History TearJerker / ArbyNTheChief

Despite its ferociously acerbic and irreverent humor, Machinima/ArbyNTheChief can be deceptively heartbreaking, especially later on in the series.

Series/ArbyNTheChief, despite its ferociously acerbic and irreverent humor, can be deceptively heartbreaking.

** The relationship between mother and son starts out clearly strained, deteriorating over the season and culminating in [[spoiler: Adam being hauled off to a juvenile corrections facility]].

* Chief inadvertently [[spoiler: melting and killing Cortana in the oven]], and how everyone in the apartment reacts to it.
** Chief talking with [[spoiler: his guilt-induced hallucination of Cortana that manifests during the later part of the season]], especially during "Game Over" where an utterly broken Chief can only sit in the tub and list off everything he's done to alienate his friends.
--->[[spoiler:'''Cortana:''' You really feel terrible about this, don't you?]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Chief:''' no fucking shit. i killed u. greg left cuz of me. i blamed both of the 2 of u leaving on arbitur. eugene was the only guy i met online whos evar liked me and he just put a bullets thru his fucking head.]]
*** Chief realizes that he [[spoiler: loves Cortana - only for her to disappear before he can tell her, finally at peace]].
** Greg is forced to [[spoiler: cover for Chief in order to maintain the already fragile dynamic in the apartment]]. He can only sit in tortured silence for a few episodes before he [[spoiler: vaguely explain himself when he leaves the apartment permanently while giving Arbiter some final, tragic words of wisdom]].
** Arbiter is manipulated into [[spoiler: putting the blame not only on Chief but also himself]] once Chief recalls Arbiter [[spoiler: briefly arguing with Cortana over his own use of derogatory language in an earlier episode]]. [[spoiler: The loss of his only friends outside of Chief]] is enough for him to start using Frag Ban 2.0 with Eugene.
* Arbiter deals with Claire's sudden return [[spoiler: extremely poorly. Under the influence of Eugene's gang, he brutally chews her out for being a 'fair weather friend', breaking down the heroic acts he did for her during the previous two seasons without her ever returning the favor, then ending it with a simple 'Go fuck yourself.']]

* Eugene and Tyler don't seem to get along well, only really connecting when trolling or otherwise causing chaos. Outside of that, Eugene and Colin christen Frag Ban 2.0 without Tyler after promising to include him, and Tyler barely shows any empathy for Madeline's condition. It really says something when Eugene has an easier time talking with [[spoiler: a literal pedophile]] than with someone he's known since elementary school.

** Made even worse with [[spoiler: her actually dying, which just makes Eugene go off the deep end]]. One can only wonder how Eugene and Tyler manage to stay friends after the latter [[spoiler: crudely compares hemorrhaging with hemorrhoids upon learning how she passed]].
** Arbiter's speech about Eugene [[spoiler: after his suicide]] in "Game Over", where it's shown that he doesn't even hate Eugene, just pities what happened to him and can't help but feel responsible. [[spoiler: Chief makes a valid point that Eugene had chosen this path long before he met the duo, but the sentiment towards Eugene still remains.]]
--->'''Arbiter:''' Eugene was an abused animal. The world bit him hard, and he bit back. It pushed him to the absolute edge. Then we [[spoiler: nudged him off.]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Chief:''' we didn't nudged him. he jumped.]]

** Especially this last bit right before [[spoiler:Chief and Arbiter apparently get blown up]]:
--> Chief: [[spoiler: if both of the 2 of us are gonna want 2 the after life, u gots 2 hung around the front entrance so i can found u. k? well went in together. fuck shit up]].
--> Arbiter: [[spoiler: Sure, pal]].
--> Chief: [[spoiler: :')]]

* Following the disastrous Ray Cist podcast, Arbiter sinks even further into his existential crisis, dealing with it by [[spoiler: consuming computer duster.]]

** Arbiter is manipulated into [[spoiler: putting the blame not only on Chief but also himself]], and [[spoiler: the loss of his only friends outside of Chief]] is enough for him to start using Frag Ban 2.0 with Eugene.

* Chief inadvertently [[spoiler: melting and killing Cortana in the oven]].
** Practically every single conversation between him and [[spoiler: the guilt-induced hallucination of Cortana that manifests during the later part of the season]], especially during "Game Over" where an utterly broken Chief can only sit in the tub and list off everything he's done to alienate his friends.

** [[spoiler:Chief realizes that he loves Cortana...only for her to disappear before he can tell her, finally at peace.]]

* Brody is arguably one of the biggest victims of Eugene's gang, as both Eugene and Tyler attend the same school he does in real life. It's demonstrated very early on that their sadism is not limited to online gaming and social media, and when Brody steals the physical thumb drive for FragBan 2.0 Eugene proceeds to use these circumstances to his full advantage, sending him through such mental and physical abuse that he attempts suicide.

* When meeting Arbiter for the first time, Eugene reveals that his sister Madeline is fighting leukemia. As much of an ass as he proved himself to be, Eugene makes it clear that she's the [[MoralityChain only positive influence in his life]], and in a later episode even calls out their abusive father for his lack of empathy about her situation.

* The revelation that his sister is fighting leukemia is pretty sad. As much of an ass as Eugene proved himself to be, he makes it clear that she's the [[MoralityChain only positive influence in his life]], and during an argument with even calls out their abusive father for his lack of empathy about her situation.
** Made even worse with [[spoiler: her actually dying, which just makes Eugene go off the deep end.]]

* As much of an ass as Eugene proved himself to be, the revelation that his sister is perhaps dying of leukemia is pretty sad.

** Practically every single conversation between him and [[spoiler: the guilt-induced hallucination of Cortana that manifests during the later part of the season]], especially during "Game Over" where an utterly broken Chief can only sit in the tub and list off all the terrible things he's done to all of his friends.

* Brody is arguably one of the biggest victims of Eugene's gang due to both of them attending the same school in real life along with Eugene's psychotic friend Tyler. It's demonstrated very early on that Eugene's sadism is not limited to online gaming and social media, and when Brody steals the physical thumb drive for FragBan 2.0 Eugene proceeds to use these circumstances to his full advantage, sending him through such mental and physical abuse that he attempts suicide.

* Greg the spider [[spoiler: leaving the apartment after Chief tries to kill him.]]
** It doesn't help that Greg also reveals [[spoiler: his awareness of Arbiter's arachnophobia before he goes]].

** The relationship between mother and son starts out clearly strained, deteriorating over the season and culminating in [[spoiler: Adam being hauled off to juvie]].

* Arbiter deals with Claire's sudden return [[spoiler: extremely poorly. Under the influence of Eugene's gang, he brutally chews her out for being a 'fair weather friend', breaking down the heroic acts he did for her during the previous two seasons, then ending it with a simple 'Go fuck yourself.']]
* Brody is arguably one of the biggest victims of Eugene's gang due to both of them attending the same school in real life. Eugene uses this to his full advantage, sending him through such mental and physical abuse that he attempts suicide.

* The first half of "Game Over".
** An utterly broken Chief listing off all the terrible things he's done to all of his friends.
--->[[spoiler:'''Cortana:''' You really feel terrible about this, don't you?]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Chief:''' no fucking shit. i killed u. greg left cuz of me. i blamed both of the 2 of u leaving on arbitur. eugene was the only guy i met online whos evar liked me and he just put a bullets thru his fucking head.]]
** [[spoiler:Chief realizes that he loves Cortana...only for her to disappear before he can tell her, finally at peace.]]
* The entirety of the final episode.

* Some viewers have remarked how utterly sad they feel for Adam's mother.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other/Unsorted]]

* Greg leaving in "Cheaters" ([=S5E12=]), though he comes back in Season 6.
** [[spoiler:But in Season 7 he leaves permanently.]]

* Arbiter's goodbye to Claire in Season 6, driving him into another brief depression even to the point of crying.
*

[[/folder]]
[[folder: Season 8]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other/Unsorted]]
* In ''Endgame'', whenever Chief and the Arbiter have to confront the fact that they are falling apart.
* Greg leaving in "Cheaters" ([=S5E12=]), though he comes back in Season 6.
** [[spoiler:But in Season 7 he leaves permanently.]]

* Arbiter's goodbye to Claire in Season 6, driving him into another brief depression even to the point of crying.
** Arbiter dealing with Claire's return in Season 7 by [[spoiler:chewing her out and then ending it with a simple 'Go fuck yourself.']]

--->'''Arbiter:''' Eugene was an abused animal. The world bit him hard, and he bit back. It pushed him to the absolute edge. Then we nudged him off.

** Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that [[RealLifeWritesThePlot the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart]], despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.

** Arbiter's speech about Eugene [[spoiler: after his suicide]] in "Game Over", where it's shown that he doesn't even hate Eugene, just pities what happened to him. Truth is that in the end, Eugene was just a sad, angry man who tried to hurt everyone so they couldn't hurt him.
--->"''Eugene was an abused animal. The world bit him hard, and he bit back. It pushed him to the absolute edge.''"

** Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that [[the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart RealLifeWritesThePlot]], despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.

** Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart, despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.

** [[spoiler: Despite spending much of her time in the series bitching at Chief's antics, she is the one who tells Chief that he and Arbiter did a good thing by stopping Eugene, Tyler and Colin, and that it's not their fault that Eugene decided to kill himself. Hated as she was, many were moved by such an act of kindness.]]

** Especially this last bit:

* As much of an ass as Eugene proved himself to be, the revelation that his sister is perhaps dying of leukaemia is pretty sad.
* Episode 24 hits hard.

* The first half of "Game Over".

** Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart, despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.
* From "Ignition".

--> Chief: [[spoiler: :')]]

** Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart, despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.

* Jon revealed in the post linking the final episode that the Arby and Chief action figures that he used to film the series are falling apart, despite his best efforts to keep them together with tape and glue.

* The entirety of the final episode.

* The first half of "Game Over".

* [[spoiler:Greg leaving in "Cheaters" ([=S5E12=]).]]

* [[spoiler:Arbiter's last goodbye to Claire, and him being driven in to another brief depression, even to the point of crying.]]

* Arbiter's breakdown with dealing with Claire coming back after a while, chewing her out and then ending it with a simple 'Go fuck yourself.'