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13 Times 'Pretty Little Liars' Destroyed Us Emotionally

When Hanna cries, we cry.

"Pretty Little Liars" is known for its shocking twists and can't-miss surprises, but it's often the quieter, more heartbreaking moments that stick with us.

Remember when Emily came out to her dad? When Spencer broke Toby's heart? Or how painful Caleb and Hanna's breakup was in Season 4? Let's take a look back at all the times "Pretty Little Liars" played with our emotions over the years. Marlene King, we're sending our group therapy bills to you. We hope that's OK.

When Maya died and broke our hearts into a million tiny pieces.

Will anything ever top the Season 2 finale in terms of heartbreak and devastation? Probably not. We're not sure what was worse: finding out Maya was dead, or the way Emily's face crumbled as she fell into her friends' arms. Her first true love was dead, and our heart broke for her.

When Spencer cried outside Toby's door.

Remember when Spencer thought Toby was working with A and demanded answers outside his door while Mona was inside eating their anniversary dinner? Yeah, that was heartbreaking. When Troian Bellisario cries, we cry -- and Season 3 was heavy on the tears.

When Emily came out to her dad.

Emily's coming out is still one of the most beautiful stories "Pretty Little Liars" has ever told. The way Em's dad looked at her in the scene -- so full of love and acceptance -- was just heartwarming. And when Pam wanted to "fix" their daughter, it was Mr. Fields who said, "Fix it? This is not like buying her braces. It’s who she is." (We're already crying just thinking about it.)

When Ali and the Liars pleaded with Charlotte not to jump.

It's safe to say that when "PLL" finally revealed its enigmatic masked villain after five seasons of teases, taunts and fake-outs, we were thrilled. In fact, we cried happy-tears! We finally had an answer; A was none other than CeCe Drake AKA Charlotte DiLaurentis, Ali and Jason's transgender older sibling. Hearing Charlotte detail her years of emotional abuse to Ali was absolutely heartbreaking. No one deserves to be locked away in a mental institution for being themselves. So when Charlotte attempted to jump off the roof of Radley Sanitarium, her prison for so many years, Ali and the Liars rushed to save her. Charlotte wasn't really going to jump, but hearing Ali plead with her sister not to was get-wrenching. It's also the only time "you've been such a bitch to us, but we heard your story, and we understand" will ever sound so sincere.

When Spencer thought she found Toby's body in the woods.

This scene was hard to watch, but Bellisario acted the hell out of it. When Spencer found what she thought was Toby's dead body in the woods, she lost it. She fell to her knees and hyperventilated while sobs wracked her entire body. It was intense.

When Aria confronted Ezra.

Say what you want about Aria's cry-face, but Lucy Hale really put everything into this scene. Aria, panicked and overwhelmed by her recent discovery, confronted Ezra on a ski lift about all of the lies he's told her over the years. In this moment, Ezra betrayed her trust and broke her heart, which is pretty damn terrible in our books.

When Caleb left Rosewood for California.

This tearful Season 2 moment was bittersweet for many reasons. On one hand, we wanted Caleb to have a relationship with his estranged mom, but on the other hand, we didn't want Caleb to leave Rosewood. Hanna took it in stride, of course. She was happy that Caleb had reconnected with his mom... even if that meant he was going to be 2,000 miles away. Sometimes, you have to put other things first -- and Haleb understood that. They were pretty OK at the whole long distance thing.

When Spencer couldn't be trusted.

We know this is the third Spencer-centric moment from Season 3 to make the list, but Bellisario was ON FIRE this season. After Spencer found Toby's "body" in the woods, she ended up in catatonic state at Radley Sanitarium (wouldn't you?) where she hallucinated the Liars in her support group. There, she told her friends that she was just done with everything -- the lies, the secrets, the gAmes. She had given up, and in the process, she lost herself.

"I fell down in the woods when I was running, and I said to myself, 'OK, if this is the last thing you ever see, I can handle that,'" she told the girls. "I’m done. I’ve had enough... How do you keep going when the worst thing has happened?" Sob sob sob.

When Paige moved to California.

We didn't blame Paige for leaving Rosewood to start anew in California. After everything A has put her through, leaving a few months shy of graduation sounded like the perfect escape plan. And as much as we wished Emily would have gone with her, she's far too loyal to her friends to leave them at A's mercy. That didn't make this sad airport goodbye any easier to swallow. Tears for everyone!

When Caleb and Hanna broke up and he went back to Ravenswood.

Caleb's life in Ravenswood was abnormal to say the least. Not only was he dealing with his unexplained feelings for a ghost girl, but he was also wrapped up in the creepy history of America's spookiest small town. It wasn't exactly something he could tell Hanna without sounding like a crazy person. So when Caleb returned to Rosewood for a brief stay, Hanna confronted him about his strange behavior. She thought he was seeing Miranda behind her back, but really, he just didn't know how to tell her that she was a ghost. Needless to say, the heartbreaking conversation ended in a breakup.

When Mike Montgomery broke down.

It can be easy to forget Aria's little brother Mike exists sometimes. After all, we're pretty sure we didn't see him at all for two entire seasons. But Mike really grew up in Season 5. Mona's apparent death drove him over the edge, and when he finally broke down in front of Aria, we were already in tears. We wish the show devoted more time to Mike's struggle to move past his depression because Cody Christian really crushes scenes like this.

When Spencer broke up with Toby in his pick-up truck.

Spencer and Toby have plenty of trust issues. You could say it all started back in Season 1 when the Liars viewed Toby as a major A suspect, but we think it all started right here in Toby's truck. There was so much Spencer wasn't telling Toby -- A was just the tip of the iceberg -- so of course Toby felt like Spencer didn't trust him. "You deserve to be with someone who can be honest with you," Spencer said before she broke Toby's heart and sobbed her heart out alone.

When A forced Hanna to eat the cupcakes.

Between all of the breakups and untimely deaths in Rosewood, it can be easy to overlook some of the "PLL"'s more quietly heartbreaking moments like this scene between Hanna and a box of pig cupcakes. While Hanna's issues with food have never fully been addressed in the series, Ali's nasty pet name for her, Hefty Hanna, obviously did its damage to Hanna's self esteem. Hanna may have lost the weight, but the pain was still there -- and leave it to A to bring out those inner demons. In this scene, A bribed Hanna to finish a box of cupcakes for a couple of Benjamin Franklins. After Hanna finished the cupcakes, she received a text from A taunting her to purge the cupcakes. Our heart broke for Hanna in that moment. No one should ever have to go through that.

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