We still haven't recovered from these TV moments. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those small screen episodes that left us reaching for our handkerchiefs.
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00:00I'll never forget him, but he forgot me a long, long time ago.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those small-screen episodes that left us reaching for our handkerchiefs.
00:11Before we get started, if you're adverse to spoilers, consider this your warning.
00:15He made a mistake.
00:18I'm sorry that everybody can't be as perfect as you, Uncle Phil.
00:22Number 20, Super Bowl Sunday, This Is Us.
00:28We don't doubt that the scheduling of this episode immediately after an actual Super Bowl immensely helped its ratings.
00:34It's the Super Bowl!
00:36That said, a lot of people were talking about This Is Us' Super Bowl Sunday after its airing.
00:41The death of a character is usually a difficult one for fans to process,
00:44but this episode also lent itself an air of realism that made Jack Pearson's demise feel all the more tragic.
00:50Jack, don't go back inside!
00:52Go back to the street! Go back to the street right now!
00:54Jack, get down here!
00:55I'll be right out!
00:56Jack!
00:57Come on, guys, come on, come on, come on.
01:02It only took a faulty switch on an old crockpot to spark the blaze that eventually consumed the Pearsons' home and killed Jack.
01:08Mrs. Pearson, your husband has died.
01:10This is a kitchen amenity many of us still own, and this seemingly innocuous detail makes the episode hit a lot harder.
01:16So I want to come here, I want to stop avoiding you, and I wanted to just talk to you.
01:21Just talk to you and just tell you that I'm sorry and tell you that I'm going to do better, okay?
01:29I'm going to be a man, and I'm going to do better.
01:31Number 19, Losing My Religion, Grey's Anatomy.
01:35I changed my dress three times.
01:37Two decades after its debut, fans are still flocking to this well-regarded medical drama.
01:41We stick together.
01:42A lot of that goodwill has to do with the show's writing, which has made fans laugh, cry, and everything in between since the very beginning.
01:49With its depiction of the death of one Denny Duquette, the episode, Losing My Religion, definitely falls within the cry category.
01:55Nothing can bring me peace.
01:59I've lost everything.
02:06It's a type of emotional bait-and-switch that was successfully attempted on the sitcom Growing Pains with a character played by Matthew Perry.
02:12I'll tell you the truth, I don't feel so hot.
02:14Denny's heart transplant seems like a success, at first anyway.
02:17By the end of the episode, though, things have gone south, the audience is in tears, and the writing of Shonda Rhimes has won out once again.
02:24If I just let you, would you run with me?
02:32Just forget who I am.
02:38Number 18, Heart of Ice, Batman The Animated Series.
02:42This is how I'll always remember you.
02:46Surrounded by winter, forever young, forever beautiful.
02:50Comic book fans know well that Batman has one of the finest ropes galleries in the medium.
02:55This sentiment was broadcast to a wider audience in the 90s with Batman The Animated Series.
03:00Freeze!
03:01The episode, Heart of Ice, is a textbook example of how to give villains worthwhile and believable motivations.
03:07Mr. Freeze is given an excellent backstory with Heart of Ice, one that differs greatly from his comparatively silly comic book origins.
03:16Here, it's Freeze's love for his sick wife Nora that drives him to crime.
03:20Tonight, I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life.
03:24It's all in an effort to save her life, and this humanizes Freeze to the point where we're honestly rooting for him.
03:30The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish best served cold.
03:38Number 17, Ebtide's Revenge, The Golden Girls.
03:42The Golden Girls was already deep into its seven-season run when Ebtide's Revenge aired on December 15th, 1990.
03:48It deals with the unseen character of Dorothy's brother, Phil, who dies suddenly of a heart attack.
03:52Heart attack at his age?
03:55No, I spoke to him just a couple weeks ago. He was fine.
03:58He said he'd put on some weight, but to die trying on knockoffs at Big Gal's Payless.
04:04Grief is a big theme running throughout the episode, but it also explores feelings of bitterness and confusion,
04:10since there is a huge emotional rift between Phil's widow, Angela, and his mother, Sophia.
04:14The latter sees her son's cross-dressing lifestyle as a parental failure and blames Angela for not doing more to intervene in his choices.
04:21Why couldn't you bury him in a suit?
04:23Because this is what he wanted.
04:26You know, it hasn't been easy for me, Sophia. It hasn't been easy.
04:32The end of the episode doesn't as much judge or work through these feelings
04:35as it does simply include them within a heartbreaking arc about a parent grieving their child.
04:40What he was, Sophia, was a good man.
04:46My baby is gone.
04:50Oh, Sophia.
04:52Number 16, Reckoning, Smallville.
04:55Clark Kent learns just how inescapable death is in the fifth season episode of Smallville titled Reckoning.
05:00Oh, God, he's coming after me.
05:02Lana?
05:03There's a lot of connections to Superman lore within the episode,
05:06not the least of which is Clark doing everything he can to save the woman he loves.
05:09The Superman film from 1978 showcased this with Lois Lane,
05:13but here, it's Lana Lang who gets a second chance, thanks to a bargain Clark makes with Jor-El.
05:17There has to be a way to fix this.
05:21The magic crystal acquired restarts the day and allows Clark to change history.
05:25However, it's now his father, Jonathan Kent, that passes in Lana's stead.
05:35No, no, Dad!
05:38Dad!
05:39Oh, God, what have you done?
05:40Dad!
05:41Dad!
05:42Dad?
05:44No!
05:45Number 15, Goodbye, Michael, The Office.
05:48I love you all.
05:49I love you very much.
05:51Hey, can I talk to you for a second?
05:52Sure.
05:53See you later!
05:54There thankfully isn't anything too tragic to report in Goodbye, Michael.
05:57The feeling is bittersweet as Steve Carell's Michael Scott departs Scranton to be with his fiancée, Holly.
06:02The end results feel episodic in the best possible way,
06:05as Scott sets aside time throughout his day to settle things with all of his Dunder Mifflin employees.
06:10And I'm here to say goodbye to all you wonderful people.
06:14Thank you, everybody.
06:17You've been so wonderful!
06:19Jim's conversation with Michael is certainly difficult.
06:21That's it, huh? Just four o'clock and you are gone for good.
06:25But that final, inaudible goodbye with Pam is an even bigger gut punch.
06:29We cannot think of a more honorable farewell for one of the sitcom world's most memorable characters.
06:33Number 14, Archie Alone, Archie Bunker's Place.
06:37Alone, the family never shied away from approaching sensitive subjects head-on,
06:40particularly from the perspective of its dogmatic lead character, Archie Bunker.
06:44Please accept condolences on behalf of myself and Fidelity Insurance on the death of your wife, Judith.
06:51I heard I was Edith.
06:54Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Please forgive me. I have trouble reading my own handwriting.
06:59That said, this flawed protagonist does see marked growth throughout both All in the Family and its successor, Archie Bunker's Place.
07:05The second season opener showcases this in spades,
07:08as Archie's long-suffering wife, Edith, dies off-screen after a stroke.
07:12Well, sometimes people want to talk about their sadness with somebody close to them.
07:16Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. They keep wanting to drag it out and drag it out, you know.
07:20But they ought to be forgetting it.
07:22Getting on with life.
07:23Carol O'Connor gives a magnetic performance as he delivers his monologue with palpable emotion.
07:28Children, just like adults, need to deal with death. It's part of life.
07:31This is a man's veneer of bravado laid bare,
07:34as we grieve alongside Archie as he engages in bedside mourning for his dingbat.
07:39You had no right to leave me that way.
07:45Without giving me just one more chance to say I love you.
07:52Number 13, Free Churro, Bojack Horseman.
07:56Can I get, like, an organ flourish?
07:59Nicely done.
08:00Bojack Horseman contains some worthwhile surprises for those that really dive head-on into the show's somewhat surreal concept.
08:06The episode, titled Free Churro, is one of those emotionally resonant episodes
08:10that go beyond the silly premise to discuss deeper themes of abuse and trauma.
08:15Can I just say how amazing it is to be in a room with my mother
08:18and I can just talk and talk without her telling me to shut up and make her a drink?
08:22The eulogy that Bojack gives at his mother's funeral is delivered with expertise by voice star Will Arnett.
08:27I just got a free churro because my mom died.
08:31No one ever tells you when your mom dies you get a free churro.
08:34His performance ties together all of the series' dark humor
08:37with an approach that deliberately vacillates between moments of levity and hard-hitting issues.
08:41My mom died and all I got was this free churro.
08:46You know the shittiest thing about all of this?
08:48Is when that stranger behind the counter gave me that free churro.
08:51That small act of kindness showed more compassion than my mother gave me her entire goddamn life.
08:58Number 12, The Sun, Friday Night Lights.
09:01Friday Night Lights is one of those shows that seems to revel in its emotional sentimentality
09:05to the point of feeling prurient.
09:07That said, many fans of the show flock to these emotional moments
09:10such as the one set up within the fourth season episode, The Sun.
09:13Is my dad here?
09:15Oh, he's being prepared right now.
09:17Do I see him?
09:19I think in this case a closed casket is most appropriate.
09:24The death of Henry Saracen in Iraq serves as the crux of this episode
09:28specifically with how it affects his son, Matt.
09:31Zach Guilford gives a tremendous performance in the latter role
09:34accurately displaying the grief process throughout.
09:36Here lies Henry Saracen.
09:40His mother annoyed him, his wife couldn't stand him,
09:44and he didn't want to be a dad so he took off to be in the army.
09:48Anger, emptiness, sadness, and more all rise up through Guilford's speech and mannerisms
09:54and the audience can palpably feel what's going on throughout the entire episode.
09:58He missed...
10:00He missed some of my birthdays and he missed...
10:04a lot of me growing up.
10:09I think the point is that I got to grow up.
10:11Number 11, Long, Long Time, The Last of Us.
10:15First, my name's Frank.
10:16Oh yeah? Here's the thing, Frank.
10:18If I feed you, then every bum you talk to about it
10:21is gonna show up here looking for a free lunch.
10:24If the success of The Last of Us has taught viewers anything
10:27is that we should never underestimate an adaptation from a video game storyline.
10:30This HBO series wonderfully reconstructs the game's post-apocalyptic setting
10:34never sacrificing its quality characters and only building upon its compelling dialogue.
10:39I don't want you falling asleep in the chair.
10:40I won't.
10:41You will and then your feet get blue.
10:43No.
10:43I'm not fighting about it. Back in bed.
10:45I promise you I'm gonna stay up.
10:47Why?
10:47Because this is my last day.
10:49Long, Long Time is a standout from the first season
10:52with particular attention paid to Nick Offerman's character Bill
10:55and Murray Bartlett's Frank.
10:56I've had bad days with you, too.
11:01But I've had more good days with you than with anyone else.
11:07So give me one more good day.
11:09Their romance is an arc that offers a light of hope
11:12within an otherwise bleak and frightful world of Infected.
11:15It also bucks the trend of portraying gay male characters as doomed
11:18which is almost certainly by design.
11:20Number 10. Mother's Day.
11:22Rugrats.
11:23Mother's Day is for kids who got mobs.
11:26Mother's Day here.
11:27Every now and then animated children's programming sets aside
11:30the time to talk to its audience about some real serious issues.
11:33The Mother's Day special Rugrats does just that explaining
11:36the tragic and sometimes unfair nature of death to Chucky.
11:39Look everybody.
11:41It's the lady I told you about from my dreams.
11:46The episode is a heartfelt one particularly as Chucky
11:49and his father Chaz go through a box of the mother's belongings.
11:52There isn't a dry eye in the house as the pair uncover a poem
11:56that Chucky's mom wrote for her son.
11:57When the rain wets your hair, those are my tears of joy.
12:02When the long grass enfolds you, that's me holding you tight.
12:06When the ripper wind sings, that's me whispering life.
12:09It's a plot thread from the show that we never forget
12:12due to just how well it's constructed.
12:14All those flowers, she planted those.
12:17She used to love to come out here and play with you.
12:21Number 9. My Screw-Up.
12:23Scrubs.
12:24This episode of Scrubs was actually nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
12:27for the outstanding quality of its writing.
12:29Guilt's a funny thing. It can lead to denial.
12:32Kid screwed up.
12:33No, he didn't.
12:34He told you he has way too many patients.
12:36He swamped.
12:38The kid screwed up.
12:40The premise of My Screw-Up and its big twist
12:43are actually indebted to The Sixth Sense
12:45as it follows Dr. Cox and his close friend slash ex-brother-in-law Ben.
12:49If I'm not here, people die.
12:51The death of a patient mentioned throughout the episode
12:53is later revealed to be Ben
12:55with Dr. Cox in denial throughout the episode.
12:57There are subtle bits of foreshadowing to this end
12:59but the real emotional crux of My Screw-Up
13:01lies within the performances
13:03and that final reveal at Ben's funeral.
13:05Where do you think we are?
13:20Number 8. Life of Brian.
13:23Family Guy.
13:24God, look at this day, huh?
13:26You know, usually I'd be sitting inside writing,
13:28you'd be working on one of your machines
13:30but here we are enjoying it.
13:32Never underestimate the power of fandom
13:34even for a program as notably irreverent as Family Guy.
13:36The decision to kill off the griffon dog Brian
13:38in Season 12
13:40was initially intended to be permanent
13:42Brian, look out!
13:44or at least many fans believe it was
13:46since the writers introduced a new dog, Vinny, into the mix.
13:48Oh, Vinny, like the poop.
13:50However, Brian's demise was almost immediately
13:52retconned two episodes later
13:54which was certainly for the best.
14:10That said, the way the show actually handled
14:12Brian getting hit by a car
14:14was beyond effective and surprisingly emotional.
14:23At least, by Family Guy standards.
14:25Number 7. The Body.
14:27Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
14:31Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
14:33always seemed pretty prepared for any number
14:35of fantastical deaths to occur on the show.
14:37This is essentially why the episode
14:39The Body works so well.
14:41There's absolutely nothing supernatural or strange
14:43about the demise of Buffy's mom, Joyce.
14:45Instead, we're faced with a very traumatic,
14:47tragic, and most of all, realistic
14:49scenario of Buffy coming home
14:51after Joyce has suffered a brain aneurysm.
15:01The reactions of the ensemble cast
15:03lend a lot of gravitas to what's going on
15:05while the script never diminishes the impact
15:07felt by Buffy, her family, and her support system.
15:09It's powerful stuff.
15:21And yes,
15:25it's always sudden.
15:27Number 6. Bad News.
15:29How I Met Your Mother.
15:31The death of Marvin Erickson
15:33on How I Met Your Mother is fairly shocking
15:35for a number of reasons.
15:37For starters, there's how quickly the news is delivered
15:39to Marshall, and by Lily no less.
15:41Marshall,
15:43something's happened.
15:45Um, your father,
15:47he had a heart attack.
15:49A heart attack?
15:51He didn't make it.
15:53The out-of-nowhere twist speaks to how
15:55most of us are rarely prepared for the tragic
15:57unexpectedness of death.
15:59Meanwhile, the actor's reactions feel genuine
16:01since both Jason Segel and Alison Hannigan
16:03weren't privy to exactly what their lines would be
16:05until the day of filming.
16:07I'm not ready for this.
16:09As a result,
16:11the audience seems to feel just as blindsided
16:13as Marshall does by the news.
16:15The greatest man that I have ever known
16:17and you whipped him off this earth
16:19way too young.
16:21And he'll never get to meet our kids, Lily.
16:27But we got this voicemail.
16:29Number 5. Mother Simpson.
16:31The Simpsons.
16:33This is yet another sitcom
16:35that trades poignancy for satire.
16:37Usually.
16:39Because we are with Mother Simpson,
16:41one of the most effectively tear-jerking animated episodes
16:43ever created.
16:47I thought you were dead.
16:49I thought you were dead.
16:51Well, dang bless it.
16:53Isn't anybody in this damn cemetery dead?
16:55I didn't want to cause a fuss,
16:57but now that you mention it...
16:59There's a lot of narrative balls in the air
17:01when it comes to describing Mona Simpson's backstory,
17:03her reasons for abandoning her family,
17:05and her sudden return to her son's life.
17:07It all started
17:09in the 60s.
17:11The explanations for all of these plot threads
17:13feel earned though, particularly when it comes to
17:15helping assist Mona in her escape.
17:17That final melancholic shot of Homer looking up at the sky
17:19just gets us every time.
17:21Don't forget me.
17:23Don't worry, Homer.
17:25You'll always be a part of me.
17:35Number 4. Goodbye.
17:378 Simple Rules.
17:39Oh my goodness. Mom!
17:41Mom?
17:43The second season of 8 Simple Rules
17:45spends a lot of time working through the grieving process
17:47after the real-life death of its star, John Ritter.
17:49This informs not only the two-parter goodbye,
17:51but lends the entire season
17:53a certain level of seriousness
17:55that had heretofore been absent from the show.
17:57Dad would have never let me go out like this.
17:59He would have
18:01definitely sent me upstairs to change
18:03and told me to cover myself up in some hideous sweater
18:05and sit me down for an hour
18:07to lecture on how I should respect myself
18:09because guys only want one thing
18:11and I always hated it when he did that.
18:13The reactions of leads Katie Seagal,
18:15Kaley Cuoco, and the entire cast feel real
18:17because they are real.
18:25Meanwhile, the bittersweet tributes featured within Goodbye
18:27in each subsequent episode of 8 Simple Rules
18:29do a great job at highlighting
18:31just how much Ritter's life and legacy
18:33touched everyone around him.
18:35What I said to Dad was I hate you.
18:37He wouldn't let me borrow
18:39his stupid car and I said I hate you.
18:41Number 3, Papa's Got a Brand New
18:43Excuse, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
18:45Hey, what's up?
18:47Long time, huh?
18:4914 years. Will Smith was really beginning
18:51to find his feet as an actor when this episode
18:53of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted back in 1994.
18:55This is your Uncle Lou.
18:57Uncle Lou?
18:59You mean he's your...
19:01Yeah, that's right. He's my Lou.
19:03The audience feels Smith's character
19:05run the gamut of emotions after reconnecting
19:07with his estranged father, Lou,
19:09played by veteran Broadway actor Ben Vereen.
19:11I'm not supposed to be here for you.
19:13You're supposed to be here for him. You get off my back!
19:15You think I want this?
19:17It just happened!
19:19Joy, surprise,
19:21hope, hurt, betrayal,
19:23and confusion are all evident within
19:25Smith's performance.
19:27Hey, he wasn't there to teach me how to shoot my first basket, but I learned, didn't I?
19:29The latter works particularly well
19:31with James Avery's Uncle Phil,
19:33as evidenced by the pair's affecting final scene.
19:35Smith's monologue comes across as
19:37natural and poignant, and we can palpably
19:39feel the rage and disappointment
19:41of his character after he loses his father a second time.
19:43How come you don't want me, man?
19:53Number 2, The Quarterback, Glee
20:01The end results of this fifth-season episode of Glee
20:03feel similar to that of Goodbye
20:05from Eight Simple Rules.
20:07The shock and surprise emanates from the cast
20:09and their performances, as they bid a real-life farewell
20:11to their castmate, Corey Monteith.
20:13Oh, if I die young,
20:15you'll bury me in satin,
20:17lay me down
20:19on a bed of roses.
20:21The actor's sudden death was also handled
20:23in a similar fashion, with regards to how Glee
20:25continues to reference Monteith's character
20:27in future episodes.
20:29I can still see his face and
20:31I can hear his voice so clearly.
20:33The life of Finn Hudson is ultimately celebrated
20:35in The Quarterback, but it doesn't stop us
20:37from feeling so heartbroken every time we watch it.
20:59If you're on your phone,
21:01make sure you go into your settings
21:03and switch on notifications.
21:05Number 1,
21:07Jurassic Bark, Futurama
21:13Honestly,
21:15we were never ready for Jurassic Bark.
21:17We weren't ready when it first aired,
21:19and we're definitely not ready to talk about it now.
21:30We're still
21:32coming to terms with the total despair we felt
21:34after watching Fry's loyal little dog, Seymour,
21:36wait forever to see Fry again.
21:50The ending of Jurassic Bark
21:52tells a lot with just visual cues
21:54and music, and our hearts honestly
21:56break every single time we watch Seymour
21:58close his eyes for the last time.
22:00If you'll allow us to break the fourth wall for a second,
22:02the person scripting this video
22:04is actually still so broken up about
22:06revisiting Jurassic Bark that he's in tears
22:08writing these words.
22:10No joke.
22:12I will
22:14wait for you
22:16for a thousand
22:18summers.
22:20I will
22:22wait for you.
22:24What's your opinion
22:26on sitcoms tackling serious issues?
22:28Do you enjoy those sad episodes,
22:30or do you think they should leave it to the dramas?
22:32Let us know in the comments.
22:34Take me to bed.
22:38Did you enjoy this video?
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