15 Saddest TV Show Moments Of All Time
9. The Sopranos - Into The Woods
Adriana Le Cerva was one of The Sopranos' most endearing and generally likeable characters, played wonderfully by Drea de Matteo and featuring an excellent five season arc. Though the show was no stranger to messing with its viewers and breaking hearts, Adriana's death in the season five episode "Long Term Parking" remains one of the show's toughest-to-watch moments.
After coming under investigation from the FBI in the previous season, Adriana becomes a federal informant in order to protect her husband Christopher, nephew of crime boss Tony Soprano. After coming clean about her double life, it was almost inevitable that her time was up.
However, in the episode itself, audiences were teased into thinking that Adriana had got into her own car and was fleeing her old life as she should have done long ago. This proves to be a daydream, and the scene cuts to Adriana in a car with made man Silvio Dante, who drives her into the woods and executes her for her betrayal.
The realisation on Adriana's face, knowing her time has come, is still one of the show's most affecting moments.