as much as the trolley problem is a good analogy for PHM and the decisions eva stratt had to make, it's not a perfect analogy and it really neglects the crucial point that the project was an incredibly long shot. there was absolutely no guarantee that there would be anything there to save them. and while we the audience know it will work out because otherwise it would be a pretty bleak story, the people in-universe very much did NOT. i love and respect eva stratt because she was in an impossible position and she didn't ask/demand anything from her people that she wasn't willing to expect of herself, but her role in regards to murdering ryland grace wasn't as straight forward as 'trolley operator'.
the trolley problem, by definition, results in a guarantee that whoever is on the other track WILL survive. putting the astronauts on that ship gave no such guarantee, and realistically, it was just as likely, if not more so, that they wouldn't. and stratt knew this, and was still willing to do anything and destroy her own life for even the smallest chance and i absolutely admire that about her and it's what makes her character so compelling and sympathetic despite the choices she made and the things she did and the blood that was indisputably on her hands. but when you consider it in the context of just HOW much of a long shot it was, it makes grace's initial refusal even more understandable than it already was, in my opinion. 3 hours to decide to die to save humanity while you're already grieving and overworked and sleep deprived? a pretty damn difficult choice. 3 hours to decide whether to die for a long-shot chance of saving humanity, that requires not only for there to be something to find out there in tau ceti but also for him to have skills he believed he didn't? no fucking wonder he said no.
