From Rapunzel trapped up in her tower to legions of scream queens hitting high decibels, the damsel in distress trope is long rooted in sweet, helpless characters incapable of staying out of trouble.

Millie Bobby Brown plays a damsel in distress in the Netflix hit Damsel, but she doesn’t need a man to rescue her. After all, her prince is the one who put her in harm’s way. There’s also no need of a ...