20 More Most Heartbreaking Moments in TV History

20 More Most Heartbreaking Moments in TV History

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down more of our picks for the most tragic and tear-jerking TV scenes of all time. This list reveals massive plot points from most of these shows, so a spoiler alert is in effect.

#20: Kevin’s Last Voiceover

“The Wonder Years” (1988-93)
For six seasons, Kevin Arnold pines for his childhood friend, Winnie Cooper, and narrates his coming-of-age through an almost unrelentingly nostalgic lens. While the two do end up getting together later in the series, all is not as it seems. In the series finale, the two spend a romantic night together, and Kevin leaves us with one final narration that pulls the curtain back on a lot of its rosy-eyed view of adolescence. He tells us that in the intervening years, his father passes away and he and Winnie move on without each other. In an instant, “The Wonder Years” reminds us that it’s not about happily ever after. It’s about the fleeting innocence and wonder of childhood.

#19: Marissa’s Death

“The O.C.” (2003-07)
Fans knew actress Mischa Barton was leaving the show at the end of season three, but no one was prepared for what a gut punch it would be. Marissa Cooper and Ryan Atwood went through a lot together. But it was a dangerous ex, Kevin Volchok, who proved to be her downfall. Kevin drives Ryan and Marissa’s car off the road. Ryan carries her from the wreckage as a mournful song plays, and she dies in Ryan’s arms. It’s not just a proper sendoff. It’s almost operatic, played for maximum drama, and we’re still not over it.

#18: Over the Top

“Blackadder” (1983-89)
The fourth series of this historical comedy follows Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder as a fearful captain in the First World War. Highlighting the folly and madness of war itself, the final episode sees him and his men having to face their fate. The jokes come to a halt as they realize what they’ll have to do. In slow-motion, we watch as they run into battle, and seemingly to their deaths. Previous incarnations of Blackadder had managed to dodge all sorts of period-based deaths and mishaps. But even he can’t avoid the all-encompassing destruction of modern warfare. Audiences couldn’t believe the show went there.

#17: Matt Buries His Father

“Friday Night Lights” (2006-11)
Not even Matt Saracen’s successes on the football field can bond him with his father, Henry. The two’s rocky relationship is marked by tension and misunderstanding. In season four, Henry is killed in Iraq. In the aftermath, we watch as Matt becomes distant and volatile, simultaneously having to process his father’s death and their lifelong emotional distance. But the part that really gets us is at Henry’s funeral when Matt stays at the gravesite. He grabs a shovel and takes it upon himself to bury his father. For a show that constantly tugged at our heartstrings, they went way too far with this one.

#16: Kristina’s Goodbye Message

“Parenthood” (2010-15)
Over six seasons, we saw the Braverman family go through an emotional rollercoaster, but they always managed to pull through with humor and genuine care for each other. But Kristina Braverman’s cancer diagnosis was one of the show’s most emotional storylines. In season 4, when sepsis lands her in the hospital, Kristina directs her husband to a video she recorded for their children in the event of her death. The idea alone is devastating, but seeing Kristina bare her soul for what may be her children’s last memory of her is easily “Parenthood’s” most harrowing scene.

#15: Candy’s Funeral

“Pose” (2018-21)
Set amid the New York City ball culture of the 1980s, the FX series constantly dished out wit and fabulousness. But it was also true to the lives of the performers who inspired it. In season 2, Candy Ferocity is murdered. Her friends, colleagues, and even a few enemies gather at her funeral, where the venerable community elder Pray Tell delivers a eulogy about the lasting legacy of Candy. But it’s much bigger than that. It’s a tribute to all the real-life people who inspired her, and who were cut down in their prime due to the same transphobic violence.

#14: Jen’s Video to Her Daughter

“Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003)
Before she went on to become a multi-time Oscar nominated performer, Michelle Williams was introduced to audiences on “Dawson’s Creek.” In the series finale, a five-year time jump sees Jen Lindley as a young, single mother who is dying of a fatal heart condition. Longtime friend and sometime lover Dawson helps her record a video to leave behind. As if it weren’t heartbreaking enough listening to her list all the things she needs her daughter to know and understand about life, Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” starts to play. If you want to ruin a millennial’s whole day, just remind them of this scene.

#13: The Talent Show

“Derry Girls” (2018-22)
This beloved comedy is constantly contrasting the goofy coming-of-age antics of a bunch of Northern Irish girls and the death and destruction of the Troubles. This was never more affecting than in the first season finale. Just when we think things are ending on a light note with an innocent, kind of embarrassing, but ultimately hilarious dance at the school talent show, the show pulls the rug out from under us. The moment is suddenly juxtaposed with a news bulletin about a deadly bombing. It drives home the point that while these girls are at least trying to have a normal existence, there is always the looming threat of terrorism, violence, and war.

#12: Denise Comes Out

“Master of None” (2015-21)
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s acclaimed dramedy took us deep on the character of Denise in this Emmy-winning holiday episode. The defining moment sees her finally coming out as gay to her mother, Catherine, played to brilliant effect by Angela Bassett. As Catherine digests her daughter’s admission, we’re treated to inserts and flashbacks to all the signs of Denise’s true self throughout the years. In some ways, all the signs were there for her mother to read. The intrusion of past conversations and interactions on the present moment illuminates the profound emotional weight of Denise’s coming out.

#11: Emily Demands to Go First

“Gilmore Girls” (2000-07)
Richard Gilmore lands in the hospital with angina in this season-one episode. Between the fast-paced dialogue, “Gilmore Girls” managed to slip in a truly devastating moment. Emily Gilmore gave new meaning to the word staunch. She is demanding and perfect almost to a fault, and it’s rare to see the cracks in her facade. But when faced with Richard’s mortality, she makes one more demand: that she die first because she can’t bear to live without him. Of course, Richard agrees. It’s one of the all too infrequent looks at the softer side of Emily.

#10: Rue’s Eulogy to Her Dad

“Euphoria” (2019-)
The death of Rue’s father is commonly cited as one of the main reasons she developed substance use disorder at such a young age. Season 2 delves deeper into this pivotal moment of her life. At the funeral, Rue’s eulogy to her father is interspersed with their best and most tender times together. This would be heartrending enough with the context. But it snaps all of her pain and self-destruction into focus. Because as much as the memories of her father mean to her, they also fuel all the agony that she tries to dull with substances.

#9: Jack’s Death

“This Is Us” (2016-22)
The parallel storylines of two different generations of relatives was milked to dramatic and bittersweet heights over six seasons of “This Is Us.” We got to see the Pearsons at their lowest. But nothing could ever top the revelation of Jack Pearson’s death. A fire on Super Bowl Sunday 1998 rocks the family’s lives. Jack is the last out of the burning house, with the family dog in his arms. But his heroics come at a price. He dies from a heart attack at the hospital, leaving his wife and children behind. Rebecca’s shock at his sudden and unfair passing isn’t just realistic, it’s exactly how we feel seeing it.

#8: ICE Arrests Mateo

“Superstore” (2015-21)
In its fourth season finale, “Superstore” treated an ICE raid with its characteristic humor at first. The company’s upper management sends immigration agents to the store for Mateo, who is an undocumented immigrant, and the Cloud 9 employees all come up with increasingly wacky diversions. But the reality sets in that there’s no way to curb the inevitable. Mateo is taken by the agents while his devastated coworkers can do nothing but watch. Despite all the exaggerated sitcom trappings, it’s a sobering twist.

#7: Dr. Greene’s Goodbye

“ER” (1994-2009)
Dr. Mark Greene was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor in the seventh season. By the end of season eight, Greene was on his deathbed, with his family at his side. Given the constant rush of the emergency room, it’s fitting that Greene instead spends his last moments in a serene and peaceful state. He dies in Hawaii, as Israel Kamakawiwoʻole[a]’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow” plays. Mark Greene was a longtime figure on “ER,” and probably the closest thing the ensemble medical drama had to a lead character. No matter how much changed at Cook County General Hospital, Dr. Greene remained. Losing him threatened to upend the entire show.

#6: Charlie’s Death

“Lost” (2004-10)
Amid the metaphysical mysteries of this game-changing survival drama, we could never be certain that any character was safe, no matter how beloved. Charlie Pace was a beloved fixture on the program’s first three seasons. But once season 3 came, the writing was on the wall for him. He makes the ultimate sacrifice by sealing himself in an airtight room when the villainous Mikhail detonates a grenade, causing a flood of water to rush into the Looking Glass station. By sealing himself in, he makes sure his fellow survivors can get away, drowning himself in the process.

#5: Jane’s Death

“Breaking Bad” (2008-13)
Any idea that Walter White is just a good guy trying to do well by his family all but evaporates at this moment. His associate in a growing drug empire has begun seeing Jane, a troubled but loving young woman who also has a substance use disorder. But she threatens Walt with blackmail. Happening upon the unconscious couple after they’ve used, Walt sees Jane struggling to breathe and actively decides not to save her from choking to death. It’s a harrowing and disturbingly realistic demise that ultimately proves one thing. Walt is willing to destroy Jesse’s life and happiness in order to serve his own ends.

#4: Adriana’s Death

“The Sopranos” (1999-2007)
Adriana La Cerva’s sass and ability to stretch monosyllabic words into four or five syllables made her a fan favorite. But when Christopher Moltisanti’s longtime fiancée became an FBI informant in the fourth season, it became clear that her time was going to be up sooner rather than later. Her last episode is an experiment in terror. She’s taken for one last ride into the woods by Soprano family enforcer Silvio Dante. It’s almost too much to watch as she fights and begs for her life because we knew it was over the moment she got in that car with him. The only comfort is that she’s one of the few deaths to happen off-screen.

#3: The Doctor & Rose Say Goodbye

“Doctor Who” (1963-89; 1996; 2005-)
When you’re an immortal, interdimensional being who has to sometimes jump between planes of existence at a moment’s notice, you probably meet more people than most. But no one had quite the impact on the Doctor that Rose Tyler had. When the two are separated by a dimension breach in “Doomsday,” it’s one of the long-running sci-fi series’ most wrenching scenes. The two are able to meet on a beach via hologram for one last time. However, before the Doctor can tell her he loves her, his hologram fails and the two are separated forever. The entire episode is a perfect fusion of science fiction, fantasy, and bittersweet romance.

#2: James Sr. Dies

“Good Times” (1974-79)
This Norman Lear spin-off dealt with the Evans family, a working class African American family living in a Chicago housing project. The fourth season saw the Evanses prepping to move to Mississippi for better opportunities, but their dream came crashing down in one utterly tragic moment. When lead actor John Amos was fired in 1976, the writers killed off the family patriarch, James Sr., in an off-screen car accident. They receive the news at the worst possible time: in the middle of a going-away party with all their neighbors and friends. His widow Florida Evans’ grief hit the hardest. “Good Times” continued on without James, but things were never quite the same.

#1: Archie Alone

“Archie Bunker’s Place” (1979-83)
After “All in the Family” ended in 1979, the Bunkers actually lived on in a sequel series. But viewers began to see less and less of his beloved wife, Edith. Then, when “Archie Bunker’s Place” returned for its second season, Edith was written out and Archie was left a widower. After he finds one of her slippers, the normally stoic Archie begins speaking to his deceased wife as if she’s in the room with him. Then, we watch him fall apart with sobs as he faces the reality that his wife is really gone. It’s a far cry from the irascible, angry Archie Bunker we’re used to seeing.

What heartbreaking TV moment is forever burned in your memory? Tell us in the comments.


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