History TearJerker / Arthur

* The end result of Buster's DreamSequence in "Buster's Second Chance," where Buster enters a timeline where he became a ChildProdigy thanks to not flubbing an important assessment test he took as a preschooler (to the point where ''[[TheSmartGuy Brain]]'' looks up to him and he's already taking calculus and robotics classes in the fourth grade). Buster eventually discovers that in this timeline, not only did he and Arthur never become friends, but Arthur wound up meeting then-bully Binky instead of Buster at the fated sandbox and became a [[GangOfBullies Tough Customer]]! (Who evidently never disbanded in this timeline.) When Buster meets Alt!Arthur and attempts to get Alt!Arthur to remember him, the way Alt!Arthur continuously tries to brush Buster off and ridicules his nerdiness is rather sad. The clincher is what Alt!Arthur says as he leaves, [[HiddenHeartOfGold hinting that he secretly doesn't like being a Tough Customer and is just pretending to be "cool"]], and Buster realizes he's the only thing keeping Arthur from going down this road. (Even if it is AllJustADream, the moment is still rather sad to watch.)

-->'''Sue Ellen:''' And from now on, whenever I look at that sweater, I don't think about Tenzin, or the yak that the wool came from. I only think of how mean people can be.

* In "[[Recap/ArthurS16E5NightOfTheTibbleReadAndFlumberghast Night of the Tibble]]," [[ShrinkingViolet James]] is invited to a sleepover with [[TheDreaded the Tibbles]]. Seeing that James is scared of what the Tibbles might do to him at the sleepover, D.W. and Emily try their best to come up with a way to get him out of going to it, but James's conscience ultimately gets the better of him and he agrees to attend the sleepover despite his fear. The next day at preschool, the class is informed by the teacher, Ms. Morgan, that James won't be coming to school that day, which D.W. and Emily take to mean that James has ''died'' at the sleepover. After preschool, the two tearfully go to give James' mother flowers to show her how much James meant to them. Thankfully, it turns out James is alive and was only absent from preschool due to a stomachache from eating too many treats at the sleepover, and takes the flowers that were meant for his mother himself. This gets especially poignant in D.W.'s case when you remember that previous episodes have [[ImpliedLoveInterest heavily implied]] that she [[PuppyLove "likes"]] James.
** After James' ImagineSpot of the Tibbles putting him into a machine called the "Flatter-fling" that spins him around on a chair right after the said machine splatted a teddy bear into a wall ends, he's actually ''hyperventilating''. The poor boy really was terrified for his life!

* “Bitzi’s Break-Up” sees Buster deal with something many children have had to go through - his mother breaking up with her boyfriend, Harry. We’ve never seen any angst from Buster over the divorce of his parents, who seem on good terms after their split, but whether or not he took it poorly, we now see Buster taking Bitzi and Harry’s split poorly in real time. Even from the ColdOpen, Buster can clearly sense something is wrong and keeps moving things around when they’re trying to talk to him, and the two adults are sharing uncomfortable looks since they’re quickly becoming aware he’s not taking it well.

* “Desperately Seeking Stanley” shows that toys are alive in the show, and proves that ''Toy Story'' doesn’t necessarily have the monopoly on making you cry about your favorite childhood toys.
** Stanley, Arthur’s prized teddy bear, is perfectly pleasant, kind, and innocent, and even though Arthur hasn’t played with him and has let him fall into a dilapidated state, Stanley is perfectly happy if Arthur’s happy and is confident Arthur loves him and would never give him away. Which makes it soul-crushing when Arthur makes to sell him.
** Arthur spends the rest of the episode regretting it and trying to recover his favorite sentimental toy especially given what poor shape he was in. When he learns the neighbors’ little girl washed him, Arthur has a fantasy where he imagines Stanley being tossed around in the laundry, weakly crying for help from him. He later has a worse fantasy when he learns the Tibbles got a hold of him, and imagines Stanley completely hollowed out, the two terrors having removed his stuffing in a game of surgery. While one can’t say for sure what if anything can kill a living toy in this show’s universe (especially since it’s a fantasy), it’s easy to read it as the Tibbles cackling over poor Stanley’s mutilated, defiled corpse.
** At the end of the episode, Arthur finally finds Stanley safe and repaired by Mrs. Tibble, who perfectly understands his sentiment for his toy and is more than happy to let him have him back. However, Arthur decides that Stanley is better off in Mrs. Tibble’s collection and could make another kid really happy someday, and decides to leave him and move on. It’s a bittersweet moment that everyone faces when growing up, and to twist the knife a bit more, Stanley, when everyone is gone, comes to life and softly says goodbye to Arthur, not bothered at all and implicitly proud of Arthur’s decision. The little bear is happy if Arthur’s happy, even if it means losing him.
*** Arthur ''does'' relent and decide to keep Stanley for a bit, though. But the episode really puts you through the ringer nonetheless.

* In "[[Recap/ArthurS16E5NightOfTheTibbleReadAndFlumberghast Night of the Tibble]]", [[ShrinkingViolet James]] is invited to a sleepover with [[TheDreaded the Tibbles]]. Seeing that James is scared of what the Tibbles might do to him at the sleepover, D.W. and Emily try their best to come up with a way to get him out of going to it, but James's conscience ultimately gets the better of him and he agrees to attend the sleepover despite his fear. The next day at preschool, the class is informed by the teacher, Ms. Morgan, that James won't be coming to school that day, which D.W. and Emily take to mean that James has ''died'' at the sleepover. After preschool, the two tearfully go to give James' mother flowers to show her how much James meant to them. Thankfully, it turns out James is alive and was only absent from preschool due to a stomachache from eating too many treats at the sleepover, and takes the flowers that were meant for his mother himself. This gets especially poignant in D.W.'s case when you remember that [[Recap/ArthurS8E9FleaToBeYouAndMeKissAndTell previous]] [[Recap/ArthurS14E2TheAgentOfChangeDWUntiesTheKnot episodes]] have [[ImpliedLoveInterest heavily implied]] that she [[PuppyLove "likes"]] James.

** By the end of the episode, the night before the test, everyone has given up on Buster, who laments that his only hope is to learn everything in one night. Binky says, "[[FalseReassurance Third grade is easier the second time around, or the third]]," [[UndyingLoyalty Arthur says they'll always be friends even if Buster gets bullied for staying back]], and Francine mentions the second-graders who will become third-graders have a great softball team. It all culminates in Buster having a nightmare where he's an adult and being demoted to ''preschool''. Becomes a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome when as soon as snaps out of the fantasy, Buster finally has the motivation to seriously study for the test.

* In "Arthur's Pet Business," when Perky is even grumpier than usual (possibly due to being pregnant with Pal and her other puppies), Arthur thinks it's his fault and mopes about having "wrecked" her.
* In "Buster Makes the Grade," Buster being a failing school student is PlayedForDrama.

** By the end of the episode, the night before the test, everyone has given up on Buster, who laments that his only hope is to learn everything in one night. Binky says, "[[FalseReassurance Third grade is easier the second time around, or the third]]," [[UndyingLoyalty Arthur says they'll always be friends even if Buster gets bullied for staying back]], and Francine mentions the second-graders who will become third-graders have a great softball team.

* In "The Last Day," when D.W. offers to take out the trash, the bag is caught on a hose, rips open and spills trash everywhere. D.W. starts to cry and unlike most prior episodes, she's not throwing a tantrum, she says she doesn't think she can handle kindergarten indicating she's stressed about going to real school.

** While the ending of the episode is heartwarming because Fern gets to be in her element around her peers, her mother's self-congratulatory line of "I knew this party was a good idea" can sting because viewers know full well that if Francine's bracelet hadn't disappeared and allowed Fern to show off her detecting chops, Fern would have spent the evening ''miserable'', forced to host an event she never wanted to have in the first place and likely having her viewpoint that she's boring and none of her peers want her around.

* "Arthur's Faraway Friend" has Buster going away with his dad for the rest of Season 2. Arthur desperately convincing Buster to dig a pit with him under Arthur's house so he can hide there. Buster bluntly says he'd think time with his dad would be more fun than living in a pit.

* "Thanks a Lot, Binky" sees Rattles and Slink attempting a very dangerous rollerblading stunt and imagines Rattles messing up and hurting himself, which prompts him to tell Mr. Haney. Despite Binky having had potentially saved his life, the only thing Rattles could think about is [[UngratefulBastard Binky "squealing" to Mr. Haney about the stunt]], [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and lets Binky know exactly what he and Slink both think of him]]. Poor guy.
* Binky's DreamSequence after the above point is also very sad. In his dream, he's seeing what the world would be like if nobody was nice. Litter would be everywhere, Rattles would be in the hospital wearing a full-body cast in agony after failing his stunt like Binky imagined he would, the Barnes household would be trashed, and Mr. and Mrs. Barnes would go on a cruise and leave Binky and (possibly) Mei Lin with hardly anything to eat or drink. This is an OpinionChangingDream, since before Binky was taking his mom for granted, and said she was wrong for thinking that Rattles would feel better about being saved; this could be interpreted as being all Binky's subconscious telling him that he doesn't appreciate his mother, or that [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished niceness doesn't always get rewarded]].

* Early in the episode, Molly brushes George by telling him to go read a book and then cruelly sneering, "[[KickTheDog Oh, that's right. You can't read.]]" Unlike previous run-ins with the Tough Customers, George is hurt rather than scared, his voice getting very small as he stutters, "I can read..." and runs off, crying. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Binky is appalled at Molly's actions.]]

* At the end of "Draw!" Mrs. [=MacGrady=] concocts a XanatosGambit while fortunetelling at the carnival: she asks Fern and her friends to dump green goop on Francine just to take the humiliation further. Francine comes to the fortunetelling tent for advice, while everyone waits. The kids are willing to go through with it until Mrs. [=MacGrady=] coaxes out of Francine that she's really upset about the cartoons. Francine starts to CryCute and admits she's sorry she called Fern a mouse, wanting the mean jokes to stop. Arthur and his friends can't pour the gloop on her when Mrs. [=MacGrady=] gives the signal, and go to Francine to help her cheer up. Mrs. [=MacGrady=], after the kids leave, reveals that the "gloop" was actually party balloons and streamers, meaning that if it had been pulled, Francine would have gotten a pleasant surprise.

--> '''D.W.''': [[CryCute He's lost and I never got to say goodbye]]!

Who knew [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} a PBS cartoon]] could have some [[TearJerker really sad moments]]?

** After a humorous ColdOpening, Buster has to visit the principal's office, where his mother is ''crying'' because he might have to repeat third grade. TruthInTelevision, this is a serious issue.
** By the end of the episode, the night before the test, everyone has given up on Buster, who laments that his only hope is to learn everything in one night. Binky says, "[[FalseReassurance Third grade is easier the second time around, or the third]]," [[PetTheDog Arthur says they'll always be friends even if Buster gets bullied for staying back]], and Francine mentions the second-graders who will become third-graders have a great softball team.

** Arthur not having any happy memories of Spanky since the bird spent his time biting him, stealing his shoelaces, and messing up his collections. At the funeral he can only say, "I only pretended to be mad because Buster was there" about one of those times.
** It's even worse when D.W. keeps yelling at a toad that follows her around and resides in Spanky's old cage. The toad is well-meaning but well, a toad, and who seems to be literally taking up space where he's not wanted. She goes into MyGodWhatHaveIDone mode on thinking she accidentally killed him and says "I should be in jail".

** Not to mention the way the dream narrator talks about Mrs. Barnes -
---> '''Uncle Slam Wilson:''' Life ain't always fair, Binky, but you're not the only one who doesn't get enough appreciation. I know someone who works twenty-four hours a day for nothing and almost never gets a thank you. ''(shows an abnormally tired/sad Mrs Barnes)''

* "The Last Tough Customer" reveals how Molly [[StartOfDarkness became a bully and a Tough Customer]]. She was bullied a lot herself as a kid for wearing her hair in a bun, her classmates calling her "[[MaliciousMisnaming Muffin Head]]" and destroying her sandcastles. The torment she endured made her very angry and bitter, to the point of becoming a Tough Customer so she can vent her hurt feelings on other kids.
** Made worse by the event that [[WhatHaveIBecome makes her realize what she's become]]: her little brother James, previously established as a kind and sweet kid who Molly absolutely adores, shoves a little girl out of the way in line for the water fountain in the park to Molly's obvious horror and shock. Molly tries to tell the girl that James didn't mean it but trails off when she sees the little girl in the exact same position she had been in after being bullied when she was younger. And when she asks why James did it, he tells her:

* In "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh", Sue Ellen comes to school wearing a heavy yak-skin sweater gifted to her from a friend in Tibet. Arthur comments that it makes her look like a big sheep dog, which she finds funny until he starts taking the joke too far, making all sorts of crude dog-related jokes at her expense. It soon begins to bother Sue Ellen, with Arthur going so far as to draw a crude picture of her with the body of a sheepdog. Even after Mr. Ratburn reprimands Arthur on his hurtful remarks, Arthur becomes overly defensive and lashes out at Sue Ellen claiming she is just overreacting. Soon enough everybody, [[EveryoneHasStandards including Francine and Muffy of all people]] are calling out Arthur on his behavior, which only causes Arthur to fight back even more. It all culminates with Arthur emailing Sue Ellen a crude photo of her with a dog's head, which finally pushes her to her breaking point as she decides she can no longer wear the sweater that prompted Arthur's behavior.

* The end result of Buster's DreamSequence in "Buster's Second Chance," where Buster enters a timeline where he became a ChildProdigy thanks to not flubbing an important assessment test he took as a preschooler (to the point where ''[[TheSmartGuy The Brain]]'' looks up to him and he's already taking calculus and robotics classes in the fourth grade). Buster eventually discovers that in this timeline, not only did he and Arthur never become friends, but Arthur wound up meeting then-bully Binky instead of Buster at the fated sandbox and became a [[GangOfBullies Tough Customer]]! (Who evidently never disbanded in this timeline.) When Buster meets Alt!Arthur and attempts to get Alt!Arthur to remember him, the way Alt!Arthur continuously tries to brush Buster off and ridicules his nerdiness is rather sad. The clincher is what Alt!Arthur says as he leaves, [[HiddenHeartOfGold hinting that he secretly doesn't like being a Tough Customer and is just pretending to be "cool"]], and Buster realizes he's the only thing keeping Arthur from going down this road. (Even if it is AllJustADream, the moment is still rather sad to watch.)

'''Alt!Arthur:''' Me? Friends with someone who likes ''Love Ducks''? Come on! (''suddenly more solemn'') I mean, maybe if I had a friend who liked checkers and ''Love Ducks'' and other uncool stuff, maybe my whole life could have been... different, (''acting tough again'') but it isn't! (''leaves ridiculing Love Ducks and lamenting how "uncool" the place has gotten'')\\

** The above DreamSequence also shows another consequence of Buster never befriending Arthur - the Tough Customers themselves. Without the positive influence of Buster on Arthur and Arthur's subsequent positive influence on his other friends, the Tough Customers, especially [[GentleGiant Binky]] and [[CoolBigSis Molly]], would never have their own {{Heel Realization}}s and CharacterDevelopment, or abandoned their bullying ways like they did in "The Last Tough Customer". Instead, they become full-time delinquents who trash the beloved Sugar Bowl after making it their local hangout. The Tough Customers [[HeelFaceTurn becoming]] [[TookALevelInKindness good]] all depended on Buster and Arthur becoming best friends.

[[AC:Arthur's Perfect Christmas]]

** The night of Muffy's big Christmas party, Muffy doesn't understand why Francine is missing out to celebrate Hanukkah, which is why she tells Francine that Hanukkah isn't as important as Christmas, leaving Francine hurt. If that wasn't bad enough, after opening all her Christmas presents, Muffy realizes that since she and Francine aren't friends anymore, she has nobody to share her presents with. She even sadly sings about it.

** Poor, poor D.W., who was miserable when she didn't get the ''Teena the Talking Tabby'' doll she wanted for Christmas... at least she started to take a liking to her stuffed duck afterwards.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/so_long_spanky_busters_new_friend_166433_9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Dad, why won't Spanky wake up?'']]

** Special mention goes to Buster, for whom Christmas hasn't been easy since his parents got divorced. Bitzi is always anxious that her son won't have a good Christmas because his father isn't around to celebrate with them.

* In "April 9th," [[WhamEpisode Lakewood Elementary's teacher's lounge catches on fire]], forcing everyone to relocate to another school until the damage is fixed. The episode acted as the series' response to [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the September 11th terrorist attacks]], and while the big disaster is presented in much easier way for younger audiences to swallow, it nonetheless conveys the shock and lingering trauma of dealing with a sudden disaster ''very'' well.

* In "April 9th," [[WhamEpisode Lakewood Elementary's teacher's lounge catches on fire]], forcing everyone to relocate to another school until the damage is fixed. [[WhamEpisode No one expected it]]. ''[[DarkerAndEdgier At all]].''

* In "Lost!" Arthur goes on a bus for a swimming lesson, but sleeps through it and misses his stop. Depressed by how he is broke and doesn't know the way back home, he lets out a tear. Also heartbreaking for older viewers as his parents and sister are understandably ''terrified'' when he doesn't show up for class. Any wonder his mother [[AdultFear burst into tears just recounting it]]?

*** Arthur blurts out, "[[AdultFear But what if something happens about the aquarium]]?" while trying to fake a sore throat to keep his dad from going to another catering event. His dad immediately asks, "Are you worried something is going to happen to me?" with understanding instead of anger. His dad then proceeds to tell a story of how Grandma Thora was in a car accident when Dave was a child, and for a long time after he was scared she would drive out one day and never come back. Dave would toss paper balls into his wastebasket, as a ritual to ensure she would come home safely (it helps that he was a good shot). One day he didn't keep the ritual, and she came home without a problem. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments "It's my job to worry about you, Arthur. Not the other way around."]]

* "Thanks a Lot, Binky" sees Rattles and Slink attempting a very dangerous rollerblading stunt and [[AdultFear imagines Rattles messing up and hurting himself]], which prompts him to tell Mr. Haney. Despite Binky having had potentially saved his life, the only thing Rattles could think about is [[UngratefulBastard Binky "squealing" to Mr. Haney about the stunt]], [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and lets Binky know exactly what he and Slink both think of him]]. Poor guy.

** Poor Binky was so traumatized after seeing the fire in the teacher's lounge and Mr. Morris got injured, he starts seeing fires everywhere he goes. Watching ''Bionic Bunny'' becomes downright stressful with the villain Fireball, and Binky deliberately sets off the Mighty Mountain school alarms to see how fast the firefighters come. When their regular school reopens, he has a FreakOut when looking at the renovated teacher's lounge, [[NightmareFuel imagining the flames burning Mr. Haney alive]], and runs out screaming. Mr. Frensky finds him putting away litter in the trash and asks why he's not in class; Binky [[ManlyTears breaks down crying]] and admits that he's scared of going back to school after seeing the fire.

* In "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh", Sue Ellen comes to school wearing a heavy yak-skin sweater gifted to her from a friend in Tibet. Arthur comments that it makes her look like a big sheep dog, which she finds funny until he starts taking the joke too far, making all sorts of crude dog-related jokes at her expense. It soon begins to bother Sue Ellen, with Arthur going so far as to draw a crude picture of her with the body of a sheepdog. Even after Mr. Ratburn reprimands Arthur on his hurtful remarks, Arthur becomes overly defensive and lashes out at Sue Ellen claiming she is just overreacting. Soon enough everybody, [[EveryoneHasStandards including Francine and Muffy of al people]] are calling out Arthur on his behavior, which only causes Arthur to fight back even more. It all culminates with Arthur emailing Sue Ellen a crude photo of her with a dog's head, which finally pushes her to her breaking point as she decides she can no longer wear the sweater that prompted Arthur's behavior.

** By the end of the episode, the night before the test, everyone has given up on Buster, who laments that his only hope is to learn everything in one night. Binky says, "[[FalseReassurance Third grade is easier the second time around, or the third]]," [[PetTheDog Arthur says they'll always be friend even if Buster gets bullied for staying back]], and Francine mentions the second-graders who will become third-graders have a great softball team.

** The above DreamSequence also shows another consequence of Buster never befriending Arthur - the Tough Customers themselves. Without the positive influence of Buster on Arthur and Arthur's subsequent positive influence on his other friends, the Tough Customers, especially [[GentleGiant Binky]] and [[CoolBigSis Molly]], would never have their own {{Heel Realization}}s and CharacterDevelopment, or abandoned their bullying ways like they did in "The Last Tough Customer". Instead, they become full-time delinquents who trash the beloved Sugar Bowl after making it their local hangout. The Tough Customers [[HeelFaceTurn becoming]] [[TookALevelInKindness good]] all depended on Buster and Arthur becoming best friends.