Tear Jerker

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Everyone weeps, and no-one plays the World's Smallest Violin.

"Crying is cleansing. There's a reason for tears, happiness or sadness."

— Dionne Warwick

Some viewers are impassive when it comes to what they watch. They've seen it all. No fictional death, sacrifice, emotional display or confession can move them.

Except these.

Since most of these involve death scenes, shocking twists, or something just as major, expect many unmarked spoilers. However, they can also be as simple as the right imagery, tone, and music coming together - for the sole purpose of working those tear-ducts.

This being one of the YMMV items, one person's Tear Jerker may be another's Narm, which is often a failed attempt to induce this. Comments such as "If you didn't cry at _____, you have no soul" are not welcome here; since this is defined by emotional reaction, what causes someone to burst into tears may cause another to shrug or even laugh, and guilt-tripping people just because they don't experience the emotions you want them to is not cool, dude.

Many Downer Endings and Bittersweet Endings include tearjerking moments. Either way, make sure to bring the Kleenex. If you want to avoid them altogether, then you might want to consider heeding the Snicket Warning Label.

Some tear-jerking moments, especially of deaths, can wind up being horrifying or traumatizing as well. Compare Harsher in Hindsight, which may be a Tear Jerker in and of itself. Contrast Heartwarming Moments, which can induce tears for more positive reasons, although they can overlap.

Tropes that often result in Tear Jerker moments

Main topic:

Tragedy

Categories:

Abusive Parents: Being horribly mistreated by the very people who gave you life is traumatizing.
Accidental Child-Killer Backstory: A kid is dead because of one avoidable mistake, and the perpetrator is scarred for life.
Accidental Murder: Especially if the character ended up killing someone they love and care for!
After the End: A Crapsack World wasteland is all that is left of a former civilization.
Afterlife Angst: A deceased person is unhappy in the afterlife.
Alas, Poor Scrappy: The character was unlikable, but it's sad that he died.
Alas, Poor Villain: The character was evil, but it's sad that he died.
Alas, Poor Yorick: A character laments a fallen loved one while holding the person's skull.
All of the Other Reindeer: It's sad that this character is mistreated by others just for being different.
Always with You: A character assures another that their impact on them will remain even after being separated. Can overlap with Heartwarming.
Angsty Surviving Twin: A person is upset that they've outlived their twin.
Anguished Declaration of Love: Someone who's harbored their feelings for another person ends up confessing their love when it looks like they and their object of affection are done for.
Antagonist in Mourning: The villain is sad that the hero has died.
Anyone Can Die: The thought that anyone and everyone we know and love could die when we least expect it is depressing to think about.
Backstory Horror: Something seemingly harmless has something horrible embedded into their Backstory.
The Bad Guy Wins: The villain has won, meaning that the heroes' efforts to defeat him and put an end to his evil ways were All for Nothing.
Became Their Own Antithesis: It's tragic that this person has now become the opposite of what they once were, especially if they used to be someone good.
Being Evil Sucks: It's miserable to be evil all of your life.
Being Good Sucks: It's miserable to be good to others.
Bittersweet Ending: It would be a completely happy ending were it not for one tragic detail of how the story has ended.
Born Unlucky: It's sad that this person has suffered misfortune their entire life.
Break the Comedian: A character used to be jokey until something tragic happened to them.
Break the Cutie: An adorable and lovable character goes through a horrible experience that shatters their innocence, sometimes permanently.
Broken Ace: A highly-skilled character with good publicity puts up a façade to conceal their bitter, cynical feelings about themselves and the world around them.
Broken Angel: A fantasy creature loses what makes them fantastical. They might be able to recover what they lost, or become permanently mundane.
Broken Bird: A female character who has gone through hell.
Broken Pedestal: The tragic circumstance of someone becoming disillusioned towards their favorite hero after learning that the person isn't half as good and heroic as they thought they were.
Broken Tears: A character starts crying to show that the misfortunes they've endured have taken their toll on them.
Bully Magnet: A character who always gets bullied.
But Now I Must Go: A hero leaves the vicinity after fulfilling their mission.
Butt-Monkey (whenever Played for Drama instead of laughs).
Cathartic Crying: When a person releases pent-up tears.
Celebrity Elegy: A song mourning a recently dead celebrity.
Character Death: It's sad to see a character die^note.
The Character Died with Him: A character is killed off after the actor who played them has died, which is often done out of respect for the original actor's memory or because the original actor was considered irreplaceable.
Comfort the Dying: A tragic death-scene, in which one person tries to make the dying person comfortable.
Cradle of Loneliness: A character holds the keepsake of a distant or deceased friend or loved one close to them, to show how sad and lonely they are.
Crapsack World: It's sad that the work's setting is a horrible place to live.
Crisis of Faith: A person with religious beliefs begins to question the merit of having them after an unpleasant experience.
Cruel Twist Ending: The protagonist tragically suffers at the last minute just so the story can end on a cruel note.
Cry for the Devil: The audience feels sorry for the villain's misfortunes.
Cry into Chest: A character breaks down sobbing into the chest of their friend or lover.
Crying After Sex: Not always, but it can be sad if they were raped, or are angsting over loss of virginity.
Dark Reprise: The sadder version of the previously played happy song often occurs during sad scenes to amplify the tragedy.
Death Fic: A fan fiction about a character's death.
Death by Childbirth: It's sad that the mother died giving birth to her child.
Death by Newbery Medal: A work aimed at children has someone die for the sake of pathos.
Death by Origin Story: The reason the hero became a hero in the first place was because someone they loved died.
A Death in the Limelight: When a minor character finally gets the spotlight, their story ends with them dead.
Death of a Child: When works don't shy away from depicting children dying.
Death Wail: Someone screams at seeing a loved one die.
Crossing the Despair Event Horizon.
Desperate Plea for Home: A character pushed to the limits of fear or grief expresses a desire to go home, often being unable to return home at all.
Desperately Craves Affection: This character has felt isolated from others for so long, they have become desperate to feel loved and may go to extreme lengths to get it.
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: This character does not know what they want to do with their life, and are trying to find their purpose.
Diabolus ex Machina: Something comes out of nowhere to cause things to go wrong in the story, which will usually end in tragedy.
Did Not Get the Girl: The main character does not win the affection of the person they loved.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: A dying character is cradled in the arms of an onlooker.
Disappointed in You: It can be depressing to see someone being called a disappointment by a friend, loved one or idol.
Disney Death: A death later turns out to be a fake-out, but that doesn't make the moment where it was believed the character actually died any less sad.
Do Not Go Gentle: They know they will die soon, but they won't let that stop them from going out in a blaze of glory.
Doomed Hometown: This guy's town was destroyed early in his life.
Downer Beginning: The story has a sad beginning.
Downer Ending: The story has a sad ending.
Driven to Suicide: Someone ends up killing themselves because they see no point to keep living and suffering.
Dying Alone: It's sad that this person won't have anyone around to mourn their demise.
Dying as Yourself: Someone dies after being freed of the corruption that took over them.
Dying Declaration of Love: Someone tragically dies as they confess their love for a person.
Dying Dream: It turns out the entire story was just a hallucination the protagonist is experiencing as they're dying.
Dying Moment of Awesome: A character ends up dying, but makes sure they go out doing something cool.
Empty Bedroom Grieving: If the person is deceased, the left-behind loved ones or friends will leave their bedrooms untouched, often as a way to either honor them or conversely as a way of not moving on or being in denial about the death.
Empty Shell: This person's only alive from a base metabolic standpoint. Everything else of him is dead.
End-of-Series Awareness: Depending on how well it is done, it can be very depressing to see a series' final installment conclude with the characters actually acknowledging that the series has ended.
The End of the World as We Know It: It's sad that the apocalypse is imminent.
Extreme Doormat: It is sad to see someone take constant abuse with barely any resistance.
Et Tu, Brute?: Betrayal is one of the worst things that can happen to a character, and it can especially hit hard if it's someone the character trusted most in the world.
Everybody Cries: All the characters present are brought to tears.
"Everybody Dies" Ending: No one survives the events of the story.
Evil All Along: A character finds out that someone they believed was on their side and trusted, was evil the entire time, manipulating them and never genuinely caring about them.
Evil Former Friend: It's a special kind of twist to make the standard good vs. evil conflict more tragic by establishing that the villain used to be the hero's friend.
Face Death with Dignity: Someone who finds out that their death is imminent chooses to accept their fate calmly.
Face–Heel Turn: A hero becoming a bad guy can especially be sad if their misdeeds undo the good they've done and their changing of alliances now means that their former friends will have to fight their corrupted ex-comrade.
False Friend: A character discovers that a person they believed was their friend actually wasn't and was only manipulating them to advance their goals.
Final First Hug: A character doesn't show affection towards a loved one until that loved one is dying.
Fond Memories That Could Have Been: It's sad to see someone fantasize on how things would've been if the person they loved hadn't died.
Forced into Evil: It's tragic to see a person do bad things because they've been forced to.
Foregone Conclusion: The audience already knows how the story will end even if they've seen it for the first time and haven't heard any spoilers prior to viewing. While this is not always sad (the conclusion might be "Alice and Bob have kids" or something), it often involves something tragic.
Freak Out: A character goes through a traumatic experience that results in a major personality change, whether short-term or permanently.
Freudian Excuse, especially if said excuse is sympathetic and the villains end up feeling bad for their actions.
Friendless Background: It's sad when the character begins the story without any friends.
Go Out with a Smile: A person dying is sad enough without the person smiling in their death.
Go Through Me: A defender interposes themselves between the attacker and their target
Grief Song: A song where the singer sings about how the disappearance and/or death of a loved one makes them sad.
The Grotesque: A hideous person who means well in spite of being ugly.
Guilt Complex: This character blames themselves for everything.
Gut Punch: A moment in a work that quickly and permanently shifts the work to a darker tone.
Happier Home Movie: Goes to show what the person's life used to be like visually before now.
Happy Ending Override: A sequel undoes the happy ending of a previous installment.
Heartbroken Badass: The hero is upset because they lost their significant other.
Heartwarming can sometimes overlap with this.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: A character never got the chance to switch to the side of good.
Heel Realization: A character is distraught upon realizing that what they've been doing is wrong.
The Hero Dies: A heroic character dies. Can overlap with The Bad Guy Wins.
Heroic BSoD: The Hero is so traumatized by an event that they are at a loss for words.
Heroic Sacrifice: A character willingly lets themselves get killed to help others.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: In spite of this character's heroic actions, they have a low opinion of themselves.
He Will Not Cry, So I Cry for Him: A friend or lover shows their sensitivity and kindness by crying in place of their friend/lover's sadness.
Hope Spot: Right when it looks like things will change for the better, those hopes are immediately dashed.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: This guy once had everything. Now he has nothing.
Hurting Hero: A character feels awful in spite of their heroic actions.
I Am Not Pretty, bonus points if the person has been constantly picked on for being ugly.
I Die Free: A slave takes solace in the fact that dying means they no longer have to live in enslavement.
I Have No Son!: A family member (usually a child) being disowned is heartbreaking^note.
I Just Want to Be Beautiful: This person wants to be/stay beautiful.
I Just Want to Be Loved: Nobody loves this loner, who wants to be loved more than anything.
I Just Want to Be Normal: This person stands out among the crowd, and they want to fit in among it.
I Just Want to Be Special: This person fits in among the crowd, and they want to stand out among it.
I Just Want to Be You!: A particularly Green-Eyed Monster wants to be the person they envy.
I Just Want to Have Friends: This loner wants to have people with him.
"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Fighting a corrupted or transformed friend while trying to get the good in them to overcome the evil inside them.
I Let Gwen Stacy Die: The hero feels responsible for causing a loved one to die.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: This guy acts all high and mighty to cover his own insecurities.
It's All My Fault: It's sad that this person blames themselves for other people's problems.
It's a Wonderful Failure: It's sad that this game shows you the consequences of getting a Game Over.
I've Come Too Far: A character goes ahead in doing something reprehensible because they've resigned to how futile it has become to just call it quits.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Someone is attracted to a person, but is willing for the other person to be with someone else if it means that the person they love would be happier that way.
Jerkass Woobie: When audiences feel that the person may have been a jerk, but what they suffered was still undeserved.
Karma Houdini, if their crimes were especially atrocious, and their victims have been denied justice.
Karmic Misfire: A tragic circumstance where an innocent person gets undeserved punishment while the one who's truly responsible gets off scot-free.
Kick the Dog, especially when done particularly cruelly.
Kids Are Cruel: It's sad that this society is inhabited by sociopathic children.
Killed Off for Real: A character is permanently killed off, which can especially be sad if the character was sympathetic and well-liked.
Kill the Cutie: An adorable and lovable character dies.
Kill the Ones You Love: Someone is forced to kill a loved one.
Kill Us Both: Someone is forced to kill their friend while the friend is subduing the bad guy.
Last Kiss: A couple kisses one last time before one or both dies.
Last of His Kind: A character who is the last surviving member of their race.
Let Them Die Happy: Lying to a dying loved one so that they're happy in their final moments.
Lonely at the Top: Being successful has the downside of not having room for friends.
Lonely Piano Piece: Sad music, usually slow and on a piano, to signify that a character is lonely and/or in a hopeless situation.
Loners Will Stay Alone: A character wants to have friends, but being alone makes them too socially-awkward to make any.
Long Last Look: A character's never going back to a place, so they take a final look.
The Lost Lenore: The person's significant other's death affects them.
Lost Pet Grievance: It doesn't matter if you had them for 20 days or 20 years; losing a pet is always very sad.
A character crying Manly Tears.
Mayfly–December Friendship: Friendship between an immortal and a mortal has the downside that the immortal friend will eventually outlive the mortal friend.
Mayfly–December Romance: Love between an immortal and a mortal has the downside that the immortal will eventually outlive their mortal lover.
Meaningful Funeral: A well-liked character's funeral is shown for pathos.
Melancholy Musical Number: A sad song.
Mercy Kill: Having to kill someone because letting them live would just prolong their suffering.
Minor Insult Meltdown: A character who was annoyed by another means to only insult them minorly, but the other character takes it very badly.
The Mourning After: A person doesn't take the death or leaving of their significant other very well.
Particularly horrific cases of the Moral Event Horizon.
My God, What Have I Done?: A character is consumed with guilt over what they have done.
My Greatest Failure: The hero is haunted by an incident where they failed to save someone they cared about.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Think loved ones dying is sad already? Not getting a chance to say goodbye before then is even worse.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A person gets punished for doing what is right.
Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying over You subverts this for comedy.
Not So Stoic: The Stoic has suffered so much that they lose their façade and reveal themselves to be emotionally vulnerable after all, temporarily or otherwise.
One Last Song: The last thing someone hears before dying is a song.
One-Person Birthday Party: A person who has to celebrate their birthday alone because they have no friends.
One-Woman Wail: If the melancholy, wordless singing of a woman or a young boy is heard in the score, things have gone south.
Outliving One's Offspring: A parent ends up outliving their child.
Parting Words Regret: A character is upset about the last thing they said to a loved one before they died.
Personal Horror: Low self esteem or similar, Played for Drama.
Planning for the Future Before the End: It can be very depressing to see someone promise something that, due to incoming death, can't possibly be kept.
Player Punch: A moment in a Video Game that exploits the player's emotional connection to the fictional world and its characters to upset them, such as the death of a likable ally.
Playing the Heart Strings: String music used for emotional moments.
Please, Don't Leave Me: A character desperately begs their loved ones to not go away and leave them.
Please Wake Up: Someone assumes that a dead person is just sleeping, which can end in tragedy when they try to get the dead person to wake up.
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Even if the plot does mandate it, it can be disheartening to see an established fridnship fail to last.
Post-Support Regret: A character believes in their Best Friend despite their bad behavior and does everything to support them, only to be broken-hearted when the friend proves to not be a good person at all.
Prank Gone Too Far: The Practical Joke is mercifully not lethal, but the victim isn't laughing.
Protagonist Journey to Villain: The story is about a hero gradually turning to the dark side, with tragedy inevitably to occur from watching how the good guy became bad and what he starts doing once he's evil.
Rape as Backstory: It's sad that this person's past involved getting raped.
Rape as Drama: A character getting raped is played completely seriously.
Really Dead Montage: After a character dies, a montage of scenes where they were alive is played solely to accentuate that the dead character is never coming back and actually is gone for good.
Redemption Equals Death: A character dies after reforming.
Reformed, but Rejected: No one will accept you even if you had a change of heart.
Rejected Apology: A character rejecting another's apology can be heartbreaking.
Restricted Rescue Operation: No matter what you do you can't save everyone.
Reunion Vow: Someone promises to see another person again, but it seems unlikely they ever will.
Running Away to Cry: Someone is too embarrassed to cry in public, so they run away to cry.
Sad Clown: A jokester is revealed to be using their sense of humor to hide their pain and insecurities.
Say My Name: Not always sad, but one reason one character may yell another's name is because something bad happened to the second one.
Separated by the Wall: Two characters are separated by a wall, which symbolises a serious problem that's keeping them apart.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: A grumpy character is depressed and distraught on the inside.
Shoo Out the Clowns: The humorous characters are left out to make things more serious and tragic.
Shoo the Dog: It can be heartbreaking to see someone trying to force their beloved pet to leave.
Shoot the Dog: A person is forced to do something not very nice because there's no other option.
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: A character dies and their efforts turn out to be pointless to add insult to injury.
Simple Score of Sadness: Slow, soft Background Music indicates a sad scene.
Single Tear: A character has one teardrop.
Skyward Scream: Sometimes can be sad if the reason the character is screaming is due to despair.
Sole Survivor: An entire team is killed except for one surviving member.
So Proud of You: While usually a happy trope, it can be sad if the person was discouraged before being told this, or if something like "Your father would have been proud of you" is said.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Two lovers for some reason cannot be together.
Starts with Their Funeral: We know the protagonist will die as it begins with their funeral.
Stay with Me Until I Die: Someone knows they're dying and asks another to stay with them.
Finding out someone is a Stepford Smiler, especially if the reason they're sad inside is extremely heartbreaking.
Stood Up: Two characters try to get together but one never shows up.
Survivor Guilt: A character feels guilty because others died.
Take Care of the Kids: A person about to die asks for someone to look after their children once they are gone.
Taken for Granite: A living life-form is turned to stone by dark magic, frozen forever in time. It's sad when the other characters find out what happened to them (unless they were a villain). Usually, there is a way to return them to normal, but not always.
Taken Off Life Support: A person on life support has their machine unplugged with the reasoning that it's hopeless for their loved ones to keep waiting for the person to recover.
Taking the Bullet: Jumping into harm's way to save someone who would've died had action not been taken.
Targeted to Hurt the Hero: A character who is hurt or killed off to torment another character who cares about them.
Tear Dryer: A heartwarming moment comes right after a sad scene.
Tears of Remorse: When a character cries over a horrible thing he's done.
Tender Tears: A character cries out of kindness/sensitivity.
Then Let Me Be Evil: A person really tried to be good, but so many people insisted on seeing the worst in them that they've submitted to being as bad as those people accused them of being.
The One That Got Away (if storytelling is done beautifully in a tragic way)
Together in Death: A couple dies together.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: A wholesome and kindhearted character dies in a Crapsack World.
Too Injured to Save: A person who is dying, but no one can do anything to help him now.
"Too Young to Die" Lamentation: A young person pleads that they don't want to die because of how much they haven't experienced yet.
Tortured Monster: A monster feels so much pain that they would rather cease to exist than continue living as they are.
Tragic Bigot: A bigot whose prejudice stems from a painful or traumatic experience inflicted upon them by a member of the group.
Tragic Dream: It can be very sad to see someone accept that they have a dream that will never come true.
Tragic Hero: A flawed character who's doomed to fail.
Tragic Keepsake: Keeping a dead loved one's object.
Tragic Monster: Someone is turned into a monster and is miserable because of it.
Tragic Robot: A robot with an emotional plot.
Tragic Stillbirth: It's sad that the would-be parents' child died before it was even born.
Tragic Villain: The villain knows that what they're doing is wrong, but feels that it's too late for them to redeem themselves.
True Art Is Angsty, for when having enough tragedy will award a work with critical acclaim.
Twisted Christmas: Something terrible happens on Christmas.
Undying Loyalty: Nothing gets the tears flowing quite like seeing a servant or companion who will still be with their employer or friend even if they have every reason to abandon them.
Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: A character never lets go of their unrequited love.
Unstoppable Rage: Anger makes a character able to kick butt.
The Unwitting Comedian: Everyone laughs at this guy even though he wasn't trying to be funny.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: It's sad that this villain or jerk was a lot nicer as a child.
Utsuge: A sad, Japanese video game.
Vengeance Feels Empty: The character doesn't feel any satisfaction in repaying another with revenge.
Villainous BSoD: The gravity of the villain's offenses crushes them and they completely shut down as a result.
Villainous Breakdown: If the villain is sympathetic and was committing their misdeeds out of a misguided effort of doing right, then it can be upsetting to see them fly into a berserk tantrum over their plans being thwarted.
War Is Hell: The story focuses on the downsides of warfare, such as countless people getting killed and the soldiers fighting in the war being traumatized by the bloodshed they had to endure.
Was It All a Lie?: Someone finds out that a person had lied to them and ponders whether the fabrication means everything involving their relationship with this person was insincere.
Was It Really Worth It?: It can be sad to see someone question whether achieving their goal was truly worth what they had to do to make it possible.
Was Too Hard on Him: A character feels bad when he has to scold another, especially if it's really harsh.
Watching Troy Burn: Your home or a place you love is being destroyed and all you can do is watch.
"Well Done, Son!" Guy: It's sad that this person never gets any respect from their father.
We Used to Be Friends: It's really gut-wrenching to watch former friends become antagonistic towards each other.
Widowed at the Wedding: It's tragic that this person became a widow or widower because their spouse got killed immediately after they were wed.
The Woobie is from this trope.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: A character who's had it rough is driven by their misery to cause a lot of destruction and death.
Yank the Dog's Chain: A suffering person looks like they'll have fortune smile on them for once, but have their chance at happiness ruined at the last minute.
You Are Not Alone: A character brightens up a sad character's day.
You Are Worth Hell: A character joins their Love Interest in a terrible situation.
You Can't Go Home Again: A character is destined to never go home.
You Have Failed Me: Especially to a really lovable character.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: A villain kills an underling due to finding them no longer useful.
Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: A person gets upset because another person praises them for doing something that they know is wrong.
You're Not My Father: It can really sting to see someone deny that their parent or parental figure is their parent to said parent or parental figure's face.