Like, for the climate version of it, imagine a situation where greenhouse emissions are actually something we need MORE of, and ecological destruction is something we need to actually accelerate? What if circumstances absolutely FORCED us to do exactly the opposite of what climatologists are asking for? Also climatologists don’t answer basic questions and they disagree on stuff because they’re actually just liberal snowflakes pretending to be scientists and climatology is actually just silly made up bullshit.

Also, Weir’s Grace’s internal monologue never gives us the slightest hint as to what her expression or body language or even vocal inflection is or isn’t doing, just the actual words she speaks. She raises her voice at Grace one time, and that’s it.

Or the moment it hits Grace that Rocky’s Taumoeba will kill his ship:

Or the way Grace thinks of Rocky as he makes his decision:

And the moment Grace reunites with Rocky — it almost works! It’s almost there!

Film Grace’s characterization is (among other things) fearful and avoidant. His first impulse when faced with any unfamiliar or threatening scenario is try to run away. Tried initially to run from Stratt (and dithered when he finally did ask to join the science mission), tried to run from the room of Important People, tried to run from Rocky’s spaceship, obviously tried to run from the mission — anything that man could run from, he tried to run from. Now when he couldn’t run he absolutely did rise to the challenge with extraordinary courage and capability, but the characterization of “first impulse = flight” is pretty consistent.

Canon Grace is a different ball of wax. He’s the one constantly mouthing off to Stratt, the one who demanded to be let onto the science mission when she was going to take him off it, the one who so far as I can see feels no qualms about rubbing shoulders with all these foreign dignitaries, the one who had no reservations about meeting an alien. All of which could coalesce into an equally well-rounded and compelling character if Weird Andy had even slightly more deft a hand at characterization!

But any which way — when Canon Stratt calls Canon Grace a coward, when he calls himself a coward, I think the narrative as presented to us by Andy Weir wants us to see that as untrue and unjust. All the things Canon Stratt names in evidence of Canon Grace’s supposed cowardice — leaving the prestige of academia and becoming a school teacher, not having a het relationship — can easily be read as failing to perform a certain kind of masculinity. Aside from that, all that Canon Grace has been in this novel is a Confident Masculine Self Assured Badass who Don’t Bow Down To No Woman (even if she is his actual boss) and is Wholly Vindicated By The Narrative.