History TearJerker / TheSopranos

** When Paulie learns the true identity of his mother, the look on his face is heartbreaking. He then denounces her as nothing but a whore burning in Hell, refuses to go to her funeral, and (temporarily) disowns Nucci.

** Not helping is Paulie proceeding to attack her son himself and threaten to kill him if he tells Tony about it or refuses to kick him up the demanded money, even if he was doing it so that Nucci could stay in Green Grove.

** Not helping is Paulie proceeding to attack her son himself and threaten to kill him if he tells Tony about it or refuses to kick him up the demanded money, mostly because of the kid being responsible for a deal going sour (albeit due to being kept in the dark by his parents) but also fueled by the revelation of his heritage.

** When Paulie learns the true identity of his mother, the look on his face is heartbreaking. He then denounces her as nothing but a whore burning in Hell and refuses to go to her funeral as well as (temporarily) disowns Nucci after everything she did for him.

*** Considering the Feds actually drove ''directly'' in front of the newly weds' car to the point of nearly colliding with it, one can't really be blamed for suspecting that they did this ''on purpose.''

** When Paulie learns the true identity of his mother, the look on his face is heartbreaking. He then denounces her as nothing but a whore and refuses to go to her funeral as well as (temporarily) disowns Nucci after everything she did for him.

** When Paulie learns the true identity of his mother, the look on his face is heartbreaking. He then denounces her as nothing but a whore and refuses to go to her funeral.

** When Paulie learns the true identity of his mother, the look on his face is heartbreaking.

** Not helping is Paulie proceeding to attack said son himself and threatening to kill him if he tells Tony, mostly because Paulie wanted a cut of a deal that went sour in his favor but also fueled by the revelation of his heritage.

** At one point Bobby admits, to Karen's grave, that if it wasn't for his kids he would have killed himself in an attempt to be with her again.

** Before all that Christopher was seriously considering taking up Adriana's offer until he notices a worn down, miserable, working class couple that uncannily resembles himself and Adriana. Not only could seeing their children have reminded Chris that Adriana most likely could never give him the children he wanted, Chris also could have figured that he'd be trading his more luxurious life as a gangster for a normal, run down one.

** On top of that is Tony telling Adriana that Christopher was in the hospital for a suicide attempt, and she believed him and thought she had caused it. Of course, that was all a lie that she realizes far too late...

* Bobby’s grief over Karen’s death in “Christopher”, him weeping over her casket. For the episodes after, he's in such a state of mourning that he can hardly function, and keeps her last baked ziti frozen in the fridge as a keepsake.

** Not helping is that, before revealing that she was actually in the car with Silvio, Adriana is shown driving off on her own. Perhaps if Adriana realized Christopher is undyingly loyal to his family, even with the current dispute, perhaps she could have escaped.

** Not helping is that, before revealing that she was actually in the car with Silvio, Adriana is shown driving off on her own. Perhaps if Adriana realized Christopher and Tony are ThickerThanBlood, even with the current dispute, perhaps she could have escaped.

** The heart-wrenching cries of Junior's mistress as he breaks it off with her, fires her, and humiliated her by shoving a pie she bought for them in her face, all because she circulated the rumor he gives oral sex and she begs for forgiveness, saying she loves him. Along with Junior's clear grief and misery over having to do it in order to preserve his tough guy image in the mob once he steps outside.
* The conversation between Tony and Chris in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS1E8TheLegendOfTennesseeMoltisanti The Legend of Tennessee Molitisanti]]" where Chris reveals he’s also depressed. "I don’t know, it's like the regularness of life is too fucked up for me or something". Tony attempts to use some of the tools Melfi has given him to help, but the two men can’t be vulnerable and instead make fun of suicide and mental illness to brush it off. To see them so close to a break through only to backtrack is difficult to watch, especially considering how much darker their respective paths get.

* David Scatino's downward spiral in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS2E6TheHappyWanderer The Happy Wanderer]]" and "[[Recap/TheSopranosS2E10BustOut Bust Out]]". Starting out as a decent father who runs a sports shop with a slight gambling addiction, everything goes downhill for him when he pleads with Tony to play in the executive poker game. He soon accumulates over $45K of debt, and is forced to give away his son's car and allows Tony and Richie to bankrupt his store in order to pay off the debt. By the end of the season, David becomes a hollow shell, hated and alienated from his family, and moves to a ranch in Nevada in order to start a new life. Even if he mainly brought the situation onto himself and rarely takes responsibility for his actions, it's still hard to not feel sorry for him near the end, especially in one scene where he aims a gun at his mouth sobbing, debating on pulling the trigger.
* Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero's death in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS2E13Funhouse Funhouse]]". After spending a whole season denying it, Tony finally accepts and confronts the reality that his closest friend is an FBI informant. Pussy's final scene has him accept his fate at first, sharing one final drink with Tony, Paulie, and Silvio and asks them not shoot his face at least. However, as the trio reluctantly pull out their guns, he begins to have a mental breakdown upon realizing the reality of what's about to happen only to be shot down shortly thereafter. Out of all of the deaths in the series, it's clear Bonpensiero's is the one that impacted (and arguably broke) Tony the most.

** The entire funeral scene, due to how the family tries but just can't properly grieve for Livia. Even Janice's sincerest attempts are clearly just her ''trying'' to feel more upset over losing her mother than she actually is. By the end, Carmela finally gets fed up with it all, and voices what everyone was thinking: that Livia was a horrible, dysfunctional woman who had been ruining the family for years.
* Jennifer being raped in the stairwell in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E4EmployeeOfTheMonth Employee of the Month]]" and the ripple effect of it throughout the episode--including her own ex-husband blaming her for walking to her car alone.

** AJ, who's usually a self-absorbed asshole, actually tears up and asks if his father's leaving is because AJ asked to come live with him. Tony grabs his son, assures him that that is not the reason, and kisses his forehead. Meadow, eyes filled with tears, wails that her dad should go back to counseling.

* SympathyForTheDevil time here - "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E7InCamelot In Camelot]]" tells how Tony's father, "Johnny Boy" Soprano, carried on an affair with a woman named Fran Felstein, choosing to be with her, even while Livia was pregnant with their potential fourth child. Livia suffered serious complications and was sent to the hospital and eventually lost the baby due to massive bleeding. Johnny Boy still chose to party with his mistress, then forced his son to lie to his bed--ridden mother saying they went to a New York Yankees baseball game and stayed in New York. Livia saw through Johnny and Tony's lies, and the utter betrayal she felt at her time of anguish was all over her face. Livia clearly had her issues, but no woman should have to suffer like that. In this light, is it any wonder she felt such lingering resentment towards her son?
* Adriana's death in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E12LongTermParking Long Term Parking]]", not just because it's the death of one of the series regulars, but because she begs Silvio for her life and tries to crawl away on her hands and knees, before he shoots her like a wild animal in the woods. Tony, ''the man who ordered her death'', is shown to be grieving over her.

* Tony B. going on a self-destructive rampage and sabotaging his attempt at legitimacy. It's tragic because he was just such a nice guy with real potential in the civilian world. Instead he goes back to his old ways, sets off a devastating gang war and gets murdered by his beloved cousin.

* Ruthless crime boss that Johnny Sack is, you'd have to be even more ruthless not to feel some sympathy for the man when he's utterly humiliated in front of friends and family at his oldest daughter's wedding, slapped in handcuffs and dragged back to jail; all this while new bride Allegra watches tearfully and helplessly. You can't blame the man for breaking down and weeping.

* Bobby's death in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E20TheBlueComet The Blue Comet]]". His last words are him lamenting the apathy his son has towards his hobby, and reflects the relationship with his son in general.

* Sadly, Creator/JamesGandolfini's passing in 2013. Not only did the world of acting lose a man who was essentially the best example of MeanCharacterNiceActor, but it killed off any interests in seeing the story of Tony and the ''Sopranos'' universe afterwards. The only silver lining was fourteen years later with ''Film/TheManySaintsOfNewark'', with Gandolfini's son Michael playing his father's famous role.

* Sadly, Creator/JamesGandolfini's passing in 2013.

* Jennifer being raped in the stairwell in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E4EmployeeOfTheMonth Employee of the Month]]" and the ripple effect of it throughout the episode--including her own husband blaming her for walking to her car alone.

* Jennifer being raped in the stairwell in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E4EmployeeOfTheMonth Employee of the Month]]" and the ripple effect of it throughout the episode.

* Bobby’s grief over Karen’s death in “Christopher”, him weeping over her casket.

* The ending of "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E3WheresJohnny Where's Johnny?]]"
** "''Don't you love me?''"

* SympathyForTheDevil time here - "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E7InCamelot In Camelot]]" tells how Tony's father, "Johnny Boy" Soprano, carried on an affair with a woman named Fran Felstein, choosing to be with her, even while Livia was pregnant with their potential fourth child. Livia suffered serious complications and was sent to the hospital and eventually lost the baby due to massive bleeding. Johnny Boy still chose to party with his mistress, then forced his son to lie to his bed--ridden mother saying they went to a New York Yankees baseball game and stayed in New York. Livia saw through Johnny and Tony's lies, and the utter betrayal she felt at her time of anguish was all over her face. Livia clearly had her issues, but no woman should have to suffer like that. In this light, is it any wonder she felt such lingering resentment towards her son?

The show is remarkable in its ability to extract pathos from characters who might seem to be completely unsympathetic:

* The ending scene of "[[Recap/TheSopranosS1E9Boca Boca]]" after [[spoiler: Tony calls off the hit on Meadow’s soccer coach]] Tony gets very drunk to deal with the emotions involved in such a decision and collapses on the floor, and Carmela tries to lead him to bed. He becomes lucid for a moment and says in a tone like a child: "I didn’t hurt nobody". Just the thought of Tony actually trying, from some part of his psyche, to be good is heartbreaking, especially as he only gets worse as the series progresses.
** The heart-wrenching cries of Junior's mistress as he [[spoiler: breaks it off with her, fires her, and humiliated her by shoving a pie she bought for them in her face, all because she circulated the rumor he gives oral sex]] and she begs for forgiveness, saying she loves him. Along with Junior's clear grief and misery over having to do it in order to preserve his tough guy image in the mob once he steps outside.

** Unexpectedly, Livia's [[spoiler:death, mostly because of Tony's quietly grieving after her wake.]]

* [[spoiler:Jennifer being raped in the stairwell in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E4EmployeeOfTheMonth Employee of the Month]]" and the ripple effect of it throughout the episode.]]
* "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E6University University]]", Ralph beating [[spoiler:Tracee, the stripper carrying his child]] to death in the Bada Bing's parking lot is just plain disturbing. The other gangsters can only stare dumbfounded at the sight of [[spoiler:her]] body.
* The murder of [[spoiler:Jackie Jr.]] in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS3E13ArmyOfOne Army of One]]", especially for the effect it has on his mother; [[spoiler:Rosalie]] breaks down wailing at the news and during her son's wake and funeral. In the subsequent season, she is shown to be heavily medicated and in a disoriented state of mind, with her boyfriend paying little attention to her.

* Ralph Cifaretto's [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown and HeelFaceTurn following his son's crippling injury, and Tony's subsequent brutal murder of him over Pie-O-My's death in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS4E9WhoeverDidThis Whoever Did This]]"]] is downright tragic. Especially considering that just one episode prior, it was suggested that Ralph may have been sexually abused as a child.
** [[spoiler:There's an especially poignant scene in the middle of the episode where Ralph completely breaks down sobbing in Tony's office over Justin's condition and how neglectful he's been as a father over the years. Despite how much of a despicable human being Ralph has been throughout the series, [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes he genuinely did love his son]] even if he rarely showed it.]]

* [[spoiler:Adriana's death]] in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E12LongTermParking Long Term Parking]]", not just because it's the death of one of the series regulars, but because [[spoiler:she begs Silvio for her life and tries to crawl away on her hands and knees, before he shoots her like a wild animal in the woods.]] Tony, ''the man who ordered her death'', is shown to be grieving over her.
** Also the flashback in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E9TheRide The Ride]]", where Christopher is shown telling Tony about her. He's distraught and crying, and begs Tony [[spoiler: "Don't make me do it, I can't do it". He can’t bring himself to kill Adrianna, and can barely even bring himself to tell Tony. And when Tony tears his shirt to search for a wire, Chris cries "How could you even think that?" He's genuinely hurt that Tony would think of him as a traitor.]]
* Tony B. going on a self-destructive rampage and sabotaging his attempt at legitimacy. It's tragic because he was just such a nice guy with real potential in the civilian world. Instead [[spoiler:he goes back to his old ways, sets off a devastating gang war and gets murdered by his beloved cousin.]]

* Carmela's heartwrenching monologue to [[spoiler:Tony, after he has been shot and left in a coma with survival uncertain]] in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E3Mayham Mayham]]".

** The murder of [[spoiler:Vito Spatafore]] by [[spoiler:Phil Leotardo and his people]] for [[spoiler:being gay]]. And the way that [[spoiler:Leotardo]] deals with him is cruel as hell, involving having his mouth taped shut and then having him bludgeoned to death while he looks on impassively. The look on poor [[spoiler:Vito]]'s face alone as he realizes he's going to die is just heartwrenching.

* [[spoiler:Johnny Sack]]'s eventual quiet, understated death in prison after a long, debilitating battle with cancer in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E14StageFive Stage Five]]". That he was always one of the more sympathetic mobsters (his [[PetTheDog devotion to his wife and children]] being his major redeeming quality) certainly makes this harder to watch.

** The death of [[spoiler:Hesh's lady friend Renata, and Hesh's reaction to it.]] Also, the fact that Tony's friendship with Hesh is over.

* Carmela's reaction to her [[spoiler:blood-relative Christopher's]] death in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E18KennedyAndHeidi Kennedy and Heidi]]" is gut-wrenching; she loses her cousin in a horrible accident and he had been like a son to Tony.
* Tony tearfully holding A.J. after the latter [[spoiler:tries to drown himself]] and Carmela's breakdown after [[spoiler:checking him into a psychiatric hospital]] in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E19TheSecondComing The Second Coming]]".
* [[spoiler:Bobby's death]] in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS6E20TheBlueComet The Blue Comet]]". His last words are him lamenting the apathy his son has towards his hobby, and reflects the relationship with his son in general.

** Janice's last scene with Tony, in which it's hinted that her life [[spoiler:as a widow]] will be just as miserable as it was before [[spoiler:she married Bobby]] (or worse, since [[spoiler:she now has to raise an infant daughter and two stepchildren from Bobby's first marriage all by herself]]).
** [[spoiler:Uncle Junior's]] final scene, in which Tony realizes that he [[spoiler:doesn't even remember his own family, or the man he used to be, that Tony waited too long to visit him, now it's too late.]] With Tony rising at the end and walking away silently while fighting tears. A quiet scene that manages to be one of the most haunting in the entire show.