and the way grace overcomes his cowardice is so good because it still doesnât come easily to him.
he sits and bawls thinking about the choice he has to make to go home or save rocky. iâve seen people refer to this as him crying for rocky specifically, and in part, yeah, but heâs crying because he wants to survive and go home to statues and parades and to yell at stratt, and now that's not a simple choice. he is wrestling with the temptation to do it anyway and leave rocky, but he keeps involuntarily thinking about his friend and his âdumb carapace' and the whole planet of eridians who need him and it's dawning on him that he is going to choose to die.
when grace sees the blip-A again there's a moment after he celebrates where he suddenly feels heavy because he realizes if he hadn't been able to locate rocky, he would have gone home and survived after all. and he thinks, wow, i can't believe i tried so hard to find him.
this is him overcoming the weakest part of himself to make a choice he wouldnât make before. a choice heâs not even being asked to make this time! and he made the brave choice while sobbing, wishing he could save himself too. it's a compelling contrast to a lot of stoic, noble, dignified depictions of self-sacrifice in fiction. itâs so good
