Harrow feels safe with Gideon. Fact. Harrow is also Gideon’s abuser. For the majority of her life, Harrow held an absurd amount of power over her - not just politically (SHE LITERALLY OWNS THAT WOMAN’S FREEDOM) but also necromantically. She can raise skeletons from her earring chips to turn Gideon inside out on a whim… and she has! She has done that!
And Gideon had, what, a sword? Sometimes? We SEE her get her ass kicked by Harrow on the page! If Gideon wasn’t Jod-spawn, and somehow survived the creche massacre, I have NO DOUBT she would be long dead before the events of Gideon the Ninth.
But she becomes Harrow’s cavalier! Yup! And cavaliers are at the absolute rock bottom of the power hierarchy - not just on the ninth, but on a societal level. Gideon’s choice to consent is ALWAYS loaded, and more so once she chooses a politically subservient role. For the average cavalier, consent is essentially an illusion.
And, no, Harrow absolutely did not deserve to be gaslit and abused by John, ostensibly one of the few people with more power than she has as a lyctor. It is a system perpetuating itself. There is a parallel between those relationships, and I think it’s very intentional.
Power always costs, and imbalances complicate EVERY relationship, and Harrow is learning that the hard way in her narrative. I’m not saying she is irredeemable. I think she is VERY ripe for redemption! She is questioning the hierarchy and learning the lesson that John has not.
I’m just saying, in light of the context we currently have… the situation is complex, and THAT’S what’s interesting about Griddlehark as a ship.