The show retains a lot of emotional moments from the books, and adds some new ones, so there's tears aplenty.
Spoilers Off applies to all "Moments" pages, so all spoilers are unmarked.
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Season 1
Episode 8 - Bad Blood
- Pretty much everything surrounding Simon's turning. Clary reminiscing about Simon's bar mitzvah as they bury him and promising that no matter what happens, he will always be that boy to her, Luke admitting he nearly killed himself to avoid becoming a werewolf when Clary comes to ask him for advice, Simon sobbing and retching trying to say "God".....why must He Really Can Act always come at such a high price?
Episode 9 - Rise Up
- And in the very next episode, Simon screams "You Monster!" at Raphael... then a horrified expression slides over his face as he realizes that means he's a monster, too.
Episode 10 - This World Inverted
- Isabelle's dead-eyed expression when she tells Meliorn they won't be seeing each other anymore. It's not just a girl breaking up with her sometimes-boyfriend, it's a woman making hard sacrifices for her family.
Episode 13 - Morning Star
- Jace's story about the falcon, and his conviction that love means destruction. It's one of the first, best signs that his father fucked him up on a deep level.
Season 2
Episode 3- Parabatai Lost
- Magnus desperately begging Alec to come back after refusing to leave his side and trying everything to wake him up.
Episode 4 - A Day of Wrath
- The devastation on Magnus' face when sees that Raphael was tortured by Aldertree to extract information about Camille. Despite not being involved with any of her actions, it's Raphael who has had to suffer the consequences.Magnus: Oh, Raphael.
Raphael: I didn't know where else to go.
Magnus: My poor boy. Everything's gonna be alright. I'm going to take care of you. C'mon... - Magnus is obviously sickened when he realizes that Raphael's torture was also a way for Aldertree to, by extension, punish and hurt him.
- And then it gets even worse when Raphael reveals that if he doesn't fix a mistake he never created, then Aldertree and the Clave will slaughter all 50+ members of the New York Clan.
Episode 5- Dust and Shadows
- Clary breaking down during Jocelyn's funeral.
Episode 8 - Love Is a Devil
- It's bad enough that Maryse emotionally abandoned Jace and was willing to kill him on the Clave's orders, but she's been telling Max that Jace isn't really his brother.
- Alec's hallucinations of Clary calling him a murderer and taunting him over his guilt over Jocelyn's death and his ensuing suicide attempt.
- Even worse, the real Clary is there trying to save him, but she can't because the spell prevents him from hearing her.
Episode 9 - Bound By Blood
- Raphael knows how to cook, despite not having any need to eat, because his "little sister" is a 78-year-old Mundane living in a nursing home and he brings home-cooked meals to her every Sunday. She doesn't recognize him anymore, but he still does it.
Episode 10 - By the Light of Dawn
- When Simon thanks Jace for saving him, he notes (with a great measure of guilt) that he almost killed him by drinking his blood. Jace comments very somberly "And I would have let you."
- Tons of Downworlders, including Alaric, die because of the Soul Sword. Simon even stops to mourn the loss of Alaric, because "no one deserves to die like that".
Episode 12 - You Are Not Your Own
- The torture that Magnus goes through in Valentine's body. The Agony Rune makes him relive his worst memories, most notably his mother's suicide, and Magnus is in so much pain that he's sobbing and screaming for his mama.
- What pushes this episode into Nightmare Fuel territory is that almost no one believes Magnus, to the point that he is nearly executed. He desperately tries to convince his friends of his true identity, but even Alec looks at him with disgust and hate until Magnus tells him things only he could know.
Episode 14 - The Fair Folk
- In the Seelie Court, Simon and Jace are held in vines with Clary told they can only be freed if she kisses the one she loves more. She kisses Simon but the vines don't fade. So she kisses Jace and they're freed. A heartbroken Simon realizes this means Clary really loves Jace more.
- The episode ends with Clary going to Simon's room, begging him to talk to her but he just tunes her out to listen to his music.
Episode 15 - A Problem of Memory
- Magnus is struggling with PTSD due to the torture he went through in episode 12.
- The real Sebastian is brutally murdered right as he was about to reunite with his cousin.
Episode 20 - Beside Still Water
- Jace is killed by Valentine in front of a horrified Clary. Alec feels him dying through their parabatai rune and even as Clary begs him not to close his eyes, Jace's last words are to comfort her and confess his love for her.
Season 3
Episode 3 - What Lies Beneath
- Raphael has one more talk with his sister Rosa. Raphael is almost tearful as he tells this senile woman how her beloved brother gave her a final hug goodbye and "to always watch the stars as they're just like the ones in Mexico."
- Becomes more heartbreaking when he learns she died and with her goes the last tether Raphael had to his former life. He leans on Izzy for support as he sees photos he's had taken with Rosa over the decades, her aging while he remains the same.
- The worst part: The funeral is during the day so he can't even attend.
Episode 5 - Stronger Than Heaven
- Alec discovers that Magnus keeps a box full of mementos from loved ones that have passed away, and after Alec confronts him with it Magnus says he would forget them if he didn't. The whole scene gets truly heartbreaking when Alec (and the viewer with him) realizes his own mortality, and that one day he will die and be an object in that box. Magnus doesn't even want to think about that point in time, but he must have been through this dozens of times over the centuries, considering how many reminders he has.
- Smaller in comparison, but despite it being understandable that Magnus doesn't want them to live together quite so soon, it's difficult not to feel for Alec when you see his disappointment. Matthew Daddario's face just falls. No matter how small, understandable, or kindly delivered a rejection, it clearly still hurts and many members of the audience can probably relate to how it would sting.
Episode 7 - Salt In the Wound
- Clary's horrible nightmare come to life: Discovering Jace is the Owl, him bluntly stating "I don't love you" and then throwing her off a roof onto a car.
- Just as Simon is getting on common ground with roommate Kyle, he discovers he's the werewolf who turned Maia, who's clearly freaked out at the mere sight of him.
- In flashbacks, we see the duo were truly in love with Kyle turned and his anger at it driving Maia to break up with him. He transformed after an argument with her, worried he had killed her only to find out he had turned her instead. He then ran off, unable to face her, leaving a crying and bloody Maia with no idea what had happened.
Episode 8 - A Heart of Darkness
- Jace begs Alec and Izzy to put him out of his misery so Lilith can't keep him under her control. They both promise to save him but the episode ends with Lilith recapturing him.
Episode 9 - Familia Ante Omnia
- Heidi manipulates a starving Simon into drinking from his big sister until she is half-dead. Just as he's realizing what happened, his mom grabs a kitchen knife and orders him to leave and never come back.Elaine: You hurt her again and it will be the last thing you ever do, I swear to God! You stay away. You stay away from this family! Or I swear to God, I will kill you.Simon: Mom...Elaine: You are not my son. You're a monster. Get out!
Episode 10 - Erchomai
- Jace is finally broken free of Lilith's control but not before the Owl has stabbed Alec, possibly fatally.
- Jace goes to help Clary but when he arrives there's been an explosion and the only thing left is a disheveled Simon who tells him Clary is dead. Jace's reaction is devastating.
- There's also Simon brainwashing his mother into believing that he's dead to protect her from Heidi. As he does it, he says that "his" last thoughts were how much he'd miss his mother. He then leaves the room and breaks down in Izzy's arms crying as his mom can be heard sobbing, now believing the lie.
- Magnus is in Edom trying to bargain with Asmodeus for help when his father throws their history together back in his face.Asmodeus: Say what you will about the time we spent together, but you have to admit, you enjoyed every minute of it.
Episode 17 - Heavenly Fire
- Alec has prepared a wonderful romantic dinner so he can propose to Magnus. Magnus shows up drunk as, without his powers, he feels useless and also growing older. He tears into how Alec may be happy as a mundane but Magnus isn't. Rather than propose, Alec just holds Magnus as the man sobs.
