[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: The comic]]
* [[spoiler: Carol's first suicide attempt.]]
* [[spoiler: Carol's suicide]] and the fallout. [[spoiler: Sophia's]] vacant stare afterwards is particularly upsetting.
* [[spoiler: Billy's]] death and the fact that it leads to [[spoiler: Hershel]] losing the will to live.
* During the battle against the Governor's forces, when [[spoiler:Lori and Judith are killed. At this point, even his own people see what a scumbag he is and turns on him.]]
* The final page of that issue, which shows Rick and Carl tearfully embracing.
* Morgan [[spoiler: saying good-bye to his zombie son]].
* Morgan talking to Carl on [[spoiler:his deathbed. Made even worse when he confuses Carl with his son.]] Guy just can't catch a break.
* The absolutely brutal death of [[spoiler:Glenn]] at the hands of Negan and his baseball bat as several of the other survivors are ForcedToWatch.
* Abraham, Carl, and Rick sitting beside the car talking. From Abraham's story [[spoiler: In which several people in the first group he's joined up with raping his wife, daughter and two other girls while making his son watch. When he finds out, he goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge which scares his family enough to cause them to leave. He goes after them, and when he finds them, they'd been attacked, with his daughter zombified, forcing him to kill her. Then he joins up with Rosita and Eugene's group, three people try to take some supplies and leave, forcing him to kill them.]] He then sits crying, wondering if he's become a monster like the zombies around them. Rick then tells how he killed Dexter during the roamer fight, and how he ran over Ramirez with the RV before beating him to death. Rick then says that what they're doing is necessary to protect those they care for, and how he worries about what would happen if Carl knew. And if that weren't enough, Carl talks about how he shot Shane in the neck to protect Rick, and how he wished he could kill the man who [[spoiler:killed Lori and Judith, as well as help kill the man who tried to rape him]]. The scene ends with Carl and Rick embracing in tears while Abraham sits silently next to them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The TV show]]
* After Andrea's [[spoiler:little sister Amy's killed, her moment of waking up as a zombie is pretty heart wrenching, what with Andrea having sat beside her for hours since her death, and reacting to her awakening by stroking her and apologizing for "never having been there", to which Amy's zombified self strokes Andrea in a seemingly fond manner as well. At this moment the others sees what's happening and are rushing over to shoot Amy and most of the audiences were probably thinking WhatAnIdiot when Andrea keeps holding onto her even as she moves in to bite her, when suddenly Andrea finishes her apology with "I love you" and blows a hole in Amy's head.]]
* Glenn tearfully telling Daryl that they only burn "geeks" but they bury their ''own'' dead.
* Jim [[spoiler: asking to be left behind and abandoned because the pain of his infection was too much for him to endure as they sought help or a cure]], compounding his story about how he [[spoiler: managed to get away while the zombies were killing his family.]]
* Morgan tearfully trying to work up the strength to shoot his zombified wife.
* Dale talking Andrea out of her [[DrivenToSuicide attempted suicide by explosion]] by staying there in the CDC with her.
-->'''Dale:''' "Too bad! 'C-cause ''you don't get to do that.'' T-to come into somebody's life, make them care, and just . . . ''check out!''"
** Jenner and Jacqui's final moments right before the explosion.
* Merle may have been a violent, racist douchebag, but when he was shown at the beginning of episode 3 still handcuffed to the roof after everyone had to make a quick exit at the end of the previous episode, he broke down, figuring that he is being punished for being such a jerk. He seemed genuinely remorseful (at first, anyway) and [[JerkassWoobie it was hard not to feel bad for him]].
* In the pilot, the horse that was EatenAlive.
* [[spoiler:Sophia's]] death and eventual walker state. Bonus points go to [[spoiler:Hershel and his family]] in the same episode; [[spoiler: the majority of the main characters had no qualms with cleansing the barn of walkers, but they were all stunned the moment Sophia stepped out, which put things in perspective knowing that Hershel was going through the same thing, only tenfold.]] Special mention goes to Daryl, who [[spoiler:up until then had been dead set on finding her and reuniting her with her mother.]]
* [[spoiler:Carl]] getting shot.
* Hershel's {{Heroic BSOD}} after [[spoiler:the barn massacre]], getting drunk for the first time in years and lamenting what a fool he was to deny that his family and friends were dead.
* Dale's breakdown over the group's near unanimous vote to execute Randall, after spending the entire episode trying to convince them otherwise.
--> '''Dale''': (to Daryl) You were right. This group IS broken.
* [[spoiler:Dale's death.]] It was so abrupt and unexpected, and it actually angered many viewers.
-->'''Daryl''': Sorry brother...
* The scene where [[spoiler:Rick kills Shane]] is pretty saddening. The soundtrack played over it doesn't help either. He had it coming, but the tear jerker bit comes from the fact that [[spoiler:Rick had to kill his oldest and best friend, and considers himself to be losing his humanity even more]]. Rick's screams after it happens are pretty depressing, too.
-->'''Rick''': THIS WAS YOU, NOT ME! NOT ME!
* The look on Hershel's face as the group flees from the farm, and he watches the barn burn down.
* The group leaving [[spoiler:Dale's RV]] behind in the Season 2 finale.
* The brief shot of the note they'd left Sophia on the windshield of a car at the beginning of the season, the letters now runny and faded.
* [[spoiler:Hershel getting his ankle bitten by a walker]] in the season 3 premiere. While it hurts to watch at the time, it's somewhat of a retroactive aversion since [[spoiler:Hershel survives the bite (due to Rick amputating his leg).]]
* Lori begging Hershel not to hesitate to finish her off if she dies and reanimates in childbirth.
* Maggie telling a sleeping Hershel that he doesn't have to live for her and Beth, that they'll manage without him [[spoiler: after he's had his leg amputated when bitten by a walker]].
* Lori's failed attempt to reconcile with Rick in series 3 episode 2.
* [[spoiler: Lori's death in season 3, episode 4, "Killer Within". Fans were divided over how good a person she was, but her death, and Rick's subsequent breakdown over it at the end of the episode, is absolutely HEARTWRENCHING.]] To make things even worse, [[spoiler: Carl is the one who has to put her down so she doesn't come back as a walker, his face blank as he tries to suppress his emotions]].
** [[spoiler: Lori's last words]]:
-->[[spoiler: '''Lori:''']] Goodbye, love.
* [[spoiler: T-Dog's Heroic Sacrifice so that Carol can escape. Knowing he's already bitten, he wrestles a pair of walkers into the wall and holds them there until Carol can escape.]]
* Rick nearly killing [[spoiler: Glenn in his maddened rage after Lori's death]].
* Carl suggesting names for his newborn sister, which consisted of listing all the women he's known who have died/ he thinks have died.
* Daryl dwelling on Carol's empty grave and placing a [[ContinuityNod Cherokee rose]] on it, thinking that's he's failed her again.
* Rick finding [[spoiler: where Lori died, as well as the walker that ate her body]].
* Rick discovering that the phone that's been calling him is in his head, [[spoiler: and telling the imagined Lori on the other line that he loves her, and apologises that he couldn't keep her safe]].
* Darryl's story of how his alcoholic mother accidentally burned down their house and killed herself.
* The capture and torture of [[spoiler: Glenn and Maggie. Glenn is badly beaten and has a zombie set on him while tied to a chair, while Maggie is psychologically tortured with sexual threats until she finally admits where their group lives when the Governor points a gun at Glenn]].
* The Governor's reaction to his zombie daughter Penny being put down by [[spoiler: Michonne]]. He just hugs her body and weeps uncontrollably.
** And even beforehand, where he tearfully pleads to let Penny live and take him down, instead. He's a bad guy, but he's more sympathetic than his comic book counterpart.
* Carol's reaction to finding out that Daryl has gone off with Merle, and isn't coming back to the prison.
* Rick having a complete breakdown when he hallucinates a bloody Lori watching him as he decides whether to send away Tyreese's group. He just starts screaming at her to leave as she doesn't belong there while he's waving around a gun, and Hershel clearly doesn't know what to do.
* [[spoiler: Axel]] getting shot in the head.
* [[spoiler: Hallucinated Lori]] caressing Rick's face as he looks peaceful for the first time since 'The Killer Within'.
* Merle seeing the scars on Daryl's back, and realising that their father abused him too once Merle ran away.
** And then going back and rewatching older episodes with that knowledge in mind, and seeing the way Daryl shies away from any physical contact and flinches at raised voices.
** Similarly Daryl choosing the group over Merle, and Merle realising that without his brother he's nothing.
* Rick, Carl and Michonne run into [[spoiler: Morgan]], who has turned into a CrazySurvivalist. In his hideout, they find that not only did he [[spoiler: keep the radio]], but one MadnessMantra written [[RoomFullOfCrazy over and over on the wall]] is [[spoiler: Duane turned.]] He then attacks Rick, screaming that he's already dead, and when Rick pulls a gun on him he ''begs'' to be shot.
** And then he proceeds to tell Rick that [[spoiler: the reason his son was killed is because Morgan didn't shoot his zombified wife when he had the chance.]]
** Which doubles as FridgeBrilliance when you listen to this story about [[spoiler: Duane's fate]]. When Rick (and the viewers) first see the MadnessMantra it is assumed that it refers to [[spoiler: Duane turning into a zombie. As he tells the story, he emphasizes the exact words about the physical act Duane does when faced with his mother, sealing his fate. He's not distraught over his son's undeath, but stuck in that exact moment of his death because he feels to blame for it; being too emotionally torn to kill his wife earlier and his son having the exact same "weakness" as him when faced with her.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler:Morgan telling Rick that he had turned on the radio every day to try and contact him, but never received an answer. He then returns the radio, telling Rick he doesn't need it anymore. The expression of betrayal on Morgan's face and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Rick's regret]] are just heartbreaking.]]
** Rick telling [[spoiler: Morgan]] "You're not seeing things right" and trying to persuade him everything will turn out fine. He's clearly [[spoiler: trying to tell himself that just as much as Morgan.]]
** [[spoiler: Morgan]] telling Rick that he's doomed to die, that there's no hope anywhere, and that he should leave him to rot.
* In "Clear," Michonne, Rick and Carl drive past a walking survivor (who's carrying a distinctively large, orange backpack) and ignore his pleads for help, with only Carl looking back troubled. During the return trip at the end of the episode they drive past a large bloody smear on the road with an orange backpack sitting nearby, and they nonchalantly stop just to grab the pack. Compared to how he was in season one, Rick has become worryingly cold.
* Rick, Carl, and Michonne pass a sign for a woman named Erin, telling her where the person who made the sign was going, ostensibly so she could see it, follow them, and meet up. A bit further down the road, they run into a zombie pack that includes Erin.
* The Governor describing how he heard that his wife had been killed in an accident, and remembering how she left him a voicemail asking him to call her, but he never got the chance, and he still wonders what she wanted to talk about. He says it in a very stoic way, but it's clear that it deeply affected him at the time.
* Daryl and Martinez, and Hershel and Milton hanging out while the Governor and Rick talk. It's clear that these pairs could have become friends in the apocalypse, but the Governor's insanity makes it impossible.
* Daryl finding the zombified [[spoiler: Merle]]. As if the scene itself wasn't sad enough, the whole ordeal leaves Daryl openly bursting into tears.
** What really hits home is that when he first sees [[spoiler: Merle]], there's just the briefest flicker of recognition in his eyes. Then he rises and starts walking, and Daryl can't even bring himself to cut him down at first. He just keeps pushing [[spoiler: the undead Merle]] back several times, crying the whole time, before finally finishing the walker off.
* Carl gunning down a surrendering member of Woodbury in front of Hershel and Beth. Hershel then has to explain to Rick how his son killed someone in cold blood. When Rick confronts Carl about this, Carl justifies it by bringing up occasions where Rick failing to make the same decision had lethal consequences, such as [[spoiler: Andrew killing Lori and the Governor killing Merle]]. After the argument Carl then throws his dad's sheriff star to the ground.
* [[spoiler: Milton's]] death, and his last attempts to help [[spoiler: Andrea]] before he dies and turns.
* Rick, Daryl, and Michonne finding [[spoiler:Andrea]]. Michonne notices that [[spoiler: she is burning up, and Andrea pulls her collar aside to reveal the bite mark on her neck. The characters all say their goodbyes, and Michonne, who's normally a PerpetualFrowner, is completely in tears.]] Special note also goes to Rick's words:
-->[[spoiler:'''Andrea:''' Judith...Carl...the rest of them--]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rick:''' ''[puts his hand on her shoulder]'' ''Us''. The rest of ''us''.]]
[[/folder]]


[[folder:The video game]]
* Whenever someone insults [[TheLoad Ben]], the look on his face says it all.
* The first episode has [[spoiler:Irene]]. The most tearjerking way to deal with [[spoiler:her is to give her the gun, and stay with her, and tell her, "I'm here with you now", letting her know she at the very least won't die alone]].
* As is usual for the IP, Lee having to [[spoiler:kill his zombified brother. It's bad enough when you can do it with a bullet, but to do it ''repeatedly'' with an axe, each time mutilating him, it's a real KickTheDog with Lee as the dog]].
* In Episode 2, [[spoiler:Larry's death]], which is made far worse if Lee opts to [[spoiler:help Kenny]], which basically amounts to [[spoiler:holding Lilly back from her attempts at CPR, the poor girl desperately pleading all the while, while Kenny crushes her father's head. If Lee helps, it's even worse. ''Larry is starting to breathe again.'']]
* Even though he is a murdering cannibal, seeing [[spoiler:Andy]] break down and beg and scream at you to finish him off after you tell him that [[spoiler:his mother and brother are dead,]] is pretty heartbreaking.
* Minor one. In a NonStandardGameOver near the end of Episode 1, Lee fails to prevent a zombie from biting and killing Clementine. Rather than panic, or try to escape or avenge, Lee just [[HeroicBSOD gives up]], closes his eyes and [[DrivenToSuicide allows a zombie to kill him]].
* Episode 3, in spades.
** The deaths of [[spoiler:Carley/Doug]] at the hands of [[spoiler: Lilly]] is very sudden and jarring.
** [[spoiler:Duck being bitten]]. There's no cure. He's suffering [[SadisticChoice and you have to decide who ends it.]]
*** I'll admit I didn't like him much in the beginning, or at least ignored him. But after that? I can no longer look at him in any walkthrough without feeling something. Dear God, killing him was horrible.
** [[spoiler:Katjaa's]] suicide over [[spoiler:the loss of her son.]]
** Kenny's [[spoiler: despair when he realizes that no matter how much he hopes or wishes, there's just nothing else he can do for Duck.]]
--> '''Kenny:''' [[spoiler:Isn't there some sort of pill or something we could just give him? He could just (''voice breaking'') drift off to sleep, right, hun? I mean, Jesus Christ! This is our son!]]
** Another minor one caused by a NonStandardGameOver. [[spoiler:If you fail to convince Kenny to stop the train, you return to the boxcar and find everyone gone, with only a huge bloodstain and Clementine's hat. Lee is then killed by zombified Duck.]]
* Episode 4 continues this.
** [[spoiler:Lee getting bit near the very end.]] Now you know why [[spoiler:the last episode is called 'No Time Left'. Lee himself, who has been strong throughout the entire ZombieApocalypse, sobs when he sees his bite mark, chiefly because he realizes he won't be able to take care of Clementine much longer. Her rescue may be the last thing he ever does for her.]]
** [[spoiler:Another little boy is found zombified, and it hits Kenny ''extremely'' hard because he looks exactly like Duck. The poor kid had a long, slow death of ''starvation and dehydration''. He's so emaciated that he looks more like a skeleton than a zombie, and he's too weak to do anything worse than growl at you. Worse, you find his drawing of his dog - which you had to exhume to get the collar from. After his MercyKill, Lee buries his body with his beloved dog's corpse, so the one glimmering ray of kindness is that he at the very end gets to be with his dog forever.]]
*** This also has some elements of FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:Is that what would have eventually happened to Clementine had Lee not found her]]? Lee himself is horrified at the idea.
** [[spoiler:Chuck is separated from the group and surrounded by zombies while [[HeroicSacrifice trying to save Clementine]]. Quite a bit later on, when travelling through the sewers, you stumble upon his mutilated body. Beside him is a revolver with no bullets; Lee comes to the conclusion that [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled he used the last bullet on himself]].]]
* Ben asking Lee to drop him into a pit of walkers. The fact that he wants to die because he thinks that most of the group hates him is extremely gut wrenching.
* Episode 5 has Christa finding a bed with a man and a woman, a romantic couple, each dead and rotting with guns by their side. The obvious BetterToDieThanBeKilled scenario hits Christa ''really'' hard, since it's a WhatCouldHaveBeen (and what still could be) with her and Omid.
** ALL of this final episode is sad, but the hardest hitting one is [[spoiler: Lee succumbing to the bite from Episode 4, and either being left behind by a heartbroken Clementine...or being put down by her. And one of the final things that Lee can say to her is that 'He'll miss her'.]]
** [[spoiler:After Ben vents his frustration at Kenny's treatment of him, it seems like Kenny and him will move past it... Then Ben falls from the balcony and gets ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. Kenny uses the gun from the dead couple's room to put him out of his misery before the walkers overtake him. You don't actually see him get bitten or hear him cry out in pain, but...]]
** When Ben stands up to Kenny at last. Every line is like a punch to the solar plexus, but when he mentions his ''sister'', it'll leave you reeling.
** After fighting off the walkers in the mansion, you can leave the fight with one bullet left in Lee's pistol, and later have the option to give it to Kenny. If you do [[spoiler:you will hear him shoot one off at Ben then another muffled shot a few seconds after.]] The last thing Lee could do for his friend was [[spoiler:make sure he did not turn.]]
** Let's see, by the end of the Fifth episode, [[spoiler: Lee will become a walker or be [[MercyKill mercy killed]] by Clementine, Omid and Christa are unaccounted for, Ben is ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, Kenny will [[HeroicSacrifice fend off the Walkers before shooting Ben to spare him being torn apart]], Clementine sees her zombified parents, you discover the results of [[BrickJoke stealing the supplies from the camper van]] when the man who kidnapped Clementine tells you about how his wife and daughter left him, only for him to find them turned into Walkers a day later...]] Let's just say the season finale [[InvokedTrope is built around this.]]
** [[spoiler:As Lee and Clementine part, Lee gives her last bits of advice. After every one, you will get the same kind of note you've been getting the entire series: "Clementine will remember that." It takes on such a greater meaning as you realize that, from a gameplay perspective, it doesn't really matter to the player, but it matters to Lee.]]
* As Lee and Clementine [[spoiler:try to leave the city, Clementine pauses and looks toward two walkers... her parents.]]
* The Stranger. Practically the TropeCodifier for AlasPoorVillain.
-->(possible conversation)\\
'''Stranger''': That hoodie she's wearing? It was my son's.\\
'''Lee''': We were starving. It was cold.\\
'''Stranger''': So ''my'' family starved in the cold!
* Alternate scenario, if Ben is not with you during Episode 5, [[spoiler: Christa jumps down into a seemingly empty room to retrieve the dropped walkie-talkie, and when zombies appear, Kenny pulls a HeroicSacrifice to get her out, but can't get up himself, so he starts picking off zombies with what ammo he has left. What happens also happens offscreen.]]
* When asked about who he has hurt by [[spoiler:The Stranger and Lee chooses his wife, Lee finally confesses the situation that he has been so tight-lipped about since episode 1. His wife wanted to move around for work while Lee wanted to stay and raise a family. Fights ensued, which later caused a situation when he came home early to find his wife in bed with another man. Lee killed him in a fit of rage. Made even more tragic, considering how much his situation parallels The Stranger's own familial inadequacies.]]
* As if the ending wasn't bad enough, some heartless bastard made [[http://akindofpoetry.tumblr.com/post/36804227978/please-forgive-me-for-whatever-i-do-when-i-dont this]]
** Music/MiracleOfSound decided to make a rather sad song all about Lee and Clementine called [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzlGgybMPn8 Best I Can]]. (The song contains no spoilers, but the video does contain some up to episode 4).
* And at the end of the last episode ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvCIrLZ8hkI&feature=endscreen&NR=1 Take Us Back]]'', a song about going back to simpler times, plays over the end credits to emphasize how that is never going to happen.
* [[spoiler: No matter how you deal with Larry in episode 2, you get shunned by someone. You can at least get a fraction of your friendship back with Kenny, but Lilly remains your enemy.]]
* The fall of [[spoiler: Lee's group]] is this: [[spoiler: Prior to this, Mark and Larry are lost. A paranoid, mentally unstable Lily grieving over her father's demise either murders Carley in cold-blood and accusation of being a traitor, or accidentally claim Doug as her victim instead of Ben, who has been sneaking the bandits supplies and breaks down in a guilt-heavy confession. Lily, herself, is either abandoned on the side of the road or still allowed to stay with the other before leaving by stealing the RV. The attack that Ben caused resulted in a bitten Duck, and a darkened Katjaa, unable to perform the MercyKill on her child, kills herself, causing Kenny to spiral into his own depression as he loses the very thing he swore to protect. The only remaining members of the former group are Lee, Clementine, Kenny, and Ben.]] It becomes a real TearJerker when you notice how unified the group was in the previous episodes.
[[/folder]]
----