History TearJerker / Gargoyles

* When Goliath fails to rescue Elisa near the end of the "Hunter's Moon" arc. The scene plays out like a twisted version of when they first met, only with Goliath failing catch her this time.

** Elisa's presumed death nearly put Goliath on the same level as Demona. Which she herself hinted at when the two briefly teamed up to attack the Hunters for nearly killing their daughter.

* In "Generations", Angela was the only one willing to give Demona a chance to prove herself when the rest of the Clan refused to trust her, for GOOD reason. When Goliath gets captured by a stealth hunter, Demona leads a charge to rescue him. However, at the climax, he revealed the truth; he was actually HIRED by Demona to set the whole scene up in order to get in good with the Clan at the expense of Goliath's life. Angela was was shocked, hurt, and angry with Demona's betrayal of her trust, especially with her lame excuse of why she did it, which was to "save her from Goliath". Angela could only cry in anger and disappointment at how she was used by her own mother and that her efforts to reconnect with her were all for naught.

As one of Disney's more dramatic television outings, this show contains its fair share of heartbreaking moments.

--> '''Goliath''': Thailog, I wanted to tell you...
--> '''Thailog''': I know, I know. So much to say, so little time. Before I go, I have a something for you Goliath. Courtesy of the good doctor. How I, how I did enjoy... causing you grief...

---> '''Brooklyn''': [[WhamLine ''Who's'' Angela?]]

----> '''Goliath:''' Don't you see? None of this would have happened if it weren't for you.

** Averted as she [[IgnoredEpiphany immediately went back into]] her NeverMyFault mentality. This goes more to Goliath as the whole thing was nothing more than a HopeSpot for him, believing Demona may have a revelation after being shown the truth of things, but he could only shake his head in absolute disappointment [[RedemptionRejection that she learned absolutely nothing]] and continues to act like a SpoiledBrat.

*** And really, considering the thousand years of emotional baggage that comes from repeatedly losing everything, and often because her own fear and paranoia managed to get the best of her... It's not an absolution of her guilt, but can you really blame her for not wanting to face, accept, and internalize the fact that her thousand years of loneliness and quest for vengeance is not because she was wronged by humanity, but because she ended up making bad choices that got the people she loved and cared for killed, and multiple times at that?

---> '''Brooklyn''': [[WhamLine 'Who's' Angela?]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disney_gargoyles_city_of_stone_part_4_demona_cries_gives_alone_password.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"The access code is... ‘''Alone''’."]]

* In "Ransom", seeing Fox [[AdultFear worrying over her and David's son, Alex after he is kidnapped until a gargoyle is presented.]]

* When Goliath fails to rescue Elise near the end of the "Hunter's Moon" arc. The scene plays out like a twisted version of when they first met, only with Goliath failing catch her this time.

** Elisa's presumed death nearly put Goliath on the same level as Demona.

* The Emir.

** Elisa's presumed death nearly put Goliath [[NotSoDifferent on the same level as Demona]].

* The destruction of Goliath's clan. The tears start coming when Goliath returns to the castle in the pilot and sees the devastation. When he lands next to what he thinks is Demona, you can basically see by his shaking and heartbroken expression that he's struggling to keep it together as he scoops up the remains, chokes out 'My... angel of the night...' and then lets out the most heartbroken wail...

* In "Awakening Part 2", Goliath asks the Magus to cast his spell one last time, to turn Goliath to stone alongside the rest of his clan, to wait for the day when they might wake up. On initial viewings, this might be seen as a heartwarming moment. But WordOfGod states that it isn't -- Goliath's grief is so great, he's essentially committing suicide. At that point, there is no way for the spell to ever be broken, because the technology that eventually makes it possible would have been unimaginable in that time. Goliath is choosing oblivion rather than to be alone.

** Frankly, it's tragic that, despite finally being reunited with her mate and a small handful of her clan after centuries of being alone, Demona is so consumed with hatred and a need for revenge that she isn't at all satisfied or thankful for it. Demona could have at least been honest about what happen in her life and either made a new start with them or tried to get them on her side honestly, but instead she uses Goliath and the clan as pawns and tries disposing of them when things don't go her way.

** The episode ends with Demona so ashamed, she is no longer able to do anything except watch Angela from afar, tearfully regretting how she lost the love and trust her daughter had so openly given her. Effect is lessened considerably since it was her own fault anyway. Demona was just too greedy and wasn’t satisfied with having Angela’s love and trust, she wanted her absolute loyalty, too. In a sense, that, too, is also sad as it felt more like Demona wanted Angela as an ally rather than as a daughter.

** Perhaps the most tragic example is in "Vows" where Xanatos' wedding convinces Goliath to attend to it because it reminded him of how he and Demona made their own vows of eternal love. He goes to the wedding, probably intending to reconcile with her. Things go downhill when he brings the half of an amulet that Demona gave him when they made their vows, as the completed amulet can make the user travel in time. Demona uses this occasion to warn her younger self about the destruction of her clan, [[FutureMeScaresMe but ends up disgusting her thanks to her new personality]]. By the time Demona is restrained, Goliath attempts to give her past self advice to comfort her over the horrible future ahead of her. Once Goliath returns, Demona awakens and reveals that she remembered the advice that he gave her past self but doesn't care. The end of the episode has Goliath reminiscing about the love he and Demona shared but can never have again.

** Their interactions in the present contain heartbreaking echoes of their former love. Goliath can never forget what he felt for her. Demona, meanwhile, sometimes tries to enslave him or brainwash him to make him "see the light" and hate humans. Not to mention her insane jealousy toward Elisa. Neither has one hundred percent let go of the hope that they could be together again.

** It's frankly tragic that despite finally being reunited with her mate and a small handful of her clan after centuries of being alone Demona is so consumed with hatred and a need for revenge she isn't at all satisfied or thankful for it. Demona could have been the least honest about what happen in her life and either made a new start with them or tried to get them on her side honestly but instead she uses Goliath and the clan as pawns and tries deposing of them when things don't go her way.
* Near the end of "Reawakening", Coldstone not only has a change of heart, saving Goliath from the frigid New York waters, but is [[DisneyDeath seemingly killed]] shielding his rookery brother from his own rookery sister. [[spoiler:Thankfully he shows up alive later, [[NightmareFuel if 'alive' is the word]]...]]
* Near the end of "The Price" "Macbeth" blasts [[spoiler:the fake]] Hudson's statue. Goliath has a totally understandable freak out and later grieves for his oldest friend. [[spoiler:Thankfully, this becomes a happy tearjerker when the real Hudson arrives alive and well.]]

--->"Listen to me, Xanatos. What you seek demands a heavy price. I've been alive for over 1,100 years. Most of my clan is dead and dust, and I'm a stranger in a strange land. Demona and [=MacBeth=] are immortal. Has it brought them happiness?"

--> '''Thailog''': I considered caring about you. It took some effort, but I arranged for you to join this party because I planned to share the money with you. But our little ''family reunion'' disappointed me, ''Father''. [[HeelFaceDoorSlam So I've decided to hate you too.]]