History TearJerker / GravityFalls

--->'''Mabel:''' Dipper! Don't you know what it's like to fall for someone... even though you know in your heart it'll probably never work out... but you would do anything for that person?
** As she asks this, it never occurs to her that this is how Dipper feels about Wendy, and never makes that empathetic connection throughout the whole series.
* Even though it's {{Played For|Laughs}} BlackComedy, that poor, Pool Jail kid stuck in solitary confinement. He was completely forgotten about. For an ''entire year''.

* During the slumber party, Dipper forces himself out of their room because Mabel and her friends was too loud and tried to give him a makeover, and he chose to sleep outside with dangerous animals (namely a wolf that tries to gnaw his leg off) instead. The next morning he's not only miserable, but also heartbroken over seeing their destroyed mini-golf course.

** It's very easy to miss, but the shocked look on Mabel's face when Dipper suggest they sleep in separate rooms. You can tell Mabel was hurt by the mere thought of Dipper not wanting to share a room with her.

** Stan has a subtle WhatTheHellHero look right after Dipper slaps a five with him in celebration. He watches as Dipper asks Wendy out while she's undergoing a grieving moment.

* No love for Mabel? She's keeping Sev'ral Timez in her room even though Candy and Grenda are asking her to let them go. Mabel's response is that every boy she's fallen in love with has left her (Norman turning out to be gnomes and Mermando leaving to find his parents). And in the end she gets a [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging massive guilt trip from a song]] which is enough to let the band go free.

* Mabel after discovering that Stan was the one who got Waddles captured by the giant pterodactyl while in the mine, feels absolutely betrayed and hurt by the fact that Stan lied to her throughout the journey. This pushes her through the edge and forces her to lose all respect and trust for Stan and give him the silent treatment. What makes this moment worse is that way before they started their journey is that Mabel saw Stan outside but not Waddles after the pterodactyl took him and she gave him a hug after he lied to her about trying to save him. And ever since Dipper sacrificed his chance to go out with Wendy so Mabel can win her pig because it means so much to her especially makes this even more tearjerking.
** Just after that is when Soos accidentally gets the crew and himself lost in the mine's caves where there are two routes and he also accidentally destroys the lantern. Dipper's level of anger rises to his sister's level where [[WhatTheHellHero he starts calling Soos out for what he did]], especially after he said, "Sorry, dude." Considering that he constantly said that during the terrible mistakes he made during Dipper and Mabel's journey of discoveries in the past. And it's at to this moment where Dipper [[RageBreakingPoint finally snaps]] and ignores Mabel's advice so he can yell at him for his mistake.
* Doubles as [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments a heartwarming moment]]. Stan does exactly what he did in the lie that he told to Mabel. But not before he carries Waddles in a baby carrier and beats down the pterodactyl with all his might. This was the moment where he finally realizes that Waddles really ''does'' mean a lot to Mabel. And after the fight, Mabel forgives him and gains back his trust.
-->'''Stan''': Here's your pig, kiddo. (Makes Waddles wave to Mabel)
-->'''Mabel''': Waddles! (Stan gives Waddles to Mabel. Mabel hugs Waddles) You saved him for me!

--->'''Stan''': Here’s your pig, kiddo. (Makes Waddles wave to Mabel)
'''Mabel''': Waddles! (Stan gives Waddles to Mabel. Mabel hugs Waddles) You saved him for me!

--->'''Mabel''': Waddles! (Stan gives Waddles to Mabel. Mabel hugs Waddles) You saved him for me!

** Just after that is when Soos accidentally gets the crew and himself lost in the mine’s caves where there are two routes and he also accidentally destroys the lantern. Dipper’s level of anger rises to his sister’s level where [[WhatTheHellHero he starts calling Soos out for what he did]], especially after he said, “Sorry, dude.” considering that he constantly said that during the terrible mistakes he made during Dipper and Mabel’s journey of discoveries in the past. And it’s at to this moment where Dipper [[RageBreakingPoint finally snaps]] and ignores Mabel’s advice so he can yell at him for his mistake.

** Just after that is when Soos accidentally gets the crew and himself lost in the mine’s caves where there are two routes and he also accidentally destroys the lantern. Dipper’s level of anger rises to his sister’s level where [[WhatTheHellHero he starts calling Soos out for what he did]], especially after he said, “Sorry, dude.”. Considering that he constantly said that during the terrible mistakes he made during Dipper and Mabel’s journey of discoveries in the past. And it’s at to this moment where Dipper [[RageBreakingPoint finally snaps]] and ignores Mabel’s advice so he can yell at him for his mistake.

** Just after that is when Soos accidentally gets the crew and himself lost in the mine’s caves where there are two routes and he also accidentally destroys the lantern. Dipper’s level of anger rises to his sister’s level where [[WhatTheHellHero he starts calling Soos out for what he did]], especially after he said, “Sorry, dude.”. Considering that he constantly said that during the terrible mistakes he made during Dipper and Mabel’s journey of discoveries in the past. And it’s at to this moment where Dipper [[RageBreakingPoint finally snaps and ignores Mabel’s advice so he can yell at him for his mistake.

** Just after that

-->'''Stan:''' After all these years... ''finally.'' I[=/=]we]] have them all.

-->'''Dipper''': I knew the Author must be cool, but he's better than I imagined! And... [[ButtMonkey he doesn't make fun of me all the time the way you and Grunkle Stan do.]]
-->'''Mabel''': Give him time! Ha ha, HEY-OH!
-->''[{{beat}}]''
-->'''Mabel''': Nah, you got me. ''[turns away sadly]'' You got me.

** And what makes it worse is that Filbrick is a massive {{Hypocrite}} - he claims that all Stan did was “lie, cheat, and ride on [his] brother’s coattails!” ''right before outright saying that Ford was supposed to be the family’s'' ''[[MealTicket “ticket outta this dump”!]]'' This horrible man didn't care about his sons as people, but for what they could give ''him'' financially. He condemned Stan to a lifetime of poverty and criminal activity ''simply because he lost him money.''

** A HarsherInHindsight variant, but while at first glance Stan's initial shock at seeing his wax counterpart and his later overemotional reaction to its "death" in "Headhunters" just seems like the hammy and hilarious outburst of a narcissistic old man, the reveal that Stan has a twin brother who he's been separated from for the past three decades makes it much more tragic. Especially if you take into account that Stan may have been using the wax version of himself as a substitute for his brother...

** When Stan asks for a thank you from Ford for saving him, and Ford replies with how dangerous the whole action was and with bottled up resentment over the incident with his old high school project. Stan calls Ford ungrateful and ''nearly'' reciprocates the punch back.

** And Stan overhears the ''entire conversation''. As the principal (who ''knows'' Stan’s on the other side of door) trash-talks him, Stan slumps down and huddles against the door, crushed emotionally as ''none'' of his family try to defend him, implying they implicitly ''agreed'' with the principal’s assessment that he was destined to be left in the dust as a minimum wage failure.
* Stanford created a perpetual motion machine for the science fair for an opportunity to go to his dream college, and Stan ended up accidentally breaking it by angrily pounding on the table that it was being displayed on. It’s made clear that Stan didn't do it intentionally or even ''want'' to break it- but when he saw the thing that symbolized everything he was afraid of (Ford leaving him behind for better things, his status as the “dumb clown” seemingly destined to live a mediocre life working a dead-end job in a dead-end town, the end of his childhood dream of treasure hunting and forced to confront the realities of a life beyond high school), he projected his feelings onto it, lost control and snapped out of misplaced anger, ruining Ford’s chances to go to his dream school.

* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley are brought to the principal's office with their parents - but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this impresses his father (something the adult Stan outright says wasn't an easy thing to do). When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, he [[BrutalHonesty doesn’t hold back]]:
--> That clown? At this rate, he'll be lucky to graduate high school! Look, there's a saltwater taffy store on the dock, and ''somebody's'' gotta get paid to scrape the barnacles off of it. Stanford's goin' places. But hey, look on the bright side - at least you'll have ''one'' son here in New Jersey forever.
** And Stan overhears the ''entire conversation''. As the principal unknowingly trash-talks him, Stan slumps down and huddles against the door, crushed emotionally as none of his family try to defend him, implying they implicitly ''agreed'' with the principal’s assessment that he was destined to be left in the dust as a minimum wage failure.

* Because the walkie-talkies were still on, Mabel overhears Dipper accepting Ford's offer to be his apprentice, meaning that after everything else that's gone wrong that day, she'll also be leaving Gravity Falls alone. From Mabel's perspective, Dipper's choosing sharing an adventure with the man he's known for all of a couple weeks at most over sharing a childhood with her. Dipper's efforts at letting her down gently when he gets back to the Shack doesn't help, and she ends up running out into the forest alone in tears, which is just the opening Bill needs. Even after [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E11NotWhatHeSeems Not What He Seems]], Creator/KristenSchaal [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct just can]] ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct not]]'' [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct catch a break.]]

** [[MarkOfShame Stan's tattoo.]] He ''wasn't'' lying when he said he didn't have a tattoo—because it's a ''burn scar''. [[ScarsAreForever It's the mark of his final, stupid argument with his brother.]] In addition, when rewatching the "Dipper's Guide" short, "Stan's Tattoo", after watching "A Tale of Two Stans", Stan getting angry at Dipper for trying to see his "tattoo" is '''not''' funny anymore.
---> '''Stan''': You're never gonna see it, kid. ''Never. Gonna. See it.''

** It is shown that Dipper is quite traumatized by the events of "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E4TheSockOpera Sock Opera]]" and becoming Bill's puppet. While his mind is being scanned, the phrase "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, YOU!" is shown—the exact words Bill used before he possessed Dipper. That thought coming up when Bill is only mentioned puts his trauma in a real light. He even tried to erase Ford's memories in sheer panic because he thought Ford was possessed by Bill.

* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley are brought to the principal's office with their parents - but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this impresses his father (something the adult Stan outright says wasn't an easy thing to do). When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, he [[BluntHonesty doesn’t hold back]]:

---> '''Dipper''': And I should trust you ''why?!'' After you stole radioactive waste?! After you lied to us all summer?! '''''I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!'''''

** When Soos guards the vending machine, he comments that he wants Stan to adopt him. Not only does this confirm that Stan is his father figure, it's really harsh when viewed through the lens of his father situation in "Blendin's Game."

** Stan desperately pleading that everything he did, he did for the sake of the Pines family, even as he acknowledges that he did some bad things. No matter what, Stan does truly love Dipper and Mabel (and his brother), and you can feel how much it hurts him that the twins are doubting that, especially Mabel judging by the pain in his voice when he asks, "You really think I'm a bad guy?" Even worse when you consider that Stan suffered so much hardship in his life because his family once ''did'' think he was the bad guy and kicked him out of their home without letting him properly defend himself -- having the kids now on the verge of [[HistoryRepeats repeating that same action]] and cutting him out of their lives out of mistrust with him was hurting Stan far more than it seemed.

* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley were brought to the principal's office with their parents - but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this impresses his father (something the adult Stan outright says wasn't an easy thing to do). When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, the principal’s completely honest:

** And Stan overhears the ''entire conversation''. As the principal unknowingly trash-talks him, Stan slumps down and huddles against the door, crushed emotionally as none of his family try to defend him, implying they implicitly ''agreed.''
* Stanford created a perpetual motion machine for the science fair for an opportunity to go to his dream college, and Stan ended up accidentally breaking it by angrily pounding on the table that it was being displayed on. It’s made clear that Stan didn't do it intentionally or even ''want'' to break it- but when he saw the thing that symbolized everything he was afraid of (Ford leaving him behind for better things, his status as the “dumb clown” seemingly destined to live a mediocre life working a dead-end job in a dead-end town, the end of his childhood dream of treasure hunting), he projected his feelings onto it, lost control and snapped out of misplaced anger, ruining Ford’s chances to go to his dream school.
** Which makes everything worse when Ford confronts Stan about it later that night and accuses him of deliberately sabotaging it in order to force him to live out a childish dream he'd long outgrown. When their father overhears what Stan did, kicks Stan out of the house and says he's not allowed back into their home until he makes up for the fortune they would’ve gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and he became a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. His schemes continually failed leaving him banned from nearly every state in the US, hiding out from a criminal “friend” in New Mexico, and only a peso to his name.
** Stanley was thrown out of his home. This is sad enough, but consider that he ''hadn't even graduated high school at this point.'' Given that the Stans birthday is on June 15th, Stan was only ''seventeen'' when this took place. Filbrick not only kicked his son out of his home, which is already awful, but Stan really ''was'' still a child at that point.
** And what makes it worse is that Filbrick is a massive {{Hypocrite}} - he claims that all Stan did was “lie, cheat, and ride on your brother’s coattails!” ''right before outright saying that Ford was supposed to be the family’s'' ''[[MealTicket “ticket outta this dump”!]]'' This horrible man didn't care about his sons as people, but for what they could give ''him'' financially. He condemned Stan to a lifetime of poverty and criminal activity ''simply because he lost him money.''
** Even worse, there's hints that the machine breaking might not have been Stan's fault at all, but ''Bill’s'' (Stan never directly touched it, for one, and even though it smoked and sparked, it was still running when he scurried off). Bill claimed in a Reddit AMA that “Stanley made enough mistakes without my help”, but considering he'd gained full access to Blendin’s body and time tape near the end of the series (and the hidden “Blendin was here” message near the boards leading to the hidden boat in the cave), it's possible he was manipulating them from the beginning, and when he realized the sibling’s relationship was a threat to his plan to manipulate Ford, he hid in the gym using the suit’s camouflage, subtly manipulated Stan to go to there so he'd leave behind the toffee peanut bag and seemingly incriminate himself, and tampered with the machine himself to ensure that Ford would believe Stan did it and distance himself from him, leaving him ripe for manipulating down the line.

** There doesn't seem to be any hope for Ford or Stan reconciling any time soon as Stan's words to the twins were simply that he gets "a bigger tombstone than Ford."

** The moment when Stan's in the grocery store trying to buy bread, and he only manages to pull a peso, a scrap of paper, and a paper clip out of his pocket. Really drives home [[RockBottom just how much he's lost.]]

-->-- '''Dipper Pines''', "Into the Bunker"