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General
- Dib and Gaz's relationship. Unlike the canon comics or movie that have come out since this series was first started, which all show that Gaz is capable of caring for her brother even if she doesn't show it often, this series makes it clear that she doesn't care about him at all. What makes it all the more tragic is that on the other hand, Dib does care for his sister regardless of how she acts, but she still treats him like crap.
- While typically played for laughs, there's the matter of Tenn's robot-related PTSD stemming from her failed mission on Meekrob. When triggered, it tends to reduced her (a highly skilled and competent Invader) to a quivering mass.
Season 1
The Horrible Test Flight of Doom
- The beginning of the chapter. Dib's classmates are still too stupid to see Zim and Skoodge are aliens, they still treat him as an outcast, and he still has a terrible relationship with his sister. True, it's no worse than canon, but it's a reminder of how lousy his life is.
- While it's mostly played for laughs, there's Dib's exasperation when even Norlock doesn't believe him about Zim being alien. He's clearly just so done with people doubting him, and getting Arbitrary Skepticism from a vampire is a bit too much for him.
- Dib's life flashes before his eyes when Norlock is about to kill him, and his only thought is that it sucked.
- In reaction to seeing Zim's Paper-Thin Disguise, Norlock notes that humans used to be smarter back in the day, which is pretty sad considering what we see of them now.
Parent Teacher Redux
- Gaz shows zero concern for the fact that Dib's ship was ruined and he was nearly killed, even joking about how his head could have been shrunk down to normal size if Norlock had fed on him.
- She also shrugs off his concern for her when he sees her talking to Norlock, being more annoyed by him than anything.
- Also Nightmare Fuel - Dib being terrorized by Norlock at the end of the chapter.
With Friends Like These...
- Dib's disgruntlement after his first team outing with the twins turns into an Epic Fail. Not for the failure itself, but because he'd quickly latched onto the two as friends, and is disappointed that they let him down, being more interested in their argument than in having his back.
- While it's overshadowed by the above, when Dib is calling out the twins on how petty their arguments are, he points out how much worse his family situation is, namely how his father thinks he's crazy and Gaz couldn't care less about anything that's not her video games.
Return of the Saucer Morons
- Dib bitterly noting that he's so much of an outcast that he can just not show up for skool and people will either not notice or not care.
Clash of the Goths
- Gaz making it perfectly clear couldn't care less about what happens to Dib.
Tenn's Mission of Doom
- While she doesn't dwell on it much, Tenn's situation is pretty pitiable. Once the most qualified Invader, given the most prestigious assignment in Impending Doom 2, a shipping error ruined everything, leaving her scrounging for scraps to survive. Worse, the Tallest completely forgot about her afterwards, until Norlock inadvertently reminds them to check in.
Norlock vs the Mall
- One has to feel a little sorry for Norlock after his date with Miss Bitters goes pear-shaped. After all, despite what they both are, they got along rather well, so it's almost a shame to see that end because of a brief moment of anger on Norlock's part.
Tenn Meets World
- Tenn despairing repeatedly throughout the chapter over how she's gone from being the Empire's best Invader to being Tak's assistant in conquering Earth.
The Game Changes
- Zim is utterly devastated when the Tallest reveal the truth of his mission to him. Norlock has to literally beat some sense into him in order to snap him out of it.
Showdown of Doom, Part 1
- Gaz being willing to sell Dib's team out to Zim just to spite them.
Showdown of Doom, Part 3
- How does Dib realize that he's been trapped in a Lotus-Eater Machine? By acknowledging that his life could never be as good as presented.
End of the Beginning
- The Tallest rubbing it in when grilling Tak and Tenn about their failure to retrieve Project Domination, and sentencing them to keep working together on Earth.
Season 2
New Girls and Explosions
- Nyx has a brief breakdown after Ying is injured during the fight with Team Save Earth.
The Hunt of Doom
- Dib is shown to still be bitter about how Mr. Dwicky pretended to believe him about Zim, and isn't willing to forgive him for it.
- Aside from the physical harm, Nyx is clearly emotionally wounded by Zim lashing out at her over the hit on Dib, which she only did in a misguided attempt to please him.
Rise of the Unknown Rival
- He's a total asshole, true, but it's hard not to feel at least a little sympathy for Agent Spider Monkey/Arnold Quis, whose life is a mirror of Dib's but with none of the good bits.
Through the Looking Glass
- It's played for laughs, but part of Dib's reaction to the Mirror Universe version of Gaz being so nice to him is to have trouble comprehending it. He's so used to Gaz's normal attitude that having a normal sibling experience is utterly foreign to him.
Tournament of Doom, Part 1
- Dib's grumbling about how even if he shows off the fully restored Spittle Runner to his father or the SEN, he's certain that they won't believe it's really an alien ship.
- Lard Nar's angry rant about how Zim's stupidity (specifically, creating the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob, which ate Tallest Miyuki) ruined his people's alliance with the Irkens and led to their conquest and enslavement.
Night Terrors
- Team Save Earth note that they could really use some therapy, but can't get it because All Therapists Are Muggles.
- Viera has come to identify so much with her magic that her worst fear is not having it, which is presented in her nightmare as a crowd bullying and harassing her about believing in magic.
- Steve's worst fear, as shown in his nightmare, is being unimportant and contributing so little to the team that he's completely overlooked. This is actually first alluded to earlier in the chapter when he's shown feeling morose for not being able to help deal with the Catastrophe.
