FGC:Episode 04 Cut 041

Screenshots	Cut #	Description/Dialogue	Commentary
	041	The electric train is stopped at the station. Shinji is the only passenger. It is already night. There is no one on the platform, either. Shinji raises his face a little and speaks at the end of the cut. Male Announcer:“Thank you for using the Tokyo-3 Loop Line 7. This train will be going out of service at this station. Everyone, please check that you don't leave anything behind as you get off.” Shinji:“…I have to go back.”	Shin-seiki: He doesn't seem too determined, considering how he is deterred by the sound of cicadas a bit later… Incisivis: "I have to go back," he says. As always Shinji recognizes his own failings and does not relish them, something which I think exempts him slightly, though not entirely. In my mind, true evil, true wickedness comes from a lack of self-examination or a pure enjoyment of the bad things you do. Hexon.arq: It's kind of funny — the first time I saw this, I took the line "I have to go back" to mean that he needed to go back home. It's sort of ambiguous in that way. Gundampilotspaz: (036~042) I've always been struck by how wonderful this piece of symbolism is. Shinji is at a point where he doesn't know what to do; he is confused and feels alone. The two songs going back and forth symbolize the struggle in Shinji's mind about going back or running away. When the tape stops in 041, Shinji says "I have to go back", but then we hear the Walkman click and the next track start over again. He doesn't go back — he continues to wander, hoping he'll find a solution to his problem. OMF: It's also interesting that we only now find out he's been taking the loop line, orbiting Toyko-3, but still unable to escape its pull. Always being drawn back by something. Quite profound, that.