Daniel Craig's Spectre clue proves that he's never moved on from Vesper Lynd. Initially poised as a British Treasure agent bankrolling Bond's high-stakes game of poker with Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), Vesper turned out to be working with Mr. White, though ultimately she decided to try to save Bond through a risky maneuver that unfortunately led to her death. Bond was willing to give up his 00 status to be with Vesper, and her death shook him to his core, providing the basis for steely character development over the next films.
Daniel Craig's era changed 007 and also changed the way the classic "Bond girl" archetype was seen, with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) standing out as a sophisticated and intelligent woman of action - Bond's equal in every respect. Since Craig's Bond wasn't as polished as other versions of Ian Fleming's super spy, he often let his emotions (and his humanity) get the better of him in Casino Royale, allowing him to fall in love with Vesper. One piece of physical evidence in Spectre not only reminds Bond of Vesper's importance to him, but of the reality of being a spy.
Bond Didn't Listen To Vesper Lynd's Interrogation Tape In Spectre
In Spectre, Bond stays at the L’American hotel and discovers Mr. White’s room, where he finds a recording labeled “Vesper Lynd - Interrogation”. Bond doesn't play the tape, but if he did, he would have learned about the deal Vesper brokered with Mr. White to save his life using the $120 million dollars he won from the poker game with Le Chiffre that were never transferred. At the same time Bond was being interrogated by Le Chiffre, female screams can be heard coming from another room, and what he later sees as betrayal in Venice is actually her using his winnings to spare him and prove her devotion to him.
Playing the Vesper tape was unnecessary, partially because Bond already knew the truth about Vesper's deal, and because he didn't need to hear it and reopen old wounds, something Oberha does very well later in Spectre, when he tries to psychologically destroy Bond's relationship with Madeleine Swann by bringing up Vesper's death. When she locked herself in the building's elevator, knowing it would flood with water, and she would die before Bond could save her, Vesper did so believing he would never be able to forgive her, never realizing that if he hadn't already done so, he wouldn't have tried to save someone he thought double-crossed him.
Bond Finding The Vesper Tape Proves She’s Still Important To Him
It can't be understated how much Vesper meant to Bond in Casino Royale, nor can the symbolism of finding the interrogation tapes four movies later be overlooked for proving how much she still means to him. most important villain of the Craig Bond era because of ruining Bond's chance to walk away from the spy game. Bond's feelings for Vesper could be weaponized against him, which created the pattern of every love interest afterward.
The potency of his feelings for Vesper, coupled with her shocking death, led to James Bond becoming the cool, compartmentalized man that fans have come to associate with the character. It took a meaningful, decisive act to erase Bond's humanity, but it wasn't possible to eradicate entirely because Vesper's memory lived on in his heart, and guided his decision to sacrifice himself at the conclusion of No Time To Die for Madeleine and their daughter Mathilde. He finally accepted the toll of being a spy, something he'd been trying to live with since Vesper's death, but refused to let it ever hurt anyone he loved ever again.
