Tear Jerker / Monkie Kid

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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A LEGO show can't have too much in terms of heartbreaking moments, right? ...Well...

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Season 1

• In the pilot episode when MK is blasted away by Princess Iron Fan, the rest of the group really believes he is dead and all have truly, utterly grief-stricken reactions, Pigsy and Mei in particular, the latter of which had to be carried away from the scene by the former in her state of distraught. Thankfully, they find out later he's still alive.
  Pigsy: (sadly) I'm sorry kid.
• Coming Home reveals Mei has some insecurities about her place in her noble family of dragon descendants, and it can be disheartening to see the normally upbeat Mei not feel like she belongs in her own family home.
  Mei: When I was growing up, I just wanted to be rough and tumble. Break stuff. Look at bugs. You know, have fun just like normal girl stuff. But when your house is pretty much a museum and you come from a long line of ancient, noble dragons, that's kind of frowned on.
• In Impossible Delivery, it's implied that part of MK's compensation for working for Pigsy is the place he lives, making his Freak Out over the possibility of being fired much more understandable, even if it was Played for Laughs.
  • Downplayed when later seasons reveal Pigsy and MK have a father-son relationship, so it's unlikely Pigsy would kick MK out even if he did fire him.
• In The End Is Here!, a possessed Demon Bull King gives a scathing speech to Red Son about how he's been nothing but a disappointment to him, in spite of all of the latter's attempts to earn his approval throughout the season. All the normally fiery and verbose Red Son does in this scene is take it silently, and you can even see his lip trembling as his father berates him. Then he has to face his own father calling him a traitor and attempting to kill him and his mother.
  Red Son: Father, let me go up there and destroy those-
  DBK: (laughs) You? Why would I trust you? You have brought me nothing but failure! Time and time again, nothing but disappointment!

Season 2

• Revenge of the Spider Queen
  • The season 2 premiere shows that even though Red Son knows his father was possessed during the ordeal, the events of the previous episode clearly still hurt for him. Even Mei eases off on the teasing after that.
    Mei: So, heard you helped MK beat your dad.
    Red Son: (defensive) THAT WAS ONE TIME! My father, the great Demon Bull King, was... (tone softens) not himself.
  • MK's shock at seeing Monkey King captured, spending the rest of the special in an uncharacteristic somber mood, with his inner monologue making it clear how much he doubts his ability to do anything in his own.
• Sleep Bug: Played for Laughs, but MK is not in a good place after Monkey King leaves for vacation and he returns home to find all his friends asleep, clearly feeling some level of abandonment.
• Minor Scale absolutely puts poor MK through the wringer. Just as he is becoming remorse over Monkey King not being around for him as he's been off on "vacation", he then ends up completely alone and face to face with Lady Bone Demon, who first tricks him into believing she was a girl in need of help and taking advantage of his kindness - then proceeds to psychologically toy with him, amp up his already existing insecurities over believing he's not good enough as Monkey King's successor, and throws his own words back at him in the cruelest way possible.
  Lady Bone Demon: You're right, you know. "It's scary being alone!" I do pity you. (rises up from the ground, choking MK)'' Just a piece in a game you cannot possibly comprehend.
  • The episode ends with MK curling up on himself inside Pigsy's shop, absolutely shaken and with no clue what to do. Even though the episode started out with MK learning to be small in a literal sense, it ends with him feeling small compared to what he has to go up against, and believes he is completely alone in it all.
  • And to make matters worse? For the rest of the season, he doesn't tell his friends about this encounter with Lady Bone Demon, not allowing them to support or help him when he needs it the most.
• Game On
  • MK is still rattled over the events of the previous episode, frantically searching Monkey King's home in hopes of finding something to help against the Lady Bone Demon. What's worse, he hesitates to tell his friends this, keeping the events to himself.
• Shadow Play. When the feels are coming from both MK and Macaque, you know things are bad.
  • The main bulk of this episode comes from the titular shadow play, being a tale about the powerful friendship between a hero and a warrior that tragically fell apart as the hero gained greater power and moved on, leaving the warrior behind in his shadow to feel abandoned and forgotten. The Hero and The Warrior in question? Yep, Monkey King and Macaque - and if this is true, their relationship by this point has dissolved even further to where they're now bitter enemies. It really is a tragic tale.
    • If you've read The Journey to the West, it makes the play much worse. In the actual tale, Macaque impersonates Sun Wukong and tries to kill the Great Monk. This eventually led him to die at the Monkey King's hands. It isn't a coincidence that the Lady Bone Demon had to bring him back to the Mortal Realm.
  • MK finds himself relating to the warrior in the story due to feeling abandoned by Monkey King while he's desperately trying to prepare himself to fight Lady Bone Demon on his own and is so caught up in these feelings he doesn't even question that his friends might be in trouble when it appears they up and left him too. This makes his clear guilt upon seeing they were actually captured by Macaque all the more heartbreaking.
    • For a brief moment while MK is being attacked by the shadow projections of his friends, you can see Tang scream as he's forced to hurt MK.
  • MK's frustrations with Monkey King that have been building up over the season really boil over, to the point that he goes to punch what he believes is an astral projection image of Monkey King.
    MK: What if... what if [Monkey King] knows he made a mistake? Chose wrong, chose the wrong successor?
    Macaque as Monkey King: And? What if he did?
    MK: Ah! Ugh, this again? Look, I know you're not really here. I've been doing what you told me to do. Believing in myself, blah blah blah. But I'm not ready for this. I can't face the Lady Bone Demon alone. I just feel so...
    Macaque as Monkey King: (laughs)
    MK: Urgh! If you're not going to help, then just LEAVE ME ALONE!
  • The storyboard version of this scene features some extra lines cut from the final product that ends up doubling down on MK's abandonment issues at this moment.
    MK, about Monkey King: What if he's...bailing out?
• To Catch A Leaf, an episode centered around the kindest and most well-rounded member of the group, Sandy, delves into the exact reason why he promised never to fight again — because the power he possesses is enough to destroy a giant rock formation shaped like a sleeping panda through just the sheer force of a punch that didn't even land. It's also made very clear Sandy's pacifism is also rooted in having some trauma related to battle and seeing friends be hurt in the past based on some brief flashbacks. It's no wonder he needed therapy.
• Even after everything she's done, it's hard not to feel sympathy for Spider Queen in 72 Transformations when she begins to cry upon the realization she has no hope of fighting back against Lady Bone Demon after MK destroys her mech, and that she had been played like a mere pawn this whole time. Her fate in the next episode certainly doesn't help, either. And speaking of which...
• This Is The End, the season 2 finale. Oh, where to begin?
  • In this finale, as MK desperately tries to stop Lady Bone Demon by using all the powers he's gained over the season, it proves not only obsolete but only makes her stronger, as she rips them away one by one to power her bone mech. Even the Monkey Mech is destroyed the instant MK tries to use it. Everything MK has learned and every ability he's gained is useless against her, and in the end, he is rendered completely powerless when she takes away the power of the staff and can only cry and beg her to stop as she begins to encase him in crystal.
  • When Monkey King appears, looking completely battered, there's this:
    MK: Monkey King? You're really here?
  • In an absolutely cathartic scene, made by the visuals and the soundtrack, Monkey King grabs MK and uses the last of his power to fly them away, the latter watching with horror as the city and its people are completely engulfed in a blinding light, Lady Bone Demon simply smiling as she uses the staff to complete her mech. Even with our heroes still standing, Lady Bone Demon WON here, and our heroes lost, the entire sequence invoking a feeling of utter hopelessness as all they can do is run as far away as possible and try to figure out what to do next.
  • On Sandy's ship, MK and Monkey King have the first real in-person interaction they've had since the first episode of the season, and when the former tries to adopt his usual casualness, MK can only look at him in utter disbelief. The mentor/student relationship they've developed over the show is NOT in a good place right now.
    Monkey King: Hey bud. Miss me?
    MK: Where were you?! You could've stopped this, we could've - (on the verge of tears) we have to go back! We have to take her down!
  • Monkey King's state in general through the final part of the episode - he looks like he's been through hell, his once regal appearance in literal tatters, and his entire demeanor invokes exhaustion and failure, having to tell MK that they can't go back to face Lady Bone Demon and that they are both powerless now. Moreover, he's faced with the guilt of MK having to be subjected to all this — when Pigsy chews him out for not being there for his protégé this whole season, all he does is hang his head, ashamed.
    Pigsy: What could've been so important that you'd leave MK alone to face that… that thing?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HIS MENTOR!
    • There's also a brief moment where Monkey King watches his cloud fade away entirely after he and MK crash onto the deck, and his reaction is like that of watching your beloved pet pass on before your very eyes.

Season 3

• On the Run
  • Monkey King's fight with Ne Zha could count as this, with the Great Sage clearly regretting having to come to blows with the latter.
  • When Macaque attacks, MK instinctively readies his staff, only to remember he doesn't have it anymore. MK's subsequent attempt to attack the shadow monkey and the sad look on his face shows how hard losing his powers has hit him.
• Great Grand Dragon of the East
  • When MK implores the titular Dragon of The East to let them leave to fight the Lady Bone Demon, the latter lambasts him for failing so miserably to stop her. MK quickly brushes it off, but he's clearly hurt.
  • Mei and her 1000x great grand-uncle nearly came to blows over her choice to side with Monkey King and her friends over him. Both obviously do not want to hurt one another, but feel they have no choice.
  • Likewise, Dragon of The East's horror at discovering Mei may have a connection to the Samadhi Fire.
• Smartie Kid:
  • Played for Laughs, but it's implied the main reason MK is so eager to act as The Smart Guy is because he feels he can't be The Big Guy after losing his powers, clearly having his confidence shaken.
• Amnesia Rules:
  • Monkey King gets amnesia after Pigsy feeds him a ghost pepper during a meditative trance. As a result, he reverts to the fun-loving ball of chaotic hijinks he used to be in Journey to the West. While it's played entirely for comedy (mainly through his mistaking Tang and Pigsy for Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie, respectively), around the end of the episode Wukong reaffirms his friendship to the both of them and obliviously implies that a lot of his current-day personal issues are caused by having outlived his old companions countless lifetimes ago.
    Pigsy: Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. We're friends?
    Monkey King: Of course we are! Everyone needs friends! Can you imagine what I'd be like without friends? I'd probably turn into a really manipulative jerk or something! (carefree laugh)
  • The real reason behind the Scorpion Queen's lies and illusions? She was lonely and just wanted a friend. She also appears to have issues with her appearance, since after Monkey King dispels her illusion. She bitterly laments that she just wanted to be seen as a "beautiful queen". It's particularly sad when she explains why she did everything.
    Scorpion Queen: I've been here by myself for so long. I heard Monkey King talk about you being his, companions. Well, that's all I ever wanted, friendship.
• The First Ring
  • This episode reveals something of a Dark and Troubled Past for Red Son; it turns out the Samadhi Fire originates from him, a power that he couldn't hope to handle as a young child (it's even implied the scar on his cheek is one he got from hurting himself due to the Fire's influence) — which resulted in his parents having to make the reluctant choice to remove it from him before he could destroy the world or himself with it. This backstory can definitely explain Red Son's present-day issues with his sense of adequacy and worthiness, as well as his constant need to prove himself to his parents.
    • This also puts a whole new context on Monkey King calling Red Son "half-baked" when trying to rile up Demon Bull King back in Revenge of The Spider Queen.
• Benched
  • Tang is pushed to the sidelines when his friends form a band in order to win the last Samadhi ring. Monkey King, the one who has Performance Anxiety and vehemently doesn't want to go onstage, is still chosen over Tang to play the gong. Veers into heartwarming when in the climax of the episode, Tang declares to Macaque that he doesn't hold a grudge against his friends over this, and successfully keeps the ring away from Macaque.
• The Samadhi Fire
  • Mei is forged with the Rings of Samadhi upon the reveal that she is an unknown fourth ring, and as such is forced to become the unwilling possessor of the full power of the Samadhi Fire. If her terror upon Ne Zha saying that it will burn her alive wasn't enough already, she then learns that Monkey King knew about her this whole time, and hid the truth from all of them. She's not only enraged but absolutely distraught and terrified as she delivers Monkey King a vicious "The Reason You Suck" Speech through Broken Tears.
    Mei: We trusted you! All of us! How could you lead us into this fight without a real plan?! Time and time again, I've watched you put MK in danger, leaving him to figure out everything on his own! Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?!
  • When faced with the idea of losing Mei, MK runs into her flames to get through to her, the fire burning away the jacket that she gave him back in "Great Grand Dragon of The East". Even though MK manages to make Mei stop with the Cooldown Hug, she pushes him away out of fear of hurting him again, tearfully flying off into the sky. MK can only weakly call out to her as she goes.
    Mei: I can't... I don't want to hurt you... any of you... I'm sorry.
  • Monkey King's silent realization of just how badly he screwed up this episode, and how almost every desperate decision he's made with the intent to protect MK and stop Lady Bone Demon over the past two seasons has succeeded at doing almost the exact opposite, puts him firmly into Broken Ace territory. Fully conceding with Mei's words, he decides to forgo all the efforts of obtaining the Samadhi Fire that he caused the team to undergo this season and stop the Lady Bone Demon alone if only so MK and his friends won't be put in any more danger because of him.
    • While Monkey King's plan was not well thought out in the slightest, his main goal was to remove the Samadhi Fire ring from Mei and put it inside himself so he could become its possessor. Either he didn't consider that this would run the risk of the Samadhi Fire burning him alive upon use, or he fully knew that would be a possibility and didn't care.
    • The whole reason that Mei possesses a fourth ring is because Monkey King messed up during the ritual to separate the fire — a stray piece breaking off and becoming attached to his friend and companion, Ao Lie, Mei's thousand-times great grandfather. Even though it's unclear when he realized this, it's fair to assume that he has been living with the guilt of this for a long time, especially when you consider that while Mei is yelling at him during her Super-Power Meltdown, he's staring directly at her Dragon Aura the whole time, which is Ao Lie.
  • MK reaches his breaking point after watching two people he cares about leave him this episode.
    MK: If one more of my friends flies off today — (bursts into tears) I'm gonna lose it! The only way we win is together! That's Monkie Kid 101!
• Embrace Your Destiny (Four-Episode Special)
  • Lady Bone Demon successfully possesses Monkey King, and for the majority of the special uses him to attack MK and his friends.
  • Seeing Mei struggle to contain the Samadhi Fire within her is difficult to look at, given that she knows the moment she slips up, she'll burn up both the Mortal and Celestial Realm.
    • Mei's previously stated fears are compounded in "Time To Be Warriors" when she's captured by the Lady Bone Demon and placed inside her mech.
  • The ghostly figures of the Spider Queen's minions under the control of the Lady Bone Demon. Sadly, it looks like killing the Lady Bone Demon didn't bring them back.
  • Finally, even after all she's done, Lady Bone Demon's passing in "Destiny Fulfilled" is played as quite somber and sad, fully resigning herself to her fate and admitting to MK that everything she did under the intent to do good in the world never gave her any solace — implying that an underlying reason for her pursuit of oblivion was to end her own pain.
    Lady Bone Demon: Save your "hero speech" child. I've existed long enough to know when it's over.
    MK: You still think the universe wants anything, from any of us?
    Lady Bone Demon: Don't you?
    MK: I... try not to think too hard.
    Lady Bone Demon: So, it would seem. (suddenly appears right behind MK) Know this, Monkey. You and I are not so different. We both fight for what we think is right. That pursuit only leads to one thing.
    MK: (annoyed) Uh huh, to destiny, right?
    Lady Bone Demon: (smiles somberly, before frowning sadly and fading away) No. To pain.

Season 4

• Familiar Tales
  • It's obvious throughout the episode and his talk with Monkey King that MK is still not over all the end-of-the-world dangers he's had to face, even having a Guilt Complex over the roles he played in allowing each villain to reach that point. Poor guy is clearly traumatized and outright states he just wants things to stay the way they are, forever.
    Monkey King: Yeah, well... forever's a long time, bud. Trust me.
  • Monkey King's reaction to the thing that emerges from the scroll, being frozen in shock when it takes the form of figures from his past, and somberly tells MK 'the ghosts of [his] past' are here, barely buying time for his student to escape. Season just started, and already things are looking bleak.
    • What's more, one of the images that appears is none other than Macaque — but instead of attacking like the others, he is tied up and screaming in anguish at Monkey King, whose expression seals the deal.
• New Adventures
  • Four simple words: "Dedicated to Billy Kametz".
  • The entire flashback scene is one in hindsight — showing Monkey King having one final happy night with all his friends, including Demon Bull King and Macaque, before everything falls apart after the war with the Celestial Realm.
  • MK's continued insistence that dealing with the cursed scroll with be a quick and done deal, and that afterwards, they can go back to low-risk Monster of the Week adventures. If the first episode wasn't enough, it's clear he's grown tired and traumatized by the world-ending adventures and is desperate to maintain something of a normal life.
  • Azure Lion having to beat back the demonic ink images of his sworn brothers, apologizing before he cuts them down.
• The Great Tang Man
  • Somewhat Played for Laughs, but MK and Mei's sadness at Tang failing to recognize them (being in the mind of his ancestor Tang Sanzang) and outright scoffing at the idea of forming friendships.
  • The couple that asks for Tang's help in exorcising the ghost of the husband's grandfather, who is clearly sad to say goodbye at the end even if he does leave peacefully.

• The Court of the Yellow Robed Demon
  • Mei's utter shock at having her sword broken, which results in both her powers and confidence being shaken for most of the episode.
  • Ao Lie admits to Mei that his poor control over his own powers resulted in hurting and disappointing his family, and seems fully willing to let Kui Mulang consume his soul. Despite his cheerful attitude, rather depressing state of mind.
  • Kui Mulang's entire situation is this, having given up his status as a Celestial being in hope of one day meeting his lover as mortals, and resorted to consuming souls to ensure that he'd live long enough for that to come to pass. The soul-eating aside, it's hard not to feel bad for him.
• Show Me the Monster
  • While Sha Wujing is fighting Pigsy, he responds to the man saying they don't have to be monsters by saying that the world was so determined to see him as one, he might as well give them what they want, even deriding Pigsy for not doing the same.
  • The Reveal that MK is not just an ordinary guy who happens to have the powers of the Monkey King. He desperately tries to deny it, in complete shock over the whole thing and desperately clinging to the idea that he can have some semblance of a normal life. Compounding the matter is that Master Subodhi (possibly the most knowledgeable beings ever) denies him being another entity like Monkey King, and flat out says even he has no idea just what MK really is. The poor boy looks so lost — and that’s when the Curse finds him.
• Pitiful Creatures
  • MK's entire fight with the Curse of the scroll has the entity raking him over the coals about his past failures and insecurities, delivering an even more brutal verbal beatdown than the Lady Bone Demon did two seasons prior. It mocks him over his denial of his true nature, uses his own words about having allowed several villains to come as close to destroying the world as they did, and dredges up some of his worst memories of the Lady Bone Demon, presenting all of the above as 'proof' that it is his destiny to cause even more chaos and pain to the world than Sun Wukong ever did.
    • Just to rub salt in the wound, it does so using his own voice and taking a form similar to his own, only more monkey-like to remind him about his current shock over his true origins.
  • When Monkey King gives an uplifting speech about how everyone can make the choice to move forward in spite of past failures, greatly inspiring the others, the Curse mockingly notes that he doesn't believe his own words, several quick flashbacks showing he still has plenty of regrets he agonizes over to this day. Monkey King himself is unable to offer a rebuttal.
• The Brotherhood
  • Upon seeing Azure Lion's betrayal, MK isn't even angry, just confused and heartbroken as he looks around at his beaten friends and realizing he was once again tricked into helping a villain achieve their goals, but this time by someone he actually trusted.
    • Azure, for his part, does actually like MK and didn't want to deceive him, showing genuine regret over his actions. Unfortunately, it's not enough for him to stand down.
  • When seeing Monkey King in Monkey MK's place when trying to get the scroll piece the former is trapped within, Azure Lion freaks out and swings his sword, causing him to slice the scroll clean in half — making it impossible to free Monkey King as far as he knows. In spite of their falling out, Azure Lion still wanted to make things right with his former friend, and is heartbroken he may be lost forever. MK's reaction is no less better. Speaking of which...
  • At the end of the episode, MK fully breaks down over everything he's gone through, conceding that Lady Bone Demon was right about him and all he does is make things worse, and it's pointless trying to help people. His friends try to tell him that's not true, but he's unwilling to hear it, deciding that it's better to give up heroism entirely and isolate himself. The happy-go-lucky delivery boy from the first season? Yep, he's gone.
    • The scene where MK flies away even mirrors the scene where Mei leaves in "The Samadhi Fire", this time with Mei watching MK leave.
    • Pigsy tries to console MK and tell him he understands how he feels... but MK completely brushes him off, telling him that even if his ancestors were demons, at least that means he COMES from somewhere — saying that he doesn't, and doesn't even have a past or a family. Pigsy, his adoptive father, is clearly deeply hurt hearing that.
      Pigsy: (tearing up) Doesn't that moron know that we're his family?
• Roast of the Monkie Kids
  • When Demon Bull King refuses to join Azure Lion's conquest, the latter imprisons both him and Princess Iron Fan (who attempted to shield her husband from Azure, causing her to get trapped first) in the Scroll of Memory — Red Son is the only one left, crying out for his father tearfully.
    Red Son: Father!!!
    Demon Bull King: (turning into ink) Son...
  • MK spends the entire episode sitting around Flower Fruit Mountain, completely alone, despondent, and utterly depressed. When a baby monkey comes up to him, MK asks where his friends are before getting pointedly reminded about the monkeys that got sucked into the Scroll of Memory after he thoughtlessly opened it. Even Macaque is unable to bring himself to mess with MK when he's in such a miserable state, especially when the latter just apathetically tells him to do whatever he wants.
• The Jade Emperor
  • Despite his attempts to fight back, Azure easily manages to trap Red Son within the Scroll of Memory. Leaving Red Son trapped alongside his parents.
  • Ne Zha is seriously upset that he was made to leave the Jade Emperor at the mercy of Azure Lion, after nearly giving his life to save him.
• The Emperor's Wrath Special (Four-Episode Special)
  • From the very beginning of A Lifetime Of Mistakes. It's easy to see Yellowtusk is genuinely concerned for Azure. The sad expression on his face as Azure screams in agony while trying to contain and control the Jade Emperor's power says it all.
  • "A Lifetime Of Mistakes" consists of MK and Macaque searching for Monkey King through broken memories of his past...including those of how strong his friendship with Macaque once was, and how it fell apart after the conquest on Heaven failed.
    • The argument that ended things between them happened while Monkey King was imprisoned under a mountain as punishment for his failed conquest and ''clearly'’ deeply embittered over this, leading him to take out his anger out on Young Macaque and mock his attempts to cheer him up. What follows is a vicious shouting match, Macaque angrily calling out Monkey King for not listening to him and chasing his obsession for power with no regards for consequence, accusing him of only ever doing it for himself — with MK and present-day Macaque painfully watching the memory play out. The worst part is that there’s no tricks or misunderstandings leading to their bond crumbling...just both their flaws and bitterness driving them apart. It's telling that it ends with Macaque crushing the peach he tried to give Monkey King.
      Young Monkey King: (Sarcastically) Yeah, great seeing ya', bud. Just run off like you always do!
      Young Macaque: — No, that's YOU! You're the one always running off! Looking for more power, more sources of immortality! YOU’RE the one who wouldn't quit while we were ahead! But the Great Sage, he's just gotta drag everyone else into his mess!!
      Young Monkey King: You're not IN this mess, you're still free! Everything I did was for us!!
      Young Macaque: You did it for yourself!! You've become like this — obsessive DEMON! (Sounding like he's on the verge of angry tears) I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no. Wukong doesn't listen to anyone, he just does WHATEVER HE WANTS! You put yourself here. Not me. (crushes the peach and tosses it on the ground, before leaving through a shadow)
      Young Monkey King: FINE! LEAVE! I don't want to see your face here again, you big — (growls in frustration)...I really wanted that peach.
    • When MK asks Macaque what happened between him and Monkey King after that argument. For his part, Macaque only cryptically alludes to some terrible "consequences". It's possible that Macaque was referring to the part in the Journey to the West, where he ended up dying at Monkey King's hand.
  • "A Lifetime Of Mistakes" also confirms the reason for Monkey King's constant climb towards absurd amounts of power in his youth — he was deeply terrified of death, and no amount of immorality he gained was enough to change that, leading to his disastrous attempt to overthrow the Jade Emperor.
    • When Macaque and MK finally find Monkey King, he is numb from having to relive the memories of his worst mistakes, and sadly admits to MK how he at first only wanted enough strength so he could keep his home and loved ones safe...but he ended up losing both as his obsession grew and he lost sight of what truly mattered to him from the start.
    • During this scene, Macaque sees a broken memory of Monkey King offering him a peach — reaching out to the image of his former best friend before his own appears to sit with him — all while Monkey King is talking about how he forgot about what he wanted to protect the most. When the present day Macaque and Monkey King look at each other, there are no words needed for the regret and sadness they both feel over what happened between them.
      Monkey King: (turns around and weakly smiles at MK) Kid...you found me. I couldn't, I-I...I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. To be strong enough...I lost sight of why I was doing any of it. I know I’ve made a few lifetimes worth of mistakes, but...living them over and over again like this, I...
  • What makes the scene all the more heartbreaking is just how tired Monkey King sounds when he speaks. The poor guy seems completely and thoroughly broken.
  • If Azure's clear pain from trying to contain the Jade Emperor's power wasn't enough, it becomes clear that he's also losing himself, with "The Plan Man" showing him becoming progressively more emotionally and mentally unstable, going from attempting to prematurely celebrate with his sworn brothers to threatening them for daring to question him at the drop of a hat, before apologizing and going on paranoid ramblings over Monkey King and MK. His mental state is perfectly summarized by how he's insisting he can still "create a better world" while said world is literally ripping apart around him.
    • Yellowtusk, for his part, is getting further disheartened as he sees his brother's callousness towards the destruction he’s causing and putting his vengeance above the dream he was supposedly fighting for — realizing his sworn brother is no longer the person he knew. Peng sees it too, but is too much of a coward to speak up about it or back their other sworn brother up.
  • "Rip and Tear" lives up to the title, as Azure's full transformation into a giant Jade Emperor form begins to literally tear him apart as he further loses control over the Jade Emperor's power, with MK's Curb-Stomp Battle ending with him just about to take the rest of the world with him, everyone watching the world come apart in horror.
    • When we first see Azure again in "Better Than We Found It", he's actually crying from the presumably agonizing pain he’s going through as he desperately tries to control himself. MK, who had just delivered a Curb-Stomp Battle upon him in the previous episode, is right back to feeling bad for the guy, and maybe even regretful for pushing him to the brink.
      Yellowtusk: Azure...no...
  • When MK transforms into his ape form again and completely dominates Azure during their fight, he rips into the lion for lying to him and attempting to turn him against Monkey King. It's clear from MK's snide wisecracks that he really was deeply hurt by Azure betraying his trust.
  • In “Better Than We Found It”, Azure is given one hell of a My God, What Have I Done? moment when MK and Monkey King finally make him understand the monster he’s become, and has been this whole time in spite of his initially noble intentions. Not only that, Monkey King summarizes that he was so obviously set up on this path by some other outside force, as there would of been no other way he could of gotten released from the underworld and gotten the Scroll of Memory — and he was so blinded by his hatred and delusions that he unknowingly played along with it easily. When finally seeing the world ripping around him because of his own actions, he realizes there’s only one thing left to do...
    Monkey King: Azure, just — stop, okay? You won. You're going to destroy us, just like you wanted. Us and the entire universe.
    Azure: (Gasp) No — this is not what I wanted! I can still fix this, it-it's the whole reason I’m here at all!
    Monkey King: Wait, how are you here?
    Azure Lion: What? What kind of question is that, you know exactly how—
    Monkey King: No, I mean, here and now! I put you in the underworld myself! How’d you get out? How’d you get the scroll? I know for sure you didn’t steal it...you couldn’t have!
    Azure Lion: I...I don’t know, I — I was...
    Monkey King: Azure, who gave you that scroll? Because whoever it was, they must of known this would happen! Wanted this to happen! And they used you to do it!
    Azure Lion: (in tears) ...I just wanted to make the world a better place...
    MK: You still can. You're the only one who can.
  • ...At the end of the special, Azure fully taps into the Jade Emperor’s power to put the world back together after almost destroying it...and dies afterwards, unable to survive wielding such power. As Monkey King and MK watch on mournfully, he slowly fades away and can do nothing but accept his end knowing he finally managed to become the hero he always wished to be — giving the two one final, tearful smile before disappearing into the light. Alas, Poor Villain, absolutely.
    • Yellowtusk gets a mention too, as his entire character arc throughout the special culminates with him doing a Heel–Face Turn to stop Azure from destroying the world...but in the end, he is the last one left of his sworn brotherhood, with Peng leaving him behind and Azure dead, left imprisoned by the Celestial Realm once more.

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