The Office (2005 TV series)/Tear Jerker

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • In "Boys and Girls," Jan discusses ambitions with all the office women; Pam wants a house with a terrace to plant flowers, and a job where she can use her art skills. Jan offers to put in a good word for her on a graphic design internship in New York, but when Pam tells Roy about it, he tells her to forget about it. Pam explains all this to the camera along with the terrace (it's from a children's story she read, and something about it stuck with her). But what are dreams worth? "It's impractical. I'm not gonna try to get a house like that. Um, they don't even make houses like that in Scranton...so, I'm never gonna..." Pam has to stop herself from crying.
    • Then Pam goes to art school (hooray!), fails once, and gives up (boo!). Roy turns out to be right in hindsight. A jerk, sure, but right.
      • Still, I think the point is that she had to learn on her own that she wasn't cut out for it. You never know unless you try, after all - and it really doesn't discount the fact that Roy dismissed her aspirations out of hand before she even got a chance to try.
  • Tiny Dancer playing at the end of The Dundies as Jim watches the car drive away. You really need to feel sorry for him.
  • Good Lord, how is "Casino Night" not mentioned here?! Jim confesses his love to Pam [not really a spoiler, as they're married now] and she turns him down, although she clearly feels terrible and doubtful about it. Jim wipes away a tear as he walks away. Later, Pam calls her mom from the office to talk about it, saying "I don't know, Mom, he's my best friend." Jim returns and kisses her, and she kisses him back. Also a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
    • Then the extension of that flashback in "Gay Witch Hunt," when they both admit they've wanted to do that for a long time -- then Jim asks if Pam is still going to marry Roy, and she says yes. The shot of Jim slipping his hands away from Pam's always makes the room a little dusty at this troper's house.
  • It's small, but when Ryan gets arrested, Holly finds Micheal crying in his office and he chokes out, "I'm just worried about my friend."
  • The end of "Niagara," with the shot of Pam and Jim after their secret wedding -- Pam resting her head on Jim's shoulder just like in "Diversity Day." Not a bad day, indeed.
  • When Michael leaves the office for the last time in the episode "Goodbye Michael". In fact, the entire episode, though hilarious, was one big tear jerker.

Jim: You know what I think we should do? I think we should just save the goodbyes for tomorrow. At lunch. (chokes up) Then I can tell you what a great boss you were, the best I've ever had.

    • The scene with Jim makes a similar scene back in The Secret a bit more emotional because, both times, Michael breaks down crying trying to talk to Jim, and both times, Jim comforts him and tells him it's alright. The difference being? The second time, Jim and Michael are actually friends, and this time they're saying goodbye.
    • When Micheal plans on going to Colorado that night the goodbye to Kelly sticks out because she was fiddling with her cellphone and whisked him away. Now with the spoiler in mind, she never got to say a proper goodbye, considering they bonded in the ep where she falsified Jim and Dwight's customer survey reports.
    • Michael telling the party planning committee to plan a party everyone will like. It's nice until we later find out that Michael won't be there, so it doesn't matter what he likes. He just wanted his friends to have a good time together.
    • Also, when Michael's in the break room with Pam, Jim, and Kevin and slowly starts to cry as he listens to one of their usual random conversations.
    • Michael's goodbye conversation to Erin brought tears of the happy kind. It's very heartwarming as well. After saying that she wish she had her birth mother to help with relationship issues, they had this moment.

Michael: Erin, listen to me: you shouldn't rush into this at all. And you know why? Because you are beautiful, and you are fun, and you are smart. And when the right guy comes along, you'll know it. You will. [she laughs, and he kisses her on the head] And you know what? You don't need a mom. Because you have my number, and you can call any time.

    • Young Michael on Fundle Bundle (a made-up puppet show) is downright heartbreaking when he explains why he wants to grow up, get married, and have 100 kids.

"If I had 100 kids I could ask them all to be my friend and none of them could say no."

    • After Michael takes a recorder out of his desk and says, "T-Shirt idea. Goodbyes stink," into it, Jim looks at the camera, slightly teary-eyed, with a "Really gonna miss that" expression.
  • Michael breaking down slightly in Women's Appreciation over Jan's treatment of him once he's clued in that the way she treats him isn't entirely nice. Once you know about his wish to just have a big family and lots of friends, it's easy to understand why he's still with such a horrible person, but it doesn't make it any less sad.
  • Andy's desperation for his father's approval in "The Garden Party." When Andy actually confronts his father about his apparent indifference, he essentially tells Andy that he is not proud of him, and that he doesn't consider Andy's accomplishments significant. The rest of the office overhears the incident, and at the end of the episode they make it clear that they accept him just fine. This part doubles as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
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