Heartwarming / The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

• The end, from the helicopter crash to the David Bowie song.
  Steve: This is an adventure.
• And before that.
  Jane Winslett-Richardson: Are we - are we safe in here?
  Steve Zissou: I doubt it.
  Klaus Daimler: Do you still want to blow him up?
  Steve Zissou: No. We're out of dynamite anyway.
  Eleanor Zissou: ... It is beautiful Steve.
  Steve Zissou: Yea, it's pretty good isn't it... I wonder if it remembers me.
  • Everyone in the ship places his/her hand on Steve to comfort him, the last one being Steve's nemesis Hennessey.
  • During the whole scene, Sigur Rós' Starálfur contributes even more to the magnificence of those surrealistic deep waters and its creatures.
• After Ned's funeral, Eleanor talks with Jane, and reveals Steve is not fertile- Ned was never his real son, but it didn't even matter.
• Klaus' breakdown when he doesn't get picked to be on Steve's team during the island raid, only to be told that he's not on Steve's team because he's leading his own.
  • Also, when Steve tells him on the island that both he and Esteban considered Klaus as their little brother. Then, Klaus confesses that he considered Steve as his father. It confirms the obvious sibling like jealousy he had with newcomer Ned.
• Hennessey and Steve, love and business rivals, sharing a comradely hug after acknowledging they were both lousy husbands.
• Nico the Intern chose to stay with the Steve's crew throughout the expedition while the rest leave after the pirate attack. As the credit rolls, he became one of the official members of the crew, given his own uniform.
• Steve risking his neck to save the "bond company stooge".
• The TV interview Steve watches from before Esteban's death.
  Interview: People say Eleanor is the brains behind Team Zissou. What is Steve?
  Steve: (opens mouth, but struggles to answer)
  Esteban: He's the Zissou.
  • Which in the end leads to another heartwarmer when Steve finally publicly confirms that Eleanor was the brains all along.

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