eldomtom2: This briefcase is a reference to an identical one used by Commander Straker in British sci-fi series UFO, the most explicit of many influences the series had on Evangelion. Comparisons could indeed be made between this episode and UFO 's similar episode Confetti Check A-OK.
UrsusArctos: I should add a shout-out to Jason Hellwege who made the same observation on the EML a long, long time ago. Sadamoto is on record stating that he modeled Gendo and Fuyutsuki after Ed Straker and Alec Freeman, and this sequence actually takes the UFO comparison deeper. Gendo is recruiting and testing Fuyutsuki the same way Straker recruited and tested Paul Foster.
