History TearJerker / Fargo

** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]] Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it. Likewise, before it, how she asks "doncha know that?" to Gaear — who's remained stony-faced to the line preceding it — in such genuine, saddened ''incomprehension'' at the things [[AxCrazy Gaear]]has done.

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* The scene where Jerry finally gets arrested at the end. You've grown to hate him, but the sheer pathetic nature and cries he makes makes you feel bad for him.

** By the ending, it only gets worse for his son; now his mom and grandfather are dead, and his father in jail for his part in that.

** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]] Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it. Likewise and before it, how she asks "doncha know that?" to Gaear — who's remained stony-faced to the line preceding it — in such genuine, saddened ''incomprehension'' at the things [[AxCrazy Gaear]] does.

** Marge's final expression at the end of the scene reveals that although she had faced so much brutal police cases, she still feels grief for such existence of evil.
** The sad realization that such similar and simple statements could be told to the worst of criminals, and that those words would still not mean a damn thing to them. That's why we can't comprehend such evil indeed.

* Jerry talking to his son, in tears, about his kidnapped mom. It shows how Jerry had no idea about how his scheme would affect those around him.

** It only gets worse for his son; now his mom and grandfather are dead, and his father in jail for his part in that.

** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]] Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it. Likewise and before it, how she asks "doncha know that?" to Gaear — who's remained stony-faced to the line preceding it — in such genuine, saddened ''incomprehension'' at the things Gaear does.

* Seeing Jean dead on the floor when Carl returns. This sweet and completely innocent lady lived her last hours in terror and then was unceremoniously executed just for annoying a sociopath.

** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]] Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it. Likewise and before it, how she asks "doncha know that?" to Gaear--who's remained stony-faced to the line-preceding it--in such genuine, saddened ''incomprehension'' at the things Gaear does.

--> "There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it."
** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]]- Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it. Likewise and before it, how she asks "doncha know that?" to Gaear--who's remained stony-faced to the line-preceding it--in such genuine, saddened ''incomprehension'' at the things Gaear does.

** [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil "I just don't understand it."]]- Marge keeps a stoic expression as she says it, but there's a hint of grief in it.

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[[folder:The 1996 Film]]

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[[folder:The 2014 Series]]
!!Season 1:

* Lester breaking down after [[spoiler:killing his wife.]]
* [[spoiler:After Chief Thurman gets killed, Molly brings his pregnant wife the paint cans that they were going to use to paint the baby's room.]]
* Stavros [[spoiler:discovering the corpse of his son after all his work to protect him.]]
* The death of [[spoiler:Chumph]] surprisingly turns out to be this, given the large amounts of NightmareFuel applied to [[spoiler:his]] situation. Namely, [[spoiler:being framed by Malvo into sniping at people in the street and being helpless to proclaim his innocence to the cops shooting at him due to the gag in his mouth]]. The dissonant music and cinematography just accentuate the harshness of it.
* The look on Gus's face [[spoiler:when he finds Molly shot in the snow. It may be ambiguous whether it was his careless shot that did it, but that doesn't lessen the impact of the tragedy and his innocent incompetence.]]
* Bill Oswalt's conversation with Lester, where he's struggling to grasp how the hell so many killings are happening in such a short period of time. Making things sadder is that Lester easily exploits this grief to put forward an explanation of his wife's murder that discredits one of the few people who might testify against him.
* How Chaz and his family life spiral downward when the police discover [[spoiler:phony evidence Lester planted in his gun cabinet.]]
* The subdued conversation between [[spoiler:the recovering Molly and Mr. Wrench.]] The first thing he does [[spoiler:is inquire about his partner, only to learn that he had died.]] He maintains a stoic expression, but it's clear he's grieving.
** And Molly's part in the conversation can't be discounted. She's clearly trying, much like Margie before her, to make sense of the horrors she's endured. This is the first time we see the usually confident, bright Molly truly shaken since Vern's death. She almost looks sadder when he turns away, because it seems like she really just needs someone other than her dad to talk to.
-->'''Molly:''' And I mean, what's the point?
* [[spoiler: Linda's death, especially that it's right after she woefully professes that she had been in love with Lester long before their marriage.]]
* In the finale, when Gus gets word that Malvo's back in Bemidji, he calls Molly begging her not to go with the other officers to find him, and that he doesn't want Greta to have to [[AdultFear "see another funeral".]] [[spoiler: Thankfully, they both make it through in the end.]]
* Bill's final on screen conversation with Molly where tells her he doesn't understand all the evil and cruelty that seems to have come into the world and that he's started thinking "dark thoughts" and drinking more to cope with it, and [[spoiler:that he's not cut out to be police chief and that Molly is and that his friend and predecessor Vern Thurman knew that all along.]] As much of a load as he's been throughout the series it's impossible not to feel sorry for the guy.
* [[spoiler: The deaths of Budge and Pepper in the finale.]] After their colossal screw up with the Fargo syndicate massacre, they finally get a chance to make up for it when they convince Bill to support Molly's investigation, [[spoiler: only to get offed by Malvo.]]

!!Season 2:

* Just watching poor Betsy Solverson slowly die from cancer is hard enough, but she becomes the victim of a real KickTheDog moment in episode 4 during her and Lou's visit to the doctor. [[spoiler:He offers to put her on an experimental drug that could potentially fight the cancer, only she may not actually receive the real drug, but just a placebo instead. So not only is she dying, but her suffering is being exploited by doctors to test the effects of their new drug.]] Ouch.
** Lou's "I think you got the real pill" at the end of the episode. After his speech to Peggy and Ed about lying to reassure his dying comrades, it can be taken as him accepting his wife's death.
** Her earlier comment about how Lou is going to "have to learn these things" about not just bringing jerky on his fishing trips with Molly implies that she's expecting to die as well
* The Gerhardts after [[spoiler:finally finding out about Rye's death.]], specifically Floyd who had already lost three sons: one was killed in Korea and the other two were stillborn. All she has left of her youngest is his belt buckle which Hanzee found in the Blomquists' fireplace.
* Bear's tearful rage when [[spoiler:he finds out that Dodd sent Charlie into the line of fire. His distraught, incredulous, "He's only seventeen" is heart-breaking.]]
* Floyd at [[spoiler:Otto's funeral. She might be ruthless and he might have been cruel, but they loved each other and Floyd is wounded by his loss.]]
* Betsy telling Karl to take care of her family once she's gone. She's accepted her death, and despite her fear and incomprehensible sadness, still wants to know that someone will be there to look after the people she loves. When she commands Karl to stop drinking and he instantly agrees, it shows just how seriously he takes her request and how much he loves the Solversons.
* Simone [[spoiler:being marched into the woods by Bear to be killed for her betrayal. Much like ''Film/MillersCrossing'', the movie to which the scene is paying homage, she first tries to bargain her way out of it, arguing that she could simply be banished and never return. As it becomes more apparent that Bear won't change his mind, she becomes more desperate and before long, falls to her knees and breaks down sobbing. Even her haters had to have felt a twinge of remorse.]]
** And then there's the aftermath, where Bear walks back to his truck, becomes seized with remorse, and repeatedly smashes his injured arm against the hood of his truck until the cast shatters.
* [[PreMortemOneLiner "I just wanted a glass of water."]] Despite being a decorated Vietnam veteran, Hanzee still gets his drink spit in by the barkeep and mocked by the bar patrons because he's Native American. Though Hanzee is hardly a saint, it certainly shows how he eventually snapped after years of this treatment.
* Lou desperately trying to talk Ed and Peggy out of the ill-advised sting operation. He claims he feels responsible for them, and it really shows. It's not hard to imagine him being like that with his men in Vietnam.
* The look in Floyd's eyes when she realizes that [[spoiler:Hanzee has betrayed the Gerhardts and tricked them into attacking the police at the Motor Motel, leading to a massacre on both sides. Then Hanzee, coldly and without a word, stabs her twice in the chest, killing her. The look of shock on her face, as a person who over the course of just a few short weeks has lost her husband, her sons, her organization, and now her own life, is truly heartbreaking.]]
** This is only made worse by the fact that [[spoiler:Bear witnessed all of this helplessly from afar.]]
* [[spoiler:Ed's death]]

!!Season 3
* In episode three, we see the sad journey of Tad Mobley through Hollywood; a naive young science-fiction writer, he gets taken by Howard Zimmerman, who cheats him out of all of his money with the promise of a big-screen adaptation that ends up bogged down in DevelopmentHell until his money runs out, at which point he loses his temper and nearly kills Howard, forcing him to change his name and relocate to the midwest. Parallel to this is the story of Minsky, a robot who becomes lost on a strange planet, wandering helplessly and trying to carry out his sole objective of helping people, only to get brutalized by the locals. Eventually, he is scooped up by aliens, who praise him for his perseverance and then reward him by ordering him to shut himself down. For added tears, he is informed that he was on that planet for ''tens of millions of years''.
* In episode six, the Stussy feud comes to a sad end as Ray is accidentally killed in a fight with Emmett. He's stabbed in the neck with a shard of glass when Emmett accidentally shoves the framed stamp at him. Several sad elements abound; Emmett came to Ray to bury the hatchet and repatriate the stamp, Ray refuses his brother's overture of peace, the accident itself, and then Ray's pitiful death as he bleeds out on the floor, pleading with his brother for help.
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* Lester breaking down after [[spoiler:killing his wife.]]

* [[spoiler: Ed's death]]

* Marge's speech. It kills this troper to see someone who has a bright outlook on life seeing the atrocities that happened for a petty reason such as money. And she says it in a tone you'd hear from a disappointed mother.

** It only gets worse for his son, now his mom and grandfather are dead, and his father in jail for his part in that.

* [[PreMortemOneLiner "I just wanted]] [[PreAsskickingOneLiner a glass of water."]] Despite being a decorated Vietnam veteran, Hanzee still gets his drink spit in by the barkeep and mocked by the bar patrons because he's Native American. Though Hanzee is hardly a saint, it certainly shows how he eventually snapped after years of this treatment.

* The Gerhardts after [[spoiler: finally finding out about Rye's death.]], specifically Floyd who had already lost three sons: one was killed in Korea and the other two were stillborn. All she has left of her youngest is his belt buckle which Hanzee found in the Blomquist' fireplace.

* Simone [[spoiler: being marched into the woods by Bear to be killed for her betrayal. Much like MillersCrossing, the movie the scene's paying homage too, she first tries to bargain her way out of it, arguing that she could simply be banished and never return. As it becomes more apparent that Bear won't change his mind, she becomes more desperate and before long, falls to her knees and breaks down sobbing. Even her haters had to have felt a twinge of remorse.]]

* Simone [[spoiler: being marched into the woods by Bear to be killed for her betrayal. Much like MillersCrossing, the movie it's paying homage too, she first tries to bargain her way out of it, arguing that she could simply be banished and never return. As it becomes more apparent that Bear won't change his mind, she becomes more desperate and before long, falls to her knees and breaks down sobbing. Even her haters had to have felt a twinge of remorse.]]