Gotta get this out b/c it keeps taking up space in my brain:
I wonder if part of the reason Eva Stratt always had Ryland Grace in the back of her mind for the Project Hail Mary mission is because she got to observe (and arguably test) him the whole time, starting from their first meeting.
Spoilers for movie below the cut.
The movie does a great job at showing how much of a fish out of water Ryland is initially. But what I haven't seen talked about as much is the fact that I think from the very beginning, Eva Stratt, is very subtly pushing his buttons. And she knows it.
From their first interaction, when she goes to his classroom - when she points out how much she knows about Ryland's past history in academia, she's watching for his reaction.
She's clearly done her research on him. She knows he has a PhD in Molecular Biology. She knows he used to publish papers. But also, she even seeming to correctly conclude why he got kicked out of academia. That it wasn't because of his research necessarily, but because of his behavior. And even then, he stands behind his research.
After Eva gets Ryland's attention, she forces him into a new environment. The lab. She has him analyze the samples under her watch and under the gaze of plenty of important people.
She watches him work alone, when faced with the unknown samples. Even as Ryland realizes he's a "guinea-pig", he still does what he's been asked to do. She watches how methodically he works, and what he does when he's hit a wall in his research. She watches him grapple when he discovers his hypothesis is wrong about Astrophage, and how even knowing that, still chooses to accurately record his results. She watches him flourish, discovering and piecing together what Astrophage is. Piece by piece, she watches as Ryland unravels Astrophage - what they're made of and what they do.
Then once Ryland gets comfortable, Eva pushes his buttons again. Says that he's done, and that she's taking his advice to find other scientists to continue. But that's when Ryland pushes back. She watches as he fights to hold onto a few of the Astrophage to experiment with.
She sees his tenacity as a researcher.
As Ryland's research continues to bear fruit, she forces him again into a high pressure situation. The meeting on the aircraft carrier. Not only could she observe Ryland's reaction to the Gravitational Forces via his flight to her and additionally, how he reacts when out of his element, but she could also observe how he relates to others - others that have more knowledge than him. When Ryland gets there intially, he thinks he's there to relay his findings about Astrophage breeding. Which is true, but it's a half-truth.
In truth, everyone in that room - all the public officials and scientists there and over video call - knows about Project Hail Mary... except for him. He's the only one without Top Secret Clearance.
As Eva has Ryland explain his new findings about Astrophage breeding, she watches how he gives his explanations. How he manages to explain his discoveries in a clear and concise way to get his point across. It might be crude, yes. But it's efficient. It gets his points across, especially across to all the different people from different countries that are gathered there, and people can quickly understand him.
When Ryland's research is confirmed to have been replicated, as stated by the other people on that aircraft carrier, questions to him are levied. Most notably, the question about how to efficently breed 2 million Astrophage comes up.
Eva watches as Ryland answers.
Ryland talks about the best way to breed Astrophage, but then questions the question's premise, publically. He asks, in this room of high ranking individuals, the people he was initially scared to present to, why they would need to breed 2 million Astrophage.
The fact that Ryland doesn't unequivocally answer the question, isn't lost on Eva, I'd wager. He lays bare the fact there's an agenda behind that question. He clocks that needing 2 million of Astrophage is suspicious especially considering how much energy these things can hold. It also shows how shrewd he is. He knows there's something that they're not telling him, and he's teasing out the intent behind that question.
That's when Eva makes the exectutive decision to give Ryland top secret clearance.
Then once more, Eva observes as Ryland comes face to face with this dire information about Astrophage and the Sun. As Eva explains the plan and Ryland asks questions, he's very quickly able to put things together.
A quick thinker.
As Project Hail Mary continues and so does Ryland's research, Eva gets to observe Ryland once more as he's introduced to the Astronauts for the mission. How he handles himself in front of more new people, but also, how to handle people who may not understand English. During Eva's introduction, all Ryland has to go on are the astronaut's names. He knows that they're going on the mission. But he also doesn't know if they can understand him in English. It isn't until after Ryland gives his introduction about spin drives with gestures that the reveal comes that they can all understand English.
Once that information is established, and Ryland knows he's talking to a pilot, engineer, and scientist, then Eva gets to watch as he communicares to them how the engines will work for the mission and subsequently, the risk they're taking on the ship with using Astrophage as a fuel. He does so with a demonstration (melting a metric ton of metal with a small amount of Astrophage) that leaves all of the astronauts speechless.
Yet another example of Ryland's adaptability and his ability to clearly communicate with others, and to do what has to be done.
Then comes the party prior to the mission.
Eva gets to see what Ryland is like outside of work. Ryland ends up finding Eva and asking her point blank about how she feels sending these people on what is essentially a suicide mission.
I imagine it's a question that no one has asked her before. It's also a heck of a brave question of Ryland especially considering she's in charge, and he works under her. But it's also a question that reveals that Ryland understands the gravity of what is being asked of her and the astronauts on this mission. He's not naive.
And then comes the fateful explosion that kills off the rest of the science team.
Then, the aftermath.
After the explosion and the debriefing, where they determine the explosion's cause, when they're regrouping to figure out what to do next with Ryland and the remaining crew. Eva volun-tells Ryland that he's going on the Hail Mary. That he's her choice.
Ryland protests Eva's decision, citing his lack of training and his fear of elevators, etc.
As the crew and Eva knock away his protestations one by one and he's volun-told of the plan, Eva watches as Ryland grapples with his mortality and the idea that he'll die. She watches to see what Ryland does when things are seemingly hopeless for him.
In that final scene with the reveal of Ryland's choice to tell her about his refusal to go, I would argue that cements her decision to force him onto the ship even more.
Because with all the time she's spent with Ryland, from when she met him as a middle school teacher to testing alien samples in the lab to becoming the lead Astrophage researcher, she's not only observed his scientific progress, but his mental resilience as well. She's thrown him into unknown situations with possible danger like in the Astrophage lab. She's seen his reactions in high stress situations. She's seen his reactions when he's faced with his own mortality and hopelessness.
Despite that, Ryland's always been able to perform. He's done what he's needed to do, regardless of what's been thrown at him.
He might be a guinea pig for some possibly lethal alien lifeform samples? He will also examine them anyway and record his results, despite the possible threat to his life.
Not only will he do examine the samples, but he'll keep going on his work until he gets an answer, even if the answer is not what he wants to hear.
His initial hypothesis is wrong? He'll admit he's wrong and re-examine his conclusions again, making sure he records things accurately.
He has to communicate with important scientists and non-scientists of different cultures and backgrounds? He'll quickly find a way to make the core concepts easy to understand.
With everything Ryland has been through under Eva, Ryland has shown, time and time again that he can rise to the challenge over and over again, even when forced.
Even when faced with his own possible death in being volun-told to go onto the mission, Ryland still tells Eva his answer in person: that he refuses to go.
It sounds like he's fighting her on it. Which he is.
It's also worth noting that he is saying this to his boss - the one who kept him on. Who even gave him the chance to work on the mission. Who gave him the chance to work with Astrophage.
Mentally, he's also showing that he's a fighter as well. That even when faced with his mortality and his death, he refuses to stay stagnant and wallow in that hopelessness. He'll pick himself up, adapt, and keep going, no matter the situation, because based on what Eva's seen, he's done that over and over and over again.
As the mission get closer, everything Eva's observed up until now, points in one direction: Ryland Grace needs to be aboard the Hail Mary. He is the best choice, given the choices, the evidence (his discoveries), and Eva's own observations of him.
I'm still working through the book, but I think this argument could be made between Book!Ryland and Book!Eva too.
So was anyone gonna tell me The Good Place finale would make me sob my way through three kleenexes or was I supposed to watch everyone return their essence to the universe and just be okay with that
The Good Place has the most satisfying and impactful ending of any TV show ever and also I am bawling my eyes out. I feel comforted and reassured and also I have a massive headache from bawling my eyes out.
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