History TearJerker / TheAmericans

** This final exchange between Philip and Elizabeth, both on the edge of tears as they struggle to accept the fact that they will probably never see their children again]], punctuated with long periods of silence between each sentence, and accompanied by [[https://youtu.be/0AaYCkz_Jn4?t=102 one of the most tragic, yet beautiful pieces of soundtrack]] in recent memory:

* [[spoiler:After Lucia attempts to kill Larrick, Elizabeth is forced to decide which of the two of them is more valuable to Russia. As fond as she is of Lucia, Larrick is vital to one of her operations, and thus Elizabeth watches as he chokes Lucia to death. She spends the rest of the episode feeling terrible about it.]]

* Fred completes his mission of gathering the sample of the radar-proof paint and arranging for Philip and Elizabeth to pick it up... [[spoiler:and then bleeds to death, because he got shot]]. Poor Fred...
* Larrick's [[spoiler: death at the end of season two. He came so close to stopping the Jenningses once and for all, and to making up for having betrayed his country and his brothers-in-arms. Then they kill him.]]
* [[spoiler: Rather than betraying his country by giving the Soviets the Echo code, Stan leaves a note at the dead drop that simply says "Tell Nina I'm sorry." As Nina is taken away from the Soviet Embassy to be sent back to Moscow for trial, Stan watches from a car parked across the street. As Nina is driven away, she notices Stan and the two of them share one last look at each other.]]
** Another sad part of this scene is [[spoiler:watching Oleg. He can't bear to watch as the woman he's come to love is taken away, where she'll face trial and almost certainly be executed for her treason.]]

* In "Stingers" after being encouraged by Pastor Tim, when Elizabeth and Phillip come home, Paige [[spoiler:confronts them and demands the truth. She knows her family isn't normal, that they have no relatives and her parents receive phone calls and leave the house in the middle of the night. Are they in the witness protection program? Drug dealers? Is she adopted? Illegal aliens? What? Her parents are stunned and speechless. Finally Phillip nods to Elizabeth and they tell Paige they are from the Soviet Union and "work for their country". Paige realizes they are spies and Phillip tells her she can't reveal their secret to Henry or anyone else or they'd go to jail. Paige is shocked by all this information and goes to her room leaving Phillip and Elizabeth are left unsure of what happens next.]]
* In the season 3 finale, [[spoiler:Paige is so devastated by her family's secret life (especially being expected to lie about visiting her grandmother in Russia) that she breaks down and tells Pastor Tim that her parents are Russians. While this is happening, Phillip is expressing his complete disillusionment with his job and Elizabeth has completely failed to react to them both, engrossed (and repulsed) by Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech.]]
* In season 4's "Chloramphenicol" [[spoiler:Nina's death was so quick and perfunctory it seemed especially cruel and dehumanizing.]]

* The FBI were close to finding out about Martha's husband "Clark" and so she has to be taken out of the country by the KGB, for a life alone in the Soviet Union. This leads to a TraumaCongaLine

* Arkady after he is declared the fourth season finale's eponymous "persona non grata" and given 48 hours to the leave the country. Arkady is arguably one of the most morally upright characters, (See the Only Sane Man entry on his character page) yet he takes all the heat when the FBI confronts him with a typed up list of the many, many crimes committed by his less scrupulous comrades over the course of the series. Later [[DrowningHisSorrows drinking alone]] in his office, he gazes up at a bust of Lenin then back down at the list of crimes, his belief in the justice of the country he will soon be returned to shaken.
** Gaad's death though, the one that was the final straw for the FBI, Arkady did actually have some responsibility for. His death was unintentional though and when accused of his murder by Gaad's replacement, there's a look of remorse on his face.
* William, the illegal working in the bioweapons research lab, [[spoiler:infects himself with the weaponized Lassa fever, leaving the FBI no choice but to lock him up in a secure hospital rated to contain the biohazard. He dies alone in his bed and mourned by no one, with only Agents Beeman and Aderholt behind a thick glass partition to witness his final moments.]]

* The death of [[spoiler:Erica Haskard]] in "The Summit". [[spoiler:Glenn tried to give her a relatively painless death via morphine overdose, but she'd developed a tolerance, and thus Elizabeth uses her own, far less pleasant methods. For added tragedy, Glenn insists on giving Elizabeth one of Erica's paintings. Elizabeth takes it home, tries to light it on fire, can't bring herself to do it, tries to stash the painting somewhere discreet... and then takes the painting out again and burns it. And this begins her HeelRealization.]]
* In the series finale "START" [[spoiler:The painful 10 minute scene in the garage between Stan, Philip and Elizabeth with Paige fearfully watching. Stan, unable to come to terms with each betrayal he realizes he's been put through (and if Paige ever hurt his son when they were dating), with Phillip admitting - probably truthfully - that Stan was the best friend he ever had. It ends with Stan lowering his gun to let the three flee the country... with the realization it was both the best thing AND the worst thing he could do.]]
** During [[spoiler:Phillip's trip into [=McDonalds=] before reaching the Canadian border, he pauses at the door to watch another American family sitting at their table, sharing a dinner and enjoying themselves, a painful reminder of a life that's going away from him now.]]
** The phone call to Henry [[spoiler:where neither parent can admit they are abandoning their own son for his own safety.]]
** That WhamShot [[spoiler:of Paige standing at the train stop, letting go of her parents, with Music/{{U2}}'s "With or Without You" hitting the perfect crescendo as all Elizabeth can do is stare out the window in shock. And Phillip's immediate response seeing Paige outside is to rush to Elizabeth's side, leaving them sitting together but unable to cry or express their loss.]]
** This final exchange between Philip and Elizabeth, both on the edge of tears as they struggle to accept the fact that [[spoiler:they will probably never see their children again]], punctuated with long periods of silence between each sentence, and accompanied by [[https://youtu.be/0AaYCkz_Jn4?t=102 one of the most tragic, yet beautiful pieces of soundtrack]] in recent memory:
--->'''Elizabeth''': [[spoiler:They'll be OK]].
--->'''Philip''': [[spoiler:They'll remember us. They're not kids anymore. We raised them]].

** That WhamShot [[spoiler:of Paige standing at the train stop, letting go of her parents, with U2's "With or Without You" hitting the perfect crescendo as all Elizabeth can do is stare out the window in shock. And Phillip's immediate response seeing Paige outside is to rush to Elizabeth's side, leaving them sitting together but unable to cry or express their loss.]]

--->'''Elizabeth''': [[spoiler:They'll be Ok]].

** That WhamShot [[spoiler:of Paige standing at the train stop, letting go of her parents, with U2's "With Or Without You" hitting the perfect crescendo as all Elizabeth can do is stare out the window in shock. And Phillip's immediate response seeing Paige outside is to rush to Elizabeth's side, leaving them sitting together but unable to cry or express their loss.]]

--->'''Elizabeth''': Привыкнем.[[note]]We'll get used to it.[[/note]]

* Philip and Elizabeth's attempts at roleplay are devastating for both. Elizabeth clearly flashes back to her assault at the hands of Timoshev and is left curled up and weeping, while Philip rips off "Clark's" with utter disgust on his face. Even worse is later in the kitchen when Elizabeth asks Philip if he's mad at her.

** That WhamShot [[spoiler:of Paige standing at the train stop, letting go of her parents, with U2's "With Or Without You" hitting the perfect crescendo as all Elizabeth can do is stare out the window in shock. And Phillip's immediate response seeing Paige outside is to rush to Elizabeth's side, leaving them sitting together but unable to cry or express their loss.]]

** She tells Clark that she'll be able to survive life in Russia as long as they're together, although both he and the audience know that's not impossible.