Pietà Plagiarism/Live-Action TV

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Examples of Pietà Plagiarism in Live-Action TV include:

  • Veronica Mars began and ended its second season with the Pietà; in the first case, Veronica tends to Logan, and in the second, it's reversed.
  • The Season 7 finale of Smallville had Lex Luthor cradling a (Weakened? Paralyzed? Don't really know.) Clark Kent in a similar fashion as the Fortress of Solitude crumbled around them. It's further enforced by the former repeatedly apologizing to him and apparently seeing this event of killing his former-best friend as a great personal sacrifice.
  • Used at least once in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, after Drusilla is restored to health and Spike is injured, she holds him in this manner.
    • Also used in the episode The Puppet Show, when Buffy cradles the Demon Slaying puppet after his death.
  • Heroes used this twice in season 3 in paintings of the future. One of Matt holding a burned Daphne in a possible-future where Sylar goes nuclear and Noah holding an injured Claire, foreshadowing the eclipse during which the powered people lose their abilities.
  • The last episode of the first season of Merlin plays it straight with Uther holding Arthur. It's ok though, he gets better.
  • Used in, of all places, the first season of The OC, with Ryan and Marissa, who had just taken a painkiller overdose washed down with a lot of alcohol in Tijuana.
    • And in a deliberate parallel to the above scene, he carries her the same way in the Season 3 finale, "The Graduates", following a car accident. She's suffered head trauma and he has to carry her away from the burning car. She dies in his arms, and the final shot is him huddled over her body.
  • Spoofed in an episode of Upright Citizens Brigade in the Camp Kalterman sketch.
  • Done a few times in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, usually whenever Iolaus dies. (Yes, it happened more than once.) In a commentary, Michael Hurst got his Michelangelo sculptures mixed up and compared it to David.
  • Worf carrying Data during the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Brothers". Data was only deactivated at the time, though.
  • In Doctor Who, the Doctor holds the Master in this way in the Series 3 Finale. Somewhat ruined by his odd squatting pose on the floor, although that was only as narmy as the odd position of his legs while dramatically floating.
    • He did it again with Jenny in 'The Doctor's Daughter,' complete with that little hug-rocking motion. Once again, a secondary character shot the closest thing to family he had left out of almost nowhere; it was a bit of a callback.
      • Given the way the Doctor tends to feel responsible when people die around him, this almost plays as Cradling Your Kill.
    • The scene in "Smith & Jones" where the Doctor carries Martha after she passes out from the lack of oxygen could be seen this way, especially since there was no particular reason she couldn't have stayed where she was besides drama.
  • In the Dark Angel episode "Pollo Loco," Max holds her "brother" Ben in this manner after he asks her to kill him and she complies.
  • Seinfeld: Jerry has a bad dream where he ends up in this pose after getting illegal cable and the Cable Police gun him down. Kramer cradles him crying "What have you done to my little CABLE BOY???"
  • Power Rangers in Space: Andros holds the body of Karone after Zordon's Heroic Sacrifice to stop the attack on the world. She is revived by Andros' love for her.
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