History TearJerker / GameOfThrones

* Tyrion telling Shae to leave, [[CruelToBeKind and he does not do it nicely.]] Tyrion's main motivation was to keep Shae safe from his father, but since up until this point Shae refused to leave Tyrion was forced to shun her in the worst way possible. What hurts the most is that Shae's reaction isn't anger like their previous arguments, but instead she [[CryCute breaks down in tears]] for the first time in the series.

** [[AdultFear Dany has now watched two of her children]] be unceremoniously shot down by surprise attacks, and Drogon is now the [[LastOfHisKind the only living dragon left in the world]].

* Even if you think [[KickTheSonOfABitch she slightly deserves it for her hand in Myrcella's death]], the revenge Cersei carries out on Ellaria and Tyene is still horrifying and heartbreaking. Cersei [[KissOfDeath kisses Ellaria's daughter Tyene]], who knows (even before Cersei reveals it) that Cersei has duplicated and taken the same [[DruggedLipstick poison]] that Ellaria used to murder Cersei's daughter Myrcella (the terrified, plaintive whimper of [[IWantMyMommy "Mama!"]] that Tyene makes as she realizes what's happened to her is truly tear-jerking). And what's worse is, she does ''nothing'' to Ellaria, who she vows to keep alive to watch her last living daughter die, even threatening to force-feed if she has to. In the last image we see of them alive, they’re struggling against their chains toward the other one inches away, desperately trying to reach and comfort each other in Tyene's final hours.

** And if ''that'' wasn't tearjerking enough, Ellaria has been ForcedToWatch not only for her daughter to die, but also to ''rot and crumble to dust.'' Cersei has made sure to [[MindRape completely break Ellaria in every way]].
** As if all the above wasn't bad enough, this represents a [[ShootTheShaggyDogStory tragically pointless ending]] to House Martell as a whole, since all of its members were destroyed by a vicious cycle of revenge: Oberyn died trying to avenge his sister and her children while Ellaria, in turn, wanted to avenge him and went as far as cross the MoralEventHorizon by killing his brother and nephew because they refused to trigger a war with the Lannisters. And for what? For Oberyn's children to brutally die one by one, and Ellaria being thrown into prison and suffering AFateWorseThanDeath without having contributed to the Lannister downfall in any meaningful way. WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife.
*** That being said, there is a small glimmer of hope: Oberyn told Cersei back in Season 4 that he had eight daughters. Given that we've only seen the deaths of his oldest three daughters, it's likely that House Martell is still clinging to life like House Arryn is.

** When Davos says Melisandre lied to Stannis, Melisandre insistently defends herself insisting she genuinely believed that Stannis was the Prince and that she was wrong, and that Melisandre insists that she did what she thought the Lord commanded and that even after resurrecting Jon and finding out that her abilities hadn't failed her, she has to be exiled by the person she came to see as a savior.

** Ultimately subverted. The season finale reveals that this was just an act to throw Littlefinger off the trail of what they were ''really'' planning.

* [[IJustWantToBeLoved Our beloved Dany]] [[BigBadSlippage becoming a]] FallenHeroine. Even when the bells are finally ringing, she does not accept surrender, and something [[SanitySlippage snaps for good inside of her]] -- seeing the Red Keep that her family built but was taken to them, Cersei still desperately clinging onto what belonged to Dany's own ancestors, the losses Dany has suffered, the betrayals, the sad realization that she only had the people's fear in Westeros, not love, all this leads to this moment -- it is a combination of these factors that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil spurs her onwards]] towards '''leveling the entire city and everyone in it.''' [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Eight seasons]] of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Dany]] and her closest friends and advisors working hard to prove that she was not like her father at all, that she wanted what was best for everyone, that she fought to protect the innocent rather than harm them -- AllForNothing.

* Jaime and Tyrion's last moments together. A tearful Tyrion admits that Jaime has been the only family member who loved and protected him their entire lives, and Jaime makes it clear that he's never stopped caring for his little brother, never saw him as anything less than a man. They share a brotherly hug and it's so obvious that each knows they will never see the other. Despite his faith in Daenerys, Tyrion loves Jaime so much he betrays his queen to try and help Jaime evacuate Cersei to safety, because he cares about his brother's happiness.

** And Jon has to burn Lyanna Mormont, the first Northern lord to pledge her forces to retake Winterfell from the Boltons, and the first to proclaim him King in the North.

* The death of Janos Slynt. He had been nothing but a unrepentant bastard and coward for the entire show, betrayed Ned Stark, and had absolutely nobody to blame but himself for his death at Jon's hands. Even so, when he breaks down and admits that he's always been scared and [[AintTooProudToBeg begs for mercy]], it's enough to elicit some sympathy, even if just for a second. This is probably mostly due to his actor Dominic Carter's performance.

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[[folder:Meta]]
* In the {{DVD Commentary}} for the first season, Maisie Williams talks about how devastated she was when Margaret John died before Maisie even got to meet her.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXi1otDbWWk The 2013 [=ComicCon=] video "In Memoriam"]] starts out pretty funny, making light of the constant deaths in the series by flashing them very quickly with humorous subtitles and SoundtrackDissonance. However, we eventually turn to characters like Maester Luwin and Septa Mordane, and then the music becomes somber, each dead character gets a proper tribute, and we end with Ned, Robb, and Catelyn. The final shot is just "The North Remembers" in the title font.
** First you're snickering as it seems to make light and fun of the constant deaths in the series showing them how they died. Then it pans to Rodrik about to be executed and as it goes to other characters such as Khal Drogo and Jeor Mormont you remember that some of the most popular and beloved characters have also died and you feel the twist in your gut. And now Oberyn, Ygritte, Tywin, Stannis, Margaery and Olenna are a part of that list as well.
* Robb Stark's recollection of the Greyjoy Rebellion as one of the extras on the season two Blu-ray.
--> "Theon is my murdered father’s ward, I am my murdered father’s son. Like my father, and Robert, bound in blood, if not by blood, we are brothers."
* Also from the History and Lore section, the feature on Valyrian Steel. Narrated by Jorah Mormont, it takes an especially saddening recollection on how he shamed his father by selling poachers into slavery, and how -- even after having already fallen so far as to break the law in his attempt to pay his debt -- he couldn't bring himself to shame himself further by selling Longclaw. Nor could he bring himself to take it with him when he fled Westeros, instead leaving it behind for a better heir to claim it.
--> Valyrian steel is a wonder of the world, sharper than wits, truer than men, rarer than virtue... but even its edge cannot cut so deeply as a son's failure, nor its value match that of redemption.
** The Harrenhal feature, specifically Catelyn Stark's remarks on the apparent curse wiping out the families that lived there, how the sense of desolation haunting the place grows so overpowering that its owners feel as though they're being consumed alive... and how, in later years, they're proved right when [[OutlivingOnesOffspring their sons and grandsons die ahead of them]], allowing them to witness the slow demise of their family. Already pretty depressing, but in light of Catelyn witnessing the collapse and death of her own family, it becomes much HarsherInHindsight.
** Oberyn Martell narrates several History and Lore features in the Season 4 Blu-ray, and most of them are surprisingly light-hearted, even the ones discussing his knowledge of poison and the Targaryens' botched attempts to conquer Dorne... right up until he discusses Robert's Rebellion. It's already evident from the show that he cared very deeply for Elia, but the featurettes expand on how he loved Elia for her kindness and intelligence, how he often did his best to protect her by chasing off lesser men, how he honestly thought that Rhaegar would be a good husband to her... and how wrong he turned out to be. The depth of grief and hatred in his voice is truly something to behold.
** Jaime Lannister's feature on the Kingsguard, especially towards the end when he discusses all the heroes written in the White Book and all the magnificent feats they performed... and then mentions his own entry, followed by uninspiring entries such as Meryn Trant and Borous Blount, all embarrassments to the Kingsguard but nowhere near as shameful as him. Once again, half of the sadness is in the delivery -- specifically the tone of self-loathing and despair in Jaime's voice.
* The Dance of Dragons featurette of the Histories and Lore give a visceral description of the Blood and Cheese incident (two assassins break into the Red Keep, force Queen Haelena to decide which of her two small boys they should kill, then kill the other one on purpose and tell the one alive "Hear that? Your mama wants you dead."), the effect losing their children has on Aegon and on Rhaenyra, and ends on a very sombre note with the two remaining children being married, "spouting oaths they didn't understand."
* The House Tarly feature of Histories and Lore is narrated by Randyll Tarly, who recalls all he put Sam through (having reams of tutors and trainers, having him bathe in ox blood, forcing him to walk around in his mother's clothes to shame him, putting him in chains when Sam wanted to be a Maester, and the threat of a HuntingAccident if Sam won't take the black) all because Sam was not to his liking, with a voice of disgust.
* In the {{DVD Commentary}} for the third season on Episode 9 [[WhamEpisode The Rains Of Castamere]], poor Michelle Fairley is very audibly (and understandably) sad by what awaits her in watching the episode (Richard Madden asks if this is the first time Michelle is watching the episode after filming, which it was). The commentary goes on as normal with the two and the director all reminiscing of wonderful times during shooting, and then by the time the episode is over, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBIAzBwadCc Michelle is audibly stressed and crying from The Red Wedding]]. Considering what a wonderful job she did as Catelyn Stark (and the fact [[AwardSnub she didn't even get nominated]] for an Emmy; something many fans were quite upset about), you honestly wanna give the woman such a hug and make her feel better.
** Michelle and Richard congratulated each other on their performances and then said "I love you". Real life Stark bonding, hell, almost exactly like a mother and her son.
* In several of the trailers for Season 4, we see and hear the reactions of Jon and Sansa to The Red Wedding and the death of Robb and Catelyn. Sansa at least has Tyrion to confide in but Jon, who was out of contact with events in the south since Season 1 is seemingly numb from shock at how his entire world (outside the Nights Watch) has been taken from him.
** This is made even worse when one remembers Aemon's speech to him in Season 1 in which Aemon revealed how this exact same thing happened to him and how he has been forced to live with the choice not to forsake his vows and save his family ever since, of which the only comfort was the fact he was already blind and frail with age and thus he did not really have a choice. Jon however, has no such comfort.
* After Season 5 finale, the whole ordeal of [[FanNickname Team Dragonstone]] has become this. Despite the constant AdaptationalVillainy and limited screen-time, the show's Stannis managed to gain a huge popularity and Season 5 included scenes that cast a better light on him... But then, the whole family gets killed off in a way that many felt was rushed and badly written -- not tragic-but-still-grandiose like Catelyn and Robb Stark in the Red Wedding.
** The show's Season 7 return to a now abandoned Dragonstone rubs salt in old wounds. The last extant vestiges of the One True King -- a banner bearing the flaming stag -- is taken down by Daenerys as she reassumes control of her ancestral home. Upon the Painted Table lie Stannis' tactical board game pieces, just the way he left them. Truly, the stag grazes here no longer. The fact that the same episode hangs a giant {{Lampshade}} on Stannis knowing about the Dragonlass beneath Dragonstone highlights the tragedy, of how better prepared and better-off the defense would have been had he gotten more support and help, either from Jon Snow who refused to allow him to draft Wildlings, which the latter did anyway, or from the Northern Lords like Lyanna Mormont, who ended up backing Jon Snow anyway. Fortunately, Gendry still lives, and is a huge supporter of Jon Snow.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq0B0NVKghA teaser trailer]] for Season 7 shows the Tyrell rose burned up by wildfire with a voiceover of Qyburn crowning Cersei as the Queen which is a reminder to the viewers that [[EverybodysDeadDave House Tyrell is really gone]] and House Lannister has trampled them.
* The HBO/Time Warner Cable ad with Drogon wandering around a large city -- NYC, maybe? -- looking for his mother. It can bring tears to viewers with pets or children, [[AdultFear especially those who had gone missing or died.]] It's hard to apply the words "helpless" to a freaking ''dragon'', however small, but this case definitely counts. What if he had been run over by a vehicle unawares? Captured, tortured, ''butchered'', by humans? His reunion with Daenerys can be a MoodWhiplash due to her low-key expression, but sighs of relief or TearsOfJoy wouldn't be out of place for said viewers.
** This becomes much, ''much'' HarsherInHindsight with the end of the series.
* The documentary, ''Game of Thrones: The Last Watch'', features the cast and crew members filming the last season. It includes the scenes of Creator/EmiliaClarke's and Creator/KitHarington's final days on the set with them giving their farewells to the people who they worked with since Season one. Harrington actually breaks down in tears while giving his farewell to the crew.
* During the script reading of the final episodes, Kit is poleaxed when the reading gets to the final scene between Jon and Daenerys, and both he and Emilia are in tears when it's all said and done.
* Season 8's mostly-poor reception. After years of being one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved shows, it's sad to see the show receive bitter criticism (deserved or not) from the once loving critics and fans in the final season.
[[/folder]]

* Robert and Cersei's conversation. At first, they both [[SharedSuffering share a harsh laugh]] at how their [[AwfulWeddedLife utter sham of a marriage]] is the only thing holding the Seven Kingdoms together. Then things take a turn for the depressing as they both discuss the problems that have hung over their entire marriage. [[ManipulativeBitch Cersei]] and [[TheAlcoholic Robert]] both have issues the viewers can dislike them for, but the sheer lack of love or even basic respect in their marriage is sad to see, especially when contrasted with {{Perfectly Arranged Marriage}}s like Ned and Cat's or Dany and Drogo's. No wonder they were both screwing around with other people. One moment, especially, is when Cersei finally asks Robert about Lyanna Stark. Robert just sounds so completely broken when he talks about her.

** It ends up being one for Brienne as well. She finally gets to dish out some vengeance on her sworn enemy, Stannis, who killed her beloved King Renly. [[SympathyForTheDevil What she finds is a defeated, wounded, sad shell of a man]] [[NervesOfSteel who shows no fear]], [[FaceDeathWithDignity freely admits to the crime he's accused of, makes no excuses, does not beg,]] and [[DeathSeeker is entirely accepting of what is about to happen to him.]] She even visibly hesitates when he gives his FamousLastWords: [[HonorBeforeReason "Go on, do your duty."]] You can see that she's finally realized that the man she's hated for so long is not a monster but someone who is, in many ways, [[{{Irony}} just like her.]]

** Lady Lyanna Mormont getting crushed in an undead giant's grasp in a brutal moment of [[RealityEnsues reality ensuing]]. As awesome as her final moments were, this is still a ten-year-old child dying on the battlefield.

* Season 8's mixed reception. After years of being one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved shows, it's sad to see the show receive bitter criticism (deserved or not) from the once loving critics and fans in the final season.

* Season 8's poor reception. After years of being one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved shows, it's sad to see the show receive bitter criticism (deserved or not) from the once loving critics and fans in the final season.
** Made all the more depressing when after only two years (at the time of this entry) the show is scarcely a footnote, with every sequel and prequel planned all since cancelled. It seems for all the impact Game of Thrones once had in the realm of pop culture, all it's remembered for is a conclusion few want to remember.[[/folder]]

* Season 8's mixed reception. After years of being one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved shows, it's sad to see the show receive bitter criticism (deserved or not) from the once loving critics and fans in the final season.
** Made all the more depressing when after only two years (at the time of this entry) the show is scarcely a footnote, with every sequel and prequel planned all since cancelled. It seems for all the impact Game of Thrones once had, all it's remembered for is a conclusion few want to remember.[[/folder]]

-->'''Robert:''' I should've spent more time with you... shown you how to be a man. I was never meant to be a father. (''{{Beat}}'') Go on. You don't want to see this.

-->'''Loras''': I ''loved'' him.\\

-->'''Davos''': I'm sorry about your brother, Your Grace. I wanted to let you know people grieve for him.\\

-->[[AFateWorseThanDeath "I don't intend to die."]]

--> '''Theon:''' I could never be a Stark. Robb Stark always reminded me of that.\\

-->'''Thoros:''' It's not getting any easier.\\

-->'''Shae''': ''Children?'' You think I want children who can never see their father? Who would be killed in their sleep if their grandfather found out about them?
-->'''Tyrion''': Listen to me, my lady...\\

-->'''Tyrion''': [[IronicEcho And so, my watch begins]].

--> "It's too late".

--> Gendry: We're not really people to you are we? Just a million different ways to get what you want.

-->'''Cersei''': ''(sobbing as she cradles Joffrey's body)'' My ''son...!''

--> ''"I'm running out of time and that means you are, too."''

--> When he tells Shae, "Please, don't," you know he's not doing that to try and save his head. He's saying that only to prevent his heart from being broken before he’s executed.

-->'''Ellaria:''' Please don't leave me alone in this world.
-->'''Oberyn:''' Never.

-->'''Tormund:''' I should have thrown you from the top of the Wall, boy!
-->'''Jon:''' ''(quietly)'' Aye. You should have.

-->'''Littlefinger:''' How many tens of thousands had to die because Rhaegar chose your aunt?
-->'''Sansa:''' Yes, he chose her. And then he kidnapped and raped her.

-->'''Tyrion:''' I killed my father. He tried to have me executed for a crime I didn't commit... and he was fucking the woman I loved.

-->'''Theon:''' I was helping you. You wanted to escape. There is no escape. Not ever. Theon Greyjoy tried to escape. The master knew. He knows everything. He hunted him. He caught him, strapped to a cross, cut away piece after piece until there was no Theon left.

--> '''Bran:''' They were so happy.
--> '''Three-Eyed Raven:''' So were you.

-->'''Davos''': You told everyone Stannis was the one, you had ''him'' believing it, all of them fooled...and you lied!
-->'''Melisandre''': I didn't lie! ''[close to tears]'' I was wrong.
-->'''Davos''': Aye, you were wrong...How many died because you were wrong?

-->''There's no need.'' ''[[IHaveNoSon I've been dead to them for years.]]''

-->'''Jon:''' I'm so sorry...

-->''High in the halls of the kings who are gone''\\

[[/folder]]

* The revelation of Rhaegar Targaryen's annulment of his marriage with Elia Martell is actually HarsherInHindsight. Though it did reveal an implication that Jon is indeed the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, the fact that Rhaegar abandoned his wife and two children so [[LoveRuinsTheRealm he could be with Lyanna ignited a bloody civil war that destroyed thousands of lives and brought his house into ruin in the first place]]. This makes the man himself more of ''a selfish asshole'' [[DidntThinkThisThrough who never thought of the consequences]]. It also makes Oberyn's death and the destruction of House Martell more tragic; all because of [[YourCheatingHeart Rhaegar who wanted to be with his mistress]]. Not to mention that his actions cost his house their hold to the Seven Kingdoms, leaving his two younger siblings, including the one he didn't know, into exile and living in poverty.

'''Jon:''' Is my mother alive? Does she know about me, where I am, where I'm going? Does she care?\\

* Jon's good-bye to his half-brother Bran before he leaves.
* Robb and Jon's [[HarsherInHindsight farewell scene.]]
* Catelyn's depression as she watches over the comatose Bran.
* Cersei's story about her own lost child. Which is different from the books, where [[KickTheDog she aborted it.]]
* [[TheUnfavorite Jon]] being kicked out of Bran's room.

* Hell, the whole damn episode is a Tear Jerker Conga Line.

* '''Dany''' in this entire episode. Over eight seasons, she's grown from a frightened and abused girl forced to marry a man she didn't know to help her insane and abusive brother regain a throne he had no chance of winning to a powerful force of nature and the Mother of Dragons who actually might be the leader the Seven Kingdoms desperately needs right now. [[TraumaCongaLine Everything that's been happening to Dany over the last few episodes,]] [[SanitySlippage along with subtle hints that have been building over the past few seasons,]] hint that Dany might fall prey to the curse that has affected her family.

* During the victory feast, Gendry finds Arya practicing archery all alone. He reveals Daenerys has legitimized him, making him Lord Gendry Baratheon, and proposes to her. She sadly turns him down, saying the life of a lady is not for her, leaving him heartbroken.

* '''Dany''' in this entire episode. Over eight seasons, she's grown from a frightened and abused girl forced to marry a man she didn't know to help her insane and abusive brother regain a throne he had no chance of winning to a powerful force of nature and the Mother of Dragons who actually might be the leader the Seven Kingdoms desperately needs right now. [[TraumaCongaLine Everything that's been happening to Dany over the last few episodes,]] [[SanitySlippage along with subtle hints that have been building over the past few seasons,]] hint that Dany might fall prey to the curse that has affected her family...a curse that she's desperately trying to escape.

** Missandei's death paves the way to Dany's slow descent into ruthlessness. Together with the deaths of Ser Jorah and her two dragons and the people of Westeros having no faith in her, Dany would do anything to kill Cersei and get the Iron Throne even if it means burning innocents.

* While it's understandable, given the devastation she'd just wrought, seeing that Daenerys won't be remembered by the people of Westeros as the one who lost so much to help save them from the Night King, but as a butcher who sacked the capital beyond what was necessary, can be heartbreaking. Jon mourns her, Tyrion acknowledges how her will is being enacted in the new governing system, and Dorne and the Iron Islands still hold her in high regard. But ultimately, in the wider memory of the continent, Daenerys will be remembered not for the good she did, but the monstrous mistake she made.