Aerith in her Remake resolution is an Aerith who was pulled from the Lifestream, so dead.
I actually thought of her being dream date Aerith (before going to her resolution scene) but I’m not sure they actually match tbh. To me she looks more like our Aerith once dead. Like she too needs closure, not only this Aerith we know nothing about. It’s honestly a big disconnect to me because I’m not sure how I should care about this Aerith, all she did was create confusion and many fans hated what she did there. It just does look like a CA fanservice scene that ends badly, for all I know. Or it’s just a scene to explain Cloud’s feelings (since again this Aerith’s feelings, IDK why I should care if they have no bearing on our Aerith), to point out that Cloud’s feelings are platonic since there’s this big weird scene happening as our Aerith dies.
I just think overall it did a disservice to Aerith’s character and I say that as I am 100% persuaded that it’s that scene that made my husband dislike her so strongly.