Basic Trope: Spurred by a dire situation, the hero overcomes inherent flaws and becomes a more credible threat to the enemy.
- Straight: Perdita "Perdida" Puebla kicks her fears to the curb when her best friend/rival Dr. Penny Priceless is imperiled by a Pit Trap.
- Exaggerated: Perdita goes from spineless layabout to adventurous action hero in the span of seconds upon seeing Penny's predicament.
- Downplayed: Perdita manages to get Penny out of the trap without having to change herself too much.
- Justified: Perdita has been steadily working on her personal issues, and the situation with Penny is the perfect catalyst to showcase that progress.
- Inverted:
- The normally gung-ho Perdita cracks under pressure when she sees Penny injured and about to die.
- Miles Gloriosus
- Subverted: Perdita looks as if she's about to kick into high gear to save Penny... until she passes out after offhandedly looking down into the pit.
- Parodied: Perdita starts humming a triumphant theme song before saving Penny.
- Zig Zagged: None of Perdita's attempts to save Penny work out, and it seems like she doesn't have what it takes after all... Until her last attempt succeeds by the skin of its teeth, prompting many cheers from the audience for a hard-won victory.
- Averted: Perdita doesn't encounter any challenges that force a change in her.
- Enforced: Both Perdita and Penny are trapped, and only Perdita has access to the means to save them. If she doesn't rise to the occasion, they'll die.
- Lampshaded: "Um, Perdita? If you have any wellsprings of valor hidden in you, now would really be a great time to start digging for them!"
- Invoked: Penny pretends to be injured and trapped to provide her friend with a confidence-boosting scenario.
- Exploited: Perdita knows this, and intends to impress both Penny and the Association of Adventuring Archaeologists with her newfound prowess.
- Defied: "Relax, Penny. It'll all be over soon..."
- Discussed: "And here's where we see Perdita's big 'character turning point' moment. How totally not predictable."
- Conversed: "You just want her to keep being a loser forever, don't you?"
- Implied: Perdita carries an injured Penny into town triumphantly on camel-back in the next scene.
- Deconstructed: Perdita's one moment of triumph can't erase years of lowered expectations and negative assesssments of her character. Penny still treats her like a lackey, and the AAA still treats her like a joke.
- Reconstructed: Perdita tries and succeeds at another, more perilous chance to prove herself, and this time her new reputation sticks.
- Played for Laughs: "For the record? I could've done this years ago."
- Played for Drama: Perdita botches Penny's rescue due to her inexperience, leading to an altercation between the two that almost ends their friendship.
"You want to get dangerous? C'mon! Let's Get Dangerous!"
