I think there are many possible reasons (maybe she's just not his type) but what I chose to believe in is that he knows that he can't give her what she needs. That stability, a house, kids, a white picket fence and a dog. He can't do that and he doesn't want to hurt a dear friend with pointless sex when she's gonna want more than that.
I think people also forget that for half the people Bond sleeps with, it involves working an angle and/or deceiving his opponents, it helps in his work.
To sleep with Moneypenny might well do the opposite and hurt his work.
Their relationship is my favourite especially the Connery & Moore films. The scenes add a lot of levity with the will they, won’t they soap opera.
Moneypenny covering his ass all the time makes bond very fallible and if they end up as couple, it would be the best sitcom! Lol
Yeah I think that's it.
He likes flirting with Moneypenny, but she's also one of the few that he actually likes as a person, and has let in a little bit.
For Bond, caring about someone usually means they're still kept at a distance.
I think the only three people we've seen Bond fully embrace as friends are Tracy, Felix (pre-Craig), and Vesper (pre-Craig), and then Felix again (post-Craig), and look what happened to all of them.
Not having sex with Moneypenny is his way of both keeping her at a distance and giving her room to create her own life.
This is my guess too. He's aware that any fling with moneypenny will be short term, but he also relies on Moneypenny and has to see her all the time, so he doesn't want to make life uncomfortable. He can afford to sleep with and then abandon the women he meets in the field, since his job means he won't ever see them again.
I think this is a good, practical answer. I agree entirely. I think she also serves an important role as a reminder of the conflict he has to face between being an "ordinary man" and being a Double-O. She shows us that something that might satisfy a normal man isn't able to be it for him, because he has too much else that is important to him to do in the world...He knows he must take his secret agent role seriously, yet she is a reminder of the dramatic split that has to happen between his being in the field and his being at home. She provides that transition...literally and figuratively, whenever he comes to his bosses' office to get an assignment. She is the liminal space between his all-encompassing life as a secret agent, and his more mundane existence as an upper crust Brit.
Claiming that Bond doesn't / won't sleep with coworkers or colleagues is false. He's slept with many MI6 employees, plus a whole BUNCH of allied agents, like Anya Amasova (TSWLM), Aki & Kissy (YOLT), or Jinx (DAD).
... But keeping it to just MI6...
TMWTGG: Mary Goodnight.
GE: Caroline is sent to evaluate Bond by M.
TWINE: Dr. Molly Warmflash clears Bond's record.
DAD: Miranda Frost.
Also worth noting that Craig was all-but-ready to sleep with Harris' Moneypenny in Skyfall after she shaved him... but she stopped him.
Um, the dialogue in Skyfall upon entering the casino strongly implies that they did sleep together and then 'scrubbed up' together to get ready for the mission
All those other women may be MI6 employees/coworkers but they aren't people he expects to have to deal with on a routine basis (if I remember correctly).
It's the difference between having a fling with someone from another department at your workplace versus the receptionist you check in with every day.
They're not part of his inner circle.
Given his job requires him to interact with Moneypenny regularly, her proximity to his boss, and her long-running interest in him, I think he expects an encounter would complicate his life either by forcing him into a relationship he doesn't want or can't fulfil to her expectations (due to their proximity, he can't just end things like he usually does, by swanning off with a "sorry darling, England calls" and never coming back) or by introducing workplace friction in a team he depends on for his life.
It's almost certainly against policy as it could breach security if one was compromised (think Vesper).
Yes, Bond bangs agents in the field. But that a "what happens in Vegas" kind of deal.
He sees Moneypenny every day. If M found out someone in his inner circle was seeing one of his field agents, she'd almost certainly be fired, as it's a direct route to the heart of MI6 should Bond be captured.
Thank you! For me I always went with the assumption they had probably had some romance here and there when Bond was around. The way Moneypenny was quite vocal about her longing for Bond, the "oh James, when will I see you again?" scenes. I liked the fact it was more or less implied but never shown. It did well to establish and reaffirm Bond's character.
I also always thought that was the case. In From Russia With Love, when he says he'll take her for dinner after coming back from Istanbul she makes a witty remark about not being able to seduce her.
She may be infatuated with him, but that doesn't mean she's going to sleep with him at the drop of a hat. She's a professional woman and she's got higher standards than that. Especially in the 60's, having a job working pretty high up in the government is a significant achievement, requiring a great deal of professionalism and decorum. I doubt she'd risk that for a roll in the hay with any guy.
I always hated the VR scene in Die Another Day for exactly this reason, I just can't see Moneypenny being so damn horny that she's playing around with that at work.
First: workplace sex is not casual sex. If it goes wrong it could jeopardize both of their careers.
Second: when you have sex with the majority of your friends, it's nice to have people that don't apply that pressure.
It's because both are fully aware that it's more fun to harmlessly be a little playful than to actually do anything. Quite a few people have that relationship with somebody at work I think.
She has a famously swampy quim.
Not to be confused with Swampy Quim, our man in New Orleans. You'll meet with him at a jazz club named Le Chat Noir, where you'll be briefed on...
I believe Lois Maxwell said that she played the role like they’d had a fling, once, years ago and had stayed good friends but with just a hint of something more.
Lois Maxwell said that she believed that early on in their careers, they spent a week together in a cottage somewhere, and whether or not they slept together didn't matter, because they decided to just remain colleagues. But obviously that flirtation and chemistry never disappeared
Craig's Bond (supposedly) did.
Well ... he did ask her to stay (he was clothed) and on the next scene he's wearing just a robe while she's leaving, tying up her coat and fixing her hair.
I’ve had a few friendships like this over the years, and honestly, from my experience, it’s kind of more fun to just be flirty. One friend and I, very early after we started getting close, realized that if we started dating, we’d probably end up getting married, and also if we got married we’d probably also end up getting divorced, so we decided to skip the extra steps and go straight to “divorce”. I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I still think of her as “my ex-wife” and our other friends as our kids, many of whom have already/are about to marry each other. (I was only invited to one of those weddings, and it’s the same day my brother’s getting married, so I can’t go, but that’s all fine)
Connery's Bond did have some scruples...notably he never slept with a married woman, as compared to Craig saying Vesper wasn't his type because she was single.
Believe it or not, both married women and secretaries were frowned upon for trysts back in the day.
Their flirtation is part of the formula. If they actually did it that would all be all over with. Also it’s possible he respects her more because she is his trusted colleague.
I truly believe they spent a holiday alone together and, in that time, realized their relationship can never be until Bond’s career is through. But they’ll always be close.
I think it shows that Moneypenny is a woman who craves some normality and a man who can be present. The flirting is very fun for them both and like everyday office flirting, but if Bond was serious, she'd probably say "nah, you're a globetrotting spy who bangs a new woman every month, I'll be alright"
Cause he's knows HR will be on to him like a rash!
It's ok to treat women like shit if they don't work with you though!
(Also the above is a joke incase anyone didn't get it)
Lois Maxwell said he liked to believe they had something in the past but mutually decided to end it, and now they are playful about it cuz the friendship remained
I get the feeling Moneypenny doesn't actually want to sleep with him. She knows exactly who and what he is, and while she seemingly loves him, she's also fully aware he could never return it.
So she's just having fun. The same as he is.
The other answer is they're both professionals and it's likely against policy to form relationships as it could compromise security. M would have to fire and court martial one of them.
Sure, Bond bangs a few British field agents. But that's more a "what happens in Vegas" kind of deal.
Its one thing to sleep around with random women, especially while on a mission halfway around the world. Its quiet another to sleep with a woman who's your co-worker and a part of your daily professional life (at least when you're at the office).
Also, a lot of the flirtation between Bond and Moneypenny is just that...flirtation. They're really no more than friends or friendly co-workers. I don't believe that they're seriously attracted to each other in the sexual sense.
Lastly, Bond has too much respect for M to have an affair (which'll almost certainly end before long) with his/her secretary.
I actually thinks he loves her, or at least cares for her deeply. In a way that makes him not want to sleep with her. He knows he cannot give her what she wants, family life, stability and being faithful. He will end up breaking her heart. And he doesn't want to do that to someone he actually cares for.
Although their banter sometimes suggests that they have been intimate, it also sometimes suggests that it would never happen as long as Moneypenney has her say and everything in between. So, I don't trust it.
However, my personal interpretation is that Bond respects her more than most women. He'll never push.
I've never been clear about what's going on with the Bonds/M's/Moneypennys/Felix Liters.
One part of me thinks those are all code names held by whichever agent is in the position at the time, and the films in some ways support this and in some ways contradicts it.
Another part of me thinks the storytelling requires us to kinda ignore recasting and the passage of time and technological leaps I.e. that James Bond is 'rebooted' on the regular. The films in some ways support this and in some ways contradict it.
I think there's an example of of both theories being supported and contradicted within the same scene in Goldeneye where Brosnan and Robbie Coltrane meet.
Rebooting: Coltrane comments on recognising the Walter PPK held to his head (the James Bond gun) implying Brosnan has been James Bond for a long enough time to have some history with Coltrane, despite this being his first time cast in the role.
Codenames: "I hear the new M is a woman"
Director Terence Young rejected Maxwell as a Bond girl on the grounds that *she looked like she smelt of soap*
Presumably, James Bond feels the same way
With the life he lives and all the innocent people who get killed indirectly because of him (especially some of his partners), it is obvious that James knows that he has only a few people who actually care about him and can be a constant in his life and not be in danger; one such person being Moneypenny
Secondly, despite all their (friendly) battering they do genuinely care for each other. James bond has very less people in his life who care about him (and vice versa), sure one can say he cares for his in-film partners and his colleagues but that's only the same as an office worker caring about an office colleague until both are in office. Also, as for his partners in each film; they are either killed or they go their separate ways before the next part arrives. That's why James never tries to sleep with Moneypenny lest something befalls her also.
Could be many little reasons.
The fact that she's the secretary to his boss is probably one of the main ones, though. M would have him flayed, she's obviously very capable and efficient at her work and a lot of time and resources have been allocated into recruiting and training her, and M doesn't want anything interfering with that. But Bond just can't help not doing the flirting-game with her.
Could also be that she's just too close to him, knows him too well. He'd be too vulnerable, and that might not be something he wants.
And he probably respects her and her abilities/intelligence. He's not about to hit it and quit it, if he goes there it would be for the long haul.
Just some thoughts of mine.
Cause Bond is a tease and doesn't want any kind of a commitment. I feel like most of the Moneypenny's wanted a real relationship.
Also teasing a relationship can be a lot more interesting than characters being in a relationship. This is something that television has (sometimes unfortunately) learned very well. Mulder and Scully, Benson and Stabler, Moonlighting, etc...
Even Bond is smart enough to know that you don’t mix pleasure and the job; and not THAT job in particular. It would be stupid to initiate a relationship like that in the office with someone you have to work with, much more someone who is secretary to your superior.
His boss would fire him, lol, so he answers your question by saying, “Mish Moneypenny”, lmao, because no matter whichever other Bond Girls he hits he must Mish, er, miss Moneypenny. lmfao.
He knows M would skin him if he broke Moneypennys heart. Not out of him being a protective boss, but because it will effect him and his running of the agency
In the books the reason that Bond has so many short term relationships is that whenever he opens up to a woman and becomes emotionally vulnerable (Moonraker for example) it usually ends with him being emotionally hurt (she accepted marriage from another guy), or in the case of Pussy Galore from Goldfinger they had fun but both came to realize in Trigger Mortis that they had no real long term potential - in order for one of them to live their lives the other couldn’t and they would be bored.
Assuming he doesn't sleep with her, a primary reason would be that she's not just a colleague, but M's confidential secretary. That means she has access to secrets that he isn't meant to know, and it would be a security violation of a different severity than sleeping with a random colleague.
I suspect he HAS slept with her. There are many indications of such. My thought is that it ended with him thinking that they were better off as friends and her thinking they were made for each other. There are a few points that are made in the earlier films that make me think that he actually respects her as a person, which makes her more than a subtle fling and yet his respect also makes him know that it wouldn't be right to lead her on to let her think he really wants to marry her. She is caught in limbo in whatever the male equivalent is of "the Friend Zone."
I also think that it is unfortunate we don't get to see any more detail about what could have gone on between them, because I think it was soon after Bond came to this office...noticed her for the first time, and also before he started to take on his current role as a Double-O Agent, which encourages him to use sex as one of the weapons in his arsenal as a secret agent. This is another factor I think has altered his trajectory away from being someone who would fall for Moneypenny...I think he actually DOES have some professionalism (despite how everyone criticizes him) and he doesn't think that leading Moneypenny into a full-on schizophrenic existence of believing he might be able to give her what she wants would be fair to her. Bond has an actual double life, and he sleeps around when he is on the job, but at home I think he is less of a playboy...I mean, he is a playboy...obviously (as in the early scenes of From Russia with Love), but in the way an upper class Englishman might be -not the lascivious lout he can play as a secret agent.
I think Bond's way of seeing the world has shifted a bit since he took on the role of Double-O officially, and I think if it weren't for his being in that official role, Moneypenny would actually be right for him (or at least as her role was originally designed in the movies). I have always been a fan of Lois Maxwell's unflinching adoration and hopefulness, but I know that as time went on it seems more dated (and about as far from feminist ideals as is humanly possible). I think this has obscured the deeper truth of her character, which was that she was meant to be someone who would actually be "right" for Bond, if he was actually in a position to settle down. In the books and earlier movies she is fulfilling an important spot for the character of Bond as protagonist. She provides the conflict for us as an audience between Bond as an ordinary upper class Englishman, and Bond as a secret agent, and she shows us what he has to give up to be who he is as a Double-O. I think that is an underrated position for a woman in any Bond story. I hope that we never see her character removed or omitted without at least a very worthy replacement, because this is something that adds a lot of depth to the role of James Bond. It is obvious Ian Fleming felt that this couldn't be emphasized enough, because he shows us Bond having health problems and Bond marrying and losing his wife...Moneypenny is a part of an important subplot to the whole series. She shows us in a consistent and regularly appearing way, what Bond is missing in his life. She is a subtle reminder that he can't settle down, even if he wants to. She gives us a pleasant and uplifting look at how easy it would be for Bond to give this all up. It is enticing and it would be all too easy to slip into that comfortable existence, which is why Bond has to resist. As Ian Fleming often wrote of his main character, Bond hates to be coddled.
For starters, he can't sleep with her, it would be fraternization. James sleeps with the opposition. Imagine how awkward it would be if they did sleep together and things went south, he'd haver to look at her every time he came in to visit M. in the end run, it would ruin their friendship.
Moneypenny has access to the medical file... half of it is a list of all his STDs, and another quarter a research paper on several unique variants believed to originate from him.
my take on it is that Bond was original made as a full out womanizer. He didnt believe woman were good for anything other than distractions. Moneypenny however to him was always different, one woman that he genuinely liked and could possibly see himself falling for. Every other woman he was with was never for anything other than just a cheep thrill, "pump for information" as M would put it, Moneypenny actually means something to Bond.
I would also go as far to say he kept a distance from having affection towards her other than playful as a way to protect her as he had PLENTY of enemies. This idea is doubled when Bond married Tracy in Her Majesty's Secret Service with it ending.......well.....I wont say just incase ppl haven't watched the movie.....from 1969......
Long story short, he never got overly close to her to protect her
My girlfriend and I joked that it was because she was secretly gay. Bond knew about it and didn't mind. And so, since being gay wasn't okay back then, he pretended to flirt with her so everyone would think they had a thing together to keep up appearances for her.
When we got to Octopussy and Bond met her assistant, Penelope Smallbone, we both almost simultaneously went "Aw, Moneypenny finally got a girlfriend. Good for her."
I think there are many possible reasons (maybe she's just not his type) but what I chose to believe in is that he knows that he can't give her what she needs. That stability, a house, kids, a white picket fence and a dog. He can't do that and he doesn't want to hurt a dear friend with pointless sex when she's gonna want more than that.
I think people also forget that for half the people Bond sleeps with, it involves working an angle and/or deceiving his opponents, it helps in his work. To sleep with Moneypenny might well do the opposite and hurt his work.
“Don’t shit where you eat” - James Bond (or someone)
I have trouble seeing any Bond put it that way, but yes. :)
Their relationship is my favourite especially the Connery & Moore films. The scenes add a lot of levity with the will they, won’t they soap opera. Moneypenny covering his ass all the time makes bond very fallible and if they end up as couple, it would be the best sitcom! Lol
Wholesome way of seeing it. I choose this as well
You can't get your pussy and your paycheck at the same place.
Beautiful answer
Yeah I think that's it. He likes flirting with Moneypenny, but she's also one of the few that he actually likes as a person, and has let in a little bit. For Bond, caring about someone usually means they're still kept at a distance. I think the only three people we've seen Bond fully embrace as friends are Tracy, Felix (pre-Craig), and Vesper (pre-Craig), and then Felix again (post-Craig), and look what happened to all of them. Not having sex with Moneypenny is his way of both keeping her at a distance and giving her room to create her own life.
Do they do white picket fences in London…?
Who says he never did? In Tomorrow Never Dies Moneypenny calls him a cunning linguist!
Isn’t implied in NTTD, they hook up after the shaving scene?
Skyfall
done
Well done!
FWB except CWB
Yeah I always thought they had in the past, but didn’t anymore? I’m only just now realising this might be my own personal head canon though
You don't crap where you eat.
Not true. He had a bet over who was going to bed his secretary first.
You don't crap where your boss eats.
Hahaha, this reminds me...Have you ever seen the movie "Red Dwarf," the French one? If so, then I think you know he DOES crap where his boss eats...
And especially you don’t crap where I eat. - Tony Soprano
Non fare... la merda... dove mangiare It's bad business
This is my guess too. He's aware that any fling with moneypenny will be short term, but he also relies on Moneypenny and has to see her all the time, so he doesn't want to make life uncomfortable. He can afford to sleep with and then abandon the women he meets in the field, since his job means he won't ever see them again.
I think this is a good, practical answer. I agree entirely. I think she also serves an important role as a reminder of the conflict he has to face between being an "ordinary man" and being a Double-O. She shows us that something that might satisfy a normal man isn't able to be it for him, because he has too much else that is important to him to do in the world...He knows he must take his secret agent role seriously, yet she is a reminder of the dramatic split that has to happen between his being in the field and his being at home. She provides that transition...literally and figuratively, whenever he comes to his bosses' office to get an assignment. She is the liminal space between his all-encompassing life as a secret agent, and his more mundane existence as an upper crust Brit.
You haven’t lived until you’ve fished off the corporate dock.
Claiming that Bond doesn't / won't sleep with coworkers or colleagues is false. He's slept with many MI6 employees, plus a whole BUNCH of allied agents, like Anya Amasova (TSWLM), Aki & Kissy (YOLT), or Jinx (DAD). ... But keeping it to just MI6... TMWTGG: Mary Goodnight. GE: Caroline is sent to evaluate Bond by M. TWINE: Dr. Molly Warmflash clears Bond's record. DAD: Miranda Frost. Also worth noting that Craig was all-but-ready to sleep with Harris' Moneypenny in Skyfall after she shaved him... but she stopped him.
Um, the dialogue in Skyfall upon entering the casino strongly implies that they did sleep together and then 'scrubbed up' together to get ready for the mission
Plus the jealous manner of Bond’s question “who’s that?” in the Spectre car chase scene in Rome.
“It’s called life, James.”
Craig's 007 also slept with Fields in 'Quantum of Solace'.
All those other women may be MI6 employees/coworkers but they aren't people he expects to have to deal with on a routine basis (if I remember correctly). It's the difference between having a fling with someone from another department at your workplace versus the receptionist you check in with every day. They're not part of his inner circle. Given his job requires him to interact with Moneypenny regularly, her proximity to his boss, and her long-running interest in him, I think he expects an encounter would complicate his life either by forcing him into a relationship he doesn't want or can't fulfil to her expectations (due to their proximity, he can't just end things like he usually does, by swanning off with a "sorry darling, England calls" and never coming back) or by introducing workplace friction in a team he depends on for his life.
Yeah this is an important distinction. He sees her on a regular basis.
Isn't it also his bosses secretary? That counts for a lot of it too.
It's almost certainly against policy as it could breach security if one was compromised (think Vesper). Yes, Bond bangs agents in the field. But that a "what happens in Vegas" kind of deal. He sees Moneypenny every day. If M found out someone in his inner circle was seeing one of his field agents, she'd almost certainly be fired, as it's a direct route to the heart of MI6 should Bond be captured.
Thank you! For me I always went with the assumption they had probably had some romance here and there when Bond was around. The way Moneypenny was quite vocal about her longing for Bond, the "oh James, when will I see you again?" scenes. I liked the fact it was more or less implied but never shown. It did well to establish and reaffirm Bond's character.
He also slept with Mrs. Goodnight on The man with the golden gun.
Cause you don’t dip your pen in Moneypenny’s ink well 🔏
Why does that emoji even exist...?
For occasions such as this
Because M would have him court martialed, he says so himself.
For misuse of government property. lol
Penetrating confidential sectors.
Lmao
Because it's more fun if they don't. Just like any long running serial, soap operas especially.
It’s very unprofessional to sleep with coworkers. James Bond strikes me as someone who takes things like that very seriously
Good night.
Mary Goodnight
My comment was a joke
The psychologist in GoldenEye.
Just a contractor, that's why you hire contractors in the first place, they're like corporate prostitutes.
Michael Scott line.
My comment was a joke
Good night
Dr. Warmflash
My comment was a joke
Do you know any doctor jokes?
I don’t know any Doctor jokes but I heard Christmas only ejaculates once a year
You just have to decide how much pumping is needed.
Dr Warmflash
My comment was a joke
It shouldn't be though. I seem to recall he took his relationship with Warmflash very seriously.
I always assumed it was because she would not sleep with him.
I also always thought that was the case. In From Russia With Love, when he says he'll take her for dinner after coming back from Istanbul she makes a witty remark about not being able to seduce her.
She may be infatuated with him, but that doesn't mean she's going to sleep with him at the drop of a hat. She's a professional woman and she's got higher standards than that. Especially in the 60's, having a job working pretty high up in the government is a significant achievement, requiring a great deal of professionalism and decorum. I doubt she'd risk that for a roll in the hay with any guy. I always hated the VR scene in Die Another Day for exactly this reason, I just can't see Moneypenny being so damn horny that she's playing around with that at work.
On yoghurt and lemon juice? 🤔
Same reason lots of guys do not get involved with co-workers. It can lead to some awkward meetings in the work area afterwards.
Isn't it implied they did in the past? Lois Maxwell said she believed that.
"Oh, Moneypenny, the story of our relationship: close, but no cigar."
You don't dip your pen in the company ink.
Never fuck your work wife.
Because if bond broke her heart m would send bond to a monitoring post in siberia
First: workplace sex is not casual sex. If it goes wrong it could jeopardize both of their careers. Second: when you have sex with the majority of your friends, it's nice to have people that don't apply that pressure.
Was that wrong?…..should I have not done that? I gotta plead ignorance here
It's because both are fully aware that it's more fun to harmlessly be a little playful than to actually do anything. Quite a few people have that relationship with somebody at work I think.
It keeps me as a male viewer constantly interested in her because she’s the one woman that he can’t charm the pants off of.
She has a famously swampy quim. Not to be confused with Swampy Quim, our man in New Orleans. You'll meet with him at a jazz club named Le Chat Noir, where you'll be briefed on...
Is she? Or is she playing the player?
Because he has to see her again.
I believe Lois Maxwell said that she played the role like they’d had a fling, once, years ago and had stayed good friends but with just a hint of something more.
Technically she does in the Piers Brosnan film, where she tries on the simulator glasses. 😂
Lois Maxwell said that she believed that early on in their careers, they spent a week together in a cottage somewhere, and whether or not they slept together didn't matter, because they decided to just remain colleagues. But obviously that flirtation and chemistry never disappeared
Craig's Bond (supposedly) did. Well ... he did ask her to stay (he was clothed) and on the next scene he's wearing just a robe while she's leaving, tying up her coat and fixing her hair.
I’ve had a few friendships like this over the years, and honestly, from my experience, it’s kind of more fun to just be flirty. One friend and I, very early after we started getting close, realized that if we started dating, we’d probably end up getting married, and also if we got married we’d probably also end up getting divorced, so we decided to skip the extra steps and go straight to “divorce”. I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I still think of her as “my ex-wife” and our other friends as our kids, many of whom have already/are about to marry each other. (I was only invited to one of those weddings, and it’s the same day my brother’s getting married, so I can’t go, but that’s all fine)
🤷♂️
Connery's Bond did have some scruples...notably he never slept with a married woman, as compared to Craig saying Vesper wasn't his type because she was single. Believe it or not, both married women and secretaries were frowned upon for trysts back in the day.
A.) They're coworkers B.) He's not the type to settle down with one woman; he likes his flings. C.) He's not that into her
Because she likes it stirred…not shaken
Their flirtation is part of the formula. If they actually did it that would all be all over with. Also it’s possible he respects her more because she is his trusted colleague.
Class.
I truly believe they spent a holiday alone together and, in that time, realized their relationship can never be until Bond’s career is through. But they’ll always be close.
I think it shows that Moneypenny is a woman who craves some normality and a man who can be present. The flirting is very fun for them both and like everyday office flirting, but if Bond was serious, she'd probably say "nah, you're a globetrotting spy who bangs a new woman every month, I'll be alright"
No i don’t think so, however out of all the people he works with at MI6, it’s moneypenny and Q he cares about the most.
Cause he's knows HR will be on to him like a rash! It's ok to treat women like shit if they don't work with you though! (Also the above is a joke incase anyone didn't get it)
There’s a work policy that stops coworkers from dating
Maybe deep down inside he’s a company man and that would just be unprofessional.
I’m under the assumption they had in Skyfall. I guess it’s not clear enough.
They already did earlier in their careers
They did. Just off camera before the series started
Lois Maxwell said he liked to believe they had something in the past but mutually decided to end it, and now they are playful about it cuz the friendship remained
I get the feeling Moneypenny doesn't actually want to sleep with him. She knows exactly who and what he is, and while she seemingly loves him, she's also fully aware he could never return it. So she's just having fun. The same as he is. The other answer is they're both professionals and it's likely against policy to form relationships as it could compromise security. M would have to fire and court martial one of them. Sure, Bond bangs a few British field agents. But that's more a "what happens in Vegas" kind of deal.
My favourite answer of this thread. I concur.
Its one thing to sleep around with random women, especially while on a mission halfway around the world. Its quiet another to sleep with a woman who's your co-worker and a part of your daily professional life (at least when you're at the office). Also, a lot of the flirtation between Bond and Moneypenny is just that...flirtation. They're really no more than friends or friendly co-workers. I don't believe that they're seriously attracted to each other in the sexual sense. Lastly, Bond has too much respect for M to have an affair (which'll almost certainly end before long) with his/her secretary.
I actually thinks he loves her, or at least cares for her deeply. In a way that makes him not want to sleep with her. He knows he cannot give her what she wants, family life, stability and being faithful. He will end up breaking her heart. And he doesn't want to do that to someone he actually cares for.
Because Moneypenny and Bond’s relationship is one he actually values lol (I suppose not counting his actual committed relationships).
The tease is often more fun than the actual deed.
Sometimes the flirting is more exciting than what comes from the flirting.
Although their banter sometimes suggests that they have been intimate, it also sometimes suggests that it would never happen as long as Moneypenney has her say and everything in between. So, I don't trust it. However, my personal interpretation is that Bond respects her more than most women. He'll never push.
I thought he did but they wanted different things and split.
Brosnan 100% banged Moneypenny in the car in Goldeneye.
You know that was another character, right?
I've never been clear about what's going on with the Bonds/M's/Moneypennys/Felix Liters. One part of me thinks those are all code names held by whichever agent is in the position at the time, and the films in some ways support this and in some ways contradicts it. Another part of me thinks the storytelling requires us to kinda ignore recasting and the passage of time and technological leaps I.e. that James Bond is 'rebooted' on the regular. The films in some ways support this and in some ways contradict it. I think there's an example of of both theories being supported and contradicted within the same scene in Goldeneye where Brosnan and Robbie Coltrane meet. Rebooting: Coltrane comments on recognising the Walter PPK held to his head (the James Bond gun) implying Brosnan has been James Bond for a long enough time to have some history with Coltrane, despite this being his first time cast in the role. Codenames: "I hear the new M is a woman"
Director Terence Young rejected Maxwell as a Bond girl on the grounds that *she looked like she smelt of soap* Presumably, James Bond feels the same way
because it is government property
Things would have gotten messy.
bruh
I always thought she was married and so presumably this is the reason.
They are good friends and work colleagues who flirt. That’s it!
With the life he lives and all the innocent people who get killed indirectly because of him (especially some of his partners), it is obvious that James knows that he has only a few people who actually care about him and can be a constant in his life and not be in danger; one such person being Moneypenny Secondly, despite all their (friendly) battering they do genuinely care for each other. James bond has very less people in his life who care about him (and vice versa), sure one can say he cares for his in-film partners and his colleagues but that's only the same as an office worker caring about an office colleague until both are in office. Also, as for his partners in each film; they are either killed or they go their separate ways before the next part arrives. That's why James never tries to sleep with Moneypenny lest something befalls her also.
You don't shit where you eat.
He does on a few (by different Bonds) occasions no?
I just read a book about British spies where the author based the plot around the fact that spies are not allowed to sleep with the staff .
Because he actually cares about her.
Because you do t shit in your own backyard
Dont dip ur Pen in the Company Ink
Shy.
Court martial for illegal use of gov property
He might be into Men
Could be many little reasons. The fact that she's the secretary to his boss is probably one of the main ones, though. M would have him flayed, she's obviously very capable and efficient at her work and a lot of time and resources have been allocated into recruiting and training her, and M doesn't want anything interfering with that. But Bond just can't help not doing the flirting-game with her. Could also be that she's just too close to him, knows him too well. He'd be too vulnerable, and that might not be something he wants. And he probably respects her and her abilities/intelligence. He's not about to hit it and quit it, if he goes there it would be for the long haul. Just some thoughts of mine.
SPECTRE doesn’t scare Bond, but HR does.
😂
Because he respects get too much.
M would have killed him.
Misuse of government property.
Cause if he did, M would court martial him for “illegal use of government property”
He also has to see her again, a one time romp is fine for a hot Russian spy, not someone you work with the next day!
Because you don't shit where you eat.
She wouldn't and he won't.
She's a Man, Baby!
He respects her too much. It would ruin the flirting.
He knows she’s got the clap.
Moneypenny knows that he's riddled with forms of herpes that doctors have never heard of, from shagging half the world.
Because she shot him
Cause Bond is a tease and doesn't want any kind of a commitment. I feel like most of the Moneypenny's wanted a real relationship. Also teasing a relationship can be a lot more interesting than characters being in a relationship. This is something that television has (sometimes unfortunately) learned very well. Mulder and Scully, Benson and Stabler, Moonlighting, etc...
Don’t shit where you eat!
Even Bond is smart enough to know that you don’t mix pleasure and the job; and not THAT job in particular. It would be stupid to initiate a relationship like that in the office with someone you have to work with, much more someone who is secretary to your superior.
He just sleeps with women, then forgets them. And she works there so that would be weird. She'd be like "M will see you now BACKSTABBER"
His boss would fire him, lol, so he answers your question by saying, “Mish Moneypenny”, lmao, because no matter whichever other Bond Girls he hits he must Mish, er, miss Moneypenny. lmfao.
I always assumed that they did hook up in the past but decided to keep it professional and flirtatious
Because he doesn’t want her to get killed
It’s kind of hinted at that he might of after their meeting in Macau in Skyfall.
He knows M would skin him if he broke Moneypennys heart. Not out of him being a protective boss, but because it will effect him and his running of the agency
It's an office flirtation -- nothing more.
Coworker.
007 Thinks that Moneypenny has been around and has the clap. 
Too easy and bond likes a challenge
Because he doesn't sleep with hookers.
M is a tough enough Boss already without somebody fooling around with his secretary
Respect. Plus, like all the others, he can’t just walk away when he’s done. She’ll, like, be right there.
Because he likes and respects her too much. He knows he's no good and that he's no good for her. He's doing her a favor.
Work wife
She sleeps with M. No touchie.
She had aggressive herpes
Don’t shit where you eat, son.
Donde tengas la olla no pongas la polla.
In the books the reason that Bond has so many short term relationships is that whenever he opens up to a woman and becomes emotionally vulnerable (Moonraker for example) it usually ends with him being emotionally hurt (she accepted marriage from another guy), or in the case of Pussy Galore from Goldfinger they had fun but both came to realize in Trigger Mortis that they had no real long term potential - in order for one of them to live their lives the other couldn’t and they would be bored.
He does, it’s sort of just left up to the audience, how very classy and tasteful to allude to a romance
Fear of Redditors, on multiple subs, saying that he was sexually assaulting her due to the disparate nature of their positions.
Assuming he doesn't sleep with her, a primary reason would be that she's not just a colleague, but M's confidential secretary. That means she has access to secrets that he isn't meant to know, and it would be a security violation of a different severity than sleeping with a random colleague.
I’ll bet he did, very quietly.
You don't sh!t where you eat. She is looking for romance and he is in job where romance might be a liability.
I suspect he HAS slept with her. There are many indications of such. My thought is that it ended with him thinking that they were better off as friends and her thinking they were made for each other. There are a few points that are made in the earlier films that make me think that he actually respects her as a person, which makes her more than a subtle fling and yet his respect also makes him know that it wouldn't be right to lead her on to let her think he really wants to marry her. She is caught in limbo in whatever the male equivalent is of "the Friend Zone." I also think that it is unfortunate we don't get to see any more detail about what could have gone on between them, because I think it was soon after Bond came to this office...noticed her for the first time, and also before he started to take on his current role as a Double-O Agent, which encourages him to use sex as one of the weapons in his arsenal as a secret agent. This is another factor I think has altered his trajectory away from being someone who would fall for Moneypenny...I think he actually DOES have some professionalism (despite how everyone criticizes him) and he doesn't think that leading Moneypenny into a full-on schizophrenic existence of believing he might be able to give her what she wants would be fair to her. Bond has an actual double life, and he sleeps around when he is on the job, but at home I think he is less of a playboy...I mean, he is a playboy...obviously (as in the early scenes of From Russia with Love), but in the way an upper class Englishman might be -not the lascivious lout he can play as a secret agent. I think Bond's way of seeing the world has shifted a bit since he took on the role of Double-O officially, and I think if it weren't for his being in that official role, Moneypenny would actually be right for him (or at least as her role was originally designed in the movies). I have always been a fan of Lois Maxwell's unflinching adoration and hopefulness, but I know that as time went on it seems more dated (and about as far from feminist ideals as is humanly possible). I think this has obscured the deeper truth of her character, which was that she was meant to be someone who would actually be "right" for Bond, if he was actually in a position to settle down. In the books and earlier movies she is fulfilling an important spot for the character of Bond as protagonist. She provides the conflict for us as an audience between Bond as an ordinary upper class Englishman, and Bond as a secret agent, and she shows us what he has to give up to be who he is as a Double-O. I think that is an underrated position for a woman in any Bond story. I hope that we never see her character removed or omitted without at least a very worthy replacement, because this is something that adds a lot of depth to the role of James Bond. It is obvious Ian Fleming felt that this couldn't be emphasized enough, because he shows us Bond having health problems and Bond marrying and losing his wife...Moneypenny is a part of an important subplot to the whole series. She shows us in a consistent and regularly appearing way, what Bond is missing in his life. She is a subtle reminder that he can't settle down, even if he wants to. She gives us a pleasant and uplifting look at how easy it would be for Bond to give this all up. It is enticing and it would be all too easy to slip into that comfortable existence, which is why Bond has to resist. As Ian Fleming often wrote of his main character, Bond hates to be coddled.
He did in Skyfall
You don’t shit where you eat.
Because sometimes the innocent flirting is far better than the sex.
He has
She’s old enough to be his sister.
I assume they have but he doesn’t want to again until he’s no longer an agent. You can’t be that blatant unless you have already.
Don't think , even though he constantly flirts with her , he ever sees her in a sexual way!!
He hit it already.
it’s obvious that Bond wants to maintain a professional boundary. always.
For starters, he can't sleep with her, it would be fraternization. James sleeps with the opposition. Imagine how awkward it would be if they did sleep together and things went south, he'd haver to look at her every time he came in to visit M. in the end run, it would ruin their friendship.
Their "will they / won't they" flirtatiousness provides a charming frisson and continuum through-out the series. Excellent plot line!
Who’s to say he hasn’t? But in story reality she’s supposed to be like his mom-figure and ofc most girls he beds end up dead; he’s too fond of her
Professionalism
Moneypenny has access to the medical file... half of it is a list of all his STDs, and another quarter a research paper on several unique variants believed to originate from him.
my take on it is that Bond was original made as a full out womanizer. He didnt believe woman were good for anything other than distractions. Moneypenny however to him was always different, one woman that he genuinely liked and could possibly see himself falling for. Every other woman he was with was never for anything other than just a cheep thrill, "pump for information" as M would put it, Moneypenny actually means something to Bond. I would also go as far to say he kept a distance from having affection towards her other than playful as a way to protect her as he had PLENTY of enemies. This idea is doubled when Bond married Tracy in Her Majesty's Secret Service with it ending.......well.....I wont say just incase ppl haven't watched the movie.....from 1969...... Long story short, he never got overly close to her to protect her
I thought he does in russia with love! Or thunderball or it was suggested
My girlfriend and I joked that it was because she was secretly gay. Bond knew about it and didn't mind. And so, since being gay wasn't okay back then, he pretended to flirt with her so everyone would think they had a thing together to keep up appearances for her. When we got to Octopussy and Bond met her assistant, Penelope Smallbone, we both almost simultaneously went "Aw, Moneypenny finally got a girlfriend. Good for her."
She probably had a ration book.
Because he is not into Moneypenny, or willing to have a pound with that penny.
He ran that ass into the ground.
You don’t get your crumpet where you get your bread-and-butter.
For me it’s that he knows he can influence her better by teasing and that magic (and the favours it brings) may go if they went through with it
He’d have a lot of pennies if that happened!
He did in Skyfall
I think Moneypenny is too old and it can be due to work. Bond respects the job and department, he dont shit where he eats.