the appeal of Harrow Nova is that she is the ONLY person who could be more pathetic than my sopping wet beloved creature Harrowhark Nonagesimus. the product of a genocide that didn’t even work. all of the guilt and none of the gain. disowned by the very parents who made her a war crime. she’s not even cavalier primary - she’s second to Ortus. on a planet with two fighting-age cavaliers total.
just when you think Nonagesimus couldn’t get any more pitiful, we are introduced to a version of her that is objectively worse off. but – and this is key – in meeting Nova we see that there is some indomitable core to Harrow’s spirit, common across iterations, that will persist in living and succeeding. no matter her circumstances, a Harrow is never going to sit around feeling sorry for herself. she is vicious. she will train to be the best in her field and she WILL be a prodigy, whatever that field might be. and she will not go gentle into that good night!!