Top 10 Favorite Tearjerker Episodes
I was going to do meta but then I decided to do picspams but then I still wanted to put text but just not worry about how much I was writing. So. I have a bit of both.
Also, HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE LIST. I know. There are a lot of episodes that have made me tear up, some even that I think are sadder/more emotional than some of these, but these are my favorite ones.
#10 - S N A K E H E A D
Walter and Astrid are these sweet characters - Walter is really like a child, and while Astrid is a competent adult who takes care of him, she's kind of like a little sister you want to protect. That's why it's so terrible to see horrible things happen to them! Walter's efforts to be normal and self-sufficient end so badly, and then Astrid getting injured. This is one of my favorite family-building episodes, especially because Astrid is featured a bit. At its heart, Snakehead is really about Astrid and Walter's relationship.
#9 - B R O W N B E T T Y
I once saw this episode referred to as "filler," but for me it's one of the most powerful arc-story episodes that they've done. Walter feels abandoned by Peter, and early in the story seems to vilify him, in the saddest possible way ("You think Peter Bishop stole your heart?"). But it soon comes to light that Walter sees himself as a villain--a monster who feasts on the dreams of children--and that's even more heartbreaking. In the story, he's nearly responsible for Peter's death. Olivia saves Peter, and Walter is left to die alone, unloved by the people he's betrayed. Brown Betty gives us the best possible look into Walter's ongoing emotional struggles. When Ella fixes the ending for him, he looks so sad and so hopeful ;___;
#8 - P I L O T
Looking back, Olivia is so carefree in the first part of this episode, and then she takes on this grim determination to save John. And then she loses him. The worst is when Peter is saying, "Where's John" and Olivia can't answer him. Throw in Charlie telling his "you're gonna be fine" story, Walter at his maddest, and Peter at his bitchiest, and it's a very sad episode.
#7 - O N E N I G H T I N
O C T O B E R
The case of the week is about John, who has carried a "dark passenger" with him his whole life. His story is a tragic one, and seeing the professor version of himself giving a clinical analysis really throws that tragedy into relief. Professor John's grasp on goodness is tenuous, and despite this and his career of studying killers, he still thinks he can somehow make the other John stop. But for John, seeing the light only makes everything darker, and he takes his own life, racked with guilt. In this episode we also learn about Ambertime Olivia's past, which is the bleakest of all the Olivias, but she remains somehow intact. The storylines are tied together by Broyles' sweet and "sentimental" musings at the end about people leaving an impression on your soul.
#6 - S U B J E C T 1 3
For me the cryiest scene in this episode is the first one: Elizabeth Bishop running out to plead with Peter, essentially not to kill himself. He knows that things are wrong. She's with him all the time and is helpless against this force that's consuming him. And then when he finally accepts this wrong place as his own, it breaks her. Meanwhile, Olive is this sad, brave little girl, a perfect miniature of the version we know, who touches everyone around her but is always alone. And Peter and Olive blindly reaching out to each other in their brokenness.
#5 - A U G U S T
In my mind, this episode pretty clearly references The Phantom of the Opera, but it turns out to be more like Romeo and Juliet - his love for her is forbidden. But unlike Romeo, who dies of a broken heart, August dies to protect Christine. And his very death is what saves her.
#4 - P E T E R
Watching this was such TORTURE, because you KNEW what was going to happen, but there were also some sad surprises thrown in as well. Walter seeing Walternate miss the breakthrough and just rallying against the unfairness of it from there is my favorite part. John Noble's performance is chilling.
#3 - B L O O D L I N E
If you didn't tear up a little during that epic birth scene, I worry about your priorities.
#2 - M A R I O N E T T E
The thing that really gets me about this is that Olivia feels deeply, of course, but she's always so strong. But here, we see her finally break after everything she's been through, just completely frustrated and insecure.
#1 - W H I T E T U L I P
Alistair Peck is never not breaking my heart. I love that they let you think he's going back to save her. But instead he has sacrificed his career, mutilated himself to a point where he no longer looks human, and endured years of pain, just to be with her again. Just to set things right, to see her smile at him one more time, and to go with her. He is a man of science, and he has this monumental, earth-shaking discovery and perfects it, but just lets it fall away, forgotten, in the name of his love for Arlette. Not a moment's hesitation.
Also, HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE LIST. I know. There are a lot of episodes that have made me tear up, some even that I think are sadder/more emotional than some of these, but these are my favorite ones.
#10 - S N A K E H E A D
Walter and Astrid are these sweet characters - Walter is really like a child, and while Astrid is a competent adult who takes care of him, she's kind of like a little sister you want to protect. That's why it's so terrible to see horrible things happen to them! Walter's efforts to be normal and self-sufficient end so badly, and then Astrid getting injured. This is one of my favorite family-building episodes, especially because Astrid is featured a bit. At its heart, Snakehead is really about Astrid and Walter's relationship.
#9 - B R O W N B E T T Y
I once saw this episode referred to as "filler," but for me it's one of the most powerful arc-story episodes that they've done. Walter feels abandoned by Peter, and early in the story seems to vilify him, in the saddest possible way ("You think Peter Bishop stole your heart?"). But it soon comes to light that Walter sees himself as a villain--a monster who feasts on the dreams of children--and that's even more heartbreaking. In the story, he's nearly responsible for Peter's death. Olivia saves Peter, and Walter is left to die alone, unloved by the people he's betrayed. Brown Betty gives us the best possible look into Walter's ongoing emotional struggles. When Ella fixes the ending for him, he looks so sad and so hopeful ;___;
#8 - P I L O T
Looking back, Olivia is so carefree in the first part of this episode, and then she takes on this grim determination to save John. And then she loses him. The worst is when Peter is saying, "Where's John" and Olivia can't answer him. Throw in Charlie telling his "you're gonna be fine" story, Walter at his maddest, and Peter at his bitchiest, and it's a very sad episode.
#7 - O N E N I G H T I N
O C T O B E R
The case of the week is about John, who has carried a "dark passenger" with him his whole life. His story is a tragic one, and seeing the professor version of himself giving a clinical analysis really throws that tragedy into relief. Professor John's grasp on goodness is tenuous, and despite this and his career of studying killers, he still thinks he can somehow make the other John stop. But for John, seeing the light only makes everything darker, and he takes his own life, racked with guilt. In this episode we also learn about Ambertime Olivia's past, which is the bleakest of all the Olivias, but she remains somehow intact. The storylines are tied together by Broyles' sweet and "sentimental" musings at the end about people leaving an impression on your soul.
#6 - S U B J E C T 1 3
For me the cryiest scene in this episode is the first one: Elizabeth Bishop running out to plead with Peter, essentially not to kill himself. He knows that things are wrong. She's with him all the time and is helpless against this force that's consuming him. And then when he finally accepts this wrong place as his own, it breaks her. Meanwhile, Olive is this sad, brave little girl, a perfect miniature of the version we know, who touches everyone around her but is always alone. And Peter and Olive blindly reaching out to each other in their brokenness.
#5 - A U G U S T
In my mind, this episode pretty clearly references The Phantom of the Opera, but it turns out to be more like Romeo and Juliet - his love for her is forbidden. But unlike Romeo, who dies of a broken heart, August dies to protect Christine. And his very death is what saves her.
#4 - P E T E R
Watching this was such TORTURE, because you KNEW what was going to happen, but there were also some sad surprises thrown in as well. Walter seeing Walternate miss the breakthrough and just rallying against the unfairness of it from there is my favorite part. John Noble's performance is chilling.
#3 - B L O O D L I N E
If you didn't tear up a little during that epic birth scene, I worry about your priorities.
#2 - M A R I O N E T T E
The thing that really gets me about this is that Olivia feels deeply, of course, but she's always so strong. But here, we see her finally break after everything she's been through, just completely frustrated and insecure.
#1 - W H I T E T U L I P
Alistair Peck is never not breaking my heart. I love that they let you think he's going back to save her. But instead he has sacrificed his career, mutilated himself to a point where he no longer looks human, and endured years of pain, just to be with her again. Just to set things right, to see her smile at him one more time, and to go with her. He is a man of science, and he has this monumental, earth-shaking discovery and perfects it, but just lets it fall away, forgotten, in the name of his love for Arlette. Not a moment's hesitation.