Tear Jerker / Night Watch (Series)

• Night Watch:
  • The end of first story in "Night Watch", when Anton, made by witch Alisa, reveals to Egor that he was just a pawn not only of Zavulon, but also of Gesar, in order to initiate Svetlana as Light Other. This leads to Anton's and Egor's Cynicism Catalyst, and the latter's refusal to be an Other.
  • The end of the second story is even worse. Anton finds the killer of Dark Others, Maxim, and is happy to know that Zavulon's plans are ruined... only to learn that the whole event was organized by Gesar to increase Svetlana's level.
• Day Watch:
  • It's hard not feel some pity for Alisa, who was recovering in summer camp (she lost a significant amount of magic on a field job) and fell in love in one of its workers, Igor... and learnt that he's a Light Other of Night Watch, who was recovering just as she, and also felt in love, knowing nothing about her being a Dark witch. They find out who/what the other is at the same time. It gets even worse, when Zavulon reveals that the whole situation was staged by him to make Igor kill Alisa... which exactly what happens.
  • At the end of Day Watch, the Watches and the Inquisition hold a trial and summon both Alisa and Igor to find out what happened. They ask Alisa if Igor was the one to kill her, after they heard her story... and she shakes her head and points at Zavulon.
• Twilight Watch:
  • Kostja's death. Made worse by the fact that, while he thinks of Kostja dying alone in space, Anton remembers the day Kostja first turned into a bat and learned how to fly.
• Last Watch::
  • Anton gets to the layer of the Twilight where the Dead Others reside, and there he meets the characters that had died so far in the series. He also gets a chance to meet Konstantin and reconcile with him, with the vampire asking him to tell Gennadij that both him and Polina are waiting for him. While sad and touching, it is also a pretty sweet moment.
• In The Sixth Watch:
  • when Anton is about to be killed by the Two-In-One, he looks at Svetlana and Nadya and tries to smile for them. Even if he doesn't actually die, he considers being Brought Down to Normal a Fate Worse than Death. If you think about it, he has to adjust to living without magic, which he was absolutely dependent on, he can no longer work in the Night Watch.... and his wife and daughter have to watch him grow old and die.
    • The published first chapter from the next book "Eternal Watch" confirms this: Anton is not just stripped of his magic - his "magical temperature" is raised unfathomably high, and ordinary Others cannot stay long around him or else they start going crazy from the influx of power he radiates. This includes his wife and daughter, and as a result he can only spend one day a week with them. There're subtle hints that might be suicidal.
  • the Tiger's Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Anton's helplessness and despair as he watches Nadya prepare to become the Grandmother of Grandmothers, the leader of the witches' Conclave, sacrificing her youth in the process. Luckily, it's averted.

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