Ah, yes. The classic of a villain taunting the captured hero about how they’re going to defeat them instead of just doing it already.
Interesting to note that Nova's words towards Grewishka were actually reasonable* AND foreshadowing
(reasonable - doesn't mean what Nova was doing to Grewishka was right)
_
Let's start with Nova's words, which actually explain Grewishka's core's problem*:
You will never triumph until you understand what she is.
See, Grewishka's problem through the whole movie is that he just keeps seeing Alita as a 'little flea'. He never learns despite his own master gives him clues.
Nova says " You've failed me. "
And he's right in a sense. Grewishka had means to win, but screwed up because of his attitude, not because the task was out of his reach.
His mistake was that he thought he had won already when Alita was crawling on the ground. If he saw his opponent as a serious threat - or maybe I should say - if he HIMSELF was a truly matured opponent - a fight should only be over when your opponent is over (dead). That was his job, to kill her.
He literally had Alita's in his hand, but instead of finishing her off, he started toying around (bragging about the pendant) for the sake of his own ego, and gave her an opening.
And Alita, in contrast to Grewishka, uses every opportunity. Because Alita is...
She's the last of her kind. The finest weapon of the URM Technarchy.
That's it.
Alita is a top grade, ancient murder machine out of this world.
Does that sound like somebody you can fool around with? Yet... Grewishka does exactly that.
In the Vector office, he still wasn't doomed to lose.
Grewishka had the advantage of a surprise attack. He wounded her badly and temporary dazed her. If he wasted no second and gave his 100% on killing her, I think he could success.
But instead, he repeated the same mistake - he acted as if he already won.
Everytime he gets a chance to win, he wastes it because he doesn't threat Alita as he should - the most dangerous person he ever fighted with.
To conclude:
Grewishka never understood what Alita is, and that's why he never thriumphed.
* - ofc Grewishka's "core problem" on a deeper level is his ego - abandoned in the sewers, he probably needs constant validation of his worth - Alita brokes his image of being invincible, so he tries to show he's superior to her
Minors online, stay the hell away from porn (and from extreme gore)!
And for the love of God, don't go around the internet announcing that you're a child who read/watched porn. Don't announce it on mane. Don't brag about it in DMs, especially in DMs with someone you've never met IRL. It doesn't make you cool, it just makes you a target for grooming.
If you found it yourself, don't engage with it, just click out. If someone sent it to you, report them. Sending minors porn is a form of grooming.
Also, I really, really hope everybody already knows this, but I'll say it again - porn is not sex ed. Situations and actions depicted in porn are often extremely unrealistic and/or extremely dangerous. Trying to use porn for sex ed is like trying to use Fast and Furious for driving instructions.
I shouldn't have to say this! This should already be obvious! Somehow, for some people, it isn't!