I’m sorry to hear the bonding process hasn’t been smooth! That ends up being a pretty common experience, so I imagine seeing them do well without injury is such an odd site!
During bonding, unless it is an extremely difficult bond, there is usually a good mix of positive, negative, and neutral interactions. It is energy-exhaustive and dangerous for rabbits to constantly be aggressive towards one another. It could be that since it was in the female’s territory (which both rabbits could definitely sense and were aware of), the male decided to not to aggress, and the female then did not react defensively. That being said, I would not recommend doing things in the female’s territory in terms of bonding– while there are no fights from this instance, you want them to figure out a relationship dynamic in neutral territory first. Developing the relationship in one’s territory may not translate well if you try to move them elsewhere or something.
Bonding isn’t cookie-cutter. Some rabbits do well figuring out their dynamics is larger space while others need a smaller space first. What have you been trying? There is a bonding template in this forum section (I moved this topic into the BONDING section) you can copy, paste, and fill out, and we can make recommendations based on our knowledge and experiences!
The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.