Painted Renoir tells Verso that Aline made him inherit the pain of losing his son, and in the moment of his death, the last words he utters are "I loved them too."
Aline gave them pain, but she also gave them love, and there was no hard delineation between the Dessendres and their painted versions... or the love they felt for each other.
Verso loved Maelle like he loved Alicia. Renoir loved all his children and his wife, in and out of the canvas. Both versions of Maelle/Alicia loved her brother, mother, father, and sister.
People like to ascribe a lot of duplicity to Verso because he omitted crucial information during the course of the story, but I think it's important to acknowledge the thing that started them down this path to begin with:
His propensity for self-sacrifice.
Verso understood that he was the catalyst for everyone's continued suffering. He knew he had to go, but I think he also knew that there was no way to take himself out that wouldn't also take out the people of Lumiere. His immortality was directly tied to their existence via his mother.
I do think Maelle gave him at least a modicum of hope for a time.
He tells Sciel that he'll help bring her husband back. He tells Lune he'll help rebuild Lumiere. He asks Maelle why she doesn't just leave and come back. As if she could just do that at any time.
As if the canvas will always be there.
As if everything that gets torn down could be built up again.
I don't think he intended for the canvas to disappear completely, and I do think he would have endured the pain of his eternal existence if it weren't for this exact moment.
This moment... when the world is already irreparably damaged and its people gommaged.
This moment... when he sees his mother, stumbling and sick.
This moment... when he cocks his ear back to listen to Maelle as she lies to her father.
I think THIS is the moment when he realizes that it all has to go. That nothing can remain, and that nothing will be able to move forward if any piece of this is left behind.
Verso stepped into the fire to save his sister once and he intends to do it again to save his entire family.
Whether they like it or not.
And Sciel sees it. She knows that empty look on his face and this mask can't hurt her, because it IS her.
It's the look of a man who's about to swim out into the ocean to end it all, and there will be no Esquie left to carry anyone back to shore this time.
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