Line #69 TearJerker/Charmed1998


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_3172.PNG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"How dare you leave me! How could you go and die and leave me here all alone? Please come back. I need you. Please come back!"]]
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4	!! Warning: Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to these pages. Proceed at your own risk.
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6	[[foldercontrol]]
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8	[[folder:General]]
9	* Throughout [[Series/Charmed1998 the series]], the sisters each die a few times. They're reversible, '''almost''' all of the time. While they mostly don't last, even the cheap deaths can be devastating when they're played well.
10	* The reason Prue and Phoebe haven't spoken in months by the time of the pilot. Prue's fiance claimed that Phoebe made a move on him, and she insists she never touched him. So Phoebe was basically sexually harassed by her future brother-in-law and then victim blamed for it. And of course Prue felt betrayed both by her fiance and her sister.
11	* Prue might come across as a smothering busybody in the first season, and cold to Phoebe, but she did literally "sacrifice her own childhood" to help raise her and Piper. Prue was only ''seven'' when their mother died, and Victor was in and out of the picture already. It's no wonder she was a bit of an AlphaBitch in high school or went through a rebellious phase.
12	* Phoebe had to deal with SlutShaming in high school after being caught making out with Todd Marks underneath the bleachers, and had a reputation as someone who stole boyfriends. The EmbarrassingNickname 'Freebie' still affects her years later.
13	[[/folder]]
14	[[folder:Season 1]]
15	* "Dead Man Dating" Piper falling in love with Mark, a handsome Chinese guy... who's already dead and needs her help to recover his corpse so he can pass on. Halfway through the episode, he starts to comprehend just what he's going to miss out on in life, dying at the age of 23. And now one of those things is Piper, because he has fallen in love with her. Piper holds up her hand as close to his face as she can get, telling him to close his eyes and pretend he can feel her. She even leans in for a kiss, and there's sadness as she realises she can't go any further.
16	--> '''Mark:''' Where were you my whole life?
17	** The end of the episode, where Mark is reunited with his father [[TogetherInDeath as they leave to the afterlife]]. The sisters watch over this and are understandably saddened.
18	--> '''Mark:''' [[StarCrossedLovers I wish...]]
19	--> '''Piper:''' I know. Me too.
20	* As she struggled to break free of the Woogyman's control, Phoebe reverts back to her fearful childhood self.
21	-->'''Phoebe:''' I can't! Don't make me...I don't like the basement.
22	* While "That 70s Episode" is heartwarming in the sense that Phoebe gets to meet Patty at last, there is the bittersweet tinge that she nearly tries to stop Patty's eventual death but has to accept that she shouldn't change things.
23	** Penny is initially baffled that the girls would have received their powers before she undid the pact, but then realises that the binding spell could be undone by the death of its caster. She takes a moment before bittersweetly saying "not going to make it to the next millennium".
24	* In "Deja Vu All Over Again", the end of the second timeline has both Phoebe and Piper getting killed by Rodriguez. Prue helplessly runs from Phoebe to Piper, realising both her sisters are dead. The sheer ''panic'' in her voice when she calls Piper's name. Before Tempus resets time, Prue can only cradle Piper's body in the ultimate PyrrhicVictory.
25	** To say nothing of Andy's eventual death. Prue has to accept that it's a choice between letting him die or potentially risking all her sisters' lives in another time reset. And Prue and Piper are on the floor as the energy ball hits Andy. Phoebe has to watch it, and all she can do is call out his name.
26	** There are no jokes, no fanfare or celebration as Rodriguez is vanquished. The look of cold sadness on Prue's face as she deflects his energy ball back at him makes clear that she feels no joy in having avenged Andy. Her comment afterward isn't a quippy comeback but a sad resignation that she wasn't able to save him. And moments later, Piper and Phoebe are unable to say anything as she goes over to cry over his body.
27	--> '''Prue:''' We may not be murderers but we're no angels either.
28	[[/folder]]
29	[[folder:Season 2]]
30	* "Witch Trial":
31	** Andy's death left Prue in denial and simply shut in the house for about a month. Prue was obviously trying to avoid facing it but the way she later reveals her sorrow is not only heartbreaking, but it ups the seriousness of the show. For the first time in the show, a major character is shown dead for good and forever gone from their lives.
32	** Prue's speech to the others confessing why she's holding back, and Shannen Doherty delivering one of the most heart-wrenching performances of her career.
33	--> "Yeah, that's right Phoebe, it's my responsibility, isn't it! The oldest sister, always supposed to be able to figure things out. Well, if that's the case then how come I couldn't save Andy? If I'm supposed to be ''so'' powerful, then how come I couldn't save him? I mean, my God, don't you understand? Andy died because of me. Alright, it doesn't matter what he said. It was my fault. How can it be good to be witches if all it does is get the people we love killed?"
34	** Prue is also overseeing the auction of a deceased man's collection, and his widow is still grieving after eight months. She says to Prue that she can still remember the day of the accident, and wonders if she had said anything differently, maybe he'd still be alive.
35	* In "Morality Bites" is probably one of the most heart-wrenching episodes.
36	** Piper discovers that she and Leo are bitterly divorced in the future. Given what a paragon of goodness Leo normally is, it has to wonder just what Piper's future self had to be like to make him be that hostile to her.
37	** Phoebe gets a premonition where she sees herself cruelly murdering Cal Greene in cold blood. She cannot comprehend that she would kill anyone.
38	** Piper prepares to bind her daughter's powers as her mother and grandmother did for them, but she can't bring herself to do it. In the same scene, Prue sits sadly in the car remarking that she has no one to say goodbye to because her future self is a CorruptCorporateExecutive with no husband or children. Hell, her assistant didn't even know she had another sister (and only knew about Phoebe from the news).
39	** Phoebe decides that she must die in order to save all the witches of the future. It's clear she doesn't want to, but she believes it's the best thing. One could easily interpret this as Phoebe being so stricken with guilt at what her future self has become, that it's a form of SuicideByCop. Piper has to unfreeze the room, knowing that when she does, her younger sister will die. She and Prue then have to watch as Phoebe is burned alive. It's not a quick death either; Phoebe screams in pain the whole time. And when she returns to the present, she's still reeling from the flames.
40	* "Awakened": Piper nearly dies because of a deadly virus, Prue and Phoebe use magic to cure her and it has unforeseen personal gain consequences, so they have to reverse the spell knowing it will kill Piper. Leo is able to heal her before her spirit moves on, but the moment is very bittersweet when she regains consciousness and says "Leo" right in front of Dan.
41	* "[=P3 H20=]" in which the sisters deal with the same demon that killed their mother. Poor Phoebe, who must use her power to see what their mother did wrong when she attempted to vanquish it, ends up not only seeing how Patty dies in her premonition, but actually relives it.
42	** Sam also sacrifices himself to allow Prue to vanquish the demon, and dies in her arms because Leo can't heal him. Prue realises that Patty's spirit is there to welcome him to the afterlife, and softly says "say hi for me".
43	** Throughout the episode, Prue denies having any resemblance to Patty, because she's afraid of dying alone like her. While it turns out Patty didn't die alone, it becomes even sadder with the knowledge that Prue does indeed die alone.
44	* "How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans": Despite being the episode's antagonist, it's hard not to feel sorry for Aunt Gail. She doesn't want to become young again just out of vanity - she's suffering from health problems and feels she's wasted her whole life and just wants a chance to do it over. Then her friends are murdered in front of her, and she can only [[RedemptionEqualsDeath redeem herself in dying to give the sisters a chance to stop Cryto]].
45	* "Murphy's Luck"
46	** The episode introduces a breed of Darklighter known as spirit killers. Spirit killers drive future Whitelighters to suicide as doing so prevents them from becoming Whitelighters and aiding witches. They're essentially the personification of the voice that tells you to jump.
47	** Leo getting his wings back. Yes, it allows for a BigDamnHeroes moment, but Piper had finally decided to start a relationship with him and now they witch/Whitelighter taboo is an issue again.
48	* "Astral Monkey" - Dr Williamson ends up infected with the sisters' blood by accident, and it gives him their powers. Unfortunately a mortal can't handle the magic, and he's driven mad, forcing Prue to kill him in self defence. The end of the episode has Prue and Phoebe acting rather blasé about everything, justifying it with IDidWhatIHadToDo...until Piper walks into the room having read his file.
49	--> "[[TheDeadHaveNames His name was Curtis]]...He never married because he was working all the time. Saving lives was more important to him than having a life of his own. Now his life is over and I can't help but feel responsible for that."
50	** The last scene is an outright DownerEnding, where Piper collapses crying in her room. Leo orbs in and all he can do is let her sob in his chest. Having Bush's "Letting the Cables Sleep" playing over it certainly doesn't help.
51	* "Be Careful What You Witch For" - Prue's death at the hands of the Dragon demon. Sure it gets reversed, but Phoebe and Piper's hysterical reactions are unfortunately not going to be the last time they witness this.
52	[[/folder]]
53	[[folder:Season 3]]
54	* "Magic Hour": Seizing the eclipse as a time when the Elders won't be able to watch over them, the sisters attempt to marry Piper and Leo. All appears to be going well unitl Leo suddenly begins to convulse and is, seeminly painfully, forcibly orbed away. Piper falling to the floor and breaking down is what really cinched the whole thing.
55	* In "Once Upon a Time", after having Leo snatched away from her in the previous episode, during their wedding no less, Piper has a RageAgainstTheHeavens moment where she angrily laments on all that the Elders have put her through. It's a great way of setting up the effect that the Elder's uncompromising nature has on the sisters that continues up until the end of the series.
56	-->'''Piper:''' I bet you guys think this is real funny, don't ya? Haven't you taken enough from me? You have to send trolls to kick me while I'm down? I had a nice normal life, once. And you took that from me. You took my boyfriend, you took my life, the least you could do is leave me my freaking car keys. I am a good person. I'm a good witch, and damnit, I woulda made a great wife. And how dare you take that from me? I deserve... no, you know what? I demand that you send him back to me. You hear me? Right now. I'm going to stand in this very spot until you send Leo back to me.
57	** A low-key one is Piper's HeelRealization that shirking her Charmed One duties because she was angry at the Elders put Kate in danger. She accepts that she understands why her and Leo's relationship could create a conflict of interest and, when her sisters try to argue in her favour, she fires back "not at the expense of a little girl."
58	* "Power Outage", where Andras's influence causes the sisters to get angry with each other and say all sorts of horrible things. Prue and Piper destroy each other's things, Prue slut shames Phoebe and Piper taunts her by saying their grandmother said she'd never amount to anything. Phoebe fires back that the reason their father left was because of how insufferable the other two are. Piper even rips the earrings Phoebe took right out of her ears! Then they get violent with each other, culminating in the famous scene where they use their powers, severing the bond of the Power of Three. The magic wears off then, and all three sisters are left silently standing there, confused and hurt before Phoebe walks out.
59	** Poor Piper has a rough deal in the whole episode. Prue rudely books a shoot for her club without telling her, Phoebe makes her host a homeowner's meeting and then leaves her to go on an impromptu date with Cole. Although Piper grudgingly accepts the latter (and Phoebe does outright admit it's not fair and she'll make it up later), she sees Phoebe leaving the house wearing her earrings almost as a final KickTheDog. And then Leo gets called away, forcing Piper to have to deal with a crew of arguing neighbours. Before Andras infects her, the poor woman looks so worn down.
60	** Phoebe at Cole's later. She looks so sad, and collapses crying into his arms. Not just about the fight itself; she's so ashamed of the things ''she'' said, and she can't believe she would ever be that cruel to her own sisters. She's also going to Cole for comfort, not knowing he's producing a dagger to kill her. And although that scene results in a TearDryer where Cole can't bring himself to hurt her, when he tells her she should go home, you can see her looking worried at first - possibly fearing that Cole's about to properly reject her.
61	* In "The Good, the Bad and the Cursed", Phoebe accidentally forms a psychic link with a young Native man called Bo Lightfeather from 1873. Bo, trapped in a time loop, is forced to die over and over again. Prue and Cole enter the time loop and are forced to bear witness as the lawless leader of Bo's town repeatedly whips him. As a result of the psychic link, all of Bo's injuries are shared with Phoebe and everyone in the present have to helplessly watch as Phoebe whimpers with pain every time Sutter whips Bo. Plenty of fans call Creator/AlyssaMilano's screams of pain as this happens her finest hour in the show.
62	* The flashback episode "Pre-Witched" after Penny has just died from a heart attack. A scene after the funeral has all sisters in the living room together. Piper tries to keep things optimistic and offers to make everyone dinner but Prue rebuffs her to meet her fiance while Phoebe informs the two of them that she's moving out, saying there's nothing there for her anymore. Both Prue and Phoebe walk out of the room leaving Piper alone trying to hold back her tears. Contrasted with a Heartwarming Moment at the end of the episode in the present when Piper decides not to move out of the house.
63	-->'''Piper:''' But it feels good that forever isn't today.
64	** This becomes HarsherInHindsight with Prue's death only a few episodes later.
65	** Also notable is that Phoebe is shown as not merely rebellious, but an aloof delinquent who rebuffs any attempt by the others at friendliness. The last interaction she ever had with her grandmother was rejecting her offer to join her and Piper in making a cake together so she could go out. When she finds her at the bottom of the stairs however, she becomes almost a scared little girl. And afterwards, she bitterly talks about how Grams was "the glue", and knows the other two don't want to put up with her much longer.
66	** Even the story revealed behind the famous picture of the three sisters in the opening credits. Flashbacks show Penny with a new camera, trying to get some photos of the girls but they all ignore her at first to focus on their own issues. And even when she has them together for it, all they do is bicker, and then Penny gets a pain in her chest; {{Foreshadowing}} for the audience that know her death is imminent. The sisters themselves even stop bickering to look worried, asking if they should get a doctor. Penny sounds so weary as she says the following.
67	--> "No doctor. Just a picture. Is it too much for an old lady to ask her granddaughters to retract their claws, stand still and look at me long enough to take one lousy picture?"
68	** The way Piper goes to pieces stings as well, as she cries to Prue that she doesn't know how to deal with all the unpleasant legal stuff - doctors, lawyers, funeral arrangements. She sounds so heartbroken as she talks about the service.
69	* "Death Takes a Halliwell" - Prue has to accept that she can't prevent the Angel of Death from taking Inspector Davidson. She in fact has to watch as the seeker demons drain his blood.
70	** There's also the death of poor Mrs Owens in the prologue. Phoebe utters a LittleNo when she hears about it.
71	** The Angel of Death confronting Prue at the end of the episode. In contrast to her confident super-witch persona, Prue is left solemn and crying.
72	* "Exit Strategy": The deaths of Leeza, the witch in the shop, and Janna, the protector of the amulet. Both just killed so that the brotherhood could frame Cole and destroy Phoebe's faith in him forever. The very end of the episode has the three sisters lighting [[DueToTheDead blessing candles for the fallen witches]] and also one for Cole, [[ThatManIsDead believing his humanity gone]].
73	* "Look Who's Barking": The banshee targets sad or grieving people. The first victim is an old man crying over his dead wife, and the second is a terrified young girl who's run away from home. Mercifully the sisters save the second, but Phoebe gets ambushed by the banshee precisely because she stops to look at the section of the book with Cole's entry and she can only cry about the man she loved and lost.
74	* The fact that she's alive again by the next episode doesn't make Piper's "[[ImColdSoCold ...Prue? I'm cold...]]" in ''All Hell Breaks Loose'' any less soul-crushing.
75	** Prue's distress at her getting shot leads to her going mad and using her powers to move the crowds out of the way. It's the first and last time she uses her powers offensively on innocents and, while most of them did have it coming, it's sad to see Prue completely lose it in desperation.
76	[[/folder]]
77	[[folder:Season 4]]
78	* Prue's funeral at the start of season 4. The music adds to it as well, Creator/HollyMarieCombs is brilliant as usual in that scene and Darryl the DeadpanSnarker was tearing up.
79	** Particularly Piper's furious scream when a demonic bounty hunter comes after Cole. You can really feel her frustration that even on ''today of all days'', they can't catch a break.
80	--->'''Piper:''' (''softly'') Stop it... (''screaming'') stop it, stop it, '''STOP IT DAMMIT!''' This is Prue's ''funeral'' for God's sakes. Can we at least bury her in peace? Is that too much to ask?
81	** Right before the funeral, she has a real attack of survivor's guilt and tells Leo that he should have healed Prue instead.
82	---> "You saved me because I'm your damn wife! And you should have saved her because she was the best!"
83	** Piper also doesn't want to go downstairs to the service, because that will make it true that Prue really isn't coming back.
84	** The previous night, where Piper is up until four in the morning trying in vain to find a way to revive Prue. She's desperate to find a meaning and a reason in it, and Phoebe's subsequent words highlight just how unfair death can be.
85	---> "We lost our sister! How can we even begin to understand that?"
86	** After Phoebe gets the premonition of Paige, Piper essentially goes on strike and declares that she's done risking her life for the Elders.
87	---> "You can tell them we buried their precious Charmed Ones when we buried our sister!"
88	** Paige saying to her boyfriend Shane "don't hurt me okay" - after all the trauma she's already suffered in being adopted, losing her parents in a car crash, years of alcoholism and drug abuse and just finding out one of her potential sisters has died.
89	** Likewise it's revealed that the man Paige thought was an abuser was covering for his wife. This probably means he was [[TheWoobie abused in some way too]], and Paige nearly killed him senselessly.
90	--->"I'm not covering for you anymore, Carol. You keep your hands off our son."
91	** Phoebe holds it together for most of the first episode, but halfway through Part 2, Piper finds her in Prue's room. She can't stop thinking about a time she borrowed Prue's clothes, her boyfriend's cat ruined them and Piper took the fall. Phoebe bursts into tears realising that Prue never found out it was her.
92	** Piper [[CallingTheOldManOut chewing out Patty]] for never telling them that they had another sister all along. All of the sisters practically worship Patty's memory, so seeing any of them laying into her for the only time in the series is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness very sobering]]. Patty, for her part, thinks that Piper's anger is entirely justified.
93	--->'''Piper:''' You can't just float down here and say, "oh, by the way, you've got a sister!" Especially not today, of all days!
94	* Although discovering Paige is their half-sister is a happy occasion, Patty talking about it is actually quite sad. She had another daughter that she had to give up when she was born out of fear of what would happen if she were discovered. Her voice shakes as she says that she and Sam decided to "give the baby up". And because she died so soon afterwards, she never got to tell the others about their other sister. The embrace at the end of the second part is as much for Patty as it is for Paige - the mother who never got to even hold her daughter.
95	* Paige's whole introduction counts. She thought she had found her birth family but had kept her distance, mainly going to P-3 so as not to overwhelm the Halliwells. Then she discovers one of her potential sisters has just died. She lost a sister before she even got to know her. And she admits that she went to the funeral because she felt "a part of me lost her too".
96	* Fury-Piper screaming at the top of her lungs '''"How dare you ''leave me''?!"''' to Prue's grave in "Hell Hath No Fury". Considering how [[DeathIsCheap cheap death usually is]] for the Halliwell sisters, this kind of permanence in the show isn't taken lightly.
97	-->'''Leo:''' It's okay. It's okay, honey.\
98	'''Piper:''' It's not okay. She risked her life everyday and she never thought about what would happen to me and Phoebe if she was gone.\
99	'''Leo:''' I know.\
100	'''Piper:''' How could she think that I could live without her?
101	** Paige's statements are to help Piper but they give us an insight into just how horrible it was for her to lose her parents at sixteen.
102	--->"When my parents died, I hated them. I was alone, and I hated them!"
103	** Phoebe also thinks that Piper's unexpressed fury is actually directed at her; believing that Piper blames her for Prue getting killed, suggesting that Phoebe herself feels plenty of guilt for not being able to save both of them.
104	* The beginning of "A Knight To Remember" where Piper is sitting in Prue's room, going through all her things before sadly putting on her jacket and leaving. Turns into a CMOH at the end when Paige moves in with them.
105	** When they first discuss Paige moving in, Phoebe goes very quiet and says that sometimes still half-expects to see Prue walk through the door.
106	* Piper has a rough deal in "Brain Drain". She can't even attend a friend's baby shower without demon duty interrupting it. Her friend Becca notes that they've barely seen her in the last three years, and Piper comprehends just how much she's missed out on since becoming a witch.
107	** And then there's how the Source cruelly resorts to {{Gaslighting}} in the CuckooNest, making her believe she never was a witch and doesn't even have sisters. She knew it was a spell at first and tried her best to escape, but the Source slowly broke her in a way that's just heartbreaking. She sounds so defeated as she tells the real Phoebe and Paige "I don't have sisters".
108	** The way the Source uses Prue to manipulate her as well. In this reality, Prue isn't dead and just recovered from mental illness and left the hospital. The Source uses that to twist the knife and make Piper think she could possibly see Prue again if she gave up her magic.
109	** A small moment is when the alternate reality Paige says that Piper has always compared her to Prue. Piper looks stunned as she says "I've never said that". In real life, Piper would never compare Paige to Prue - in fact, only being cold to her at first because she was afraid of opening up to someone new - so the idea that Paige would think she does probably hurts.
110	* "A Paige From the Past" - where Paige desperately tries to stop her parents from dying in the car crash, only to learn YouCantFightFate.
111	** She's so happy to be reunited with them in the past at first...and gets reminded of how horrible she was to them. They even remind her that their previous conversation had her calling them "not really her parents".
112	--> "I came here to stop feeling guilty, only now I feel guiltier than ever because I know what a damn disappointment I was!"
113	** She also ends up getting expelled from school, which didn't appear to happen in the original timeline. She begs her parents "I don't turn out like this", wishing they could know she does become a better person.
114	** Her mother's speech expresses fears that can sometimes be scarier than any demon.
115	--->"We know you're good. We've always known. But we also know that you're lost and that scares us. And there's nothing in the world we want more than to help you find your way home. We just don't know how."
116	** Even at the start of the episode, Paige confesses to her sisters that she feels responsible for her parents' dying, and she feels guilty for it every day. She's twenty-five at this point, and her parents died at sixteen, so she's been living with that guilt for nearly ten years!
117	* Although Cole proposing to Phoebe in "Charmed & Dangerous" is meant to be heartwarming, it can't be seen as anything but bittersweet with knowledge of what follows. It's the last time Cole will truly get to be with the woman he loves, knowing she loves him. He'll lay his life down to save her and her family, end up tricked and possessed, having to be killed to destroy the thing possessing him, and being blamed unfairly for everything when he returns.
118	* "We're Off to See the Wizard": Cole is legitimately excited about becoming a father, but he'll never even get to see his baby.
119	* Source-possessed Cole being vanquished in "Long Live the Queen." Made worse by little moments such as Cole genuinely saying he doesn't want to have to kill Piper, Phoebe's "I'm sorry," as she chooses saving her sisters and Leo over Cole, and what Cole intended to be a DyingDeclarationOfLove.
120	* Paige is genuinely heartbroken over the idea of giving up magic in "Witch Way Now?", reminding the jaded Piper and Phoebe that "if it wasn't for being witches, I wouldn't have sisters".
121	[[/folder]]
122	[[folder:Season 5]]
123	* Phoebe and Paige's conversation when Cole first returns in "A Witch's Tail," Phoebe looks so exhausted and terrified and Paige is so concerned about her sister. It's also great foreshadowing for Phoebe's response to Cole later in the episode, because you can see how afraid she is of going back to him at the same time.
124	* Just think of the entire scenario from Cole's perspective. He laid down his life to save not just Phoebe, but the other two sisters, Leo and essentially reality itself. He ended up tricked, possessed, manipulated and scapegoated with his sacrifices ignored. He has to be killed to get the Source and is sent to the demonic wasteland where he'll miss out on an afterlife if the beast consumes him. Phoebe refuses to help him, and when he returns against all odds, she and her sisters refuse to trust him and treat him like a pariah for things that weren't his fault. While it doesn't excuse his actual FaceHeelTurn, it's impossible not to sympathise with him just a little.
125	** And in "Happily Ever After", he's trying to warn Phoebe not to go with Adam, realising he's under a spell and Phoebe ''punches him''. To her credit, [[BreakTheHaughty she does apologise later]] and sounds [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone legitimately sorry.]]
126	* The end of "A Witch's Tail - Part 2" may be Heartwarming for the scenes of Piper and Leo with unborn Wyatt, but it's very much a BittersweetEnding. Paige finally has her dream job of being promoted to social worker...and realises she won't be able to juggle both it and her Charmed duty. Her last scene is packing up her desk after hours. Mr Cowen approaches her and admits that he may have been stern with her, but "I don't want you to quit". Paige obviously can't tell him the real reason she's quitting, but thanks him for everything and hugs him goodbye. She also looks at the plaque that reads "Paige Matthews - Social Worker", trying to accept that just because it's the right decision, it doesn't make it any easier.
127	** This then fades into Phoebe signing her divorce papers. She has a framed photo of herself with Cole, looking at it and admitting to herself she still loves him in some way. But she signs the papers anyway, doing her best to move on.
128	* "Sympathy for the Demon" gives us a double-whammy when Barbas reveals Phoebe's greatest fear isn't losing a sister anymore, it's becoming evil. It gives perspective on why she's so eager to move on from Cole, because she's terrified of giving into evil again. It also counts when you realize why Phoebe's greatest fear isn't losing a sister: she already has.
129	* A warlock from the future teams up with his present self and together they're able to kill both Paige and Phoebe. The devastated Piper kneels slumped against a wall and weeps while Leo tries to convince her that her sisters can be saved, to which Piper disagrees.
130	-->'''Piper:''' You can't heal ashes!
131	* In their conversation, Future-Piper tells Present-Piper that Miles must die. Future-Piper tells Present-Piper that when Phoebe asks which direction she should say right. When the time comes and Phoebe does ask, Present-Piper clearly struggles between allowing an innocent to die and saving her sister.
132	-->'''Present-Piper:''' God forgive me...
133	** Then comes the moment Miles actually does die. As he's shot, Phoebe runs over to Miles and cradles his body as both Pipers, present close to tears and future in solemn acceptance, watch. Future!Piper then fades away.
134	* The final line of "Centennial Charmed", when Paige has returned reality to normal but with [[spoiler:Cole still dead]]. Rather than delivering the last line as another one of Paige's quips (which could've made Paige sound mean-spirited), Creator/RoseMcGowan makes Paige sound almost [[AlasPoorVillain pitying]].
135	-->'''Paige:''' Happy birthday, Cole.
136	** While Cole is presented as the episode's villain, there is a moment of pathos for him when he realises that he and Phoebe are miserable in the alternate timeline. He sounds so defeated at the idea that their love just couldn't work out.
137	* "Sand Francisco Dreamin'" reveals that Paige's dream of a crowd of people leaving a baby shower is not about Piper's upcoming birth, but about hers. As her birth had to be kept secret, she's comprehending now that it was never celebrated. Although she was HappilyAdopted, it's one of the few times we see Paige show some angst about having to be given up as a baby.
138	* While it's never outright stated, Phoebe obsesses over Wyatt when he's born, to the point where she's considering taking time off work to help take care of him. Fridge Sadness when you realise that she was expecting a baby the previous season that had to be killed because it was the Source's, so Phoebe is subconsciously projecting what she was imagining for her own baby onto her sister's.
139	* Leo becoming an Elder and Piper realising her family is going to be torn apart.
140	[[/folder]]
141	[[folder:Season 6]]
142	* When both spells are broken on Piper in "Valhalley of the Dolls" and she finally gets to feel the full force of what Leo did to her. Not only did he abandon her and their son for the sake of becoming an Elder, but he also cast a spell that prevented her from feeling any pain, in effect turning her into a StepfordSmiler.
143	--> "Home? We don't have a home. You left us!"
144	** She can't even express her full emotions, but Phoebe feels the force of it all thanks to her empathy powers and is basically possessed by Piper's pain.
145	--> "YouBastard. How dare you do this to me. To our son. We had a life together. A family! And you destroyed it. You destroyed ''me''. You left me alone to raise our son by myself. How could you do this!"
146	* The sixth season finale where Chris dies and Leo just loses it. Very sad and tear-inducing.
147	** This whole episode is borderline Leo torture: Leo has finally managed to mend fences with his son from the future who hates him, and the cast has managed to protect Wyatt when everything goes to hell. Gideon escapes, the world is now out of balance, Piper is in the hospital in labor with complications, and Barbas the Demon of Fear is on the loose and now working with Gideon. The two sisters who ''haven't'' been warped by the change in the balance of the world are put under a spell leaving Leo and Chris as the only ones unaffected and trying to put everything right. Leo is then taunted/tortured by Barbas with visions of Evil!Wyatt and gets back home just in time to find his mentor and friend kidnapping his infant older son, and his adult younger son lying on the floor with a stab wound he got trying to protect his brother. This wound, of course, is magical in nature and can't be healed with any magic but the one who did the stabbing. Chris repeatedly insists Leo stop trying to heal him and go rescue Wyatt, finally convincing Leo with the words "Find Gideon, and you'll save us both." After retrieving one of the sisters to watch over Chris, he leaves to find a way to locate Gideon, and when he finally finds a lead, he hears Paige shouting for him, and gets back to Chris just in time to beg him not to die.
148	--->'''Leo:''' Hey, I'm here now you can hold on okay? Hold on, hold on... I'm here, you can hold on. Don't give up, okay?\
149	'''Chris:''' You either...\
150	'''Leo:''' No, no, no. Please, no, no, please no...
151	** Immediately after Chris' death, Leo is so caught up in his grief that he doesn't notice that Chris' body disappears. He clings to the sheets until he looks up and realizes Chris isn't there anymore and his rage causes him to completely wreck the attic. Really, what makes this season finale so moving is the fact that it's a series of adult fears manifested in one plot, between Leo trying not to make a choice of which son to save, finding out that [[BrokenPedestal someone he trusted so much was trying to kill his son]], as well as the knowledge in the back of his mind that his wife is going through a risky delivery process in a completely screwed up world. It's only further enhanced by the fact that Creator/BrianKrause dishes out the best acting he has in him in these episodes.
152	** Even before that, when Barbas has left him shaken on the hospital floor with visions of evil future Wyatt, Chris has been mortally wounded by Gideon and calls out for him. Leo can sense Chris's pain, and Barbas twists the knife even further by taunting him about how in trying to protect one son, he's going to lose ''both''. Leo's response to this is to scream with sheer agony that it's heartbreaking to listen to.
153	** Another part of the scene that will tug on the heartstrings. Chris instinctively calls out for Leo not by name, but calling "dad".
154	** Phoebe doesn't see Chris's death, but we see the aftermath of Paige breaking the news. She's holding onto hope that he didn't die, and maybe him fading away was just him returning to the future. Paige understands, but she just has to shake her head.
155	[[/folder]]
156	[[folder:Season 7]]
157	* "Cheaper By the Coven" is more of a comedy episode but has several.
158	** Victor and Patty tell Piper that she had night terrors after their divorce, because she was only five and blamed herself for them splitting up. It matches up with Piper's greatest fear in "Sympathy For the Demon".
159	** Patty admits that leaving is always hard whenever she has to be called as a spirit advisor. While her lack of appearances compared to Penny is mainly due to Finola Hughes's schedule, it gives the suggestion that Patty doesn't appear too much before the girls because it's so painful for her.
160	** She also admits to Victor "we missed a lot not being able to raise them together."
161	* "Styx Feet Under" features one between Paige and Piper. Piper as the Angel of Death has to lead her sister to the afterlife, and Paige's futile attempts at stalling by tearfully admitting things such as her taking Piper's earrings and borrowing a jacket without asking then letting Phoebe take the blame is heartbreaking. Of course her death is averted but still.
162	-->'''Paige:''' You can't blame a girl for trying.
163	** Harriet the innocent goes through a lot in that episode too. Her husband is killed by his cousin. She's also just found out she's pregnant, and the demon targets her for that because the unborn baby has to die for his plan to be complete.
164	** Phoebe's helplessness throughout the episode. She has to watch both her sisters die, and sit by being treated as the weak one because she has no powers. And she finds out she's on Death's list, and can only stoically face her fate to avoid the demon killing Harriet.
165	** When Sirk changes the circumstances to kill Paige instead of her, Phoebe begs Piper to take her instead.
166	* The death of Kyra the Seer in "Witchness Protection". She had come so close to achieving her dream of becoming human, and Zankou cruelly murders her. He had nothing to gain from it. Just wanted to KickTheDog even further.
167	* Phoebe in "Charmageddon" has to touch the Book of Shadows to relive all the losses she's suffered in her life. For added heartstrings, we're shown the flashback of Penny dying in "Pre-Witched". Phoebe only found her at the bottom of the stairs when it happened, but now she has to actually see it.
168	** Leo sacrifices himself to force the sisters to realise the effect the Avatars' spell has had on them. Piper barely reacts and just keeps saying that he's "gone to a better place", the same way Paige has been reacting to Kyle's death. Wyatt and baby Chris on the other hand, being too young to be changed by the spell, start crying constantly and nothing the sisters do can comfort them.
169	--->'''Phoebe:''' This is what Leo was trying to show us. Leo allowed the Avatars to kill him so that we could understand what's going on here.\
170	'''Piper:''' I don't wanna hear this.\
171	'''Phoebe:''' I know you don't wanna hear this, but listen to your boys. That's pain, and it's real.\
172	'''Piper:''' Phoebe, stop.\
173	'''Phoebe:''' Piper, how can you not see it? The only reason you're okay with all this was because you wanted to be with Leo. And now they've taken him away? \
174	(''Piper starts to cry despite fighting to stop herself'')\
175	'''Piper:''' Why? Why would they do that?
176	** Phoebe would also have to give up the vision of her future daughter that was guaranteed because of Utopia, and she knows the world's needs come before her own.
177	* The death of Paige's charge Joanna in "Death Becomes Them". A poor, innocent woman who was trapped in an abusive relationship with Zankou; who'd been plotting to kill her just to hurt Paige. The way Paige drops to her knees when she finds her and whispers "I'm so sorry" over and over.
178	** Likewise the murder of Tim, Phoebe's college friend in the opening scene. They open the episode just flirting cutely, and then suddenly the demons attack. The poor guy was likely only in the wrong place at the wrong time.
179	* "Something Wicca This Way Goes?" has many that still manage to be sad even with the happy ending undoing most of them.
180	** Piper and Phoebe give Victor all their necessary paperwork, including bank accounts, deeds to their assets and even a schedule for Chris and Wyatt. They don't know if they'll make it out of the fight with Zankou alive, and say goodbye to their father with only a glimmer of hope that it'll be okay.
181	** Piper says goodbye to her children, telling Wyatt "Mommy will always be with you". Paige and Phoebe likewise play with their nephews, possibly thinking it's one last time.
182	** Piper hugs Wyatt goodbye, clearly trying to hold back her tears.
183	** Leo isn't in on the plan, and sees the explosion, begging to be let through. He finds out the sisters faked their deaths minutes later, but goodness knows what was going through his head in that time.
184	** Obviously by Season 8, Victor knows his daughters are alive, but one has to wonder if he watched a news report before being filled in and had to assume the worst for a while.
185	[[/folder]]
186	[[folder:Season 8]]
187	* While played for comedy, it is rather sad that Paige had so few mourners at her wake. She was headmistress of Magic School, and not a single teacher or student there that we're aware of. It doesn't even seem like her old co-workers from Season 4 paid her a visit. And it just goes to show how her witch duties eclipsed her personal life, since she had no visible contact with friends.
188	* Billie has to deal with losing her first innocent in "The Lost Picture Show". Take the magic out of the equation and it's the equivalent to a rookie cop or soldier dealing with loss for the first time. Phoebe has to gently explain that she can't save everyone. A lesson she's had to learn the hard way over the years.
189	** JD also discovers that his father spent his whole life searching for him, dying alone in a nursing home. He begs Billie not to go the same way looking for her sister.
190	** One of the victims had a father, who laments that she was getting a picture taken for her mother's birthday, and he still misses her after all these years. Mercifully, they're implied to be reunited at the end.
191	--> "A father never stops loving his daughter."
192	** Paige snaps at Sam for now suddenly acting like her father when he's been out of the picture since their first meeting three years ago.
193	---> For your information, my father—my ''real'' father, the one who raised me, loved me, and took care of me until the day he died—was a firefighter, not a Whitelighter. So, how dare you show up here and act like you're my dad? Because I have news for you: you're not.
194	* Phoebe's frustration at Billie possibly not being curable in "Hulkus Pocus". She has to watch this young woman she's come to view as a surrogate sister succumb to an illness that robs her of her strength, and there's no chance of curing it. There's a point where she goes to get some ice, the machine doesn't work, and she can only throw the dish across the kitchen in anguish.
195	* Leo being taken away in "Vaya Con Leos", because he's destined to die in the battle with the Ultimate Power. And after meeting Christie, you know that killing Leo is something she'd do just to KickTheDog. As the Angel of Death appears before Leo, the latter talks about the unfairness of how he gave up his powers and became a human all for his family, and now it's going to be taken away from them so soon.
196	--> '''Leo:''' We've been through worse.
197	--> '''Piper:''' (''holding back tears'') No. We haven't.
198	** The end of the episode is a montage of the sisters grieving in their own way. Paige goes to Henry in tears, her disagreement with him earlier completely forgotten. Phoebe is playing with the children, and you know she hasn't broke the news yet, and probably can't bring herself to. Piper is in the garage, tearfully looking at the second-hand truck [[CerebusCallBack Leo had purchased at the beginning]]. Eventually she turns off the light.
199	** There's also the fact that Billie has to give up her chance to be able to find her sister in order to save Leo. The Angel of Destiny [[SweetAndSourGrapes does give her some relief afterwards]] but it's very bittersweet.
200	* In "Payback's A Witch," during his birthday party, Wyatt brings his action figures to life to search for the PutOnABus Leo. Wyatt doesn't know what happened, but he feels Leo broke a promise to always be there. That is sad enough, but it turns out that Wyatt blames himself for Leo going away.
201	** Before Wyatt makes his toys real, Phoebe casts a spell on his favorite teddy bear to make the bear say what Wyatt is feeling. The bear says "I'm so sad, I want to cry all the time", revealing just how upset Wyatt really is about what's happened,
202	* We get to see a vision of what Christie's captivity looked like in "Twelve Angry Zen". Billie projects herself into the past, where we see a scared little girl alone in a cave, hiding in fear from demons. That's likely what Billie is thinking of every time she tries to get Christie to reconsider after her FaceHeelTurn.
203	* Billie crying in front of her parents in "Mr and Mrs Witch" to try and get them to remember who she is? Genuine TearJerker.
204	* Then there's the murder of the parents in "Generation Hex". Two innocent people who were only killed because the Triad wanted to complete Christie's HeelFaceDoorSlam. It's also clear that Christie's vanquish of the last member brings her no satisfaction.
205	** Even before that, Christie has refused to see her parents at all. It's implied they've flown out more than once and she hasn't seen them. Helen is even begging just to talk to her on the phone. The sad thing is that Christie only sees them to prevent Billie from helping Piper.
206	* Phoebe moving out for good, and Piper's tearful acceptance of the fact that they'll never live together again. It calls back to the "forever isn't today" scene from "Pre-Witched" - and you remember that without Leo, Piper is left alone in the house again.
207	* As the years have gone by, Christie's treatment of Billie starts to look very much like emotional abuse and manipulation. The way she isolates her from the Halliwells and turns them against each other, all to achieve her own ends, can hit home for people who have been on the receiving end of abusive siblings or family members. And the twisted thing is that she loves Billie in her own way but, as the below moment shows, only as long as she's able to use her.
208	** The way Christy manipulates Billie in this simple exchange is just plain sick. Billie is the one trying to find a non-lethal way of stopping the Charmed Ones, and Christy emotionally blackmails her into feeling guilty for not wanting Wyatt and Chris to become orphans.
209	--->'''Billie:''' Besides, Piper has kids! She has a baby, for Christ sakes. How can you even think of wanting to hurt a mom?\
210	'''Christy:''' What about ''our'' mom? She didn't care about her, did she?
211	* The Magical Community turning on the sisters in "Gone With the Witches". Especially the nymph who was their strongest defender when the leprechauns were trying to discredit them; she looks so devastated at the idea that the Charmed Ones wouldn't help them.
212	* The aftermath of the supposed final battle in the penultimate episode. Piper is the only survivor, and she finds Phoebe's body among the rubble. Sure, it's hardly the first time, but it doesn't make Piper's "come on, kid, wake up" any less sad. And they have to flee before finding Paige, meaning Piper likely spends a good chunk of the time between episodes worrying that maybe Paige was possibly alive in the rubble and just got left for dead.
213	** There's also the striking visual of the first thing we see being the Manor completely destroyed. It's been a part of the series for eight years, essentially a character just like the sisters. And it's very startling to see it in ruins.
214	* The way Patty is brought into the story in "Forever Charmed". Piper takes them back to Phoebe's conception, and Patty has to find out that she'll have two daughters that are going to die in the future. While somewhat played for comedy, Patty turns serious when she says Piper can't just turn up and say two of her daughters are dead and not expect her to help.
215	** And when they stop the battle for the Hollow, Patty looks around and asks where Prue is. Then later, Victor breaks the news to her offscreen. In spite of the thrill of saving the future, Patty says she's grateful she'll forget the experience so she won't know what's destined to happen to her eldest daughter.
216	* Billie being forced to kill her sister in self-defense and her breakdown. While her sister was evil, she still loved her and with her sister's death, she lost all of her family.
217	** Before that, she begs Christie to "just come home".
218	** Even though they were enemies, all the Halliwells look troubled by how Christy died. Piper has to look away. Paige is shaking her head, almost in disbelief that Christy would try to kill her own sister. And as the scene fades out, Phoebe can be seen wiping her eyes, either for her friend's loss or for the girl they tried to help who just rejected them.
219	[[/folder]]

Context TearJerker / Charmed1998