Heartwarming / The Day After

• Even as horrifying as nuclear war is, there are survivors. A lot of people died, and many more will succumb to disease and/or hunger, but some will survive to start over.
• The closeness that forms between Stephen and Denise. Their first major interaction is him shouting at and chasing after her to get to go back inside, knowingly dooming himself to repay her father for letting him take shelter. Immediately after, he seems to be there for her when she is mourning the life she'll never have with Bruce. When next we see them, Stephen shows genuine concern for a rapidly ailing Denise and insists on taking her and Danny to a make-shift hospital, this time going against Jim's orders to do what's best for them. Finally, although it's clear that the Dahlberg kids have lost hope, Stephen keeps his brave face and comforts a desperately ill Denise by countering her own nearly bald, score-ridden head with the reveal of his own, only smiling at her and telling her she looks great. The implication is that he's just as sick as Denise, who can no longer move, and has been forcing himself to keep going so as not to alarm any of the kids. It is also heartwarming from a writing standpoint because another movie would probably be tempted to have - or at least hint - at a romance storyline, doomed characters or not, but the writers stuck firmly to the Fire-Forged Friends and Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling type dynamic already established.