History TearJerker / LifeIsStrange

** [[ MyGodWhatHaveIDone Also Max’s reaction when Jefferson tells her that he had to “let Victoria go” is also one of true despair and heartbreak as she writes down in her diary about helpless and hopeless she felt that she couldn’t save her, which makes her desperate to go back and reverse everything.]]

%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

** While the funeral scene is sad in general, the one who is mouring Chloe the most is her mother Joyce, she is so distraught that David has to support her so she doesn't fall.

** The fact that [[spoiler:unless you sacrifice Chloe, Nathan is dead because he was murdered by Jefferson before the party.]] Most people after episode 4 had become fond of him.

* If you warned Victoria and she believed you, [[spoiler:[[GoodJobBreakingItHero she'll confide in Jefferson, who will kidnap her and murder her in the Dark Room]]]].

** [[spoiler:What makes the entire scenario even more powerful is the absolute lack of background music or ambience sound effects. [[SimpleScoreofSadness In typical shows or video games, there's background music inserted into the scene to address the impact of the tragedy to the audience]]. Here? It is completely silent apart from the conversation between the two girls. No sound effects and no music, not even the music that plays in this game when an important choice needs to be made. Just complete silence.]]

[[/folder:]]

* If you warned Victoria and she believed you, [[spoiler:she'll confide in Jefferson, who will kidnap her and murder her in the Dark Room]].

[[caption-width-right:350:"What kind of world does this!? ''Who'' does this!?"]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_88.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Music/{{Foals}} Forget the horror here...]]'']]

--> '''Kate:''' Max, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up! [[spoiler:Unless I put myself to sleep...]]

* Max's contemplation with Warren in the junkyard, especially if [[spoiler:she didn't save Kate.]]

* Chloe's outburst. [[spoiler:She's an abrasive jerk at times, but this episode really piles on exactly why she's the way she is, selfish attitude and all. She perceives her dead father as having ''left her'', still holds it against Max for leaving town, and thinks her Mom partially abandoned her for her step-father. The only thing that was basically holding her together was Rachel, and she finds out that the person she loved seemingly preferred Frank, a drug dealer (one who is now demanding money from Chloe) to her. When that gets revealed, you can see her break, and nothing Max can say - even if you've been on her side throughout everything and maintain that she has you - will stop her from turning Max away and driving off in silence]].
** The entire exchange can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76D2D05pqj4 here]], with major props to Creator/AshlyBurch for her fantastic delivery.

* Max's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone face]] when [[spoiler:William calls for Chloe]]

* In a heartbreaking case of TruthInTelevision, the Episode goes into great length to showcase just how incredibly ''shitty'' is the life of a [[spoiler:quadriplegic.]] Most people just think "not being able to move your body would be a living hell", but it's way further than that. Think about [[spoiler:not being able to feel anything with your body, or having to have other people attend to your most basic physical needs ("having to have a nurse watch me shit so she can wipe my ass for me"), being forced to go incredible length just to keep one's body functioning on the most basic biological levels ("she has to use a lot of lotion to keep her blood flowing...", not to mention breathing through a tube because her lungs don't work), or being abandoned by all of your friends because you're just too sad a sight to bear. Not to mention, the feeling of being a burden on one's own family and loved-ones, and them practically having to destroy themselves out of care for you.]] All the more horrific because, again, ''this is a situation many people in our world are stuck in'', and they don't have time-travelling friends who can save them. That said, it's worth noting that for all the horror, the episode does at least [[spoiler:[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments show that being a quadriplegic is not in itself the end of the world, and that if the situation wasn't quite so dire and dramatic, Chloe could've still had a happy and fulfilling life. Max even mentions how amazing it is that technologies like chin-operated joystick computers and electric wheelchairs are making life much easier for the handicapped, and Chloe is still shown to have many diverse hobbies and to have even made friends over the internet, implicitly other wheelchair-bound people, despite her disability.]]]]

* Even if David has been a grade A JerkAss, it's hard not to feel sorry for him if [[spoiler:you sided with Chloe in Episode 3 and he ends up leaving the house. ]]

-->'''Nathan:''' Everybody hates me...everybody.

-->'''Chloe''': (in tears) I loved her so much...[[spoiler:how can she be dead?!]]

--> ''[[TragicDream And we could run away]]''
--> ''Before the light of day''
--> ''You know we always could''
--> ''The mountains say, the mountains say''

---> '''Chloe:''' (In tears) [[spoiler:I'll always love you... And Max Caulfield? Don't you forget about me...]]\\

** The entire exchange can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76D2D05pqj4 here]], with major props to AshlyBurch for her fantastic delivery.

* Anyone who's been through extreme bullying before will know how Kate feels. She's a sweet girl and yet she gets harassed, even by a ''security guard''! Granted, he's really paranoid anyway, but still. [[spoiler: It's especially worrying when you see his pictures of her. Poor girl.]]

* Kate [[spoiler: finally breaks under all of the stress and abuse and tries to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of the girls dorms. It is especially heartbreaking if Max doesn't manage to save her.]]

** It totally hits home if you know someone who has [[spoiler: committed suicide, was put in Max's situation to try and convince someone not to do it, or if you have had suicidal thoughts yourself.]]
--> '''Kate:''' Max, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up! [[spoiler: Unless I put myself to sleep...]]
** At the end of the episode, if you [[spoiler: fail to save Kate]], you get a slow, solemn shot of [[spoiler: a student-made memorial erected outside the school. It does show that there are people besides Max that cared about Kate, but it's upsetting]].

* Max's contemplation with Warren in the junkyard, especially if [[spoiler: she didn't save Kate.]].

** If Max wasn't able to [[spoiler:save Kate]], her webpage will be filled with cruel comments from her classmates, blaming her for what happened.
* If you [[spoiler: fail to save Kate's life]], you get a heartfelt text message from her father, thanking you for even trying. This is especially sad if you find [[spoiler:the postcard he sent Kate, telling her that he loves her unconditionally. Losing his daughter must be beyond painful.]]
* In order to [[WeNeedADistraction create a distraction]] so Max can infiltrate David's surveillance room, Chloe had to make a scene towards her mom. Once Max returns to the living room, Joyce is visibly devastated, almost looks like wondering where did she go wrong to have such a resentful and rebellious child. What makes this even sadder is that Chloe clearly doesn't care that she has hurt her mom due to her nearly single-minded goal to find Rachel.
* Chloe's outburst. [[spoiler: She's an abrasive jerk at times, but this episode really piles on exactly why she's the way she is, selfish attitude and all. She perceives her dead father as having ''left her'', still holds it against Max for leaving town, and thinks her Mom partially abandoned her for her step-father. The only thing that was basically holding her together was Rachel, and she finds out that the person she loved seemingly preferred Frank, a drug dealer (one who is now demanding money from Chloe) to her. When that gets revealed, you can see her break, and nothing Max can say - even if you've been on her side throughout everything and maintain that she has you - will stop her from turning Max away and driving off in silence]].

* Going back to her dorm, it gets really sad seeing [[spoiler: Max rewind into the picture and destroy all the memories after William's death. All the happy memories that David had with Joyce, even if only a few, are gone. It's bittersweet really. Chloe is much happier with her biological dad around, but it's depressing seeing David being ripped of the joy of a family.]]
** It is especially painful when we realize that [[spoiler:without meeting Joyce in this timeline, David is just a schoolbus driver.]] The miserable glance he gives Max when she [[spoiler:boards the bus]] is enough to make you wish for things to [[spoiler:revert to how they used to be]].

* [[spoiler: Beached whales at the end of the episode.]]
* Max's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone face]] when [[spoiler: William calls for Chloe]]
* At the end of the episode you see [[spoiler: Chloe in a wheelchair. How did this happen? How is Chloe being screwed this time?]]
** [[spoiler: Made worse by three things: 1) with Max saving William, a heartwarming and hilarious photo montage is made, showing all the unpleasant moments of Chloe's life being replaced with happy moments that she shared with both Joyce and William (including a picture of a brand new car, the car she likely suffered her accident in) leading the player to think everything turned out okay; 2) the fact that apparently in this timeline, like the original timeline, Max hasn't reached out to talk to Chloe since she moved away from Arcadia Bay; and 3) in the original timeline: William's dead, Max moves away, Joyce remarries an abusive paranoid asshole, Chloe's best friend goes missing and it turns out that she's been lying to her, leaving Chloe to trust no one including Max. You would think that her problems would go away when William is saved, but instead in this timeline we see Chloe, she's paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair, with a breathing tube in her throat. Can the universe ''please'' stop shitting on Chloe now?]]

* In a heartbreaking case of TruthInTelevision, the Episode goes into great length to showcase just how incredibly ''shitty'' is the life of a [[spoiler: quadriplegic.]] Most people just think "not being able to move your body would be a living hell", but it's way further than that. Think about [[spoiler: not being able to feel anything with your body, or having to have other people attend to your most basic physical needs ("having to have a nurse watch me shit so she can wipe my ass for me"), being forced to go incredible length just to keep one's body functioning on the most basic biological levels ("she has to use a lot of lotion to keep her blood flowing...", not to mention breathing through a tube because her lungs don't work), or being abandoned by all of your friends because you're just too sad a sight to bear. Not to mention, the feeling of being a burden on one's own family and loved-ones, and them practically having to destroy themselves out of care for you.]] All the more horrific because, again, ''this is a situation many people in our world are stuck in'', and they don't have time-travelling friends who can save them. That said, it's worth noting that for all the horror, the episode does at least [[spoiler:[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments show that being a quadriplegic is not, by and of itself, the end of the world, and that if the situation wasn't quite so dire and dramatic Chloe could've still had a happy and fulfilling life. Max even mentions how amazing it is that technologies like chin-operated joystick computers and electric wheelchairs are making life much easier for the handicapped, and Chloe is still shown to have many diverse hobbies and to have even made friends over the internet, implicitly other wheelchair-bound people, despite her disability.]]]]

** [[spoiler: Consider Max's situation in all this. She has every right to blame herself for what happened, yet she's technically not guilty. Had these things happened in the original timeline, she probably wouldn't feel responsible, all she would feel is sorry for Chloe and guilt over not being there for her. But this Max knows all this happened because she tempered with the past and thought she was making things right. Now what if she'd been able to use that photo power only once? If she was unable to go back and reset things? She'd either have to kill Chloe herself, or deal with her early death knowing it's actually all her fault. She'd have to live the rest of her of life with this burden that nobody else knows about!]]

** [[spoiler: What makes the entire scenario even more powerful is the absolute lack of background music or ambience sound effects. [[SimpleScoreofSadness In typical shows or video games, there's background music inserted into the scene to address the impact of the tragedy to the audience]]. Here? It is completely silent apart from the conversation between the two girls. No sound effects and no music, not even the music that plays in this game when an important choice needs to be made. Just complete silence.]]
** Chloe's reaction either way. [[spoiler: She either tells Max that she loves her and she's proud of her if Max accepts, or otherwise bitterly accuses Max of bailing out on her like everyone else, and for just a moment, we see the old, angry Chloe in her. Then she just turns away]].

** Max [[spoiler: tearfully telling Chloe to be strong and never feel abandoned, no matter what happens, as William walks out to his death once again. It's even more poignant when you realize that she's making amends for not being there for Chloe when she needed her most]].
* Even if David has been a grade A JerkAss, it's hard not to feel sorry for him if [[spoiler: you sided with Chloe in Episode 3 and he ends up leaving the house. ]]
-->'''David''': You won, Max. [[spoiler: You destroyed my family. [[GracefulLoser I salute you.]] ]]
** You then find an unfinished letter in the garage, where [[spoiler: David tells Joyce he's sorry that he can't explain himself to her, and that he would never intentionally try and hurt their family. He wishes he could tell her what is actually going on in Arcadia Bay but needs more proof. He also shows guilt for Kate's suicide attempt happening under his watch, and is upset that Chloe hates him.]]

** [[spoiler:It's even more heartbreaking if you played ''Before the Storm'': Chloe essentially killed the one person other than Max that risked their life more than once just to save her from being killed. Regardless of his attitude and the fact that Rachel dated him behind Chloe's back, it still doesn't stop Chloe from thinking of him as a good man, as much as he denied it before. And now because of her, he's dead.]]

** It becomes more upsetting when you consider [[spoiler: Nathan's mental instability and that Warren may well have pushed him close to his breaking point]]. If you've ever experienced severe mental illness or known someone who has, this scene, and seeing him lie pitifully on the ground afterwards, can be difficult to watch.

-->'''Chloe''': (in tears) I loved her so much...[[spoiler: how can she be dead?!]]

* If you think about it, [[spoiler: the drugs Mr. Jefferson used on the abducted girls were most likely bought from Frank, Rachel's love. In a way, Frank killed Rachel.]]

* The trailer for Episode 5. [[spoiler: Max can be heard crying and begging Jefferson to let her go as he prepares another syringe. The poor girl's been through absolute hell, and it only seems like it's going to get worse. And the tornado is on its way.]]
* If you warned Victoria and she believed you, [[spoiler: she'll confide in Jefferson, who will kidnap her and murder her in the Dark Room]].
** Afterwards, you get a flurry of texts from [[spoiler: Taylor, who's worried because Victoria disappeared after her acceptance speech.]]

* Telling [[spoiler: David]] about [[spoiler: Jefferson killing Chloe is heartbreaking, but hiding the truth from him just to make sure he doesn't kill Jefferson in a rage is a punch to the gut, especially when he states how he plans on making things right with Chloe and Joyce. He thinks everything is going to be okay when he really has no clue.]]
* Nathan's been a giant shit the entire game, but [[spoiler: the voicemail he leaves Max before he's killed by Jefferson offscreen is absolutely heartbreaking. It doesn't excuse the fact that he murdered Rachel and drove Kate to suicide, but he only wanted to make his father figure proud and now his father figure has murdered him and plans on framing him for everything.]]
** The fact that [[spoiler: unless you sacrifice Chloe, Nathan is dead because he was murdered by Jefferson before the party.]] This can be debated, but most people after episode 4 had become fond of him.
** [[spoiler: ''Before The Storm'''s bonus episode "Farewell" shows that Max made a voice tape for Chloe before moving to Seattle when William died. She left after recording herself to apologize say goodbye forever to a person she never wanted to hurt but made suffer anyway, exactly as Nathan did. One can only wonder how much Max relates to Nathan's voicemail during that scene.]]
* If you didn't warn the homeless woman who lives by the diner, [[spoiler: Max comes across her dead body crushed underneath some debris. Max even curses herself for not asking what her name was.]]
* If you tell Frank [[spoiler: about Nathan and Jefferson killing Rachel with the drugs he supplied Nathan with, he breaks down. '''Hard.''']]

* Max's heart-to-heart with Warren, where she finds out that [[spoiler: the storm, more or less, is her fault. Just because she wanted to save someone's life.]]
** [[spoiler: Max doesn't take it too well, either. At one point, she ends up in this nightmarish mashup of everything that happens and it leads her to the diner where everyone--every single person she's met--ends up in the room, including a version of herself that claims that she's one of the alternate Maxes that was left behind (whether she is this or a manifestation of Max's guilt is up to interpretation).]]
** [[spoiler: Most people shame Max for her selfishness or beg her not to let them die. All Samuel says is: "Please, save the squirrels."]]
** When Max meets [[spoiler: herself in the nightmare!diner, that Max reams into her for using time to mess with other people's feelings.]]
* [[spoiler: Both endings. Either you zap right back to the start and let Chloe be murdered by Nathan to stop the storm, or you let presumably everyone in town die to keep Chloe alive.]]
** Let that sink in for a bit. If you [[spoiler: save Chloe, the storm will destroy the entire town and seemingly kill everyone in it, including Chloe's parents and Warren, as well as Kate and Frank if you managed to keep them alive. When the storm clears, Max and Chloe will pack their stuff and leave town, smiling at one another. But if you save Arcadia Bay, Max is forced to sit in the bathroom and listen to Chloe die. Justice is served for Kate, Rachel and Chloe, but the look on David's face when he discovers her body and the way Joyce almost falls when she walks up to Chloe's casket...there's seriously no "good" way to end this game.]]
** [[spoiler: Chloe's YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech to Max before she has to make the decision, where Chloe actually ''advocates'' that Max sacrifice her. Chloe has grown out of her selfishness and has transformed into a caring and lovable friend after being back together with Max. And going back in time to the beginning would erase that side of Chloe and all of the moments she and Max spent together. As far as Chloe is concerned, she will die alone feeling sad and unloved, not knowing what happened to Rachel and never seeing Max again. But she's willing to do it to stop being a burden, because Chloe loves Max that much.]]
** [[spoiler: Max and Chloe bidding goodbye if Max decides to sacrifice her. Max looks completely heartbroken as Chloe reassures her, calling Max her "hero". Max and Chloe have a heartfelt hug or kiss, and Chloe delivers what might just be the single most heartwrenching thing you could ever stand to hear anyone say before losing them forever:]]
---> '''Chloe:''' (In tears) [[spoiler: I'll always love you... And Max Caulfield? Don't you forget about me...]]\\
'''Max:''' [[spoiler: Never.]]

*** [[spoiler: The "Sacrifice Chloe" ending becomes even more sad whenever you realize in recent years in our world teenagers have died in very similar situations like Chloe's "bathroom death" scene.]]
*** [[spoiler: Remember how far Max could go out of her way to tell Kate in Episode 2 that the bullies were wrong, that there was still hope, and that she deserved to live as much as anyone? Yeah, Chloe doesn't get told any of that. Chloe gets told, by ''reality itself'', that she was doomed from the start, that she has no right to live when the universe doesn't want her to, and that she ''better'' kill herself unless she wants to be responsible for the whole town being wiped out. How sad is that?]]

* In a heartbreaking case of TruthInTelevision, the Episode goes into great length to showcase just how incredibly ''shitty'' is the life of a [[spoiler: quadriplegic.]] Most people just think "not being able to move your body would be a living hell", but it's way further than that. Think about [[spoiler: not being able to feel anything with your body, or having to have other people attend to your most basic physical needs ("having to have a nurse watch me shit so she can wipe my ass for me"), being forced to go incredible length just to keep one's body functioning on the most basic biological levels ("she has to use a lot of lotion to keep her blood flowing...", not to mention breathing through a tube because her lungs don't work), or being abandoned by all of your friends because you're just too sad a sight to bear. Not to mention, the feeling of being a burden on one's own family and loved-ones, and them practically having to destroy themselves out of care for you.]] All the more horrific because, again, ''this is a situation many people in our world are stuck in'', and they don't have time-travelling friends who can save them. That said, it's worth noting that for all the horror, the episode does at least [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming show that being a quadriplegic is not, by and of itself, the end of the world, and that if the situation wasn't quite so dire and dramatic Chloe could've still had a happy and fulfilling life. Max even mentions how amazing it is that technologies like chin-operated joystick computers and electric wheelchairs are making life much easier for the handicapped, and Chloe is still shown to have many diverse hobbies and to have even made friends over the internet, implicitly other wheelchair-bound people, despite her disability.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Music/{{Foals}}Forget the horror here...]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''Forget the horror here...'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Music/Foals Forget the horror here]]...'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''Forget the horror here...'']]

** ... Made even more powerful by the [[AwesomeMusic fantastic choice of background music.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Music/Foals Forget the horror here]]...'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''Forget the horror here...'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Music/Foals Forget the horror here...]]'']]