Painted Alica, (learned) helplessness, and a life to dream (but never to live)
I've seen a lot of discussions about Painted Alicia's letter and the idea of a third ending connected to 'A Life to Dream', which is supposedly the real 'good' ending. Verso, mostly, is blamed for not choosing to give the letter to Maelle, and thus robbing us the players of having a third choice. But while Verso is certainly to blame for a lot of things, putting all the blame on his shoulders ironically takes away the agency of Painted Alicia herself.
Alica, in all her incarnations, struggles with (learned) helplessness. Alicia outside the Canvas is shown to be timid and nervous, a character trait she had even before the fire. Alicia doesn't go into the Canvas until Clea tells her to. But we also see it in Maelle, especially before Gustave's death. She decides to go on the Expedition, yes, but she never really aspires to a specific goal, whether in service of others, or for herself. And Renoir's version of her, the Reacher, is his attempt to tell her to aim for the sky instead of staying forever on the ground.
Similarly, Painted Alicia also never actually makes a choice for herself, and doesn't really pick a side. When we see her at the manor, she seems to stop Verso from entering, which suggest that she doesn't agree with what he is doing. But when she visits later at the camp and gives him the letter, she does very little to actually persuade him one way or the other. In fact, in her letter she says that is she ready and has made peace with what is to come, resigning herself to her fate.
In that moment her flaw is the most prominent. Because if she truly wanted her family to live, she could and should have acted. She could have stood by p!Renoir's side at the base of the Monolith. She could have stood by Aline's side on top of the Monolith.
Most importantly, she could have given the letter directly to Maelle. But instead, she gives the letter to Verso, putting the burden of choice on his shoulders. She hides away at the Reacher, next to the Axon that will always be aiming for the sky, but never actually doing so herself.
It could be said that this is flaw of the writing - while Painted Alicia is certainly one of the most visually striking characters, she is among the least fleshed out in terms of personality and impact on the story. Her role is to be mysterious, to both characters and players, be a mirror to Maelle, and then die if you do a sidequest. I wonder if she was supposed to play a bigger role, like Clea was, but it was cut due to time and production restraints.
But if we just consider what is present in the narrative, and how each character reacts to grief and loss, Painted Alicia represents the choice of no choice. Where p!Renoir fights desperately to protect Aline and Verso fights to stop her, Painted Alicia is just there. Hovering at the edge of the story but never fully claiming her place. She dreams of a third ending, and tells Maelle "Perhaps youβll find another way." She dreams of a third ending, and tells Verso "Whether you give it to her is up to you."
But in order to reach your dreams, you have to actively make choices, and not rely on others to do it for you. Painted Alicia's inability to act, her inability to take a side, contributes as much to the final decision as Verso's and Maelle's choices do. That is the tragedy.
Alicia's letter seems to point to a third way out. An escape of the tragedy that is about to unfold and the painful choices that have to be made. But while that seems hopeful, due to her inability to act, all Painted Alicia can do is dream of that life, while leaving the actual living to others.