History TearJerker / NCISLosAngeles

** It gets worse. "Found" is pretty much the definition of HopeSpot. They know where Dom is. He gets given a key and breaks out of his chains. They meet up with him in the middle of a firefight... [[spoiler: only for him to get fatally shot when he's trying to run to safety.]]
* "Sans Voir: Part 1 and 2" [[spoiler: Agent Hunter and Agent Renko's deaths at the hands of the Chameleon]], but easily the worst part about it is Hetty's reaction to both. [[spoiler: Hetty is driven almost to tears at the news of Renko's death and Hetty enters a HeroicBSOD when Lauren Hunter dies.]]
** Possibly the biggest TearJerker of the entire episode: In the aftermath of [[spoiler: The Chameleon's attempt to kill Kensi, Sam and Deeks]], Hetty and Callen have a conversation about [[spoiler: The Chameleon]] and Hunter. It is revealed Hunter [[spoiler: Was an orphan trained by Hetty, just like Callen and that she is affected very deeply by the death of her agents]]. This is arguably the closest the audience has seen Hetty come to a HeroicBSOD.
* "Wanted" A continuation of the "Sidorov Arc" but by the end of the episode, [[spoiler: a CIA agent is dead, they are no closer to finding the stolen nuclear weapons and Sam's wife, Michelle, was almost killed.]]

* The last minutes of "Chernoff, K" - Callen finds out that [[spoiler:after his father was arrested & placed in a Russian gulag in 1974, he escaped & assumed the titular identity, before eventually dying in 2008. After visiting his father's grave, the scene cuts to Callen standing outside of a cafe he learnt his father had frequented after his escape]]. After Callen leaves, there's a brief fade to black which quickly fades back into the same shot, where [[spoiler:an old man sits down at the table near the window Callen was just stood at. There's no dialogue & this scene lasts for roughly a minute, and the implication is clear - this old man is Callen's father, having faked his death in 2008]].
* Sam is heartbroken in "The Long Goodbye" [[spoiler:after Jada decides to go back to Sudan despite the danger of her brother possibly killing her after shes goes back.]]

* [[spoiler:Michelle]]'s death at the end of "Uncaged". [[spoiler:Even before the heartbreaking reveal of her lifeless body, you can tell ''everyone'' at the crime scene has that telltale long face. Then Sam discovers his wife breathes no more... and collapses into tears. None of his team can even say anything to comfort him, and Kensi's lip is quivering on the verge of tears. Then, the whole room clears out to give him a moment of privacy to mourn. Kensi and Deeks linger for a moment before giving up and leaving, until Callen is the only one left, standing by the doorway. Looking on at Sam, the life drains out of him and he, too, leaves Sam alone. Unfortunately, being left alone only worsens Sam's pain. He can't handle the grief by himself and starts begging for her to come back to him with vain cries of "Please...", and his sobbing tapers off into the cut to credits.]]
** The buildup to this [[spoiler:loss]] was phenomenally painful. [[spoiler:Michelle remarked how she wanted to be with Sam forever, and Sam mentioned how their daughter was only twelve and would not be able to endure losing her if the worst happened, and Hetty ''desperately'' tries to meet the terrorist's demands, red tape be damned. Nell even resorts to lying to federal agents to clear out at the risk of destroying her own career just because their presence is a liability to Michelle's survival.]]
** The worst part is when Deeks and Kensi raid the warehouse [[spoiler:where Michelle is being kept]], and [[HopeSpot seem to be on the verge of a successful rescue]] but ''[[GutPunch miss]]'' the entrance to the hidden room because it's too well-hidden as an apparent dead end to spy with a passing glance. [[FailedASpotCheck Those precious few seconds they wasted doubling back to it counted.]] [[spoiler:They could have meant the difference between Michelle surviving as opposed to dying.]]
** [[spoiler:The music played in the final scene is heartbreaking and makes it clear they're too late. "Gandalf's Fall" is not used for happy endings.]]
** [[spoiler:Perhaps the most sickening thing about this tragic moment is knowing the team was tricked into going on a wild goose chase when Michelle wasn't even taken out of the neighborhood. The callous taunting from Sam's arch nemesis becomes absolutely brutal knowing he ''succeeded'' in punishing Sam for taking away one of his loved ones by returning the favor.]]
* [[spoiler:Sam's completely unhinged state following the loss of his wife. He's prepared for a final showdown with his nemesis, and seems like he's made up his mind to die in the process.]]
** [[spoiler: Don't worry; he doesn't die. But he still has to bury Michelle.]]
* In "Liabilities", it's finally confirmed [[spoiler: that Granger has died, having spent his remaining days with his daughter and buried at her house.]]

* So in the Season 9 finale, the team found the burnt remains of a body in Mexico, raising the question of whether or not it was Harley Hidoko, who went down south ahead of them. The Season 10 premiere answers that question: [[spoiler:it ''is'' her. Alas, poor Harley, we hardly knew ye]].

* In "No More Secrets", Callen (with the help of his friends) finally rescues his father and brings him back to America -- and finds out that [[spoiler:he's already dying. He doesn't last much longer]].
* The fate of [[spoiler: ''Series/{{JAG}}'' protagonists Mac and Harm's romance]] in "False Flag". You can just tell how [[spoiler: two colleagues who have taken nine years to draw each other into an engagement are so obviously straining to not bring up the pain of their separation.]]
** Similarly in "Blame it on Rio," [[Series/{{NCIS}} Dinozzo]] flies to LA to provide support on a case. He notices the romantic relationship between Kensi and Deeks and tells Deeks it's not going to work out, and he knows because he's "been there." This being nearly two years after [[spoiler: Ziva chose to stay in Israel]], yet he still sounds so bitter about it.
* In "Raising The Dead", LAPD [[spoiler: has permanently terminated the LAPD Liason to the NCIS position, meaning that Deeks is no longer on the team, and despite both Hetty and Nell's best efforts, they can't do anything about it. The team was being a bit rough on him asking him to hand in his comms (to be fair they were following protocol but they could have handled it a bit gentler). As he's finally cleaned out his desk, Deeks wonders about entering FLETEC training to become an NCIS agent, but Nell said they would not accept anyone Deeks's age. Now out of a job with a bar struggling due to the pandemic and the prospects of not being able to pay for the house that he and Kensi were planning to get, Deeks is clearly hurting. But true to his personality, he's doing his best not to cry in front of a clearly upset Nell (and she's the only one around to even say goodbye to him, as the team is out in the field and Eric and Hetty are currently MIA from the OPS building). And now things are about to get worst, as he knows that Kessler is out free and he and her partner are on the prowl to kill Kensi.]]

* In "Raising The Dead", LAPD [[spoiler: has permanently terminated the LAPD Liason to the NCIS position, meaning that Deeks is no longer on the team, and despite both Hetty and Nell's best efforts, they can't do anything about it. The team was being a bit rough on him asking him to hand in his comms (to be fair they were following protocol but they could have handled it a bit gentler). As he's finally cleaned out his desk, Deeks wonders about entering FLETEC training to become an NCIS agent, but Nell said they would not accept anyone Deeks's age. Now out of a job with a bar struggling due to the pandemic and the prospects of not being able to pay for the house that he and Kensi were planning to get, Deeks is clearly hurting. But true to his personality, he's doing his best not to cry in front of a clearly upset Nell (and she's the only one around to even say goodbye to him, as the team is out in the field and Eric and Hetty are currently MIA from the OPS building). And now things are about to get worst, as he knows that Kessler is out free and he and her partner are on the prowl to kill Kensi.]]

* In S12E05 episode "Raising The Dead", LAPD [[spoiler: has permanently terminated the LAPD Liason to the NCIS position, meaning that Deeks is no longer on the team, and despite both Hetty and Nell's best efforts, they can't do anything about it. The team was being a bit rough on him asking him to hand in his comms (to be fair they were following protocol but they could have handled it a bit gentler). As he's finally cleaned out his desk, Deeks wonders about entering FLETEC training to become an NCIS agent, but Nell said they would not accept anyone Deeks's age. Now out of a job with a bar struggling due to the pandemic and the prospects of not being able to pay for the house that he and Kensi were planning to get, Deeks is clearly hurting. But true to his personality, he's doing his best not to cry in front of a clearly upset Nell (and she's the only one around to even say goodbye to him, as the team is out in the field and Eric and Hetty are currently MIA from the OPS building). And now things are about to get worst, as he knows that Kessler is out free and he and her partner are on the prowl to kill Kensi.]]

* The fate of [[spoiler: ''Series/{{JAG}}'' protagonists Mac and Harm's romance]] in "False Flag". You can just tell how [[spoiler: two colleagues who have taken nine years to draw each other into an engagement are so obviously straining to not bring up the pain of their separation.]]

** It gets worse. "Found" is pretty much the definition of Hope Spot. They know where Dom is. He gets given a key and breaks out of his chains. They meet up with him in the middle of a firefight... [[spoiler: only for him to get fatally shot when he's trying to run to safety.]]

* In "No More Secrets", Callen (with the help of his friends) finally rescues his father and brings him back to America -- and finds out that [[spoiler:he's already dying. He doesn't last much longer]].

* "Til Death Do Us Part" has Kensi noting how Granger was going to walk her down the aisle.

* So in the Season 9 finale, the team found the burnt remains of a body in Mexico, raising the question of whether or not it was Harley Hidoko, who went down south ahead of them. The Season 10 premiere answers that question: [[spoiler:it ''is'' her. Alas, poor Harley, we hardly knew ye]].

* Throughout "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," Deeks has been talking of opening a bar. Kensi is naturally concerned about doing this before their wedding while the rest of the gang mock Deeks on his various failed business ideas. Deeks reveals he has bought a bar but then does a speech on how he wants it to be exclusive to military vets and give them a place they can come together and bond and maybe help each other out. Kensi is moved to tears as she embraces him.

* Throughout "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," Eric has been talking of opening a bar. Kensi is naturally concerned about doing this before their wedding while the rest of the gang mock Eric on his various failed business ideas. Eric reveals he has bought a bar but then does a speech on how he wants it to be exclusive to military vets and give them a place they can come together and bond and maybe help each other out. Kensi is moved to tears as she embraces him.

* At the end of "Warrior of Peace", Callen and his half-sister Alex are forced to watch as their father is traded to Iran in exchange for two kidnapped journalists despite all of Callen's attempts, knowing that Garrison is probably going to be tortured and killed once the Russians get their hand on him.

** [[spoiler: Don't worry; he doesn't die. But he still has to bury Michelle.]]

* [[spoiler:Sam's completely unhinged state following the loss of his wife. He's prepared for a final showdown with his nemesis, and seems like he's made up his mind to die in the process.]]

** It is very sad to watch and hear Miguel's voice deteriorating into a very strained and raspy quaver as his cancer worsened over the course of the season. Unlike most shows where a character's illness is only portrayed through acting, his is genuine and he really is fading away. It becomes even harder to bear if you're a relatively new viewer who jumped into the series at this point and heard him all hoarse and downtrodden, then get acquainted to the character before he suddenly drops off on you. Or worse, you were with the show from the beginning, witnessed Owen at his peak when his voice sounded perfectly normal and eloquent, then suddenly it turned all scratchy and rattled in a sickly manner that you just ''knew'' something was very wrong with the actor.

* [[spoiler:Michelle]]'s death at the end of "Uncaged". [[spoiler:Even before the heartbreaking reveal of her lifeless body, you can tell ''everyone'' at the crime scene has that telltale long face. Then Sam discovers his wife breathes no more... and collapses into tears. He can't handle the grief and starts begging for her to come back to him with vain cries of "Please...", and his sobbing tapers off into the cut to credits.]]

* [[spoiler:Michelle]]'s death at the end of "Uncaged".

* Granger's goodbye letter to Henrietta at the end of "Old Tricks" when Henrietta finds out that Granger has left the hospital unnoticed, all set to a cover of the Music/BobDylan song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", which is sung by Creator/MiguelFerrer. The episode ends with [[InMemoriam a tribute to Miguel Ferrier]].

* Sam is heartbroken in "The Long Goodbye" [[spoiler:after Jada decides to go back to Sudan despite the danger of her brother possibly killing her after shes goes back.]]

* The last minutes of "Chernoff, K" - Callen finds out that [[spoiler:after his father was arrested & placed in a Russian gulag in 1974, he escaped & assumed the titular identity, before eventually dying in 2008. After visiting his father's grave, the scene cuts to Callen standing outside of a cafe he learnt his father had frequented after his escape]]. After Callen leaves, there's a brief fade to black which quickly fades back into the same shot, where [[spoiler:an old man sits down at the table near the window Callen was just stood at. There's no dialogue & this scene lasts for roughly a minute, and the implication is clear - this old man is Callen's father, having faked his death in 2008]].

* Jemadar Thapa's heroic sacrifice to save Sam from being assassinated by a Gurkha mercenary in "Expiration Date". Double as a ShootTheDog since rogue [=RAW=] agents were the mastermind behind the crisis.

* "Spoils of War" Kensi has been rescued but her captivity was brutal (to say the least) and she's barely hanging on. As a measure of just how much she had been through, she breaks down crying in front of the guys, something she has never done before.