I feel like in the book the fact that Stratt intentionally gave Grace the amnesia felt like such a harder gut punch of a twist than the actual being forced to space part! I was so disappointed when it wasn’t in the movie. I understand that it wouldn’t have fit in with how they characterized Stratt in the movie, and the fact that they cut out a lot of the more harmful and borderline cruel decisions on behalf of the Hail Mary team (the blowing up of the Arctic, the paving the Saharah desert, etc) would have made it seem very out of line with the other decision made besides the forcing Grace to go, but I think that level of betrayal was so very interesting and I think it changes the entire perspective of the amnesia from “I was voluntarily put into a 4 year coma knowing there was a chance for amnesia and I got amnesia but still everything worked out in the end” to “I was forced into a coma and sent out into space against my will and they intentionally gave me amnesia so I wouldn’t be upset about that and wouldn’t try to sabotage the mission and I found the solution in spite of that.”
Plus, it also removes that plot hole that I have heard some people talk about regarding the movie of what if Grace decides to wake up and sabotage everything because hey they completely fucked him over? How come Stratt didn’t think of a solution for that beyond “I know you, you won’t do it?” And the answer is that she did think of that, and she had a plan specifically to solve that
Idk, I didn’t like the fact that they neutered Stratt in the movie. She was a lot less likable in the book, sure, but she still had that goal that was fundamentally good: save as many people as she could. She is the living embodiment of sacrifice the few to save the many. Meanwhile I felt like in the movie the only time that’s ever really demonstrated is when she sacrifices Grace.
PHM rant over, back to your regularly scheduled programming
agree with the intentional amnesia being a better gut punch !!! its one of my favorite scenes bc the idea that he couldve kept his memory is much more of a tragedy to me. he had to see his friends dead and not even remember their significance to him. i think it wouldve fit with the stratt characterization tbh bc i think she was shown to be cold and calculating (maybe not as much in the book but it was still there) and forced grace to confront his cowardice more with the idea that he threatened to sabotage the mission to save the world so he wouldnt die so idk why they didnt keep it
i dont think they neutered stratt though in my opinion. i think shes shown to be very similar (though, again, less bc they didnt have time to explode glaciers lmao and i understand why its already a long movie) to her book counterpart like when she says it's preferable if you don't die and i like the fleshing out of her in the movie. maybe its been a while since ive read the book but i didnt see the side of her that was remorseful of all the bad they had to do and the karaoke scene shows that. she says i know its horrible but it has to be done and it makes her sacrifice of grace an even harder decision as we see their relationship in that. they know its bad. they know this is horrible. she does it anyway. and she loses a friend. in the book i believe we dont see stratt after grace sends the beetles back and adding that scene of her old and smiling at her friend means a lot to me with this context