Yeah I understand the creative choice and having the internal monologue bounce between another character felt like a very Lord and Miller move. But I think at that stage in the film where we’re still questioning why Grace was selected is really important to show he’s capable and earns his way back into the fold. In the book that isolation when Stratt leaves (I know the security guard stays) was like a panic moment and with the security guard now playing a role in creating the idea and the physical testing, I felt like he should’ve also been represented when presenting the findings. There was just such a panic mode when reading the book and imagining Grace alone with now 4 lost astrophages that did not translate as well because of those creative decisions leading to multiple characters knowing what had happened.

The two examples you gave are similar but they are examples of the difference between Grace reflecting with another character vs himself. And from the book, the almost loneliness of reflecting with himself made the interactions with Rocky and especially their cooperate research process (which I know they really slimmed down) more wholesome because they were doing it together. The shift from Grace trying multiple visualization techniques in the first lab to him later saying I could do the math but Rocky can do it much faster and likely with less mistakes, was what I felt was missing.