Tear Jerker / The Count of Monte Cristo

• When Dantes grills Caderousse for details on what happened after he was imprisoned, he learns that the men who betrayed him have prospered and risen to high positions in Parisian society, Mercedes married Mondego, and his father starved himself to death out of grief for his lost son.
• Pierre Morrel is the only one who vouched for Edmond when the man was framed and sent to prison. He suffers bankruptcy and contemplates suicide. The Count has to intervene and pay off his debts, letting the man die happy and knowing his son is financially secure.
• Mercedes is the only person who recognizes her former fiancée. She doesn't tell anyone, however, and instead intervenes when her son by Edmond's rival wants to duel the Count of Monte Cristo to the Death. She begs her former lover to spare her son out of the love they once shared.
  • Her son Albert is also ashamed and horrified when he learns the truth, calling off the duel quickly. He and his mother agree to give up his father's fortune and spend a life humbly restoring their honor.
  • It's clear that in another world, Mercedes and the count could have gotten back together. They acknowledge, however, that the time for rekindling their relationship has long passed. The Count could forgive Mercedes for marrying her cousin and his rival if not for what said rival did to him. Mercedes also sees that Edmond is too far gone in his path for revenge.
• The Count's own horror when he gets a nine-year-old boy killed due to his schemes. He wanted revenge and to ensure the people who imprisoned him were destroyed, but he didn't want that.
  • As horrible Villefort was, his fall into madness is both scary and sad. The last coherent thought that comes through his mind is that the Count is stealing his son's corpse (he is trying to resuscitate the boy.)