* Listening to the real Marilyn Lovell choke up in the audio commentary as they watch ''Apollo 13'' launch in the movie. You get a real sense of [[HappilyMarried just how much they love each other]]. As it turns out, Jim and Marilyn Lovell were one of two couples from Astronaut Group 2 to stay married long-term; Frank and Susan Borman were married until Susan’s death in September 2021, and Marilyn died in August 2023.
** The solidarity and faith she shows in the face of horrible times:
--->(''Marilyn has refused to allow news crew equipment on her front lawn'')\\
'''Marilyn:''' If they have a problem with it, they can take it up with my husband! He'll be home '''on Friday!'''
** And his mother's faith in him, as she reassures her distraught granddaughters:
--->'''Blanche Lovell:''' Are you scared?\\
'''Susan Lovell:''' (nods)\\
'''Blanche Lovell:''' Don't you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it.
** Shortly before the launch, Marilyn tells Jim that she's thinking about not going to the liftoff, making Jim say "You're gonna miss a hell of a show." Then, the night before liftoff, as the crew says their goodbyes to their families and loved ones, Jim sees Marilyn show up.
--->'''Jim:''' Well, that looks like Marilyn Lovell. But it can't be. She's not coming to the launch.\\
'''Marilyn:''' I heard it was going to be a hell of a show.\\
'''Jim:''' Now, who told you that?\\
'''Marilyn:''' Some guy I know...\\
'''Jim:''' (''chuckling'') You can't live without me...
*** In real life, "you can't live without me" was the first thing Jim said to Marilyn after he returned from the mission.
** On July 26, 2017, the International Astronomical Union officially added Mount Marilyn to its list of named lunar features.
* Forty years later, the real Gene Kranz still gets choked up when talking about how proud he is of the men in mission control who helped bring Apollo 13 home safely.
* "[[ItHasBeenAnHonor Gentlemen, it's been a privilege flying with you.]]"
* After the Lunar Module Aquarius is jettisoned, after doing so much more than anyone ever anticipated, they say "Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you," and "She sure was a good ship." Doubly heartwarming since this was taken directly from the original flight logs.
* Things are looking bleak for the Lovell family throughout the trip home, but when Marilyn and daughter Barbara watch an interview in which Jim recalls one time when he was scared but made it through, saying "You never know what events will transpire to get you home," it helps reaffirm their faith in him.
* As Ken is working in the simulators trying to create a power-up procedure for the Command Module, an engineer asks him if he needs a break. Ken answers "If they don't get one, I don't get one."
* Lovell's eldest son is in class at a military prep school when the Command Module is in radio black out during re-entry. We see the seconds tick past on the wall clock and the fear in the boy's eyes as they watch the live TV coverage. Then his teacher's (an Army officer whose decorations indicate he's a combat veteran) hand comes down on his shoulder. No words are spoken, but that one gesture is enough.
** Even better is when the TV news shows that the three astronauts made it through re-entry and are alive and well, and his cheering classmates surround him.
* During the Apollo 11 landing party, when Neil Armstrong's about to make his first steps. Jim who was watching Neil on TV, rouses the rest of the group to cheer him on.
* "And you, sir, are a steely-eyed missile man." The actual line is taken from an incident that happened with the Apollo 12 mission[[note]]Context: two separate lightning discharges less than a minute after liftoff caused all the fuel cells to automatically be shut off, garbled up the data telemetry, made much of the instrumentation malfunction, and lit up the Caution/Warning panel like a Christmas tree; that mission's EECOM John Aaron recalled right away how to fix the telemetry (basically switching to a backup power supply) from a previous simulation - neither Flight Director Gerald Griffin, CAPCOM Gerald Carr, nor Mission Commander Pete Conrad remembered that - and so the mission didn't need to abort[[/note]], but it really is a sweet moment when one of the mission control officers bestows this compliment, the highest praise in the space program, on the head of the support team that designed the adapter for the [=CO2=] filter.
* The show of solidarity shown by the people of the world in hoping that the Apollo 13 crew gets home safely.
** The news reports of crowds of people gathered in Rome and at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall to pray for three men's safe return home.
* Lovell tries everything he can to keep Mattingly on the crew, but to no avail, and Swigert is called in as the replacement. When they are training in the simulator and Swigert makes a mistake that would have led to their deaths if it had been real life, Deke Slayton calls Lovell to the side to discuss whether Swigert is capable to fly the mission, and Lovell backs Swigert up, despite his disappointment in losing Mattingly on the crew.
-->'''Jim Lovell:''' Well, if I had a dollar for every time they killed me in this thing, I wouldn't be working for you, Deke. We've got two days, we'll be ready.
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