Dr. Nick: This scene exemplifies why Evangelion is sometimes said to belong in the mecha subgenre of "hybrid robot". In classic super robot shows, the robot is an extension of the hero's willpower, and the stronger their heroic emotions, the better the machine performs. Usually this is metaphorical of course, but some shows do contextualize this by making emotions or willpower the actual in-universe power source or motive mechanism. GaoGaiGar with its appropriately green-glowing G-stones is a classic heroic super robot formulation of this, and Evangelion earns its hybrid status by combining this type of ludicrous in-universe science with unnervingly realistic depictions of the human condition at its lowest. So, when the mech is emotion-driven and the pilot is in a state of deep depression-borne passivity, we get the anticlimax of Cut 113.
And of course, this borrowing from both sides of the aisle goes on: Asuka's awakening and big rampage in episode 25' is a very super robot moment; her getting skewered and eaten only moments after is mean-spirited real robot territory (or perhaps more correctly Tomino territory).
