Episode 02

Episode Information
Episode #02
Title 1: {{{japanese_title_k}}} {{{japanese_title_r}}} {{{japanese_title_e}}} Title 2: {{{english_title}}}
Written By	Hideaki Anno, Yoji Enokido
Directed By	Kazuya Tsurumaki
First Aired	10-11-1995
Video Release Date	{{{video_release}}}
Angel Appearances	Sachiel
Episode chronology
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"Episode 1"	"Episode 3"

Overview

Shinji wakes up in the hospital, with no memory of defeating the Angel the night before. Rejected by his father, Misato decides to take Shinji with her to live in her apartment. Later that night, memories of the battle against the Angel come flooding back to Shinji.

Synopsis

The episode continues where the last left off, with Shinji preparing to face the Angel in Unit-01. Shinji first attempts to get the Eva to walk forward, but loses control and falls. Unit-01 is left helpless as Sachiel advances and proceeds to seriously damage the Evas left arm and right eye. The pilot's signal is lost, and the Eva is lifeless. The scene then cuts to Shinji suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar, empty hospital room.

Gendo discusses the reappearance of the angels after 15 years with the Human Instrumentality Committee, while Misato and Ritsuko survey the aftermath of the battle. Gendo is intructed not to let the reappearance of the Angels allow the Human Instrumentality Project to fall behind schedule. Shinji sees Rei at the hospital. Misato comes to pick Shinji up at the hospital and they meet Gendo by the elevator, but Shinji wordlessly refuses to enter.

Misato takes Shinji to be assigned accommodation, but discovers that he is to live on his own. She decides to take him to live with her instead. On the way home Misato picks up some groceries and they overhear two women fearfuly recalling the previous days battle. Misato takes Shinji to an observation point overlooking Tokyo-3 and they witness the city building emerge from underground.

Misato and Shinji arrive at Misato's Apartment. Shinji tries to enter as a guest, but Misato insists that the apartment is his home, and so Shinji says "Tadaima" as he crosses the Threshold. Misato's apartment is in a state with empty beer cans everywhere, and only ice, condiments and more beer in the fridge. Misato changes and they set down to eat a meal of instant convienience food.

Misato decides the houshold chores by games of Jan-ken(Rock/Paper/Scissors), with Shinji getting most of the daily tasks. She advices Shinji to take a bath. Shinji meets Pen-Pen in the bathroom and is so startled that he runs naked back into the kitchen to tell Misato. Misato explains that Pen-Pen is their other "roommate", and advices Shinji to cover up, and he slinks embarrassedly back into the bathroom. Shinji reflects in the days events in the bath.

We see Unit-00 frozen in Bakelite being observed by Gendo and Ritsuko. They discuss Rei's recovery in a ruined control room. Gendo reveals that despite their hardships he will continue to have the children pilot the Evangelions.

Shinji lies alone in his bedroom, listening to his SDAT player. Misato speaks with Ritsuko on the phone about their situation. Shinji lies awake reflecting on his presence in Tokyo-3. As he does so, sounds from the battle are heard and we begin a flashback to the events of the battle.

Unit-01 was rendered lifeless by Sachiel's attack, with Nerv losing control of the Eva and contact with the pilot. Misato orders the ejection of the Entry Plug, but the system is completely out of control. Unit-01 suddenly reactivates and begins to act on her own. She launches a vicious attack upon the Angel who defends with a powerful A.T. Field barrier. The Eva repairs her broken left arm and erodes the Angel's barrier with another A.T. Field.

Once the barrier is down, Unit-01 soundly defeats Sachiel by shattering the downed Angel's Core. Sachiel in a last desperate attack, wraps itself around Unit-01 and self destructs in a massive cross shaped explosion. Unit-01 emerges still intact from the explosion.

As Nerv regains control of the Evangelion, Shinji comes to in the entry plug. The damaged helmet sloughs off, and Shinji is able to glimpse the Eva's face reflected in the windows of a building. As he looks on, the Eva's eye regenerates and suddenly focuses straight at him. Shinji begins to scream and the flashback ends.

Shinji slowly curls up in bed after recalling the battle. Misato comes to his door and praises him for piloting the Eva and saving the city. The episode ends.

Notes

• First appearance of the "Human Instrumentality Committee" of SEELE, and SEELE's leader Chairman Keel Lorenz.
  • None of the other four members of the Instrumentality Committee are ever given proper names, but Gainax production sketches indicate which country from the United Nations (which is secretly controlled by SEELE) each of its members officially represents. Besdies Chairman Keel himself (who represents Germany), each of the Instrumentality Committee members is indicated only by what color their video conference hologram is tinted: Chairman Keel (Germany), France (Yellow), Russia (Blue), United States (Green), United Kingdom (Red).
    • Four out of five of the countries represented on the Human Instrumentality Committee are also permanent members of the present-day UN Security Council. China, the remaining permanent Security Council member, is notably absent, with the fifth seat on the Instrumentality Committee going to Germany.
• First appearance of Pen Pen, Misato's "warm water penguin".
• First appearance of the Misato theme, bouncy light background music that plays in her apartment.
• First full appearance of Evangelion Unit-00 (Shinji, Misato & Ritsuko passed by Unit-00's hand in Ep. 01), glimpsed briefly while frozen in bakelite when Gendo and Ritsuko are standing in the experiment room it wrecked when it went berserk. Flashbacks to this and a full introduction of Eva Unit 00 will be given in Episode 5.
  • The "stop signal plug", inserted into Eva 00 apparently as another measure of restraint, resembles a crucifix.
• Timeline-wise, Gendo says that Rei will be out of the hospital in 20 days, at which time Eva 00 will be brought out of cryo-stasis.

Quotes

• (Misato is talking to Ritsuko on the phone)
  Ritsuko Akagi: "What did you say?!"
  Misato Katsuragi: "You heard me: I said I'd be taking Shinji home to live at my place, okay? I've already got permission from the brass...(sarcastically)...And don't worry, I won't "put the moves" on him!"
  Ritsuko: (Misato holds her phone away from her head as Ritsuko yells loudly) "OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT!! How could you even think of such a thing?! You've got no shame at all!---"
  Misato: ---"Some people don't have any sense of humor".
• Misato: (to Shinji) "This is your home, so feel free to take advantage of everything here...except of course of me, that is!"

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