The TV series
- Several throughout the series.
- One of Armadillo's victims tells Claudette and Dutch how Armadillo raped her, then forced her to have a dove to 'remember him by.' She tears up as she recounts the story and even worse, her boyfriend rejected her and sent her out packing once she came back. The usually unflappable Claudette and Dutch can't hide their disgust and sadness.
- Even worse when the dove tattoo appears on a little girl.
- Acevada's assault and the aftermath. Aceveda might be a swarmy prick, and a hypocrite to boot, but the heartwrenching detail we see in how he copes with the assault is played frighteningly straight makes it really hard not to feel bad for the guy. His wife's reaction is also a big tearjerker, as it's a sadly all too common response to assault victims.
- Rawling laying into Antwon about his past in an attempt to unnerve him and get him to spill what he knows. Despite being a borderline sociopath and an unrepentant criminal and murderer, it's hard not to feel bad for the guy. He even sheds tears when confronted with his childhood trauma. Even Vic is shocked by Rawlings' methods, and quietly implores Antwon to cooperate.
- Lem's death at the end of the fifth season.
- Shane realizing that he basically killed Lem for no reason. His guilt is so crushing that he considers committing suicide. Shane might be a bigoted dickhead, and an even wilder version of Vic. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy.
- Shane's breakdown and admitting to Mara that he killed Lem. They'd been going through a rough patch because of Shane's infidelity, but the sheer sorrow and crushing guilt in Shane's voice makes Mara feel sympathy for him, and she takes him back.
- Vic confronting Shane over killing Lem, while lesser writers would have turned this into a shouting match (or a shooting match...or both). Vic and Shane combine heartbreak, disappointment, despair, and anger over what has happened. It's also sad to see these two men who were once close like brothers have their relationship falter like this. It only gets worse from then on.
- Shane killing himself, Mara, and their son Jackson. For as much of a pain in the ass and a horrible human being as Shane is, the way he went out was so horrific and heartbreaking that you can't blame people for feeling bad about his fate. Even Vic is horrified by what Shane did.
- Claudette reading Shane's suicide note to Vic. Even though the two had fallen out and become rivals by the time of Shane's death, Vic can't help but be shocked and horrified by it. He even fights back tears as Claudette reads the note, knowing that Shane's fate is a direct result of his actions.
- Shane's suicide note in general. He notes he wishes he never met Vic."I guess enough painkillers can make even the worst kind of hurt go away. The thing you need to know is that Mara was innocent, and Jackson was innocent. They didn't know what they were drinking, and their last moments together were happy ones. They left the way I first found them: perfect and innocent. They were innocent, and they're in heaven now, and we'll always be a family. The guilty ones are me and Vic. Vic led, but I kept following. I don't think one's worse than the other, but we made each other into something worse than our individual selves. I wish I'd never met him. I see it all now. There's no apologies I can make, no explanations I can give. I was who I was, and I can't be that person anymore. I can't let myself..."
- Ronnie being arrested in front of Vic. Ronnie was complicit in the Strike Team's schemes and certainly deserved to face the consequences of his actions, but his breakdown once he realizes he was set up as the fall guy for the Strike Team's crimes is devastating. Vic being forced to watch is just twisting the knife, even if he's a grade-A Asshole Victim by this point.
- In the series finale, Vic's utter despair upon realizing that he will never see his family again after they got put into witness protection and the bombshell that his new job at ICE will have him essentially chained to a desk for three years.
The Wrestling Stable
- While Seth betraying Dean and Roman isn't particularly sad, Dean's reaction definitely qualifies it as such.
- This fan-art is certain that it brings this
◊ up to eleven. - What really sells it is the guy in the crowd's Big "NO!".
- October 22, 2018. Unarguably the worst night in the entire history of the stable, above even Seth's betrayal on June 2, 2014:
- The night begins with Roman forced to vacate the Universal Championship... because his leukemia returned. After he was done, he set down the title in the middle of the ring and met up with Dean and Seth at the top of the ramp, where they shared one last long hug and fist bump together. Seth was straight up bawling, while Dean had a Thousand-Yard Stare on his face, like he couldn't believe this was happening.
- Now, fast forward to the end of RAW. Dean and Seth have sworn to win the Tag Titles in Roman's name, and after a hard-fought match, they succeed. They're in the middle of a celebration. And then Dean finally snaps. On the one night they needed to stand together, the one night they needed each other, all that pent up emotion that had been building inside Dean ever since his return, and perhaps even before that, finally reaches its boiling point, and he breaks. He attacks Seth, beating him savagely and shouting at him incoherently, while everyone, from the audience to the commentators, watch on in shocked horror. And the worst part? The worst part is that Seth didn't even try to fight back. Instead, he told Dean that it was "okay", that he understood, and tried to bring his brother back to his senses, only to become more and more disheartened as the beating continued. At the end of it all, Dean rips off his Shield vest and leaves, while Seth lies in a broken heap in tears, realizing that he's lost both his brothers again, and this time, he might very well never get them back.
- The fact that the original Shield may never reunite on WWE TV again with Ambrose now Jon Moxley gone to AEW.
