Heartwarming / To the Moon

As this is a Moments page, all spoilers will be unmarked!

To The Moon

• The last time we see River chronologically, she tells Johnny to take the money to finish the house and watch over "Anya." Anya is the lighthouse, so he kept his promise. And in spite of everything, she does Go Out with a Smile.
  John: And what about you?
  River: ...Happy. I'll be happy.
  • Sadly, Johnny never learns why she made her blue and yellow rabbit. On the bright side, Johnny had the piano carried into her room to play one final song dedicated to her, which she gladly listens to.
• Finally learning exactly why River made all those rabbits, especially the blue and yellow one. It was to remind him of his promise to meet her on the moon... which was surrounded by stars that Johnny and River noticed looked like a rabbit.
• River's reaction when Johnny tells her that they may be able to buy the lighthouse in a not too far off future. This is one of the very few moments through the entire game when her emotions openly show and swell up so much that she just plainly throws herself into John's arms in overwhelming joy.
• The dancing scene in the lighthouse. The bathos that happens when they trip over each other's feet make it more endearing.
• In the memory when River and Johnny are riding horses. Even though John is initially hesitant when River is allowed to gallop on her own for the first time it quickly melts away when, and the player can see this if they look closely enough, River laughs. Equine therapy for the win.
• When Johnny was close to dying prematurely and Eva and Neil were still in his memories.
  Eva: Get out of here, Neil. Now.
• The way Neil fiercely tries to prevent Eva from moving River from Johnny's memories in the belief that it would make him miserable is very adorable and proves that Neil does, in fact, care.
  Eva: I know. But we are legally bound by the contract to specifically—
  Neil: #@%& the contract! I didn't take this job to make him miserable, Eva! I don't know about you, but I took the job to help the freakin' geezers die happy.
• When Eva and Neil are watching the shuttle about to take off, Neil slowly edges towards Eva and either tries to put his hand on her shoulder. Of course Eva brushes him off...
• As heartbreaking as seeing the destruction of Johnny's memories of River was, it's equally heartwarming seeing them reconstructed as they go up in the rocket together.
  • And on that note, Johnny finally figuring out the title to his song - "To the Moon", which meets River's approval.
• When Johnny and River are reunited at NASA. Although this wasn't real, it shows that in his mind, no matter where she was, no matter when or how he meets her, he will always fall in love with her, and that despite their communication problems, she was irreplaceable, and he literally can't picture his life without her.
  • Some players found it unsettling that Johnny's memories were ultimately replaced by an alternate life. While this is a valid concern, it helps when you consider that even with the new memories, and even when desiring to go to the Moon, Johnny still loved River so much that he subconsciously brought her back. And his Dying Dream shows his true priorities; Johnny doesn't even get to make it all the way to the Moon before he dies, but his last memory is of him together with River, gazing at the Moon just like when they were kids. "If you're with me" indeed...
• A very subtle one could be in the doctor's office after River has just been diagnosed with her "condition", when asked if they are a couple River states that they are in no way legally bound, either one of her quirks or perhaps her indirectly telling Johnny that he is free to leave her.
  • Of course he stays
• It's touching River and Johnny watch their movie together after what initially appeared to be failed date after their frankly adorable misunderstanding is resolved.
• River reaching out to hold Johnny's hand in the space shuttle stands out. Throughout the story, we see Johnny taking the initiative towards her. Moreover, River was constantly this shy and socially-awkward girl. But at the end, she holds out her hand for him to grab. This already-touching moment becomes all the more sweet with that context in mind.
• Just before the credits roll, Johnny and River, in their child forms, reunite against a white background and Johnny hands the platypus to her before sitting down on the log next to her, strongly implying that they're Together in Death, regardless of the hardships they'd faced in life. Also, this is one of the rare occasions where River smiles.

Minisodes

• Eva trying to convince Neil to return to the Christmas party in the second minisode.
  Eva: You do what you want; I'm heading inside. Just know there's a chair upstairs for you, whether you're coming or not.
• At the beginning of the second minisode, Eva gives Neil a sound machine for Christmas, the kind that loop sounds to aid in relaxation and sleeping. The sound machine has a recording function and while Neil scoffs at it at first, we notice it in the background of the party he eventually goes up to join. It's a very touching moment when you think Neil may be recording the noise of the party for sentimental reasons.

Finding Paradise

• The bittersweet song "Wish My Life Away" is both this and a Tear Jerker. The sweet side of it is that we get to see all of Colin's happy memories, from the few times his parents were there, to writing stories of him and Faye, to Sofia accepting his proposal and them getting married, to them raising Asher along with some others. The lyrics of the song are especially beautiful:

  All the grass on the other side

  Is it only greener in my mind?

  I'd still want it the same

  Because trading my yesterday

  Is to wish my life away

• Colin realizing that he's still happy with his life even with all of his regrets, as shown in the "rewritten" memories at the end.
  • Beyond that, Faye thanking Neil for giving Colin something truly special.
    Faye: Your colleague was right about one thing... There is more to what you do than just playing god with people's memories. You've been here for just a day, yet... In all of his lifetime, no one else has truly seen the world through his eyes like you have. And, well... you're kind of the first I've been able to meet, too. In some silly way... Maybe that's a part of what Colin really wished for.
    • Made doubly-so because due to her being an Imaginary Friend, that's likely the closest any of Sigmund Corp.'s on-site staff has ever gotten to receiving a direct "thank you" from their patient.
• The Bittersweet Ending - Colin's final act is to kneel down to his sleeping wife and kiss her on the forehead, reflecting what she had done at the moment of his passing.
  • And just before this, Colin's final conversation with Faye, and she asks if he has any regrets.
    Colin: Regrets... Yeah, I have a lot of those. But... that's okay. The chances I missed, the mishaps, and all that I wish I had... Well, they were all still a part of it... they made way for all that I do have. And what I do have... I wouldn't trade for anything else in the world.
• If you listen to the songs strongly associated with Colin (Time is a Place and the Scale Theme) you can hear that the songs don't end on a satisfying chord, similar to how For River in the first game ended. It drives home this feeling of uncertainty and incompletion. The ending to Time is a Place even feels like a question, musically. But in that final scene with his wife, the song Coming Home finally breaks the pattern by ending on a "satisfying" chord. Signifying that, without a shadow of a doubt, Colin is happy and at peace in his final moments and basically closing the story of his life with a musical "The End."

Impostor Factory

• The reason Quincy disappeared after Lynri revealed her illness: he wanted to gather enough material to recreate the most iconic monuments from all over the world so that he could show them to her without traveling.
  • And then they traveled around the world to see these monuments for real, and they conceived a baby during the journey.
  • Every moment between Lynri and Quincy is a Heartwarming Moment when her illness and her job are out of the picture.
• Lynri is overjoyed to find out that her son is actually alive and well outside of the simulation.
• The happy montage of Lynri and Quincy's ideal timeline playing out before Faye meets up with them again.
• The "Bestest Dancers" comics included with the Steam release have a number of moments like this, but chief among them is the outing alluded to in the epilogue of the game, where Eva asks Neil about his retirement plans. Hers is to have a garden near the ocean, filled with so many plants that she could use someone to help her take care of them. When Neil tries to deflect, she tells him that Roxie had informed her about his ailment.
  Neil: Then why do you even ask? (Beat Panel) Look, I don't need sympathy-
  Eva: You think you're so special? ..You are not special, Neil. None of us are here forever. Nobody could stay forever. Not for themselves, not for their loved ones... And nobody can ask anybody else to stay forever. But to stay as long as one wants, for as long as one can stay... That's the most anybody can ask of anybody else.
  Neil: Then... is that what you're asking me? (Eva glances away self-conciously, prompting Neil to remove his glasses) Well, in that case... Yeah, I'd like to stay in that garden... For as long as you want me to... and for as long as I can.