Koskov: He Lives!

jetsetwilly

Rewatching TLD this evening, I started thinking about Koskov's survival at the end of the film. It's so unlikely that anyone survives a Bond film, let's be honest; apart from 007, pretty much the entire cast are fair game. So Koskov living to tell the tale at the end - indeed, not only living, but managing to travel from Afghanistan to Tangiers for a final appearance - seems pretty unlikely.

And it got me thinking; perhaps the filmmakers changed their mind. Jeroen Krabbe is excellent in this film, but he makes Koskov that little bit too likeable - the fact that everyone calls him Georgi is a bit of an indicator. He's oily, duplicitous and treacherous, but is he a villain in the same way that Whitaker is? No. So maybe, Koskov was meant to be killed in that huge explosion at the airbase (it's actually a more realistic scenario than him living to tell the tale!). Perhaps the filmmakers warmed to both Krabbe and Koskov, and kept him alive for a future appearance.

It's not so inconceivable. Zukovsky was meant to have been killed in GoldenEye, but Coltrane's charm and screen presence meant that the filmmakers changed the script and let him live, leading to his return in TWINE. In fact, had Dalton returned for his third film in 1995, wouldn't you be unsurprised if that was where Koskov had ended up - running a back street bar with ambitions of money and power once again?

I'm not saying that Eon had plans for a grand character arc for Koskov extending ten years into the future. I am wondering if perhaps they realised what an asset they had and decided to try and hang onto it.

Loeffelholz

I wouldn't have minded if he'd reappeared; I always enjoyed Krabbe's loathsome-yet-charming portrayal of Koskov---a weasel in the fast lane :v

Of course, it was worth having Koskov appear at the end of TLD, if only to allow Pushkin to deliver the 'diplomatic bag' line

JennyFlexFan

One of the few positives of TLD was definitely Jeroen Krabbe, as Loeff said, the loathesome-yet-likeable Koskov! I even liked him more than Bond (and since Bond was Dalton that's not so hard to believe...) but Koskov's charm and sliminess just made it so hard NOT to like him. jetset also makes a good point that the filmmakers warmed to the character and decided to let him live... that makes a lot of sense! After not seeing TLD in awhile and watching that scene and seeing Koskov live I was like "Come on!" but now I see why...

I also loved Max Largo in NSNA over Bond once again due to Max's charm and creepiness. For some reason, in the Bond universe, it seems to make a character likeable!

Harry Palmer

All they needed to do, to make the survival more credible, was to insert a shot of him jumping off the jeep 3 seconds before impact... that they didn't just goes to show how lazy they can be. Still that won't keep me from loving TLD and wanting to watch it again and again.

Tilly Masterson 007

Spot on there jetset!

Baron Samedi also survived, which IMO..........made the film less likeable.

Walther PPK

I always thought that what Pushkin meant by the "diplomatic bag" comment was the that Koskov was to be killed and his body sent back to Russia.

If you notice Koskov's expression, he is clearly surprised at Pushkin's comment,and is dreading what is to come, which I highly doubt is time in the gulag. (Russian state run prison)

Jarvio

I never liked Koskov. Felt that he was a very weak villain. Wasn't the actor's fault, was the script writer's fault. They should have done more with him. I would not like to see him return in a future Bond film.

Georgiboy

I liked Koskov but I think that it was a good decision to not bring him back. It would have been a good death if he had been killed by the jeep explosion and they should have finished him off then and there IMO.-{

JennyFlexFan

Would I want him back in another film? No. Was he one of the main reasons that I find TLD halfway decent? Yes.