Episode #04, Scene 6: The Square Peg

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Screenshot Cut # Description/Dialogue Commentary
160 Panoramic view of the Geofront. Evening scene.  

161 Shinji being made to sit inside a dark room.
The red mark of Nerv is on the bare concrete wall.
Light flows in as the door opens.

Otaprince: Throughout the show, this scene is repeated with various people imprisoned by Nerv.

Dr. Nick: Are those blood stains on the wall? "Throw him into the torture chamber!"
162 Misato stands there.

Dr. Nick: "Time for your punishment, Shinji."

Reichu: You know, I think I have yet to see a dominatrix Misato. That seems like such blindingly obvious H-doujin material that I almost feel sad.

163 Misato approaches Shinji.
Standing there, she makes great effort to try talking calmly to him.
Misato "Long time no see."
Shinji "…Yes."
Misato "Did two days of bumming around cheer you up?"
Shinji "…Not really…"
Misato "…Eva's on standby. Will you pilot it?"

Reichu: That's one forced air of calmness. Compensation for the way she snapped at Shinji before, I reckon -- slipshod as it is.

164 Misato is still calm.
Misato "Or won't you?"

OMF: Straight to business. Despite her personal concern for him, she's letting her professional duties dictate the course of the conversation.
165 Shinji, still looking down
Shinji "You're not going to scold me for running away?" 		 
166 Misato seems dubious.
Misato "…?" 		 
167 Shinji has a faint smile on his face…
He seems to be sneering at himself.
Shinji "Of course not. You've got no relation to me."

OMF: Shinji still feels there is no connection between them, apart from the chain of command. He's still laughing bitterly at his own lonesome dilemma.
168 Misato is sullen.
Misato "!!…" 		 
169 Shinji's smile vanishes.
Shinji "If I said I wasn't going to pilot, what would happen to EVA-01?"

Reichu: It seems odd that he would even give a crap what happens to the Eva. Being completely oblivious to her true nature and all.

OMF: Perhaps even at this early stage he's still drawn to the Eva somehow.
170 Misato tries calm her wits down a little…
Misato "Rei would probably pilot it."

 
171 Only the spirit of Shinji's gaze is lifted.
Again he smiles self-deprecatingly.
Shinji "…"
Misato (OFF) "So you won't do it?"
Shinji "It's not fair to force everything on her."

Treize X: Why is he concerned about Rei? Because of what happened in episode #01?

Reichu: [whisper]Because she's hawt…[/whisper]

OMF: Leaving Rei to pilot the Eva is not the escape Shinji was looking for (in 169). He could never leave knowing someone else was suffering in his stead.
172 Misato's shadow and Shinji.
Ceiling beam in the foreground.
Shinji "It's alright, I'll do it."
Misato's tone is a little irritated.
Misato (OFF) "But you don't want to?"
Shinji "Of course not. First of all, I'm not cut out for it. But Ayanami, Misato-san and Ritsuko-san…"
Misato's tone is harsh.
Misato (OFF) "Cut that out!" 		 

173 Shinji's face jerks up in surprise. Mr. Tines: Again, no eye contact, but this time looking haunted, rather than insolent. Certainly his two days AWOL didn't cheer him up.
174 Misato is fuming.
Misato "This has nothing to do with any of us!"
175 Shinji is rendered speechless.
Misato (OFF) "If you don't like it, get out of here! Forget all about Eva and us and go back to your old life! (Pause) We don't need someone with that attitude piloting."
When she is done speaking, we hear the sound of footsteps walking away.

thewayneiac: Misato doesn't seem to have learned anything from their last conversation.

OMF: Misato's been bottling her feelings up for some time, and now she's close to tears. She's not only guilty about forcing Shinji to do something that he hates, but she's likely frustrated with his attitude, which she finds incomprehensible.

Incisivis: I think she's angry about Shinji's dispassionate approach to piloting. Her meeting with Shinji is similar to the one earlier in the way it depicts a distance between the two characters. Here she attempts to span that distance with her outburst, but I don't think it works.

176 Shinji, sitting alone.
The door closes and it becomes dark.
SE <<Footsteps walking away>>
SE <<Slam!!>> 		 
177 Shinji is stunned. OMF: Misato has just obliterated the only support he's been leaning on (that he is needed as a pilot); again he had been declared unneccessary and useless. There are resoundings of his reaction to Gendo's "Leave!" in #01/C-228 here.
178 Automatic Walkway inside Nerv. Ikari, Ritsuko, with Rei behind them.
Ritsuko "The Third Children is leaving Tokyo-3 tomorrow."
Ikari "Then, we'll reconfigure EVA-01's data for Rei."

OMF: This isn't Gendo's most flattering shot -- he looks like a sour old timer who's eaten one too many prunes.

Also note how Ritsuko does not refer to Shinji by name. Perhaps she knows from experience not to mention the "S word" around Gendo.
179 Rei from below. Her injuries still haven't healed.
Ritsuko (OFF) "…But…"
Ikari (OFF) "Regardless of the results of EVA-00's re-activation experiment, we'll move on to experimenting with EVA-01."

Gundampilotspaz: That Gendo can say something like this while Rei is still horribly injured brings the words "You Cold Bastard!" to mind.

Reichu: Okay, folks, here's something I do not get. Here, the G-man is eager to forget about Zero and experiment with Rei and Sho -- yet they spent months trying to get Rei to synchronize with the One-Eyed Wonder. If Gendo is willing to cast aside EVA-00 so easily, why didn't they just give Rei EVA-01 from the beginning and, er, "configure" Zero for somebody else? There are quite a number of plot holes going on here — but that's no real surprise.

OMF: I don't think Shinji's part in Gendo's scenario has ever been fully explained.

Reichu: Perhaps so… Nothing that will protect this show from some heavy-duty nitpicking later on, though. ;;D

180 Ritsuko glances at Rei in concern.
Ritsuko "…" 		Otaprince: Re-watching this scene, I sense jealousy, not just concern, from Ritsuko.
181 Rei has a machine-like coolness. Reichu: Despite what the script says here, I get a distinct sense of (scarcely) repressed anxiety from Rei. (Fits perfectly with what we'll see of her inner character next episode, actually.) Usually the eyes are the mind's betrayers, but here it's mostly the dip in her mouth that gives her away. Even though we're dealing with a second-string art crew in this episode, they still get the job done.

182 Her point is not lost on Ikari. Ritsuko resumes facing forward.
Ritsuko "…"
Ikari "According to the Marduk Institute's report, the 4th Children has yet to be found."
Ritsuko "That means we can't get any pilot recruits?" 		Reichu: The first hint (aside from the OP) that there's a Children around we haven't met.

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