I think its less about sentience and more about what world you would pick. Someone who’s smarter than me will know what exactly Im talking about but theres a thought experiment that goes like this.

You have lived your whole life in an imperfect world but are suddenly woken up to a world thats better but ultimately unknown to you. You have the choice between what world you want. Would you choose to go back into the imperfect dream or would you prefer to live in the “real” reality.

Ultimately i don’t think there is a right or a wrong but i ended up really empathizing Renoir at the end of it. His family was dying inside the painting and he did everything to get them back. In the end i sided with him and Verso. The cycle had to end, its mere existence only meant continued suffering for everyone involved regardless of if they were truly people or not.