Theory and Analysis:Ritsuko's Interrogation

Cat Scene

Transcript

Nerv HQ. Late at night. The sounds of rush construction work resonate. The exterior is almost as it was before.

An ashtray on a desk. Full of cigarette butts (with lipstick on them). Ritsuko (on phone) I see, so she passed away.

Cold coffee and a coffee maker Yes, probably, even cats eventually reach the end of their lives.

Her office desk. Ritsuko's backside. Don't cry anymore, Grandma. I will. When I get some time, I'll come home for a bit. I haven't visited Mother's grave in three years either. I'll call you next time. Okay, I'm hanging up now.

She switches the phone off. SE <<BEEP>>

Although she is growing weary, she speaks matter-of-factly. So, she died.

Ritsuko's office. The cat ornaments on her desk.

Analysis

This scene is simple, and, at the same time, enigmatic. Its 'surface' meaning is straight-forward enough; Ritsuko's grandmother calls her to let her know that her cat had died: what's not to 'get'? What is hard to figure out is "Who cares?!" That is, why should we give a rat's *** about some cat we've never seen, and whose existence was just once vaguely alluded to, in the previous episode (Misato: "I won't listen to this from someone who conceals her loneliness with pet cats.")... It's fair to say that this scene must bear some some symbolic or metaphorical weight, otherwise, why is it it here? Anno obviously intends it to mean something, because the first thing out of Ritsuko's mouth in #24, in her confrontation with Gendo, is "My cat died..." The significance of this scene will come into focus when it is, in a sense, continued in the second half of #23, so I will elaborate on my interpretation of the Great Cat Metaphor when we get to that point.

It is interesting to note how Ritsuko refers to the late cat as "that child" (you can distinctly hear her say "ano ko"); I think that there may be some significance to her choice of words.

Seele and Gendo

Transcript

SEELE: It is impossible for us to recover the Lance of Longinus.

SEELE: Why did you use it?

SEELE: We still do not have the planned number of the Eva series.

Gendo: I made destroying the Angel my top priority. It was an unavoidable situation.

SEELE: Unavoidable, was it? You should make your excuses more convincing than that.

SEELE: Your recent actions have become intolerable.

(SE) [phone rings]

Gendo: Fuyutsuki, I'm in conference... Understood.

(hangs up phone; shuts drawer)

An Angel is curently drawing near. Let us continue this at another time.

SEELE: If your seat is still waiting for you, that is.

(Gendo's hologram disappears)

Keel: Ikari... Does he intend to betray Seele?

Analysis

The reason I include this scene, even though it doesn't include Ritsuko herself, is that it adds the necessary context of SEELE's increasingly suspicious and antagonistic relationship with Gendo by this point in the story. As Fuyutsuki anticipated in the previous episode, the Committee is in an uproar over Gendo's decision to use the Spear of Longinus against the Fifteenth Angel (and thus conveniently get rid of it):

SEELE: It is impossible for us to recover the Lance of Longinus.

SEELE: Why did you use it?

SEELE: We still do not have the planned number of the Eva series.

Note how both the Lance and the Eva Series are brought up here at the start; this touches on the divergent ends and means that SEELE and Gendo had in mind for initiating Third Impact; it is beyond the scope of this presentation to get into all the details thereof. Suffice to say that SEELE had been counting on utilizing the Lance, and that Gendo needed to eliminate it from the equation, and that SEELE was ultimately obliged to go to 'Plan B', which entailed using the Eva Series.

Gendo: An Angel is curently drawing near. Let us continue this at another time.

SEELE: If your seat is still waiting for you, that is.

Also note this:

Keel: Ikari... Does he intend to betray Seele?

From the beginning of the series, we see that the rest of the Committee seems to have it in for Gendo, but Chairman Keel seems more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. In the EVA 2 game, we're told that Yui Ikari was the daughter of a high ranking SEELE member, thus Gendo effectively 'married into' the organization. I think there are a few hints that there was a more personal relationship between Gendo and Keel than with the others; note, for instance, how #21' (and Death) has the two of them in effect sharing a good laugh at the expense of the the Katsuragi Team scientists who unwittingly do their dirty work in initiating Second Impact (while Gendo, of course, knew enough about what was in store to get the hell out of Antartica the day before), and how we see Gendo hobnobbing with Keel during the subsequent cover-up:

However, after the events of #19 (EVA-01 acquiring an S^2 organ), #21' (Kaji suggests that SEELE may already be catching on to his complicity in swiping the Adam Sample), and #22 (the Lance ending up in lunar orbit), even Keel is starting to get wise to Gendo's apparent perfidy. The events of #23 involving Ritsuko are basically about SEELE's ruthless determination to find out what Gendo is really up to...

After Armisael

Transcript

Radio A: The 16th Angel's constituent material is still undetected. In the process of resuming the current search.

Radio B: EVA-00's core parts are heavily damaged from the high pressure resulting from the heat.

Radio C: The Level C contamination zone is spreading towards the southwest. Maintain the curfew for the next 48 hours.

Radio D: Announcement D16 acknowledged. From this point forward, please carry out the processing independently, without the SSDF's approval.

Man: Dr. Akagi!

Ritsuko: What happened here will be classified top secret. Take back the plug. Dispose of everything else.

Man: Roger that. Let's get to work! Quickly!

Analysis

As you can see, I skipped over the battle with Armisael, because it doesn't bear directly on the topic at hand, but this scene just made the cut, because I felt that it illustrates an interesting point about Ritsuko's role at NERV.

If you look at the translation (from the Renewal script) of the background radio chatter provided by Reichu, and the new sub translation of the line in question ( "Take back the plug. Dispose of everything else."), it is apparent that Ritsuko's job here was to retrieve Rei's mortal remains, which were required for the process of investing her soul in a new body. As Reichu mentions in her comments above, the radio chatter seems to indicate that, while there is no trace of Armisael, there were bits of Zerogouki lying about, and it seems that that is what Ritsuko is referring to with "Dispose of everything else".

All through the series, up to this point, when Gendo has important, secret jobs to carry out to further his own agenda, there are two loyal and devoted minions that he can turn to: Rei gets the heavy lifting jobs; as in Episode 14, and Episode 22, while Ritsuko has a hand in just about all of NERV's nefarious and morally compromised undertakings, as we see, for example, in Episode 07, and Episode 17. Here in #23, Ritsuko gets the job of cleaning up the aftermath of Rei's self-sacrifice, but, with time running short for both Gendo and SEELE, it will prove to be her last such task, as she is about to find out the hard way that, between Rei and herself, she is the more expendable...

Seele Discussion

Transcript

SEELE: At last, we have defeated up through the 16th Angel.

SEELE: That leaves only one Angel described in Seele's Dead Sea Scrolls.

Keel: The promised time is near. Our journey has been long and the sacrifices have been great.

SEELE: Indeed, first the Lance of Longinus, and now the loss of Unit 00.

SEELE: We have more than enough reasons to relieve Ikari of his command.

SEELE: That man is smart enough to know the significance of why we allowed Fuyutsuki to return safely.

SEELE: We need another human sacrifice to counter Ikari.

Keel: And we need someone who knows the truth.

Analysis

This scene is a prime example of the spare and economical style of writing that Anno often resorts to, especially towards the end of the series. These few lines are packed with significance, but, in some cases are so subtle and cryptic that it is easy to miss their full import . SEELE, on this and other occasions, tend to refer to very dark and grim matters obscurely and euphemistically; they know what they're talking about, but it is necessary for us, the audience, to subject their words to close examination in order to divine the true meaning.

The scene starts with a visual countdown of the Angels, 3 thru 16 (I chose not to post screen-caps of the whole sequence, to save space), to emphasize the point made in the dialog, that the scenario contained within the Dead Sea Scrolls is coming to a head, and time is running out. Both Gendo and SEELE are aware of this, and that is why the (barely) polite facade of having a common agenda, that had prevailed between them for most of the series, is really starting to crumble by this point. As indicated in Scene 02 above, when Gendo deliberately put the Lance out of reach, it was obvious even to Chairman Keel that he was up to something. The shortness of time, and not quite knowing what Gendo is up to, is making the Committe feel as tho events might be starting to slip out of their grasp, which explains the ruthlessness that they will resort to presently, in order to ascertain just what it is, that Gendo is trying to get away with...

So, let's take at the dialog here, and see what sort of meaning and revelations we can extract: SEELE: At last, we have defeated up through the 16th Angel.

SEELE: That leaves only one Angel described in Seele's Dead Sea Scrolls.

Keel: The promised time is near...

This is pretty straight forward stuff, tho the use of the phrase "the promised time" is worth noting, as a relatively innocent-sounding reference to the Apocalypse that SEELE is seeking to bring about.

Keel: ...Our journey has been long and the sacrifices have been great.

SEELE: Indeed, first the Lance of Longinus, and now the loss of Unit 00.

SEELE: We have more than enough reasons to relieve Ikari of his command.

Previously (in #20), when the other Committee members suggested that perhaps it was a mistake to have given Gendo control of NERV, Keel answered "But, he was the only one who could achieve all our goals". Gendo has had a certain job security, as long as there were Angels to be defeated, and the phrase "all our goals" is no doubt a reference to the Human Complementation Project, the fulfillment of which is NERV's true purpose, and which Keel seems to think only Gendo can accomplish. So, they're not going to dismiss him just yet, but that doesn't mean that they haven't been willing to take some actions intended to 'send a message" to Gendo that he was under suspicion, and that there was a price to be paid for insubordination.

SEELE: That man is smart enough to know the significance of why we allowed Fuyutsuki to return safely.

Frankly, in the past this line sort of wizzed right by me, but then suddenly, as I was going back over this scene, these words just leapt out at me, and I was like WTF! Since when did SEELE allow Fuyutsuki to return?! But there it is, in black and white: according to SEELE, they let Fuyutsuki go... What's more, look at the rest of the sentence: "That man (i.e. Gendo) is smart enough to know the significance of why we allowed Fuyutsuki to return safely." This indicates that there was a message for Gendo implied by the fact that he got Fuyutsuki back alive (and the fact that they seem to regard Fuyutsuki getting out of that situation alive as a special circumstance sort of implies, doesn't it, that the "default" expectation would have been that Gendo would have never seen Fuyutsuki again). This naturally puts the scene in #21, when Kaji tells Fuyutsuki that "the guards are asleep" in a new light. Presumably, if SEELE had been serious about retaining custody of Fuyutsuki, Kaji would have never got anywhere near him...

That brings us to the next line: SEELE: We need another human sacrifice to counter Ikari.

Talking about a "human sacrifice" in connection with Fuyutsuki's kidnapping and "rescue"... That would be Kaji, of course. I mean, think about it: who else could they mean?

In all the endless discussion of "Who killed Kaji", on this and every other other Eva forum, I have never seen these lines referenced (probably because they show up two episodes after Kaji buys it), but I think that a crucial piece of that puzzle is staring us in the face here: not who killed him (as Anno himself has stated, it was not a series character, but some anonymous goon), but why he was killed. If you put these two lines together, what they seem to be saying was that Gendo was allowed to get Fuyutsuki back, but at a price that was to be paid in blood. Fuyutsuki's life was bought with that of Kaji. This is what I believe the "message" was, that SEELE was signaling by returning Fuyutsuki alive, that Gendo was presumably smart enough to understand: "We still need you, because no one else can carry out NERVs true mission (HCP), and we will even let you have your right hand man back, BUT: just to let you know that we are serious, and are playing for keeps, one of your other minions, who has betrayed us (on your behalf) more than once, will be eliminated, so you don't get the idea that we let Fuyutsuki go out of the kindness of our hearts."

This should put to rest any theories that Gendo had Kaji killed, or worse, killed him himself. Kaji's murder, as far as those who ordered it were concerned, was an act that was directed at Gendo, as a warning, a "shot across the bow"...

Finally let's look at these lines together: SEELE: We need another human sacrifice to counter Ikari.

Keel: And we need someone who knows the truth.

Since the events of #21, Gendo once again has been a bad boy, particularly by getting rid of the Lance, which has really got the Committee riled up, and convinced them that he is pursuing some unknown agenda of his own, thus they are contemplating "another human sacrifice to counter Ikari.

A favorite trick of Anno as a director is to segue from one scene to the next by having someone refer to a character indirectly, without mentioning their name, then start the next scene with a close-up of the person in question. He resorts to this technique dozens of times, but one example will suffice:

and we see the same thing going on here:

It should be obvious that the "someone" that they want to talk to ascertain "the truth" is Ritsuko. It is not clear how much they got out of Fuyutsuki, but there is one other person close to Gendo that they haven't talked to yet, and, given the ominous context of "We need another human sacrifice to counter Ikari", it would seem that they have something unpleasant in mind...

Memories

Transcript

Ritsuko's office. The cat ornaments on her desk.

Ritsuko resting her chin on her hand up.

Her gaze shifts.

She presses the Return key on her BOOK computer.

Ritsuko's head in front. A photograph of Ikari, her mother, and Ritsuko as a senior high school student is displayed on the screen.

Pull in on this. A sulky-faced Ritsuko.

Ritsuko gazes, resting her chin on her hand.

Likewise, Ikari and her smiling mother.

Ritsuko's back, the picture pulls back

Analysis

This scene starts with the same shot of the cat figurines that ended Scene 01 from the first half of the episode, thus linking the two scenes visually and thematically. Also, following immediately upon Scene 04, in which SEELE indicated that they intended to target "someone who knows the truth", on order to "counter Ikari", this scene is setting us up for what is about to befall Ritsuko by subtly hinting that her relationship with Gendo is more than just a professional one. That the two of them were lovers only becomes patently obvious later on, as she breaks down at the end of this episode, but Anno is establishing at least a hint at the relationship here, since it will presently serve SEELE as a vulnerability to exploit in prying information out of Ritsuko that, of course, was not applicable in Fuyutsuki's case.

This scene has no dialog, so whatever hints and clues are to be gleaned here will require a careful consideration of the images presented. To me, what stands out about this scene is how it is showing Ritsuko gazing, a bit nostalgically, at an old picture that shows her with Gendo back when she was a schoolgirl. What are they trying to tell us here? That is, to establish that there was something personal going on with them, they could have just shown a more recent pic with the two of them side by side or whatever, so I suspect that the choice to present an image that goes back to when Ritsuko was still a teenager has to have some significance. After thinking hard about it, my conclusion is that the point is to let us know that her romantic feelings for Gendo go way back, and started out as a schoolgirl crush. Now, I suppose some of you are probably thinking that that is a pretty bold assertion to make on the basis of one measly pic, but I say "O ye of little faith!" Do you think I would go out on limb like that, if I didn't have plenty of evidence to back it up?!

First, let's look at the image itself:

Ritsuko's head in front. A photograph of Ikari, her mother, and Ritsuko as a senior high school student is displayed on the screen.

Note how the picture is composed with Naoko between Ritsuko and Gendo, and that Naoko is close to Gendo, rather than centered between them. One could even claim that Naoko has a slightly smug smile here, but that is a matter of interpretation...

Pull in on this. A sulky-faced Ritsuko.

Interesting choice of words to describe her here, huh?

However, the evidence that Ritsuko's feelings for Gendo were present from the start is apparent in a couple scenes from earlier episodes (once you know what to look for):

As Ritsuko and Misato were unwinding with a cup of coffee, after defeating the 11th Angel, Iruel, Ritsuko makes a rather startling personal admission:

13 (Platinum Edition subs)

Ritsuko: The night before she died, my mother told me that the MAGI are three aspects of herself: herself as a scientist, herself as a mother, herself as a woman. The MAGI is those three aspects struggling for dominance. She intentionally left in the dilemmas of human experience. Actually, each of the programs are slightly different. I don't think I'll ever be a mother, so I don't understand her as a mother. I respected her as a scientist.

However, as a woman, I even hated her.

Misato: You're rather talkative today.

Ritsuko: It's been known to happen.

As always, it's instructive to pay attention to Ritsuko's expression and body language. Also note that in #05 she takes a swig of coffee after revealing the stuff about the Angel's pattern matching 99.89 percent of human DNA; it's like a cue to the audience to "pay attention to that last line, 'cause it's going to turn out to have some important pay-off later"...

Whenever I watched this scene, that one line would really stand out; "I hated her" is pretty harsh, and I couldn't quite figure out why she would say such a thing, especially as all the flashback scenes in #21 that show the two of them together seem to indicate that she was relaxed and friendly around her mom.

However, there is one scene #21 that brings into focus why she would hate her mother "as a woman":

21' (Resurrection DVD subs)

Naoko: Are you really sure?

Gendo: Yes, I have no regrets concerning my work.

Naoko: Liar! You can't just forget about Ms. Yui, right?

Naoko: But I don't mind.

See what I mean? That distressed look on Ritsuko face in the last cut seems to indicate her bitter realization that, while she's been off getting a PhD, in anticipation of what would be a dream assignment for her, to work at GEHIRN for "ano hito", her own mom has been taking advantage of Yui's tragic demise to move in on the Chief. Her "hatred" of her mother stems from the fact that she turned out to be a rival for the attentions of Gendo.

Furthermore, consistent with the principle that thematically significant situations always seem to repeat themselves in NGE, there is this scene, which, while it came earlier in the series, occurred later chronologically, and is analogous, when you think about it, to the scene in #21 in terms of the basic situation being depicted:

15 (Platinum Edition subs)

Asuka: Mr. Kaji!

Kaji: Well, I'll be leaving now.

Asuka: Why don't you stay with us, Mr. Kaji?

Kaji: I'd be laughed at if I went to work in this.

Asuka: It'll be okay.

Hey, c'mon Mr. Kaji, it'll...

Kaji: Later!

Asuka: He smelled of lavender.

What I had in mind describing this scene as analogous to the one in #21 is this: In each case you have a young woman (Ritsuko/Asuka) coming to the sudden, unwelcome realization that the charismatic older man (Gendo/Kaji), on whom she has a serious crush, is already "taken"; that is, is in a more age-appropriate intimate relationship with another, older, woman (Naoko/Misato), who happens to have a maternal (well, in Misato's case, quasi-maternal) relationship with the younger woman.

The similarity of the expressions here is what got me thinking about how these two scenes relate to one another... Notice too the lack or deficiency of father-figures in their lives: Ritsuko was raised without one entirely, while Asuka despised her father for abandoning her mother and taking up with another woman. This made them likely candidates for falling for an attractive, "older guy" type that shows up in their lives in their teen-age years.

It is not rational or logical for this situation to inspire hatred of her mother on the part of Ritsuko, but there it is: jealousy is simply an innate aspect of her character. As she herself is fond of pointing out, matters involving relations between men and women aren't logical. Her heart wants a certain man, and any woman that comes between her and the one she has set her heart on will be the object of her hatred, even her own mother.

As for Asuka, it will be noted that from that point on, her attitude towards Misato becomes steadily more negative and resentful. In #16, she berates Misato for her "indecent relationship"; in #18, she's avoiding face-to-face contact with her; and by #22' , she complains bitterly about having to "breath the same air" as Misato and Shinji.

With all that in mind, let's take a look at this little scene from #21

21'(Resurrection DVD subs) Naoko: Oh, Professor Fuyutsuki.

Fuyutsuki: Akagi, you too?

Naoko: Yes, this is the best place to research the fundamental theories for the bio-computers of the future.

Fuyutsuki: I see.

Naoko: I intend to name it Magi.

Fuyutsuki: Magi? After the three wise men from the East? Is this what you wanted to show me?

Naoko: No, this way, please. Ritsuko, I'll be right back.

Now, there are plenty of plausible reasons why a teenage girl might be hanging around her mom's workplace, but considering the indications of Ritsuko's feelings offered in some of the other scenes as described above, I tend to favor the notion that she was lurking around down there in order to catch a glimpse of the tall, dark, and handsome Chief (I know, I know, but hey, two out of three ain't bad...)

As for the cat ornaments on her desk, my theory is that they are a sentimental representation to her of her relationship with Gendo. Ritsuko is obviously what is known as a "cat person": Ritsuko admits she doesn't think she'll ever be a mother. Misato states that Ritsuko is hiding her loneliness with pet cats. She refers to her late cat as "that child". Reichu mentioned that her Newtype character profile states that her hobby is collecting cat ornaments.

I'd say she's a prime example of "Cat Person Personality Syndrome"

I think that the white one is supposed to be her, and the black one is Gendo. Ritsuko has, with the exception of Rei, the fairest complexion of any female character in the show (and she emphasized that by bleaching her hair), while, as you can see, Gendo has the darkest complexion among the main characters. Thus, white cat = Ritsuko, and black cat = Gendo.

Interestingly enough, a cute image of a pair of cats shows up in #26:

The cuteness factor of the cat ornaments might seem to be a little out of character for someone like Ritsuko, but that sort of thing is quite typical of a Cat Person. And while Ritsuko is probably the only person in the world to whom it would make sense to represent her relationship with Gendo with something so cute, it is worth remembering what Yui, who knew him better than anyone, had to say about him: "Oh, Fuyutsuki-sensei, he's such a cute man, it's just that no-one knows it."

Sending Ritsuko

Transcript

Gendo: That's right. The First Child will be maintained in her current condition. There is no need for new restrictions. The same goes for the Second and the Third. The only need to be watched.

Fuyutsuki: But Chairman Keel and the rest will raise a fuss when they learn that Rei is alive.

Gendo: I have offered something else to Seele's old men. We needn't worry.

Analysis

Gendo's lines about keeping an eye on the three pilots serves as a reminder that the Children are, and have been, under constant surveillance. This comes up later when Ritsuko "calls off the dogs" when she contacts Shinji later in this episode, and in the next one, when NERV Intelligence supposedly loses track of Asuka for a whole week, then conveniently "finds" her in the nick of time.

Fuyutsuki correctly anticipates that the Committee's suspicions will (quite naturally) be aroused by Rei's rather improbable "survival" of the blast that vaporized Tokyo 3, but Gendo's response implies that he has already heard from them about it: "I have offered something else to Seele's old men."

Later Keel tells Ritsuko: "He refused to hand over the pilot of Unit-00 for questioning. He sent you as a substitute, Dr. Akagi."

Those lines taken together indicate that a deal has already been struck.

Rei is the indispensable key to Gendo's own secret agenda, so there is simply no way that he is going to allow SEELE to get their hands on her. However, the situation as it stands at this point between Gendo and the Committee is not such that he can get away with blatantly defying them; in order to preserve the necessary fiction that he is still operating under their authority, he has to give them something to satisfy their demand. Scenes 04 and 05 above have tended to indicate that, in fact, it was Ritsuko that they were really interested in, but that raises the question: if, as seems at least probable, the Committee's demand to see Rei was mostly a feint, how could they count on it being Ritsuko that would be sent in her stead? I don't think that is really much of a plot hole, when you think about it: the precedent was already established (in #17, with Misato standing in for Shinji) that NERV could get away with sending an adult as a proxy rather than subjecting the young pilots to interrogation by the wily old men of SEELE. Among Gendo's top people, the Committee had already interrogated Misato and Fuyutsuki, so whom did that leave? In that sense, it was Ritsuko's turn. Once Gendo had nixed the idea of turning over Rei, I would imagine that all SEELE had to do was drop a hint or two that Dr. Akagi would be a satisfactory substitute, and Gendo would have been happy to oblige them, since, keeping Rei out of their clutches was his sole priority in this situation.

I don't think that Gendo had any such guilty foreknowledge of what was in store for Ritsuko; rather, I suspect he thought he was simply foisting the Committee's demand off on her, with the idea that she would basically serve to keep the old men off his back for the time being. I imagine that he probably thought that he could trust Ritsuko to handle this task, since he figured that she was intelligent and loyal enough to stand up to SEELE's questions without giving away anything important. He was, of course, playing right into their hands, and failed to take into consideration SEELE's extraordinary cunning; but it would be the unfortunate Ritsuko that would pay the price...

Ritsuko's Interrogation

Background Info

Well, folks, we're about there: the key scene, the one I particularly had in mind when I stated in the introduction to this thread that the truth about Ritsuko, Gendo , and SEELE would, thanks to the new subtitle translation by ADV, come into focus. Before I get to that, however, I would like to set the stage by examining a couple scenes that occurred earlier, that give us some hints concerning just what sort of organization SEELE is, and how they operate. The series keeps the background and true intentions of SEELE pretty much a mystery, at least until EoE, when they start chanting like lunatics, praying for the world to end, and it becomes apparent that they are, in fact, an apocalyptic death cult. The manga, on the other hand, spells things out a bit more clearly:

From Manga Vol V:

Kaji: "Seele, that's the name of the organization behind your father. They're a secret society. Some people think they've been running the world for hundreds...thousands of years. They paid for Nerv. Built it. Seele possesses the "Dead Sea Scrolls." The scrolls serve as their Bible...among other things. In some way the scrolls too- or the secrets within them- are older than people believe...as old as humanity itself. If what I've turned up is true...the entire history of the human race is written there. Just so you understand...by "entire" I mean our present and future as well- not just a record of the past. Seele, working with your father, laid out a certain plan, based on those prophesies. I've never been able to figure out if they're using him, or he's using them...but this whole battle with the Angels is only the initial phase...of that plan."

I'm particularly intrigued by the suggestion that they're a secret society that has been operating behind the scenes for hundreds, or even thousands, of years, controlling the world by manipulating individuals and institutions.

In Colombia, and other places in that part of the world afflicted by powerful drug cartels, there is phrase that describes how they get their way with police, judges, politicians, etc. : "plata o plomo", that is, "silver or lead". You're given the choice between a bribe, or a bullet. There are indications that this is SEELE's way of doing things, too.

21 (ADV's original subs) Fuyutsuki: Your organization, SEELE or whatever it's called, is at the base of many ugly rumors. I don't like the way it manipulates the committee by force.

Gendo: You're still too scrupulous. No completely chaste organization can survive in this day and age.

And, a bit later, an indication that SEELE takes care of those who serve them and their interests:

Fuyutsuki: I've checked into your finances as well. Bringing up a child and educating him is expensive, but isn't this a bit much?

Gendo: Very impressive, Professor Fuyutsuki. Perhaps you should be teaching economics.

(Gendo has a pretty dry sense of humor...)

On the other hand, we see that a certain amount of coercion was utilized in bringing Fuyutsuki into the fold:

21' (ADV's new DC subs) Fuyutsuki: I have already handed the data over to Ikari. It's not something that can be accomplished by an individual after all. There won't be a repeat performance of the stunt I pulled earlier. And I've sort of received a warning. Getting rid of me couldn't be easier for them, it seems.

The only reason that Fuyutski is even alive here is because Gendo, and especially Yui, wanted him on the team at GEHIRN. If he had been some Joe Blow, loudly proclaiming his intention to expose SEELE's complicity in bringing about the catastrophe of Second Impact, he would certainly have ended up face down in a ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere...

And, of course, we have the more recent example of Kaji; as MDWigs so aptly put it, "SEELE had him killed, not in an important way, they just sent a security agent to shoot him...", basically, as it turns out, just to "send a message" to Gendo. So, I guess my point is: SEELE are Not Nice People. They attach very little value to individual human life, and are utterly ruthless in pursuit of their aims and agenda.

As for Ritsuko, I'm afraid that her prospects in this situation are pretty grim: SEELE knows, given how loyal she is to Gendo, that there is no way she could be persuaded to betray him thru any sort of bribe or other non-coercive means; coercion, in this case, is required to yield the desired result. But probably only an organization that has had centuries of practice at manipulating people could conceive a scheme of such breathtaking cynicism and cruelty as what they will implement here, in order to "flip" her, that is, to put her into a frame of mind where she will willingly rat him out. And then they will send her back as if nothing has happened, but her heart will be seething with bitterness at her (perceived) betrayal by him, and her keen mind will be contemplating how best to exact her revenge...

Raped

Not long after I got my hands on the new Directors' Cut: Resurrection DVD, I found myself transcribing the new DC subtitles for this scene, in order to argue some point with our resident troll/pest/gadfly Fuzzy Chickens. As I typed up the lines, a certain word caught my attention, and got the wheels turning in my mind:

Keel: "We would like for things to proceed smoothly. We do not wish to subject you to anymore degradation and suffering."

So I'm like, hmm, let's see... "anymore"... "subject you to <anymore> degradation and suffering"... Wait a minute...

So what the hell had they been DOING to her, up to this point?!

You see where I'm going with this?

If not, then let's allow Ritsuko's own words spell it out: "I only needed to think of him and I could endure any kind of humiliation! I didn't care what happened to my body!

and (from #24') "Why don't you just have your way with my body?! Like you did that time!" . . . . They raped her...

I don't mean the Committee personally, of course. They're not physically present here, they're just holograms. I mean they ordered one of their goon squads to kidnap, rape, and abuse her, for God-only-knows how long, before what we see going on "on camera" with her standing before the Committee.

Many people, with only ADV's old translations to go by (the dub of this scene is especially misleading), have concluded that somehow, having been interrogated by SEELE under humiliating circumstances, and perhaps due to some previously unsuspected mental instability, Ritsuko just loses it and goes completely nuts. But can the humiliation of being made to stand naked before the old farts really plausibly account for the way she subsequently behaves? How much more believable is it that being raped, and then being told that her lover arranged that fate for her, would have brought her to this state:

"Kill me if you want to. No, I'd be happy if you did."

Some might raise the objection "Oh, come on! How could they have something so crucial to the plot as that happen off camera?!" Leaving the likely relevant issue of censorship aside, I should point out that this is not the first time Anno has utilized this elliptical narrative technique: in #09, there is a similar case of where a key part of the narrative is skipped; instead, it is left to the audience to figure out why Asuka's demeanor inexplicably goes from this, to this, seemingly in the blink of an eye. (Clueless Shinji wonders what's gotten into her, too..)

I think that it is also necessary to put what happens to Ritsuko here in the proper context, which is the very grim turn that the story as a whole takes in the last few episodes. First off, after Misato and Kaji resume their love affair at the end of #20, Kaji is uncermoniously killed off in #21: