"Goodbye, Grandmother."
Season 1
- The pilot's scene with Mufasa can't get around the fact that Kion has to be introduced to his grandfather, who never got to meet him in person.
- The Fate of the original Lion Guard under Scar's command: They refused to listen to Scar when he wanted to attack Mufasa and they were murdered for it. We never knew their names, but we know that Nala's father might have been one of them, as he was nowhere to be seen in film one. Sure, Scar lost the Roar after this, but it is still rather saddening to see that these four lions were killed for their loyalty to the king.
- The most prominent example so far is in "Can't Wait to be Queen". In a rather somber scene in which Simba, Nala and Zazu arrive at an elephant funeral to see the herd members laying flowers over the body of someone who was, apparently, dearly loved and respected in life. Yes - a dead body appears in a Disney Junior cartoon; it could possibly affect today's children a similar way The Lion King (1994) made us feel seeing Mufasa's body for the first time.
- The music playing during the scene doesn't help either.
- How about this little moment in the same episode: After getting into an argument with his sister, Mufasa tells Kion that, as a brother, he should be there for her. Then, when Kion goes to apologize/talk to her, he finds out she went to see Janja alone. He likely felt that his sister was in a lot of trouble and, given how fast he got angry and defensive, felt it was his fault. Mufasa's advice is all the more poignant considering that what ultimately caused his tragic death was the fact that he loved Scar no matter how difficult he was - and still holds to that creed even in death.
- "Never Roar Again" focuses on Kion undergoing a Heroic BSoD after an out-of-control Roar causes massive collateral damage and nearly hurts Nala in the process. Even though it was an accident and nobody blames him for it, Kion is so shaken up by what happened that he spends the entire episode trying not to use the Roar to solve problems, even when the Roar would be the best solution. He even goes so far as to consider never using it again, terrified that if he loses control of it again and hurts somebody he loves, he'll be no better than Scar, who deliberately used the Roar to murder comrades in his own Guard. Poor cub needs a hug.
- "Janja's New Crew" puts Cheezi and Chungu in sympathetic light after the two are exiled from of the Outlands by Janja and their replacements. Made in even worse with this line in Chungu's lament:Chungu: Why? Why did he tell us to go? The only family we know.
- At the end of "Baboons!" Fuli says "baboons" in a sad tone, clearly indicating that she misses the infant, and given her previous annoyance with them, you can tell that Fuli saw it as leaving her own family. Its an even bigger Tearjerker if you realize that Fuli had to leave her own mother, so she likely was remembering leaving her only person she loved.
Season 2
- In "The Savannah Summit", while Simba, Makuu & Bupu are in the middle of negotiating, Kion suddenly pounces on Makuu, thinking that Makuu is trying to attack Bupu. This leads to Makuu angrily showing his opinion of everyone showing distrust toward him for what he has done in the past.Makuu: Forget it! How can I trust any of you if you don't trust me? This whole summit's a joke!
- Just afterwards, Simba gives Kion a scolding for sabotaging the negotiation, resulting in a hurt Kion to speak to Mufasa about his distrust towards Makuu.Simba: We talked about this, Kion.Kion: I know, Dad. But there's something going on! I'm not sure what, but Makuu...Simba: Is a new leader. I need to build his trust. That's why I included him in the summit.Kion: But he just wants to ruin it!Simba: You may have ruined it. (Kion becomes upset and worried)Kion: I... I'm sorry, Dad.Simba: Then find a way to fix it. I have to get back to Mizimu Grove and salvage what I can of the summit. (Simba walks off, leaving Kion to have a think about what he's done)
- Any time Simba is shown during "The Scorpion Sting". Kion for a brief second completely loses it in the hunt for the scorpion, and there is a very tragic tone due to the thought of losing Simba. While it's obvious to the audience who have seen Simba's Pride will know Simba lives, the characters don't know that, not to mention the very real belief for a moment that Simba is actually dead.
- In "The Kilio Valley Fire", the elephants briefly decide to leave the Pride Lands when none of the other herds accept their presence after Kilio Valley burned down. What really hits home is when Mtoto sadly says goodbye to Beshte, his role model and older brother figure.
- In a way, the ending of "The Hyena Resistance". When Janja angrily turned down Jasiri's offer to make a Heel–Face Turn.
- A couple different aspects of "The Fall of Mizimu Grove".
- For the first time in the series, the Lion Guard suffers a pyrrhic victory at the hands of Scar and his forces in front of a large crowd of key Pride Lands residents, losing a sacred space and the trust of their friends, family, and subjects in the process.
- Simba's entire demeanor as he brushes away the burn mark left behind by Scar after seeing him "in the flesh" for the first time, in addition to his subsequent despondency when the herds openly discuss leaving the Pride Lands. It's evident that Simba feels like a failure to his kingdom and lineage once again, and it's hard not to feel sorry for him here, as much as some folks haven't been on-board with his overall portrayal in the series.
Simba: "No... Not this time."- We see Makini briefly weeping to herself among the smoldering grove, and the music at this moment doesn't help.
- There are several moments throughout the latter part of the episode during which the hippos openly deliberate on leaving the Pride Lands where Beshte is briefly featured looking on. It's a subtle angle that's never explicitly addressed, but when you think about it, the poor guy is faced with the impending choice of either abandoning his pod to stay and help the Guard fight Scar or leaving with them and losing his friends and home in the process.
- The ending of the episode, with Fuli singing a somber orchestra-backed reprise of Timon and Pumbaa's "Tujiinue"note while Makini completes her tree-planting ceremony in front of all of the Pride Landers. The clouds even part to let the sun's rays shine onto the plant, just like in the iconic "Circle of Life" sequence.
Season 3
- The Season 3 trailer shows that this will not be a good season for Kion. He is given a scar identical to Scar out of petty spite, and he begins to struggle with his darker impulses, at one point using the Roar on Bunga by accident.
- Furthermore, the fact that Kion openly begins to wonder whether he is evil or not. For much of the first two seasons, Kion has been shown having self esteem issues and a precise fear of becoming like his uncle. The fact that he is now openly voicing his fears that he could indeed be like his uncle indicates he will be struggling with Jumping Off the Slippery Slope.
- "Battle for the Pride Lands":
- The horror on Simba and Nala's faces when they hear that there is not a cure for Usahri's poison in the Pride Lands. For a moment, they feared they would watch their son slowly go insane, losing all of his morals, and being unable to do a thing about it.
- The farewell scene is gut-wrenching for any fan who has seen Simba's Pride, as the optimism that Kion will return in time for Kiara's first hunt will not happen. While there is still possibility the Guard will come back after the film, this just as likely could be the last time that Kion sees his family again.
- A brief one, but take a look at Janja's face after he and Jasiri say their final goodbyes to Kion. Having recently pulled a Heel–Face Turn, it's quite likely Janja feels remorseful for everything he did that lead to Kion being scarred.
- Without knowing it will be moot by that evening, "New Way To Go" is a pretty heartbreaking song, especially if you ship Janja and Jasiri. Most tragic love songs are sad because the singer is singing about someone who doesn't love them back or who they don't think they could ever be with. Here, the singer is singing about someone who would love nothing more than for him to join her, whom he desperately wants to be with and could be if he just "said yes instead of no," but... he refuses to accept it. He just can't accept what he really wants and keeps holding himself back. Janja's body language throughout his entire fantasy, always taking one step back as the seductive Jasiri of his imagination approaches him, just makes you want to yell at the screen, "Dude, just kiss her already! You know you want to!" But the scene ends with him saying, "Never mind," insisting it doesn't matter.
- Ono becoming visually-impaired after an act of heroism, forcing him to retire from his position as the Keenest of Sight and handing its torch to Anga.
- While maybe not worthy of tears, it's a little disheartening to see what became of Ushari. In season 1, he was just an average Pridelander who simply got annoyed of some of the Lion Guards antics, and has shown to have a caring side since he seemed to get along well with Timon and Pumbaa in The Kupatana Celebration, so it's actually kinda sad seeing him letting his hatred get the best of him and eventually lead to his lava filled demise. As Simba would have put it, he couldn't let go of his hate and in the end, it destroyed him.
- Kion deciding not to talk to Mufasa in "Friends to the End" after he snaps at his friends more than once and the tuliza don't work as well, which worried Bunga, who remembered what Rafiki said. He was so ashamed of the scar in his eye like his great-uncle's he didn't want his grandfather seeing him like this because of this resemblance to his murderer. This is sad, because Kion called him whenever he was insecure and needed his reassurance, but his insecurities are now so bad that he doesn't talk to him anymore because he's ashamed of his scar. He doesn't even think that his wise grandfather would understand, causing him to mistrust his judgement and not asking him for advice for over half of Season 3.
- In "Little Old Ginterbong", it can be a little disheartening to see that even though Ono has his eyesight back, it still isn't as good as it use to be.
- The death of Queen Janna in "Long Live the Queen" is a gutwrencher right from the beginning. It is made clear that she is dying of natural causes, and it is also made clear from the dialogue that they knew this would happen, but that doesn't make it anymore easier. Rani is outright weeping, and later embraces Kion out of grief. Kion himself sheds a few tears, and Rani is left in real doubt if she is ready to do this job. Case in point, the episode got a Content Warning for this scene alone.
- The scene before they go in is a big one as well. Baliyeo does not want to see her like this. Both Surak, Niirmala, and Rani all reassure him, and they put on a confident face. But you can tell from their expressions and their voices that regardless of how much optimism they try to put on, they know this is the last time they will see Janna alive.
- Rani, despite knowing that this would happen, pleads with her grandmother not to leave her. It's absolutely crushing, and suffice it to say, the content warning was completely justified.
