Wanna talk Project Hail Mary? :D
I’m a sucker for Rocky and Ryland being best buddies but I’ve noticed a lot of people write the Eridians being all “Stratt is Evil” and stuff because of what she did to Grace. And like. Yeah what she did was terrible. But also Grace was objectively being terrible too - he was saying his own life mattered more than everyone else’s. I think Rocky and other Eridians would be justifiably upset about Stratt’s actions, and Rocky, being attached to Ryland, would be especially upset. But no matter how angry, they’d still get it to some kind of degree, or at the very least not demonize all of humanity for it.
Idk, Eridians’ reactions aside it just makes me think many in the fandom are all like “oh noooo poor wet cat Grace poor babyyyyy” and I’m like “yeah that sucked and was terrifying for him but also he was refusing to help when it was very clear he was the only one who could. So like. Stratt did what was necessary. She wasn’t happy about it either. Don’t demonize her for that.”
PHM is about friendship and working together to solve a problem, to say that you can solve the most dire problems together. But it’s also about Ryland learning to be selfless, and I think many miss that last part.
Idk, I just. Hmmm. 🤨 People are weird with how they interpret things sometimes. Grace being scared is human and relatable, and I feel bad for him. But Grace being selfish shouldn’t be getting him pats on the head either. Maybe I’m just being harsh lol. I think it hits me a little deeper than it should lol, for many reasons. 😂 Anyway, what are your thoughts? :)
Oh yeah I completely agree. It’s wrong to send someone to space against their will, but I saw a post that was perfect.
If Ryland never went to space, he would’ve still been a coward in school, living his mundane life, struggling to pay rent, his life comfortable but not special. In space, he learned to be brave, he experienced beautiful things, he helped save two worlds and two stars, all of that. So I feel like the Eridians wouldn’t hate her nor do I feel like Grace would hate her. Heck, I’d go as far to say that he’d hold no grudge. In the book he is saying how he’d have a lot of mean things to say, but deep down, he wouldn’t hate her, or hold a grudge, or not forgive her. Because she did help him. I feel like some people need to learn that you have got to do things that make you uncomfortable otherwise you’ll live a stagnant life and you’ll never achieve your potential. There’s some nuance to that but yeah. I’ll never hate Stratt she’s so good.
I adore Rocky a lot and he might hold more of a grudge, but I think with time he’d learn to stop being upset about it cuz without Stratt, he wouldn’t have met his best friend!
I def feel like some people infantilize Grace a bit 😭 just cuz he cries a lot. But the thing is, he cries when it’s perfectly valid to cry! He cries over dead friends, over the world ending, over being stuck in space, over having hope that he’ll live, like he doesn’t cry over stupid things (tho I do feel that he would cry over sad movies lollll). So because he’s shown to cry a lot, people have this idea that he cries over everything and is a sensitive soft boy. No he’s not. He’s a grown man, he’s aggressive and calls out a leading scientist and deals with middle schoolers. He can handle a lot more than people realize. And that’s why I like it so much, cuz he probably doesn’t realize he can handle a lot. Which was why he’s scared to leave earth. He’s scared to die, he’s scared to suffer, and there’s a chance he doesn’t believe in himself. But he’s capable of so much because he’s good. I love him a lot.
