The Owl House/Tear Jerker

""Luz, I'm so happy I had you as a big sister.""

Tear Jerkers in  include:

Season One

 * Luz is bummed when she finds out that her quest to become a chosen one in "Wizards Before Witches" was a scam that another potions seller set to use her as a hostage and take out Eda. After Eda dispatches the seller-- by swallowing him-- she cheers Luz up by saying that not being a chosen one means that Luz can choose her own destiny.
 * "Grom Night" Luz made the choice to stay in the Boiling Isles for the summer rather than go to Reality Check Camp. She admits to King, however, that she feels guilty about lying to her mother via text. King points out that the truth would make Dr. Noceda really upset so it's for the best to keep lying.

Season Two

 * In "Hollow Mind," Luz and Hunter have a mutual breakdown when they learn the truth about Belos, and Hunter's origins. Hunter learns he's not really a witch but a clone of a human, called a Grimwalker, and he's one in a line of dozens. Belos proceeds to dispatch of him, saying he'll have to make another. Then Belos corners Luz, who gasps she can't believe he is Philip Wittenbane, the same human that navigated the Boiling Isles and journaled about them, and whom she inadvertently empowered by giving him the light glyph. He mocks her, asking why she can't believe what's right in front of her, and they both had their reasons for coming to this realm. As Luz calls him insane for wanting to wipe out every witch for the crime of existing, he proceeds to try and murder her in cold blood.
 * "Clouds on the Horizon"
 * Eda and Raine don't dare tell anyone that if she uses the curse to corrupt the Draining Spell, Eda could die whether or goes wrong or right given what happened the first time they tried it. They know it's because not even Darius would dare risk Eda's life for the off-chance that the corruption would work, and none of the Owl House residents would go for it. Eda instead tells goodbye to Luz subtly by reminding her that she is wonderful after giving her the drying Palisman.
 * Hunter and Luz's conversation. They both have a lot of trauma from "Hollow Mind," and as Hunter puts it, "I'm a copy of someone Belos made disappear." Luz says that Willow and Gus would like him even if they knew the truth, but Hunter explains it's not them he's worried about, but him, who he is, and why he exists. He points out she's not ready to tell them about Philip, and she sadly concedes the point.
 * Hunter is terrified of facing Belos again. However, he's even more horrified when Luz takes his place after asking Gus to do some magic, and gets captured by Kikimora. Gus agreed despite his trepidation and is visibly exhausted after he lifts the illusion. When Alador breaks the illusion, he's panicking about the fact that Luz didn't tell him what she and Gus planned with illusion magic and all he could do was watch.
 * "King's Tide":
 * There is something pitiable about how Belos knows that Luz is right when she says that too much time has passed on Earth for him to fit in like a normal human being. Yet he cannot accept the full reality that he will not be welcomed as a hero and savior.
 * King's Heroic Sacrifice. [| At the end of the episode], Luz prepares to stay with him to find Eda and keep the portal door open, telling her friends that they'll find a way back to Earth. The Collector uses telekinesis to separate them so King can honor his promise to play with him, as Luz tearfully holds onto King. Luz tells King they'll stick together, just don't let go. He says, "Not this time. But I can keep you safe." When she gives a Little No, realizing what he's going to do, King cheerfully says, "Luz, I'm so happy I had you as a big sister" before using his Sonic Scream to push her and her friends through the portal, destroying it in the process.
 * Luz tries to open the door again, repeatedly. Nothing happens. The kids realize they are on Earth, stranded from their home. Gus, the youngest, tears up and curls into a ball in the rain, sobbing.

Season Three

 * "Thanks to Them"
 * Luz is wracked with guilt that her friends are stranded on Earth, and for all she knows, Eda could be dead. She spots Amity and Willow hugging each other, crying, as Camilla tries to reassure her that what's important is they're all safe now, and Luz is home at least.
 * Hunter isn't ready to confront the fact that he's a clone of Caleb, let alone tell the others about it. As he tells Luz in a cracking voice, he was the clone of a witch hunter that helped Belos hundreds of years ago, even if Belos murdered Caleb. And unlike Luz, he doesn't have a loving parent or the certainty that he is human; he doesn't know what or who he really is, only that his life was a lie. The opening shows him reading about witchhunters, before seeing Caleb and then Belos's reflection in the bathroom mirror. Hunter has a Freak Out on realizing he looks like his uncle and grabs the scissors. Willow spots him hacking at his hair while terrified; cut to her calming him down and making the trim neater.
 * There is something pathetic about the fact that Luz was right when telling Belos the human world had moved on without him, and he would no longer fit into the 2020s. Witch hunting has been reduced to Halloween reenactments, and the Wittenbane brothers are a cautionary tale about how love can become obsessive. Within Hunter, he reacts to Masha recounting his worst mistakes as a ghost story, before bluntly saying he was jealous of Evelyn and unable to comprehend that Caleb had left him. In his mind, the only thing Belos can do is return to the Boiling Isles and pursue a pointless crusade, because he has nothing on Earth.
 * The climax: poor, poor Flapjack. Heroic Sacrifice though it was, it was agonizing to watch him close his eyes and rest his body on Hunter, transferring his life force. More so if one realizes that Flapjack allowed Belos to crush him so Hunter could fight off Belos's possession. If you had any sympathy left for Belos, you won't after seeing this.
 * "Watching and Dreaming"
 * The Collector mind-raping Luz by puppeteering her friends to speak her fears and insecurities. She fortunately realizes that it's fake when Amity says "wizard's challenge" instead of "wizard's duel" but for a while it's pure intrusive thoughts.
 * Luz, King, and Eda's tearful reunion. They hug and can barely stop crying.
 * The Collector's backstory: as he tells the Owl House Trio, his siblings, the Archivists, sent him on a Snipe Hunt to Earth. He went to play with the Titans, but the other Archivists wiped out the Titans For the Evulz and left him to take the fall. That led to King's father imprisoning the Collector. For once, it wasn't his fault.
 * Luz dies. And doesn't just die but disintegrates thoroughly shielding the Collector from Belos. She reassures the Collector that trying to reason with Belos was a good effort, only for her to become corrupted and dissolve into balls of light. All Luz can manage is a quick goodbye.
 * King and Eda are horrified, while the Collector calls for Luz, asking where she went. Eda allows the Owlbeast to take over it, and King gains Glowing Eyes of Doom before they fly to take on Belos, as the Collector tries snapping his fingers to bring Luz back and "fix her". When nothing happens, and Belos corrupts his powers, the Collector panics. He attempts to shoo Eda and King, telling them to save themselves before they get corrupted, and he cries for the first time.
 * It was well-deserved, but Belos's death makes Luz and the viewer pity what he could have been and the horrendous choices he made. He becomes Philip Wittenbane again, no scar in sight, after Luz rips him from the Titan's heart. At first he tries to thank Luz for "saving him" but refuses to admit that he was at fault, blaming "dark magic" for corrupting him and making him do those horrible things. Luz glares at him as boiling rain falls. He begs her to say something, while the rain reduces him to a grey corpse groveling at her feet. All Luz does is walk away with a look of contempt and pity, letting the witches finish the job.