "A Necessary Bond" of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Hondo and his pirate gang are forced off their planet by General Grievous. Hondo is the last of the evacuating pirates to get off his bike, and makes sure to shut it down properly before making his way to the ship.
** Ends up being a subversion, though. His next appearance in the [[AnachronicOrder show's chronology]] has them back at their base.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Closing Time", the Doctor believes he is going to his death. Before he goes, he stops and says goodbye to a group of random children.
** In the next episode, "The Wedding of River Song", the Doctor glances around the TARDIS as he resolves himself to face his death.

May be followed by WatchingTroyBurn. Sometimes people will say goodbye to someone as well, especially with [[DisappearedDad Dads who are disappearing]]. May be blended with AffectionateGestureToTheHead and other BodyLanguage trope, especially if the moment is shared by friends or family.

Jill has lived in her home for many years, perhaps even growing up there. But, unfortunately, plot happens, forcing Jill to leave her home, and she may not see it again. Maybe it's burning down, or perhaps the change is political. Regardless, as Jill is leaving she will take a moment to glance around, saying goodbye to her home, her possessions, and/or her past. She is being forced along by what ''is'', but in this brief moment she clings to what ''was'' one final time. And then she leaves.

Frequently followed by WatchingTroyBurn. Sometimes people will say goodbye to someone as well, especially with [[DisappearedDad Dads who are disappearing.]] Frequently blended with AffectionateGestureToTheHead.

* ''Literature/ATreeGrowsInBrooklyn'' ends this way.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' does this in its final episode.

* In one episode of ''Series/TheJeffersons'' Louise goes back to the small apartment she grew up in; after having some {{Flashback}}s, she takes one final glance around before leaving.
* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Snow White returns to her devastated castle and shows her (now grown) daughter the nursery she'd prepared for her. When they leave, Snow can't resist one last tearful look at the room, representing the life they should have had.
* In the final episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'', the various characters say goodbye as their home for so long is being dismantled around them. The only character who does not look back is Colonel Potter, a veteran of three wars, who rides his horse off into the sunset in a manner reminiscent of old-time cowboys. Hawkeye Pierce, almost the last man to leave, looks down from his helicopter seat at an arrangement of white stones which spell out the word "GOODBYE".

* ''Series/{{Sisters}}''. The women do this at the end of the series finale, walking out of their now deceased mother's home.
* ''Series/MadAboutYou'' used a variant when Paul and Jamie were leaving the apartment to have a baby, and stopped for a moment look back for a moment. They weren't leaving for good, but recognized that they were walking into a completely new phase of life.

* The trope name comes from the Don Henley song "The End of the Innocence."

* ''MadAboutYou'' used a variant when Paul and Jamie were leaving the apartment to have a baby, and stopped for a moment look back for a moment. They weren't leaving for good, but recognized that they were walking into a completely new phase of life.