History TearJerker / AvatarTheLastAirBender

* Suki's imprisonment in the Boiling Rock in ''Suki, Alone'', from being separated from her Kyoshi Warrior sisters, betrayed to the Warden by a fellow prisoner she trusted, being locked up in solitary confinemnt in a cramped cell for two weeks, the other prisoners whom she helped turned their back on her, and finally she remembering all she went through with her best friend Mingxia and fellow Kyoshi Warriors only to find herself without anyone to support her anymore, which makes Suki break out in tears but still is comforted by Avatar Kyoshi's spirit.

!!Sub-pages

What is there to say? ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is a series known for turning on the waterworks as much as it is for making you smile. Here are noteworthy examples.

* Tying into the above example, just the casual, and sometimes, [[InnocentlyInsensitive insensitive]] disrespect the Air Nomads are given and how Aang is forced to deal with.

* Meta: Greg Baldwin, who played Iroh in season 3 after Makoto Iwamatsu's passing, refuses to sing "Leaves from the Vine" at fan conventions. His reason? "That's Mako's song".

* The entirety of Zuko and Azula's relationships with their parents. Zuko's is very much implicit. His father barely tolerated him, and when he dared to speak out, he was forced into a life or death duel with him. Rather than kill his own son, he simply opted to mutilate his face, and send him off to exile on a SnipeHunt. When the object of his hunt became apparent, Ozai immediately wrested the responsibility of capturing Aang, and gave it to another officer. Both Azula and Ozai spent the better part of the series playing on his insecurities and fears, and treating him as nothing more than a tool to be used and discarded. The more implied one is Azula, though. Ozai is a piece of work, no one will dispute that. He used Azula as much as he did Zuko. A major contributing factor with her VillainousBreakdown was her realization that her father, who she thought loved and treasured her, saw her as a tool just as he did Zuko. Just a stronger and more useful one. He foisted his new-useless title on her, and headed off on his world conquering rampage with little more than a pat on her head. However, while Zuko had Ursa and Iroh to help him build a foundation, Azula had no one. Her mocking comments of how her own mother saw her as a monster rang hollow at the height of her breaking point, and one has to wonder how much of her behavior could have been altered if Mom would have just given her a few more hugs. Azula felt as much of a sting of parental abandonment, and in its own way, that's almost sadder because she had no one there to pull her back. And the worst is the sucker punch to the audience. Much like a lot of other cases of emotional abuse, The audience didn't catch on to what happened to her until it was too late to do anything. By the time the full picture is painted to the audience; Azula's been mentally reduced to a mad dog and she's too far gone to communicate with; making the battle inevitable.

[[caption-width-right:345:"Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart... I'm sorry I spoke out of turn! I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son!"]]

** How Aang learns in "The Headband" how the Fire Nation schools teach the next generation that the Air Nomad Genocide ''wasn't'' one but a battle between two nations with their own armies. Really drives home awful the WrittenbytheWinners trope is.

** How Aang learns in "The Headband" how the Fir Nation schools teaches the next generation that the Air Nomad Genocide ''wasn't'' one but a battle between two nations with their own armies. Really drives home awful the WrittenbytheWinners trope is.

* Before his HeelFaceTurn Zuko's desperate attempts to [[WellDoneSonGuy gain the approval of his father]] and restore his honor in his eyes becomes ever more tragic considering the huge emphasis most Asian cultures place on filial piety. According to Confucious, "In serving his parents, a filial son reveres them in daily life; he makes them happy while he nourishes them; he takes anxious care of them in sickness; he shows great sorrow over their death; and he sacrifices to them with solemnity." Zuko sincerely believed that it was entirely his fault for being banished because he tried to defy his father by opposing the general's decision to use Fire Nation soldiers as sacrifices in the war against the Earth Kingdom. And considering how devotion to one's parents was often associated with one's devotion to the state, Zuko wasn't just defying his father, he was defying the Fire Nation itself. Is it any wonder why he had so many issues to deal with!?
* The entirety of Zuko and Azula's relationships with their parents. Zuko's is very much implicit. He was barely tolerated by his father, and when he dared to speak out against him, he was forced into a life or death duel with him. Rather than kill his own son, he simply opted to mutilate his face, and send him off to exile on a SnipeHunt. When the object of his hunt became apparent, Ozai immediately wrested the responsibility of capturing Aang, and gave it to another officer. Both Azula and Ozai spent the better part of the series playing on his insecurities and fears, and treating him as nothing more than a tool to be used and discarded. The more implied one is Azula, though. Ozai is a piece of work, no one will dispute that. He used Azula as much as he did Zuko. A major contributing factor with her VillainousBreakdown was her realization that her father, who she thought loved and treasured her, saw her as a tool just as he did Zuko. Just a stronger and more useful one. He foisted his new-useless title on her, and headed off on his world conquering rampage with little more than a pat on her head. However, while Zuko had Ursa and Iroh to help him build a foundation, Azula had no one. Her mocking comments of how her own mother saw her as a monster rang hollow at the height of her breaking point, and one has to wonder how much of her behavior could have been altered if Mom would have just given her a few more hugs. Azula felt as much of a sting of parental abandonment, and in its own way, that's almost sadder because she had no one there to pull her back. And the worst is the sucker punch to the audience. Much like a lot of other cases of emotional abuse, The audience didn't catch on to what happened to her until it was too late to do anything. By the time the full picture is painted to the audience; Azula's been mentally reduced to a mad dog and she's too far gone to communicate with; making the battle inevitable.

--> '''Zuko (saddened)''': No you're not.
* Judging by some brief flashbacks into Zuko's early youth, like in "The Storm" or even from Ozai's story in "The Promise", it seems that Ozai wasn't just a sick psychopath. It implies that Zuko actually had fun with him and that once they were a happy family, that Ozai was an alright father. Going along with the lesson Roku taught that "nobody is born evil" it makes it all the more sad that a family that could have grown to be so much more was torn apart so savagely and completely. It really is sad to see the family that was apparently so happy and content get savaged to the point that only two of them ended up doing the right thing. And as of now, of the two good ones, only one of them is confirmed to have survived.
** This point is especially poignant since it provides a potential {{Alternative Character Interpretation}} for Ozai. If Ozai was originally a fairly decent father to his children, would that then mean Azulon broke him like Ozai himself essentially breaks Azula, leaving behind someone who trusts no one and rules through fear? Remember that Azulon was initially '''''pissed''''' at Ozai's suggestion of taking the throne in light of Lu Ten's death, ordering him to kill Zuko in response, which isn't unlike Ozai demanding Zuko go on a wild goose chase on his own simply for speaking up.
* The Zuko redemption story is completely heartbreaking, especially considering that Aang saves Zuko's life multiple times, he constantly forgives him for his past misdeeds and treats him like a friend, yet it takes three seasons for Zuko to accept that hunting him down simply for being the Avatar is the wrong thing to do.

* The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDMy6EhDu0Q Tsungi horn]].
** And this one: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzrFHwUHMic Ocean Spirit]].
** The [[https://youtu.be/WrwQPKfkBhA song that plays]] during Princess Yue’s sacrifice is beautifully tragic, especially when taking into account how it mirrors Iroh’s [[https://youtu.be/jzcsYOSFLJ8 Four Seasons song]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aolx6rlpQyk Peace Excerpt]] all the way. Listening to it makes you feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. No more fighting, no one's chasing the Gaang anymore. They can finally rest now.
* The Fire Nation now and compared to what it was before (mostly thanks to Fire Lords Sozin and Azulon, Ozai just sealed the deal). As described by Aang who actually still remembers, the Fire Nation were a warm and friendly people with a rich culture, deserving as much respect as any other nation. And now, they are militaristic, forced to obey their nutjob Fire Lord and his lackeys into attempting world domination or face punishment, and have actively banned and persecuted their own cultural heritage by banning traditional music and dances and hunting down the dragons, the original Firebenders.

** Pre-HeelFaceTurn Zuko makes a nasty comment about how Aang wouldn't know what it's like to have a father since he was raised by monks. Hurts double since Aang would discover the corpse of his beloved teacher and ParentalSubsitute, Gyatso.

** How Aang learns in "The Headband" how the Fir Nation schools teaches the next generation that the Air Nomad Genocide ''wasn't'' one but a battle between two nations with thrir own armies. Really drives home awful the WrittenbytheWinners trope is.

** Kanna's line about Air Nomads being "extinct", it's like she's talking animals instead of people. Plus, she's saying to a child younger than her grandkids.
** Pre-HeelFaceTurn Zuko makes a nasty comment about Aang wouldn't know what it's like to have a father since he was raised by monks.

** How Aang learns in "The Headband" how the Fir Nation schools teaches the next generation that the Air Nomad Genocide ''wasn't'' one but a battle between two nation with armies. Really drives home awful the WrittenbytheWinners trope is.
** Though it was subtle and not talked about overtly, Zuko mocks some of the forgiveness teachings the monks taught him in "The Southern Raiders".

** Kanna's line about Air Nomads being "extinct", it's liek she's talking animals instead of people. Plus, she's saying to a child younger than her grandkids.

** [[The song that plays https://youtu.be/WrwQPKfkBhA]] during Princess Yue’s sacrifice is beautifully tragic, especially when taking into account how it mirrors Iroh’s [[Four Seasons song. https://youtu.be/jzcsYOSFLJ8]]

--> '''Azula(sarcastically and deranged)''': I'm sorry it has to end this way, ''brother''.

* Hell, Aang's back story in general. He's the Avatar. The monks tell him before he's sixteen, unlike the traditional customs, because of war. He makes friends with Monk Gyatso, and then Aang runs away. He gets frozen and wakes up a hundred years later, with no idea what happened to his culture until he actually sees his best friend, dead, a skeleton. Then he flips his shit.

[[caption-width-right:345:[[labelnote:For context...]]"Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart... I'm sorry I spoke out of turn! I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son!"[[/labelnote]]]]

* The entirety of Zuko and Azula's relationships with their parents. Zuko's is very much implicit. He was barely tolerated by his father, and when he dared to speak out against him, he was forced into a life or death duel with him. Rather than kill his own son, he simply opted to mutilate his face, and send him off to exile on a SnipeHunt. When the object of his hunt became apparent, Ozai immediately wrested the responsibility of capturing Aang, and gave it to another officer. Both Azula and Ozai spent the better part of the series playing on his insecurities and fears, and treating him as nothing more than a tool to be used and discarded. The more implied one is Azula, though. Ozai is a piece of work, no one will dispute that. He used Azula as much as he did Zuko. A major contributing factor with her VillainousBreakdown was her realization that her father, who she thought loved and treasured her, saw her as a tool just as he did Zuko. Just a stronger and more useful one. He foisted his new-useless title on her, and headed off on his world conquering rampage with little more than a pat on her head. However, while Zuko had Ursa and Iroh to help him build a foundation, Azula had no one. Her mocking comments of how her own mother saw her as a monster rang hollow at the height of her breaking point, and one has to wonder how much of her behavior could have been altered if Mom would have just given her a few more hugs. Azula felt as much of a sting of parental abandonment, and in its own way, that's almost sadder because she had no one there to pull her back. And the worst is the sucker punch to the audience. Much like a lot of other cases of abuse, most of us didn't catch on to what happened to her until it was too late to do anything. By the time the full picture is painted to the audience; Azula's been mentally reduced to a mad dog and she's too far gone to communicate with; making the battle inevitable.

* The entirety of Zuko and Azula's relationships with their parents. Zuko's is very much implicit. He was barely tolerated by his father, and when he dared to speak out against him, he was forced into a life or death duel with him. Rather than kill his own son, he simply opted to mutilate his face, and send him off to exile on a SnipeHunt. When the object of his hunt became apparent, Ozai immediately wrested the responsibility of capturing Aang, and gave it to another officer. Both Azula and Ozai spent the better part of the series playing on his insecurities and fears, and treating him as nothing more than a tool to be used and discarded. The more implied one is Azula, though. Ozai is a piece of work, no one will dispute that. He used Azula as much as he did Zuko. A major contributing factor with her VillainousBreakdown was her realization that her father, who she thought loved and treasured her, saw her as a tool just as he did Zuko. Just a stronger and more useful one. He foisted his new-useless title on her, and headed off on his world conquering rampage with little more than a pat on her head. However, while Zuko had Ursa and Iroh to help him build a foundation, Azula had no one. Her mocking comments of how her own mother saw her as a monster rang hollow at the height of her breaking point, and one has to wonder how much of her behavior could have been altered if Mom would have just given her a few more hugs. Azula felt as much of a sting of parental abandonment, and in its own way, that's almost sadder because she had no one there to pull her back.

!!Sub-pages

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_120081212185228_7525.jpg]]