Tear Jerker / Redwall

Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You have been warned.

Redwall

• The death of Methuselah.
• Abbot Mortimer's death. He's basically been Matthias' Parental Substitute and it leaves the victory with a bittersweet tinge.
• Although it doesn’t get focused on, Gousim’s death is pretty sad. The animated series at least puts more emphasis on it.
• Shadow’s death. He might not have been a good guy, but the description of it is pretty sad. Especially Cluny leaving him to die when he begs for help.
• Scragg’s death. Similar to Shadow, he might not have been one of the good guys, but he was far from one of the worst and the way he’s killed off is just so horrible, and shows what a Complete Monster Cheesethief is.

Mossflower

• Verdauga's death and Gingivere's subsequent imprisonment.
  • As if losing his father wasn't traumatic enough, Gingivere is framed for killing him by his own sister, Tsarmina. Tsarmina has her troops march Gingivere down to a cell deep in the dungeon where no one can talk to him. Martin (who was imprisoned by Verdauga, but treated fairly well while in the dungeon) watches as Gingivere is carried away, leading to this harrowing scene:
    "Led by Tsarmina, a mob of soldiers carrying torches marched down the corridor, Ashleg and Fortunata visible among them. As they passed the cell door, Martin glimpsed the stunned face of the gentle wildcat Gingivere. He was bound in chains. Blood trickled from a wound on his head. Their eyes met for a second, then he was swept by in the surge of angry soldiers, their faces distorted in the flickering torchlight as they chanted 'Murderer, murderer! Kill the murderer!'"
  • Note the wound on Gingivere's head. Gingivere has proven to be an Actual Pacifist, so it's very unlikely that he would have put up a fight when he was being arrested. It's unclear whether Tsarmina or one of her underlings injured him, but whoever it was, it could only have been for the sake of cruelty.
• Martin and Gingivere both spend the winter in the dungeon, which could mean months. When Gonff is thrown in Martin's cell, he helps Martin escape. Martin goes to check on Gingivere, and he is weak and in utter despair. Gingivere tells Martin to save himself, and Gonff tries to pull Martin away so they can escape. Martin vows that he will help Gingivere escape at a later time.
• There's a subdued one in this book where Martin and company find a dead, elderly searat near his camp on the beach. Their first response is to speak to him respectfully while trying to help him; after they realize he's gone, they give him a proper burial before making use of his shelter and supplies. This is very sad in its own right, but when one takes into account the later books' stock response to a vermin death - "Save your tears, that one won't be hurting anyone else" - it's absolutely heartwrenching.

Mattimeo

• The scene where baby Rollo tearfully begs his murdered mother to wake up.
• The death of Warbeak.
• Log-a-Log's death.

Mariel of Redwall

• The hares of the Long Patrol have a heroic last stand to help the prisoners they've rescued from sea rats escape. Most of them die. "My running days are over." "Hate to remind you, old thing, but we didn't come here to run."

Salamandastron

• Spriggat the hedgehog's death. Especially his last words about going to find a green forest filled with flying insects.
• Urthstripe's entire life story. First his parents are killed and he is separated from his brother at birth, then his stepdaughter runs away leaving him thinking she hated him, then just as he is about to be reunited with his family he kills himself along with the Big Bad Feragho.
  • Even more heart-wrenching is the fact that Mara never got the chance to reconcile with him before he died.
  • Burrley the mole’s death, and his nephew’s reaction. At least Thurggan comforts the poor thing, saying his uncle had to leave but will return some sunny season. D'awww.

Martin the Warrior

• Felldoh's death. He goes down fighting, beating Badrang up first, and then after Badrang calls upon a dozen of his horde to help, Felldoh takes several with him. After he dies, his friends honor him yet at the same time admit what he did was foolish. Though if Badrang had kept his promise to fight him one-on-one, Felldoh would have easily killed him and ended the book 10 chapters early.
• It wasn't entirely unexpected that Martin the Warrior would feature a Downer Ending, as it was necessary for anything in the preceding books to make sense, but this didn't stop it from being well and truly worthy of inclusion on this page. Rose, the love of Martin's life, is killed in battle and he goes into exile. This summary doesn't begin to do it justice.
  • Also, think about it: Polleekin knew. She said that a bad fate would befall them if they were to return to Marshank, and by extent that it likely had to happen in order for Martin to save Mossflower Woods from Tsarmina. Still, they left with every intention of going back there, and that makes Rose's last song to Polleekin especially sad.
  Goodbye, my friend, and thank you, thank you, thank you
  It makes me sad to leave you upon this summer day.
  Don't shed a tear or cry now, goodbye now, goodbye now,
  I'm sure I'll see you somehow if I pass by this way.
  For the seasons don't fortell
  Who must stay or say farewell
  And I must find out what lies beyond this place.
  But I know deep in my heart
  We are never far apart
  While I have a memory of your smiling face.
  Goodbye, my friend, and thank you, thank you, thank you
  Your kindness guides me ever as I go on my way.
• “Rose, we could have chopped down the sycamore with this.”

The Bellmaker

• The orphans on the island, the two youngest still waiting for their caregiver to Please Wake Up.
• Mellus' funeral and Blaggut's return immediately thereafter.
• Finbarr Galedeep’s death.

Outcast of Redwall

• Veil's mother Bluefen was a physically frail girl whose life consisted of implicitly being terrorized by her abusive warlord father, taken as chattel by an equally violent stranger, and eventually impregnated by said stranger — who cared nothing for her or her child whatsoever, only to die of childbirth after a hard winter. She's buried with practically no ceremony and quickly forgotten.
• Skarlath's death. It happens so suddenly and unexpectedly.
  • Shortly after he dies, Sunflash grabs a leaf and blows on it to make the whistling sound that was always their call to meet before dropping it in the river. At that point, you just wanna jump in the book and give the guy a big hug...
  • Then there's the bit where Sunflash has to explain to his adoptive family that Skarlath won't be coming home.
• Veil's storyline in general is tragic. His mother is dead, his father abandoned him in a ditch, and most at Redwall write him off as a lost cause from the moment he arrives. His reaction to his banishment is especially saddening: "I've got no family, I'm alone. What will I do?" He did bring it on himself, but given his life, he's still pitiable. There's also the way he adopts "the Outcast" as his title, as if it was his destiny.
  • And then of course, there's his Redemption Equals Death moment. "Go 'way... let me sleep!" Between this moment and the aforementioned death, the climax of Outcast is one big Tear Jerker.

The Pearls of Lutra

• When Piknim is brutally murdered by jackdaws. Even worse since she wasn't a warrior, just a simple mousemaid, and Jacques spent a lot of time fleshing her character out and making the reader love her, which makes the event itself all the more saddening.
  • To drive the point home, the recorder of Redwall in the story, Rollo, orders St. Ninian's Church to be burned down because it was reduced to a hovel of evil by previous villains, mainly Cluny and Slagar. The latter of whom was responsible for his mother Mrs. Bankvole’s death in Mattimeo.
• Romsca finally accepting the Abbott's kindness right before dying.

The Long Patrol

• Russa's death. Especially Tammelo having to deal with it.
• Rockjaw Grang's death. Especially with Cregga dreaming of it and waking up yelling Eulalia with him as he falls.

Marlfox

• When the tapestry is stolen, Rusvul lights into his son Dann and accuses him both of shirking his duty by playing games and cowardice. Dann, who was already suffering from a pretty bad case of "Well Done, Son" Guy, is devastated.

Legend of Luke

• Part 2. Possibly the only real tragedy in the series.
  • The slaughter of Luke's tribe, including his wife, happens two days after Martin was born. He lost his mother that young.
  • All of this is summed up at the end, when Luke returns home and finds that his clan has been attacked and taken into slavery. The mouse ran out in a captured boat with no nautical experience in his quest for revenge, and now he's been taken as an oar slave and has lost his entire family without him there to defend them.
• Martin speaking to his deceased father.

Lord Brocktree

• The deaths of Fleetscut and Jukka. It hits especially hard since Fleetscut had been a main character up to this point.
• Stonepaw's death, before he ever gets to reunite with Brocktree.

Taggerung

• Rillflag's death and Deyna's kidnapping. This was just outright tragic. Imagine you just met your baby brother, your father takes him into the woods. Never returns, you assume both are dead (For the equivalent of 15 years) The fact that Mhera and Filorn cried for a week straight. You would have to have a heart made of solid ice not to feel sad reading those chapters.
• Wild Mass Guessing has it that Madd and Fwirl are mother and daughter; their stories of slaughtered families are identical, and Fwirl mentions she found her mother with a head injury and she wouldn't wake, while Madd woke from a coma some days afterwards. They never meet each other in the book, and Madd has become a psychotic murderer.
• Cregga's death, especially coupled with the dying visions she has of her old Long Patrol and the song of a triumphant, long-gone battle that's being sung at the time.

Triss

• Shogg's death. Made worse by the fact that he died trying to kill an adder that Triss or Sagax could've easily defeated on their own...

Loamhedge

• The passing mention of the map being from the "ancient time" of Matthias. Two books ago, the story of how Matthias killed Cluny was common knowledge. Now, one realizes that Matthias, and by extension, everyone in the every book set prior to it, has faded into legend, and may be almost entirely forgotten.
• Bragoon and Saro's Heroic Sacrifice. Even more depressing by the fact the quest they died for was completely pointless at the end.

High Rhulain

• Brinty's Dying Moment of Awesome.

The Sable Quean

• Globby's death. Brat or no, he was basically just a messed up, hungry kid. After his failed escape attempt leaves him cornered in the attic, terrified of the Redwallers who've been beating and threatening him, he breaks down and sobs. After dying gruesomely, he goes completely unmourned.

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