If we know more than Bond, does that qualify us to be a double-o agent?

We ask because From Russia with Love is structured in a way that we know more than Bond at all times. We know that SPECTRE has been training an assassin to kill him. We know that when Klebb recruits Tania that she's working for SPECTRE, not Russia. We know that Agent Nash is actually Grant in disguise.

There's an official name for this: dramatic irony.

This narrative technique creates dramatic tension. We anticipate the moment when Bond figures out what we already know. Unfortunately, neither of us figure out what the heck Agent One looks like, so we're left in suspense for a few years. His face wouldn't be seen until You Only Live Twice in 1967. That's taking the suspense a little too far.

Back to From Russia with Love, it feels good to be the one with all the information, doesn't it? And while eavesdropping on all the bad guys doesn't quite give us the skills needed to fill Bond's shoes, we think we'd be more than ready to substitute for Moneypenny in a pinch.