Tear Jerker / Taskmaster

• Even though Alex and Greg constantly break character on their silly joke of being a dysfunctional gay couple, Alex spends enough time looking heartbroken that you can't help but feel sad for him.
  Alex: I wanted to tell you something I've never told you before. I love you. I want you to look at me the way I look at you.
  Greg: I can imagine. Finished? OK.
• In Series 1's "The Poet and the Egg", to accomplish the task requesting that they get an egg as high up as possible without breaking it, Josh Widdicombe and Frank Skinner each have the idea to throw the egg up in the air and have it land in a way where it's protected from damage by a paper shield (in Josh's case, crumpling up a bunch of paper and making a pile on the ground for the egg to land on; in Frank's, wrapping the egg in paper layers and catching it in his hands). While it goes smoothly for Josh (whose egg doesn't break despite him throwing it in the air twice for no particular reason, with it hitting the ground both times), Frank's trial doesn't turn out so well. In his attempt to catch the egg, he awkwardly falls over as the egg slips from his grip and lands on the ground. Unwrapping the paper, Frank is disappointed to see that the egg did break, and tosses it to the side as he walks away, dejected. The whole reveal is set to melancholy music and gives the silly bit of physical comedy an unexpected sense of tragedy.
  Greg: Difficult to know what was sadder - the image of you losing your eggy friend or you falling over.
• The infamous disqualification of Joe Wilkinson's potato throw in Series 2's "Fear of Failure". His outright glee in accomplishing the task in a single throw radiates both in the pre-recorded clip and in the studio reactions, and it all immediately dissipates upon seeing the replay showing his foot grazing the mat. His unheeded pleas to be spared from disqualification only exacerbate the sadness.
  Joe: Please don't take it away from me.
• In "Air Horn Andy," despite being the only one displaying genuine talent in building beer mat houses, Johnny Vegas has a meltdown as his beer mat house keeps collapsing in between him rushing to the front door to ring the doorbell. It is made even more heartbreaking with the sad ambient piano music in the background and Johnny's crestfallen expression when the episode cuts back to the studio.
• On the podcast, Katherine Parkinson confirms that she was genuinely hurt when Greg made fun of her clay masks (for which he apologized profusely both on and off camera) and that she has stopped making them... if only because she has moved on to acrylics.
• Bridget, recreating the spaceflight of Laika the dog with a traffic cone.
  Bridget (as Laika): My name is Laika, and now I'm ready to die.
• Not once, but twice in Series 13, Judi is leading an episode but then loses on the final task.
• After the "have the best first dance at a wedding" task in "The Curse of Politeness", Mae hugs Alex and is then shown to be crying. In the studio, they reveal that they were once engaged and the task genuinely triggered some strong emotions.
• The 'poignant scene involving your imaginary friend' task from "It's My Milk Now" produces some unexpectedly yet impressively tragic performances, including Ivo's sense of crushed disappointment after his imaginary friend abandons him, Mae's tearful sadness after accidentally knocking their imaginary friend into a pan of soup, and Frankie's utter despair at shutting his imaginary friend in the oven.

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