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Tear Jerker: Family Guy
Family Guyof all shows pulled one off in the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows". First, Brian convinces a shut-in to enjoy the outside world, only to watch as she gets hit by a truck. They then spent her last few moments on Earth imagining what their future would have been like together with a virtual reality helmet. Meanwhile, Peter is forced to release some swallows who have taken up residence in his beard, and to whom he had gotten rather attached. This editor found himself shocked at the fact that he was tearing up at an episode of Family Guy. Seth MacFarlane himself said this is the one episode that contains "real emotional content".
In the otherwise hilarious "Road to Germany", the scene where nerdy Jewish Butt Monkey Mort Goldman, transported back in time to Warsaw in September of 1939, dances happily— the only moment of happiness we've ever seen the character have— with all of his old relatives at a wedding while "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof plays, interspersed with the Nazi invasion. It was as though the writers were acknowledging that even a Dead Baby Comedy like Family Guy has to address the Holocaust with at least one moment of solemnity before getting back to Those Wacky Nazis.
This editor has to chalk a tearjerker up for the ending of Brian in Love, where Brian spends an entire episode realizing that he's fallen for Lois (no spoilers since you probably saw it coming). The fact that this editor had gone through similar events and feelings herself - minus the peeing everywhere, of course (and I'm probably too shy to admit my feelings) - for a good friend of mine made me connect a lot and the endng always makes me tear up.
Brian's efforts to get people to realize animals' lives are as important as those of humans in Dog Gone ending in utter failure. This troper actually wanted Brian to win this time and felt genuinely sad when he failed. Then there was the end where the family was crying over Brian's supposed death.
There is also the episode when Brian plans to give up his kidneys to save Peter after Peter's kidneys shut down from drinking a homemade energy drink. And when Stewie finds out, besides the way he cries, he feels pain because he believes Brian would leave him alone in the world. Even a troper can be crying like Stewie sometimes and despite it disgusting, it was very heartbreaking.
This troper rarely cries about anything like a movie or a TV show, but that moment right there. It hit me right in the weak spot. I had to try my hardest to keep back tears.
In the episode Foreign Affairs, this troper felt very moved when Joe, being unable to convince Bonnie to stay with him and their daughter, shows his love for her by standing and walking unaided. This being Family Guy, however, inevitably leads to a mood destroying revealing shot showing Quagmire attached to the back of Joe to support his legs.
Really? This troper saw the spoiled bit as a happier tearjerker showing how far the gang would go to help each other.
In "Seahorse Party" (part two of the Seth MacFarlane hurricane crossover special, featuring The Cleveland Show and American Dad!) Meg's breakdown at her life as a Chew Toy. Especially all the speeches she gives to Chris, Lois and Peter about how much of a bunch of jerks they are. Even further is her acceptance at being a Chew Toy to keep the family from fighting. Poor, poor, Meg.
This speech from "Screams of Silence: The Brenda Q. Story":
"The person I see before me right now is just a punching bag. And I call you "person," not "woman," because a woman is a strong, beautiful vibrant creature. Sadly, the fact that you are with Jeff proves to me that you have made a choice to make your life worse."
And this is coming from QUAGMIRE. The same Quagmire who often slips roofies into his date's drinks, steals women's used shoes to satisfy his foot fetish, has a sex doll of Lois hidden in his bedroom that he uses as a Stalker Shrine, and doesn't use protection at all during sex (despite that he has every venereal disease known to man) actually cares about his sister and wants her to get out of being abused by her boyfriend.
Then near the end, when Meg and Eli share a final goodbye.
The episode where Peter gets a stroke and suffers just trying to live his life while his whole left side of his body is paralyzed. It was Peter's fault that he caused the stroke to himself by eating 30 hamburgers in one sitting, but for anyone who has or had a friend or family member suffering from a stroke, Peter's suffering can hit home.
Peter: I hate being all strokey!
In "Quagmire And Meg", nobody shows up to Megs 18th birthday party. It's sad because Peter and Lois actually feel sorry for her. Lois even told Chris to pay kids from school to come.
Despite it being epic for Peter to prevent Quagmire and Meg from getting it on before out was too late, it feels Kick the Dog-ish for Peter to tell Meg that she'll never leave his watch.
Near the end of "The Blind Side", Brian tells his blind girlfriend Kate that he's a dog (which she hates). She dumps him, not because he's a dog, but because he lied to her.
The one where Brian petitions Quahog to legalize marijuana
. The cat was one of the few things he loved other than women, and it's shown that he's clearly distraught about his disappearance (he didn't know that his cat was dead until the end when the main story about Brian's marijuana campaign fizzles out).
Quagmire: Guys I'm raising the reward to $50 to anyone who can find James, not questions asked.
Peter:(beat)(takes reward from him) I killed your cat. (slams door on him)
Murial's death is pretty heartbreaking when you think about it. She truly didn't deserve to die, seeing she doesn't have that much of a role in the show. Poor Mort.
Mort's reaction is pretty funny though:
Mort: Oh God! Muriel! Oh she was so youn...she was so beuti...she was so gener...we were married!
Plus Derek's death. And it was only his second appearance.
Some scenes from "Brian and Stewie," particularly the revelation that Brian keeps a gun and a bottle of Scotch in his bank vault for when the day comes that he becomes so sick of living that he can have one final drink before he kills himself, and Stewie telling Brian that he's the only person he cares about in this world and he'd be lost if he died.
In "Burning Down The Bayit", we hear that his life is falling apart with his wife's death and his store going under.
Plus when Peter, Quagmire and Mort are jailed, they complain about how government insurance agencies are screwing them over and Joe relates to them and recounts that the government gave him a $60 wheelchair rather than a $2000 surgery to restore his ability to walk. Joe then lets the guys go free.
For some reason, the following exchange always depresses this troper:
Francis' ghost: (unenthusiastically) Luke, you must go to the Dagobah System.
Peter: (disappointed sigh) Thanks.
Meg is sometimes depicted as fragile and disturbed out of a desperation for love and affection and as a way to solve her problems she stated to her mom that she cuts herself. In another episode when Connie (who always bullies Meg) asked Meg to help her become popular again after Chris became popular Meg told her off and showed her the scars on her arm that she made from cutting herself as a result of Connie's bullying.
The recent season finale when Quagmire and Peter talk Joe into cheating via Poor Communication Kills. A flashback reveals that Bonnie used to be a stripper and that they fell in love when "Africa" by Toto played. Peter, realizing how much he screwed up, tried to recreate the event hoping they'd reconcile and it worked. Doubles as a Heartwarming Moment. Then again, Toto can make any moment powerful.
