Tear Jerker moments from Hello! Sandybell.
Spoilers are off. You have been warned.
- Leslie slapping Sandybell's face in the first episode, because she did something to harm his reputation. Despite the earlier scenes establishing him as an empathetic Reasonable Authority Figure, that was so out of left field, Values Dissonance or not. Sandybell is reduced to tears and even the Scotts tell him off and say that he was wrong.
- Mark's parents' death is sad, but when the Shearers mention there's a possibility they deliberately killed themselves because they couldn't handle the trauma of their fall from grace, it goes from sad to shocking.
- Any time Mark is at the Shearers after his parents die. They disregard his obvious discomfort around Kitty and go on about his future as one of the Shearers.
- Mark running away from home because Kitty attempts to strong-arm him into marriage. He tries to tell Sandybell, but she's sleeping, so he leaves her a painting and a letter as a final present. And then later, Kitty steals it from Sandybell because she's that much of a haughty bitch.
- When Mark is on the streets after running away, he is laughed at some other townspeople, including Kitty. Kitty doesn't recognize him because he moved his hat to hide his face, but one can imagine her reaction if she knew. It's a gut-punch to be publicly humiliated, but it's another to be by your own ex-fiancee.
- The Scotts want to adopt Sandybell after Leslie's death, but his last wishes were for her to live with Kern. Kern's wife and daughter treat her horribly, in a stark contrast to Mr. and Mrs. Scott's loving home.
- Sandybell leaving Scotland. All her friends, from Maggie to Laura to Mr. and Mrs. Scott and almost every friend she's made see her off at the train station. As it moves, the children run after it, and Sandybell herself is in tears as they're separated. Even Mrs. Scott is crying. Even Oliver tries to follow the train at first, before it moves out of vicinity and he howls in sadness.
- Oliver's journey to find Sandybell. He trudges through unfamiliar paths, is attacked by tons of other wild dogs, and nearly passes out. Nevertheless, he keeps looking for the kind little girl who was neighbours with his old owners in Scotland.
- Leslie and Kern's traumatic history with how they found Sandybell. She was a baby of a couple that happened to be boarding the same cruise ship as them. However, when a crash occured, the baby was separated from her parents, with the father dying and the mother being nowhere to be found. Thus, Leslie decided to adopt the girl and take care of her.
- Leslie's parents and former fiancee refused to accept Sandybell into the family. What does he do? Take her to Scotland and raise her anyway.
- After Sandybell arrives in London, for a second she thinks she's found Mark and drives the camper to him. It turns out to be someone who coincidentally has red hair and wears the same, tattered hat. Afterwards, Sandybell cries in the rain.
- Any time Mrs. Ronwood and Eva scream at Sandybell and try to make her do their chores. They know she's just lost her dad, but they don't care because they have a serious Lack of Empathy. Thank god Sandybell has Ricky in her corner to help her out.
- Kitty paying Eva to break into Sandybell's room and take the drawing Mark made. Never mind the fact that it's one of the only few things Sandybell has left tied to Mark. Never mind that it's a drawing of her. Eva ends up being caught red-handed in front of everyone, while Sandybell tries to retrieve it, and only manages to get one horizontal half - Kitty tears up the other and throws the paper flecks at her. Sandybell cries as she pieces it together, muttering Mark's name, and Ricky screams at the Shearers.
- Alec recounting his childhood to Sandybell and her friends. We don't see any flashbacks, but the Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame of his Abusive Dad is enough Nightmare Fuel material, as well as the crying sounds.
- Kitty crying after Mark ends his engagement with her - sure, it was obvious it was going to happen, but she can't help but sob into Alec's chest when thinking about it.
- Sandybell and Linda both crying when they realize that they are mother and daughter, and going in for a hug. Edward also realizes that his estranged sister, who he thought all along was kidnapped by Human Traffickers, is Linda - so all along, Sandybell was his niece.
- The finale can feel like a punch to the gut because even after everything, Sandybell's mother still chooses to return to Lefkada. That means both Sandybell and Linda have accepted the outcome of the shipwreck and how it changed their lives. Though it's not that bad, as Linda seems content with the orphans and Sandybell has the Scotts and Edward, who were always more close parental figures to her. Besides, she wouldn't want to leave Scotland anyway. But it reminds us what could have been, if not for that one fatal night.
