It’s actually harder to find a Grey’s Anatomy episode that won’t make you cry given the breakups and character deaths that have served as the backbone of the series for the past 16 years. It doesn’t get much sadder, however, than Derek telling a dead patient’s grieving fiancé, “She wanted you to know… that if love were enough… that if love were enough, that she’d still be here with you.” Like Grey’s Anatomy, This Is Us seems to be genetically engineered to make us feel things. The first season of the series threw the audience into its weepy multi-generational story, but nothing provoked a more emotional response than Randall’s final trip with his dying biological father and their last goodbye. Of all the great TV series finales, Six Feet Under is surely the one most likely to leave you a snotty mess. In showing when and how each character dies—scored to Sia’s “Breathe Me”—the final montage gorgeously underscores the theme of the series while delivering one gut-punch after the next. And for conclusions that didn’t get it right, revisit The Most Hated TV Finales of All Time.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb No show has tackled death quite like Buffy the Vampire Slayer did in the pivotal episode “The Body.” While there had been a high body count on the show since the beginning, this gutting installment largely dispelled with the supernatural, instead offering a grounded, at times unbearably realistic look at the loss of a parent. Yes, sitcoms can make you cry, and not just from laughter. Any fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will tell you they lost it at the ending of this classic episode, in which Will reunites with his estranged father, only to be disappointed by him again. “How come he don’t want me, man?” Will cries. Cue the tears. And for more TV content delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Based on the nostalgia factor alone, watching The Wonder Years can be an overwhelmingly emotional experience. But nothing hit quite as hard as the finale, which had Kevin dropping bombshells in his final monologue: His dad died the following year, and he and Winnie didn’t end up together. And for more iconic small screen couples we loved, check out The 50 Most Beloved TV Couples of All Time. Set to the haunting “I Will Wait for You” from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the final scene of this Futurama episode memorably shows Fry’s beloved dog waiting patiently for his return. What we know—and what the dog doesn’t—is that Fry would never return to the 20th century. Who knew an animated sci-fi sitcom could wreck us so effectively? The series finale of The Good Place isn’t sad in the way most of the other episodes on this list are—it’s more bittersweet. But after watching and loving these characters for years, it’s hard to see them move on past the afterlife into whatever comes next, especially when that means Eleanor and Chidi parting ways. The reveal at the end of “My Screw Up”—that Dr. Cox is actually at the funeral of Ben, whose death he hasn’t been able to accept—pulled the rug out from under the audience, and had us scrambling for the tissues. And for more moments that caught us off-guard, here are 17 TV Plot Twists That Completely Blew Our Minds. On a show with as many brutal deaths as Game of Thrones had, why did Hodor’s death leave such a lasting impression? Perhaps it was because of the circumstances of his demise, one of the more noble sacrifices of the show’s run. Or maybe it was because we finally learned that Bran was responsible for the cognitive impairment that had reduced his loyal caretaker to saying one word. As with Game of Thrones, Lost excelled at character death. But while the sixth season proved contentious for fans and critics alike, it also featured the most impactful goodbyes, as Jin decided to stay by Sun’s side, and they both drowned together after expressing their love for each other one last time. Well, at least until the afterlife. The real-life death of Cory Monteith forced Glee to address his absence, and the result was this raw, incredibly painful exploration of loss. Rachel’s “To Make You Feel My Love” is hard to endure, given that Lea Michele had just lost her real-life boyfriend. And now, after Naya Rivera’s tragic death, her performance of “If I Die Young” is unspeakably sad. And for more beloved series, discover The Best TV Shows of 2020, According to Critics. Many fans stopped watching Nashville after ABC canceled the series, but it found new life on CMT—and extinguished Rayna’s shortly thereafter. Even if the show had lost some of its luster for viewers, her death packed a powerful punch. Audiences first fell in love with Michelle Williams on Dawson’s Creek, and she’s been making us cry in TV and film appearances ever since. It’s impossible to forget her cruel death at the end of the classic teen series, especially considering the gut-wrenching video she records for her baby daughter. Matt Saracen is not a character we saw break down often on Friday Night Lights, which is why his complicated reaction to the death of his father on the show was one of the series’ most memorably upsetting moments. We experienced his anger and grief alongside him. There is no sad scene that can’t be made sadder with the inclusion of “Hallelujah.” Case in point: Marissa dying in Ryan’s arms in the Season 3 finale of The O.C. Even knowing that Mischa Barton was departing the series, her final moments destroyed us. With a notoriously prickly title character, House wasn’t always big on the emotions—which was fine, because he always got the job done. That’s why it was so unexpectedly awful to see the Sherlock Holmes-inspired doctor fail to save Amber, who then died in Wilson’s arms. In a season that unceremoniously killed off Cordelia, who had already been off-screen in a coma, you’d think Angel could give the audience a break. But no, in classic Joss Whedon fashion, the series finally paired up Wes and Fred, only to have her die in his arms in the very next episode. Her last words—“Why can’t I stay?"—might be the show’s most poignant. It’s not just Dawson’s Creek. There’s just something about parents recording goodbye messages for their children. Kristina survives on Parenthood—and we are still breathing a sigh of relief over that—but that doesn’t make her struggle with breast cancer any less tear-inducing. And for more series worth streaming, check out these 17 TV Shows You Can Watch From Start to Finish This Weekend. The final season of Mr. Robot deserved so much more credit than it got, particularly for this stunning episode, in which Elliot is forced to confront the truth about his past in a therapy session at gun point. It’s sad, yes, but it’s also just emotionally overwhelming. By the end, it’s impossible not to be crying along with Rami Malek, delivering his finest performance to date. As on Glee, the sudden real-life death of an actor gives the death of their character a tragic realism. The sitcom 8 Simple Rules decided to play it straight for the most part, and watching these characters grieve their father—as the actors grieved their co-star, John Ritter—is almost too much to take. And for more episodes that have gone down in history, check out The 25 Best TV Series Finales of All Time.
