He doesn't understand the meaning of Kensuke's unexpected words right there and then, but he somehow starts to feel happy, and, smiling, takes a step forwards!
KENSUKE (OFF):“That means the two of you are family...”
UrsusArctos: "Such a cool ending"...if only more episodes ended as happily as this!
Dr. Nick: As Joseki already mentioned, episode 7 is usually ranked one of Evangelion's worst episodes, at least until things get really weird and divisive at the very end. But if this is indeed the worst it gets, the overall product is remarkably solid, especially if you compare it to things like Nadia's filler episodes. This episode is a good Misato showcase, lets us see more of Nerv's shadier side, and allows Anno to flex his satirist's chops decades prior to Shin Godzilla. Storywise it is largely inconsequential, but the idea of a random civilian company butting in with their goofy robot essentially got a non-canon remake in the visual novel Girlfriend of Steel, so there's that.
This is a metaphor for the distance between Shinji and Misato growing smaller!
