History TearJerker / AllInTheFamily

[[caption-width-right:350:It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be the first one to go. I always used to kid you about you going first. You know I never meant none of that and that morning when yous was laying there. I was shaking you and yelling at you to go down and fix my breakfast. I didn't know. You had no right to leave me that way... without giving me just one more chance to say I love you.]]

* Gloria's miscarriage in "Gloria's Pregnancy". At first, everyone's stressed out when they find that she's pregnant, as Mike's between jobs and this pregnancy wasn't planned at all, but they decide to try to make the best of the situation, only for Gloria to then feel horribly sick. This episode is also the first time we see Archie's gentler side, as he's heartbroken that his potential grandchild has been lost to nothing else but a cruel twist of fate and he's clearly at a loss trying to console Gloria as he's hurting badly too.

* Gloria's miscarriage.

-->'''Archie''': It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be the first one to go. I always used to kid you about you going first. You know I never meant none of that and that morning when yous was laying there. I was shaking you and yelling at you to go down and fix my breakfast. I didn't know. You had no right to leave me that way, Edith... (Holding the slipper to his face, Archie starts to cry) without giving me just one more chance to say I love you.

* During the show's run, Edith ends up befriending Beverly [=LaSalle=], a cross-dresser who performs as a female impersonator (he's implied to be gay, but not transgender). In "Edith's Crisis of Faith," Beverly and Mike are mugged (off-screen) by a group of teenagers; Beverly protects Mike from being bludgeoned with a metal pipe, but the incensed teens bludgeon Beverly instead (Mike implies that they sensed his being gay), and, while Mike survives the ordeal with only minor injuries, Beverly dies from his injuries. The look on Edith's face when the doctor at the hospital tells her is utterly heartbreaking; even the studio audience reacts. It escalates from there as Edith even starts questioning her religious faith, much to Archie's dismay.

* Season 1's "The Success Story" sees Archie's old Army buddy Eddie Frazier visiting New York after making millions as a car dealer in Los Angeles, and Archie organises a reunion of some of his other fellow soldiers with Eddie as the guest of honour. During the party, Eddie excuses himself to make a phone call, and Archie orders Mike to get drinks and ice for his friends. However, as Mike passes the phone, he overhears Eddie's conversation and learns the real reason he is in New York: he is hoping for a reconciliation with his estranged son, Greg. Mike passes Eddie twice on the way to and from the kitchen, and each time the conversation has deteriorated further; knowing no other way to get through to his son, Eddie is reduced to begging and trying to bribe him with $500 for a five-minute meeting, but Greg finally loses patience and hangs up. Eddie forces a smile and tells Mike his son can have anything he wants from him, but when Mike, having overheard enough to know something's up, asks, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion "What does he want from you?"]], he is forced to admit that Greg wants him "to stay the hell away from him." He returns to the party, being cheerful and making jokes, but as Archie and the other veterans serenade him with a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", Eddie sees Mike looking at him with sorrow, as if to say, "All that money hasn't brought you happiness, has it?", and Eddie lowers his head in grief and embarrassment. The looks on both their faces is pretty depressing to watch. Eddie eventually starts crying, but tries to hide it through laughter. In TheStinger, Archie and Mike are alone in the living room, and a drunk Archie tells Mike it was a night to remember; Mike, clearly thinking better of shattering Archie's gilded image of Eddie, says he'll never forget it.

** At the end of part one, Edith manages to escape the rapist (a CrowningMomentOfAwesome), and runs to the Stivics, where a surprise birthday party is waiting for her. As everyone cheerfully sings "Happy Birthday" and "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow," Edith rushes to Archie's arms and completely breaks down, and Archie, who's usually portrayed as totally oblivious, knows that something is horribly, horribly wrong. The episode ends with Edith sobbing and Archie looking genuinely concerned, all set to the irony of the partygoers singing happily.

* During the show's run, Edith ends up befriending Beverly [=LaSalle=], a cross-dresser who performs as a female impersonator (he's implied to be gay, but not transgender). In "Edith's Crisis of Faith," Beverly and Mike are mugged (off-screen) by a group of teenagers; Beverly protects Mike from being severely wounded, but the incensed teens attack Beverly instead (Mike implies that they sensed his being gay), and he dies from his injuries. The look on Edith's face when the doctor at the hospital tells her is utterly heartbreaking; even the studio audience reacts. It escalates from there as Edith even starts questioning her religious faith, much to Archie's dismay.

* Season 1's "The Success Story" sees Archie's old Army buddy Eddie Frazier visiting New York after making millions as a car dealer in Los Angeles, and Archie organises a reunion of some of his other fellow soldiers with Eddie as the guest of honour. During the party, Eddie excuses himself to make a phone call, and Archie orders Mike to get drinks and ice for his friends. However, as Mike passes the phone, he overhears Eddie's conversation and learns the real reason he is in New York: he is hoping for a reconciliation with his estranged son, Greg. Mike passes Eddie twice on the way to and from the kitchen, and each time the conversation has deteriorated further; knowing no other way to get through to his son, Eddie is reduced to trying to bribe him with $500 for a five-minute meeting, but Greg finally loses patience and hangs up. Eddie forces a smile and tells Mike his son can have anything he wants from him, but when Mike asks, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion "What does he want from you?"]], he is forced to admit that Greg wants him "to stay the hell away from him." He returns to the party, but as Archie and the other veterans serenade him with a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", Eddie sees Mike looking at him with sorrow, as if to say, "All that money hasn't brought you happiness, has it?" He eventually starts crying, but tries to hide it through laughter. In TheStinger, Archie and Mike are alone in the living room, and a drunk Archie tells Mike it was a night to remember; Mike, clearly thinking better of shattering Archie's gilded image of Eddie, says he'll never forget it.

* Season 1's "The Success Story" sees Archie's old Army buddy Eddie Frasier visiting New York after making millions as a car dealer in Los Angeles, and Archie organises a reunion of some of his other fellow soldiers with Eddie as the guest of honour. During the party, Eddie excuses himself to make a phone call, and Archie orders Mike to get drinks and ice for his friends. However, as Mike passes the phone, he overhears Eddie's conversation and learns the real reason he is in New York: he is hoping for a reconciliation with his estranged son, Greg. Mike passes Eddie twice on the way to and from the kitchen, and each time the conversation has deteriorated further; knowing no other way to get through to his son, Eddie is reduced to trying to bribe him with $500 for a five-minute meeting, but Greg finally loses patience and hangs up. Eddie forces a smile and tells Mike his son can have anything he wants from him, but when Mike asks, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion "What does he want from you?"]], he is forced to admit that his son wants him "to stay the hell away from him." He returns to the party, but as Archie and the other veterans serenade him with a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", Eddie sees Mike looking at him with sorrow, as if to say, "All that money hasn't brought you happiness, has it?" He eventually starts crying, but tries to hide it through laughter. In TheStinger, Archie and Mike are alone in the living room, and a drunk Archie tells Mike it was a night to remember; Mike, clearly thinking better of shattering Archie's gilded image of Eddie, says he'll never forget it.

* The Season 8 finale "The Stivics Go West" was both a VerySpecialEpisode and a tearjerker, in that it was the final time all four of the show's main stars – Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers – appeared together as regulars.[[note]]Reiner and Struthers both would appear in two later episodes, reuniting the foursome.[[/note]] Archie and Mike's final conversation, where Mike thanks Archie for all his support over the years, tells him he loves him, and awkwardly embraces him, is very touching. Shortly thereafter comes an emotional farewell. The final scene has a deeply saddened Archie watch the taxi – with his daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Joey, inside – drive away. Archie chokes back a sob, a few tears welling up. Edith, who had gone into the kitchen to get Archie a beer, returns to the living room, and sees Archie wiping his eyes. Quickly, she runs back into the kitchen so he doesn't know she's seen him crying, and announces she's bringing him a beer. Archie puts on a braver face when Edith walks in. Edith then sits next to Archie, and they sit, sadly, in the now-silent house.

* Although in "The Draft Dodger" the audience is supposed to see Archie as judgmental and reactionary, the speech he gives is sad in a fridge way, when you remember Archie himself was drafted:

** This speech, coupled with Carrol O'Connor's masterful acting, strongly implied that Archie was afraid to go to war but he did his duty anyway.

* "Archie's Bitter Pill". It starts with Archie being frustrated that his bar is going nowhere. Then he takes pills from a friend, and starts roaming around town with enthusiasm on how he'll build a chain of bars. But as his [[MoodWhiplash energy dies down]], he starts breaking up over the imminent failure of his business.
** Edith comforting Archie as he comes down from his pill-daze, and crying over and over again "I didnt mean no harm, Edith..."

* "The Bunkers and the Swingers" is largely a comic episode--Edith inadvertently answers an ad in an erotic magazine (as TheDitz, she doesn't notice the content) for wife-swapping. When Curtis and Ruth, the swinger couple, comes to the Bunkers' home, a lot of [[PoorCommunicationKills errors in communication]], plus Louise Jefferson having to tell Edith the truth of the situation, leads to laughter. But at the end of the episode, Ruth delivers a short monologue about how swinging has saved her marriage; her voice trembles as she does so, hinting that she and her husband have likely been constantly judged or ostracized for their choices, and that it's hurt her deeply.
** What really hurts is that when Ruth says that "we were drowning," and that wife-swapping saved her marriage, Edith replies (rather confusedly, rather than maliciously) that she'd rather have drowned. That gets a laugh, but consider the situation from Ruth's perspective: what would it be like to be told that your lifestyle--something that you, as two consenting adults, freely chose-- was so awful to some people that death is considered a better option?

-->'''Archie:''' I ain't talkin' about that war! Goddammit, I don't want to talk about that Goddamn war no more! I'm talkin' about somethin' else! And what he done was wrong! Sayin' he won't go! Whaddya think, all the people of this country can say whether or not they wanna go to war? You couldn't get a decent war off the ground that way! All the young people would say no - sure they would! Cause they don't wanna get killed! And that's why we leave it to the Congress, cause them old quacks ain't gonna get killed! And they're gonna do the right thing, and get behind the president and vote yes!
** This speech, coupled with Carrol O'Connor's masterful acting strongly implied that Archie was afraid to go to war but he did his duty anyway.

--->'''Mike:''' When the Hell are you going to admit that the war was wrong?
--->'''Archie:''' I ain't talkin' about that war! Goddammit, I don't want to talk about that Goddamn war no more! I'm talkin' about somethin' else! And what he done was wrong! Sayin' he won't go! Whaddya think, all the people of this country can say whether or not they wanna go to war? You couldn't get a decent war off the ground that way! All the young people would say no - sure they would! Cause they don't wanna get killed! And that's why we leave it to the Congress, cause them old quacks ain't gonna get killed! And they're gonna do the right thing, and get behind the president and vote yes!

* The Season 2 opener "Archie Alone" sees Archie in deep denial over Edith's death (after series star Jean Stapleton decided to leave the show). Eventually frustrated that everyone is talking about it, Archie shouts at the world to go away. He then goes upstairs and sees one of Edith's slippers, before he has his emotional breakdown.

* The Season 2 opener "Archie Alone" saw Archie in deep denial over Edith's death (after series star Jean Stapleton decided to leave the show). Eventually frustrated that everyone is talking about it, Archie shouts at the world to go away. He then goes upstairs and sees one of Edith's slippers, before he has his emotional breakdown.

!!All in the Family

!!Archie Bunker's Place

* "The Bunkers and the Swingers" is largely a comic episode--Edith inadvertently answers an ad in an erotic magazine (as TheDitz, she doesn't notice the content) for wife-swapping. When Curtis and Ruth, the swinger couple, comes to the Bunkers' home, a lot of [[PoorCommunicatonKills errors in communication]], plus Louise Jefferson having to tell Edith the truth of the situation, leads to laughter. But at the end of the episode, Ruth delivers a short monologue about how swinging has saved her marriage; her voice trembles as she does so, hinting that she and her husband have likely been constantly judged or ostracized for their choices, and that it's hurt her deeply.

* "Archie's Bitter Pill". It starts with Archie being frustrated that his bar his going nowhere. Then he takes pills from a friend, and starts roaming around town with enthusiasm on how he'll build a chain of bars. But as his [[MoodWhiplash energy dies down]], he starts breaking up over the imminent failure of his business.

** A moment earlier in the episode becomes all the more depressing by what follows (and especially on repeat viewings, when you know what's going to happen). Beverly has just been told that he's going to get to do his drag show at Carnegie Hall, and to celebrate, Edith gives him an early Christmas present: a scrapbook full of every newspaper item that mentions him and his act (Edith explains that she's put it together all year). But what clinches the moment as heartbreaking is when Edith tells Beverly that he's "like family" to her. Beverly is normally a jovial man who doesn't take much seriously, but when Edith tells him that, a look of pure joy comes over his face, and his voice breaks as he says "I love you, Edith." FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that Beverly either doesn't have a family, or, even worse, was disowned when he came out as gay and started cross-dressing. He considered Edith his sister and the Bunkers as a second family...and an hour later, he's gone.

** A moment earlier in the episode becomes all the more depressing by what follows (and especially on repeat viewings, when you know what's going to happen). Beverly has just been told that he's going to get to do his drag show at Carnegie Hall, and to celebrate, Edith gives him an early Christmas present: a scrapbook full of every newspaper item that mentions him and his act (Edith explains that she's put it together all year). But what clinches the moment as heartbreaking is when Edith tells Beverly that he's "like family" to her. Beverly is normally a jovial man who doesn't take much seriously, but when Edith tells him that, a look of pure joy comes over his face, and his voice breaks as he says "I love you, Edith." [[FridgeHorror]] kicks in when you realize that Beverly either doesn't have a family, or, even worse, was disowned when he came out as gay and started cross-dressing. He considered Edith his sister and the Bunkers as a second family...and an hour later, he's gone.

* During the show's run, Edith ends up befriending Beverly LaSalle, a cross-dresser who performs as a female impersonator (he's implied to be gay, but not transgender). In "Edith's Crisis of Faith," Beverly and Mike are mugged (off-screen) by a group of teenagers; Beverly protects Mike from being severely wounded, but the incensed teens attack Beverly instead (Mike implies that they sensed his being gay), and he dies from his injuries. The look on Edith's face when the doctor at the hospital tells her is utterly heartbreaking; even the studio audience reacts. It escalates from there as Edith even starts questioning her religious faith, much to Archie's dismay.

* Edith alone in the house with a rapist in "Edith's 50th Birthday". Archie ends up interupting them, so the rapist hides in the closet with a gun, telling her that if Edith says anything, he'll shoot the both of them. Watching Edith looking so desperate while Archie prattles on about needing a punchbowl, then when he leaves, she cries for him not to go. Doubles as Nightmare Fuel.