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4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rugrats_tear_jerker.jpg]]
5 [[caption-width-right:350:"Then you can miss her together."]]
6
7No one can deny how often babies cry, but [[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} these babies]] have a way of [[TearJerker making their audience cry with them]], as the below examples amply demonstrate.
8----
9!!Movies:
10
11[[index]]
12* ''TearJerker/TheRugratsMovie''
13* ''TearJerker/RugratsInParis''
14* ''TearJerker/RugratsGoWild''
15[[/index]]
16
17!!Series:
18* "I Remember Melville" is easily one of the most heartbreaking episodes in the series, featuring concepts of death being explained as Chuckie goes through the loss of his pet bug, Melville. On paper it sounds like a silly idea, but the execution of the episode is nothing less than impressive. It's actually not that sad until Chuckie starts crying over how pudding reminds him of Melville. Poor freaking Chuckie.
19** Phil and Lil crying at the end of the episode is also pretty sad to watch, made worse by Tommy and Chuckie shrugging nonchalantly.
20* In "Tricycle Thief", Susie has Angelica's Cynthia doll tied to Chuckie's balloon and repeatedly asks Chuckie to let it go, but each time, Chuckie catches it when Tommy says, "WAIT!" and attempts to defend her. When they supposedly find all the evidence they need that Angelica stole Susie's trike, Chuckie lets go of the balloon and Cynthia goes floating away as Angelica screams her name. This causes Angelica to break down in painfully realistic tears. Sure, Angelica's a bully, but not even she deserves something this cruel, especially since she was telling the truth after all. It's all okay in the end, Cynthia comes back, but not before Angelica delivers this kicker.
21-->'''Angelica, through tears:''' I feel sorry for you babies.
22-->'''Phil:''' Why, Angelica? You're the one whose doll is floating up by Mars somewhere.
23-->'''Angelica:''' I feel sorry for you 'cause I only had to lose Cynthia once. You babies'll have to live with what you did for the rest of your lives!
24* "Spike Runs Away". Tommy and Chuckie crying over [[TropeyComeHome losing Spike]] is just sad, especially to anyone's who has ever lost a pet. Thankfully, it gets better.
25* When Grandpa Lou feels ignored by his family, he moves to a retirement home called Flushing Waters. It is no paradise as the television ad describes. Aside from a few obvious jokes--like the private fishing stream being only a small fountain with imported fish--this episode has a somber tone. The seniors are visibly depressed and live in prison-like conditions. Didi and the other adults are horrified by the poor food quality and general neglect when they come to visit. Considering also Tommy's innocent comment about how he wants to wake up the "tired" people so that they can spend time with their families, [[FridgeHorror this episode becomes that much more painful to think about for certain viewers who later realize the frequency of elder abuse in such places]].
26* The [[EverybodyCries crying scene]] in the episode where Angelica thought she was going to move away. That is, until Drew breaks the bad news they weren't moving after all.
27* The Mother's Day episode, which explains what happens to Chuckie's biological mom: She died of an [[SoapOperaDisease unexplained but terminal illness.]] It culminates with [[DeadManWriting a letter the dying woman wrote to her son for him to read when he was older.]]
28** It's natural to feel bad for Chuckie, but don't forget Chas. He keeps her belongings stored away and doesn't talk about her much--to the point where he asks Didi to hold on to some of Melinda's things for him on the offchance that Chuckie finds them. It's clear that up to that point in the series he wasn't yet able to get over what happened to her. The scene where Chas finds that Chuckie has gotten a hold of some of her stuff is downright heartbreaking. This is pictured above.
29** When Didi tells Chas that he should begin sharing the memories of his wife, Melinda, with Chuckie, Chas simply replies, "But...I'm just afraid he's going to miss her." But when Chuckie found Melinda's picture earlier, he didn't realize she was his mom; he instead knew her as "the nice lady from my dreams." With this in mind, Chas' comment seems to be less about protecting Chuckie, and more about how even around two years after Melinda's passing, Chas still cannot bring himself to accept what happened to her. Didi's response confirms it and forces Chas to admit what's happening: "Then you can miss her together."
30** Just the ''way'' it goes too: Everything's all laughs, but the minute Chas sees Chuckie holding the photo of Melinda, ''[[MoodWhiplash everything goes silent]]''. The other adults can only stare sadly as they realize that Chuckie has found the photo as Chas silently takes it. It's pretty clear that this moment was ''eventually going to happen one way or the other''.
31*** There's a particularly sad moment when you realize that ''[[EveryoneHasStandards even Angelica]]'' looks worried when she sees Chuckie holding the photograph. It's entirely possible that she is able to remember Melinda, unlike the other babies, because she's older than them and able to talk freely to the adults. Drew and Charlotte might have had to sit Angelica down and explain what happened to Melinda either when Angelica asked about it ("Where's Mrs. Finster?") or, even worse, ''while she was dying.''
32** In the aforementioned scene, all of the adults look heartbroken as Chas tries to take the photo of Melinda away from his son. With the focus being on Chas and Chuckie's grief, it's easy to forget that Melinda was also their close friend, and they still miss her too.
33** In hindsight, many of Chas' interactions with Chuckie come off rather poignant as a result, as it is blatant how emotionally dependent he is on him due to the loss of his wife. The fact both are {{Adorkable}} {{Nervous Wreck}}s only punctuates it.
34** In "Chuckie's Wonderful Life", Chuckie has a dream where [[ItsAWonderfulPlot he was never born.]] Chas lives in squalor and [[CompanionCube uses a hand puppet to keep him company]]. Most of the dream world is over the top, but Chas' downward spiral after his wife's death is believable.
35*** Later in the dream, Chuckie imagines Angelica having taken over Tommy's house, reducing him to a broken, homeless wreck completely dominated by Angelica's bullying. Horrified by this sight, Chuckie cries and pleads in vain for Tommy to stand up for himself, even reaching for his hand only for it to go through him.
36*** For the record, the reason ''why'' Chuckie was dreaming about never being born? He was blaming himself for one of Chas' [=CDs=] going missing... [[KickTheDog unaware that it was Angelica who took it]]. Even worse, ''[[KickTheDog Angelica]]'' [[KickTheDog was the one to get it in his head that everyone would be better off if he was gone.]] And remember, this is because he was getting the blame for '''something ''she'' did'''.
37** In "Mommy's Little Assets", Charlotte makes a passing remark about Chas going to see a therapist.
38** There's a HarsherInHindsight moment in an earlier episode called "Let Them Eat Cake", which takes place during a wedding. Most of the characters are happy for Ben Kropotkin, who is getting married to Elaine, while Chas is sitting there crying his eyes out. At first glance, it just seems like a good-natured joke about [[TenderTears how sensitive he is]], but after watching "Mother's Day," imagine that he's remembering his own wedding [[TheLostLenore knowing his wife died so young]]. Poor, ''poor'' Chas.
39* In "Together At Last," the scene where Phil thinks Spike ate Lil. He opens his mouth and says, "Lil, I'm sorry!" Then he tries to get Spike to throw up, and when he fails, he exclaims "Lil, if I'd have known this would happen, [[PartingWordsRegret you could have had Reptar!"]] and breaks down sobbing.
40* The "All Growed Up" special that shows them as preteens. The whole special has a certain air of maturity and the pressures of growing up and experiencing new things. It then culminates at the concert scene, where Tommy and Angelica duet with some big popstar over a ballad that then flashes back to the series as a whole, showing scenes from multiple episodes. The creators did, indeed, write the special as an emotional look at the series.
41* "Acorn Nuts and Diapey Butts", the scene at the cemetery where Chas takes Chuckie to visit his mom's grave.
42* The plane trip in the second movie. Chuckie sees all his friends together with their respective moms, and he's sad because he's the only one without a mom. At one point, he even looks out the plane window and [[ThatCloudLooksLike sees clouds shaped like himself and his mom together]]. The song only makes the scene sadder. ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Y5pkg983Q I want a mom that will last forever, I want a mom to love me whenever...]]''
43** Before that, the scene where all the kids are dancing with their mothers at Lou and Lulu's wedding reception. And both Chuckie and Chas watch with concealed envy. His line to the "[[Literature/TheGodfather Bob-Father]]" is truly shattering.
44--> '''Chuckie''': ''(excited)'' Angelica, wait- Angelica I think I know what I want to wish for. I'd kinda like to have a new mommy.
45--> '''Angelica''': Sorry Finster, that game's over, besides, I'm wanted on the dance floor.
46--> '''Chuckie''': ''(sighs dejectedly)'' But that's my wish...
47** All this is set to the heartbreakingly beautiful song "When You Love".
48*** The reprise of the song however stands as the prime example of a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} for the entire franchise as Chuckie finally dances with his new Mommy.
49** Also Chuckie's [[HeroicBSOD emotional breakdown]] in the warehouse after discovering what kind of woman his soon-to-be new "Mommy" really is.
50* Chuckie spends an entire episode trying to release his "sea monies" into the ocean, only to become heartbroken when he actually pulls it off. Knowing that they probably died five minutes into the episode doesn't make it any less sad to hear him call out goodbyes to them.
51* Anyone who grew up with this show and loves toys along with cute babies is bound to cry during "The Curse Of Reptar's" ending (''All Grown Up!''). Basically, it has a flashback of the time they were still babies and playing with Reptar. The end of the flashback has them sleeping under a tree with the Reptar doll with Tommy holding the doll and sucking his thumb. Cut flashbacks, and eventually, grown-up Tommy finds the now rusty Reptar, taking it back inside to keep in his box.
52* "Regarding Stuie" manages a pretty impressive MoodWhiplash, ending an episode-long string of SugarWiki/FunnyMoments with a TearJerker climax. In a nutshell: Stu gets a head injury that briefly lets him communicate with the babies, but also [[AmnesiaEpisode screws up his memory]] and makes him ''act'' [[ManChild like a baby]]. "Stuie" then spends most of the episode wearing a diaper and palling around with Tommy and the gang. At first, Tommy is thrilled to have an adult-sized baby as a friend, but it all falls apart when he realizes that even the coolest baby can never replace his dad--and he seriously believes that he'll never have his dad back. The climax has Tommy quietly sniffling while looking at old pictures of himself playing with his dad, with "Stuie" (who still can't acknowledge the fact that he's Tommy's father) coming in to comfort him as he realizes how much Tommy misses his "daddy".
53** The slow build-up of this scene. Stuie begins crying because he broke a toy and Tommy, trying to comfort him, happily says his daddy will fix it... only to go utterly silent, make the other babies ask him what's wrong. In an utterly quiet tone Tommy's never used before he says that his daddy is "Never coming home" because now he's Stuie. Phil and Lil try to point out all that is great about Stuie only for Tommy to counter about how much he loves his daddy. He then turns to Stuie, who is utterly confused by all of this and begins to describe how wonderful Stu was and all he did for him (build him toys, read him stories, tuck him in at night), the entire time growing more hysterical before exclaiming in utter sadness "I miss my daddy!" and breaking down sobbing. Then, when Stuie states he doesn't want to grow up Tommy stops crying, states he understands... before sadly walking away to stare at pictures of him and his father, sucking back tears the entire time.
54** In the end "Stuie" chooses to try to become a grownup again, even though when he finally does get his memories back, he has no memory of his time as a "baby." Keep in mind "Stuie" essentially performed a HeroicSacrifice just so Tommy could have his dad back.
55* If you take in the interpretation that Charlotte had a miscarriage in "Angelica's Worst Nightmare" (instead of misreading the pregnancy test or the pregnancy test being wrong), the episode suddenly becomes this. Even more so when you realize that, while Charlotte and Drew are delighted at the prospect of having another baby and Charlotte tells Angelica she simply won't be having one "right now", they never do have more children.
56** In the same episode, Angelica wakes up from a nightmare involving her newborn baby brother terrorizing her and her parents ignoring her. When her father goes to see her, she starts breaking down and telling her dad that she doesn't want a new sibling and to be ignored like she was in her nightmare. Her father reassures her that he and Angelica's mother will always love and care for Angelica since she is their first child and she will never ever be replaced.
57* Everything about [[http://rugratonline.free.fr/strips/rg050999.gif this short comic]].
58-->'''Angelica:''' (to Chuckie) That's "[[{{Malaproper}} break your mother's back]]", you st... ''[[ExplainExplainOhCrap oh]]''.
59** Also a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}; this is a situation where [[EveryoneHasStandards even ANGELICA couldn't bring herself to say anything bad to Chuckie]], and instead stands there watching the sky with him. The last lines WILL bring you to tears.
60-->'''Angelica''': See anything yet, Chuckie?
61-->'''Chuckie''': No. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments But I know she's watching]].
62* In the Chanukah special, Grandpa Boris finds out that the only reason his old rival Schlomo was so wrapped up in his "fancy schmancy business" was because Schlomo's deceased wife was not able to have children. The fact that the scene has no music underneath it really drives home the scene's magnitude. Boris hangs his head in shame when he hears this.
63* "Weaning Tommy" has an overzealous dentist convince Stu and Didi to wean Tommy from the bottle early. The result leaves Tommy miserable and depressed, becoming increasingly desperate for his beloved bottle and even having nightmares about it. Any parent that has had to deprive their child of something they love for their own good will know this shameful feeling.
64-->'''Stu:''' I feel like a monster!
65* The "Babies in Toyland" special has several moments:
66** Tommy and the gang find themselves in Christmas Land's replica of Bethlehem, where they encounter a Baby Jesus figurine. They feel sorry for him because he has no presents, so they each give him the gifts they found on their journey to find Santa's workshop (Kimi's bell, Lil's ribbon, Chuckie's Christmas walnut, and Phil's ballet shoe). When they're done, the figure smiles (its face was neutral before).
67** Lil's reaction to seeing Baby Jesus sleeping in "itchy hay" and ostensibly cold.
68** Angelica's eventual attachment to Prancie, the little stuffed reindeer a fake Santa gave her.
69** After having an ImagineSpot in which she realizes she's been mean, Angelica gives each baby a special gift but forgets Dil. She immediately gives up Prancie for him. Tommy then offers her ''his'' present, since Angelica is now the only one without one.
70** Angelica says a couple of times she's tried to be good all year. Of course, considering her attitude toward the babies, this isn't reliable. But she's clearly eager to see Santa and expects to get presents (whereas in ''The Santa Experience'', she was afraid of getting coal). The fake Santa she encounters quits, and blames her for it, leaving Angelica genuinely upset and confused. It can really make you feel that Santa is a {{Jerkass}}, taking out hatred for his job on a 3-year-old girl.
71* During "Mother's Day" Tommy reveals the first time he saw his mom... was when he was in an incubator. While it is heartwarming at the ending seeing poor Tommy trapped in a glass tube, connected to machines, is very sad. Even worse when he talks about being alone and scared. This might very well be his first memory: alone, frightened, hurt, and not knowing what is going on. He didn't even realize Didi was his mom... he was just glad he wasn't alone.
72** For Didi too. She can't even hold her baby... all she can do is stare at him and hold his hand.
73*** Also considering Dil was born early too, Didi may have had high-risk pregnancies. Probably why she stopped having children after Dil.
74*** Though Dil was only born a week earlier than expected so he would've been born healthier than Tommy was after his birth.
75*** This whole idea somewhat makes the entirety of Stu's and Didi's parenting style one big Tear Jerker. A premature baby of Tommy's size might have been teetering on ''will he or won't he'' when it comes to just staying alive. Their fanatic following of Lipschitz could very well have been because they almost lost him and wanted to do everything in their power to make sure he had a good and happy life. Notice after Dil is born, they start relying ''a little'' less on Lipschitz and Didi even decides to go back to school for child development courses to learn how to understand children without a book to guide her, showing that they might not feel like they're one step from ruining their children's lives anymore.
76* "Give and Take":
77** Upon reluctantly donating Boppo to Chuckie, as soon as Chuckie goes home, Tommy begins crying because he misses Boppo already.
78** Once Chuckie is informed that Boppo [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes is a clown]], he tries to find a way to get rid of Boppo without returning him to Tommy, for fear of seeming ungrateful. Angelica helps Chuckie let all the air out, which Chuckie is initially happy about, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone until he realizes how upset Tommy will be upon seeing what happened to Boppo]]. When Tommy does find out, Chuckie says he understands if Tommy never wants to speak to him again. Though Tommy understands that Chuckie's fears got the better of him, he's still saddened by the fact that Boppo can't be played with anymore. Until Stu reinflates Boppo.
79-->'''Tommy:''' You're the bestest friend a baby could have.
80-->'''Chuckie:''' ''*ashamed*'' No I'm not.
81-->'''Tommy:''' Sure you are.
82-->'''Chuckie:''' ''*almost sobbing*'' No Tommy, you see when Boppo got too scary, I...I pulled the plug!
83* "Two By Two"'s ending, [[GainaxEnding slightly confusing as it is]], deserves mention. Context: after Grandpa Boris tells the kids about the story of Noah's Ark, Angelica (after hearing a weather report) convinces the babies that it's going to rain for 40 days and nights in real life. As such, they make an ark of their own (out of cardboard boxes in the backyard). By the end of the episode, all of the babies are in said Ark, but there's no more room for Angelica (since she's the only one who isn't paired with anyone else). Just then, the weather starts to take a turn and, as Angelica tries telling them she made up the thing about the rain, [[TemptingFate it starts to pour]]. And so, the episode ends with Angelica trying one last time to get into the ark... which transitions back to the Noah's Ark story, with Angelica being left behind, along with a duck. [[SandInMyEyes The rain makes it hard to tell if Angelica is crying or not in the last shot.]]
84** Even worse? In Boris' telling of Noah's Ark, all of the babies (and Angelica) are given roles. Angelica's role? '''Noah's ''wife''.'''
85* For all of Angelica's meanness to the babies, she just wants to be included in their activities but doesn't know how. This becomes apparent when in "Home Movies", she invites the babies to draw their own home movies. When it's Tommy's turn, he talks about all the fun he has with his parents and friends... but not Angelica. She interrupts his home movie with her own, explicitly stating how she was going to stomp them because "they left her out". It's meant to be seen as her being a bully again (especially since her home movie was about her getting all sorts of sweets and becoming a giant) but that one statement reminds us that she's just a girl that doesn't like to get left out.
86** Other strong examples of this would include "The Unfair Pair" when she tells Phil and Lil that there's one favourite kid in each family entirely because they were leaving her out. Or "The Alien" when she told the babies that Chuckie was an alien because she was too big to fit in the new playhouse. It might be a bit of an exaggeration because she's only three, but Angelica might feel that she's too young to be with the adults but too old to play with the babies. Later on, the babies seem to welcome Suzie Carmichael into their group sooner than Angelica. After Rugrats in Paris, she's also the only one of the main kids without a sibling.
87** However, ''the'' key example would be from "The Family Tree": When Tommy is staying over at Chuckie's while Stu and Didi go on a cruise, Chas (mistakenly thinking Tommy is upset that his parents are gone) decides to pamper him, causing Chuckie to become upset himself (especially since Tommy and Chuckie had earlier decided to be brothers after learning about the concept of a family tree). As such, Angelica decides to help Chuckie... by getting him to do things that Tommy could get blamed for and get in trouble. Why? Because, when Angelica tried becoming their big sister after they decided to be brothers, Tommy and Chuckie told her they didn't ''need'' a sister. And Angelica ''explicitly cites this'' when [[MotiveRant explaining to Tommy why she was helping Chuckie]].
88*** What's worse is that not only was getting Tommy in trouble 100% Angelica's idea, but she only got Chuckie to go along with it by provoking jealousy within him by saying that ''Tommy was the better son than Chuckie''. And when Chas doesn't get upset with Tommy over ''any'' of Chuckie's attempts, this causes Chuckie to become convinced that Tommy ''is'' better than him, [[ItMakesSenseInContext and decides to leave and go back to his family tree]]. So, because she was jealous of Tommy ''politely'' declining having her as their sister, Angelica not only indirectly kept getting Tommy in trouble, but also made Chuckie ''wish he was never born''[[note]]'''again'''[[/note]].
89* In "Mommy's Little Assets," Angelica wrecks an expensive model Charlotte is using in a presentation because she thinks it's a toy town. In fairness, Charlotte had explicitly told her to stay away from it. When Angelica gets caught, Charlotte asks, "Now, if you were the boss and one of your employees behaved like this, what would you do?" Angelica tearfully asks if her mommy is going to fire her. Considering Angelica's home life, it's possible that she truly fears Charlotte or Drew would "fire" or get rid of her for misbehavior.
90* Considering Angelica's immediate family. They love her dearly and want the best for her, but Charlotte's consumed by her job and Drew spoils her rotten. As a consequence, Angelica is simultaneously an out-of-control brat and utterly terrified by the prospect of losing her parents' love.
91* On that note, "Piece of Cake", though meant to be just hilarious, has a couple of sad moments regarding Angelica's family life. Specifically, after her mother signs her up for a talent show, she's thrilled until she sees Charlotte being called by Jonathan, at which point she sighs dejectedly...only to promptly perk up when Charlotte announces that she's taking the day off to spend time with Angelica. Later, when Angelica inherits a massive candy company, Charlotte tells her "The only thing I love more than corporate domination is corporate domination with my number one girl!" Then comes the reveal that this was all an imagined spot. Again, this was played for laughs, but it also subtly implies that one of the things Angelica ''really'' wants is to just have ''some'' time to spend with her mother.
92* While "Starstruck" is generally a funny episode with a funny premise (Kimi's going to be in an audition, and when Chas says she'll be a star, the babies think he means a star like from space), there's still the sub-plot with Chuckie being sad as he doesn't want his sister to leave. He even gives Wawa to her so she wouldn't be lonely. Wawa is Chuckie's favourite toy, which is bad enough, but according to Kimi, he can't even ''sleep'' without Wawa. Thankfully, Chuckie cheers up and gets Wawa back and Kimi, of course, doesn't go away.
93** Cherry on top? Wawa was given to Chuckie by his birth mother. He's giving the thing that connects him to her the most to his sister, showing how much he loves her and will miss her. In a way, he's asking his first mother to make sure Kimi is safe and never lonely.
94* Tommy's legitimately betrayed reaction to the revelation that Angelica broke his lamp in "The Trial". Compared to the intentional melodrama of the rest of the episode, Tommy's quiet heartbroken tone is rather sad.
95-->'''Tommy:''' Angelica did it? You mean you broke my lamp?
96** Earlier on, Angelica tries to goad a confession out of Chuckie, claiming he direly wanted to break the lamp. Chuckie breaks down in tears, admitting it's true as he was terrified of it. Just the utterly mournful way he explains this makes clear he thinks he's stabbed Tommy in the back just for contemplating such a thing.
97* In "Opposites Attract", Chuckie meets a boy named Freddie who essentially has Chuckie's nerves and Kimi's [[MrImagination imagination]], which causes him to worry about bizarre things like worms in oatmeal. He accidentally scares Chuckie, which causes Chuckie to get mad at him for scaring him. But poor Freddie didn't mean to scare Chuckie, and a sensitive little toddler like him might feel very bad for accidentally doing something like that.
98* Despite the episode's name, "Aunt Miriam" is in fact Grandpa Lou's cousin, and when they were kids, she did nothing but pick on him, from throwing his favorite ball over the yard to opening the window and making him sick. While he's sleeping, he even ''[[BrokenTears breaks into sobs]]'' as he has a nightmare about the former incident. It's sad to know that, even at 76 years old, Lou still has PTSD, not from anything that happened in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, but from his own Cousin Miriam.
99** Miriam herself goes straight into JerkassWoobie territory when she reveals that she picked on Lou [[FreudianExcuse because of the fact that Lou had real friends while she didn't]].
100-->'''Miriam:''' (''to Lou'') Remember when you got your head stuck in the fence and those two kids we used to play with, Bill and Jill helped pull you out?\
101'''Lou:''' Yeah?\
102'''Miriam:''' Well...no one would've done that for me. They all liked you.\
103'''Lou:''' But they respected you.\
104'''Miriam:''' No they didn't. They were afraid of me!
105* In "Grandpa's Date," Lou is reunited with his old girlfriend, Morgana, who suddenly left him with no explanation. After so many years, Morgana finally tells Lou why she left him: she saw him apparently kissing another woman named Trixie behind her back. Lou, however, is shocked by this, revealing that [[NotWhatItLooksLike he wasn't having an affair]]; according to him, Trixie was having an asthma attack and he was giving her CPR. This means that from his perspective, a woman he loved suddenly decided to up and leave him for no reason and not contact him for years, all because of [[DramaticIrony (unbeknownst to either of them)]] a misunderstanding.
106* "Acorn Nuts and Diapie Butts" just puts Tommy and Dil through the wringer. When Lou decides to move into a retirement home Tommy doesn't understand at all, thinking HE is the reason his grandpa is leaving. He tearfully begs his grandpa to come back, tries to give up Reptar to get him back, and can only cry as Lou leaves and then sadly cradle a left-behind hot water bottle
107** When Tommy asks Chuckie if he's the reason Lou left Chuckie, focused on his own problems, leaves. Tommy begins to cry and Chuckie doesn't even notice
108** Dil is even more confused, begging Lou to return. Tommy tries to explain and even take over Lou's role but Dil isn't happy at all.
109** Later Didi and Stu try and give Tommy and Dil their own rooms... but Dil is so terrified to be alone that all he can do is sob Tommy's name. Shifts to Heartwarming when Tommy finally comes to comfort him; Dil is utterly THRILLED to see him!
110** Chuckie's despondence over Chas being pressured by Betty to date her many, many bizarre friends. Never getting to spend any time with his daddy like he used to. The montage of his increasing sadness is [[https://youtu.be/w1ysNowzt14 set to a song aptly titled "Why Fall in Love?"]]
111* In "Bow Wow Wedding Vows" Spike suddenly abandons Tommy. His denial that he's lost his doggy is heartbreaking, especially with how Spike is so utterly dismissive of him
112** Tommy tried to be happy for Spike, knowing he's happy, only to end up sobbing.
113** There is a brief moment where Spike has to choose between Tommy and Fifi, selecting the latter. While for most of the episode, after he's rather dismissive of Tommy, it's clear at that moment that Spike hates that he has to abandon Tommy because Fifi is about to give birth and he needs to protect her and the puppies.
114* "Farewell, My Friend" has Chuckie become particularly rattled after the babies' adventure through Chaz's new greenhouse, led by Tommy, results in them getting frightened by a "Shadow Guy" (Chaz's gardening outfit) and Chuckie's glasses getting broken. Things get worse when that night, Chuckie dreams about falling off a mountain he and the other babies are climbing because Tommy tried to coax him into jumping over a gap by saying "Trust me! I'm your friend!" The next day, Chuckie refuses to go on any more adventures, stating that every time he does, something bad happens to him like getting chased by a Shadow Guy or [[MadAtADream falling off a mountain]]. When Tommy protests, Chuckie argues that if Tommy can't respect his decision, maybe he needs to find a new idea...or a new friend.
115* In "The Seven Voyages of Cynthia", Tommy and Chuckie borrow Cynthia for the purpose of using her to captain their makeshift boat. While they do intend to return her when they're done with her, they accidentally lose her. When Angelica notices that she's missing, she's absolutely devastated. She cries her eyes out at her disappearance, searches frantically for her, and tells Tommy that if she finds out who stole her, she'll "mash 'em, and crash 'em, and smash 'em into a million zillion blobs of applesauce!" The episode does its job of capturing the experience of losing your favorite toy.
116** Angelica rejects the idea of getting a new Cynthia, saying in the most heartbreakingly sincere way and as tears fall from her eyes that Cynthia is her best friend.
117* "Showdown At Teeter-Totter Gulch" gives us another older bully in the form the Junk Food Kid. While at first she just seems like another comical brat like Angelica, she's alluded to physically bullying Belinda and later puts a large wad of gum all over her hair. The next scene with Belinda shows her with a pitifully short haircut and in tears, her mother had to cut out all the gum.
118* "Dummi Bear Dinner Disaster" adds a tragic bit of background to Susie. She fears her father Randy's employer, Paul Gatsby, due to the fact that whenever he visits, he promotes Randy, causing the family to move and Susie to have to leave behind her old life and friends. When it seems like all attempts to sabotage the visit have been in vain, Susie breaks down crying, convinced she will have to leave behind Tommy and everyone the same way. Thankfully it doesn't happen.

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