bedes: An icon of Bede from Pokemon, looking towards the camera. (bede2)
The screenshot of Round 7 of Alien Stage, just before Till sees Mizi. He is sweating and distressed. The screenshot that shows Mizi from Till's point of view. A screenshot of Till blushing and walking forward. A screenshot of Till reaching out for Mizi's hand.

I'm seeing people taking this scene as Till "choosing Mizi" over Ivan, symbolically, but frankly, they need to stop looking at it through a lens of shipping, and Till "choosing" someone.

Till has always idolized Mizi. During hardships, she was his beacon of light; she is, quite literally, a savior figure.

Vivinos describes Till's relationship with Ivan as love and hatred; difficult, complicated, messy. And he's being continuously reminded of the trauma of Ivan's death while it's still fresh on his mind. So, when he sees Mizi, he's of course going to be excited and reach out to her; she's someone he views as perfect. His comfort. And he, in this moment, is so, so hurt.

And we see what the narrative does in response to his attempted escapism.

A screenshot of Mizi looking horrified as Till is shot.


Till isn't "choosing" anyone. He loves Ivan and Mizi. But they are very different types of love, and he reacts accordingly to both.

bedes: An icon of Bede from Pokemon, looking towards the camera. (bede2)

The way that Ivan sacrificed his life for Till, thinking it wouldn't matter, because he means nothing to him… but it was Ivan's sacrifice that ultimately damned Till, giving him a weakness for Luka to exploit…

It was Ivan's inability to look past his own low self-image to see that Till cared for him that ultimately doomed them both to death…

Oh, Ivantill... Just when I thought you couldn't be more doomed... And Vivimeng when I CATCH YOU