| “ | And you are James Bond. 007, licensed to kill. Am I to be your target for tonight? | „ |
| ~ Octavia's first encounter with James Bond. |
Octavia Charlotte Smythe, also known as Octopussy, is the titular deuteragonist of the 1983 film, Octopussy.
Octavia is a businesswoman, circus owner, jewel smuggler and the leader of the Octopus Cult. She defected from the organization and worked with James Bond.
Octavia is also the daughter of the late Dexter Smythe and the ally-turned-lover of James Bond.
Octavia was portrayed by Maud Adams; who had previously portrayed Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Octavia, also known as Octopussy, is a businesswoman, circus owner, jewel smuggler; who lived a life of luxury. Her father, Dexter Smythe studied octopi, therefore; the nickname Octopussy, Octavia has successfully kept her real name secret from the public; as they only know her; by her alias; "Octopussy".
Octavia owns her own circus and floating palace in; which she lives. The ring leader of the circus, Magda works; with her and together, they work; with Kamal Khan to purchase a faberge egg from General Orlov.
Octopussy[]
Octavia is first seen when Khan shows her the egg. Her face is not seen and Khan tells her about Bond. He insists on killing Bond but Octavia says not to.
Octavia meets Bond a few minutes later, revealing that her father, Dexter Smythe was a traitor that Bond exposed; she wished to meet Bond to thank him for delaying the arrest of her father; long enough for him to save face by committing suicide; before he could be arrested and convicted' which is the plot to the Ian Fleming short story of the same name.
Octavia and Bond eventually start to develop romantic feelings towards each other and make love, before she leaves with her circus train to a U.S. Air Force base in West Germany.
Little did Octavia know that Khan and General Orlov have secretly implanted a nuclear warhead inside the circus to set off, so that it would trigger Europe into seeking disarmament after presuming that the warhead is American, which would leave its borders open to a Soviet invasion.
Fortunately, having caught on to the plan, Bond follows Octavia to the circus after Orlov is shot to death while attempting to cross the border. Under the disguise of a circus clown, Bond tells Octavia and her second-in-command, Magda about the bomb before managing to disarm it to save the circus and the base. Realizing that they have been betrayed, Octavia and her gang decide to get payback at Khan for his betrayal.
Back in India, Octavia's group raids Khan's palace to get revenge, but Octavia gets knocked unconscious and kidnapped by Gobinda. She wakes up in Khan's private plane and as she sees Gobinda go out to kill Bond she slaps him but gets knocked back into her seat.
But Bond manages to send Gobinda falling to his death before proceeding to save Octavia and exit the plane unscathed while Khan loses control of the plane, causing him to crash into a cliff, killing him. With Khan finally defeated, Bond recuperates with Octavia aboard her private boat in India.
Personality[]
Octopussy is a compassionated, honorable, moral and talkative individual. She is also willing to help those in need; especially James Bond; who she had debt after he had help her father, Dexter Smythe to finished his life; with honor.
Relationships[]
James Bond[]
Octavia's relationship with Bond predates the movie in question, as Bond was sent to arrest her father. She has no hatred towards Bond and wishes him no ill-will and is saddened when she thinks Bond was killed in a fight with one of Kahn's thugs at her floating palace. She also helps Bond diffuse the bomb at the Faldstadt Air Force Base and raids Kahn's residence as a result of the attempted murders at the base.
Magda[]
Magda works for Octavia Smythe and they have no ill will towards each other, despite Bond having slept with both women.
Kamal Khan[]
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Trivia[]
- Maud Adams has twice played a Bond girl who started out on the villains side and switched over to Bond.
- Initially, Octavia acted as the Bigger Bad to Khan, as she was giving orders to Khan from behind the scenes and her face was not seen for the first part of the film; but obviously she switched sides after Khan and Orlov had betrayed her.
- Octavia is often mistaken for the main villain of the film.
- Octavia is considered to be one of the least malevolent villains in the franchise; as her villainy extends from being a criminal and a thief, as opposed to the evil plots of most other Bond villains.
