Heartwarming / Skyfall

• Combined with From a Certain Point of View. After Bond returns, M tells him he will have to take several tests again to return to active service. According to M, Bond passes the tests. Silva reveals later that Bond in fact failed the MI6 active service tests in an effort to convince Bond of M's history of lying. What M never said was what tests he passed. In M's eyes, Bond has "passed" tests of character that would go above and beyond official results.
  • Or, in Bond's eyes, M is willing to stick her neck out by letting him get back into the field.
• Although he loves to snark Eve over accidentally shooting him, it's clear Bond doesn't hold a grudge over it.
  • His sincerely telling her, "You look beautiful in that dress." Craig's Bond isn't the Chivalrous Pervert his predecessor was, but he has his moments.
  • Despite teasing her over the accidental shooting, there also appears to be genuine respect for her on his part. While he's certainly attracted to her, whatever feelings he has for her are based on more than just lust. She might be the closest thing he has to a friend.
• When Mallory catches Q and Tanner laying down the false trail for Silva to follow, he not only praises them but gives advice to make their job easier. Especially when topped with Tanner's asking "What if the PM finds out?"
  Mallory: Then we're all buggered. Carry on.
• Bond orders Kincade to leave, in order to prevent him from suffering a Mentor Occupational Hazard. Kincade bluntly refuses the offer, addressing one of Britain's most skilled professional killers as a "jumped-up little shit." Bond needs to protect M, and Kincade will not let the boy he cared for do it alone.
• The last exchange Bond and M share before Silva attacks Skyfall Lodge. The two end up mending fences after the botched opening mission.
  M: I fucked this up, didn't I?
  Bond: No. You did your job. I read your obituary of me.
  M: And?
  Bond: Appalling.
  M: Yeah, I knew you'd hate it. I did call you "an exemplar of British fortitude".
  Bond: That bit was all right.
• When the assault is in progress and Skyfall Lodge explodes, Kincaid and M look back, extremely worried.
• M's last words to James Bond.
  "I did get one thing right..."
  • There's also the moment where James inherits her Union Jack bulldog, which Bond hates, in accordance to her will. Bond interprets this gesture, more or less, as "don't have a desk to put this on."
• The final scene with Bond, Moneypenny, Tanner and Mallory (now as M) in the new (or rather, old) MI6 office brilliantly reminds us that no matter what happens, however much things change, James Bond WILL return.

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