History TearJerker / Firefly

** Unless you take on the interpretation that it was her ''wedding dress''-[[note]]because what other white dress would someone like Zoe have?[[/note]] which just makes it so much ''worse''.

* ''Anything'' involving River and Simon is going to be either TearJerker or CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming or both. Especially "Objects In Space", where River is saying she'll go with Early so everyone can have a normal life, and you can see the look on Simon's face.

* A bit of Fridge Tearjerker for the Reavers: They have the reputation in the 'Verse as being violently insane, and even those who don't believe they exist have heard the stories that gave them that reputation. So why, the question is asked, haven't they already wiped themselves out from infighting? Because [[spoiler: they're not always that violent; it's just how the survivors described them. The movie shows that their specific brand of insanity is a response to anger, and they're not angry at each other; whatever remnant of humanity in their souls allowed them to hold onto enough brains to fly scavenged ships, also allows them to recognize each other for what they all really are: the last surviving victims of a planet-wide genocide.]]

* A bit of Fridge Tearjerker for the Reavers: They have the reputation in the 'Verse as being violently insane, and even those who don't believe they exist have heard the stories that gave them that reputation. So why, the question is asked, haven't they already wiped themselves out from infighting? Because [[spoiler: they're not always that violent; it's just how the survivors described them. The movie shows that their specific brand of insanity is a response to anger, and they're not angry at each other; the remnant of humanity of their souls that allowed them to stay smart enough to fly scavenged ships, also allows them to recognize each other for what they all really are: victims of a terrible crime. They lash out at everyone else because they don't know who actually committed the crime.]]

*** Since you mentioned the hat, the look on Jayne's face when the Alliance agent tells him the hat is stupid is gut-wrenching - you know, the hat his mother back home made and sent him?

* Correction, "Heart Of Gold". When she discovers that Mal slept with Nandi, she says to his face that she hopes they both enjoyed themselves. Once she's alone, she breaks down weeping.

** And then that Goddamn little soldier's poem. [[spoiler:"When you can't run...you crawl. And when you can't crawl, when you can't do that..." "You find somebody to carry you."]]

* "Out of Gas". ''The entire freaking episode''.
** Correction, "Heart Of Gold". [[spoiler:Inara's reaction to finding out Mal slept with Nandi.]] Says it all.

*** Since you mentioned the hat, the look on Jayne's face when the Alliance agent tells him the hat is stupid is gut-wrenching - you know, the hat his mother back home caring for his sick brother made and sent him?
* Also, "Objects in Space". Specifically, this exchange:
-->'''River''': I don't belong....dangerous, like you. Can't be controlled, can't be trusted. Everyone can just go on without me and not have to worry. People could be what they wanted to be....could be with the people they wanted....could live simple, no secrets.\\

** That's nothing! The looks of guilt on the faces of the rest of the crew really pull on the heart-strings.

** Really, you can just say "River Tam. Full stop." If she's not being frighteningly creepy, she's breaking your heart with how horribly damaged she is.
* "Ariel." "What're you gonna tell the others? ... 'Bout why I'm dead ... Make something up. Don't tell 'em what I did."
** Not to mention the brilliant whiplashing effect moments later when [[spoiler: Mal seals the airlock, sparing Jayne, and walks away. Jayne, after a few moments of silence, asks if Mal would open the doors to let him in.]]
** Same episode, when Simon scans River and sees what the Feds have done to her. Simon then dumbs it down for Jayne [[MrExposition (and us)]], making it ''very, very'' clear how bad it was. On that note, any time River's time at the Academy comes up.

--> '''River''': "I took you away from there. I know you don't think I did, but...I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and...some of it's made up, and some of it can't be quantified, and...there's secrets.... But I understand. You gave up everything you had to find me.....and you found me ''broken''. It's hard for you....you gave up everything you ''had''...."\\

** One really hard-hitting part is when River tries assure Simon that she will get better....but after seeing her breakdown in "War Stories" you realize that ''River doesn't believe she'll get better.'' And she's just trying to reassure Simon that she will heal, knowing that she can't, and that she ''blames herself'' for the way Simon's life was ruined. It's just so...''sad''....
** As well as the moment right before the BigDamnHeroes...

* Mal settling in to wait for help in "Out of Gas", knowing full well that the odds are stacked against help coming, but willing to try anyway.
* In the beginning of the pilot, when Mal realizes that the [[TheEmpire spaceships]] he heard are not the [[TheCavalry the ones he had hoped for]] the camera zooms in on his face while sad cello music plays. It's not a Tear Jerker the first time around, but after watching the whole series and the movie, you will feel the pain [[BreakTheCutie of him falling apart.]]
** Shortly before that you see Mal kiss a cross he keeps around his neck, it really hammers in how much it crushed Mal to lose the war, considering his usual reaction to other peoples faith.
** Moreso if you take into account a deleted scene. Mal was just a sergeant in charge of a few dozen soldiers. During the Battle of Serenity Value, all the officers had been killed along with hundreds of soldiers; only Zoe was left from his original unit. Mal rose up to keep everyone going and had over two thousand following him. Until the fighting stopped while top leadership was negotiating the surrender of the Independents. Over the next week, only a 150 survived the disease and starvation from lack of medical supplied and food. And that's when the ships came over the horizon.

*** Or they would have been ruthlessly gunned down and bullied back into submission and have ended up working under even worse conditions for having tried to kill their bosses. For all their talk of "standing up to the man" and "giving him the what-for", the whole point is that their hopes are false. They're dirt-poor and untrained laborers on a planet with no infrastructure and no support except through the company that owns it. Hoping for money to fall from the sky was the only thing they ''could'' do. Mal at this point would never have encouraged that sort of pointless rebelliousness. He knows exactly where it leads.
* That tiny little moment in Objects In Space, when Simon, upon hearing what the alliance was trying to do to River, a girl he still thinks of as his goofy, bratty know it all sister, just quietly brokenly says, "She's just a kid, she just wants to be a kid ". It's so easy to forget that he still just sees her as a little girl.

* Rivers entire introduction in the Pilot. Just imagine watching that gut wrenching scene from the actual bay. Up until this point Simon has been cold and aloof, but you can see his heart breaking.

** Unless you take on the interpretation that it was her ''wedding dress''- which just makes it so much ''worse''.

---> ''(Simon climbs onto the sacrificial pyre and embraces River)''\\

'''Simon:''' Light it.

* The final scene with Mal and River in Serenity's cockpit, doubly so because [[spoiler: it's probably the last time we'll get to see any of these wonderful characters onscreen.]].

* The final scene with Mal and River in Serenity's cockpit, doubly so because [[spoiler: it's probably the last time we'll get to see these characters onscreen.]].

* The final scene with Mal and River in Serenity's cockpit, doubly so because [[spoiler: it's probably the last scene of the series]].

-->'''Mal:''' But you fog things up! You spin me about. You always have. I wish like ''hell'' you was elsewhere. [''storms off'']

-->'''Mal:'''But you fog things up! Spin me about. You always have. I wish like ''hell'' you was elsewhere. [''storms off'']

* When Simon gets shot. He's lying there thinking he's about to die and he turns to River and starts apologising that he won't be able to look after her anymore.

-->'''Inara:'''I'm not trying to tear you down!

!!Series/{{Firefly}}:

!!Film/{{Serenity}}:
* The funeral scene in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. The fact that even ''Jayne'' looks like he's about to break down says something there.

* [[spoiler: Book's death]] scene hit ''hard.'' specially the final exchange:
-->[[spoiler: '''Book''': You can't order me around, boy. I'm not one of your crew.]]\\
[[spoiler: '''Mal''': Yes you ''are.'']]

---> '''Book:''' I don't care what you believe...just believe it.
* [[spoiler: Every friend, every accomplice, every man, woman and child who ever supported Serenity's crew- [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs Dead.]]]] The fact that [[TheStoic The Operative,]] of all people, seems to regret this just hammers in the tragedy.

* River's disjointed breakdown on Miranda, like a ''lot'' of the scenes involving River in this movie, was jarring and emotionally hard-hitting, especially the bit at the end where she starts praying frantically in Chinese. In the midst of the chaotic, disjointed Chinese prayers, she suddenly breaks into English long enough to scream.
--> Please, God, make me stone.

--> '''[[BigBrotherInstinct Simon:]]''' Don't ever say that.

---> '''River:''' (''crying'') It isn't mine! The memory, it isn't mine, and I shouldn't have to carry it! Please don't make me sleep again...
--->'''River''': I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I'm saying!

* Somewhat fridge, but remember when Wash and Zoe joke about her getting a "slinky dress" in "Shindig?" [[spoiler:''It's what she wears to his funeral.'']]

* The ending to the episode "The Message," where Tracy finally realizes how much of a JerkAss he's been and tries to repent in his last moments, and then his family and the crew are shown gathered around his coffin while he speaks the titular message. The music in this scene is so absolutely ''powerful.''

* "Bullet to the brainpan, squish!" "Don't ever say that."

** Not to mention some of nasty UnfortunateImplications that some of the victims were characters we got to know during the series run, good people like [[GentleGiant Monty]], [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Sir Warwick Harrow]], [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold the girls at Nandi's brothel]], and possibly even [[LoveableRogue Badger]].