Tear Jerker / Adventures in Odyssey

Radio series

• The entirety of "The Homecoming", especially Richard's encounters with Lucy and Tom. You can tell that behind their anger at Richard is a lot of hurt, and Richard's loneliness is palpable—especially when he comes to the realization that there isn't a new life for him in Odyssey anymore.
  • Equally tearjerking is Tom admitting that he knows that what he said and did were wrong and pleading with God to give him the strength to forgive in spite of himself.
  • The conclusion to this arc also qualifies, as Tom finally forgives Richard and asks him in turn to forgive Tom's bitterness. It's a heartwarming moment, but it's also heartbreaking to hear Richard express the belief that he deserved the way Tom treated him.
• "A Bite of Applesauce" can be this coupled with Nightmare Fuel. It begins with Whit making it very clear to Eugene that the Applesauce program is not to be messed with and that no one else should know about the computer room. Then, as the episode unfolds, Connie's curiosity gets the best of her, and soon enough, she not only finds out, but (accidently) opens Applesauce herself. Needless to say, panic ensues. Because of Whit's failsafe within the program, the entire shop shuts down. Only then does Whit actually show up. Connie and Eugene are both fired for breaking Whit's trust. And that's the end of the episode.
• "Home Is Where the Hurt Is", which reveals that resident troublemaker Curt Stevens's father is an alcoholic and his mother left them when he was little. It's a very somber episode that ends with Curt refusing Whit and Lucy's help, wanting to be left alone, only to break into quiet tears.
• The episode with the afterlife boasts two big ones. The first comes from the fact that it originally aired around Thanksgiving, meaning several families only heard the first half, which ends on Whit flatlining; several kids were absolutely hysterical until it was revealed Whit was okay. The other involves Eugene's reaction to the Fire and Brimstone Hell he experienced through the program; it's painful to hear him so scared.
• The entirety of "It Is Well": Whit tells Lucy the story of Horatio Spafford, who lost his son to an illness, a vast amount of property to the Great Chicago Fire, and then his four daughters to a shipwreck. The catharsis comes at the ending scene, where Horatio Spafford sails over the place where his daughters drowned. He begins speaking what would become the lines of what is considered one of the greatest hymns in Christian history, then a choir is heard singing the chorus of the song. Joe Campanella's performance as Spafford is absolutely heart-wrenching.
• "Forever, Amen" is often said to be one of the most heart-breaking episodes of the entire series, wherein a little boy named Danny believes that he was responsible for his mother's miscarriage when he wished that he wouldn't get a younger sibling. The fact that he's blaming himself for this makes it extra heart-rending for parents as well.
• The aftermath of the earthquake in Hollywood in "The Fifth House on the Left, Part 2", particularly the scenes where Eugene comforts a crying woman whose apartment building caught fire and where Bernard helps a man dig out his son from their house.
• Whit's departure in "Gone..." is often regarded as a tear-jerker on its own, especially for younger audiences. However, when you know the full story behind the episode, and indeed one particular scene, it hits even harder: Since Whit's actor had died, his few lines were all lifted from previous episodes—save for his heartfelt farewell speech, which Eugene and Bernard see on tape about a week after the fact. That came from a real-life appearance of Hal Smith himself, thanking everyone for the cards sent to him after his wife died. Whatta guy.
  • When Eugene and Bernard talk about it in the car, Bernard suggests that Whit left because God intended to send him where other people needed him. The normally detached and academic Eugene's reply couldn't sound more vulnerable or alone:
    Eugene: But...but I need him.
• Mildred Kendall's death in "A Touch of Healing, Part 2". Especially this exchange:
  June Kendall (through tears): Come on, dear. Let's...let's go say good-bye.
  Connie: Not good-bye, Mom. How 'bout..."see you later"?
  • Even more heart-wrenching is the visitation and the funeral in "Where is Thy Sting?", especially with an instrumental version of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" as a Leitmotif.
  • A happier tear jerker comes when Connie's mother June decides to accept Jesus after the funeral, awed by the strength Connie gained through her faith.
• Katrina breaking off her relationship with Eugene and leaving town in "The Turning Point".
• Of a happy sort: Eugene's conversion to Christianity, after years of waiting on the part of his friends and the fans, in the aptly-titled "The Time Has Come".
• Jack's story in "A Question About Tasha", when he tells Connie why he's so opposed to Jason marrying Tasha when he's not sure about her faith: As an immature believer, he married a non-Christian, had an event occur that spurred him to rededicate himself to God, and spent the rest of his wife's life either trying to convince her to come to Christ or attend church with her knowing that she didn't believe. She suffered a stroke that robbed her of movement and speech, and Jack won't know until heaven if his last attempt to lead her to Jesus was successful. The way his voice cracks as he talks about her and how much he loved her is absolutely agonizing to hear.
• Whit and Connie finally reuniting at the end of "Home Sweet Home".
• Mitch's "death" in "Plan B", as well as the scene where Mitch and Connie decide that they really aren't mature enough to get married and call their wedding off...the night before they were supposed to get married.
• Katrina's father's death, and how Katrina and Eugene were married quietly by his bedside because he was too sick to leave the hospital.
• "Now More than Ever" is one big tear jerker for Mandy and the rest of the Straussbergs, but especially Mandy's breakdown at the end when she finds out her parents are separating.
• The special tribute track to Walter Edmiston on the disk set of Album 49.
• This line from Wooton about his father is heartbreaking:
  "He just needs to work on his people skills. And his...not-disowning-his-own-son skills."
  • The episode "As Far as Depends on Me" finally gives the full story of Wooton's disownment. Winston and Wooton would constantly argue because Wooton wanted to be a comic book artist while his father wanted him to be a businessman like his brother Wellington. Winston constantly dismissed Wooton's creative pursuits as a waste of time. All of this culminated in a huge argument where Winston flat-out told Wooton that if he wanted to be a failure and a disappointment, then Winston was fine only having one son instead of two. Ouch.
• The series of episodes following the death of Connie Kendall's mother, June.
• For long-time fans, the reveal in "Legacy, Part 1" that Tom Riley died at some point before the episode.
• "To Mend or Repair" features Eugene and Katrina having to cope with the recently-broken news that they can't have any biological children. Even Eugene of all characters breaks down crying!
• "The Best is Yet to Come" 4-parter is another Character Outlives Actor scenario, this time with Eugene, and it's just as sad as "Gone..." After a breakthrough with the same mental treatments that brought him back to Odyssey, Eugene accepts an offer to move to Baltimore to head the project directly, taking Katrina and Buck with him. Several characters return to celebrate his time in Odyssey and many tears are shed. But in the end, the one who has the big meltdown after he leaves isn't Jason, Katrina, or even Connie. It's Whit!

  Whit: (Sobbing) He's gone Connie. He's really gone!

Video series

• Seeing the false Bad Future in "A Twist in Time" with the normally lively Whit's End a decrepit mess, Eugene being a broken old man trying to keep it standing, and Whit being implied to have passed away in poor health is two parts shocking, two parts heartbreaking. You'll be every bit as relieved as Dylan and Sal are when the whole thing is revealed to have been just a simulation produced by the Room of Consequences.
• Dylan seeing Mr. Whitaker falsely imprisoned in "A Shadow of Doubt" can be utterly heartbreaking, when you consider how important a mentor Mr. Whitaker is to him and many of the other kids, and how he's being exposed to highly unjust treatment of the nicest man he knows for the first time in his life. It only gets more difficult when he's in the shed at his house looking at pictures of Mr. Whitaker, wondering what in the world happened that made him deserve such a harsh punishment.
• "The Last Days of Eugene Meltsner" has Eugene (mistakenly) believe he is dying. Unsurprisingly, there are a few moments that can count as this.
  • After he first finds out, Eugene gives Connie, Dylan, and Jesse some of his possessions (a bowling ball, his laptop, and his ukelele, respectively). As he leaves afterwards, Connie, clearly confused, says she'll see him tomorrow... only for Whit to come in and tell them that Eugene had just quit.
  • After finding out why he's been acting so strangely, Connie gives us this line:
  If only I had known, Whit.
  • The novelization of the episode shows a bit more of Whit and Connie's thoughts on it. Whit wonders if he would have treated Eugene differently while working on the project that kicks off the plot if he had known it was the last one they'd work together on. Connie, meanwhile, regrets how much of the time she's known Eugene was spent arguing with him.