History TearJerker / TheRenAndStimpyShow

* "Son of Stimpy": Say what you will about the absurd premise or even John K. himself, there's something to be said about making the audience feel for basically what is a sentient fart and Stimpy treating it like a child he birthed. Ironically, the episode is intended to be a deconstruction of what he called "fake pathos" (ie, that getting an audience to cry, for a whole movie or even just two scenes, can be done with anything regardless of how substantial it is, citing WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'s mother getting shot as an example), but even those who believe it succeeded at it's intended purpose have said that it also succeeds at ''actual'' pathos.
** According to ''Literature/SickLittleMonkeys'', after Nickelodeon terminated John K.'s contract, he asked Vanessa Coffee if he could stay on long enough to make this episode and pitched it to her on the spot. She agreed when the pitch made her start crying.

For a comedy show that's packed to the brim with gross-out humor and ComedicSociopathy, ''Ren and Stimpy'' actually has moments that will make you cry.[[note]]Even when they're [[Recap/RenAndStimpy2x07SonOfStimpy part of the gag]], [[DudeNotFunny and/or are otherwise]] [[DeconstructiveParody not]] [[{{Squick}} supposed to]].[[/note]]

[[quoteright:700:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a3be7cf3_f853_4ea8_9d27_b1cc86df0c44.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:700:]]

-->'''Kowalski:''' "GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! DADDY! DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY!"]]
-->'''Ren:''' ''*sobbing*'' Goodbye, baby.

* Even though John K. was on record saying that the show only went for "fake pathos", quite a few fans would dare say the ending to "Fake Dad" accidentally earned the real thing: [[BrokenRecord "GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY! DADDY! DADDY! GOODBYE DADDY!"]]

%%
%%Image removed via crowner in the Moments Images Cleanup Thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=vrtzopzm
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1642193091068711500
%%Please use the Image Suggestion thread or start a new Image Pickin' thread to discuss a new image.
%%

* Stimpy's dream from "Insomniac Ren" is sad for two reasons: Firstly, it's pretty similar to what a lot of people in abusive relationships go through. Secondly, it shows that Ren's cruelty really is taking a toll on Stimpy's subconsciousness.

* The entirety of "My Shiny Friend" to anyone who has been close to someone/been through an extremely destructive addiction. It's almost scary how a series that's usually about absurdities can hit so close to home with the all-too-real horrors of something evolving from a pastime to a hobby to an obsession to something that devours your very being.[[note]]Then again, watching TV is not (exactly) the same as [[DrugsAreBad doing drugs]]. Still, [[AnAesop watching TV can ruin your mind, and even take over your whole life, and ruin the lives of those you care about]] [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle if you let it]].[[/note]]

* In "Haunted House", the scene where after failing so many times to scare the titular duo, the ghost gives up and thinks of himself as a failure near the ending.

* The episode "Aloha Hoek", where Ren and Stimpy get stuck on a desert island. They quarrel and Ren drives Stimpy from their shelter (a whale carcass) into the jungle where he befriends the natives. Ren, however, is convinced they are cannibals that ate Stimpy and secludes himself, sobbing in remorse. A family of crabs enslaves Ren and he uses their pet fly to escape, but it falls into the sea and he drowns. The fly carried Ren's body to a horrified Stimpy, [[DiedInYourArmsTonight who cradles it in his arms]].

* The episode "I Love Chicken", where Stimpy falls in love and marries a chicken (and not a live one either, but those plucked headless ones already prepared for cooking) only to have Ren try to burn it, turn it into sausages and then devour it after tricking Stimpy into an outside picnic so he could strand him far away where he couldn't intervene is pretty heartbreaking.
** There's also what occurs when Stimpy comes home early to find Ren eating the chicken: He runs to the bedroom and cries. And it's not a comedic cry either, but a very realistic one: Just burying his face in pillows and sobbing. Cut to later; Stimpy's in a deep depression which is also executed realistically: [[https://ibb.co/nj1GTXq He's just laying in bed]], with a [[https://ibb.co/DGfjDYr soul-crushed look on his face.]] Damn.

--> '''Ren''': *After a brief clip show* Well, I just don't like you.