The so-called Betrayal Scene makes me sick to my stomach every single time. Because damn right it is a fcking betrayal!!! Grace betrays everything they’ve been working for together for years!
And what kills me is that Grace gets to say “I can’t do it.” He gets to panic, break down, run away from the responsibility. Stratt never gets that option. She is just as devastated and terrified as he is, you can literally see it all over her face.
GOD, she does not want to do this. She does not want to force him into that ship. But unlike Grace, she doesn’t have the luxury of collapsing, because somebody still has to act. Somebody still has to make the impossible decision and live with it.
And Sandra Hüller plays this so brilliantly because she never makes Stratt’s suffering loud. She keeps it all so restrained and controlled, but you can still see every tiny crack in her composure. She has to hold herself together while her entire world is falling apart.
And the thing is, for YEARS Grace was probably the closest thing she had to a friend. Someone she trusted, relied on, someone who actually understood the unbearable weight she had to carry every single day while the entire planet waited for extinction or salvation. And instead of meeting her halfway and carrying that burden together with her, Grace leaves her alone with it. Grace gets to unload all of his fear, anger, and panic onto her, and she STILL has to be the one who is held responsible. THAT is what makes me lose my mind every time I watch this scene. Because yes, from Grace’s perspective, Stratt betrays him. But from Stratt’s perspective? Grace betrays her, the mission, years of work, and honestly humanity itself. And on top of all that, she is of course also heartbroken for her friend. She has to sacrifice someone she deeply cares about, become the villain in his story, and still keep going.
As Sandra Hüller’s character says in Sibyl, “Sometimes having a breakdown is a luxury.” And damn well it is for Eva Stratt.
jbbartram-illu
jacobvanloon
prguitarman
blakekathryn
izzy806
gummygunk
