History TearJerker / AvatarTheLastAirBender

* Iroh's story in the episode "[[DayInTheLife Tales of Ba Sing Se]]", period. It starts off as lighthearted (he plays with some children and gets a mugger to turn his life around), then hits you with MoodWhiplash when he visits his son's grave and ''bursts into tears while singing'', ending with a {{dedication}} to Iroh's voice actor Mako, who died shortly before the episode aired. If you weren't moved to tears, or at the very least felt something that could be described as sorrow, you have no heart.

*** It's worse than that. That was his son's grave. A single unmarked stone under a tree outside of the inner city, with no one to remember who it was but an old man, thousands of miles from home. Makes me tear up every time.

** A minor note: Iroh places apples on the little memorial shrine. Apples are often buried on roadsides to help spirits find their way home.
** This troper, who went through a very difficult process to suppress his emotions and has only cried once since September 11, 2001 even begins to remember what that sort of sorrow feels like. It is true, if you don't feel something watching that scene you have no soul.

** It's a lot worse for viewers who lost a family member in military service.
** Or who simply have family in military service who are deployed.

* "Zuko Alone". [[DownerEnding Pretty much all of it.]]
** Especially when you see a young Zuko, worried and panicked, asking where his mother is--to which his father doesn't make any on-screen reply. ''The look on Zuko's heartbroken face'' was emotional enough to make even Hitler cry. And going back to the present day and seeing Zuko being driven out of town thanklessly after taking care of the thug problem, even by the kid he ''saved'', made this troper burst into tears.

** Azula singing, "dad going to kill you" and poor little Zuko saying "Azula always lies..." over and over to himself always makes this Troper sad.
*** Even sadder when you realize that [[spoiler: [[HarsherInHindsight she's actually telling the truth.]]]]
** If possible, it's even MORE sad, when you see that Zuko still has to say this chant to calm himself down, YEARS after it happened.

** This troper never liked Zuko (and even hated him in the first season), but this scene was just so depressing that she actually found herself tearing up and feeling sorry for the guy. And if you knew this troper, you'd realize how big of an achievement that is.

** Still though, YourMileageMayVary, because ''something'' screwed Azula up very early on (possibly Ozai) because even as a [[CreepyChild child]] she was definitely saying/thinking very, very devious things that a kid her age should never think. It seemed that it was only because of this behavior that Ursa seemed to show any less love for her. But then, you can't really be sure which came first.
*** That just makes it even ''worse'', doesn't it?

* I'd like to see someone keep a straight face during the Guru episode when Aang [[spoiler:opens his air chakra, and is then seen facing all the Air Nomads, who then vanish into smoke and ascend up, while Aang reaches out to them, all the while Guru Pathik is narrating.]] Really anything involving the Air Nomad genocide falls under this trope.

** What makes it worse is that she was genuinely trying to save Appa while keeping the library up, but not even Toph, the self-proclaimed Greatest Earthbender in the World, could do both, and that about crushes her.
*** It doesn't help that she's inexperienced as a sandbender and can barely see.

* This troper cried when he found out how bad Shyamalan's rendition of it was. Hold yourself in there troper!

** What got this Troper was the moment of Katara gently swishing her toes in the water, as if wondering when this all stopped being a fun adventure of mastering her element.

** This troper had to stop reading less than half way down the page, or she would have started sobbing.

** The fact that Lee's brother is in the army, fighting the fire nation, and may or may not be dead, makes it somewhat more justified, that he would have so much hatred towards Zuko. Thinking about that itself, is a little depressing.

* Sokka and Toph venting about Katara in "The Runaway", but Sokka confessing that he can't even remember what his mother looks like, because every time he thinks of his mother, he sees Katara's face.

* For me, it was what Azula says to [[spoiler: her hallucination of Ursa,]] "don't pretend to be proud". Speaking from not quite so drastic experience, hearing words of approval from an estranged mother (no matter how superficial) means the world. Poor Azula had to [[spoiler: imagine her mother saying them and still couldn't bring herself to believe it]].

* After watching the finale, I rewatched the Beach. It's my favorite 3rd season episode. Mostly because it's funny but then it was a funny aneurism moment when Azula said "I could complain about how Mom always liked Zuko more than me, but I don't really care." She then looks into the dying fire, looking like she would cry if there weren't people around. "... My own mother... Thought I... Was a monster... She was right of course! ... But it still hurt." I cried hard after that. Azula was just using psychopathy to cover up her pain.

* This troper cried when he found out how bad Shyamalan's rendition of it was. Hold yourself in there troper!

* When Aang [[TakeaThirdOption takes a third option]] to defeat Ozai in the finale, this troper teared up at the Lionturtle's encouraging speech about the strength of the heart and Aang's determination [[spoiler: not to kill Ozai, risking his life and his own soul to do the right thing]].

* When Aang [[TakeaThirdOption takes a third option]] to defeat Ozai in the finale, this troper teared up at the Lionturtle's encouraging speech about the strength of the heart and Aang's determination [[spoiler not to kill Ozai, risking his life and his own soul to do the right thing]].

**This troper didn't make it halfway down before shaking and sobbing.....