As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
The film:
- The Stranger's murder of the dogs may be difficult for any animal lover to watch.
- As vile as he is, the stranger's despair during the second time Eben interacts with him is somewhat moving. It's like he finally realized that he was never going to be allowed to join their coven when they didn't make any effort to rescue him. He knows he's just food like the rest and begs Eben to kill him.
- Might be [YMMV] since the vampires are all bloodthirsty sadists, but Iris's death. After being scorched by Eben with a sunlamp, her body is half blackened and she is shrieking and crying in pain. Marlowe cradles her after her initial burning and even practically asks her understanding and she gives it before he gently covers her eyes and grants her quick death by biting her throat to spare her more pain.
- Carter Davies pleading with Eben to Mercy Kill him after he reveals that he's been turned.Carter: The little girl in the store. I changed. I'm just so thirsty now. I couldn't tell you. That photo's all I've got left of my family. Martha was taking the kids to visit her mom. They were hit... by a drunk driver. I wanted to be with them so much. I... I couldn't bring myself to do it. But I know they're waiting for me. I can't live forever. I can't. Eben. Don't let me.
- Eben allowing himself to turn into a vampire, much to the horror of Jake. You can see the fury and sadness in Jake's eyes when he screams at a survivor to not touch Eben when he turns into one.
- Stella's reaction to Eben becoming a vampire...and and even more so when he mentions dawn. What follows afterwards is the two laying in each other's arms as Eben allows himself to burn away as the sun rises. Stella's empty stare and the depressing ambiance does not help either.
The comics:
- The death of Judith's son. His mother prepared him to take his own life with a revolver in case he was caught by a vampire, and at first, it looks like he won't have that issue when he starts taking photographs of the massacre. Then Vicente notices the helicopter in the sky and smashes through it, forcing him to crash while the citizens of Barrow can do absolutely nothing to save him.
- Eben's last moments where he realizes that with the sun about to rise, he doesn't have anywhere to hide, and he can feel himself slipping away. Stella tries to talk him into accepting his vampirism, but he refuses to, saying that he'd rather die than forget what it feels like to love her. The two share a final kiss as the sun rises and Eben is reduced to ashes and bones as Stella lies down in the snow, sobbing. Dark Days manages to make it even more depressing in the recap/prologue.Stella: Don't leave me, Eben. Don't leave me alone.
- Dark Days in general. Despite being heavier on the action and gunfire than the previous graphic novel, it also manages to live up to its title in its sheer bleakness, perhaps even more so than the first.
- While she definitely Took a Level in Badass as a Crusading Widow armed to the teeth with enough bombs, guns, and UV lights to take on a whole army of vampires, Stella is, at heart, still grieving the destruction of her home and the death of her husband, has her book revealing the truth about the Barrow massacre labeled as fiction, and in Rumors of the Undead, is mistaken for a domestic terrorist. And to top it off, her only hope is one of the very creatures she's come to despise. You almost wanna just give her a hug.
- The death of Judith Ali. She'd already lost her son trying to find proof of vampires' existence, only to die in her attempts to ensure his death wasn't in vain. Adding insult to injury, the one copy of the photographs her son took was destroyed by Lilith, making it almost certain that her efforts were for naught.
- Upon finding out that she can acquire Eben's remains and possibly resurrect him, she strikes a deal with Dane, after which point all but one of her fellow hunters have enough and walk out on her. Though she acquires the remains and blows up Lilith and her house full of vampires, her and Dane part ways, unlikely to ever see each other again.
- The very end of the graphic novel shows that the ritual to resurrect Eben was a success and him and Stella are happily reunited ... and then a hungry Eben bares his fangs and lunges at her. Thankfully, later issues show that he and the now-vampiric Stella have made peace and became Barrow's protectors. At least until shit hits the fan with Eben's Face–Heel Turn after Stella is accidentally killed.
