These 7 tragic moments from The Chi can literally bring tears to your eyes

While navigating their lives in Chicago’s South Side, the characters of The Chi have gone through numerous challenges that brought hardships and complications in their personal lives, relationships, and professions.

Whether deaths, breakups, or sickness, many reasons have given us some tragic moments in the show that we have not been able to get over. From Jason’s death that gripped the neighborhood to Kevin’s emotional goodbye, this list includes 7 such tragic moments from The Chi that have brought tears to our eyes.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers and is based on the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.

These 7 tragic moments from The Chi can literally bring tears to your eyes

7) Jason’s death (Season 1, Episode 1)

Tai Davis in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

The death of Jason in The Chi's premiere was one of the most heartbreaking incidents that further impacted the community, which brought more tragic events to the lives of the people of the South Side. It shattered Tracy, his mother, and further impacted Ronnie, his stepfather, who was grief-stricken and, after being prompted by Tracy, went on to look for Jason’s killer.

He discovered Brandon’s brother, Coogie, with Jason’s shoes and chain and thought he was Jason’s killer, resulting in another killing that devastated one more family in the town, making it one of the most tragic moments of the drama series.

6) Emmett finds out about Jada’s cancer (Season 4, Episode 5)

Jacob Latimore in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

In season 4, Jada was diagnosed with breast cancer, which became one of the most emotional storylines of the drama series. Jada tried her best to hide the news, but eventually, her son found out.

In episode 5 of season 4, one of the most tear-jerking moments of the show occurs when the mother-son duo share an emotional moment where Emmett confesses to his mother that he does not want to lose her. He tells her there’s so much left for her to see, as he has just begun to achieve things. He wants to buy her a house and wants to make her proud. To which Jada tells him that she is already very proud of her son. While Jada recovered then, in season 7, she discovers that her cancer has returned, creating another tragic storyline.

5) Tiffany and Emmett’s divorce (Season 5, Episode 6)

Hannaha Hall and Jacob Latimore in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

At the beginning of season 5 of The Chi, Tiffany moves out with her son EJ and informs Emmett that she does not want to be in the marriage. There were several complications in their relationship, which included infidelity.

While Tiffany wanted a relationship but not to be tied down in it, she moved on from Emmett while he tried to get better and be responsible after his past mistakes and tried to win Tiffany back. However, their relationship still could not survive, and they divorced, resulting in another heartbreak of the series.

4) Tiffany finds out about Rob’s death (Season 7, Episode 1)

Hannaha Hall in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

Tiffany finds out from Alicia that Rob is dead, causing her to break down in episode 1 of the seventh season of The Chi. The latter is devastated by the news and descends into a deep depression. Tiffany is trying hard in the aftermath of her partner’s death, but she couldn’t even get out of her bed.

While everyone tries to help her, including Keisha, who steps in to take care of EJ until she feels better, she is still devastated. The situation becomes more heartbreaking when Tiffany finds out that she is pregnant, but Rob won’t be able to see his child ever.

3) Papa gets emotional after his father's death (Season 6, Episode 7)

Shamon Brown Jr. in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

Pastor Jackson’s murder became another tragic incident in the neighborhood, which left many shattered, but mostly his son, Papa. Papa has been known to be one of the most lovable and funny characters, and seeing him spend most of the episode crying and trying to send everyone away from him was devastating.

His argument with Bakari, due to his thinking Douda was responsible for his father’s death, and later the heartbreaking eulogy left the viewers emotional, resulting in it being one of the most tragic moments of the drama series.

2) Brandon’s mother’s eulogy at his funeral (Season 3, Episode 1)

Sonja Sohn in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

Brandon was one of the fan-favorite characters of The Chi in the earlier seasons but was written off after misconduct allegations against him. The series then killed off his character off-screen, which brought one of the most devastating moments in the series when his mother, Laverne Johnson, gave her eulogy at his funeral.

She lost both of her sons in three seasons' time: Coogie in season 1 and Brandon in season 3, which left her shattered. She said,

"He never had a damn shot! Neither did Coogie! I had no right to bring those boys into the world. He tried to run away from it, but he could never outrun me. They were all I had, and this city took ’em from me. So I’m always gonna be broken. And there ain’t nothin’ that’s ever gonna make me whole again."

1) Kevin and Emmett’s heartbreaking farewell (Season 6, Episode 8)

Alex R. Hibbert in The Chi | Image via Showtime Networks

Episode 8 of The Chi season 6 was one of the most emotional episodes of the series. Kevin’s family and friends threw a farewell party for him as he was leaving Chicago to go to LA due to an opportunity for his game skills.

While it was an overall emotional moment for everyone, it became heartbreaking when Emmett and Kevin said their goodbyes to each other. While they tried to conceal their tears and say whatever they wanted to each other, such as Kevin being thankful to Emmett for always being there for him. The moment became more emotional when the two hugged and couldn’t hide their tears anymore as they cried in each other’s embrace, making it one of the most important scenes that depict their strong friendship.