History Recap / NeonGenesisEvangelionEpisode16SplittingOfTheBreast

* NotSoStoic: Rei is possibly at her most vivid in this episode, being very distraught when Shinji is sucked into the shadow (so much so that it surprises Asuka), acting openly resentful towards Asuka for the way she talks about Shinji's predicament, and gives the Angel's bloody death a genuinely grim look.

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith[=/=]YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: The weird internal psycho-analysis Shinji goes through in this episode to is the result of Leliel, perhaps the strangest of all the Angels, seeing how it is essentially a being that runs on otherworldly mathematics, attempting to make contact with his mind. Most notably, the younger version of himself he meets invokes Leliel's image by wearing a striped shirt.
* NeverMyFault: Asuka constantly rags on Shinji for rushing into combat with the Angel and getting himself in trouble, when he wouldn't have done that to begin with if she hadn't taunted him into doing it.

* OhCrap: See above: Rei looks at the Eva clearly thinking, "What the hell is this death mobile I'm piloting?" Ritsuko quickly establishes Rei would never forgive them if she found out the Eva's secrets, but this is LeftHanging.

* YankTheDogsChain: Shinji, as a character, has until this point been on an upwards trajectory; he has by now gotten fully accustomed to his life in Tokyo-3, he is starting to get some genuine enjoyment out of his role as a pilot, he has friends who accept him for who he is, and there are even signs that his relationship with his father might improve. The beginning of this episode sees him gaining another personal triumph as he is now leading in sync score. By the end of the episode though, his experiences inside Leliel have seriously shaken his confidence, and things are only going to get worse from here...

It is business about as usual as they can get in the Katsuragi household; as Asuka is chewing Shinji out for his constant apologizing and passive attitude, Misato tries to calm her down, telling her that is just how Shinji is as a person. This only serves to annoy Asuka, who accuses Misato of being too soft on Shinji and only being in such a good and relaxed mood because she and Kaji has hooked up again. "There's nothing between Kaji and me," protests Misato, before she--as if on cue--is interrupted by Kaji leaving a message on her answering machine in which he invites her out for a drink, effectively puncturing her claim. Asuka is upset by this, and leaves in a huff.

Later that day, the pilots are called in for another sync test. Misato gives Shinji the result; He has surpassed Asuka in synch rate and now sits on the best score. Shinji is greatly surprised and uplifted by that bit of news, while Asuka reacts with barely concealed anger to an indifferent Rei.

As the Evas close in on the apparition, the tension gets to Shinji and, in a moment of rashness, he fires a shot against it. The sphere disappears in a flash, and a massive black shadow suddenly appears beneath his feet, and he starts sinking into it. The alarm goes off as the MAGI finally declare the apparition to be the Twelfth Angel, Leliel. The shadow starts spreading over Tokyo-3, and sucks in cars, trees, and buildings. Asuka and Rei narrowly escape the same fate, as they climb to safety on some tall buildings, but Shinji continues to sink down, struggling and screaming to Misato for help all the way, until the head of Unit-01 goes under, and his radio goes silent. Misato orders Asuka and Rei to retreat, prompting Rei (much to Asuka's surprise) to protest, stating that Shinji is still in danger. A clearly distressed Misato only responds by repeating the order.

Meanwhile, inside the shadow, Shinji is attempting to sleep, while waiting for his rescue. He tries seeing if he can get any data about the outside, but the cameras only shows an utterly empty void, and the radar and sonar are unable to pick anything up, leading to him conclude that whatever space he is stuck in must be incredibly large. Looking at his watch, he notes that he has around 4-5 hours worth of power left.

Ritsuko reveals her plan to Misato. A fleet of fighter planers will dump all 992 N[[superscript:2]] mines in the world into the shadow, while Unit-00 and Unit-02 will be station at its edges and activate their A.T. Fields, hopefully creating enough energy to destroy the Angel and push Unit-01 out of the Sea of Dirac. Misato questions Shinji's safety in all of this, but as Ritsuko pragmatically answers that saving the Eva is the top priority and that Shinji's life is secondary, she loses control of herself and angrily slaps the scientist. Misato demands to know why Unit-01 is so special and why everyone's so desperate to save it and for Ritsuko to tell her just what the hell an Evangelion actually is. Ritsuko tells her that she has been given all the information, but Misato shoots her an angry glare and tells her that she knows she is lying, to which Ritsuko only replies with a pleading "Trust me." She then announces that she is going to relieve Misato from command of the operation for being too emotionally involved. As Ritsuko walks away, Misato notes to herself the many secrets that have been kept from her.

The apparition asks if he plans to live the rest of his life regurgitating and redigesting those few moments of happiness even if he knows that such happiness cannot last. Shinji answers that such an act is enough to keep him alive and says that everyone does it. The apparition then says that if he cannot bring about change or believe that he can bring about change to this vicious cycle, he will not be able to live. Shinji says that’s okay because there’s too much pain and suffering to keep going on in this world anyways. The apparition accuses him of self-deception, saying that he has made himself blind and deaf to those things that cause him pain. Shinji relives the memory of Toji punching him for injuring his sister, of Misato telling him to let go of what other people say, and of his father telling him to leave.

The apparition starts questioning Shinji about his relationship with his father and mentions the public rumors that circulated about Yui's death, namely the accusations that Gendo murdered her. Shinji denies that they were ever true; he distinctly remember that his mother was smiling on the day she died. Shinji hears his father telling him not to run away 10 years ago, alongside Misato's previous words of encouragement, and the dreamscape starts fading away as Shinji meekly mumbles that he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Awakening once again in the cold and dark plug, Shinji realizes that he is a mere few minutes from death as even his suit is starting give out. Exhausted, he quietly accepts his fate and closes his eyes again to wait for the inevitable end, but he suddenly feels someone gently caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes to see a bright light with him in the plug. A ghostly woman embraces him and he realizes that she is his mother. Flashing back to half-forgotten sunny day by a lakeshore, Shinji remembers himself as a young happy child holding a red marble up to his mother, whose face is obscured by shadows. "Is this enough? [[SincerityMode Well, that's good for you,]]" she says.

Meanwhile, Ritsuko is about give the go-ahead when red cracks suddenly tear through the body of the Angel on the ground. The shadow of the Angel starts shaking violently and turns black, before it is pierced through by a fist and red blood sprays out. A roaring Unit-01, moving on its own power, breaks free of the sphere in what best can be described as a gruesome parody of birth, covered in the Angels blood, which now rains down upon the city. Everyone looks on in horror as the Angel dies along with its shadow, while the blood-soaked Eva howls against the sky. A disturbed Misato asks herself what NERV plans to do with the Evas once the Angels are defeated.

Shinji awakes in the hospital, with Rei sitting on a chair nearby, having watched over him. Seeing that he is conscious she stands up and starts to leave, telling him that he can just rest for now. Shinji tells her that he is feeling fine, to which she responses: "[[SincerityMode Well, that's good for you.]]" Remembering his mother saying those exact words, Shinji gasps in surprise as he realizes who Rei reminds him of. His gaze follows her out of his room, and as she opens the door, he catches a glimpse of Asuka lurking in the doorway outside his room. Trying her hardest to pretend not to care, she quickly hides. Amused by this, Shinji begins to chuckle heartily, but pauses as he notices that he still smells of blood.

* WhamEpisode: Though both Episode 14 and 15 had been building up to it, this episode cements the notably darker tone of the latter part of the series. The first angel with psychic attack abilities appears, Shinji's newfound confidence and complacency in his life as a pilot is shaken to its core, the cracks in Asuka's already fragile psychological state starts to become apparent, and Misato starts wondering just how much she is kept in the dark by NERV.

* YankTheDogsChain: Shinji, as a character, has until this point been on an upwards trajectory; he has by now gotten fully accustomed his life in Tokyo-3, he is starting to get some genuine enjoyment out of his role as a pilot, he has friends who accepts him for who he is, and there is even signs that his relationship with his father might improve. The beginning of this episode sees him gaining another personal triumph as he is now leading in sync score. By the end of the episode though, his experiences inside Leliel has seriously shaken his confidence, and things are only going to get worse from here...

The apparition starts questioning Shinji about his relationship with his father and mentions the public rumors that circulated about Yui's death, namely the accusations that Gendo murdered her. Shinji denies that they were ever true; he distinctly remember that his mother was smiling on the day she died. Shinji hears his father telling him not to run away 10 years ago, alongside Misato's previous words of encouragement, and the dreamscape starts fading away as Shinji meekly mumbles that he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Awakening once again in the cold and dark plug, Shinji realizes that he is a mere few minutes from death as even his suit is starting give out. Exhausted, he quietly accepts his fate and closes his eyes again to wait for the inevitable end, but he suddenly feels someone gently caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes to see a bright light with him in the plug. A ghostly woman embraces him and he realizes that she is his mother. Flashing back to half-forgotten day at a sunny lakeshore, Shinji sees himself as a young happy child holding a red marble up to his mother, whose face is obscured by shadows. "Is this enough? [[SincerityMode Well, that's good for you,]]" she says.

The apparition starts questioning Shinji about his relationship with his father and mentions the public rumors that circulated about Yui's death, namely the accusations that Gendo murdered her. Shinji denies that they were ever true; he distinctly remember that his mother was smiling on the day she died. Shinji hears his father telling him not to run away 10 years ago, alongside Misato's previous words of encouragement, and the dreamscape starts fading away as Shinji meekly mumbles that he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Awakening once again in the cold and dark plug, Shinji realizes that he is a mere few minutes from death as even his suit is starting give out. Exhausted, he quietly accepts his fate and closes his eyes again to wait for the inevitable end, but he suddenly feels someone gently caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes to see a bright light with him in the plug. A ghostly woman embraces him and he realizes that she is his mother. Flashing back to a sunny lakeshore, a young, happy Shinji holds a red marble up to his mother, whose face is obscured by shadows. "Is this enough? [[SincerityMode Well, that's good for you,]]" she says.

Ritsuko gathers NERV's technicians around her to explain her findings. The Angel is in fact the shadow itself, while the sphere is a kind of three-dimensional shadow. Unit-01 has been sucked into an inverted A.T. Field, and is stuck in a pocket dimension, a so-called "Sea of Dirac" which can only really be defined by abstract mathematics. Misato concludes that they have to consider the shadow on the ground the true target, to which Asuka gloomily answers that it means they have no way of fighting it with the Evas.

The apparition starts questioning Shinji about his relationship with his father and mentions the public rumors that circulated about Yui's death, namely the accusations that Gendo murdered her. Shinji denies that they were ever true; he distinctly remember that his mother was smiling on the day she died. The dreamscape starts fading away as Shinji meekly mumbles that he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Awakening once again in the cold and dark plug, Shinji realizes that he is a mere few minutes from death as even his suit is starting give out. Exhausted, he quietly accepts his fate and closes his eyes again to wait for the inevitable end, but he suddenly feels someone gently caressing his cheek. He opens his eyes to see a bright light with him in the plug. A ghostly woman embraces him and he realizes that she is his mother. Flashing back to a sunny lakeshore, a young, happy Shinji holds a red marble up to his mother, whose face is obscured by shadows. "Is this enough? [[SincerityMode Well, that's good for you,]]" she says.

Meanwhile, Ritsuko is about give the go-ahead when red cracks tear through the body of the Angel on the ground. The shadow of the Angel starts shaking violently and turns black, before it is pierced through by a fist and red blood sprays out. A roaring Unit-01, moving on its own power, breaks free of the sphere in what best can be described as a gruesome parody of birth, covered in the Angels blood, which now rains down upon the city. Everyone looks on in horror as the Angel dies along with its shadow, while the blood-soaked Eva howls against the sky. A disturbed Misato asks herself what NERV plans to do with the Evas once the Angels are defeated.

Gendo and Ritsuko oversee Unit-01 being cleaned of the Angel's blood. She tells him that Misato is growing suspicious. "Let her be for now," he says. Ritsuko tells him that "If Rei or Shinji were to find out the Eva's secrets, they'd never forgive us."

Ritsuko reveals her plan to Misato. Fighters will dump all 992 N2 mines in the world into the shadow, while Unit-00 and Unit-02 activate their A.T. Fields, hopefully creating enough energy to destroy the Angel and push Unit-01 out of the Sea of Dirac. Misato questions Shinji's safety in all of this, but as Ritsuko pragmatically answers that saving the Eva is the top priority and that Shinji's life is secondary, she looses control of herself and angrily slaps the scientist. Misato demands to know why Unit-01 is so special and why everyone's so desperate to save it and for Ritsuko to tell her just what the hell an Evangelion actually is. Ritsuko tells her that she has been given all the information, but Misato shoots her an angry glare and tells her that she knows she is lying, to which Ritsuko only replies with a pleading "Trust me." She then announces that she is going to relieve Misato from command of the operation for being too emotionally involved. As Ritsuko walks away, Misato notes to herself the many secrets that have been kept from her.