The Heroic Sacrifice of James Norrington. He really and truly didn't fear death at all.
Not to mention it was Bootstrap, Will's father, who killed him.
The entire scene, all of it. He tells Elizabeth to go ahead and he'll follow. She realizes he's lying, and he tells her "Our destinies were always entwined, Elizabeth, but never joined", they share a kiss and he tells her "Go, now!" The subtle tremor in his voice is heartbreaking as she flees on the ropes, but Bootstrap Bill sees and goes to attack Norrington, who pulls out his sword and orders him to stand down. Then when Bootstrap calls that a prisoner is escaping, Norrington demands he belay that order and Elizabeth tries to make her way back, but he shoots the line ensuring her escape, and she watches, screaming for him as he is killed. Jack Davenport's delivery makes it heartbreaking, showing Norrington's honour and bravery and Kiera Knightley screaming for Norrington really drives the knife in.
Bootstrap himself sounds so lost and broken down, showing just how much he's lost who he was in his service on the Flying Dutchman.
The whole movie is really just a series of Break the Cutie moments for Elizabeth. Over the course of the movie, she watches James Norrington and Will die to protect her, and only learns of her father's death by watching him drift past while they're trying to escape Davy Jones' Locker. Every one is accompanied by a Hope Spot and then revealed for what it is.
At the start of the scene, Governor Swann thinks Elizabeth is dead just like him. He might have accepted his fate, but can't bear to see his daughter join him in death.
Governor Swann's death is especially poignant in that the character shows all the dispassion we think the dead would show to worldly concerns.
Governor Swann: Silly thing to die for, really.
And then there's this:
Governor Swann: I'll give love to your mother, shall I?
Notably, when Jack realizes that Governor Swann is dead, his demeanor is completely and utterly serious, with none of his usual eccentricity as he immediately realizes what it means to see Governor Swann there and what that will mean for Elizabeth. This is followed by Will desperately restraining Elizabeth as she makes a futile attempt to
The death of Davy Jones. "Calypso..."
Right before the battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman commences, Davy Jones sees Calypso create a maelstrom out of rage and anger towards Jones having imprisoned her long ago. He quietly mutters her name and lets the rain touch his face, knowing that it's her. He then lets out a roar of rage and sadness as he knows that will be the last time he will feel his beloved's touch.
Getting to see Davy Jones as a normal man, and imagining what it must've been like for him to return to the beach where he'd last seen Calypso, only to find she's not there. Not many characters rate twoAlas, Poor Villain moments, but you can't help but think that Jones got one for the events in the film and another for the death of his love for her...
Davy Jones: Ten years I devoted to the duty you charged me. Ten years I looked over those who died at sea. And finally, when we could be together again... You. Weren’t. There.Why weren't you there?
Calypso: It is my nature. Would you love me if I was anything but what I am?
Davy Jones: I do not love you.
You can hear the heartbreak in his voice when he confronts Calypso about why she never met him. He believes that he's moved on from her and is unable to love again, but the final line shows that it's not the case. Deep down, he still loves her, no matter how many times he tells himself otherwise. He's content with dying, as long as he and Calypso can be together. But then it's taken away from him, again, when Calypso learns he betrayed her, unleashing her vengeance and breaking Jones completely as he realizes he’s lost her forever.
Davy Jones: My heart will always belong to you.
The brief moment came when Calypso said that she will get revenge on the Brethren Court for imprisoning her. Davy Jones just grunts and begins to leave, he expected revenge but hoped she would run away with him instead.
It was about there that most decided this is not a Disney movie, no matter what people tell you.
The scene with Elizabeth and Bootstrap on the Dutchman, where Bootstrap basically reveals he's resigned himself to misery forever, as saving him would mean Will giving up on his true love, and he doesn't think Will would or should make that decision. So he asks Elizabeth to convince Will to give up on him so he won't have to choose, and that it's too late: he's already part of the ship and the crew. Then, to drive the point home, we discover the ship has warped his mind so much that five seconds later he doesn't remember ever having the conversation. The whole scene is incredibly painful, in just how much Bootstrap has given up to despair.
Bill: He won't pick me. [bitter chuckle] I wouldn't pick me.
Tied into this is Will's growing fear that he and Elizabeth are drifting further and further apart.
Will: I'm losing her, Jack. Every step I take to my father is a step away from Elizabeth.
The ending where Bootstrap forgets their conversation can really touch home for those who have loved one who are suffering memory loss.
Let's not forget the death of Governor Swann even though we don't see him die. We just see him floating about in the afterlife. Made all the sadder by Elizabeth's reaction. "Take the line! Father, take the line!" "I'm so proud of you [...] I'll give your love to your mother, shall I?"
"Elizabeth. Are you dead?" "...no..." "I think I am." "No, no, you can't be!"
Elizabeth screaming for her father to come aboard the ship and nearly jumping overboard to get to him. Tia Dalma's immediate reaction is so serious; she knows the ship is the only thing keeping them all safe, and not even Jack knows what to say. No one does. They just... blankly stare. It's times like that when you forget they're pirates. Tia Dalma's "Him at peace" is solemn and respectful with an air of finality. Even those like Barbossa just stand there in chilling, cold silence.
When they first see him, Elizabeth thinks they're back in the world of the living. Jack is the first to cotton on to dreadfulness of the situation.
Jack: Elizabeth? Elizabeth. We're not back. (Elizabeth's expression becomes one of horror)
Tia Dalma/Calypso looking over the dead floating past in the afterlife. They should've been ferried over by Davy Jones, but they're forced to wander since he abandoned his post. At first, she's angry over their poor treatment. Then she reminisces over the man she fell in love with, and how he no longer truly exists.
Speaking of Governor Swann learning about Elizabeth's supposed death aboard the Dutchman. His first reaction is to go and stab Jones' heart! Even though Norrington manages to stop him, his reaction to her supposed death is a look of pure shock.
Or indeed, the big death of the film: Will. Okay, so he pops back up again pretty soon after, but it's a pretty emotional scene, and on top of that, it also secures Davy Jones' chances of redemption as exactly nil. Of course.
The soundtrack can be quite tear-jerking as well.
Not to mention, it's at this same moment that Bootstrap finally remembers Will, and attacks Davy Jones.
Linked with a Heartwarming Moment when Will's death motivates Jack to act to save him by giving up what he had been battling for the entire film. If it makes Jack stop thinking of himself, it must be serious.
Double points for how Will Turner ends up getting stabbed by Norrington's sword, i.e. the very sword he forged at the beginning of the first film. The movie really takes the "betrayal" theme to all sorts of interesting places.
When trying to escape the sinking Dutchman, Jack has to pull the newly widowed Elizabeth away from Will's body. Elizabeth tries to release herself from Jack's grasp and screams "I won't leave you" towards Will, not because she was hoping he'd come back, but because she'd rather die than live without him.
Will revealing to Tia Dalma her betrayer - Davy Jones. The look on her face is a combination of incredible anger and utter heartbreak. She may have been a wild and reckless goddess, but she truly loved Davy Jones, even if she didn't meet him as promised after 10 years.
The worst part is, if her muted, almost desperate aggressiveness is anything to go by, she knew. All along, she knew deep down that only one man would have any reason to orchestrate her imprisonment. She was just hoping against hope that she was wrong.
Will: Who was it that betrayed you? Calypso:(quivering voice) NAME HIM!
The moment right before the parasail sequence, with Jack having to wrench Elizabeth from Will as the crew of the Dutchman gather to cut out his heart. Not only does this have one of the most heartbreaking declarations of love—"Don't leave me! I won't leave you!"—but the accompanying music turns into the chanting of an all boys' choir, which is almost always sure to elicit tears.
When the Flying Dutchman sinks into the maelstrom, Elizabeth looks away and presses her face against Jack's chest. Jack meanwhile looks like he's making a visible effort to hold himself together and when they make it back onto The Black Pearl, the expression on his face is uncharacteristically set and serious. It really hammers it in that he's just watched a close friend die right in front of him.
Elizabeth's "What shall we die for?" speech near the end. They all expect to die, and there's no sugacoating that.
Watching Will and Elizabeth part ways on the beach and then after the stinger where Will returns to his love and his son, who he hasn't even met yet.
As evil and ruthless as he was, Beckett's death. His final, slow, and deliberate march across the deck as his ship burns up and explodes all around him was incredibly poignant.
The handrail exploding behind his hand, for some odd reason.
He was a bastard, but still... and then the panicked, muted cries of the people behind him as they dove overboard and he just completely lost all will to live. Granted, it might have been scarier if he went insane, but this was a lot sadder. And then when you realized how much the others were flipping out and he was just quietly, slowly strolling along while the whole ship exploded and sunk around him.
Groves: (disbelieving voice)Orders, sir?! Royal Marine: Sir, what do you command?! Beckett: (barely above a whisper)It's just... good business. Groves: (realizing the ship is doomed and they've lost their commander to his own internal madness)...ABANDON SHIP! ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP!
Hans Zimmer's amazing score makes it all the more sad.
The Kraken's corpse washed up on the beach. While in the last film it was little more than a monster responsible for killing (and eating) almost everyone aboard the Black Pearl, including Jack, here we actually get to see its face. The look in its eyes actually displays sadness and even a look of betrayal at being killed by Davy Jones. The Kraken was, in reality, merely an animal that did its master's bidding. There's even a moment of this earlier on, when Beckett mentions forcing Jones to "kill his pet", Jones looks visibly distraught for a moment as he remembers what he had to do.
This is punctuated by the quiet moment between Jack and Barbossa as they stand over the dead Kraken and realize just how much their world is changing.
The death of the Kraken itself. It's frequently cited as a Missed Moment of Awesome, but that was probably intentional. No heart-pounding, epic battle; no moment of brilliance or gallantry by the heroes. Instead, Beckett gives an order, and some of the magic and mystery of the world is quietly put to death. Jack's line on the subject, after Barbossa says the world's getting smaller, is icing on the cake:
Jack: World's still the same. There's just... less in it.
Every part related to the ending of the pirate's world. Which makes their victory at the end all the more Awesome.
turns into the chanting of an all boys' choir, which is almost always sure to elicit tears.