A co-worker and I started discussing the movie after seeing it, and that conversation sparked a crazy idea that I’ve been building on. What if Bond never made it past the opening credits in Skyfall? Follow along, and travel down the rabbit hole with me while I explore an alternate take on the entire movie!

In the beginning Bond is seen getting shot by a then-unnamed Moneypenny. He plunges into a river below and begins to sink, presumably dead. The very next thing we see is a hand thrust into the water to pair with Bond’s, only this hand is technically (or is it?) part of the very stylized opening credit sequence. The next time we see Bond he’s drinking away his woes and healing up on a beach with a naked woman in his bungalow bed. Did she pull him to safety? Did he gain consciousness and swim to safety only to migrate to a remote beach and play dead for a while? I think it’s possible, although very likely not intentional, that none of the above happened. Bond is really dead (or in a vegetative state), pondering his life as an MI6 agent as M decides to pull the plug.

I’d like to invite the thought that Moneypenny was the one who pulled Bond from the river, that her hand was the one we see as we move into the opening credits. He’s in a bad way, bleeding and dying from the bullets he’d just taken, so she rushes to get him medical attention. Unfortunately the damage is done, and Bond is kept alive via life support while M and company move in to make the final decision of whether or not to “pull the plug”. The entirety of the movie that follows is Bond’s sub-conscious, life supported mind unraveling his existence and what it means to be an MI6 agent. While also a little cliché, I think this lends a new filter to an already decent yet wanting film.

You see, Silva is really an avenue of Bond’s psyche trying to understand if M would betray him. What are her motivations for the things she does? For the calls she makes? Would she let him die so easily if it meant protecting and empowering the greater good? Is he simply a pawn? What would a revenge-fueled path back to M after a betrayal mean for an MI6 agent and the agency he believed in? All illustrated at some level by a broken and confused Silva.

As with any memory, or memory of a memory, things start out clear-cut and with an outlined plan of attack. Bond has a mission and does his best to complete that mission. The movie progresses smoothly, with satisfactory results, only to start falling apart and losing structure as time progresses – much like you’d expect a person’s thoughts and dreams to do in those last few moments before death.

The villain goes from a calculating, well-planned executioner of large scale schemes to a run-and-gun henchman as complex thoughts become muddled and start to de-evlove. The forward-thinking Bond is now disoriented and lost, searching for something tangible to grab hold of.

Which brings us to a familiar place – Bond’s childhood home. In dreams we’re often drawn to places that are familiar yet different, as is the case with the Skyfall manor. Covered in dust and seemingly forgotten, Skyfall serves as a framework for Bond’s final moments of life. Is it coincidence that the old caretaker appears to materialize out of the shadows? No, he’s a familiar face in a familiar place. Is it coincidence that the only gun left in the gun room is his father’s hunting rifle? No, it’s the only gun Bond vividly remembered his father having, and the super spy even flips it over to trace his father’s initials on the butt of the gun.

Bond is dying. He can no longer put together multi-layered thoughts and resorts to almost playing a game as he rigs up his old home to repel intruders. But he’s still Bond, so he manages to defend the place and those with him until the walls come crumbling down. His sub-consciousness is failing, flaming up and destroying the last complete thoughts he has.

The rest is a jumble. From walking out through the cold highlands, plunging into the icy lake, making his way to the church, and finding Silva, M, and the caretaker there. It’s the end, and he doesn’t know it. He quickly dispatches the bad guy, no fan fare involved, and is even surprised (as Silva) that Bond chooses the high road and remains true to Queen and Country as opposed to coming full circle as a villain and killing M. Bond dwindles and has a final moment with M, which is actually M having a final moment with Bond before she makes the decision to end her newest favorite agent’s life. M dies, but really Bond dies as M makes the call, realizing this probably won’t be the last time she has to say goodbye to a good agent. The book on the original Bond is closed, but the name is kept and adapted into a codename for all future 007 agents so the legacy can continue. Very tasty food for thought!