FGC:Episode 08 Scene 10

The trap

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Screenshots	Cut #	Description/Dialogue	Commentary
	245A	BGM Start: E-1 [DECISIVE BATTLE] Close-up of a display bearing the schematic of the operation. The depiction goes on until the ships collide with the Angel and explode. MISATO (OFF):“That's right. We scuttle the two evacuated battleships along the line of the umbilical cable, setting a trap.”	UrsusArctos: Anno really knows his warships. These are the Iowa-class battleships Illinois and Kentucky, complete with their correct designations, BB-65 and BB-66. In real life these ships were canceled while partially complete, with the last Iowa-class ship being the Wisconsin. Also take note of the brief appearances of JMSDF Kongo, the Russian destroyer Udaloy, heavy missile cruiser Kirov and heavy aviation cruiser Novorossiysk on the screen. Novorossiysk is an interesting case, because it was severely damaged in a fire in 1995 when NGE was in production and scrapped in 1997, making it the only Kiev-class aviation cruiser/aircraft carrier not to survive to 2015.
	245B	Close-up of Misato. MISATO:“Meanwhile, Unit-02 will open the mouth of the target.”	UrsusArctos: Bit of a plot hole here. Misato doesn't seem to have a video feed from Eva-02's entry plug and neither Asuka nor Shinji told Misato where Gaghiel's core was or had time to describe the situation, but she knows exactly where to shoot the Angel.
	245C	Close-up of the display. MISATO (OFF):“The ships will rush into the opening, unleash a direct barrage from their main bow turrets, and furthermore self-destruct afterwards. This will obliterate the target.”	UrsusArctos: Like I mentioned previously, the map seen here representing the sunken city they're sailing over is that of Yokohama, when the fleet battle is supposed to have taken place over Ito in the Izu Peninsula.
	246	The captain makes the appropriate judgement. CAPTAIN:“That's preposterous!”
	247	Misato speaks in a truly dispassionate manner. MISATO:“Maybe it is preposterous, but it's not, I think, impossible.”
	248	The captain resolves himself to it. CAPTAIN:“(Soberly) ...I understand.”	UrsusArctos: All pretense of comic relief is over. This gentleman is an officer and a professional, and he stoically accepts the sacrifice that needs to be made to defeat the threat.
	249	Large-scale bird's-eye view of the U.N. fleet. Waves, fuel oil, and black smoke are present in the areas where ships have gone down. SPEAKER MAN A:“All hands abandon ship. Repeat, all hands abandon ship.”
	250	A frigate, with people in lifeboats in the foreground. Netting has been lowered for people to embark. SPEAKER MAN B (OFF):“All frigates, move quickly to retrieve those adrift.”	UrsusArctos: Those are Hatsuyuki-class destroyers like the one in Cut 105. This may be an oblique reference to the 1990 movie version of The Hunt for Red October, which featured an evacuation where crewmen in orange lifejackets were rescued by the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate Reuben James. Would've been a far straighter reference if the ships were FFG-7s and not Hatsuyukis, however.
	251	The captain, concerned for them. Kensuke and the first officer remain looking out at the water. CAPTAIN:“But what about the Eva?” Misato has faith in the children. Toji is worried. MISATO:“You don't need to worry about those two.”	Kendrix: The window bar is still dented.
	252	Inside the entry plug, Shinji, leaning forward, is operating the levers instead of Asuka. ASUKA:“Hey! Don't you operate my Unit-02 without permission!” Asuka fights against it, raining blows down upon him. In contrast with Misato's sentiment, the entry plug interior is a state of utter chaos.	Kendrix: Misato has not added Asuka to their makeshift family unit yet, but they’re already acting like siblings… Asuka has probably ceased to be useful at this point.
	253	Misato on the bridge. MISATO:“The two of you understand the operation, right?”
	254	Asuka pulls on Shinji's hair. SHINJI:“We'll do our best.” MISATO (OFF - RADIO):“I'm counting on you.”	Kendrix: He’s trying very hard to be serious here. It’s easy to miss after all the comic relief, but this is a huge change from the prologue arc when he was just screaming, crying & blundering around. I’m honestly proud of him.
	255	The port side of a battleship, sinking with a *fwssssh*. SE <<Fwsssshhh>>
	256	Shot from directly overhead. The two battleships lined up with their bows already under water. FEMALE ANNOUNCER (OFF):“The ships have opened their Kingston valves. They have started sinking towards point Z.” MISATO (OFF):“Roger.”	UrsusArctos: The two Iowas get very cool shots as they go under, I love the gun turrets in the previous shot and the ripples surrounding them here. A Kingston valve is a sort of valve used to allow seawater to enter a ship - such as for use in boiler or wastewater systems - but it can also be used to scuttle ships on purpose. The announcer dialogue should have been several scenes prior because the valves were obviously open long enough for the ships to sink by their bows.
	257	Misato, looking over her shoulder as she speaks. MISATO:“Reverse the cable!”	Javi2541997: That defiant look of Misato when she makes an important decision, we will see it more often as the anime goes along.
	258	The cable being wound back.
	259	The cable, heavily arcing. It stretches taut, and strains with tension! SE <<VBRRRRR>>
	260	Shinji and Asuka suffering the impact. SHINJI:“Waaaah!” ASUKA:“*Shrieeeek*”
	261	The Angel, underneath the water. It is being pulled by the cable. SE <<Vwooossssh>>	UrsusArctos: Like I said in Cut 211, that's a hell of a strong cable, not to mention the winch motor!
	262	The cable winding around the bobbin.
	263	The group, watching the surface of the water. SPEAKER (OFF):“Eva has started surfacing. T-minus 70 to contact!”
	264	Unit-02, trying to somehow force open the mouth and get outside. SE <<Vwooossssh>>	Kendrix: Their efforts actually have pried it open a bit compared to when we last saw it it cut 236.
	265	Inside the entry plug. Shinji is still on top of Asuka. Asuka is complaining. ASUKA:“Hey. Stop touching me already! Get off!” SHINJI:“But if we don't force its mouth open soon, we'll be killed too!”	Kendrix: #Priorities
	266	Shot from within the Angel's mouth of Unit-02 inside it. SE <<Strain strain strain>> Unit-02 is trying to force open the mouth. The teeth are piercing its abdomen.	UrsusArctos: Eva-01 getting speared by Shamshel doesn't compare to this horror. Shinji and Asuka are lucky that their synch with the Eva is messed up, because having them react to being impaled by those choppers would have made the episode truly excruciating.
	267	A sphere shining with light, with Unit-02 and the teeth in the foreground. SE <<Creak creak creak>>	Kendrix: Interesting perspective. I wonder if the bright glow of the core here implies some significant exertion, Gaghiel ramping up its energy generation trying to break free of the cable maybe.
	268	Misato and Toji leaning forward, watching. Kensuke coolly continues shooting video. SPEAKER (OFF):“T-minus 60 to contact.” MISATO:“What's the status of the Angel's mouth?” CAPTAIN (OFF):“It's still not open!!”
	269	The Angel ascending to the surface like it's being reeled in. SPEAKER (OFF):“Eva is rising towards the surface. T-minus 50 to contact.”
	270	The two ships sinking downwards!! The cable is in between them. SPEAKER (FEMALE) (OFF):“The battleships are sinking towards the target.”	UrsusArctos: Battleships are not hydrodynamic underwater. Real-life battleships that sunk would disintegrate, turning over so that their gun turrets popped out, their superstructure came apart, and their bulkheads imploded from collapsing air pockets. But I can forgive Evangelion for not paying attention to any of that if the results are cool enough. Alaska Slim: Actually, the upright issue aside, I don't think any of that is a given. Not in the time frame the episode presents anyway. When it comes to the turrets the Iowa-class had clips which could have kept the turrets inside their rings. There are cases of older American battleships designs having done so at Pearl Harbor. Now would they have fired? Most likely not. Even if they had, the velocity would have been so low I think we would have been waiting for the proximity fuses to go off. UrsusArctos: Proximity(VT) fuses don't operate underwater and were never used with USN battleship main battery weapons. Maybe the Iowas in NGE use Russian-style supercavitating underwater ammo, Type 91 diving shell style? But the point about turret clips is an interesting one.
	271	The mouth of the Angel, a little more open than it was before. SE <<Vwooossssh>> Unit-02 uses its feet to brace itself.
	272	The two look at one another, flooded with a sense of purpose. SHINJI:“It's not working!” ASUKA:“We don't have any time left!” At the end of the cut, their facial expressions become firm.	Kendrix: To their credit, they both got serious when it counted, and more or less seem to understand at once what the other intends.
	273	Close-up of the levers. Shinji's hands, with one motion, after very briefly gathering strength, pull back the levers with a *clack*, changing the mode. SE <<Ka-chack>> Asuka grips the levers, placing her hands on top of Shinji's.	Sailor Star Dust: All my (battle) ships are sailing! UrsusArctos: All my (war)ships started sailing as far back as Cut 009! ;;> Kendrix: Shinji really did memorize the manual very well to have thought of this function that they normally never use (alas he also knew how to lock the controls in eps 19 and Q) This is honestly a very good, dynamic shot given an odd effect by how everything is the same red – your eyes stick more to the motion than the actual outlines – almost as if the outlines of their hands are melting together(which is even more emphasized when that shot reoccurs in EoE, in a much blurrier form) – hands as symbols of both action and connection. I think it was stated somewhere that the theme of the action arc was “people “becoming one”/ combining their strengths to defeat the enemies.” - this is certainly an example of that.
	274	The Angel passes by a vessel on the surface! (Under the surface of the water) SE <<Sound of a propeller!!>>
	275	Close-up of Misato, holding a microphone. SPEAKER (FEMALE) (OFF):“The target has passed beneath Tempest!” MISATO:“You won't make it in time. Hurry!!” MALE (ANNOUNCEMENT):“The speed at which they are surfacing has further increased!”
	276	Asuka has her arms stretched out towards the levers, leaning forward over Shinji's back. An indecent arrangement. ASUKA:“Don't get any strange ideas.” SHINJI:“About what?” ASUKA:“Anyway, just focus your thoughts.” SHINJI:“I know!” The two are making a great effort!	Kendrix: I think she’s projecting her own discomfort into the assumption that others are obsessed with her appearance. Though that position frankly does not look comfortable. I’m sure they would appreciate that exclamation point if they could see it.
	277	Using all its might, Unit-02 tries to pry open the Angel's mouth. SE <<Creak creak creak Crackkkkkkkkk>> The mouth starts to open by degrees.
	278	Pan with the Angel remaining in place. Finally, the battleship enters the frame!! SPEAKER:“T-minus 20 to contact!”
	279	Shinji and Asuka, holding down the levers in the midst of vibrations. SE <<Holddddddding>>
	280	Close-up of a lever, with both of their hands on it! With a series of jerks, the lever is forced back!! SPEAKER (OFF):“T-minus 15...”
	281	The bow of the oncoming battleship as it would be seen from their perspective!! SPEAKER (OFF):“...to contact!!” SE <<VWHOOOOAR>>	UrsusArctos: This may not be Anno's beloved Yamato, but he's sure taken care to make it look as magnificent as possible from a Yamato-style bow perspective.
	282	Close-up of Shinji, by Asuka's chest, making a great effort. SHINJI (MONO):“Open! Open! Open! Open!”	UrsusArctos: First his face was squished against Misato's chest, now his head's pressing into Asuka's chest right in the middle of a very serious scene. Episode 08 is more ridiculous than I realized.
	283	Close-up of Asuka, making a great effort. ASUKA (MONO):“Open! Open! Open! Open!”
	284	The synchro-meter suddenly bursts into the red zone!! SE <<Vreeeee>>	UrsusArctos: If the numbers at the bottom of the graph are synch percentages, Shinji and Asuka were synching with Eva-02 at above 100 percent synch!
	285	Unit-02 inside of the mouth. Its lowered head is flooded with energy; it lifts it up. A light comes into its four eyes! SE <<STRAIN STRAIN STRAIN SHIIING!>>	UrsusArctos: The moment we've been waiting for. The Eva's eyes glow and the Angel is doomed. Although it's awesome to see the goggles move and the eyes light up, it raises the question about why those moving goggles exist in the first place instead of exposing the eyes like on Eva-01. Eva-02's End of Evangelion and Rebuild redesigns make the goggles fixed. Kendrix: I’m gonna label this a ‘semi-berserk state’ like with Unit Five bursting its mouth restraints (in Evangelion 2.0); In any case it’s probably a precursor to what either of them were gonna pull on their own in ep 19 and EoE respectively.
	286	Shot from the inside of the mouth. Using all its remaining strength, Unit-02 pries the mouth open. SE <<Creak creak creak KRAKOW!>> Behind Unit-02, an array of gun muzzles points towards the camera.	UrsusArctos: Giant red mecha with glowing eyes and battleships pointing their guns straight on...this shot is awesome.
	287	The mouth, opened wide by Unit-02! A great battleship suddenly rushes into it! SE <<Blam bam KER-SMASH KA-RACK>> The reaction produced by the ship coming to a halt causes Unit-02 to be separated from the scene. SE <<Crack crack crack Blam>> Yet another ship appears in the foreground!! It shows up enormously on the screen! SE <<KER-RACK>> It forces the mouth wider! It penetrates inside and stops! The teeth are broken apart!
	288	Misato gives the command! MISATO:“FIRE!” BGM End: E-1 [DECISIVE BATTLE]
	289	Close-up of the main battery firing. SE <<BANG>>	UrsusArctos: The angles and general appearance of the main battery guns firing in this and the two following cuts brings to mind similar shots of the battleship Yamato's main battery firing in Space Battleship Yamato, a classic anime which Anno is a huge fan of. Of course, the irony is that he has lavished a Yamato moment on two World War Two vintage American battleships, but big beautiful warships are big beautiful warships, no matter who builds them! Alaska Slim: If he is making that homage, then part of irony I see is that these ships are of the same class as the Missouri-- the ship upon which Japan's treaty of surrender was signed. Mr. Anno isn't exactly the most gracious about WWII; as his "There was another war; we took Hawaii" in Gunbuster demonstrates. Still, if he was able to put that aside to give these proud girls a warrior's due my hat's off to him.
	290	Direct frontal close-up. SE <<BOOM>>
	291	The sphere of light, with the main battery in the foreground. The guns fire!! SE <<VOOM>>
	292	The Angel with the two battleships in its mouth. Its body expands unevenly, then EXPLODES!! SE <<Boom boom boom BOOM>>	UrsusArctos: Eat your heart out, Chief Brody. That being said, no seagulls are going to feast on the remains of this marine monster, it's well and truly gone.
	293	An enormous column of water rises up, with the deck of the aircraft carrier in the foreground. SE <<Rumble RUMBLE>>	SEELE-01: Thank goodness Eva 02, incapable of moving in water, managed to be blasted out of the sea to land exactly on the ship's deck! UrsusArctos: And unlike the last time, it didn't send the entire aircraft carrier hopelessly off-balance!
		A shadow appears on the deck as a falling noise is heard. It gradually grows larger, until Unit-02 lands (badly damaged). SE <<VshuuUUUUUUU THUD>>
		It collapses, the energy drained from its body (limp and shapeless). SE <<Clank clank Vreuuuuu clunk>>
	294	Missing number.

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