Pilot Twist
After we were tricked into thinking this was a show about people with the same birthday, the end of the pilot revealed that Kate (Chrissy Metz), Kevin (Justin Hartley), Randall (Sterling K. Brown), and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) all shared way more than a birthday. In fact, Jack was the father to the other three (all his scenes took place in 1980!), and Randall joined the family when Kate and Kevin's fellow triplet didn't make it. Consider our minds completely blown.
Rating: 3 Happy Cries
Rebecca Remarried
Before we knew what happened to Jack, this news was rage-inducing, and it seems like Miguel's (Jon Huertas) character has never really recovered in the eyes of fans.
Rating: 6 Angry Screams
RIP Jack
Five episodes into the series, our saddest suspicion was confirmed by an urn on Kate's mantle. At some point between the flashbacks and present day, Jack Pearson died. We didn't yet know when or how, but we knew it was absolutely devastating news no matter what.
Rating: 5,000 Sad Cries
William's Death
The entirety of "Memphis" was just rude. We were already emotional learning about William's (Ron Cephas Jones) past, so to have him die at the end of all that was almost more than we could bare. And the ducks! We'll never get over those ducks.
Rating: 47 Sad Cries
Jack Meets Adult Randall
Thanks to a batch of potent mushrooms, Milo Ventimiglia and Sterling K. Brown got to act together for the first time as Randall hallucinated his father. Even hallucinatory Jack was kind of perfect, helping Randall come to terms with his new feelings of anger towards his mother for keeping William away from him.
Rating: 17 Confused Sad/Happy Magic Mushroom Cries
Jack's Funeral
We got just a brief glimpse at the service as Kate pounded out her feelings at fat camp, but it was more than enough to start the blubbering. It also gave us one of our first clues as to when Jack actually died, because it looked as if the Big Three were teens. It also came out of absolutely nowhere with little warning, which you know, tears.
Rating: 37 Wailing Cries of Sadness
Jack and Rebecca's Big Fight
Jack may have been on his way out the door after fighting with Rebecca (Mandy Moore) about her showbiz dream and his alcoholism, but first he stopped and took a moment to tell Rebecca all the things he loved about her, like how she laughs with her whole face.
Rating: 2 Full Emotional Roller Coasters
The Fire Reveal
Rebecca crying and screaming in that car, with the Pearsons' scorched house in the background, may haunt us forever.
Rating: 83 Exact Replica Rebecca Screams and Cries
Randall's Adoption
The Pearsons worked so hard to not only raise three kids but to make sure they were all legally their kids. While it took a judge recusing himself and bringing in a new judge to make it happen, it sure was beautiful when it did.
Rating: 10 Happy Cries and One High Five With Rebecca's Raised Right Hand
Kate Lost the Baby
Kate was so excited to be pregnant and so genuinely and understandably devastated to have lost that baby, as positive and uplifting as that doctor tried to be. And then when Rebecca came and hugged her, following that flashback to the hospital discussion, oh boy.
Rating: 25 Sad Cries and 1 Shower Curtain in a Dumpster (Where It Belongs!)
Deja's Departure
Randall and Beth's first foray into foster parenting got off to a rough start, but by the time Deja went back to her mom, everybody had left impressions on each other, and it felt like a shock when she was gone. Her final goodbyes to Randall and Beth were touching as hell.
Rating: 13 Sad Cries, 7 Happy Cries, & One Sad Lullaby to a Plant
That Therapy Session
Have you ever experienced something on network TV that was so raw? So painful? So utterly destroying? So...confused by the presence of Sally Langston/Ellis Grey (Kate Burton)? Turns out the Pearsons are just as dysfunctional as any other family no matter how hard they pretend everything is fine.
Rating: 18 Whoas and 13 Sad Cries
That Fire
All fires are a bit emotional since they do tend to destroy important things, but this fire had flashbacks. It burned a towel right after we saw Rebecca receiving that towel. It burned a wall right after we saw the kids' heights being documented it. The fire burned the house right after we saw the whole family dancing and throwing wrapping paper at each other in that house! And then it crept up the stairs to where the entire family was sleeping! That's not a regular fire. That is a fire specifically designed to emotionally torture us and we feel truly betrayed.
Rating: 3 Stephanie Tanner's Catchphrases and All the Tears We Have Left