Octopussy and The Living Daylights - Characters and Themes

Characters and Themes

Author of the "continuation" Bond stories, Raymond Benson, noted that in "The Living Daylights" Bond's thoughts on killing are examined once again, showing that although 007 did not like doing it, he considered that he must as part of his duty to complete an assignment. Once the mission is completed, with Bond deliberately not killing the assassin, there is an attitude of complacency with Bond shrugging off his colleague's complaints about the incident. Academic Jeremy Black sees the colleague, the officious Captain Spender, as the antithesis of Bond and an echo of Colonel Schreiber, the head of security at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), who appeared in "From a View to a Kill".

In the act of not killing the assassin, the theme of disobedience is raised in "The Living Daylights", with Bond calling what he has to do as "murder" and subsequently dismisses his actions by saying "with any luck it will cost me my Double-0 number". Raymond Benson considered that "Octopussy" was a morality tale, with greed bringing repercussions years later to the main protagonist, Dexter Smythe.