Heartwarming / My Soul to Take

• After shooting Plenkov to save his daughter, the cops quickly try to comfort the little girl. The dying Plenkov also thanks Officer Paterson for stopping him before being taken over by the Ripper personality.
• Dr. Blake shows great compassion for Plenkov after his exposure as the Riverton Ripper and fight with the police, stressing that he is ill and not a monster.
• Penelope intervening when Brandon is bullying Bug and then kissing Bug on the cheek.
• The bond between most of the Riverton 7 is only lightly touched on, but feels deep and real at times. Jay, Alex, and Jerome all befriend and reassure Bug about his insecurities, and the blind Jerome and Penelope cheerfully chat about the way he can recognize her by the sound her shoes make. In his first scene, even Brandon briefly shows a little familiarity to the kids he normally bullies due to this connection
• Penelope initially feels like The Fundamentalist, but turns out to be more of a Token Wholesome character who best demonstrates this when she doesn’t mock or judge Bit Character Melanie's Teen Pregnancy. Instead, she prays with Melanie to give her a confidant and emotional crutch, saying "things [like this] can happen now and then" and that Melanie deserves affection and understanding. She also yells for Melanie to run (although, fortunately, Melanie apparently left before then without Penelope noticing) when the Ripper shows up.
• Alex teaches Bug about ways to avoid showing weakness to bullies.
• After spending most of her screen time as an unrepentant Beta Bitch, Brittany shows signs of thinking Bug is cute during the Girl Posse meeting. Even after catching him in a Not What It Looks Like position in the girls bathroom, she still lets her guard down around him afterward to give him some friendly advice and show there are no hard feelings.
• Bug telling May she had been a great mother to him despite learning she is really his aunt.
• Fang finally acting like a sister to Bug during their last few scenes together.