I like the subtle signs of empathy shown by Nolan in the flashback.
The Viltrumites are trained not to show emotional weakness or any trace of empathy, so I can't help but notice when Nolan occasionally demonstrates this to others.
Despite being taught not to show it, it doesn't mean they don't have it
We see Nolan being merciful (images 2-3). Naturally, Nolan can't just spare her life if she shows weakness, but even so, instead of simply killing her (just as viltrumite like Nolan's mother would) he gives her a warning and, despite her initial reluctance to respond, he spares her life when she proves herself capable.
Nolan, as an adult Viltrumite, has probably already gone through a similar situation to hers, which is probably why he is so merciful; his own father demonstrates the same mercifulness (image 4) standing up to Nolan to save his life against his mother, something Nolan appreciates.
Nolan is probably like that because he was raised by his father (whatever that Viltrumite upbringing would be like). I imagine his father showed him this mercy even if he makes mistakes, as long as he manages to succeed, he will be fine
Obviously, this isn't much mercy, since threatening to kill a child for getting a history question wrong is excessive, but by the standards of the viltrumite society? That's surprising.
And that's not the only example; when one of Nolan's colleagues dies from the virus, we can see him and another Viltrumite reacting to the death of one of their own (image 5)
They are demonstrating empathy there, but then their superior jokes about the situation (image 6) and they smile at the comment. This might be an exaggeration, But I don't think those two necessarily find the joke funny; I think they're simply disguising that empathy And they are worried because they don't want to be seen as weak, because being seen as weak is the same as death in that society.
But the strongest example is that when Nolan is sick with the virus, He can look to the side and see a woman in the same situation as him, sick and coughing up blood (images 7 & 8)
When Nolan finally recovers from his illness, he's leaving, but he stops just to look at how the Viltrumite woman is doing; it's clear he's disappointed that she hasn't survived, But he quickly looks away and sort of hides that feeling (image 9-13)
Nolan didn't know that woman; she wasn't his wife, mother, or sister—she was nothing of the sort. But because they were both in the same situation and by each other's side, he couldn't help but want her to survive too, even if he didn't know her; that's empathy.
Nolan, seeing his planet completely dead and isolated, clearly looks sad (image 14).
Finally, the most obvious example is when Nolan sees his dead father; he clearly has a shocked/sad look on his face (images 15-16) But he doesn't cry or allow himself to be affected for long before throwing his father's body into spaceWe know this was traumatic for him, because after Nolan discovers that Thaddeus released the virus on the planet, one of the scenes he remembers is this one, even though he saw his father dead, he didn't react strongly at the moment, because his culture discourages people from showing weakness, be it sadness, grief, or anything else.
I like that the show still reminds us that viltrumites are capable of doing good if they want to; it's not just Nolan, his other colleague showed shock when one of them died from the virus for the first time.
But unfortunately, they can't do much or acknowledge those feelings without being killed, it's a shame.