Full House is one of the best feel-good sitcoms ever. It gave the world eight seasons of family time, laughter, and lessons. Most of the time, Full House would keep things pretty light, offering its dear viewers an escape from reality. Other times, though, the sitcom would touch on some difficult themes.
The backstory of Full House is undoubtedly a sad one--three little girls have just lost their mother, meaning that their young dad has just lost his wife. Jesse and Joey step in and help the family through their tough times and their milestones. As much as we love the good times on the show, here are the ten worst heartbreaks we should know about.
Buh-bye, Becky
The world knows what it's like to lose Aunt Becky now, but what if we had lost her thirty years ago? In the early third season, Jesse and Becky have just come off of their almost-wedding in Las Vegas that happened at the end of season two. They've slowed things down and are back to dating. In an episode called "Breaking Up is Hard to Do (in 22 Minutes)," their interests aren't aligning. Jesse doesn't want to ride horses with Becky, and Becky doesn't want to go to the Smash Club when Jesse's band is playing. So, they spend most of the episode broken up. And it's sad. But alas, they get back together.
Misbehavin' Michelle
A season four episode is called "Crimes and Michelle's Misdemeanor" because Michelle thinks she is the queen of the world. It takes Danny a long time to realize that his little princess is out of control. He and Jesse and Joey try to put her to bed, but she breaks out to go watch Arsenio. When Danny attempts to punish her, Michelle just doesn't understand. Danny and Michelle find a way to make things work, but it's hard to watch kids struggle with obedience while parents struggle with discipline.
Goodbye, Goldfish
Michelle has another sad day in season four. You wouldn't think so from the episode opener in which Michelle is singing along happily with Jesse's band. Unfortunately, things go downhill when Michelle gets a goldfish. She gives him an adorable name (Martin) and tries her best to take good care of him, but she accidentally kills the fish by giving him a bath. It seems that she took Joey's advice to keep the fish's bowl clean a little too far.
The guys try to help her through her grief by buying Michelle a new goldfish, but she is afraid she'll kill it, too. She cheers up when she watches Freddy (who's actually Frieda) give birth to a school of fish. Thus ends the episode, with Michelle asking where babies come from.
Dirty Danny
The fifth season brings a sad day for Danny. It's time for his annual spring cleaning ritual with the whole family, but they're not feeling it. Well, Michelle is. But Danny and Michelle are driving everyone else crazy, and Danny overhears the family complaining about him. It breaks his heart, so he overhauls his Mr. Clean image and purposefully turns himself into a Dirty Dan. Everyone is really sorry that they hurt him, but the audience really feels for the guy.
Farewell, Vicky
Danny and Vicky were such a great couple. They meet in the fifth season when Vicky fills in on Wake Up, San Francisco for Becky, who is birthing her twin boys. Vicky and Danny date for a couple of years, get engaged, and break things off in season seven. In an episode called "The Perfect Couple," Danny and Vicky are to compete with Steve and DJ and Jesse and Becky on a game show Joey is hosting (obviously called The Perfect Couple). Vicky is too late to do the show, so Danny ends up competing with an older woman named Estelle. Vicky reveals that she has a job waiting for her in New York, so she and Danny call it quits. It's a really emotional break-up, and it's hard to see careers win out over love.
Jailbird Joey
"Grand Gift Auto" is a tough one. In season six, Joey buys DJ a car for her sixteenth birthday, but it turns out that the car was stolen when he purchased it. A stern female police officer tracks Joey down, and the family absurdly takes her up to Joey's bedroom to convince her that he would never steal a car. While Joey is off the hook and doesn't have to go to jail, DJ loses her birthday present, and Joey feels terrible. He also thinks the family doesn't appreciate him enough. To help cheer Joey up, they watch some old home movies (flashbacks of old episodes) to highlight the important place he has in the Tanner household.
So Long, Steve
The seventh season is a sad one for Steve and DJ, too. Steve is getting more involved in his college life, and DJ feels that they are drifting apart. In an episode literally called "Love on the Rocks," Steve and DJ talk it all out on Eagle Mountain. Cue the sad music.
They agree that they're no longer as passionate about their relationship as they once were. They obviously still care about one another, but they part ways (literally) and look to new horizons.
Rest in Peace, Papouli
Papouli is Uncle Jesse's grandfather and the Tanner girls' great-grandfather. He is first introduced in the season four premiere, "Greek Week." This episode draws on Jesse's Greek heritage and celebrates Papouli and Yaya's fiftieth wedding anniversary. Jesse and Becky also get engaged (again). Papouli's second and last appearance is in the seventh season in an episode poignantly called "The Last Dance." He and Michelle bond over the Greek dance he teaches her. Jesse is so glad to have his grandfather with the family again, but Papouli dies in his sleep the night before he is supposed to do the Greek dance with Michelle for her class at school. This is one of the saddest episodes of Full House ever, but John Stamos warned parents of its content before it originally aired in 1994. The actor who played Papouli, Jack Kruschen, passed away in 2002.
Conked-out Kimmy
Towards the end of the series, a bad decision really messes with Kimmy and DJ's friendship. Although they're still in high school, they go to a fraternity party in season eight's "Under the Influence." DJ acts responsibly, but Kimmy tries to be cool and then gets drunk. The two friends make a scene when DJ tries to get Kimmy home safely. They spend the rest of the night in the bathroom so that DJ can help Kimmy through her nausea. Both of them are so upset, but the episode teaches a valuable lesson that being yourself and learning to say "no" is the cool thing to do.
Stood Up Stephanie
In the eighth season, Stephanie asks a cute boy named Ryan (Andrew Keegan) out to the school dance, and he says he will go with her. She gets all dressed up but has nowhere to go when Ryan stands her up. She waits on him for hours and is so dejected when he never shows. Danny takes matters into his own hands and talks to the jerk, but Danny only makes things worse and even tells Ryan that Stephanie cried!
Ryan asks Stephanie out after this, and she says yes, but she finds out that he and Danny talked. Stephanie then ditches Ryan, who becomes upset. After they sort out their misunderstanding, they start over. It's really sweet at the end, but so emotional getting there.