>>281993220
I would say Sayaka is trying to be someone she isn't and can't be (and shouldn't be). She (metaphorically) drowns in her own ideals and self hate. She understands that right before she witches out, but it's too late. Thankfully even these errors lead her to expose and share her bare heart with Kyouko and allow her to find a sense of meaning and purpose. Whether or not afterlife exists for these two to connect after this sacrifice, Kyouko sacrificed herself to reclaim empathy, a sense of shared human experience and connection. Even in the worst possible, most cynical case where you'd believe Sayaka saw none of that because she was already witched out, this is the only path forward that embraces warmth, connections, empathy. It's extremely intimate because there is no pragmatical point to it, it's done purely for the sake of that sense of connection. It's dignified because it refuses to engage with the cursed system and embraces the bittersweet end rather than clinging onto life for the sake of survival. It's choosing to "exist" (which comes with self actualization) over "living" (merely surviving, even if it means compromising yourself).
