History TearJerker / TheSopranos

* "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" has a scene near the end where Paulie leaves the room and breaks down sobbing, witnessing a mother beg Tony not to hurt her son. This occurs soon after Paulie discovered Marinucci was his aunt, not his birth mother.

* In the season 4 finale, Carmela gets fed up with Tony's cheating and angrily confronts him. The two go back and forth throughout the episode until Tony realises that his staying in the house is not good for the family and willingly leaves.

* Ruthless crime boss that he is, you'd have to be even more ruthless not to feel some sympathy for the man when he's utterly humiliated in front of friends and family at his daughter's wedding, slapped in handcuffs and dragged back to jail while the new bride watches tearfully and helplessly. You can't blame the man for breaking down and weeping.

* The death of [[spoiler:Hesh's wife Renata, and Hesh's reaction to it.]] Also, the fact that Tony's friendship with Hesh is over.

* Tony B. going on a self-destructive rampage and sabotaging his attempt at legitimacy. It's tragic because he was just *such* a nice guy with real potential in the civilian world. Instead [[spoiler:he goes back to his old ways, sets off a devastating gang war and gets murdered by his beloved cousin.]]

* Unexpectedly, Livia's [[spoiler:death, mostly because of Tony's quietly grieving after her wake]]

* The murder of [[spoiler:Vito Spatafore]] by [[spoiler:Phil Leotardo and his people]] for [[spoiler:being gay]]. And the way that [[spoiler:Leotardo]] deals with him is cruel as hell, involving having his mouth taped shut and then having him bludgeoned to death while he looks on impassively. The look on poor [[spoiler:Vito]]'s face alone is just heartwrenching.

* The murder of [[spoiler:Vito Spatafore]] by [[spoiler:Phil Leotardo and his people]] for [[spoiler:being gay]]. And the way that [[spoiler:Leotardo]] deals with him is cruel as hell, involving having his mouth taped shut and then having him bludgeoned to death while he looks on impassively.

* [[spoiler:Vito Spatafore]]'s murder by [[spoiler:Phil Leotardo and his people]] for [[spoiler:being gay]]. And the way that [[spoiler:Leotardo]] deals with him is cruel as hell, involving having his mouth taped shut and then having him bludgeoned to death while he looks on impassively.

* Unexpectedly, Livia's [[spoiler: death, mostly because of Tony's quietly grieving after her wake]]

* Ralph beating [[spoiler: Tracee, the stripper carrying his child]] to death in the Bada Bing's parking lot is just plain disturbing. The other gangsters can only stare dumbfounded at the sight of [[spoiler: her]] body.
* YMMV considering the nature of the character, but Ralph Cifaretto's VillainousBreakdown following his son's crippling injury, and [[spoiler: Tony's subsequent brutal murder of Ralph]] is downright tragic. Especially considering that just one episode prior, it was suggested that Ralph may have been sexually abused as a child.

* [[spoiler: Adriana's death]], not just because it's the death of one of the series regulars, but because [[spoiler: she begs Silvio for her life and tries to crawl away on her hands and knees, before he shoots her like a wild animal in the woods.]]
* Carmela's heartwrenching monologue to [[spoiler: Tony, after he has been shot and left in a coma with survival uncertain]].
* [[spoiler: Johnny Sack]]'s eventual quiet, understated death in prison after a long, debilitating battle with cancer. That he was always one of the more sympathetic mobsters (his [[PetTheDog devotion to his wife and children]] being his major redeeming quality) certainly makes this harder to watch.
* The death of [[spoiler: Hesh's wife Renata, and Hesh's reaction to it.]] Also, the fact that Tony's friendship with Hesh is over.

* Tony tearfully holding A.J. after the latter [[spoiler:tries to drown himself]] and Carmela's breakdown after [[spoiler: checking him into a psychiatric hospital.]]
* [[spoiler: Bobby's death]]
* Janice's last scene with Tony, in which it's hinted that her life [[spoiler: as a widow]] will be just as miserable as it was before [[spoiler: she married Bobby]] (or worse, since [[spoiler: she now has to raise an infant daughter and two stepchildren from Bobby's first marriage all by herself]])
* [[spoiler: Uncle Junior's]] final scene, in which Tony realizes that he [[spoiler: doesn't even remember his own family, or the man he used to be.]] A quiet scene that manages to be one of the most haunting in the entire show.

* [spoiler]Jennifer being raped in the stairwell and the ripple effect of it throughout the episode.[/spoiler]

** In the same episode, Vito Jr. being abducted to a boot camp in Idaho just because Tony lost too much money at gambling.

* The death of [[spoiler: Hesh's wife Renata, and Hesh's reaction to it.]]

* Janice's last scene with Tony, in which it's hinted that her life [[spoiler: as a widow]] will be just as miserable as it was before [[spoiler: she married Bobby]] (or worse, since [[spoiler: she now has to raise an infant daughter by herself]])

* [[spoiler: Adriana's death]], not just because it's the death of one of the series regulars, but because she [[spoiler: begs Silvio for her life and tries to crawl away on her hands and knees, before he shoots her like a wild animal in the woods.]]

* Adriana's [[spoiler: death]]

* YMMV, but Ralph Cifaretto's VillainousBreakdown following his son's crippling injury, and [[spoiler: Ralph's subsequent brutal murder by Tony]] is downright tragic. Especially considering that in the episode just prior to it, it was suggested that Ralph may have been sexually abused as a child.