History TearJerker / FireEmblemThreeHouses

* Dimitri's death is heartbreaking not because it's dramatic, but the fact that it happens ''[[KilledOffscreen offscreen.]]'' To see a major character like him just... [[UndignifiedDeath killed in an anticlimactic manner]] like that really gets to you. Hilda actually cries over how cruel his death was, saying he didn't deserve to die like that. In the next chapter, each of the recruited Blue Lions (except [[TheFriendsWhoNeverHang Sylvain]]) will have something to say lamenting Dimitri's death when talked to during exploration.

-->'''Dorothea:''' And Ferdie was there. ''We killed Ferdie,'' Professor. He was our friend. Do you still remember those days?

In developing the game, the designers pulled inspiration from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', [[Main/TearJerker and it shows]]. Many see ''Three Houses'' as [[TearJerker/FireEmblem one of the darkest games in the series]] since ''Genealogy'', with [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstructions of several character archetypes]] from the past games, a sobering GreyAndGrayMorality conflict, and [[BittersweetEnding unlike]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates the last game]], there is ''no'' GoldenEnding to make up for it.

** A sad reality of it all is that when you look at the state of Fodlan and all of the problems surrounding it, some form of war was inevitable. Too many were feeling the pressure from the Crest-based society, oppression from certain nobles started rebellions, and outsiders were in many places treated like second class citizens. Add in the fact that Those Who Slither in the Dark would still be trying to instigate the destruction of the Church, Nabateans and the destabilizing of the continent, and a war would have started sooner or later. The game even suggests that the war was pretty much required to unite Fódlan, whoever "wins" it, and each of these particular lords at least lead to the reformation of the Church and continent for the better, not its destruction. [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption So diplomacy was never an option then?]]

* After completing Edelgard's paralogue, where you had to drive back an Almyran invasion at Fodlan's Throat, you're treated to a cutscene where Edelgard confesses that one of her goals after the war is to reach out to other nations to make peace, because she believes that Church has driven Fodlan to isolationism. The Tearjerker here that is you gain access to this paralogue ''after'' you had already defeated the Alliance and [[VideogameCrueltyPotential possibly killed Claude]]. The real kicker here is '''''this is exactly what Claude wanted for Fodlan''''', further driving home how much of this conflict could have been avoided if the Lords actually sat down and tried to talk it out.

* In a conversation with Shamir just before the endgame, she'll remind you that Fódlan used to be united under the Empire, before the Kingdom won its independence and the Alliance formed. While you succeed in uniting Fódlan at the end of the route, [[HappyEndingOverride who's to say that it won't one day be divided and embroiled in war once again]]?

** Just the idea that Byleth truly loved Jeralt, but could never show him how they felt until the end. The Sunday immediately after doesn't show them pondering how to go about the day. They simply stand there, hunched over, looking despondent and broken by it all.

** The only respite is that WordOfGod confirms [[SoleSurvivor Claude is meant to survive all routes]], meaning that offing him in Crimson Flower is ''not'' considered the true choice, and that he truly does make it out of Silver Snow alive. However, outside of Edelgard's stated intention to improve foreign relations, we can't see Claude be certain his desired reforms happen.

* In Dimitri's S support with Byleth, he admits that he will probably hear the voices that tormented him until the day he dies, and also expresses how he hasn't forgiven himself for everything he did. While Dimitri's CharacterDevelopment over the route is impressive and touching, it's heartbreaking to see that [[RealityEnsues he'll probably never fully recover from the Tragedy of Duscur]].

** How could this be any more sad? Ashe himself can kill his own adopted father.

--> '''Dimitri:''' Is this some kind of twisted ''joke?''

* Cornelia having Dimitri framed for the murder of his uncle, the king regent. He is presumed to have been executed, but [[HopeSpot Rodrigue never sees a body.]] However, Dimitri was still declared dead, which probably made Rodrigue believe [[MyGreatestFailure he couldn't keep Lambert's promise to protect his son.]]

** And when you do, the music doesn't keep going like it does with normal enemies and bosses. It stops, with the only sound being the student's scream, just like when you lose a unit in Classic mode. It really drives the point home that they could have been your allies in another time.

* Dimitri's death is heartbreaking not because it's dramatic, but the fact that it happens ''[[KilledOffscreen offscreen.]]'' To see a major character like him just... [[UndignifiedDeath killed in an anticlimactic manner]] like that really gets to you. Hilda actually cries over how cruel his death was, saying he didn't deserve to die like that.

** The final battle between Edelgard and Claude. If the right conditions are met, Claude will surrender to Edelgard in an effort to spare the rest of the alliance, though Byleth may opt to have him executed anyways. The surprise and regret in Claude's voice is clear when he realizes [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter he's greatly miscalculated]] [[WhatTheHellHero how Byleth and Edelgard would behave]]. WordOfGod says Claude survived, so ''[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential this one's on you]].'' YouMonster.

--> '''Edelgard:''' Why am I even here? [[WeUsedToBeFriends I know they won't come]], but here I am anyway.

* [[RuleofThree Just like Seteth and Flayn, and Felix and Rodrigue,]] Annette and Gilbert [[DespairEventHorizon will react with despair]] if the other is killed. What makes this even more tragic than the other two, however, is that killing one will actively change the other's AI pattern. Rather than standing still until Rhea is attacked, [[GameplayAndSToryIntegration they will follow through on their vow to avenge the fallen one]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge and start charging directly through the flames to attack your units immediately,]] no matter how much damage they end up taking. It's particularly notable for Gilbert, however, as the flames severely slow down his already pitiful movement speed, so by the time he finally catches up to your units, he's more likely than not very low on HP and very easy to pick off. The implication that he doesn't care if he lives or dies anymore after his daughter's death is heartbreaking.

** The final battle between Edelgard and Claude. If the right conditions are met, Claude will surrender to Edelgard in an effort to spare the rest of the alliance, though Byleth may opt to have him executed anyways. The surprise and regret in Claude's voice is clear when he realizes [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter he's greatly miscalculated]] [[WhatTheHellHero how Byleth and Edelgard would behave]]. WordOfGod says Claude survived, so ''this one's on you.'' YouMonster.

** If you have done their Supports in other routes, then you can also realize that this was tragically [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed.]] When presented with a SadisticChoice or choosing between saving herself or Shamir, she'd choose Shamir, but if she had to choose between Shamir and Rhea, she'd always choose Rhea. Shamir countered by saying that if she had to choose between Rhea and Catherine, then she'd save Catherine, but if it came down to saving Cathering or herself, she'd choose herself. This is exactly what happens if the two are forced to come to blows in Crimson Flower.

** For example, on Crimson Flower, it's possible to only have to kill Rhea, Dimitri, and Dedue, for this route's own version of an EverybodyLives ending. But to do so, you have to spare Claude, convince Seteth an Flayn to retreat, avoid Hilda, and then avoid Gilbert, Catherine, and Cyril, as Rhea burns the city around them.

* Dorothea's Supports reveal just how badly she had it as an orphan and why among her dislikes she includes arrogant nobles and ''herself''. She was the daughter of a maid who had an affair with a noble but, when Dorothea was born without a Crest, she and her mother were thrown out. When her mother died, she lived as an orphan who grew up in the alleys of Enbarr, begging for coins, eating scraps, and drinking water from drains. She only got lucky because the right person heard her singing and brought her into the opera, being praised for her looks and voice by people who not even a year ago would kick her for so much as begging. Even then, sometimes she had to fend off some who would pursue her to the extent of kidnapping.

** It's possibly even worse if you ''didn't'' recruit Felix, as he fights alongside Rodrigue in this battle instead, and ''also'' must be killed to win. Regardless of which of the two are killed first, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge the other will mourn their death before swearing to avenge them.]] It's particularly cruel if you kill Felix first, as it means Rodrigue had to watch ''[[OutlivingOnesOffspring both of his sons die.]]'' And tragically, unlike with Seteth and Flayn, [[ForegoneConclusion there is no way to avoid]] [[SadisticChoice either senario.]]

** It's possibly even worse if you ''didn't'' recruit Felix, as he fights alongside Rodrigue in this battle instead, and ''also'' must be killed to win. Regardless of which of the two are killed first, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge the other will mourn their death before swearing to avenge them.]] It's particularly cruel if you kill Felix first, as it means Rodrigue has to watch ''[[OutlivingOnesOffspring his only other son die.]]'' And tragically, unlike with Seteth and Flayn, [[ForegoneConclusion there is no way to avoid]] [[SadisticChoice either senario.]]

* Killing Felix on this route means Rodrigue has to watch ''[[OutlivingOnesOffspring another]]'' [[OutlivingOnesOffspring son die]]. Taking him out afterwards might be a MercyKill at that point.

* If Annette gets killed before Gilbert in the final battle, Gilbert declares his intention to "avenge" her, and then starts charging through the flames towards your units, no matter how much damage he takes from them. The implication that he doesn't care if he lives or dies any more after his daughter's death is heartbreaking.

** If you have done their Supports in other routes then you can also realize that this was tragically [[{[Foreshadowing foreshadowed.]] When presented with a SadisticChoice or choosing between saving herself or Shamir, she'd choose Shamir, but if she had to choose between Shamir and Rhea, she'd always choose Rhea. Shamir countered by saying that if she had to choose between Rhea and Catherine, then she'd save Catherine, but if it came down to saving Cathering or herself, she'd choose herself. This is exactly what happens if the two are forced to come to blows in Crimson Flower.

* After completing Edelgard's paralogue, where you had to drive back an Almyran invasion at Fodlan's Throat, you're treated to a cutscene where Edelgard confesses that one of her goals after the war is to reach out to other nations to make peace because she believes that Church has drive Fodlan to being far to isolationist. The Tearjerker here is you gain access to this paralogue ''after'' you had already defeated the Alliance and [[VideogameCrueltyPotential possibly killed Claude]]. The real kicker here is '''''this is exactly what Claude wanted for Fodlan''''' further driving home how much of this conflict could have been avoided if the Lords actually sat down and talked.

* After the Battle on Gronder Field, if you recruited Annette you learn that her father Gilbert managed to survive the battle, but was last seen carrying Dimitri's corpse from the battlefield. If you played the Azure Moon route and done any supports with Gilbert you'd know that he also suffers a major case of FailureKnight complex and [[MyGreatestFailure never got over his failure to protect the Royal Family at the Tragedy of Duscur]]. Gilbert was so driven to shame that he abandoned his wife and Annette, and his old life. So now imagine Dimitri dying such a disgraceful death and the Kingdom getting destroyed and you can only imagine [[FridgeHorror and mental and emotional state Gilbert is now in]].

--> '''Dimitri, sounding like he’s on the brink of tears:''' But you seem to have all the answers... So tell me, Professor. Please, tell me. How do I silence their desperate pleas? How do I... How do I save them...?

* The only reason why Baron Ochs stole Balthus' Hero's Relic was to save his daughter, Monica, from her kidnappers. What is sad is that at that point the real Monica had been dead for some time (don't forget that the Monica you see at this point and time is a disguised Kronya), leaving his actions [[AllForNothing for naught]].

** Adding to the tragedy of the war is the fact that, unlike in other ''Fire Emblem'' titles where the war was inevitable despite some of the protagonists trying to reason with the villains, ''Three Houses'' goes out of its way to show you that, if Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude had chosen to talk during their days as students, ''the whole thing might have been averted''. But, all of the principle players had very good reasons to either not trust others, or not be too open. So even with their best efforts, some conflict may have been inevitable.
** Likewise, one conversation in Part 2 suggests that one reason why the monastery had students from the three main powers of Fódlan attend school together was so that they'd talk with and befriend each other, thereby possibly preventing war. It's a noble concept, but sadly, in this case, it never became reality.

** Even though the evil cult (Those Who Slither in the Dark) are secondary antagonists, they're still either directly or indirectly responsible for the tragedies suffered by Dimitri, Edelgard, Rhea, and Seteth and Flayn. They're ''also'' part of why Dimitri and Edelgard can't even trust their own allies fully. So the war is inevitable not because the player wants it, not even because the lords leading the parties want it, but because of a shadowy group that forced their hand, who may not even be directly confronted, depending on the outcome of the war.
** A sad reality of it all is that when you look at the state of Fodlan and all of the problems surrounding it, some form of war was inevitable. Too many were feeling the pressure from the Crest-based society, oppression from certain nobles started rebellions, and outsiders were in many places treated like second class citizens. Add in the fact that Those Who Slither in the Dark would still be trying to instigate the destruction of the Church, Nabateans and the destabilizing of the continent, and a war would have started sooner or later. The game even suggests tht the war was pretty much required to unite Fódlan, whoever "wins" it, and each of these particular lords at least lead to the reformation of the Church and continent for the better, not its destruction. So diplomacy was never an option then?

* Edelgard's betrayal is especially nasty on this route. You're forced to realize that the young woman you taught, befriended, and bled alongside is also a terrorist warlord who for all you know has been stringing you along so she could {{take over the world}} and had your father murdered.

* After defeating Edelgard in the final battle, she returns to her human form, defeated and on her knees. Dimitri offers his hand to her in a silent attempt at a truce, all while simply calling her "El". She quietly looks up and it seems she may accept... only for her to reach for a dagger and stab Dimitri. Immediately, Dimitri [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice fatally impales her with his spear]] and she drops dead. As Byleth and Dimitri leave, Dimitri looks back at Edelgard's corpse and is about to go back to her before Byleth grabs his hand.

* Edelgard's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain in all routes except the Crimson Flower route. Crimson Flower sees you as her MoralityPet keeping her sane during what she has to do — and unless you see her coronation, and even if you ''do'' see her coronation, [[HazyFeelTurn you can end up betraying her as well]], pushing her further into this direction. By the end, she has ''nothing'' left except a bloody-minded need to see it all through and prove to herself it wasn't pointless. Before it begins, she ''[[HeelRealization knows]]'' she could [[IAmAMonster become a monster]] driving away from her closest friends in the world, but as she goes further out of necessity, she comes to believe IveComeTooFar and doubles down more and more on her actions.