Tear Jerker / The Mummy Returns

• Evelyn's death. Jonathan hugs Alex close to make him look away as Rick tearfully panics, and Evelyn is struggling to tell Rick she loves him before she dies and manages it with her last breath. Rick goes into full Inelegant Blubbering and whimpering, begging for her to come back. It's one of the absolute finest performances Brendan Fraser has ever turned in.
• When Rick, still reeling from Evy's death, meets the curator inside the pyramid. The look on his face as he walks in, with tear-stained eyes and a ghost-like expression, is heartbreaking.
• The death of Ardeth's bird, Horus, whom he views as a dear friend. After Horus is shot down by Lock-Nah, Ardeth can only scream his name in horror and heartbreak.
• The sheer heartbreak on Imhotep's face as Anck-su-namun runs off as he calls for her to help him from the pit. He may be an undead murderous sorcerer, but he sacrificed everything for her, was punished with eternal damnation for trying to raise her from the dead in the ancient past and spent a significant part of the first film trying to bring her back again. He truly did love her... and when he looked for that selfless devotion to be returned, she ran and left him to die. Imhotep can only stare in shock and whisper her name, then give the O'Connells a tearful look of jealousy before throwing himself into the pit.
  • The death of Imhotep and Anck-su-namun's betrayal actually allows for a cool Foil to the O'Connells' relationship. In the first Mummy, Imhotep and Anck-su-namun may have been in love, but in an All Take and No Give way: they lusted for each other and conspired to kill the Pharoah for each other, but we never truly see an equal level of give-and-take that we would expect from a healthy relationship. Sure, Imhotep goes to great lengths to save Anck-su-namun, but we never see a similar level of sacrifice or devotion from her. Contrast that to Evy in the first movie: she chooses to go with Imhotep not because she wants to, but because she knows that Rick will save her in the end. And then that action has a Bookend in the sequel: despite Rick clearly telling Evy to run away, she races to save him because she wants to save him. Contrast that to Imhotep and Anck, where the former begs the latter to help him, and she proceeds to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here on him. It is fitting that in a relationship founded on selfish desire, the last actions both characters take is self-centered at the core: he begs her to save him because he is afraid to die, she runs away because she is afraid to die. They are rewarded with death, the O'Connells are rewarded with life. That's why Imhotep has the faintest trace of a smile when he looks over at the O'Connells: he now sees what true love looks like, and it's beautiful.
  • Imhotep's death is even sadder in the novelization. A horrified and heartbroken Imhotep sees how Anck Su Namun leaves him, and Rick O'Connell, his arch nemesis, feels pity for him and actually tries to save Imhotep. Rather than accept Rick's aid, Imhotep simply smiles sadly at him and Evelyn and says a phrase in Ancient Egyptian, before he throws himself into the underworld. The meaning of the phrase? After the O'Connells are safe, Rick ask Evelyn what Imhotep said, to which she translates "love that lasts longer than the temples of the gods".

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