It does feel designed to be played to the Amélie soundtrack, now that you mention it!

There's a conversation he has with Maelle about grief that started to thaw me - and her - on him a bit I think.

That's good to hear! I hope I warm a little to Verso. He does have interesting potential, as a character who's seen many Expeditions go by, and as a character with very different experiences to the others; he didn't grow up seeing every person older than him being steadily, inevitably wiped out.