it turned out Simon's "deepest inner desire" didn't even have Nia anywhere near it.
She doesn't appear in it herself, but a lot of things symbolizing their connection appear in the dream. Like the engagement ring, the fact that Simon is where he and Nia first met when he starts to realize that something is wrong, and how he escapes from the dreamworld by opening her box (and light illuminates the dark just like when they met). All of that was intentional by the way, according to an interview with the director & assistant director.
And in the first half of the episode, Simon being reminded that Nia was still waiting for him is what made him determined again to keep going after learning the truth about the Spiral Nemesis, so who knows, maybe it was an intentional move by the Anti-Spirals not to have her appear personally.
Re: The rage is strong with me today
She doesn't appear in it herself, but a lot of things symbolizing their connection appear in the dream. Like the engagement ring, the fact that Simon is where he and Nia first met when he starts to realize that something is wrong, and how he escapes from the dreamworld by opening her box (and light illuminates the dark just like when they met). All of that was intentional by the way, according to an interview with the director & assistant director.
And in the first half of the episode, Simon being reminded that Nia was still waiting for him is what made him determined again to keep going after learning the truth about the Spiral Nemesis, so who knows, maybe it was an intentional move by the Anti-Spirals not to have her appear personally.