Episode 12

Episode Information
Episode #12
Title 1: 奇跡の価値は Kiseki no Kachi wa The Value of a Miracle is... Title 2: She Said, "Don't Make Others Suffer for Your Personal Hatred."
Written By	Hideaki Anno, Akio Satsukawa
Directed By	Hiroyuki Ishido
First Aired	12-20-1995
Video Release Date	7-5-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 2-13-2001 (US-DVD)
Angel Appearances	Sahaquiel
Eva Sorties	Eva-00, Eva-01, Eva-02
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Episode 11"	"Episode 13"

Overview

Misato has been promoted to Major, but the celebration is cut short when the next Angel appears, in Earth orbit. Is there any way to stop a multi-ton enemy from hurling itself from space onto Tokyo-3?

Synopsis

The episode begins with a flashback, as Second Impact occurs at Antarctica. Misato's father, Dr. Katsuragi, saves her life by shoving her into an escape capsule as Adam, in Giant of Light form briefly appears. Giant wings appear over the cloud vortex over Antarctica as the capsule floats to safety.

Back in the present in Tokyo-3, Toji and Kensuke drop into Misato's apartment to take shelter from the rain. Kensuke notices that Misato has been promoted to Major, (a fact which has completely escaped Shinji and Asuka), and he and Toji congratulate her. Misato thanks them and reminds Shinji and Asuka that they have a harmonics test that day.

Ritsuko reveals after the test that Shinji's synch rate is rapidly rising and he will soon catch up to Asuka. This doesn't seem to impress Asuka, who reacts angrily.

When they arrive home, they find that Kensuke has arranged a party to celebrate Misato's promotion. Toji wonders why Hikari, the Class Rep, is there, and Asuka replies that she has invited her. Asuka then begins to wonder why Kaji is late. Rei has turned down her invitation. Meanwhile, Shinji whispers to Misato that he's uncomfortable around that many people. When Shinji asks her why she joined Nerv, Misato claims to have forgotten. When Kaji finally arrives, he has Ritsuko with him, causing Misato and Asuka to both react jealously. Kaji comments that Commander Ikari and Vice Commander Fuyutsuki must have a lot of faith in Misato to go away and leave her in charge.

In Antarctica, Gendo and Fuyutsuki are onboard an aircraft carrier in a sea of orange. The surrounding area has become incapable of sustaining life; Fuyutsuki comments that it is the true Dead Sea. Also on board the deck is a mysterious long object in wrappings. Just then they receive a message that the next Angel has begun its attack.

The 10th Angel, Sahaquiel, is colossal in size and one of the most bizarre Angels in appearance, looking like a gigantic amoeba with a huge central eye. Its strategy is to zero in on Nerv, dropping pieces of itself onto the Earth to calibrate its aim. Each piece has its own A.T. Field, which, combined with very high kinetic energy, cause devastation wherever they strike. It is believed that once the Angel finds its target, the main body will plummet to Earth. Even a near miss will convert Tokyo-3 into an extension of the Pacific Ocean . Misato orders all civilians evacuated in a 50 KM radius, and concocts what seems to be an impossible plan. Using their A.T. Fields at full strength, the three Evas will catch the falling Angel with their hands and then destroy it. Ritsuko accuses Misato of putting her quest for revenge ahead of the mission.

Misato briefs the pilots on the mission. They all decline to write a will. She then promises them a steak dinner if they succeed. Rei passes on the steak because she dislikes meat. When Misato is asked how she determined where to station the Evas (the potential impact zone is miles across), she replies, "intuition." Shinji tells Asuka that Misato has never won the lottery.

On their way to their evas, Shinji asks Asuka why she pilots. She replies that she wants to prove something to the world. When she throws the question back at him, he doesn't have an answer.

We are then shown a flashback to a conversation Shinji and Misato must have had a short time before. She admits that she joined Nerv to avenge her father, even though she had hated him for neglecting her and her mother.

The time comes at last. The Evas race to the impact spot, Shinji arriving first. He struggles to hold up the Angel until Rei and Asuka join him. Rei proceeds to expose Sahaquiel's core with her Progressive Knife, and Asuka uses her knife to stab the now vulnerable core, causing the Angel to self-destruct. Another mission has been successful against tremendous odds. Gendo calls, and when Misato tries to apologize for the damage done to Unit-01, he tells her she did well. He then specifically asks to speak with Shinji and tells him, "Good work." The pilots have mercy on Misato's pocketbook and go to a ramen place instead of a steakhouse. Even Rei goes along, ordering garlic ramen with no pork. Shinji tells Misato that he pilots because he wants to hear words of praise from his father.

End of episode.

Notes

• Misato is promoted from Captain to Major as of this episode. For practical purposes, this doesn't really change any character dynamics in the series: she was already head of the Tactical Operations division of Nerv, and she doesn't now outrank anyone we know of that she didn't before.
• Although Second Impact has been referred to as a historical event since the second episode, in this episode an extended flashback is given of Misato's first hand experience during Second Impact while in Antarctica.
• The origin of Misato's scar, first seen in Episode 10, are now fully explained. Her sternum is wounded and bloodied over the region where the scar is later seen.
• Adam is seen as a "giant of light", bearing an unmistakable resemblance to an Evangelion and glowing all over except for her core and eyes (normally, the core and eyes are the only bioluminescent parts in Angels and Evas).
• Twin pillars of light are seen rising at the end of the flashback. These may or may not be the base of Adam's wings of light. In Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, the wings of light are also seen with red dots of light flying around them.
• A.T. Fields can oppose each other and act as a barrier to each other as well - Eva-01's A.T. Field blocks Sahaquiel's A.T. Field and keeps the Angel suspended in the air (although demanding a lot of physical strength from the Eva itself) before the other two Evas arrive.
• As Fuyutsuki notes, Sahaquiel has found a new way to use an A.T. Field, actually using it offensively to crush satellites observing it. Some later Angels will also use their A.T. Fields as weapons, and even the Evangelions will eventually use them this way.
• The reason for Gendo and Fuyutsuki's trip to Antarctica is not revealed in this episode, however, they bring back a large mysterious object wrapped in tarmac, which is longer than an aircraft carrier's flight deck. This will be seen again in Episode 14.
• Rei states that she "dislikes eating meat" (which is what the official English dub also says, though some translations have gone as far as having Rei say that she "hates" eating meat), which seems to indicate that she is a vegetarian. Series creator Hideaki Anno is himself a vegetarian.
• Misato mentions that if Tokyo-3 and Nerv HQ have to be evacuated, they will move the Magi supercomputers to Matsushiro. Matsushiro is on the outskirts of Tokyo-2, and later in Episode 18 we will see that Nerv has a secondary testing facility there.
• Special order "D-17", which can be declared under Nerv's authority, is the order to evacuate all civilians within a 50 kilometer radius of Tokyo-3.
• Misato's father threw himself into his work, ignoring his family, though it was suspected that he was just so emotionally sensitive that he had trouble interacting with his family. Misato's mother eventually divorced Dr. Katsuragi, a decision Misato approved of. Dr. Katsuragi was shocked, but acknowledged that the failure of their marriage was his own fault. Ultimately he sacrificed his life to save Misato's during Second Impact, and Misato has mixed feelings as to whether she loved or hated him.

Go HERE for more notes.

Analysis

• Sahaquiel is the first Angel to appear in orbit. However, it seems unlikely that Second Impact simply blew Sahaquiel's egg into orbit- Sandalphon emerged from its cocoon in Episode 10 at full adult size. Assuming Sahaquiel to be the same, it seems impossible that an object so huge could go undetected in Earth orbit for so long, while Sahaquiel was in a pupal state.
  • Since it is never revealed where any of the Angels directly come from (except Sandalphon), Sahaquiel's cocoon was probably somewhere else on the Earth, perhaps in the desolate southern Indian Ocean near Antarctica, in orbit over which it was first discovered, and where it could simply have launched itself into orbit undetected.
• Wouldn't Sahaquiel landing from orbit like a giant bomb destroy Adam in Nerv HQ? If the ultimate drive of the Angels is to reunite with Adam, how could Sahaquiel possibly hope to achieve this?
  • According to the "Classified Information" files, many Angels were trying to reunite with Adam, but some were altogether mindless and had no real purpose. However, Sahaquiel displays several signs of intelligence, such as recalibrating its aim specifically for Tokyo-3, and instead of just randomly attacking it did seem to be concentrating on Nerv HQ. A hint is that Misato said the Evangelions would probably survive even Sahaquiel's living bomb attack, because they have A.T. Fields. It is probable that Adam would also have survived the impact, after which Sahaquiel would reunite with Adam.
• Adam's shoulder pylons, similar to the shoulder-armor fin plates on Evangelions, seem to be artificial restraints added by the research team (just as they are not biologically part of the Evas, either). A still-shot of the Katsuragi expedition digging up Adam (seen in the extended opening given on the Renewal of Evangelion Test-type disk) shows Adam lying on her back, skewered on the lance, and lacking shoulder pylons.
• Another instance of Misato and Ritsuko clashing occurs in this episode - Ritsuko is a highly logical thinker, and she strongly disagrees with Misato's placement of the Evas on pure guesswork.
• Misato's true motives for joining Nerv are explained. Her hatred of the Angels seems to drive her to any length to destroy them, even though it may not be the most sensible of methods. Conversely, in both this episode and in Episode 05, Misato's determination has saved the situation in spite of extremely low odds.
• Rei did not come to Misato's party, even though she was specifically invited by Asuka. Rei was specifically brought to the synch-training party at Misato's apartment in Episode 09, but that seems to be because Misato actually brought her. Rei isn't simply mysterious to people she doesn't know at first (i.e. during the introductory episodes): Rei is disconected socially even from the other Eva pilots.
• The survival pod that Misato's father put her into looks somewhat similar to an Entry Plug: it is possible that this was an earlier technology which was later developed into the Entry Plug.

Go HERE for more analysis.

Quotes

• (Shinji wonders why his improved performance angers Asuka)
  Shinji: "I wonder why she got mad. What did I do wrong?"
  Misato: "That bothers you?"
  Shinji: "Yes."
  Misato: "That's because all you ever do is worry about what other people think."
• (The readouts from a synchronization test show that Shinji's synch ratio is improving at a remarkable rate)
  Maya Ibuki: "His harmonics and synch ratios are approaching Asuka's."
  Ritsuko: "Is this what you call a gift, I wonder?"
  Nerv technician: "It's like he was born to pilot an Eva."
• Misato: "Miracles have value only when we make them happen"
• (Ritsuko confronts Misato about her plan)
  Ritsuko: "You're going to do this, seriously?"
  Misato: "Yes, I am."
  Ritsuko: "You're going to throw away all three Evas with your selfish decision? The chance of success is only 0.00001%. That's not even one in ten thousand!"
  Misato: "It's not zero; I'm just banking on the Evas."
  Ritsuko: "Major Katsuragi!"
  Misato: "I am currently in charge. I want to do whatever I can. Destroying Angels is my duty."
  Ritsuko: "Your duty! Don't make me laugh, This is for your own sake, isn't it? Your revenge against the Angels!
• (The pilots prepare for their mission.)
  Shinji: "Say."
  Asuka: "What?"
  Shinji: "Asuka, why do you pilot an Eva?"
  Asuka: "To exhibit my talent to the world, of course."
  Shinji: "You mean to prove that you exist?"
  Asuka: "Yeah, something like that." (Looks at Rei) "You're not going to ask her?"
  Shinji: "I've asked Ayanami before."
  Asuka: "Mmmm...My, how intimate the two of you are."
  Shinji: "It's not like that."
  Asuka: "Then what about you, Shinji?"
  Shinji: "I don't know."
  Asuka: "You don't know? What are you, stupid?"
  Shinji: "Maybe I am."
  Asuka: "You really are stupid."
• (The characters celebrate their victory over Ramen.)
  Shinji: "Say, miss Misato?"
  Misato: "What?"
  Shinji: "When I heard my father's words earlier, I think I finally understood what it's like to feel happy when you're praised and I also realized that maybe I pilot the Eva because I wanted to hear those words from him."
  Asuka: "You're piloting for something like that? You really are stupid."

Episodes & Films
Television Series	Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25 | Episode 26
Movies	Death | Rebirth The End of Evangelion: Episode 25' | Episode 26'
Rebuild of Evangelion	Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | (-46h) | (-120min) | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0