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* First seen in the Wondercon footage, Ford Brody interacting with Akio at the Honolulu airport terminal. After the boy accidentally gets separated from his parents due to looking at the childhood action figure, Ford promises him and his parents he’ll escort Akio back to his family. To help further calm him, he gifts him the last childhood momento he has left of his home in Janjira.
** Ford’s father side shows again at the airport, letting a scared Akio hold his hand when the power goes out and the train gets stuck. And this goes without saving the child’s life when the male MUTO destroys the tram.
** In the aftermath of the Honolulu attack, Ford kept his word and takes Akio to a disaster relief check-in with the hopes of finding his parents. Much to his and the audience’s relief, Akio is happily reunited with his still-living mother and father; sharing a smile and wave with Ford.
* Ford's interaction with Elle and Sam. Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s acting chops get plenty of use and you can see a very clear distinction between Ford Brody when he is relaxed with his family vs. on the job. HappilyMarried and concerned he’s being distant from his son like his own father was to him, getting back to them motivates him through the film.
* Joe's parting words to his son. The guy's just seen the creature that killed his wife 15 years ago, however indirectly; and it drops the bridge he's standing on. Yet, what does he say to Ford, with his dying breaths? "Go...Go back to your family. You keep them safe. Whatever it takes." Nothing about {{revenge}}, nothing about [[TakeUpMySword telling the world the truth]]--no, Joe tells Ford to do what he couldn't: protect his family. Oh, Joe, we hardly knew ye...
* When the male and female MUTO finally meet, there is a rather cute mini-courtship scene where the male presents a nuclear warhead to the female as a food-present. They nuzzle each other and touch mouths while making small clicking noises before the female takes the warhead. Fans who saw Gareth Edward's previous film ''Monsters'' will recall similar sympathetic treatment of its titular monsters.
** And once the female MUTO takes the warhead from the male, she eagerly holds it up to her pregnant belly, as if to say, "Look what Daddy brought you!"
* Tied with a bit of a tearjerker but the two M.U.T.O.s see an explosion over by their nest and react much the same as the various other parents in the movie do when their children are in danger.
** There's a rather adorable moment that's easy to miss, right before the MUTO courtship scene: the male MUTO chirps out a series of calls, and then the female, still hidden in the clouds of dust, chirps back the exact sounds in response!
** Sometime after, Godzilla has the female MUTO at his mercy...and then the male one flies in and attacks him as if to say [[PapaWolf "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!"]]
* Godzilla himself showed he had no quarrel with the humans. He several times over the course of the movie goes out of his way to ''avoid'' casualties, and when ships get in the way he tries to dive to ''avoid'' them. Hell, in his first scene, he could have ''easily'' cut through the ''USS Saratoga'' to get to the male MUTO. Instead, he took the time to dive underneath the ship and surface on the other side. And when he first appears in San Francisco? He stops and tries an alternate route through the blockade, only slamming through when he has no choice. And when the movie's all said and done...he's earned a hero's send-off from the city!
** After Godzilla has defeated the male MUTO, a skyscraper falls on him, he crashes onto the streets as Ford is running by, and they see each other. Ford looks on with awe and respect; while Godzilla returns an exhausted but somewhat peaceful expression, before vanishing in a cloud of dust and smoke. Thinking about it, if one believes Godzilla's intelligence, it might be influenced by Ford destroying the MUTO nest, saving Godzilla's life. It's like Godzilla is saying, non-verbally, both "Nice job, human" and "You all right down there, buddy?" Or at least "Hello, human. Thanks for the help..." or "We fought well today, rest now."
*** The above might not even be a matter of interpretation; the novelization even touches on this. Ford is totally awestruck at the intelligence in Godzilla's eyes - this is not some primitive beast.
* After being told that he either walks out, or doesn't come out at all, [[TheCavalry a chopper and some pararescue jumpers]] fly in and pull a critically injured Ford off of a boat that has an armed nuclear weapon on it [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind with about a minute left on the timer.]]
* Godzilla being honored as a hero, given two titles: King of the Monsters and Savior of our City[[DestructiveSavior ?]].
* The expressions of joy and relief on the faces of Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham when [[spoiler:Godzilla wakes up and leaves in the finale]].
* The ending. [[Film/Godzilla1954 Will Godzilla be atomized by an Oxygen Destroyer?]] [[Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain Will he be buried under a mountain of ice?]] [[Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla Will he be tricked into a volcano?]] [[Film/Godzilla1998 Will he be shot down by jets on the Golden Gate Bridge like a very similar kaiju did on the Brooklyn Bridge?]] Nope! He'll go back home, head held high, as a ''borderline hero''.
** The news even has the subtitle: "King of the Monsters - Savior of our City?"
** A whole bunch of people in the crowd are smiling - even ''cheering'' - for him.
* It's been mentioned multiple times, but it bares repeating. At the end of the movie, Godzilla is honored not as a monster, not as some feared and despised creature, but as a HERO. In almost all of his other movies, even after he has saved humanity from [[MonsterOfTheWeek the monster of the week]] no one has ever cheered for him. They would just stand by, wondering whether or not he was a [[NecessarilyEvil necessary evil]]. Not in this one. Godzilla gets up, and the people cheer. The big man finally gets a proper send off, and it can bring a tear to any Godzilla fan's eye.
** Reflected in the music during this scene: as Godzilla walks to the shore, the soundtrack plays [[GeniusBonus a major-key reworking of the four-note leitmotif known as "Godzilla's Fury"]] (Duuuun, dun dun DUUUUUUUN...), changing what was originally a song of dread at the prospect of a Godzilla rampage into a [[TriumphantReprise triumphant celebration]] of Godzilla's survival and victory.
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