FGC:Episode 04 Scene 08

"Welcome Home"

Commentary Navigation
<< Back to Scene 07	Episode #04 Scene List	Continue to Preview >> Continue to Episode #05 >>

Screenshots	Cut #	Description/Dialogue	Commentary
	238	The Eva in her cage, submerged in a translucent aqueous solution. The sound of Shinji's footsteps bleeding over give the impression that the Eva is seeing him off, but before long the fact that they belong to Misato and Ritsuko becomes apparent. Woman (OFF):“EVA-01 will be entering Stage 2 refrigeration in preparation for activation system reconfiguration.” Ritsuko:“He's gone, is he?” SE <<Footsteps (now of Misato and Ritsuko)>>	Reichu: I never made the particular connection the script speaks of here… Oh well. EVA-01 is reduced to a mere cameo in this episode. Why must they be so cruel to me?!? ;_;
	239	Woman (OFF):“Please hurry with the modification of all programs up to Phase 2.” Misato stops. She seems to be in a bad mood. The Eva is behind her. Ritsuko catches up. She seems to look in Eva's direction. Ritsuko:“Was it for the best?” Misato murmurs. Misato:“The Hedgehog's Dilemma…”	tv33: I feel like it's watching me! Reichu: And Misato makes the obligatory reference to one of the episode's titles. ^_^ It's interesting that this episode is called "Hedgehog's Dilemma", considering we hear much more about it in #03. I suppose it's because it is the premise of this entire episode, with Shinji running away from Misato (as his surrogate mother, the person whom he is now closest to) and all.
		Ritsuko glances at her. Misato:“The closer we become, the more deeply we hurt each other.” Ritsuko turns around and looks at Misato.
	240	Side of Misato's face UP. She brings her eyes up a little. Misato:“Now I understand…”
	241	Shinji talks in a self-deprecating manner (flashback). Misato (OFF):“That boy…”	thewayneiac: (240-242) Note how Shinji and Misato have the exact same expression on their faces in these shots.
	242	Side of Misato's face UP. Her expression is somewhat solemn. Misato:“He can't let others know how he feels in any other way.”	OMF: Misato's figured out that, in his own introverted little way, Shinji was really just crying out for a hug. Reichu: Misato "C'mere, Shinji. Lemmee give you a hug…" Shinji "Stop it, Misato-san!" Mr. Tines: :lol:
	243	Station platform. There's nobody there. Station Announcer (Female Recording - left):“The express linear train bound for Atsugi is presently arriving on Track 2.”
	244	Shinji surrounded by the platform fence. Station Announcer (Female Recording - left):“For your safety, please step back to the area inside the yellow lines.”	Reichu: So where did the MIBs go? One can't trust Shinji to not zone out and miss his train.
	245	Missing Number: Zoom in on him.
	246	The train comes sliding into the platform. Station Announcer (Station Attendant - Middle-aged Male - Center) (until C-249):“The train arriving on track 2 is for special government use only and departs at 4:20 for Atsugi.”
	247	Missing Number: Chainlink fence in the foreground. The train enters in front of Shinji.
	248	Shinji hanging his head. SE <<Train approaching>>
	249	His hands holding the bag. Station Announcer (Male Station Attendant - Middle-aged - Center):“The general public are not allowed inside the fence.”	Treize X: This is a government train, yes? I've always wondered why he rides this one rather than just taking a civilian one. Since he's technically no longer Nerv personnel, that would make more sense. Mr. Tines: That and why a whole empty train for just him? Perhaps they were actually intending to whisk him off to the local Camp X-Ray equivalent, so he'd be out of circulation for the duration of the emergency, but available for the draft if needed. thewayneiac: Or maybe they'd send him to someplace more like The Village. Reichu: So was he going to have a prolonged visit to Atsugi's military facilities, I wonder?
	250	The train coming in. Station Announcer (Male Station Attendant - Middle-aged - Center) (until C-251):“Furthermore, please be aware that the boarding of this train by unauthorized persons is strictly prohibited.”
	251	With Shinji in front, the train pulls in. The door stops in front of his eyes.
	252A	Cut to inside the train car. The door opens, but Shinji doesn't move.	tv33: That must be the most pathetic pose every imagined. Reichu: I imagine Shinji will have chronic back pains when he's older. But actually… totally random thought here… perhaps his dumpy posture here is meant to evoke a bow?
	252B	Zoom in on him. Misato (OFF):“Hang in there.” Shinji to raises his head to the voice.	Reichu: Misato's last line in episode #02, in case you forgot. OMF: Her most supportive one so far, at that. This won't be the last time Shinji remembers these kind words, even if he didn't really seem to be paying attention at the time.
	253	Pantograph super-UP. SE <<Loud vehicle departure bell>>	UrsusArctos (2021): Post-facto added comment: Anno seems to love pantographs on trains nearly as much as he loves power lines and electric poles, and this causes a major goof in this shot. The train is a Maglev, and those don't have pantographs!
	254	Insert of a moving road surface. SE <<Sound of a car running>>
	255	Tightly connected coupler, UP.
	256	Kensuke and Toji sitting.	Reichu: That doesn't look like the most comfortable place to sit. OMF: My posterior aches at the memories of long hours spent sitting on such fiendish contraptions.
	257	The train door closes.
	258	The coupler is pulled.
	259	Kensuke and Toji watch steadily. SE <<(OFF) Sound of roaring motor>>
	260	Wire screen in front; departing train UP. SE <<Add in the sound the motor running atop the rail>>
	261	Toji's legs in front; Misato's car pulls in. SE <<(OFF) Sound of the train>>	Reichu: More of that 1337 driving we've come to expect from her. Dr. Nick: The blood of a street ricer flows thick in her veins, I can see. Mr. Tines: Just as well the weather is drier than it was in the first scene. OMF: I'm surprised the whole Tokyo-3 traffic squad isn't in hot pursuit, sirens blazing, with Hyuga leaning out the side window of the lead car with a megaphone, begging her come back to the command center so they can work all this out. (Couldn't resist that one.)
	262	It suddenly brakes to a stop! SE <<Brake sound mixed in>> The door opens.	Reichu: Looks like she was able to get that body work done after all. Mr. Tines: Plastic padding and spray paint work wonders.
	263	Misato's face appears from behind the car. She's not in time…	Quiddity: Here's a blooper that's not too hard to catch. In Japan people drive on the right side of the car, as we've already seen when Misato was driving Shinji around in Episode #01. Yet here, Misato's getting out from the left side of the car even though she came by herself.
	264	Misato in front of the train. It has already left. You're a little late, Misato! The train cars cut off the screen. Misato sees it off.	Mr. Tines: The camera angle with the special enclosure cut off on the left hand side of the frame is a serious tease.
	265	Kensuke:“Hey, look!” Toji turns his head in response to Kensuke's words.
	266	Misato in a daze, from Toji and Kensuke's point of view. Toji (OFF):“It's that babe!”
	267	Misato's point of view. The train leaves.	Reichu: Toji sure turned around quick.
	268	Misato's face from the side UP, seeing it off. She accepts the fact that she is not in time. She hates herself for it. Misato:“(sigh)”	Mr. Tines: And that framing means that we just know what's going to happen when the PoV changes…
		Misato faces our direction, but, further in, a human figure can be seen.	thewayneiac: Ah, darn, he's still here. Reichu: Again, I'm surprised his escorts took off.
		Misato looks up. She raises her body.
	269	She slowly turns her face. She's still looking down. When she finishes turning, it hits her! Someone came into her field of vision.
	270	The platform from Misato's point of view. A human figure stands alone.
	271	It is Shinji. He notices Misato, as well.
	272	BGM START: "FACE" Pull out to the two of them — one on the road, the other on the platform — standing face-to-face. SE <<Station background noise>>	Reichu: Our second Masami Okui song for the episode. And, wow! 50 seconds of no on-screen action! tv33: And yet, it feels like so much longer. Reichu: They're being sure to establish this notorious trend early on, while they still have a budget to speak of. >::D
		SE <<Announcers in the left channel; it's about 10:00>>
		Station Announcer (Recorded Female Voice):“The local train bound for Gora is presently arriving on Track 4. For your own safety, please stay behind the yellow lines. If you are accompanying small children, please be especially careful.”	OMF: The announcer's reference to small children simply has to have deeper meaning with regard to Misato and Shinji. You could possibly take it as alluding to the new mother and child relationship between Misato and Shinji: He's the small child accompanying her who she'll have to keep an eye on from this point forward.
		Station Announcer (Station Attendant - Middle-aged Male):“The train arriving on track 4 is the local train returning to Gora, departing at 4:32. If this is your train, please step inside and wait until departure.”	Magami No ER: It makes the other instances later on seem more "artistic" (as opposed to being merely cop-outs). The Platinum 0:1 booklet says that the reason for the silence was that Shinji could not find the words to convey his feelings about what he was seeing: Misato, coming back for him. So, why not say what comes to mind first? "Tadaima!" Special words that follow the course of NGE. Reichu: We won't see the next iteration until very near the End, though.
		Male Announcer:“Attention, the train will be arriving soon. Please stay behind the yellow line.”
		BGM END: "FACE"
	273	Side of Shinji's face UP. In his bewilderment, the only word that enters his mind leaves his mouth, a little awkwardly. Shinji:“I… I'm home.”	Reichu: Hopefully, you haven't forgotten that this exact same exchange happened in Episode #02. Cripes, Shinji even stutters the same way in both.
	274	Side of Misato's face UP. She accepts his words with an open heart. With a kind, smiling face, here she again returns two words. Misato:“…Welcome home.”	OMF: Such a touching little exchange. I may weep openly. Incisivis: The reunion with Misato suggests a rebirth of sorts, being that Shinji and Misato repeat the same greetings as when he first entered her apartment. But there is also a darker suggestion: that Shinji can't escape even when he wants to. It is the right thing to do in this circumstance, but the notion still remains, and it will be revisited in episode #19. Gundampilotspaz: But when he says it here, he does so with conviction, unlike in episode #02. I think it implies that he really has begun to form emotional bonds with Misato, Kensuke, and Toji, and, also, that he more genuinely regards Tokyo-3 as "home". Before, it was mostly just a place to live, but now he begins to feel as though he belongs. Such powerful emotion backing those two little words. In my opinion, this exemplifies the true power of the first four episodes: the way that Shinji is built up from an emotional wreck to the rather changed person we meet in the next episode.
	Tsuzuku	To Be Continued…

Commentary Navigation
<< Back to Scene 07	Episode #04 Scene List	Continue to Preview >> Continue to Episode #05 >>