Line #28 TearJerker/HeyArnold


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olgabplus.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"That's a dress for a winner. [[JerkassRealization I'm simply a loser.]]"]]
3	* The {{bittersweet ending}} of "Pigeon Man": Pigeon Man has to leave, because his home was destroyed by Harold and his friends, but he thanks Arnold for teaching him that some people ''can'' be trusted, and he hopes that there'll be another Arnold wherever he ends up.
4	** The life of Pigeon Man in general is sad. Heck, the rings on his outfit that his pigeons grab onto can be seen from the start of the episode. From the beginning, he ''knew'' he would have to do this someday...
5	---> '''Pigeon Man''': Some people are meant to be with people, and others, like me, are just different.
6	** Pigeons are seen by many as pests and vermin, generally unwanted. It makes you think that's why Pigeon Man relates to them so much, as he was also rejected by society.
7	** Pigeon Man explaining his "mission" to Arnold. It's one of the most genuinely moving moments in the series. He's even briefly in tears as he says it,
8	--->"Wherever there's a bird in need of seed, I'll be there. Wherever there's a helpless flock suffering some abuse, I'll be there. ''(tears appear in his eyes as he says this)'' Wherever there's a pigeon with a weak wing or a broken beak, I'll be there..."
9	* Olga's [[HeroicBSoD complete breakdown]] [[TheBGrade over getting a B+ in one of her classes]] in "Olga Comes Home". When Helga reveals that she was the one who changed her grade, Olga doesn't get angry with her, even though she has every reason to be considering she was torn up about it for nearly three days straight. Instead, Olga reveals that she [[StepfordSmiler isn't as happy and perfect as Helga thinks she is]] and that [[GrassIsGreener she wishes that she was ignored by their parents, much like Helga is]].
10	* At the end of "Operation: Ruthless", Helga has endured repeated physical injuries and humiliation in an attempt to keep Arnold from getting close to his crush, Ruth. She succeeds, but overhears Arnold say that the challenge just makes him like Ruth even more. Hearing this, Helga's determined expression changes to one of sorrow, and we even hear her begin to sniffle softly as the lights in the park go out around her.
11	* The flashback to what is implied to be [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar The Fall of Saigon]] at the start of ''Arnold's Christmas''. Mr. Hyunh does not get into the details, presumably so Arnold will better understand the complicated background, [[https://youtu.be/3Ok--WYeBdc but it's clear he was a young man with a bright future only to have his hopes dashed by war in his homeland]]. After managing to get into what appears to be an American embassy he begs to be taken on a helicopter out of the country. The soldier on-board tells the crowd there is only room for one person and Mr. Hyunh gave up his daughter to the soldier in a helicopter so she could have a better life. The only thing he has to hold onto is the name of a city where he was told she would be brought, the city Arnold lives in.
12	-->'''Mr. Hyunh''': Then, I had to make the most difficult decision of my life. I knew I had to do the best thing for Mai. I knew if I gave Mai to the soldier, they would take care of her. They would find a home for her. And then, as soon as I could, I would get out of the country and find her again. As the helicopter left, the soldier called out the name of a city. This city. He said he would bring her here.
13	** When Arnold sits on a bench with Gerald, lamenting his failure at giving Mr. Hyunh his Christmas miracle.
14	** The end where Mr. Hyunh finally reunites with his long-lost daughter (and the fact that Helga gave up the Nancy Spumoni boots her parents got her for Christmas just to pay Mr. Bailey to find Mr. Hyunh's daughter and help Arnold believe in miracles again) is more tearjerking than almost any other moment on this list.
15	** A small one, but when Helga finally realizes that she could use her boots to pay off the clerk to find Hyunh's daughter, she laments how the universe has, yet again, [[GiftOfTheMagiPlot forced her to make a painful choice.]] [[WhatYouAreInTheDark She decides to trade the boots away for Arnold's sake]], despite the fact that she knows and tells herself that no one would know or care if she had chosen otherwise - [[ActOfTrueLove and never tries to claim credit]].
16	** Consider: Yes, Mr. Hyunh got his much-needed reunion with his daughter, but there are likely many people in real life who were in a similar situation as him during the Vietnam War, and of those people, there are probably many who never got reunited with their children. [[WarIsHell This was the reality of the Vietnam War]], and many other wars where families are torn apart, seperated, and forced to flee their homes to save their lives.
17	* Helga revealing how much her family life sucks on "Helga on the Couch". Earlier in the series, it was somewhat funny [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood how Helga's family life was a mess]] (her father was a blowhard who cared more about his beeper store than his family, her mom gave up being a parent and has become a covert alcoholic, and her college-aged sister moved out so she can have a better life--despite that she's painfully naïve to the darker side of humanity)... but when Helga reveals that [[https://youtu.be/MjIu2U58FVY she's been ignored since she was preschool-aged in favor of Olga]], any humor that could be mined from it evaporated.
18	** The running gag of Bob calling Helga by her sister's name by mistake returns, except this time [[CerebusRetcon she's just a confused 3-year-old girl in preschool]]. It's a surprise that Helga even knows her own name.
19	--->'''Helga''' (tugging on her oblivious father's leg): Hey, who's taking me to pwe-school?!
20	--->'''Bob''': Yeah, yeah, in a minute, Olga. (goes back to paying attention to Olga)
21	--->'''Helga''' (in a horribly pleading voice): No, I'm Helga, dad! Helga!
22	** During Helga's flashback, she's in the middle of a TraumaCongaLine - her parents completely ignore her on her first day of preschool, and in the process of going on her own she has to contend with a downpour, gets coated in mud by a passing car, and has her lunch stolen from her by a stray dog, who even kicks puddle water in her face before prancing off.
23	--->'''Dr. Bliss''': So nobody's ever noticed you.
24	--->'''Helga''': [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe ...There was someone.]]
25	** This explanation about why [[http://preschoolfeminism.tumblr.com/post/85283349410/nakedsasquatch-youre-pretty-astute-for-a Helga is so tragic]].
26	--->One of the MANY MANY MANY heart-breaking details about Helga is that she IS smart. Heck, she’s BRILLIANT! She’s well versed in the arts, she can and does read WELL beyond the fourth grade level and writes volumes and volumes of poetry. She could have won the spelling bee if she didn’t intentionally take a dive to stick it to her dad and do Arnold a solid. Her anonymous poem won the school wide poetry contest. She’s remarkably intelligent and talented!…But how many times do we hear her compare herself to her sister or to Lila as “Okay so maybe I’m not smart, pretty, funny, popular or nice like Lila/Olga?” Despite the fact that she IS just as smart if not smarter than the both of them? How many times do we hear her compare herself to her best friend Phoebe - who if we are honest, will admit is more STUDIOUS than intelligent. And how many times do we hear her say “Maybe if I was prettier/nicer/smarter Arnold would like-like me back?” Helga was raised being constantly compared to her older sister. She’s been told so many times, directly and indirectly that she’ll never be as good or worthy of attention and affection as Olga. And there’s a part of her that believes this. She’s a 9 year old girl - and she believes she’s never going to be smart enough to be noticed. That’s why she resorts to bullying tactics, because negative attention is better than no attention at all.
27	** There's also a brief moment at the very end where Helga hugs Dr. Bliss.
28	* "Parents Day", where {{Jerkass}} Big Bob thoughtlessly calls Arnold "orphan-boy" at the family event - sending him into a deep depression over his parents (the writers try to preserve some humor with Arnold going through a comical HeroicBSOD after Bob's comment; most viewers probably find that it didn't take). Later, Arnold asks Phil for the true story about his parents. Lots of fun and heartwarming moments, until the final flashback where baby Arnold says goodbye to his departing parents for what turns out to be the last time.
29	-->'''Baby Arnold:''' ''(sadly waving)'' Bye Mommy. Bye Daddy.
30	** The situation is also pretty bad for Phil because he has to try to explain what happened to his son and daughter-in-law.
31	--->'''Arnold:''' What happened to them, Grandpa?\
32	'''Phil:''' ''(solemnly)'' They never came back; never heard from them again.
33	--->'''Arnold:''' What about their plane?
34	--->'''Phil:''' It was never found.
35	** And that dream he has after hearing the story.
36	--->"I can't find my mommy and daddy."
37	** The scene at dinner, where Arnold, after overhearing Bob Pataki refer to him as "orphan boy", explains that he doesn't want to go back to the tournament, as it's only for children and their parents, and while he DOES love his grandparents, they aren't actually his parents. Even Arnold's grandma stops acting insane [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness when she realizes how serious the situation has become]].
38	** Made even more heart-wrenching by the fact that Helga, [[HiddenHeartOfGold who rarely shows that she genuinely cares]] about anyone's feelings and is usually apathetic to Big Bob's jerkass tendencies, ''immediately'' admonishes him for the "Orphan boy" comment. Even the girl who tortures Arnold on a regular basis (albeit [[{{Tsundere}} to hide the fact that she has feelings for him]]) was legitimately saddened and upset by what Bob said, and rushes to apologize to Arnold for her father's thoughtlessness.
39	** The ending of the episode when Arnold has another dream. This time he climbs onto the boarding house roof and finds a plane. He hops in and takes off into the sky just like his parents did. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gkTcfZ1ww4 The music does not help.]]
40	* The beginning of "The Journal"; when Arnold is feeling down on the anniversary of his parents' disappearance, so much that he tries to give up any hope that they will ever return.
41	** The end also qualifies. Arnold's father wrote on the last page of his journal that their trip to San Lorenzo would be "quick" and they "would be back soon". The way the family reacts as Phil reads the last page of the journal. ''Dang.''
42	--->''Eduardo arrived quite unexpectedly today. He came to tell us that there's been another, much worst outbreak of the deadly sleeping sickness in San Lorenzo. The new strain of the disease is spreading all through the region, and many Green Eyes have already died. It's a heartbreaking decision, but the Green Eyes are like family to us. They saved our lives again and again, helped us to safety right before our baby was born. I really, '''really''' don't want to leave Arnold, but our trip back to San Lorenzo will be quick. Mom and Dad can look after him, before we know it we'll be playing with out boy. I know that the whole time we're there, we'll both miss our Arnold terribly...''
43	** The fact that it incorporates the two biggest fears in a persons life time when after nine years missing Miles and Stella could safely be presumed dead. Arnold, faces a child's worst fear, the loss of his parents, while his Grandparents face the loss of their son, who possibly died before them, which no matter the age is often thought to be the greatest and most sorrowful fear in an adult's life. These are the last words they will ever hear from their son. Though of course Arnold finds a map...
44	** In "Quantity Time," when Bob looks legitimately hurt after Helga tells him to leave her alone after he took her out for a pony ride because he thought she liked it (and thought she was "Seven... eight?" years old).
45	** Miriam has a similar reaction in "Road Trip", when Helga tells her she's a lousy mom, and she should take care of her 9-year-old daughter, but she can't even do ''that'' right.
46	** In the Halloween episode, Big Bob almost crushes Helga's head, thinking she's an alien. When he finds out the truth, he is absolutely ''horrified'' and cries "I almost killed my own daughter! I'm a monster!"
47	** The most shining example is "Arnold's Thanksgiving", when Bob and Miriam are panicking, since they thought Helga had gone missing. After Helga walked in, they also expressed their thankfulness for Helga as a daughter, which made Helga smile (which she rarely does in her own house).
48	* Lila may be widely disliked in a lot of fan circles, but her situation in her first appearance (where she's living in a rundown apartment, her mom isn't around, and her father is unemployed and desperately looking for a job to support his daughter) was heartwrenching.
49	** Add to that Helga, Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena bullying her and making her cry. Really, Lila was a flat-out Woobie in her debut.
50	** Helga's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when she and the other girls realize how bad Lila really has it and how much their bullying really hurt her. Helga doesn't just cry, she practically has a meltdown, only snapping out of it after Phoebe [[GetAholdOfYourselfMan slaps her]]. She really does have a HiddenHeartOfGold after all.
51	--->'''Helga''' (getting more hysterical with each sentence): What are we? Animals? How could we treat her like that? (crying) How could we be so mean? Poor kid, lying in there scared and miserable. And it's all out fault!
52	--->'''Phoebe''': Helga--
53	--->'''Helga''' (crying harder): She wasn't so bad. She was just trying to be nice. She just wanted to fit in!
54	--->'''Phoebe''': Helga--
55	--->'''Helga''': (practically screaming) ''And we tormented her!!!''
56	** After this debut episode, Lila's HiddenDepths generally don't ever resurface... save for her audition song in "Eugene, Eugene" which is all about being a StepfordSmiler and how it's hard to be "perfect", and how even though she seems happy, she's actually sad. While she doesn't seem to have made up the song, the absolute conviction and emotion in her voice as she sings it suggests that it hits very close to home for her.
57	* The episode "Curly's Girl", in which Rhonda repays a debt to Curly by pretending to be his girlfriend for five days. She dumps him as soon as they agreed it would be over, and everyone hates Rhonda (even her best friend Nadine) for breaking his heart. To win back her popularity, Rhonda tells Curly to pretend to be his girlfriend again, but then HE dumps HER after hearing her in the bathroom talk about how disgusting she thinks he is (after he forcibly kissed her). As a result, people feel sorry for Rhonda and she's popular again. Then Rhonda goes to Curly's house to thank him (she thinks it was an act), and he's sitting on his front steps with his glasses off (for perhaps the only time ever in the series), eyes wide and full of tears. He didn't look like the little psychotic freak he always is-- instead, he's just a depressed little boy with a shattered heart due to his unrequited love.
58	* Despite how much of a jerk he can be, it's pretty sad seeing Sid's meltdown in "Monkeyman!" after two muggers stole his boots.
59	** It doesn't help that when the mugging happens, he's right outside the building where the episode's titular character, who Sid idolizes, is attending a party and furthermore is outside a window Monkeyman is standing right in front of, albeit with his back turned. From Sid's perspective, his hero let him get hurt either because he heard him and didn't care or because he had given up heroics. Monkeyman's horror when he finds out what happened indicates that he just didn't hear Sid over the hubbub of the party but it's quite frightening to hear a 9-year-old screaming for help that no one gives.
60	* The part in "Chocolate Boy" where viewers find out he's obsessed with chocolate because his nanny, who always gave him chocolate, left when he was little (although there is some speculation as to whether she really just moved, or she died). He cries piteously about this while hugging Arnold.
61	* If you're a cat-lover, "Harold's Kitty" has some TearJerker moments, made more so because Harold was a loner and a bully at the time. The real TearJerker, however, occurs when he has to give his kitten back to its real owner; he comes out of the house holding it and crying, in front of the whole neighborhood. Aww.
62	** Ends on a heartwarming note, though, when the cat's owner (an irritable elderly woman who previously hated Harold) decides to let him visit the cat out of gratitude for taking such good care of him.
63	* In the episode "Mugged", Arnold learns Karate to defend himself from muggers and to help others from being hurt. However, his incredible Karate skills go to his head, and halfway through the episode he attacks a random guy who just walked up to Arnold wanting directions to a bus stop. Not only is the man now pants-less, he's crying uncontrollably and slowly walks off, constantly repeating "I was just trying to ask you where's the bus stop". A small crowd looks at Arnold with complete disgust as he realizes what he's done. Arnold's shame and embarrassment and the man's sadness and confusion are just so relatable.
64	** A blink-and-you-miss-it moment from the same episode: While Arnold [[TookALevelInJerkass is showing off his crueler side at school]], Helga catches a glimpse of it. She's absolutely ''horrified''.
65	* In "Weighing Harold", it seems like everybody is suddenly making nasty comments about Harold's weight. His weight loss cruise fails because he was afraid the other participants would think he was fat, and ate to counteract the stress. If that's not enough of a TearJerker, Arnold volunteers to help Harold lose weight, but Harold initially can't do it. He breaks down crying while explaining to Arnold that everyone around him has been ''saying'' he was fat, decimating his confidence.
66	** Worse this problem happens in real life, as some people who try to lose weight get mocked when they exercise in public.
67	* For anyone who has ever been bullied or used, the final scene in "Phoebe Skips", which shows Phoebe crying in the girls' room, is a TearJerker.
68	* "Grandpa's Sister" has the title character, Phil's twin sister, Mitzi, visit the boarding house, and the two of them are constantly at each others' throats. Arnold helps rekindle their relationship by getting to the heart of the problem: As children, they had a pet Scottish Terrier named Pooter, who they loved dearly. One day he got out of the yard through a hole in the fence and was run over by a milk truck by the time Phil and Mitzi found him. The injuries were so severe that the local vet couldn't help and thus Pooter was put to sleep (as in euthanized). And for almost 70 years, the heartbroken Phil and Mitzi blamed the other for causing the chain of events leading to Pooter's death.
69	** In the flashback the man who was driving milk truck was also in tears for accidentally running down a dog and felt guilt about it.
70	* What Helga's nanny Inga says to her at the end of "Helga and the Nanny", after Helga frames her and gets her fired. She really read Helga like a map.
71	-->'''Inga:''' You're such an angry girl, Helga. And you won't let anyone help you. So you have to live with your unhappiness.
72	** What makes it even worse--and borders on FridgeHorror--is examining exactly ''why'' Helga hated Inga so much. Yes, Inga was a little controlling as she made Helga wear a certain outfit and tried to enforce some discipline in her life. But Inga's "crimes" largely consisted of making nutritious, healthy meals for her, putting her on a schedule to do her homework and learn household tasks like needlepoint, sprucing up her appearance, and creating more of a social life when she invited the rest of the gang over for cake. In other words... all things that ''caring, attentive parents do''. That's right--Helga is so used to being neglected and lost that [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove she's unable to recognize what an adult loving her looks like]]. If that doesn't turn on the waterworks, what will?
73	** The end of the episode really hammers home the point. Helga comes home from school and hears Bob screaming his head off at an unresponsive, incoherent Miriam; as usual, they don't even notice her come through the door. She silently goes up to her room, her parents' typical behavior not even registering for her any more, and reads a postcard Inga has sent from the Swiss alps. As Inga speaks in voiceover and remarks that "I trust everything in your house is the same as always"--already a tearjerking statement--Helga quietly and wistfully takes up the needlepoint the nanny left behind... alone in her unhappiness, just as Inga said.
74	* "The Flood"; Helga falling into the water when the class is trying to save Mr. Simmons is one thing. Hearing her ''scream'' Arnold's name and Arnold's reaction to seeing her fall is another thing entirely.
75	* The ending of "Helga's Parrot": While it was necessary [[StatusQuoIsGod to preserve Helga's secret crush on Arnold]], seeing the parrot get eaten by a monitor lizard was a combination of [[NightmareFuel one of the scariest]] and saddest moments in the series. The latter is easily shown with Arnold, who, having grown attached to the bird, had a heartbroken stare on his face while [[SecurityCling Lila comforted him]].
76	* "Harold the Butcher" revolves around Harold being forced to work for Mr. Green after he steals a frozen ham from his butcher shop, which he hates at first but slowly starts to enjoy. However, after his sentence ends and Mr. Green dismisses him, Harold tries to get his job back by stealing a turkey, prompting Mr. Green to angrily yell at him and refuse to let him back in, making it crystal clear how much [[IrrationalHatred he absolutely hated Harold with a passion even during while he was working for him]] and [[ThisIsUnforgivable he'll never forgive him for his theft]]. Harold's tearful reaction is heartbreaking.
77	** After Harold gets caught stealing the first time, he is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone immediately horrified and remorseful for his actions]], made worse by Mr. Green's anger. What makes this especially heartwrenching is that Harold is Jewish and [[FelonyMisdemeanor stealing a non-Kosher food is against both the Ten Commandments and his religion]], but since this is ''[[TheDitz Harold]]'' we're talking about, he couldn't have possibly known how serious his offense was.
78	--->'''Mr. Green''': ''(shocked and angry)'' [[FullNameUltimatum Harold Berman]], I cannot believe my eyes! You stole my beautiful ham, and now it's ruined!
79	--->'''Harold''': Aww, man! I was just hungry!
80	--->'''Mr. Green''': [[WhatTheHellHero That doesn't give you the right to steal from me!]] ''(yelling)'' YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!
81	--->'''Harold''': ''(runs away screaming)'' [[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOO!!!]] [[IWantMyMommy MOOOOOOOOMMY!!!]]
82	** What makes the whole thing even worse is that Harold is shown in many episodes to suffer from severe self-confidence issues--he feels like a stupid klutz who can't do anything right. Working at the butcher shop was the first time he ever felt like he was ''good'' at something, and made him feel like he wasn't a failure. To have that snatched away due to someone else's personal vendetta is extremely painful.
83	* The ChristmasEpisode. So many things to nominate, so little time... The ending may well require a box of tissues, depending on your constitution.
84	** Arnold's neighbor Mr. Hyunh, trying to escape the Vietnam War with his toddler daughter Mai, ran to the American embassy only to find one more person was allowed on the last helicopter going to America. [[https://youtu.be/3Ok--WYeBdc After giving up Mai to the Americans]], he came to Arnold's city to find her but wasn't able. At the end, as everyone is exchanging Christmas gifts and Arnold feels terrible for not being able to find her, the doorbell rings... to reveal Mai, who was found by one of Arnold's friends.
85	** When Helga finally gets the perfect present combined with the love and attention from her parents (instead of the usual jerkass filled home life), she realizes that she has to give it up to re-unite Mr Hyunh with his daughter. And then, she also realizes that, after spending all that time trying to find the present that would make Arnold fall in love with her, that this would be the greatest thing she could do for them all and make them happiest. So [[WhatYouAreInTheDark she gives up the gift, takes no credit for it, gives them a proper Christmas miracle]] and yet again [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy ends up with her love for Arnold unrecognized, standing alone in the snow]].
86	--->'''Helga''' ''(smiling tearfully)'': Merry Christmas, Arnold.
87	--->'''Roll Credits'''.
88	* The episode where Olga is engaged and Helga finds out that the fiance is a {{Jerkass}}. Yes, Helga finds ''empathy'' for Olga, the person whom she's always envied and pushed away.
89	** She even called him out and told him to just walk away. And then she forged a note from him to prevent her sister's heart from breaking more than she knew it would.
90	* "The Longest Monday", an episode about the 4th graders trying to escape the 5th graders' trashing of them as part of an annual bullying tradition, ends with Arnold trying to talk sense into Wolfgang and his squad of bullies about ending this cruel tradition...and he gets tossed in the trash anyway like his classmates.
91	* In ''Stinky Goes Hollywood'', Stinky, among hundreds of kids (and Oskar) that applied, is picked as the Yahoo Soda kid and instantly gets famous. He's genuinely happy and believes he's found something that he's good at. Then he and Arnold overhear the managers saying they only picked Stinky because of how dopey he talks. Stinky's crushed, and ultimately decides to keep his integrity by refusing a million dollar contract, despite his family and peers dismayed and distraught of the decision. The only person who knows the truth and sympathizes with his choice is Arnold.
92	* In a tears of rage-inducing way, the climax of "Arnold Betrays Iggy". One can only imagine all the kids watching the show who felt for sure that things would work out for the best and Arnold would avoid needless public humiliation at the last minute only to be horrified and possibly scarred to see things not play out that way at all, instead being treated to a gut-wrenching, drawn out scene of Arnold walking down a red carpet out of his home and back, all while unsettling and somber music plays, crowds of people laugh cruelly at Arnold's humiliation (that's ''being broadcast on live TV'' as well), and Iggy has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone meltdown, which proves not enough for him to be redeemed or forgiven for what he brought about, by both Arnold and the audience.
93	* Helga pushing away Olga's attempts of giving her love and attention and telling Olga that she "can't stand" her, to the point where Olga is willing to live in the arctic just so she could be close to Helga, and Helga doesn't even seem to notice much or care, is really disheartening and sad.
94	** Made even worse when you consider that, from Helga's perspective, Olga was just proving how wonderful she was yet again by showing her neglected little sister affection.
95	** Not helping is that in the episode, Helga sets clear and precise boundaries (ie. no telling embarassing stories to her classmates.), and Olga violates those boundaries with little to no regard for Helga's feelings. Then, when Helga defends herself from her classmates teasing her (admittedly rather violently), Olga gives her detention for a week. It's not hard to imagine that Helga believes that Olga simply does not care about her at all.
96	* While the episode "Magic Show", an ItsAWonderfulPlot episode, is comedic in its presentation and content (along with suggesting that Helga believes the following because she's not nice to others), the deeper implications of it push it firmly into tearjerker territory. At first, Helga insists to herself that her disappearance would wreck the lives of everyone in town. However, after knocking herself unconscious, we get a peek at what she subconsciously imagines would happen. Not only is nobody upset, the entire city is actively ''celebrating'' her disappearance. It gets worse as we see the people she cares about living much happier lives, with her father being nicer and more cheerful, her mother no longer being a drunk, her best friend Phoebe having a new best friend and not remembering Helga's name, and Arnold, the love of her life, is not only a successful magician, but is also engaged to another woman. And all of this is in Helga's own mind, meaning she truly believes that no one cares about her and would have happier lives without her.
97	* "Grandpa's Birthday". Phil believes he's going to die soon because he's turning 81 and he believes in a "family curse" in which his male ancestors die at precisely that age. Despite his grandson and a doctor telling him that he still has plenty of life in him, he goes as far as to gather everyone to witness what he believes are his final moments on a deathbed. While Phil does snap out of it, it's only because Arnold corrected his math and pointed out that his ancestors died at 91.
98	* The ending of "New Bully on the Block" where Arnold and the gang end up [[DownerEnding losing Gerald Field to Ludwig and Wolfgang and subsequently beaten up when they object]] is pretty depressing and would especially strike a chord with anyone who was bullied by being beaten up without warning.
99	* A small one, but the titular character of the episode "Big Caesar" is a bit of a [[TheWoobie woobie]]. According to legend, he's a giant, prehistoric fish that has been stuck in the city lake for millions of years, desperate to get back home to the sea. His legendary status causes people to constantly try to catch him, which has included Phil, who came close to catching him but failed, and accidentally left a hook lodged under Big Caesar's fin--and said hook is ''still lodged there'' years later when Arnold and Gerald find him, and was likely causing Big Caesar quite a bit of discomfort. After Arnold and Gerald succeed in catching him, Arnold quickly [[IJustWantToBeFree sees a sad look in the fish's eye]] and decides that he and Gerald should let him go, and while Gerald is upset about it, he ultimately relents and the two release him... [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments but not before Arnold removes Phil's hook from his fin]].
100	* The ending of "Field Trip". Arnold and his grandma free Lockjaw into the open ocean. Before swimming out to sea, the elderly sea turtle looks back at Arnold with a sad look on his face. Though he's finally free, Lockjaw knows he'll most likely never see Arnold again (fortunately, he does see him again in ''The Jungle Movie'').
101	* In "Baby Oskar", Oskar is forced to look after his titular infant nephew, whom he initially resents but grows fond of. When he believes Baby Oskar to be sick, he rushes him to the hospital since everyone else is gone. When Oskar arrives at the hospital, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he feels guilty about getting Baby Oskar sick]], saying it wouldn't have happened if he had taken better care of him like he was supposed to. He even goes as far as to pray for Baby Oskar to get better. Fortunately for him, Baby Oskar does, as the Doctor tells him that he just had a minor case of [[HiccupHijinks the hiccups]].
102	* In "Oskar Can't Read?" after Ernie exposes Oskar for cheating on learning how to read(instead of actually doing the work Arnold gave him he paid Chocolate Boy with Malted Milk Balls to to read him the first page of a book over and over until he could memorize it)everyone acts disappointed in Oskar for lying to them thinking he was only doing it to win the bet(Ernie and Mr Hyunh both bet him money that he couldn't learn how to read in a week)and then Oskar walks around depressed at not knowing how to read and feels especially guilty at not being able to help out a young boy asking him for help in reading a map.
103	* In "Veterans Day" after Martin reveals to Gerald the truth about his time in Vietnam(he spent his entire tour of duty in as a file clerk and didn't fight in any battles)Gerald expresses disappointment to Arnold about his dad wasn't the hero he thought he was and says that he's not sure how his dad going to Vietnam made any real difference which Martin overhears him saying, he then gets a dismayed sad look and walks off.
104	* "The Baseball" ends on a rather bittersweet note. Mickey Kaline scores a winning homerun (which Arnold catches in the stands), ending his career on a high note. Still, as he says while on the verge of tears, baseball was his whole world and now it's over. Arnold later finds him standing on the field taking a LongLastLook and figures the least he can do is give him the ball as a memento. Mickey talk to Arnold about how fulfilled his lifelong dream, but he's clearly not ready to let it go.
105	-->'''Mickey:''' Y'know, kid, since I was seven-years-old, the only thing I ever wanted to do was play baseball. And I loved every minute of it, from the first time I played catch with my dad to the homerun I hit this afternoon. And... well, thanks, kid.
106	* The end of the episode "Arnold's Room." After Lorenzo finds out that Sid was lying to him and that his supposed bedroom was actually Arnold's, poor Sid just ''breaks.''

Context TearJerker / HeyArnold