History TearJerker / StarTrekDiscovery

'''WARNING''': Spoilers may be unmarked.

* Poor Ensign Connor. [[spoiler:After being injured in the Klingon attack, he mistakenly visits Michael in the brig instead of going to sickbay for medical attention. He's terrified as he tells her that they're explorers, not soldiers, and he's thrown out to his death by a hull breach.]]
** As we learn [[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS1E10DespiteYourself later on]], Connor didn't fare much better [[spoiler:in the Mirror Universe either]].

* Tyler tells Lorca that he's been spared most of the beatings because the prison warden has taken a ''[[UnequalPairing liking]]'' to [[RapeAsDrama him]] ([[spoiler:later events would reveal that it's much more complicated than this]]). When Tyler finds himself face-to-face with the jailer, L'Rell, he goes into a blind rage.

* [[spoiler: Hugh's death]]

* Watching Statmets, still clearly on a total vacation from reality [[spoiler: cradling Hugh's dead body while mumbling to himself]] is distressing on so many levels

** Tyler learns that he (as Voq) and L'Rell had a child, and that the helpless baby is in grave mortal peril due to his parentage. L'rell's rival, Kol'sha, abducts the child and would have murdered him if not for [[spoiler: Mirror!Georgiou killing him and his men]]. Ash and L'Rell are forced to have the child placed in the care of a monostary on Boreth, with the child and Ash's deaths faked for the benefit of the Klingon High Council, who found Ash's existence to be a huge point of contention. Ash, meanwhile, decides to join Section 31, where he can serve in secrecy.

* [[spoiler: Hugh is alive, but trapped in the mycelial network.]]
** [[spoiler: He may be alive, but he's been driven practically insane after months of running for his life from a hostile sentient fungal species that is intent on decomposing him.]]
** [[spoiler: Hugh and Paul's goodbye when the realise that Hugh can't go back to the discovery with them is so painful. Especially Hughs speech about the reason he loves Paul being that Paul is dedicated to life.]]
** Stamets realising the reason [[spoiler: Hugh is trapped in the network is that Paul bought him there himself in his fugue state. Having briefly woken up, he found Hughs dead body, and subconsciously pulled his energy into the network while cradling him and crying]]. It's not a fun flashback.

* [[spoiler: Hugh]] is finally back after [[spoiler: having been rescued from the spore network]], but he is clearly extremely mentally traumatised by his time there, leading to him feeling depersonalised and distant from Paul. watching Paul be so excited and happy that [[spoiler: Hugh is back]], while at the same time watching [[spoiler: Hugh struggled to connect with his emotions and lash out at Paul is heartbreaking]].
** special mention goes to the moment where he blows up at Paul, leading to Pauls voice cracking over asking [[spoiler: Hugh]] why he's so angry at him.
** [[spoiler: And the they effectively break up after Hugh reveals that he not longer feels at home or comfortable with Paul. Ouch]]

* The show finally gives us background on Lt. Airiam, and it's so very tragic. She was once a perfectly normal human, until a shuttle accident killed her husband and wounded her so badly that she needed extensive cybernetic augmentation to survive, all on the way back from their honeymoon. Every day she has to go through her memories purging the ones she doesn't need because her implants have finite storage space. [[spoiler:Then she has to be ejected into space because the virus has completely compromised her and all she can do is beg to be killed so she doesn't hurt her friends. The episode ends with a quiet, somber scene of her floating through space, rewatching the memory of her and her husband one last time before her system fails.]]

* In hindsight, the messages sent by the crew in the previous episode will be viewed in the context that [[spoiler: [[DeathFakedForYou their friends and loved ones will assume they died in the ensuing mission.]]]]

* At the end of the episode, everything looks like it might be ok for Paul, whose finally agreed to step away from his work on the spore drive and get medical treatment for his mental state, but as he goes to complete one last jump to get them back to the Starbase, the spore drive malfunctions, spending him into a catatonic state. That final shot of his milky white unseeing eyes is both chilling and deeply troubling.

'''WARNING''': Spoilers are unmarked.

[[folder: Short Treks]]

[[AC: "The Runaway"]]

[[AC: "Calypso"]]

[[AC: "The Escape Artist"]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Meta]]

[[/folder]]

** special mention goes to the moment where he blows up at Paul, leading to Pauls voice cracking over asking [[spoilers: Hugh]] why he's so angry at him.

* [[spoilers: Hugh is alive, but trapped in the mycelial network.]]
** [[spoilers: Hugh and Paul's goodbye when the realise that Hugh can't go back to the discovery with them is so painful. Especially Hughs speech about the reason he loves Paul being that Paul is dedicated to life.]]

* [[spoilers: Hugh]] is finally back after [[spoilers: having been rescued from the spore network]], but he is clearly extremely mentally traumatised by his time there, leading to him feeling depersonalised and distant from Paul. watching Paul be so excited and happy that [[spoilers: Hugh is back]], while at the same time watching [[spoilers: Hugh struggled to connect with his emotions and lash out at Paul is heartbreaking]].

** [[spoilers: And the they effectively break up after Hugh reveals that he not longer feels at home or comfortable with Paul. Ouch]]

* The nature of Sahil's vigil. Day after day of waking up, getting dressed, and reporting for duty sitting at a desk in hopes that ''someone'' will need his services as a Federation Liaison. All in hopes that [[spoiler: an active Starfleet officer might visit the relay station, raise the Federation flag, and allow him to take the Oath of Service to officially begin his service as a Starfleet officer, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.]] Becomes heartwarming after Commander Burnham shows up needing his help.

* The mere fact that TheFederation -- the bedrock of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' galaxy since the 1960's, and a beacon of civilization InUniverse -- is gone.

[[AC: "That Hope Is You, Part I]]

[[AC: "THat Hope Is You, Part I]]

* Poor Ensign Connor. [[spoiler: After being injured in the Klingon attack, he mistakenly visits Michael instead of going to get medical attention. He's terrified as he tells her that they're explorers, not soldiers, and he's thrown out to his death by a hull breach.]]
** As we learn [[Recap/StarTrekDiscoveryS1E10DespiteYourself later on]], Connor didn't fare much better [[spoiler: in the Mirror Universe]]

[[AC: "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry" ]]

* Tyler tells Lorca that he's been spared most of the beatings because the prison warden has taken a ''[[UnequalPairing liking]]'' to [[RapeAsDrama him]]. [[spoiler: later events would reveal that it's much more complicated than this]]. When Tyler finds himself face-to-face with the jailer, L'Rell, he goes into a blind rage.

* In the Mirror Universe, Danby Connor comes off as even more tragic and hapless than his Prime Universe counterpart. While he was far more successful in his career, having suceeded Burnham as Captain of the Shenzhou, he admits to her that the crew never respected him or feared him like they did her. He attempts to murder her in the turbolift, convinced that she would usurp him, and is quickly killed for his trouble. While the scene makes for excellent BlackComedy, it also shows how bleak life is for the Terrans, when Captain Connor is contrasted with [[WideEyedIdealist Ensign Connor.]]

* The show finally gives us background on Lt. Airiam, and it's so very tragic. She was once a perfectly normal human, until a shuttle accident killed her husband and wounded her so badly that she needed extensive cybernetic augmentation to survive, all on the way back from their honeymoon. Every day she has to go through her memories purging the ones she doesn't need because her implants have finite storage space. [[spoiler:Then she has to be ejected into space because the virus has completely compromised her and all she can do is beg to be killed so she doesn't hurt her friends.]]

[[AC: "Such Sweet Sorrow"]]

** Detmer sends a message to her best friend, who was always there to help her when she needed encouragement. Detmer's message implied that she was nearly DrivenToSuicide after the injuries she suffered at the Battle of the Binary Stars.
-->'''Detmer:''' [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming And after my injury... it only takes one person, I guess, to save another.]]

** Tyler learns that he (as Voq) and L'Rell had a child, and that the helpless baby is in grave mortal peril due to his parentage. L'rell's rival, Kol'sha, abducts the child and would have murdered him if not for [[spoiler: Mirror!Georgiou killing him and his men]]. Ash and L'Rell are forced to have the child placed in the care of a monostary on Boreth, with the child and Ash's deaths faked for the benefit of the Klingon High Council, who found Ash's existence to be a huge point of contention.

[[folder: Unsorted]]
* In season 1, [[spoiler:L'Rell and Tyler's interactions were played for NightmareFuel]], but in reality, [[spoiler:Voq was L'Rell's lover, but he was so devoted to the cause of the Klingon Empire that he willingly went through BodyHorror surgery to take on the form and memories of Ash Tyler in order to infiltrate Starfleet. However, the clash between the two personalities gave "Tyler" deep post-traumatic stress disorder through a mix of memory fragments of the surgery and of Voq's Klingon life beforehand, which Tyler's mind interpreted as rape and torture. Tyler then fell in love with Burnham, and the neurological tug-of-war intensified until L'Rell gave a MercyKill to Voq's personality and let Tyler take over -- but now, despite L'Rell's feelings for Voq, Tyler's lingering trauma leaves him involuntarily repulsed by her presence. The situation goes UpToEleven when it's revealed that Voq and L'Rell conceived a child, but due to the demands upon her chancellorship, the child is left with monks on Boreth while Tyler goes off to serve indefinitely with Section 31. ''Then'' Tyler comes back into contact with Burnham, with all the UnfinishedBusiness involved.]]
* "Project Deadalus" finally gives us background on Lt. Airiam, and it's so very tragic. She was once a perfectly normal human, until a shuttle accident killed her husband and wounded her so badly that she needed extensive cybernetic augmentation to survive. Every day she has to go through her memories purging the ones she doesn't need because her implants have finite storage space. [[spoiler:Then she has to be ejected into space because the virus has completely compromised her and all she can do is beg to be killed so she doesn't hurt her friends.]]
* In a cross between Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel, "Through the Valley of Shadows" gives Captain Pike a horrific look at [[AndIMustScream the fate that awaits him]] in a few years if he takes the time crystal. Pike is practically in tears as [[WhatYouAreInTheDark he reminds himself of his Starfleet oath and steels himself to take the crystal anyways]].
** What it shows of the accident is absolutely horrible. Pike tries to save a girl he likely knows is absolutely fucked because he saw this happening and she didn't make it out, and the cadets he did manage to save [[MassOhCrap panic]] upon realising he's on the wrong side of the blast door, desperate to save him but at a complete loss as to what to do. Then it cuts to a vision where healthy Pike comes face-to-face with the Pike in a modernised version of that wheelchair, with nauseating levels of BodyHorror that [=60s=] TV special effects couldn't have hoped to do justice, and then he leaves the vision recoiling in terror. It must have taken an insane level of selflessness to be willing to take the crystal knowing ''those'' are the consequences and that it could conceivably happen any day after his promotion to Fleet Captain.
[[/folder]]

* Poor Ensign Connor. [[spoiler: After being injured in the Klingon attack, he mistakenly visits Michael instead of going to get medical attention. He's terrified as he tells her that they're explorers, not soldiers, and he's thrown out to his death by a hull breach.]] Then after THAT [[spoiler: We find his mirror universe counterpart is the captain of the ''Shenzhou''. As soon as he's alone with Burnham, he laments he'll never be as popular or awesome as her, tries to kill her and is murdered in about 30 seconds in the turbolift. To rub it in, as Burnham walks over his dead body, the bridge crew give her an ovation.]]

** What it shows of the accident is absolutely horrible. Pike tries to save a girl he likely knows is absolutely fucked because he saw this happening and she didn't make it out, and the cadets he did manage to save [[MassOhCrap panic]] upon realising he's on the wrong side of the blast door, desperate to save him but at a complete loss as to what to do. Then it cuts to a vision where healthy Pike comes face-to-face with the Pike in a modernised version of that wheelchair, with nauseating levels of BodyHorror that [=60s=] TV special effects couldn't have hoped to do justice, and then he leaves the vision recoiling in terror. It must have taken an insane level of selflessness to be willing to take the crystal knowing ''those'' are the consequences and that it could conceivably happen any day after his promotion to Fleet Captain.