American Dad/Heartwarming

• The episode "Of Ice and Men". Despite it being a parody of The Princess Bride, it is actually a very touching moment where Stan puts aside his usual stubborn attitude and has a very meaningful bonding experience between him and Francine. The B-Story has a rather touching and awesome moment, when Toshi, at Snot and Sletvana, the mail-order Russian bride's wedding, interrupts it by admitting his love for Sletvana in fluent Russian.
• The episode "American Dream Factory", when the illegal Mexican immigrants are singing "Take Me Home Country Roads", which they say is about the America they dreamed of immigrating to. Stan is moved by this and helps them escape deportation.
• The flashback in "Stan's Food Restaurant". Surely I'm not the only one touched that someone would go out of their way that much just to cheer up a random depressed kid?
• Stan's speech at the end of the episode "Lincoln Lover" (after he finds out that being gay isn't a choice and that many gay people support the Republican party). Also counts as a Moment of Awesome.
• The end of the episode "Rapture's Delight". At the end, after Stan sacrificed himself to save Jesus and Francine from demons (It Makes Sense in Context), we find out what Stan's personal paradise is: When he enters his personal heaven, events rewind back to before the apocalypse/it turns out to just be a dream, and Stan is living with his family, a wiser man than before.
• In one episode, after Stan gets out of prison, punches Roger for sentencing him to extra time in prison, and sees that Steve has aged to that of a middle-aged man due to him "growing up too fast", he picks up Steve and carries him outside to a Slip-N-Slide. He tells Steve, "Play on it for as long as you like." Steve's cheers of joy as he regresses back to his fourteen-year-old self is quite heartwarming to say the least.
• Believe it or not, Roger has actually had a couple, perhaps most notably in "Roger Codger": at the risk of the entire family being caught and punished for harboring him, he genuinely offers to sacrifice himself to cover things up, leaving himself open for Stan to execute. Stan pulls out his gun and hesitates, obliviously noticing a tear coming out of his eye.
• The end of "The One That Got Away", when Roger as himself can't bear to leave Judy alone and crying so he invites her to go out to dinner with him.
• In the episode "Bullocks to Stan" when Stan finally man's up and kicks Bullock's ass for insulting Haley. It's actually quite touching given that it was still one of the earliest episodes.
• Stan describing how much he loves Hayley while posing as his own body double:

"When you were younger, and you were asleep, he'd come into your room and put a piece of candy on your tongue so you'd always have sweet dreams. And before every mission, he kisses a picture of you..."

• Though it's short lived (due to Stan geting shot in the head and forgetting about it), Stan's brief apology over treating Klaus unfairly is especially heartwarming in "Haylias":

Stan: I guess I forget sometimes that you're not just a fish in a bowl. You're a man in a fish in a bowl.
[Klaus places his fin on Stan's hand]
Klaus: Maybe I could be... a friend in a fish in a bowl.

• Hayley actually taking Stan's side during the hurricane episode.
  • How about Stan trying to save his family throughout that episode? Sure, every attempt failed miserably and made things even worse but like Hayley said, he was really trying.
• Hayley and Jeff finally getting married.
• Pretty much any time Stan doesn't treat Hayley like crap.
• Despite all the life-threatening situations Stan is thrown into on account of Roger in "Office Spaceman", Stan still saves Roger when the alien is captured by the CIA and about to be dissected.
• The end of "Great Space Roaster", where Stan of all people confirms that Roger, in spite of being a massive Jerkass throughout the series in general and the episode in particular, is still considered a part of the Smith family. Roger's genuine tears of joy that follow only make the moment more poignant.
• In the episode "Widowmaker", after Stan reveals the Batman Gambit that Craig isn't dead for being a "blabbermouth", but is instead living in Laos with his new wife, due to his now-ex Julie constantly badgering him to share, Francine begins to accept that some men, like Stan, aren't so touchy-feely. As she looks away , this occurs:

Stan: Orange.
Francine: What?
Stan: My favorite color is orange.
Francine: Oh, honey, I love you too.

• The flashback to Stan introducing Roger to the Smith family in A.T. The Abusive Terrestrial, he puts him in a large gift box Roger jumps out of. Francine faints in horror while Hayley runs away terrified, while an overjoyed Steve runs and hugs him.
• In "Flirting with Disaster" Stan lovingly encourages a disfigured Francine to flirt with him, and while Francine tries and fails to say anything sexy Stan just steadily looks at her, smiling.
  • Though its followed by the worst Nightmare Face in the show's history.
• Dr. Klaustus serves as a real Pet the Dog moment for Klaus.
• The ending scene in dog heaven in "Stan's Best Friend".
• From "The Kidney Stays in the Picture," Stan declaring that whether or not he is Hayley's biological father (which neither he nor the audience ever finds out), all the love and effort he has put into raising her makes her his daughter, no matter what.
• Steve teaching Stan to use his imagination in Toy Whorey.
• In Daddy Queerest, Stan tries to get one Terry's dad to accept his son after he had revealed his homosexuality to him, though it failed. Terry starts scolding Stan for causing all this trouble...until Francine tells him to stop and says that despite what Stan had done, he had tried to fix it for them. That episode showed that she loves her husband despite his flaws. Awww.

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