Theory and Analysis:Yui's Agenda

One of the murkiest aspects of NGE is Yui's motives. Was it really just an accident that she provided the soul for Eva-01? If she did it on purpose, why? Why would she want Shinji to be present during a risky contact experiment. What were her plans for Third Impact? Does her occasional violent behavior after becoming an Eva indicate at least some degree of mental illness on her part? Did she plan all along to go into exile in outer space? The evidence presented in the series answers some but not all of these questions.

Yui's Contact Experiment

Yui's Conversation with Fuyutsuki

The evidence is that Yui did, in fact, deliberately choose to become Eva-01's soul.

The chief piece of evidence as to why comes in Episode 21 in this conversation:

Episode 21 - Yui/Fuyutsuki under a tree with baby Shinji

[telop:_ 2003 AD]

[telop:_ Hakone - Lake Ashinoko levee]

Fuyutsuki: The same weather day after day... The disappearance of autumn from this country is sad beyond words._ According to the scenario in SEELE's Secret Dead Sea Scrolls, Third Impact will definitely occur in a little over ten years.

Yui: SEELE and Gehirn - organizations for preventing the final tragedy.

Fuyutsuki: I support your intentions - Not SEELE's.

Note: Yui's intentions are different than Seele's, and Fuyutsuki is aware of this. Also remember that according to the Classified Information, Yui is the daughter of a Seele member and accordingly in a position to understand their plans.

Yui: Professor Fuyutsuki, it would be terribly dangerous to break that seal onto the world.

Fuyutsuki: I've given all the materials to Ikari._ It's not something one can do alone._ (pause)

Yui and Fuyutsuki are refering here to the evidence that Second Impact had been caused deliberately. Fuyutsuki had confronted Gendo with this evidence and threatened to take it public.

(cont'd) _There won't be a repeat performance of the stunt I pulled earlier. oh, and I've also been given a warning - It seems that it would be no trouble at all for them to erase me.

Fuyutsuki's life had been threatened by Seele because of these actions.

Yui: And those who survived as well. It's easy to exterminate people.

Fuyutsuki: Still, that's no reason for you to become a test subject.

Here we get to the crux of the matter. Yui's life was in danger as well, and this had lead her to conduct the Contact Experiment herself.

Yui: All things happen as they must. That is why I am with SEELE - for Shinji's sake...

This explains one of the aspects of Yui's contact experiment that has puzzled many people: why did the contact experiment take place so soon? Eva-01 was incomplete and was, in fact, still attached to Lilith.

. Yui needed to take action soon because she was in fear for her life. Seele had found out that she opposed their agenda and was working against it. Thus she didn't have time to wait for Eva-01 to be completed. Her situation must have been even more dire than this conversation lets on.

Another bit of Evidence is this bit of dialog from EOE:

Fuyutsuki: Humans exist because they have the will to live... And that is the reason she remained within Eva.

It's plain that in Fuyutsuki's view, at least, Yui remained in Eva-01 deliberately, defying Gendo's attempts to retrive her. This brings us to the interesting conclusion that Gendo orginally didn't know Yui's intentions. She confided in her sensei, Fuyutsuki, but not her husband.

The Day of the Experiment

Harder to understand is why Yui would want Shinji present for her contact experiment. We know that she was planning to be absorbed by Eva-01 and to never return; why should she want Shinji to witness this? All we really have to go on is this conversation:

Fuyutsuji: What is this child doing here?
(Naoko)Akagi: He's director Ikari's son.
Fuyutsuki: Ikari, this is not a nursery school. Today's a crucial day!
Yui: I'm sorry, Professor Fuyutsuki. I'm the one who brought him.
Fuyutsuki: Yui, this is your experiment today.
Yui: That's why. I want to show my child the bright future.

Yui's last words before disappearing into the Eva tell us two things. Her actions somehow contain a clue about her plans for Third Impact and the fate of mankind (the bright future), and that she believed that it was important for Shinji to preview this "bright future". But why was it important that a three year old child see his mother vanish? Was it somehow important for her plans that Shinji be traumatized? This certainly wouldn't earn her any "Mother of the Year" awards.

Another possibility is that she underestimated the effect it would have, or somehow not realize that Gendo would be disfunctional to the point of abandoning Shinji. Did she perhaps believe that Gendo and Shinji would recover from their loss and that Gendo would raise Shinji to be dedicated to their plans?

Any of these are possible, but it's impossible to choose from them with just the evidence we have.

Another question would be did she or did she not realize that Gendo would institute his own plan in defiance of Seele, a plan which would direct Third Impact toward reuniting himself with Yui?

Yui's Plan for Third Impact

More to come.......