History TearJerker / DowntonAbbey

* Tom Branson getting yelled at by Robert when he ran to the Crawleys for help; his description of the burning of a house, his reaction to the devastated families, and that utter, broken look of desperation on his face.
** Arguably, he deserved being chewed out by Robert for such despicable behavior -- it's all very well being sad afterwards, but joining in with the burning of a family home is appalling, no matter how worthy he believes his political ideals to be. It can also be SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome on Robert's behalf, having endured endless tetchy politicking from Branson for half of the third series, and his incredulity at Branson's change of heart is understandable.
** Sybil defended Tom, claiming he had nothing to do with the burning of the house, holding his hand the whole time. But when she finds out he had attended meetings of the group responsible, she lets go. She looked so dissapointed in him.

** [[spoiler:Speaking of Marigold, there's Mrs Drewe's absolute grief and heartbreak when Edith shows up and tells the truth about Marigold's parentage. She screams at her husband for lying to her, tears up Edith's copy of the birth certificate, but ultimately there's nothing she can do. Not only would it be wrong to keep Marigold from her birth mother, but Edith is the daughter of their upper-class landlord. They have ''no choice'' but to let Marigold go. The Dowager's subsequent visit to their home finds them still torn up about it.]]
* [[spoiler:When Edith takes Marigold, Mrs Drewe is fighting and screaming until it becomes apparent that Edith really is going to take the baby and there's nothing she can do; then she hands over Marigold's teddy bear too, so that the child can at least be happy and comforted even if it can't be with her. The little pat she gives the bear is heartbreaking.]]

* Poor Daisy getting stuck in an impossible position when Mrs. Patmore demands she sabotage Mrs. Bird. When the truth comes out Daisy is left a sobbing wreck, knowing what she did was wrong but also torn by wanting to protect the closest person she has to a mother.

* Mrs. Patmore finding out not only that her nephew is dead but that he was shot for cowardice.

*** Mr. Mason and Daisy at William's grave. Stop.

** It gets worse during the Christmas special. [[spoiler: The first shot we see of Mr. Bates is him sitting on his prison cot, clutching a photograph of Anna and breaking down in tears. On Christmas Day.]] And just when you think it can't get any worse, [[spoiler: he's found guilty of Vera's 'murder' and is sentenced to die by hanging. Poor Anna freaks out in the middle of the court, and Bates - who's been quite steely-jawed during the proceedings - breaks down AGAIN, calling for Anna as he's been led away by the guards.]] JESUS CHRIST.

* [[spoiler: Ethel giving up baby Charlie in 3.04. When Mrs. Crawley asks her to visit - with the pretext of offering her a job - she reveals that she's stopped working as a prostitute, rationalizing that 'now she can starve alone' instead of worrying about feeding her son. The implications are heartbreaking.]]

** And all the servants are seen crying when they hear the news of [[spoiler: Sybil's death]]. Even Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes can't hold back their tears

** Daisy quietly asks Mr. Carson what they should do and manages to remain calm if quiet... until Mrs. Hughes opens her arms to her. Daisy instantly breaks down into sobs.

* Thomas when [[spoiler: he's forcefully and loudly rejected by Jimmy. Even worse: Alfred sees the whole thing and is then coerced into telling Carson by O'Brien.]] He just stands there in the middle of the hallway, tears brimming as he realizes that everything he's worked/schemed for is falling to pieces now that [[spoiler: his secret is out.]] Made even sadder by the fact that everyone (Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Patmore, Bates, Mary and even Robert) knew, and none of them cared. All of his worrying and scheming, not to mention the chip on his shoulder, could have been avoided. If he only knew that Robert was aware of his 'secret', the blackmailing scheme wouldn't have gone anywhere.

** And later when he's outside, crouched in a corner, hat in hands, weeping and Mrs. Hughes asks him what's wrong. He clearly wants to tell her, but he's terrified of her reaction.
-->"I'm... I'm afraid that... that if I do, Mrs. Hughes, it will shock and disgust you."

** [[spoiler: Speaking of Marigold, there's Mrs. Drewe's absolute grief and heartbreak when Edith shows up and tells the truth about Marigold's parentage. She screams at her husband for lying to her, tears up Edith's copy of the birth certificate, but ultimately there's nothing she can do. Not only would it be wrong to keep Marigold from her birth mother, but Edith is the daughter of their upper-class landlord. They have ''no choice'' but to let Marigold go. The Dowager's subsequent visit to their home finds them still torn up about it.]]
* [[spoiler:When Edith takes Marigold, Mrs. Drewe is fighting and screaming until it becomes apparent that Edith really is going to take the baby and there's nothing she can do; then she hands over Marigold's teddy bear too, so that the child can at least be happy and comforted even if it can't be with her. The little pat she gives the bear is heartbreaking.]]

* Mrs. Patmore's attempt to get her nephew, who was shot for cowardice during WWI, a place on the Downton war memorial is pretty heartrending; especially when she defends him to Robert telling him about how he could have stayed at home until he was conscripted but instead had joined up right away.

* The whole situation between Edith and Mrs. Drewe. Two mothers, one baby. There's no solution where both women get to keep the child they both care so deeply for, and someone's heart is going to be broken.
* Seeing how much Mrs. Drewe misses Marigold is heartbreaking. So is the fact that the Drewe family, who have been at their farm for generations, are forced to relocate because the situation with Marigold has become too problematic. Think about it. Mr. Drewe did an enormous favour for Lady Edith and it ended up breaking his wife's heart and forcing him and his family away from their home. Talk about no good deed goes unpunished.
** When Mrs. Drewe low-key kidnaps Marigold from the festival, it's very hard not to blame her. She probably knew she'd only get a few more hours at best with the child she missed desperately, and she knew how much trouble it would cause when she was inevitably caught, but she does it anyway. When the Crawleys catch up with her, she's just holding Marigold, rocking her back and forth, spending precious moments with her.

** In episode 6, Mary's nastiness reaches completely new levels. She snarks that she can't imagine what Michael Gregson ever found appealing about Edith, rolls her eyes over Edith's grief because after all they all knew he'd been dead for ages and it's really Edith's problem if she hasn't accepted it yet, and anyhow, can't she admire Mary's new hairdo like evryone else; must she always spoil everything? The fact that no one steps in despite her behavior not only being callous bullying, but also remarkably ''bratty'' for a lady her age, really takes the cake. It's no wonder that Edith runs away from home after that...and Mary cannot even comprehend why anyone would worry for Edith.

** In episode 6, her nastiness reaches completely new levels. She snarks that she can't imagine what Michael Gregson ever found appealing about Edith, rolls her eyes over Edith's grief because after all they all knew he'd been dead for ages and it's really Edith's problem if she hasn't accepted it yet, and anyhow, can't she admire Mary's new hairdo like evryone else; must she always spoil everything? The fact that no one steps in despite her behavior not only being callous bullying, but also remarkably ''bratty'' for a lady her age, really takes the cake. It's no wonder that Edith leaves home after that.

*** By the end of the first episode, Mary uses the fire at Downton as another excuse to pick on Edith ''again'' by claiming she "chose" to set fire to her room.

** [[spoiler: How about Robert himself? If he and Sir Philip had taken Dr. Clarkson's warnings seriously, there's a chance that Sybil might have lived. A fact that Cora harshly reminds him of the next day, and for which he blames himself as well.]]

-->'''Thomas:''' *Sobs* I don't know why I'm crying really. She wouldn't've noticed if I'd died.

-->'''Thomas:''' No, no I don't. *visibly getting a grip on himself* In my life, I can tell you, not many have been kind to me. She was one of the few *sobs more*.

** And as always, it gets worse for poor Edith. [[spoiler: She can't keep away from Marigold, and it gets worse when she brings Lady Rosamund to see the baby. Mrs. Drewe has all but convinced Mr. Drewe to sell the farm and move away if Edith doesn't stop showing up, an ultimatum that causes both him and Edith distress. Rosamund and The Dowager's own solution - to send Marigold away to a French boarding school to be brought up under an alias - is no better for Edith. In either scenario, Edith sends up having her daughter taken away and it's tearing her up inside.]]

* Edith's situation in general for the fifth season. [[spoiler: She's still unmarried, doesn't have anyone to turn to for affection (romantic or otherwise), doesn't have any duties to keep her busy, is still in mourning over Gregson and is cooped up in the house all day watching everyone dote on her sisters' children while her illegitimate daughter is being raised by a farmer and his wife in secret. And while she does drop in to see Marigold from time to time, it's clearly not enough for her. Even worse, Margie - the farmer's wife, who doesn't know the truth of Marigold's parentage - is terrified of Edith's interest in their child and thinks that one day she's going to come and snatch her away from them.]] It comes to a head in episode 5.03, when [[spoiler: Tim has to tell Edith to stay away from them for an indefinite period of time. The look on Edith's face is heartbreaking.]]
** And as always, it gets worse for poor Edith. [[spoiler: She can't keep away from Marigold, and it gets worse when she brings Lady Rosamund to see the baby. Mrs. Drewe has all but convinced Mr. Drewe to sell the farm and move away if Edith doesn't stop showing up, an ultimatum that causes both him and Edith distress. Rosamund and The Dowager's own solution - to send Marigold away to a French boarding school to be brought up under an alias - is no better for Edith. In either scenario, Edith sends up having her daughter taken away and it's tearing her up inside.]]
** In 5.01, Mary uses the fire at Downton as another excuse to pick on Edith ''again'' by claiming she "chose" to set fire to her room.

-->'''Jack:''' If we lived in even a slightly better world, I wouldn't give in.

* Mary convincing Jack Ross to give up on his relationship with Rose. The two of them are genuinely in love, Jack adores Ross, but he breaks things off for her sake, knowing that they'd have to face being ostracized from most of society as a mixed-race couple and that Rose would be disowned by her family.

* For all the bad blood between them at the end, Richard Carlisle's farewell to Mary: Despite his often haughty and opportunistic behavior, he bitterly admits that he loved Mary much more than she ever loved him. It's why he eventually abandons his plans to publish Mary's scandalous past in the newspaper.

* Jimmy is essentially peer pressured into befriending the person who sexually assaulted him. The fact that what Thomas did was illegal then [[HideYourGays for the wrong reasons]] doesn't change that what he did is ''still'' illegal nowadays, and for [[QuestionableConsent the right reasons]]. The expectation that he had to tough it out is an all too real one.
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* The hurt and betrayal on Matthew’s face when Mary tells him about what the Dowager Countess said she should do; take him now but leave if he doesn’t inherit. He asks her if she’s a good liar, and looks like he already knows the answer.

** In 5.01, Mary uses the fire at Downton as another excuse to pick on Edith ''again'' by claiming she "chose" to set fire to the rooms.

* Mary’s face when the Duke of Crowborough rejects her.
* Molesley telling Carson how useless he feels when Matthew won’t let him do his job.

* Gwen’s despair, when she is rejected from a job offer due to her social status:
--> (to Sybil) Forgive me, m’lady, but you don’t get it. You’re brought up to think it’s all within your grasp, that if you want something enough it will come to you; but we’re not like that. We don’t think our dreams are bound to come true, because they almost never do.

* Robert’s reaction to [[spoiler: Cora’s miscarriage]]: [[ManlyTears "It was a boy."]]

* Tom Branson getting yelled at by Robert when he ran to the Crawleys for help; his description of the burning of a house, his reaction to the devastated families, and that utter, broken look of desparation on his face.

** Sybil defended Tom, claiming he had nothing to do with the burning of the house, holding his hand the whole time. But when she finds out he had attended meetings of the group responsible, she lets go. She looked so dissapointrd in him.

* After Edna has taken advantage of Tom's loneliness and the fact that he was, by his own admission, ''very'' drunk to get him into bed, she tries to spring the rest of her [[BabyTrap Baby Trap]] on him by telling him that if he was good enough for Sybil, she's good enough for him, his knee-jerk response is to angrily forbid her from using his wife's name. But it's Edna's blink-and-miss-it response which really clinches it: "You were free enough with it last night." Oh, ''Tom''...

* Ms O'Brien gets one actually. Thinking Cora is planning to dismiss her, in the heat of the moment she leaves soap on the bathroom floor. Immediately as soon as she's out of the room, she has a HeelRealization - "Sarah O'Brien, you are ''not'' like this" - and goes to warn Cora about the soap. [[spoiler: Unfortunately she's too late and Cora suffers a miscarriage as a result.]]