History TearJerker / MadMaxFuryRoad

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/furiosa_1.jpg]]

* Meta example but Charlize Theron mentions that Furiosa never refers to the wives by name because she doesn't want to form emotional attachments to them, not knowing if they'll survive or not. Made even worse because it doesn't work, as her voice breaks and she borderline ''begs'' Max to tell her if Angharad is really dead.

** Later during the final climax, the death of the Valkyrie is witnessed by two of the women who say nothing but with visible deep sadness and a hand gesturing farewell. Made more tragic as she was the youngest of the group.

** The whole scene with the wives, Max and a dying Furiosa is painful. Cheedo tearfully asks Max what's wrong with her, and all four of the girls are visibly tearful and terrified when he reinflates her lung, trying to keep her awake and help him however they can.

* A small meta tear jerker about the age of the actors:
** Melissa Jaffer, the actor of one of the Vuvalini, stated that she took this role because she likely won't get another chance like this in her life. Considering that few people would even entertain the thought of using old people (particularly elderly women) in action roles, much less let them do their own stunts, she was right. For her and the rest of the Vuvalini's actors' last years, they will never see a role as awesome as this one. While they didn't die after this film, this is likely their collective swan song. Fortunately, they made it count. To put her in perspective, Jaffer is only one year younger than Creator/WoodyAllen.
** Sadly, this ended up being the fate of Hugh Keays-Byrne, the actor for Immortan Joe and Toecutter. Hugh would end up passing away in 2020, making this his last role in any medium (both film and television). However, his performance as Immortan Joe has definitely seared his memory in pop culture, and there are definitely fewer things more glorious to be remembered for.
---> '''Immortan Joe:''' "And I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla. You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome."

--> '''Immortan Joe:''' "And I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla. You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome."

* [[spoiler:The death of Angharad. The worst thing is it follows just after a HopeSpot after she narrowly avoids hitting a boulder but then immediately slips off the rig.]]
** [[spoiler:There's a little sadness to be had for Max, who gives Angharad a small smile and thumbs up when she survives the boulder. It's the first time he seems to connect to the wives, and the last, until the very end.]]
** [[spoiler:Even worse for Max is what causes his flashback when she falls. This isn't the first time he's seen someone run down by a group of madmen.]]
** [[spoiler:She also slipped on the blood seeping from the bullet wound he gave her. Just to rub salt into it.]]
** The very fact that [[spoiler:she was heavily pregnant at the time of her death (and her child doesn't survive the C-section operation) is enough to make it a very emotional moment, both in-and-out of universe.]]
** [[spoiler: If the baby ''had'' lived, it's actually possible that Joe would have been in such a hurry to get his "perfect in every way" preemie back to the citadel for mother's milk and medical care that he'd have given up the chase, then and there. Instead, it never takes a breath and the pursuit, and the mayhem, go on.]]
* [[spoiler:Cheedo's reaction to Angharad's death is to try and go back to Joe with the wives and Furiosa holding her back. And then she breaks down in hysterics and just screams for her dead friend.]]

* Rictus mourning the loss of [[spoiler:his stillborn brother: "I had a baby brother! I had a little baby brother... and he was perfect! Perfect in every way!"]] It's brief, and YMMV, but still.
** Especially when you compare his reaction with that of Immortan Joe. The latter [[spoiler:turned his own dead son into a "proof" of his might - that he is capable of fathering healthy children; Richtus, meanwhile, is on the verge of crying for the loss of his baby brother]].
* [[spoiler:Having spent the earlier half of the film wishing to die an awesome death in service of Immortan Joe, Nux finally achieves his goal. The difference, though, is that instead of dying for Immortan, he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeY_Rlyn2U sacrifices himself]] to cause a blockade in a narrow pass in order to prevent Immortan's men from pursuing the others. Rather than a "TakingYouWithMe" to hurt his enemies, he makes a HeroicSacrifice to save his friends -- indeed, he protects the lives of literally ''every'' protagonist still standing. The look in his eyes say that he held no fear and regret about what is to happen. His last words to Capable:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Nux''': Witness me.]]
** [[spoiler: To make the above even worse, normally when War Boys say "Witness me" they do it at the top of their lungs. Nux's voice is barely above a whisper, and almost sounds like he's going to start crying. It's almost like after everything he's gone through and bonding with Capable that he doesn't WANT to die. But he's willing to sacrifice himself to protect her.]]

** The music that plays during this scene, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVQqrLzeuB4 Walhalla Awaits]], is very fitting for [[spoiler: Nux's HeroicSacrifice]].
** After Furiosa [[spoiler: finally kills Immortan Joe]], while Max, Furiosa, the Wives, and the Vuvalini escape on the Gigahorse, [[spoiler: the Dag takes the Keeper's seeds before escaping and takes one last look of her [[GoOutWithASmile dying with a smile on her face]].]]
* Furiosa suffers a massive HeroicBSOD when she finds out that [[spoiler:the Green Place has been turned into a quagmire]]. Prior to that, Furiosa comments that she was taken away from her home by Immortan Joe along with her mother about 7000 days prior, that amounts to about twenty years. She then adds that her mother died on the ''third'' day.

* For the gearheads out there, the fate of the Interceptor. Finally on the big screen again for the first time in decades, and Max only gets to be in it for a few scant ''seconds'' of screen time before it's wrecked. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, even after it's repaired, it winds up in the hands of the War Boys, and it gets trashed ''again'' between two War Rigs during the final leg of the chase.]]
* Meta example but Charlize Theron mentions that Furiosa never refers to the wives by name because she doesn't want to form emotional attachments to them, not knowing if they'll survive or not. Made even worse [[spoiler: because it doesn't work, as her voice breaks and she borderline ''begs'' Max to tell her if Angharad is really dead.]]

** Later during the final climax, the death of [[spoiler:the Valkyrie]] is witnessed by two of the women who say nothing but with visible deep sadness and a hand gesturing farewell. Made more tragic as she was the youngest of the group.

* [[spoiler:Furiosa's anguished, barely heard plea to Max: "Take them... home...", whispered with the last effort as she lies dying. She's sure she's gonna die (and she would have, were it not for Max being a universal donor) and still she does all she can to ensure the Wives will reach their home.]]
* You can't help but feel sorry for [[spoiler:the Coma Doof Warrior as you see his double-neck guitar burst out of the wreckage in front of the camera.]] [[AlasPoorVillain Despite being on the side of bad]], he was TooCoolToLive.
* [[spoiler: Max telling Furiosa his name - and the real sadness is that he's reminding ''himself'' he has a name.]]
** The whole scene with the wives, Max and [[spoiler:a dying Furiosa is painful. Cheedo tearfully asks Max what's wrong with her, and all four of the girls are visibly tearful and terrified when he reinflates her lung, trying to keep her awake and help him however they can.]]
* [[spoiler: A polecat grabs Toast, and it's painful to hear Furiosa's BigNo, and watch the other wives desperately try to grab her. Joe taunts Furiosa from his car, and the look in Furiosa's eye is haunting. Even worse still, Max finally gets back to the rig when Furiosa is injured, and is immediately grabbed up as well. Cheedo and The Dag grab for him and you can hear Cheedo yell "NO!". They're going through hell and still just trying to keep their makeshift family together.]]
* The backstory of Glory the Child in the tie-in comics and how she became involved in Max's life. Some time before, she had been kidnapped by the Buzzards during a raid on a trading convoy, and her mother searched and searched for someone who could find her daughter and bring her back. After saving Max's life, he owed her a favor which was finding and returning Glory to her mother. After a harrowing excursion into the Sunken City, Max managed to both save Glory and retrieve his stolen V8 Interceptor. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, the remaining pursuing Buzzard ran over both the mother and child, eerily re-enacting the deaths of Max's wife and child. Max killed the attacker and found the mother dead on the scene, while Glory was holding onto her last breath. Glory's last words to Max was to tell him to look after her mother, not knowing she was already dead.]] This event arguably destroyed pretty much all the psychological development Max had undergone during the events of ''Beyond Thunderdome'', resulting in him being the shell of a man he is in the opening of ''Fury Road.''
-->[[spoiler:'''Glory''': You... came back. I knew... you would. Is... mamma all right?]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Max''': She's fine.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Glory''': Look... after her...]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Max''': I will.]]

--> '''Immortan Joe''': "And I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla. You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome."

* Amidst the [[spoiler: triumphant anointing of Furiosa as the new leader of the Citadel,]] we are treated to one last shot of [[spoiler: Max disappearing into the crowd, letting Furiosa have her moment in the sun. It's rather heartrending to think that, even though he underwent so much CharacterDevelopment and experienced so much with her and the Five Wives, in the end he seems forever doomed to be WalkingTheEarth. And, barring a connected sequel (unlikely, considering the "[[WordOfGod mythology narrative]]" [[note]]George Miller and company refers to the Mad Max series as not necessarily a connected saga of movies, but rather retellings of the exploits of Max, similar to the way people tell stories about mythical figures and legends. This attitude is definitely helpful in explaining away any inevitable {{continuity snarl}}s.[[/note]] of Mad Max and his exploits), this will be the last time that Furiosa and Max ever see each other.]]

* [[spoiler:Having spent the earlier half of the film wishing to die an awesome death in service of Immortan Joe, Nux finally achieves his goal. The difference, though, is that instead of dying for Immortan, he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeY_Rlyn2U sacrifices himself]] to cause a blockade in a narrow pass in order to prevent Immortan's men from pursuing the others. He ends up saving Max, Furiosa and the rest of the women. The look in his eyes say that he held no fear and regret about what is to happen. His last words to Capable:]]

* Meta example but Charlize Theron mentions that Furiosa never refers to the wives by name because she doesn't want to form emotional attachments to them, not knowing if they'll survive or not.

** Later during the final climax, the death of [[spoiler:the Valkyrie]] is witnessed by two of the women who say nothing but with visible deep sadness and a hand gesturing farewell. Made more tragedic as she was the youngest of the group.

* A small meta tear jerker: Melissa Jaffer, the actor of one of the Vuvalini, stated that she took this role because she likely won't get another chance like this in her life. Considering that few people would even entertain the thought of using old people (particularly elderly women) in action roles, much less let them do their own stunts, she was right. For her and the rest of the Vuvalini's actors' last years, they will never see a role as awesome as this one. While they didn't die after this film, this is likely their collective swan song. Fortunately, they made it count.
** To put her in perspective, Jaffer is only one year younger than Creator/WoodyAllen.

** [[spoiler: If the baby ''had'' lived, it's actually possible that Joe would have been in such a hurry to get his "perfect in every way" preemie back to the citadel for mother's milk and medical care that he'd have given up the chase, then and there.]]