Be aware that this trope is naturally prone to SPOILERS.
Times where someone takes up another's quest, mission or legacy after their death in Live-Action TV series.
- In the Final Battle of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Faith takes up the scythe after Buffy is struck down and...let's use Joss Whedon's words."She goes ape shit on the fuckers."
- Babylon 5: The episode "Grail" featured a Cool Old Guy searching the galaxy for the Holy Grail; his order has searched Earth top to bottom and determined it must've been taken off-planet at some point. When he's mortally wounded, the young man he had befriended and given a new lease on life agrees to take up the quest for him; he's last seen carrying the old man's staff and wearing identical robes, accompanying the body back to Earth before, presumably, resuming the quest in the stars.
- Deadwood: Wild Bill Hickok is introduced as though he would be a major character, acting as a sort of surrogate sheriff for the town. After his murder, Seth Bullock took on the role of the town's conscience, eventually becoming the town's real sheriff. Similarly, after Brom Garrett's murder, his widow (who had previously shown little interest in anything other than laudanum), rose to the occasion and fought to secure her late husband's gold claim and to try and get some kind of justice against his killers.
- Doctor Who's "Time Crash" combined this with Passing the Torch. Despite the time differential (it aired two years after the revival premiered), can be seen as Classic Who passing the torch to New Who.
- ER: when Mark (protagonist of the first eight seasons) has his last day at the hospital, his last words before leaving are "you set the tone, Carter." After he dies, Dr. Carter "inherits" Mark's stethoscope.
- The Flash (2014): Hunter Zolomon/Zoom imprisoned Jay Garrick/Flash and impersonated him to give the people a false sense of hope just so he could take it away as Zoom. Part of Hunter's Flash costume included a metal, winged helmet. Later, when Hunter is killed and Jay is freed, Jay decides to add Hunter's helmet to his costume and turn it into a real symbol of hope. The helmet serves him well in battle, as it is bulletproof.
- Game of Thrones:
- After Rhaegar Targaryen was killed by Robert Baratheon, his brother Viserys wielded his sword and was eager to get revenge. Viserys doesn't get the chance because he gets himself killed by his own stupidity, then the sword is never seen again except in flashbacks.
- Joffery Baratheon only wields the sword Widow's Wail for a few minutes because he is fatally poisoned soon after he gets it. His father, Jaime Lannister, later wields Widow's Wail in battle.
- When Jon Snow is assassinated, Davos Seaworth briefly wields his sword Longclaw. When Jon is resurrected, Davos returns Longclaw to him.
- Highlander episode 'Homeland'. After Duncan was cast out of his clan, it was attacked by a Viking named Kanwulf, and his father was killed. Duncan came back and took up his father's sword to go after the guy. Unfortunately, he didn't know the rules of immortality at the time, so he didn't behead Kanwulf and the guy survived. Duncan, however, became a legend. "He came back from the grave, took up his father's sword, and slew the Viking." When Kanwulf returns in the present day to terrorize the village until his sacred ax is found, Duncan repeats the legend, taking his father's sword from the inn/tavern where it had hung and finally ending Kanwulf for good.
- Kamen Rider Double:
- In the first movie Sokichi Narumi died and passed his hat on to his assistant, protagonist Shotaro.
- In the second Double movie, where Sokichi appears to Shotaro "beyond the grave" as Kamen Rider Skull, giving his former apprentice the Lost Driver and enabling him to become Kamen Rider Joker.
- Kamen Rider Ex-Aid pulls a non-lethal parody. Gamer Nico wants to sate her childish grudge against Emu. He retired from professional gaming before the story's start and she can't compete with him as a medicinal intern or Kamen Rider, so she tries to get Taiga to defeat him in her place. He is not amused.
- Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger: Burai passes Geki the Dragon Armor and Zyusouken (and thus, control of Dragon Cesar) moments before he passes on. The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers variant has Tommy giving Jason the Dragon Coin just before the Green Candle goes out, effectively giving Rita a parting "Screw You" before he loses his powers.
- Lost: Each of the final three episodes features an instance of this. First, a flashback episode reveals that Jacob's adoptive mother transferred her powers (most prominently immortality) and position as the Island's protector down to him shortly before she was killed. Then, Jacob briefly comes back from the grave in order to do the same for Jack Shephard. Finally, as Jack is dying, he decides to transfer the powers and responsibilities to Hurley before performing a Heroic Sacrifice. This can be assumed to be a pattern that started long before the events of the show and will continue long after the final episode.
- The Magnificent Seven: Mary Travis runs her husband's newspaper after his murder. (Not a spoiler, as he's dead before the pilot episode.) She is very much a crusader.
- Person of Interest has The Machine taking up her own sword in the finale. One week after she and Samaritan are destroyed by the ICE-9 virus, a backup copy of her core code comes online but without any of her memories. To fix this, The Machine records a message right as she dies that her memory-free code eventually listens to, explaining her purpose, the nature of her work, and the moral code she lived by. This is enough for the backup code to resume its mission.
- Primeval involves the team leader Nick Cutter for two series dying, and telling Connor Temple to finish his work. These are his last words, and Connor investigates anomalies and ends up killing Helen Cutter, Nick's killer, and continuing his research into anomalies.
- Power Rangers:
- Power Rangers Zeo: A non-fatal version occurs when the original Gold Zeo Ranger (Trey Of Triforia) is attacked and seriously injured by Verox Bounty Hunters and is forced to transfer his powers, at least temporarily to former original Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Jason Lee Scott.
- Power Rangers Lost Galaxy:
- Leo took his brother Mike's sword as he was about to fall to a pit, and became the Red Ranger. His brother had the sword for about 5 minutes, but the fact that Leo isn't the one to pull it from the stone himself causes him angst.
- Both the Magna Defender and Kendrix had Heroic Sacrifices and their spirits came back to officially bestow their swords and powers on successors (Mike and Karone, respectively). Kendrix later comes Back from the Dead, but the Defender doesn't.
- Power Rangers Time Force: Another fatal version occurs in this series when the big bad Ransick kills Red Time Force Ranger (Alex Collins) in the year 3000. With his dying breath, he hands his Red Chrono Morpher to his girlfriend and fellow Pink Time Force Ranger Jen Scotts, who in turn gives the Red Chrono Morpher to Alex's ancestor in the year 2001, Wesley Collins.
- In the Red Dwarf episode "Stoke Me a Clipper", Arnold Rimmer reluctantly becomes the next "Ace" when the previous one shows up mortally wounded.
- Robin of Sherwood: Robert of Huntingdon (played by Jason Connery) succeeds Michael Praed as 'the Hooded Man' and bearer of the magic sword Albion.
- Sharpe: From "Sharpe's Rifles":Captain Murray: "I want you to have my sword. Maybe if the men see you carry it—"
Sharpe: "They'll think I'm a proper officer."
Captain Murray: "No, they'll think I liked you." - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Cardassians have a tradition known as Shri-tal, where they reveal all of their deepest secrets to their family while on their death bed so that they can be used against their enemies.
- Star Trek: Picard: In "Nepenthe", Elnor had agreed earlier on to help Hugh enact his Revenge on the Romulans who have callously executed the xBs, so after Hugh is fatally wounded, he urges Elnor with his dying breath to finish what he was unable to start, and he even frames his last wish as a lost cause because Hugh knows that would be irresistible to a justice-seeking Qowat Milat.
- Xena: Warrior Princess:
- Gabrielle was a heroine for the whole series, even if she was a sidekick. Then Xena died and she steps up to full hero with Xena's chakram.
- When Joxer died, his son Virgil stepped up as a hero and wielded Joxer's sword.
- Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger: Near the end, Torin gives his Cool Sword the Feather Edge to Souji, the team's swordsman; Souji says it feels like an ill omen. He's absolutely right, since Torin had a Thanatos Gambit in place that would help them defeat the villains once and for all.
